Germany, together with Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, is an audience used to seeing everything dubbed: the «Synchronfassung» is the norm, in cinemas and on television, and the original version is a minority choice. For that audience, a film without a German edition barely exists. MovieCineLab makes one automatically, with one voice per character.
Listen: Charade in German
Three minutes of Charade (1963): Regina, Sylvie and Peter Joshua speak German, each with their own voice. The dubbing came out like this, untouched.
Real lines, from English to German
| Character | Original (English) | Dubbed · German |
|---|---|---|
| Regina Lampert Charade (1963) | He's hiding something from me, Sylvie, something terrible, and it frightens me. | Er verbirgt etwas vor mir, Sylvie, etwas Schreckliches, und es macht mir Angst. |
| Peter Joshua Charade (1963) | Do we know each other? | Kennen wir uns? |
| Regina Lampert Charade (1963) | Why, do you think we're going to? | Wieso werden wir uns kennenlernen? |
| Regina Lampert Charade (1963) | Until one of them dies, I couldn't possibly meet anyone else. | Bis einer stirbt, könnt ich keinen andren treffen. |
| Peter Joshua Charade (1963) | Shakespeare never said that. | Das hat Shakespeare nie gesagt. |
| Peter Joshua Charade (1963) | You just made it up. | Erfunden. |
| Johnny Night of the Living Dead (1968) | They're coming to get you, Barbara. | Sie kommen, um dich zu holen, Barbara. |
| Popeye Popeye: Assault and Flattery (1956) | Your Honor, I'm innocent. | Euer Ehren, ich bin unschuldig. |
Lines exactly as they came out of the automatic dubbing of the example films, untouched.
German is the language that puts syllable fitting to the hardest test: German sentences tend to run longer than English ones. Look at how the translation copes to stay within the actor's timing. «You just made it up» becomes a single word, «Erfunden.». In «Bis einer stirbt, könnt ich keinen andren treffen», the shortened forms «könnt» and «andren» are those of speech. Written German wouldn't use them, but in an actor's mouth they sound natural.
What you get
- The film dubbed into German, in full, as MP4.
- Subtitles as SRT, in the film's language and in German, included.
- The screenplay as PDF and Fountain, in German too, included with the dubbing.
«Du» or «Sie»?
English has a single «you». German has to choose between the familiar «du» and the polite «Sie», and the choice changes the relationship between the characters. The translation makes it by looking at the scene: who is speaking, to whom, and at what point in the film. Popeye's judge becomes «Euer Ehren», as in a German courtroom drama.
Who it's for
For German-speaking film clubs, schools and libraries that want to screen a classic to an audience used to dubbing. For learners of German who want to rewatch a familiar film with German subtitles. For filmmakers who want an idea of their German edition.
What it costs
One minute from your pack for every minute of film: a 90-minute film dubbed into German uses 90 minutes. If the job fails, the minutes go back into your pack.
They don't expireYour minutes stay in your account until you use them.
10 free minutesWhen you sign up we dub 10 minutes of one of your films for free, in one language.
If a job failsThe minutes go back into your pack.
The same film can also be dubbed into French or Polish. The method is explained on the multi-voice dubbing page.