by Rico V.
Member since:
March 28, 2007

SPANISH: Movie titles (week of 23 July 2007)

July 24, 2007 04:25 PM EDT
views: 1379 | comments: 18

When American films are played in non-English speaking markets, the titles are often translated into the local language(s). And these translations can be VERY different from the English version. Reasons for this: the original title is an idiom and doesn't translate well, or cultural differences make the English title not as appealing to the local market.

Here are a few such titles -- keep in mind that some films have several Spanish titles, as each market may have it's own translation (titles used in Spain are often different from those used in many Latin American markets). Please add your own to this list if you have any good ones.

13 Going on 30 = Si Tuviera 30, which means, "If I were 30"

 

About Schmidt = Las Confesiones del Sr. Schmidt, which means, "The Confessions of Mr. Schmidt"

 

All the Pretty Horses = Espíritu Salvaje, which means, "Savage Spirit"

 

Along Came a Spider = La Telaraña, which means, "The Spiderweb"

 

Bad Santa = Un Santa No Tan Santo, which means, "A Santa not so Holy" or “A Santa not a Saint” ... Great play on words in this Spanish title.

 
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Comments: 18

Dorine H. Jul 24, 2007, 4:36pm EDT
I enjoy reading the subtitles in one language I know while listening to the dialogue in the other. I often find the subtitles quite wanting. In Spanish especially, a lot of the humor seems to disappear when the subtitles are in English. Some 20+ years ago I went to see _El Norte_, in Spanish with English subtitles, siddenly to be made aware that several times I was the only person in the audience laughing. I'd appreciated something humorous in Spanish that simply wasn't there in the subtitles.
Rico V. Jul 24, 2007, 4:49pm EDT
That's right Dorine! It's fun to get it in both languages. And I've seen a lot of translation mistakes in film subtitles -- so there's nothing like the real thing if you can understand the language.
always fun... thanks.
~*Jackie Ferrari*~ Jul 24, 2007, 5:43pm EDT
When I read your title to this article, I thought of ~Like Water For Chocolate~but I don't think the translation is odd~right?

Anyway....good article.

:)
Jackie
Jared G. Jul 24, 2007, 5:51pm EDT
Que bueno!
James A. Jul 24, 2007, 6:58pm EDT
I've seen the same thing in music. Ricky Martin's La Vida Loca is much different in Spanish than in English!
Machiavelli Dayupay Jul 24, 2007, 7:05pm EDT
Espirito tuviera santo por DIOS...
vickie f. Jul 24, 2007, 7:16pm EDT
Thank you
Rico V. Jul 24, 2007, 9:18pm EDT
Remember One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? I've seen it marketed with two Spanish titles: ATRAPADO SIN SALIDA ("Trapped Without a Way Out") and just SIN SALIDA ("Without a Way Out" or "No exit")
Diana Raabe Jul 25, 2007, 10:32am EDT
Is "The Sea Inside" translated directly from "El Mar Adentro?"
Rico V. Jul 25, 2007, 10:59am EDT
Diana: I loved "The Sea Inside!" I believe the film was originally shot and released in Spanish, right? I don't even remember if I saw it in English or Spanish, but the Spanish version is "Mar adentro." Javier Bardem is great! I love his films.
Arnaldo Mariano S. Jul 25, 2007, 11:04am EDT
It is a serious problem. When I go to the video club for renting movies, I sometimes get confused because the box says a tittle in spanish and the original title is very different. In some cases I've found more than 2 boxes, differente titles in spanish, different covers but the same movie. I have ocassionaly rented the same movie twice! So now I have to read the full description of the box.

Another issue is the translation for music: When I bought Roxette's cd "Baladas en español" I was very dissapointed because the beautiful original lyrics in english were DESTROYED by the translator, who is Luis G Escolar, a very well-known translator. It seems he didn't take the translation seriously.

Some examples:

I don't want to get hurt -> Quiero ser como tu (I wanna be like you)
Fading like a flower -> Soy una mujer (I'm a woman)
Listen to your heart -> Habla el corazon (The heart speaks)
Diana Raabe Jul 25, 2007, 12:33pm EDT
Yes, we have the dvd in Spanish - great movie!
Tina Coruth Jul 25, 2007, 9:30pm EDT
I enjoyed reading these movie titles in English and Spanish. I hadn't thought about the problems with idioms or cultural reasons that would make a title either unclear or unappealing. Now that I've read your article, I can see how that could be a problem. I also smiled when I read the "Un Santa No Tan Santo" - yes, a wonderful play on words!
Rico V. Jul 26, 2007, 8:40pm EDT
Ah, Daniela! Yes, I've seen "Lost in Translation" as "Perdido en Japon" (Lost in Japan)... perhaps that was the version in Spain? Either way, it's always a guessing game. They should always show the original title, in the original language, somewhere on the package that you rent or buy, or on the ads or listing if you go to the movie theatre.

Daniela: Could you give us some of the Spanish titles in Argentina of Jim Carrey films? Like "Me, Myself and Irene," "Liar Liar," and others -- I remember seeing posters of Jim Carrey films when they opened in Buenos Aires, and thinking that the titles had interesting translations.
James A. Jul 27, 2007, 9:18pm EDT
For "Liar, Liar," I think a Spanish translation to "Mal dicho doble" would be very funny!
helo
10*
Great that you are doing this for the folks who want to learn, thank you
God Bless
dee-dee
jacek g Sep 9, 2008, 4:00pm EDT
Hi,
Does anyone know of a web sight that lists movies with their original english titles with their new spanish titles. I'm in south america for a month and I wanted to read reviews (in english) of the movies showing here before seeing them. I must resort to googling an actor's name and trying to figure it out which movie it is. Excruciatingly time consuming! Ayudame compadres.

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