Was Mifune dubbed?
Not that I have ever heard him speak english before, his voice just seemed off.
shareit says in the trivia section here that he was dubbed, but i just saw the TCM version earlier today and it sounds like his voice (from what i've heard in all the kurosawa flicks).
shareThanks, I completely missed that when I scanned the trivia.
shareI read where Mifune was always dubbed- and for no good reason- he spoke English. However, when he first appears in the film he is speaking Japanese, and it appears that they used his voice there. Do an IMDB search on him and read more.
shareIt was his own voice in the premiere, but all later editions he was dubbed by Peter Frees (who dubbed for Mifune in more than one film, I might add).
It should also be noted that Mifune knew very little English when this was filmed, and did all of his lines phonetically (as did Montand, which surprised me).
"In my opinion, everyone should get naked." - Ben Moody
All correct, but his name is Paul Frees. An expert dubber, probably best known for (mostly) villain voices in those Rankin/Bass Christmas specials.
shareOddly enough, Frees also dubs voices for Japanese characters in "Tora!(x3)" and "Midway". I'll always remember him as Burgermeister Meisterburger in the R/B animated "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" His distinct voice can be heard in many cartoons, and at Disney's theme parks.
Does anybody remember laughter?
Frees also did Boris Badenov in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.
Dan
O M G. Thank you, bolonam. I knew I recognized that really bad dubbing. That voice was just TOO familiar. WHY BOTHER using Mifune in a film like this? And DUB him?
I also object to the crowd shots in this movie. They are really dumb. I mean the ones of the wine bottle passing, apple eating, etc. I didn't know real pro directors were allowed to do shots that bad and get paid for them.
Mifune is one of the world cinema's superstars. I cannot believe he's in this. Watch some Japanese films, and you'll see him in far different roles. Lots of grunts and gutturals. Much nicer.
hahahahahah. Rocky and Bullwinkle. Takes this movie right on down the crapper. hahahahahah.
Frees was the most overused V/O in the biz. He was like Lorenzo Music. He had one voice and that was that. The inflection was in everything he did and it became tedious, make that a pain! I met Mifune in '78 and his English was rough but intelligible.
He died by his own hand in 1986. Don't believe IMDB or anyone else about his demise.
In an interview done years ago on PBS, Daws Butler and Stan Freeberg commented on working with Frees. Neither had anything nice to say about him.
Having worked in live action and animation both, I've seen Frees overused to death. Not pretty!
Frees was the most overused V/O in the biz. He was like Lorenzo Music. He had one voice and that was that. The inflection was in everything he did and it became tedious, make that a pain! I met Mifune in '78 and his English was rough but intelligible.
Frees died by his own hand in 1986. Don't believe IMDB or anyone else about his demise. It's in the coroner's report for all to see.
In an interview done years ago on PBS, Daws Butler and Stan Freeberg commented on working with Frees. Neither had anything nice to say about him.
Having worked in live action and animation both, I've seen Frees overused to death. Not pretty!
and did all of his lines phonetically (as did Montand, which surprised me).I'm not surprised. His lines were very stilted.
You will probably disagree. That's the nature of discussions -- they have two sides. share