Multiple-language version: Difference between revisions

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|caption2=[[Dracula (1931 Spanish-language film)|''Dracula'' (1931 Spanish-language film)]]

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A '''multiple-language version film''' (often abbreviated to '''MLV''') or '''foreign language version''', is a film, especially from the early talkie era, produced in several different languages for international markets.<ref>Period literature always refer to these films as '''foreign language versions'''. [[International Sound Version]]s, in which dialogue portions of talking films were replaced with intertitles and synchronized music for export to goreign markets are often referred to as a '''foreign sound version'''.</ref> To offset the marketing restrictions of making sound films in only one language, it became common practice for American and European studios to produce foreign-language versions of their films using the same sets, crew, costumes, etc but often with different actors fluent in each language. The plot was sometimes adjusted with new or removed scenes and script alterations .<ref>[http://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/the-multiple-language-version-film-a-curious-moment-in-cinema-history "The Multiple-Language Version Film: A Curious Moment in Cinema History"] at [http://www.brentonfilm.com/ BrentonFilm.com] retrieved 7 July 2015</ref> The first foreign-language versions appeared in 1929 and largely replaced the [[International Sound Version]] method for many major releases. The most common languages used for these productions were English, Spanish, French and German.

The idea of whether these were different / recut versions of the same film or separate films in their own right is open to debate and interpretation by the viewer. Filming in different years could be used as the basis for this as clearly two versions of a film 10 years apart are considered separate films. However, ''The Tunnel'' was filmed three times (1933 Germany, 1933 France, 1935 England) with two in the same year and another 2 years apart making the determination difficult for these cases.

[[Musical film|Musicals]] in particular proliferated during the early talkie era, partially because between-song, plot-driven narration could often be easily replaced with [[intertitle]]s or, as in the case with MLVs, be reshot using local actors. Numerous internationally renowned artists worked on MLVs, some repeatedly. Many are still widely known to modern audiences, including [[Marlene Dietrich]], [[Greta Garbo]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]], [[Buster Keaton]], [[Fritz Lang]] and [[John Wayne]]. [[Hal Roach]] was a great proponent of MLVs and an early adopter of the practice. Within a two-year period between 1929 and 1931 he oversaw the production of many of them for his top acts, including [[Laurel and Hardy]], [[Charley Chase]], [[Harry Langdon]] and [[Our Gang]].