No, really it is, bet you didn't expect that happen. Now can someone please find the dub for Mercenaries From Hong Kong :)
From Kung Fu Fandom Member Magicpoe based on his followup of a post from Dub Master of Fandom Bobo on a report of the English dub being listed for House of Traps at cduniverse.
Received a call back from Image this evening.
THIS IS LEGIT. THEY HAVE THE DUB AND IT WILL BE ON THE DVD. THIS IS STRAIGHT FROM AN IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT REPRESENTATIVE.
Spoke with a Mr. Thompson who apparently is overseeing these releases. He said they found the dub via the Library of Congress. Same place they sourced the dub for Intimate Confessions. All that sound familiar, it should.
If you ever had an interest in audio dubbing and the effort that goes in to it, then do we have a treat for you. It takes a lot of effort and skill, but the challenge is often part of the fun. Marin Spanic who works for NEW DVD in Germany and also dubs movies as a hobby was kind enough to talk to HK Film News about NEW and the art of audio dubbing. Also to get an understanding of the effort he puts in too dubbing older films we have two clips, one of Deadly Duo with the dub simply put over the celestial video (often used with Red Sun) and one of Marin’s dubs which show what can be obtained with cleaning up the audio and better syncing. His re-dubs are often kept among a small group of collectors to prevent Red Sun from using them for their “products”, so getting a chance to see and hear this is a nice treat. Thanks again to Marin for doing this interview with us.
Basic Info
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Age 34. Had to quit usual day job because of health reasons. Doing DVDs now fulltime since Feb 2007.
2. What was the first martial arts film you saw and when?
Mid-80s- Millionaires Express, German dub on TV.Saw it while on a very boring Vacation.I think I watched it quite a few times these Weeks. Still hooked to it, can't watch the Movie in any other Language or I'll fall asleep.
3. Growing up in Germany were you frustrated when you found out that many Kung Fu films in Germany often were cut?
Sure, but then the search for the uncut VHS Versions came up, and often they were much more unwatchable - crappy Fullscreen Dupes, whereasGerman Stuff was mostly Letterboxed...
4. What is you favorite Shaw film and Shaw director
Hard to say.I don't have a Number 1 Movie, but these rank very high: THE DUEL NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN KING BOXER
All of the 3 in GERMAN dub for me only - the dubs are the most perfect you could imagine, making the dialogues even better with actors dubbing, not crap done by the usual "But still" folks. I simply can't imagine watching these Movie in another language than the old German subs. (and I HAVE seen them all subbed and all)
New DVD’s
1. Can you describe NEW in terms of what they release and how big they are?
Not so big. Some 3 Movies every 1-3 months. Small Movies, no big studio Stuff.
2. How did you come to work for NEW?
Folks heard how good my dub stuff is I did for myself and copied [it] around for friends.Word-of-Mouth that is. They worked hard to get my number and called me...(like other folks I work [I] now for!)
3. What are your exact duties while working for NEW?
a) look for interesting movie b) look for material needed (Uncut movie? Audio options? Extras?) c) Dubbing, editing. d) Sometimes authoring when there's not much time left.
4. It surprises many non-German speakers that English dubs are often included on NEW DVDs. Why is this the case? Because I want as perfect DVDs as possible. It's not that we NEED the English Dubs in Germany. Heck, I even wrote English subs for the missing Scenes for BLACK PANTHER!
5. How does NEW get the rights to these films especially the rarer ones like Fight for Shaolin Tamo Mystique aka Lady Wu-Tang?
We get them from the German Holders. We tried to get Stuff from HK or Taiwan, but nothing could be done.We just can't find any contacts, less even get over there to make some deals. We would LOVE to get someof the obviously remastered First Films Stuff.
6. What elements do you often receive from the rights owners?
The only thing we get is - at best - a German cinema print, which is of course more often than not cut. So lots of workis to be done 'till it's ready for release.
7. What are some of the latest releases and upcoming NEW DVDs that you think our readers may be interested in?
(all titles will be Widescreen 2.35 and German Language; further dub Options with the title)
THE EIGHT MASTERS (Cut, with windowboxed Inserts) (Mandarin, English)
Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue (cut, with 2.10 Widescreen Inserts) / 2 German Dubs (Mandarin, English)
I am also working for another Company at DESPERATE CHASE (BLOOD OF THE DRAGON) (2x English Dubs, Mandarin)
I am also working on LEGEND OF THE WOLF for the MIG Filmgroup, SKY HIGH, and other Stuff. Too much to round up here!
8. Has NEW had any trouble releasing films uncut from the German Censor Boards?
We don't issue films to the censor boards, so there are no problems.
If we DID, we would have no problems these Days to get an uncut 18, but it costs a lot. We ARE doing it for stuff like LEGEND OF THE WOLF, and that stuff gets no Problems these days.
