The French seem to have the need to change most Hollywood films into French versions of the original. If you want to see an American movie that is not dubbed over in French you have to make sure that it says v.o. (original version). They also like to change the names of movies to ridiculous titles. There are posters everywhere in the metro for the movie "The Hangover," which is a comedy about a group of guy friends who go to Vegas for a bachelor party and get into a bunch of trouble. So the French have decided to re-name this movie in English as "Very Bad Trip," with (Hangover) written in brackets below. First of all, I'm sure there is a French equivalent to the word "hangover," second of all if they are going to dub it over in French anyways why would they go to the trouble of re-naming it in English and with such a ridiculous name? It boggles my mind...
I am French and I live in England. Hangover doesn't mean anything to a French native speaker but they know what's a "bad trip", it's related to the overuse of drugs of any sorts. it has an exciting shade in our language as it's English and used in private circles.
ReplyDeleteWhereas the exact translation of hangover is "gueule de bois" and is the least attracting name ever for a movie.
so you'd understand why sometime the exact translation doesn't match the point and could deter the most determined lads to go the cinema.
I hope it helped.. I know that most of the time it's a real headhache to find back the name of a movie you've seen in a foreign country because it summarises all sorts of different cultural backgrounds.. exciting!!
love your blog by the way!