With respect to dubbing in Italian film, it should be noted that virtually all voices in Italian film (including those destined for exclusively Italian audiences) until very recently were post-recorded and dubbed (into Italian as well as other languages where necessary) rather than recorded directly. Italian law mandated that foreign film releases in Italy had to have Italian involvement, which was specifically implemented to create a "dubbing industry." Many "voice actors" became well-known for their work and were strongly identified with the characters they "voiced" (i.e., the guys who were the voices of "Stanlio" and "Olio" in the Laurel and Hardy sound films (and dubbed silents also, when those films were rereleased in the sound era). We may find their voices disturbingly different from those English voices that we know, but they are an important part of Italian popular memory. Fellini was hardly the only one to "play" with the phenomenon of post-dubbing. Godard's Le Mepris certainly foregrounds the issues of originality and translation, and creates an ambient that is often impossible to fully translate by either dubbing or subtitling. European film-making, especially in the post WWII era of co-productions, has had to contend with the reality of films that would be released in several participating countries, each with a different language. International co-productions often have to accept post-dubbing as the economic and political result of the financing process. But on a simpler level, even in a typical "spaghetti" western (with a cast that might include several Italians, a Swede, an American, a German and any number of Spanish actors) there is little possibility of making an Italian language version wherein each actor speaks Italian fluently (without accent, or in specific dialects) without dialogue replacement. And since the dialogue will have to be replaced in every language in which the film will be shown (dubbing being the most accepted form of translation among popular audiences internationally), there isn't much point in worrying about what any actor was saying in any language (including Italian) on the set. Thus, the famous "counting" which has been previously cited in these exchanges, and other colorful apocryphal tales about what actors and actresses may have said to one another during the takes of the film. This lack of a single "original" soundtrack (as opposed to a variety of equally valid tracks) clearly presents technical and aesthetic problems for film preservation. ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]