Top 10 Greatest German Titles for English Language Movies
Quite some time ago, I made a list about bad German titles for English-language movies, of which there are quite many, to be honest. But I thought: "Hey, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't also acknowledge when the translation job was done well." So I made this list.Before the 1990s, it was common to give every movie released in Germany a German title, as not too many people spoke English well. Many of these titles, though not all of them, had nothing to do with the original English ones and were completely independent.
When it became the norm for people to speak English, fewer and fewer movies received German titles and were instead marketed under their original names. Occasionally, movies were released with a bilingual double title. The German part was sometimes a literal translation of the English title and sometimes not. However, this trend also declined over time.
Nowadays, only two genres still frequently use German titles that differ greatly from the original: comedies and literary films. Often, the English titles of comedy movies don't indicate the genre and even sound somewhat cool. For example, "The Heat" doesn't sound like a comedy. Germans, however, expect a comedy to have a furious, chaotic, and silly title that immediately makes the humorous nature apparent.
Literary adaptations, on the other hand, are usually named after the books they are based on. For books, there is still the same norm that applied to old movies from the 1950s: the title is typically in German and often heavily differs from the original.
To be included on this list, the title must be dramatically different from the original. Slight variations don't count. For example, it's common for German titles to remove articles from movie names - "The Matrix" becomes "Matrix," "The Shining" becomes "Shining," "The Hangover" becomes "Hangover"... you get the idea.
What also doesn't count is a literal translation of the original title, such as "The Birds" becoming "Die Vögel." Similarly, bilingual double titles containing both the original and a direct translation, like "The Village - Das Dorf," are also excluded.
The title refers to the song that Charles Bronson's nameless character plays on his harmonica throughout the movie.
The movie is far more popular than the Dollar trilogy over here in German-language territory. It's the single most famous Western, one of the most famous movies ever made, and the titular song is one of the most famous movie themes, next to "Psycho," "Jaws," and "Star Wars."
The German title is adapted from the German title of the novel. The superior Swedish adaptation starring Noomi Rapace, who gives one of the best performances of the 2000s decade, also has this title. The sequels to the Swedish movie are titled "Verdammnis" ("Damnation") and "Vergebung" ("Forgiveness").
The titles all sound very mysterious and poetic, and very different from both the radically feministic Swedish titles and the Lisbeth Salander-centered English ones.
Simply put: a description of the good and evil of the world. I am not religious, but it's a great description of life - it's beautiful in and of itself, but it has disturbingly ugly sides that are hard to handle.
The German title sounds like a progressive rock album of the '70s, which sure is a good thing. It's very mystical.
Even when I praise the German titles, I always acknowledge the original English ones. Except for this one. I always thought the original title was way too direct and in-your-face, with two trigger words indicating something sinister. The German title is much more elegant and therefore more infernal. The sequel is also called "Tanz der Teufel 2," and the second sequel is "Armee der Finsternis" (a literal translation of "Army of Darkness"). The remake kept its English title.
The movie consists of five short films based on stories by O. Henry. Given the high quality of this film, I personally like the comparison to precious pearls much better than to a poker hand.
Both titles are great, as they focus on different aspects of the movie's plot. The English title refers to the movie being set in high society circles, with the press soaking up every detail about the wedding. The German title focuses more on the characters and their feelings on the very night before the wedding.
The original title has something heroic about it, something that shows that despite all the war, your comrades are important.
As I have often told you, for modern Germans, things such as honor in war don't exist. It's all about killing. Therefore, the German title is neutral and simply lets the term "soldier" spread associations.
May I say that the two titles work best in combination?
Butler's character abides by the law... but it's the law of revenge.
This is a title I didn't like at first. It sounds like a sentence, not a movie title, and also comes off as a bit childish. But it stuck with me. The way it's phrased feels honest and impulsive. You expected life to be good, but it backstabbed you.