While French versions of foreign films are generally acclaimed, there were resounding hiccups in the 1980s. Some dubbings have also become legendary.
We can't say it enough, but the original movie versions are the best. First, because the emotions are better transcribed and the lip synchronization is done live. It is sometimes complicated for a French dubbing actor to coordinate, with his own vocabulary, on what the actor wanted to make feel. This is how some films have become cult, by the unique "quality" of their French version, like this work released in 1987.
What was anecdotal in the 1980s has become one of the central elements of a film. A high-end American production must have a French version of similar quality. And we must recognize that our dubbing actors are excellent. To cite only some names, we can be interested in Richard Darbois , whose voice is heard every day. The actor will have dubbed Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger or even Jeff Goldblum, just that. On the women's side, Adeline Chetail is also a reference. The one who doubles Vanessa Hudgens has also specialized in the world of video games with crazy success.
But there have been films that haven't been lucky enough to have high-quality French dubs. One film in particular, released in 1987, became the ambassador, in spite of itself, of the worst dubbed works in history. Hitman The Cobra orThe Terrorist , directed by Godfrey Ho, has remained a reference in the world of pop culture for more than ten years. Its French dubbing is probably the worst in the world of Z series. The famous "Philippe! I know where you're hiding! " speaks to all. But how could it be validated? Why was there never a reshoot? Can we do worse one day? These are many questions that unfortunately we do not we don't have the answer.
More recently, in 2016, it is the French version of the film Dumbbells , made in Netflix, which had scored. A slight feeling of amateurism had settled in the ears of the viewers. The American streaming platform had also responded with unusual dubbing humor.
