Mandarin/ Cantonese dubbing history

[odioustrident]

I have heard and read various things with no idea of what the actual details are. Say I am watching some late 80's Sammo Hung actioner on the Cantonese track; is that the actors' voices I'm hearing?

People tell me that some of these actors' voices are dubbed because they cannot speak the language in a way the producer etc.. found acceptable. I am accustomed to hearing what I think is an actor's voice, and it sounds similar in interviews, but of course who knows. Has it been a practice in the 80's or 90's to dub HK films again in their own language? I had thought that new wave HK films are in Cantonese for a Cantonese audience. Is there some article I should be reading?

[VenomsFan]

we know they filmed without sound. and the voices were dubbed later.

so the actors would speak cantonese/mandarin whatever they could speak, but the dubbing was done later.

there were professional dubbers who handled the languages in post production. in some cases the actors recorded their own voices, but that was rare.

i'm sure someone else can shed light. there is no record that Sammo Hung, for example, dubbed his own voice in post.

[Markgway]

I have heard and read various things with no idea of what the actual details are. Say I am watching some late 80's Sammo Hung actioner on the Cantonese track; is that the actors' voices I'm hearing?

Depends on the film and the actor. There's no foolproof way of guessing in advance. You just have to watch it and see.

People tell me that some of these actors' voices are dubbed because they cannot speak the language in a way the producer etc.. found acceptable.

That was more common in the 60s and 70s when Hong Kong actors struggled with Mandarin. Even though many actors could speak Mandarin their accents weren't good enough.

Has it been a practice in the 80's or 90's to dub HK films again in their own language? I had thought that new wave HK films are in Cantonese for a Cantonese audience. Is there some article I should be reading?

A majority of HK films were shot silent until the late 90s. Sometimes the actors dubbed their own vocals, sometimes not. No guarantees. But a rule of thumb is that comedic and dramatic actors were more likely to dub themselves.

[odioustrident]

That was some fast response time, thanks. Do we have any means of knowing who was dubbed in which films? I'm thinking which production companies etc...

[AbeRudder]

I know they shot silent and dubbed in later in the 80s and only some actors did their own dubs, i believe Chow Yun Fat did his own dubs, i dont think Jackie did. I believe Supercop was a turning point but im not 100% on any of this.

[Markgway]

That was some fast response time, thanks. Do we have any means of knowing who was dubbed in which films? I'm thinking which production companies etc...

No, like I said depends on the film and the actor.

I know they shot silent and dubbed in later in the 80s and only some actors did their own dubs, i believe Chow Yun Fat did his own dubs, i dont think Jackie did. I believe Supercop was a turning point but im not 100% on any of this.

Chow Yun-Fat mostly did his own dubs. Jackie never did until Supercop in 1992 and even then that was only at the insistance of Stanley Tong. The films which followed - City Hunter, Crime Story, and Drunken Master II - were post dubbed as usual. From Rumble in the Bronx (another Tong film) onward Jackie's films were sync-sound. The market had changed.

[OldPangYau]

Yeah, I always wondered about this. Wasn't there some legal action for shooting Supercop in sync sound? Like the voice actors for dubbing sued Golden Harvest or Stanley Tong? Maybe I got my info mixed up.

I know Jackie had his own voice actor for the majority of his films, at least in the Cantonese dubs. I forgot his name, but I believe he also dubbed Yuen Tak in the Cantonese track for The Master. Ironically, I felt that film was Shaw Bros' answer to Jackie's Seasonal "double feature".

[Markgway]

Don't know anything about any legal action.

AFAIK Tong just wanted his movies to appear more westernised (and bigger budgeted).

[OldPangYau]

Don't know anything about any legal action.

AFAIK Tong just wanted his movies to appear more westernised (and bigger budgeted).

Probably... after all, both Supercop and Rumble in the Bronx were Stanley Tong films, and both shot in sync sound.

Was Project S "coming soon from Dragon Dynasty: SUPERCOP 2!" I wouldn't be surprised a sync sound film? I've unfortunately never had a chance to see the original HK version, just the "Dimensionalized" version.

[Markgway]

I honestly don't remember. I saw it ten years ago.

[OldPangYau]

I honestly don't remember. I saw it ten years ago.

Looks like it was sync sound as well:

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