THE ALLENS
THINK YOU KNOW WHAT WOODY SOUNDS LIKE? THINK AGAIN.
Maybe I’m the only one that didn’t know this, but I learned this morning that every famous actor has his own dedicated voice for overdubbing in foreign countries. So that means Harrison Ford will sound the same in Germany in the new Indiana Jones film as he did in the old German edit of Raiders The Lost Ark; or Robert De Niro sounds the same in Meet The Parents as he did in Raging Bull. It makes sense when you think about it. I just never had. Erik Bunger had though...
Bunger created a film piece called The Allens a few years ago that plays on this idea. Like me, he was surprised that actors had their own voices in other countries, and when he saw Easy Rider in German it amazed him how the film became a commentary on the glaring differences between German and American culture. Just the sound of a voice, its delivery and subtleties, can change the meaning of an entire film. Intrigued, he investigated further. He found Woody Allen an interesting example because he tends to play the same kind of character in every film and that character is largely defined by his nervous New York accent. What was he like elsewhere?
It got Bunger thinking about the different variations of Allen’s voice. His short film installation takes footage of the great New Yorker and a computer flicks between his different voices: ‘the Allens’. It’s as if they’re all fighting to be the real Woody, and the man himself ends up looking confused by the gibberish coming out of his mouth. Check out the video excerpt below.
Bunger created a film piece called The Allens a few years ago that plays on this idea. Like me, he was surprised that actors had their own voices in other countries, and when he saw Easy Rider in German it amazed him how the film became a commentary on the glaring differences between German and American culture. Just the sound of a voice, its delivery and subtleties, can change the meaning of an entire film. Intrigued, he investigated further. He found Woody Allen an interesting example because he tends to play the same kind of character in every film and that character is largely defined by his nervous New York accent. What was he like elsewhere?
It got Bunger thinking about the different variations of Allen’s voice. His short film installation takes footage of the great New Yorker and a computer flicks between his different voices: ‘the Allens’. It’s as if they’re all fighting to be the real Woody, and the man himself ends up looking confused by the gibberish coming out of his mouth. Check out the video excerpt below.
