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Speevy · Jul 23, 2017

Now before you jump on me for the stupid question, please hear me out.

As an American, I have been privileged to watch hundreds of great movies that were produced in English-speaking countries. I realize though that some of the best films ever made were not written or acted in English. It is very difficult for me to watch a movie with subtitles unless the film is very simplistic because I have to make an effort to both read and understand the subtleties of the dialogue.

For a film that was acted in another language and then dubbed into English, it is very distracting because I can't stop staring at the actors' lips. It doesn't even matter how good the voice work is. I just keep staring at everyone's lips.

For a film that was acted in English and then translated into another language, I have the same issue. I was watching the Thor trailer before they released the English one thinking "This seems like a fun trailer, but I wish I knew what everyone was saying."

That's beside the point though. Movies weren't made just for me. So it occurs to me that for billions of people around the world, they hear dialogue that does not match the lips of the English-speaking person delivering it.

Is this something that you get used to the more you watch it, or is it always distracting?

NoblesseOblige · Jul 23, 2017

I only speak English so it's not very weird.

I don't watch dubbed foreign movies. I've always had Closed Captioning on even in English, so subtitles don't bother me.

Speevy · Jul 23, 2017

NoblesseOblige said:
I only speak English so it's not very weird.

Well you're not who I'm asking, obviously.

kabel · Jul 23, 2017

Dubs here in Germany are superb despite of all the hipsters always whining that they watch only in english and the dub is trash.

I think some german voices (Bruce Willis etc.) are even better than their original ones.

I watch Hollywood movies as if they were made in German. Lip sync on point!

Truant · Jul 23, 2017

I hate dubs, so I watch with subtitles whenever I have the chance.

KimiNewt · Jul 23, 2017

I live in a non English speaking country and I've never seen a single dubbed live action film or TV show for adults. Last thing I remember seeing was power rangers (the TV show).

Some children's cartoons are dubbed, but I haven't watched that since I was a kid and it didn't bother me then.

MrMysterio · Jul 23, 2017

For a very long time in my life I didn't know why everyone thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was hilarious, because I had only watched the German dubbed version, where his delivery wasn't goofy.
Only in my 20s I heard Arnold's original English voice. Oh, yeah, I get it now, his accent is funny.

As everything on cable/public TV in Germany is dubbed I'm really quite used to it. Also the dubbing industry in Germany is really really good. Great voiceover actors, etc.

So, there is a quality difference definitely as well as just getting used to it.

Regarding subtitles, though, I can't imagine watching anything without subtitles tbh.

Metal B · Jul 23, 2017

kabel said:
Dubs here in Germany are superb despite of all the hipsters always whining that they watch only in english and the dub is trash.

I understand English just fine, but too often in the english version people mumble or have strange accent, which make it hard for a non-native listener to clearly understand. In the German sub you can understand people much better and, like you mentioned, we have very good subs most of the times, so depending of the move/show, i like to listen to the sub much more.

Attack You · Jul 23, 2017

I can put up with dubbing in animation. I barely make it through dubbed live-action without obsessing over lip sync. Greatly prefer subtitles. Although, I have an unhealthy fondness for dubbed '70s Kung Fu flicks.

Hypron · Jul 23, 2017

Yeah I really dislike watching dubbed movies. I grew up with dubbed movies so I was used to it, but then I started watching the original versions. At first I just watched subbed series (e.g. prison break), just because I could get the episodes earlier online, but then I moved to an anglophone country and started watching everything in its original version. A couple months later I switched from French subs to English ones and now I don't need subs anymore.

Now I can't imagine going back. The few movies I've seen with French dubs since then just sound wrong. "Good" dubs adapt what's being said to match lip motions, but even then, it's not perfect. On top of that, French has a faster cadence than English so dubs always end up sounding unnatural (too slow, weird intonation, etc). On top of that, many voice actors kinda sound the same (I call it a "dubber's voice" when talking to people and they tend to get what I mean).

And even if you were to remove the video and just listen to the audio, dubs are very often just straight up unequivocally inferior at conveying emotion.

