comment #1

Dr. Smith says ...

Look at those frowns. This is one damn serious movie, yo.

comment #2

nemo says ...

I watched Frankenheimer's The Train again this past weekend with some friends who had never seen it before. All in English. I found myself much more conscious of the accents this time.

The Germans (mostly German actors, headed by British actor Paul Scofield) all spoke English with a slight German accent. The French (mostly French actors, headed by American Burt Lancaster) spoke with an indeterminate, vaguely American-sounding accent, but softened so much it could be from anywhere. Some French characters sounded more American, some more French. I suspect that some of the French actors had been dubbed into English (definitely Michel Simon).

It seemed to work to distinguish the Germans as invaders in France. But you had no indication of when the Germans where speaking "German" among themselves and when they were speaking "French" with a German accent. This caused confusion in one scene where a German spoke "German" English in front of a French character, who obviously didn't understand, even though both characters had been speaking "French" English a minute earlier.

I'd guess the most important thing is that Cruise's accent (like Lancaster's in The Train) had better not stick out as drastically different from other accents.

comment #3

Ian Sinclair says ...

Burt Lancaster had perfect diction, which is why his accent passed muster.

comment #4

York "Budd" Durden says ...

I heard they were dubbing in Max Von Sydow for Cruise's real voice in this. Problem solved.

comment #5

dcc77 says ...

Max Von Sydow is Swedish, not German, so his "German" accent would only be an educated imitation as well. I've known a few Swedes and I'm sure they'd be dismayed to have their finest living actor referred to as German.

comment #6

Dirty Harry says ...

Lancaster was great in that film. I loved how he repressed all his Lancaster-ness and let it work below the surface through action. Brilliant film.

The key to a successful screen accent is consistency and naturalness. Costner was too self-conscious in Robin Hood (and every other attempt). Same with Little Leo in Blood Diamond and Meryl in Rendition.

Just speaking normally is better than straining with an accent. And if the script's written with the proper cadence of that particular language it does most of the work -- which is why Lancaster's perfect diction -- as Sinclair pointed out -- pulls it off.

If the audience doesn't notice the accent, you've won. Mystic River's accents=awful. Gone Baby Gone=great because I didn't even think about them until I was writing my review. No accents would've been the better choice for MR.

comment #7

carla kolchak says ...

Based on his demonstrated lack of facility with accents, I would prefer it if Cruise didn't attempt one ever again. I have more faith in my own ability to suspend disbelief and accept more than one accent from a group of actors portraying the same nationality. I think I'll have a tougher time stifling my snickers over the eye patch than over anything else.

comment #8

Rich S. says ...

In honor of Halloween, I popped in Bram Stoker's Dracula the other night. I had forgotten just how horrible Winona and Keanu were in that film. It was only made worse by the fact that every major character in the movie who was supposed to be British was British, except for them. Truly glaring.

comment #9

bmcintire says ...

They've put up a featurette on Apple.com that looks like a glorified place-holder for the trailer once it launches. I will say, Cruise does have a striking resemblance to the man he is portraying.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/valkyrie/

comment #10

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Durden to dcc77: No shit, Sherlock. Maybe that was part of the joke--it still wouldn't be the right accent.

Picture some nimrod executive saying, oh, hell, Swedish, German, they'll never know the difference in Des Moines.

comment #11

bachelorcool says ...

What happened to the nice red buttons they were all wearing the last time this photo was posted?

comment #12

Rich S. says ...

The trailer is up and linked on AICN. It looks excellent, with the exception of Cruise, who appears to be giving the same smug, self-satisfied performance he usually gives. I seriously doubt a man planning the assassination of Adolph Hitler would do most of his plotting with a smirk and one-liners.