“The Naked Gun” becomes “The Gun Died Laughing”
“George of the Jungle”… “The Jungle Died Laughing”
“BASEketball”…any guesses? You guessed it…“Falafel Man, Put Away Your Chest Hair”
“Hey, Dudu, this is lost in translation.
NO, I MEAN YOUR TRANSLATION IS LOST IN TRANSLATION!”
Look, how are you supposed to translate slang like “Knocked Up” into another language? Translators don’t have it easy and that’s where I come along. Starting now, I will be translating movie titles on this blog on a volunteer basis so they can be more easily understood by an Israeli audience. If you have any of your own, email them to me and I’ll post my favorites under the new category “Israeli Movie Titles”. Here are a few to get the party started, including the one from the aforementioned post.
- A lawyer is unable to tell a lie, causing him to be brutally honest with everyone around him. In America, this movie is called “Liar Liar”. In Israel, “Tuesday”.
- A look into racism, car accidents, and anger on the roads. In America, “Crash”. In Israel, “The Ayalon Freeway”.
- Chaos reigns supreme as beachgoers are terrorized and fear for their safety. In America, “Jaws.” In Israel, “Arsim.”
- A middle-aged man tries desperately to find love for the first time. In America, “The 40 Year Old Virgin”. In Israel, “One Ugly Chassid.”
- And just in case anyone thinks the previous title was anti-religious… A man eats nothing but fast-food for 30 days. In America, “Supersize Me.” In Israel, “American Tourist.” (Just so it’s clear that I don’t mean every chassid nor every American. Ok, I mean every American. At least the teenage ones.)
“Mah zeh two thahmbs up???
MAH ZEH??????”
Email me your movie titles and see you at the theater!
I know it’s not a movie title, but my favorite was a billboard for Colon Dishwashing Soap. Lest you think it was for some bizarre enema product designed for the Israeli market, it was a sweet smelling product that should have been spelled “Cologne” in English.
And you mustn’t forget Israeli slang when translated directly into English is one step above nonsense. I would give you some examples, but the only stuff I know is not repeatable in mixed company.
I just hope that this topic gives you enough material to host a webpage exclusively for funny language terms–in competition with the other one that shall remain nameless here so as not to be competition for you. (I know, I’m so nice.) That site is enough to get me laughing to the point of tears and not being able to breathe.
Ooh, ooh, I have some.. thanks to being bored in Ulpan, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now:
A darker-skinned girl from a big, loud family steeped in their former homeland’s traditions marries an only-child white man.
America: My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Israel: My Big Fat Mizrachi Mess
Twelve men on a jury have to come to a unanimous decision in a murder trial.
America: Twelve Angry Men
Israel: Mission: Impossible
A womanizing, alcoholic congressman finagles rich people and lawmakers to donate more and more money toward a clandestine war in Afganistan.
America: Charlie Wilson’s War
Israel: A Day in Life of the Mossad
A woman tries to become the best in a career that is based entirely in physical prowess and is wholly dominated by men.
America: Million Dollar Baby
Israel: Wishful Thinking
A young girl finds herself whisked by an odd phenomenon of nature, going on a long journey that ends with her clicking her heels and saying, “There’s no place like home.”
America: Wizard of Oz
Israel” Nefesh b’Nefesh Propaganda Film #2,145 (with all references to “Kansas” blanked out and “Yisrael” inserted instead, though, of course.)
A movie that has the tagline, “A kid that was in trouble before he was born.”
America: Back to the Future
Israel: Mizrachi Kid
Army troopers need to save a fellow soldier who is behind enemy lines.
America: Saving Private Ryan
Israel: A Day in the Life of Tzahal
Not a movie, but TV show:
A doctor who hates dealing with his patients lets his assistants do the work while he takes all the glory.
America: House
Israel: Any Beit Holim
Nothing to do with the content of the film, just the title:
America: All Quiet on the Western Front
Israel: Opposite Day in Gaza
Some are funnier than others, I admit. But that’s all I got for now. I might come up with more eventually… but I have a break from Ulpan for 2 weeks for spring break/Pesach, so maybe not for a little bit.
Omig-d, Raean, please email me at the address in my Blogger profile. Some of those were HILARIOUS!
A man stuck in traffic and frustrated wtih his life takes out his aggression in a spree of vigilante justice.
English title : Falling down.
Hebrew title : Hu Lo Friar
Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore move into a strange apartment, which is overpriced, falling apart, and the landlord is a lunatic.
English Title : Duplex
Hebrew Title : Tel Aviv
A bunch of college-students run around for 10 days getting drunk and having sex with everyone.
English Title : Spring Break
Hebrew Title : Taglit
-Tal
A man dressed as a bat terrorizes the criminal element and takes on a partner named ‘Robin’ who also wears a mask.
English title : Batman
Hebrew Title : Purim Retzini (Serious Purim)
Two planes crash into the Twin Towers. A story of heroism and endurance… tragedy and unity.
English title : World Trade Center
Hebrew title : Boker Tov!!
A man trying to protect his family becomes a crime kingpin responsible for all of organized crime in the country.
English title : The Godfather
Hebrew title : Saba
People have illegal races on highways. Scantily clad girls cheer on their boyfriends with fancy rims on their cars and flashy jewlery. Cops get involved.
English title : The Fast and the Furios
Hebrew title : Jaffa on a Friday night, or Look at ME Motek!
Highschool seniors plan to lose their virginity by the end of their last year of high-school.
English title : American Pie
Hebrew title : America Zayin in Uga
-Tal
You kind of look like the skinny one. Which one was that? Roeper? Is that an insult???
Hey, he was a good critic too!
Got another movie…
Combat veteran has trouble re-aclimating to civilian life, goes crazy, and ends up running around south-east Asia for a few months.
English title – “Rambo 2″ (and now 4 also)
Hebrew title – “Every Israeli Must do this After the Army”
-Tal
A police officer can’t get his driving license, so he is forced to use a taxi for work. The ensuing adventures are comedic and exciting.
English title “Taxi”
Hebrew title “Ain Rishayon? Ain Ba’aya!”
-tal
Extremist terrorists use a nuclear weapon to start a world war.
English title “The Sum of All Fears”
Hebrew title “oy va voy”
A man is wandering in Tokyo. A story of self-discovery and friendship.
English title “Lost in Translation”
Hebrew title “Lost in a weird city”
-tal