Audio Dubbing
1. What is the process of adding additional language options to a film for a DVD release?
Well, it's best you have an UNCUT Print in English or Chinese. Then you can dub that onto the cut German print to see what's exactly missing. Note that down and you know if and what and where to insert later.
2. How do you attempt to clean up the audio and remove hiss, crackels, and other imperfections?
Use Noise Reduction Filters from Sonic and Adobe. Works pretty well, most annoying is some low hum and buzz. These always have to go. Remove hiss only when the audio is not disturbed too much. Tape and 35mm Print crackle should be removed also.
3. What did the Netherlands seems to get a large amount of Shaw Brothers films released in English?
All their Shaws on Video were in English; it seems to me that ALL Shaws sold worldwide outside of Asia were the English Dubs back then.
4. With the criticism by many that Kung Fu dubs never match the lip movements, how do you go about trying to sync the dubs (German or English)
German Cinema dubs are often better synched than even the Mandarin Stuff. They are normally no problem. As for the usually crappy English dubs, just make it fit. For a seasoned pro this is no problem at all. Never compare to the Original out-of-synch dub, but use your own wit and intelligence.
5. What was the hardest audio project you had to do?
Pick any Celestial Frame-Cut Mess. If you don't notice any lags, it's well worth the work. The best thing an Audience can say to you is, "I noticed no problems with the audio", even when you have to work DAYS to make it perfect.Look at that REDSUN Crap. They can't even synch the most simple stuff correctly, and still they sell that crap in tons. When I stumble upon this stuff I see/hear all the amateurish faults done on all aspects of these boots. Pathetic.
6. Any dream films you would love to work with?
Tell me- what's a greater Dream than what I do NOW? making DVDs of "KARATE-MOVIES" and "Horror-Stuff" you loved as a Kid? Can it get ANY better?I can do Perfect DVDs of Movies I like and thats for a living... not many have even such a "Dream-Come-True" I think.
Another Shaw film turning up on UK TV with a dub and one of the clearest sounding ones ever, which indicates that it most likely has been re-mastered. Thanks to tigerstyles at kung fu fandom.
Big thanks to tigerstyles over at Kung Fu Fandom for posting this exclusive clip of Killer Clans dubbed in English that recently aired on UK Gold 2 TV.
According to various reports both on kung fu fandom and flashlegs rare forum, the recent playing of Killer Clans on UK Gold 2 was dubbed in English. Futhermore, the English dubbing was not new, but an original dub done during the first release of the film. Killer Clans was a film that while appearing on rumoured dub lists that have circulated in fandom, to the best of anyones knowledge have never been released anywhere on homevideo (legally or illegally). Coming up in about two weeks on UK Gold 2 is Spiritual Boxer which should also been an old school dub (as records of it were found in the Library of Congress). Anyone else hoping House of Traps comes up soon?
Big thanks to tigerstles, ironfistedmonk 2003, markgyway
Sorry, for the lack of any updates recently, but I was out of town. So if you wrote me an email, I haven't been able to go through them until today. However, look forward to a big week coming up with screencaps and reviews of Crash Cinema's latest releases plus more!
Big thanks out to a whole bevy of KFF fandom posters (if I miss anyone email me):Tigerstyles, Monkey King, Ninja Sinai, Kermit, and Linn. http://tinyurl.com/2hmvrl
Now if you hate English dubs (and that's cool) just skip this post. You'll find something good today, I promise.
Recently Shaw Brothers films have started playing on the pay UK Gold TV service in the United Kingdom. Now this in itself is nothing extraordinary, or that 36th Chamber of Shaolin played with an English dub track. What is extraordinary is that the dub track was apparently remastered and sounded better then a recent Image release of Legendary Weapons of China which apparently had hiss and noise present on it. Image apparently didn't have any option to have remastered English language audio tracks, which makes one wonder who decided to do this. Now it is entirely possible that Celesital has decided to do this to increase the marketability, but it should be noted that 36th Chamber of Shaolin is owned by Dragon Dynasty, which means we will not only be getting old school English dubs, but maybe ones cleaned up and in mono, which will make listening to them an entirely new experience.
The second and even better part of this story is that in response to an email to UK Gold, a poster was told that all films would be dubbed in English (which I know must be pissing someone off, but like I said just ignore this update) and would be a entire film series of Shaw films. Two of the know titles would be KILLER CLANS and SPIRITUAL BOXER. While a dub apparently exists for Spiritual Boxer in the Library of Congress and most likely with Celestial, Killer Clans was never th0ught to be dubbed (and no proof has surfaced previously). Now there is a chance that this a new dub similar to one that appeared on the Australian Siren releases so until we have confirmation we shouldn't go completely nuts, but we will not in the next couple of days when Killer Clans airs this Friday in the United Kingdom. Still this could be a very good Shaw Brothers weekend for dub fans!