# Are there many movies about English speaking Americans filmed in languages other than English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623 "2013-10-19T03:04:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/21 "2013-10-19T22:16:32Z")
Canadian, rather than American, but there’s 2 or 3 separate anime about Anne of Green Gables. (Japanese people LOVE Anne, for some reason…) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/22 "2013-10-19T22:51:13Z")
This doesn’t exactly fit the OP since it’s a silent film, but there’s a two part German version of The [Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011394/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4)from 1920. I mention it mainly because it features Bela Lugosi as Chingachgook (and because _Lederstrumpf_ sounds vaguely obscene). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/23 "2013-10-19T23:01:24Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Canadian, rather than American, but there’s 2 or 3 separate anime about Anne of Green Gables. (Japanese people LOVE Anne, for some reason…) I taught English in Japan for a whole, and one of my students was a woman who said her ultimate goal for learning English was to be able to read _Anne of Green Gables_ in the original language. She had a dog named Matthew, after the character in the book. I feel like there must be some anime series set in Europe, although I don’t know enough to name any. (I want to say there was one about Marie Antoinette?) I know of several anime series that take place in a fantasy setting that resembles Europe, but that’s not quite the same thing as using a real country and its historic figures or well-known literary characters. I remember seeing posters in Japan for productions Western musicals such as _Le Mis_, _[Elisabeth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_%28musical%29)_, and a stage version of _8 Femmes_. I could see from the posters that these shows had all Asian (presumable all Japanese) casts, but I don’t know if they were performed in the original English/German/French or translated into Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/24 "2013-10-19T23:26:17Z")
It’s not about an American, but the Hong Kong Action Film _Vengeance_ stars French signer Johnny Hallyday. He plays a Frenchman but speaks (fluent) English throughout the film, which (in the version I saw at the theatre) was in Cantonese with English subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/25 "2013-10-19T23:28:26Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Canadian, rather than American, but there’s 2 or 3 separate anime about Anne of Green Gables. (Japanese people LOVE Anne, for some reason…) The first thought for me was anime. I’ve seen series set in America, Ireland, Europe, based on various well-known mythologies from those cultures, with everyone speaking Japanese. And I seem to remember some oddness with **Return of the Dragon** - set in Greece but darn near everyone speaking Cantonese except the monosyllabic Chuck Norris. I seem to recall a French version of the book Payback was based on as well. The Brits made a mystery series based on some Italian books with Rufus Sewell set in Italy with a cast chock-full of Italians, and everyone speaks English. Hell, I don’t think Sewell even attempted an accent. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/26 "2013-10-19T23:33:52Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This doesn’t exactly fit the OP since it’s a silent film, but there’s a two part German version of The [Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011394/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4)from 1920. I mention it mainly because it features Bela Lugosi as Chingachgook (and because _Lederstrumpf_ sounds vaguely obscene). You think _Lederstrumpf_ sounds obscene? How about [Chingachgook, die grosse Schlange](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202832/)? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/27 "2013-10-20T01:58:27Z")
Quite a few Chinese films set in America use little or no English: Once upon a time in china and America The Chinatown kid ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/28 "2013-10-20T02:33:02Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > Does it count if an English-speaker speaks English? **The King of Hearts** is an example of this. Alan Bates’s character was a not-so-proficient English/French translator stranded in a French village. Of course the American release had English overdubs, hopelessly confusing a major plot point. That seems to be wondering off the mark. It was a French movie set in France that just had a character who spoke English. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/29 "2013-10-20T02:38:57Z")
Getting off track myself, but I watched _The Thieves_ a few months back and I could tell I was missing some of the plot. It was a Korean movie set in Macao and the story was about two groups of thieves, one Korean and one Chinese, who had to work together to rob a casino. The movie was subtitled in English but the languages used by the characters were Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and English - and there were a lot of character interactions based on what language was being spoken. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/30 "2013-10-20T03:36:44Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > There was a Nazi German version of “Titanic”, made as propaganda to show how callous the British were to the working classes. Yes, most characters were English but there were Americans, too. I’ve seen it, and it did have a lot of German immigrants in 3rd class and a heroic German First Officer & his girlfriend. Oddly the \*Strauses \* were still referenced. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/31 "2013-10-20T04:22:26Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Oddly the \*Strauses \* were still referenced. But in a twist ending it turned out they had been secretly plotting with the iceberg. “Goldberg…Iceberg…what’s the difference?” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/32 "2013-10-20T05:04:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > You think _Lederstrumpf_ sounds obscene? How about [Chingachgook, die grosse Schlange](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202832/)? 🙂 Not to mention some of the other characters in the film: Harry Hurry, Wahtawa, Gespaltene Eiche, Pfeilspitze, and Flinker Elch. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/33 "2013-10-20T05:12:01Z")
Here’s [Die Schatzinsel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UjdIkK8fsY) (Treasure Island) in German (2007). ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/34 "2013-10-20T05:23:22Z")
_Purple Noon_, 1960: a version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, in French. Alain Delon plays the American Tom Ripley. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/35 "2013-10-20T10:41:45Z")
“Killer Condom”. > **[Killer Condom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_Condom)** > > Killer Condom (original title Kondom des Grauens (English: Condom of Horror)) is a 1996 German horror comedy directed by Martin Walz. It is based on the comic books Kondom des Grauens and Bis auf die Knochen ("Down to the Bones") by Ralf König. > It was distributed in the United States by Troma Entertainment, which promoted the film at the Cannes Film Festival with the help of "a six-foot-long fanged condom". > Tagline: The rubber that rubs YOU out! > Set in the seedy parts of New York City, Killer ... It takes place in New-York City, all the chars are American, but it’s German-made and the whole cast is German-speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/36 "2013-10-20T17:35:19Z")
Some Laurel & Hardy shorts were filmed in both English and Spanish. Not just dubbed, actually filmed in both. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/37 "2013-10-20T20:31:44Z")
Just last year there was a German version of Huck Finn. [Trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTYRNZsBwrA). It was sufficiently popular that it was shown on a Lufthansa flight I was taking, and yes, it was beyond weird to see 19th century characters on the banks of the Mississippi speaking auf deutsch. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/38 "2013-10-22T01:03:59Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Well I think those people in the US that don’t rent or watch movies with subtitles are lazy. That’s just me. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are intellectually lazy, but there are good reasons to avoid subtitles in film. I dislike watching movies with subtitles. It’s not because I dislike reading. I read many things. It’s because film is a visual medium, and if I’m constantly looking down at the words I’m missing the subtleties of the scene. I watched both the American and the Swedish versions of _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_. Both fine films. But I enjoyed the American one _way_ more. The genre magnified the shortcomings of not speaking the language. Mysteries and detective stories often hinge on small details and careful examination. You have to look for the small holes in people’s stories and catch the shot that lingers just slightly too long on a clue. All of which is close to _impossible_ if you’re reading a translation at the bottom of the screen and missing all the nuances of the performance and the cinematography. ---
**Author:** ![knel3030](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@knel3030](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knel3030)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/39 "2013-10-22T01:22:17Z")
The Passion of the Christ. God is an American, isn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623/40 "2013-10-22T02:36:47Z")
In terms of anime I think the previous poster might have thought of Rose of Versailles? Also UK not US but I once saw a really weird and disturbing Dutch Alice in Wonderland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-movies-about-english-speaking-americans-filmed-in-languages-other-than-english/671623.md?page=3)