Also, like someone else mentioned, you tend to lose accents when watching dubbed material (sometimes they get a character with an accent in the French dub as well, but most of the time they all speak more or less standard French).

I also like watching what was originally intended to be watched by the creators, and I like listening to other languages so I'll watch all media in their original language, even if I don't understand that language.

An argument that often comes up when discussing dubbed anime is that you can't judge the quality of voice acting if you don't know the language. Having been both sides of the fence when it comes to English (not understanding it and then understanding it), I believe this is false. You don't need to know a language to spot bad or good voice acting, and if anything, knowing the English made me prefer original versions over the dubbed ones even more so.

Metal B · Jul 23, 2017

MrMysterio said:
For a very long time in my life I didn't know why everyone thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was hilarious, because I had only watched the German dubbed version, where his delivery wasn't goofy.
Only in my 20s I heard Arnold's original English voice. Oh, yeah, I get it now, his accent is funny.

Yes! It was always so wired hearing jokes about Arnold Schwarzenegger, until actually listing to them in the original english version.

I don't know, if this makes the german version better, since he sounds much better in the german subs, or if it makes it too different and worse.

Metroxed · Jul 23, 2017

I've never had a problem with subtitles, it's really just matter of getting used to them and having watched subtitled films and series my whole life I have no problem reading and watching the scene at the same time.

I do have litte patience for dubbed media though, except for animation.

English is not my native language.

WorriedCitizen · Jul 23, 2017

As others already said everything in Germany is dubbed so you're used to it and don't think about it when you grow up. Still the older i got and the better my English the less i can stand watching dubbed movies and shows. It's not necessarely about the quality, german voice actors usualy make an effort to match lips but what irks me is how much it distorts the movies/shows.

Some actors are unrecognizable from the original. For instance when i grew up i couldn't stand Jodie Foster because her german voice sounds kinda bitchy. Her real voice on the other hand is actualy quite pleasant. Or imagine watching something like Sopranos and none of the characters have that New York Italian accent. Watching dubbed you're just missing out on a lot of the subtleties and atmosphere of the original.

Non english speaking foreign movies i prefer to watch with subtitles.

Phinor · Jul 23, 2017

I actively avoid watching anything dubbed, in my language or any other language. I do want English subtitles in everything though, even in movies that are in English already. I guess the only exception is when the source material is Finnish, then I'll just go with the original audio without subtitles. In any other case it's original audio + English subtitles.

It's actually a bit of pain in the ass because half the movies on Blu-ray here are "Nordic" versions without English subtitles so I have to avoid buying those discs locally and order them from UK/Germany/elsewhere. This has also been an issue with streaming services which I haven't used for that very reason until recently because while Netflix didn't offer English subs for a lot of their content, all their original content did have those subs. The original content is all I watch anyway because at least here Netflix has almost non-existent catalog outside of their own shows and movies.

So to answer the question: it's not really weird because dubbing is quite common with content for children and that's what you grow up with. I do hate dubbing now though but it's still not weird, just usually much worse experience than the original.

Javier23 · Jul 23, 2017

I grew up with dubbed everything, so I just lack the capacity to either care or notice that the voices don't sync with the cast's lips. First time a friend of mine from somewhere where they don't dub anything visited me back home and saw a dubbed show she immediately found it jarring though. In any case, back in my teens I started consuming media in its original language and haven't looked back ever since.

Khaz · Jul 23, 2017

No matter how good the translation is, or the dubbing actors are, there is always that thing that feels off to me: the voices have all the same volume, the same clarity. I can hear them being from actors in a box 20cm away from the microphone, instead of being recorded by a boom mic on stage. The flatness of it all is especially noticeable if you don't pay attention to a film, like when it's played in another room. I don't know if it's something that can be corrected with enough sound engineering.

KillLaCam · Jul 23, 2017

If it's live action yeah. I don't think I've ever seen a good live action dub

Khaz · Jul 23, 2017

Metal B said:
Yes! It was always so wired hearing jokes about Arnold Schwarzenegger, until actually listing to them in the original english version.

