The Professional German Lip-Syncers

At the conclusion of “Casablanca”, Humphrey Bogart’s character turns to Ingrid Bergman’s and famously says, “Look into my eyes, little one.”

See, the problem was the proper translation of “Here’s looking at you, kid” to German would have used too many words, and there was only so much time that Humphrey Bogart’s lips were moving.  So the hired translator and dubbing director made an artistic choice – a phrase that would still make some sense and be short enough to fit the time allowed.

So, I have found myself with some down time during my time in Germany and am oddly sucked into watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory.  What is fantastic about rewatching an episode is that I know the story line, most of the jokes, and can pick up a few new German words along the way.  However, and having put a bit of thought into this, I have three core issues: the mouth-words mismatch, the altered script, and the talent mismatch from the voiceover actors.

So, first, I’ll acknowledge that the lips will never match the words when switching languages.  My difficulty is trying to ignore the actor’s mouth movements, especially during dramatic scenes (i.e., close-ups and emotional exchanges).  I find myself watching the lip movement when the content is technical, fervent, or stressful.  This is in contrast to comedies and action, in my opinion, which seem to be more focused on actor mannerisms/movement and other explosions.

After seeing an episode of The Big Bang Theory where I knew enough of the original dialog to know that the German script was liberally altered, I looked into see if this is a common occurrence.  I read that it is typical for the German version of a TV show or movie to edit any references to Jews or Nazis.  The site referenced a TV Series, Never Again, which had two main characters who were Jewish survivors of concentration camps.  The dubbing changed their background to Israel, Arab countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization.  Further, any scene in this series showing concentration camp tattoos was simply cut.

Similarly, on one of my trips to visit Germany, I was asked to bring a copy of Eurotrip as the German dubbed version had some of the… more offensive… scenes removed.  One also wonders what translators do with references to American football, Thanksgiving, and English puns and homonyms.

But it was in this altered-script version of The Big Bang Theory that I also noticed that the adjusted dialog, while inducing a hearty chuckle in English, could only hope for a humph in German.  To this end and to my surprise, the German version appropriately changed the laugh track to accommodate.  And for those who have not considered how much of an episode is pre-recorded laughing, please watch the following:

While I would like to claim that I never have experienced such pregnant pauses when talking with a group of people, I am now comforted to know that we are simply pausing for the laugh track.

Finally, I do feel like a lot of the inflections, stresses, and emotion from the original portrayal are lost in the dubbed version.  As an example, I exited the theater after La La Land thinking the acting was pretty bland.  But, looking back, I believe it was only due to the dubbed voices, which were not on that street or in that bar, but attempted to deliver the necessary lines while alone in a booth while wearing a headset.  Are the future German actors influenced by this imperfect dubbing of disconnected voice from live acting?

Also disappointing is the lack of diversity in the German dubbing industry; I have read that there are few to no black voice actors; Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Morgan Freeman are all played by white voice actors (see DW link below).  Take a listen to the German trailer for Moonlight.

The talents that the original actor brings to the table obviously need to be matched by the dubbing actor.  Back to The Big Bang Theory, Penny sings, but German Penny’s voice is not flattering; however, German Bernadette’s singing voice is quite nice (oddly, so is her speaking voice).  But it is this connection of voice to appearance that forever ties the dubbing actor to the true actor.

Imagine a scene taking place in a café.   A couple are engaged in a discussion when the waiter comes to take their order; the voice of the waiter: Bruce Willis.  Oddly, the waiter isn’t Bruce Willis and, in truth, neither is the voice.  It is Manfred Lehmann, the German voiceover actor for Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal, and others.  Perhaps these other guys haven’t been in a film or TV series for a while, and Manfred was in need of some cash flow.  Similarly, the same dubbing actor for Tom Hanks also does Kevin Klein and Bill Murray.  I am told that John Travolta’s voice recognizably pops up quite often.

Final Thoughts

The idea of dubbing is well-intended; one can have the TV on in the background and still enjoy some entertainment.  However, I do not think I will ever be a fan of it as too much of the context is changed and too much of the intent is lost in translation.  Consider that Arnold Schwarzenegger was not allowed to do his own dubbing as his Austrian accent was likened to that of a rural farmer – definitely not tough enough for the Terminator.  Then consider how dubbing of English speakers on news programs also changes context.

Think about how on German news, a certain press secretary’s conferences are dubbed over with a German voice speaking in full sentences, omitting neither a verb nor a preposition.  The dubbed voice also does not use any vocal pauses and only relays complete and coherent thoughts.

Similarly, another elected official’s over-use of hyperboles is dubbed over with spoken emphasis removed from such words, which result in a more softened approach that merely implies intense excitement.

I do not believe dubbing will provide the full story.

Additional Reading
Film Sound Essay
Deutsche Welle Article
BBC Article

Update May 21, 2017:
Interestingly, one week after I posted this, there appeared a full exhibition on the ground floor of the Erfurt train station that honored the voice actors in the German industry.  Each of the approximately 30 featured voice actors had a headset and touchscreen where you could navigate each actor’s voicing credits and hear them in action.  Coincidence?  Yes, I think so.