thebitterguy

One thing that bugs me about period piece movies, is that they always go for the British accent. Roman Empire? Fake a British accent! Ancient Greece? Definitely a fake British accent! Ancient Egypt? You got it, British accent. I'm not sure why they do this, but it's pretty consistently done. I'm not sure if this movie does, but some of the trailer sounds that way.

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There's really two ways to go on it: British, or in the actual dialect with subtitles. I mean, who wants Cesar to sound like a guy from Connecticut?

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How about trying English speaking, but with a hint of an Italian accent, for Roman period movies?

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"And you-a too, Brudus!? Fuggin' Hell!"

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You need only to see the screen test on the Ben-Hur DVD, featuring Leslie Neilsen and some Italian actor whose name I can't remember, to learn what a bad idea that would be.

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Even as I typed it, it didn't sound much like a great idea. The whole "portray all foreigners as British" thing bugs me, though. I say pull a Hunt For Red October, start in the appropriate language, zoom in, then zoom out in English, and it doesn't even have to be British. I love that transition in that movie.

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Yeah, actually, that's superbly effective. Leave it to John McTiernan to find a way to make it work.

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Do you mean that sincerely, or were you surprised that he did it so well?

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Oh, I'm completely sincere. When the man is on his game, he's a superb action director.

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indefatigable42.livejournal.com

It's like orchestral music in any movie that takes place before 1900 or so, as if it's the only kind of 'old fashioned' music there is.

Or, to look at it from the other side, everyone complained about the 'anachronistic' pop/rock soundtrack in that silly Heath Ledger movie about knights, but your typical orchestral score would have been only slightly closer to the right time period in terms of the instruments used.

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I actually liked A Knight's Tale, but your point is valid, I suppose. People see orchestrated music as timeless. I was watching movie recently, that effectively used some Arabic music, but for the life of me, I can't remember which movie.

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We have CG Hopkins penis in "Beowulf?"

Yeesh, like I needed another reason to avoid it. At least it's not Bacon Schween.

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Nah, they carefully avoid Hrothgar's penis, as well as Beowulf's, but he's wearing pretty much a sheet in his first appearance, and Beowulf fights Grendel nekkid.

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Oh, spectacular, because I really wanted to see Ray Winstone's penis instead.

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You and my wife both.

Don't worry, they do an Austin Powers on his mighty sword, too.

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You see, somehow I find that to be even more annoying. Granted, I have little desire to see a CG penis. But come on. They exist. As long as you don't show a stiff one, you won't get the Dread NC-17.

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You think Beowulf didn't get some lead in his pencil whilst wrassling with the foul beast Grendel?

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Based on all descriptions...probably not. Although maybe Beowulf had a thing for furries or a necrophilia fetish (the beast in the movie looks a bit like a rotting corpse from what I've seen.)

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He's a Geat. They get excited when they rassle.

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Someone described the Grendel as bad bacon stapled to other bacon.

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elizard100.livejournal.com

Dang, now I want to see the naked Swedish chef movie!

Boom chicka, boom chicka, bork bork bork!

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Ah, man. I'm never getting that image out of my brain.

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viktor-haag.livejournal.com

everyone would end up sounding like the Swedish Chef

Hmm; I had imagined that everyone would end up sounding like Mats Sundin... if you can imagine that, it makes the notion a heck of a lot more palatable.

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