I don't know, if this makes the german version better, since he sounds much better in the german subs, or if it makes it too different and worse.

Does Arnold dub his own films for Germany?

KillerMan91 · Jul 23, 2017

Well in decent amount of countries you don't have dubs (thank god). I have been watching movies with subtitles since was a kid (like all other finns) and I have never heard someone complaining about subtitles. You really get used to them. I don't even pay attention to them. Hell I usually use subtitles even with finnish movies so that I don't miss anything. I would also say that not dubbing all material is also one of the key things why Nordic countries are so far ahead in terms of english proficiency compared to southern europe. When you are exposed to language pretty much every day watching series/movies from TV you learn the language subconsciously.

Jon Carter · Jul 23, 2017

Speevy said:
So it occurs to me that for billions of people around the world, they hear dialogue that does not match the lips of the English-speaking person delivering it.

Is this something that you get used to the more you watch it, or is it always distracting?

But it does match the lips of the actors if the dub is good. I know France and Spain at least have great dubs. Actually sometimes the voice actors give better performances than the original actors, so the dubbed version ends up being superior.

Won · Jul 23, 2017

Since, like many here, I grew up with it sure is something you get used to. It still all comes down to quality for me though.

German dubs in movies can be ok to great. TV shows can often be hit and miss. Anime I find completely unwatchable.

Trailers for movies can also be very bad, since it's all work in progress.

Oh and yeah, Arnold movies are completely different things in german. Watching some of his movies undubbed for the first time was a complete wtf experience.

Theonik · Jul 23, 2017

I only watch things in their original dub or in some circumstances the one I like the most. If I watch a lot of movies/tv/games in a certain language I just learn the language.

kabel · Jul 23, 2017

Khaz said:
Does Arnold dub his own films for Germany?

I don't think so.

I know Christopher Waltz does.

CarpeDeezNutz · Jul 23, 2017

When I was a kid and we would visit non-English speaking family, it would be jarring to me when they're watching a movie dubbed into Spanish, especially if I had seen it before. Some of the voice choices they make lmao.

What distracts me are when there are subtitles in English movies anytime someone speaks Spanish. I get a glitch in my brain from listening to the actor and reading the subtitle.

T.v · Jul 23, 2017

A lot of European countries dub nearly everything. Mine dubs hardly anything. Only kids' shows. The little bits of dubbed media I have seen I dislike very much, there always seems to be such a disconnect between the actor and the dubbed voice. Plus, watching Dragonball Z as a kid basically taught me English. By the time I started getting English classes in high school various media had made me so proficient that I got straight A's without any effort. I also like English much more than my native Dutch. Hell, most of my thoughts are in English despite never speaking it.

PjotrStroganov · Jul 23, 2017

We don't do movie dubs in the Netherlands. Aside from kids movies. German dubs are source of ridicule.

Orcastar · Jul 23, 2017

Finnish dubbing is and has always been garbage, with the exception of some older Disney movies. Luckily only animated movies and TV shows are typically dubbed.

A few days ago I was expecting to finally get around to watching The Incredibles when, to my utter disgust, I found out that animated movies on the Plyastation Store are only offerred in Finnish. Needless to say I still haven't seen The Incredibles.

Fix-It Felix. Jr. · Jul 23, 2017

Original with subtitles is always my preferred way to watch movies or shows performed in another language. I don't usually have any issues reading the subtitles and taking in the visuals as well, since I can quickly read the lines before the actor is finished saying them. That being said, I watch more subbed media than I do English, so it's something that has really just become a regular experience for me. Maybe it would be more difficult if it was an odd thing every now and then?

As for dubbed stuff - I've never watched anything like this, but I can imagine it would be rather distracting to have the lips off from the voice.

KHlover · Jul 23, 2017

It's the default here in Germany, so not really. As long as the dub is well made it's not an issue.

Vuze · Jul 23, 2017

Basically everything gets dubbed in German. Some purists obviously only watch in English/OV but personally I couldnt care less. I havent seen a single dub with painfully obvious lip de-sync and the comfort of not having to deal with irregular voice levels and accents I can barely follow is nice.

I barely can enjoy stuff with subtitles, i find it very distracting.

NeoRausch · Jul 23, 2017

kabel said:
Dubs here in Germany are superb despite of all the hipsters always whining that they watch only in english and the dub is trash.

I think some german voices (Bruce Willis etc.) are even better than their original ones.

I watch Hollywood movies as if they were made in German. Lip sync on point!

This!
My favorite movies I watch or rewatch on English because I like the original voices.
But German dubs are mostly top notch.

Fbh · Jul 23, 2017

I despise dubs.

In many roles the voices and script are just as important as the physical acting. It's not just about what the actor is saying, it's about how he is saying it. With a dub you are not getting the actual performance from the actor, you are not getting the true original script. Not to mention that even when the lip sync is perfect it still allways looks and sounds fake as hell. It's even worse in movies set in the real world. I don't want to watch a movie about a German journalist in Berlin spoken in English, I don't want to watch a movie about a US marine in Spanish and I don't want to watch a movie about a Mexican woman living in Mexico in German.

Even if I don't understand the original language and I'll never get the original script you still miss so much, things such as emotion go past the language barrier.

Santiako · Jul 23, 2017

Not really, Spanish dubs are mostly great (in movies and most series). I do watch everything I can in its original language though, but that's just personal preference.

Easy_D · Jul 23, 2017

It depends, really. When it comes to Disney movies I grew up watching, I'd only really watch them in Swedish, feels more natural that way, helps that the dubs are often really good too. Swedish Aladdin is the shit.

Iceternal · Jul 23, 2017

MrMysterio said:
For a very long time in my life I didn't know why everyone thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was hilarious, because I had only watched the German dubbed version, where his delivery wasn't goofy.
Only in my 20s I heard Arnold's original English voice. Oh, yeah, I get it now, his accent is funny.

As everything on cable/public TV in Germany is dubbed I'm really quite used to it. Also the dubbing industry in Germany is really really good. Great voiceover actors, etc.

So, there is a quality difference definitely as well as just getting used to it.

Regarding subtitles, though, I can't imagine watching anything without subtitles tbh.

Same here in France, Arnold's french voice is awesome.

Khaz · Jul 23, 2017

CarpeDeezNutz said:
What distracts me are when there are subtitles in English movies anytime someone speaks Spanish. I get a glitch in my brain from listening to the actor and reading the subtitle.

I started disliking watching English films with my native language subtitles for the same reason. I don't know why but my eyes can't get off the subtitles and suddenly I can't understand English any more. Super annoying.

Zepp Twofist · Jul 23, 2017

I really dislike dubs. Even Disney cartoons that I grew up watching the Norwegian dubs, I still prefer the English versions. Subs don't bother me, so that's how I watch movies in languages that I do not understand.

The only instance I can think of where I prefer dubs are 80s Hong Kong action movies. I like to watch them with English dubs rather than the original language for some reason.

cyba89 · Jul 23, 2017

Not weird at all because you grow up with it.

With shows/movies I grew up with it's sometimes distracting for me to watch it in any other language than german. Hans-Georg Panczak is Luke Skywalkers voice for me and it doesn't feel right watching it in english now.
And I often prefer the german versions of classic Disney songs.

PerkeyMan · Jul 23, 2017

All the germans are in denial I see. Learn english you lazy bastards!

Sec0nd · Jul 23, 2017

Watching a film is like escaping into another reality. The 24 frames per second, the color corrections, the depth of field and all the other little quirks that make film not a perfect representation of reality cement the feeling of another world and reality. Therefor, for me, it makes the crazy stories and actions that happen on screen more believable in a way. I believe that this can take place in this alternate reality that is the film. Watching it in English also helps. Since that's not part of my normal life. Watching something in my native language completely breaks that immersion. It makes me focus on the things that wouldn't be happening in real life. Crappy writing and/or acting starts to stand out more, over the top stories start to be more and more unbelievable.

Watching media in English helps me immerse myself more into the world of the movies/games/etc.

True Savior · Jul 23, 2017

Night Hunter · Jul 23, 2017

German dubs are pretty great compared to some other languages I have heard. At least movies. TV always seems like it's too loud. You often hear that they just spoke over the whole thing (minus the english voices of course) in a studio.

My english is pretty good though so I don't have to watch dubs.

YourMaster · Jul 23, 2017

I live in Germany a few years now, originally from the Netherlands where movies are never dubbed. And although it is save to say I much rather watch the movies in their original language, when I got used to the dubbing it's not as bad as I expected.

After a while I don't really notice the lip sync, although of course you lose quite a bit of the original performance and everything related to language itself(like puns). A bit funny is that everything written down can't be translated so you hear the actor read it out loud in German.

I do believe those things take away less from the movie than not being able to fully understand everything would.

kingkaiser · Jul 23, 2017

PerkeyMan said:
All the germans are in denial I see. Learn english you lazy bastards!

Well, I have met quite a few O-Ton hipsters here in Germany who are very confident in their English skills, yet when I talk with them about some lore in-depth it turns out they missed some essential parts due to lack of understanding some specific phrases.

I tend to watch new TV Shows with German dub and rewatch them later in English.

Anticol · Jul 23, 2017

The worst country for dubs is Spain by far. They dub absolutely everything and pretty much all is trash.

Navidson REC · Jul 23, 2017

PerkeyMan said:
All the germans are in denial I see. Learn english you lazy bastards!

German here. HATE that they dub everything.

Granted, they do a good job. But I'd much rather have kids grow up exposed to other languages more often (like, say, in Scandinavian countries). Having things be hard to understand depends to a large part on nothing but practice and actually being exposed to different language varieties.

I actively avoid dubbed versions as much as possible and I wish local theaters would show more films without dubbing.

EDIT: Guess this makes me an O-Ton hipster now lol. I've actually lived in the US for a while and I've been studying English at university for years though, so I guess I'm not the best German to ask haha

woopWOOP · Jul 23, 2017

They only really dub cartoons and childrens TV series here, thankfully, because it is still pretty jarring. I want the voices to match the lips, I don't mind watching it in the original language and reading subtitles... probably because that's how I grew up. All foreign movies, TV shows and even interviews with foreigners during news segments are subtitled and I really prefer it that way.

Captain Smoker · Jul 23, 2017

PerkeyMan said:
All the germans are in denial I see. Learn english you lazy bastards!

I understand English perfectly, but for some reason I can't watch movies or TV shows in English because I don't understand everything.

Random YouTube video explaining physics, philosophy or other shit in English? No problem.

Random movie in English? Well...

That said, german dubs are superb.

johancruijff · Jul 23, 2017

other than lipsync and of course the different voices than the actor

- one voice over actor voices more than one actor (example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferruccio_Amendola this dude voiced Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Bill Cosby)

- sound mixing is usually fucked

- wordplays, expressions and culture references are lost and not always well adapted

-regional/cultural slangs and accents are most of the time completely lost
sometimes they can do something gracious (example: in the the simpson the different accents are adapted into italian regional accents, Willie has a sardinian accent, Carl a venetian one etc)

this is in regards to italian dubs

everything is dubbed here

sa201674 · Jul 23, 2017

Filipino here.

All theatrical releases are in their original language.

Nearly all broadcast versions of movies are dubbed and they're horrible (plus, they're in 4:3 pan and scan)!!! Often times, they sound like cartoon characters and all the jokes get lost in translation.

For American Cartoons, they used to show them undubbed on Free TV (cable always showed them undubbed). This started to change around the mid 00s. There was one point where the morning broadcast of Spongebob was in English while the afternoon was in Tagalog.

Now it's all dubbed and I feel like they use the same 3-4 voice actors. I swear that if the character is fat, live-action movie or animation, they will sound like filipino Patrick Starfish.

At least we have a channel in free tv dedicated to showing undubbed live-action tv, so hurray for that.

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