LANGUAGE FOR FILMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20365, 20 September 1929, Page 10

LANGUAGE FOR FILMS.

POPULARITY OF ENGLISH.

EXPERIENCE IN BERLIN.

There is a boom in things Russian jusfi now in tho Berlin film world. White Russian experts in bombs, opera house interiors and gala uniforjns are finding ample occupation in Ufa studios. Tho prettiest Russian girls and the less-de-pressing Russian themes are both eagerly sought after, and some of Germany's new releases this year will draw crowds to English and American theatres.

The Berlin correspondent of a London newspaper says:—"These pictures suit the sound film production admirably, since nobody knows Russian. In readiness for the world markets the Ufa is manufacturing English, French, German and Hungarian versions at one and the same time. On tho German attitude toward the English language should rejoico the hearts of those who have long felt English to be tho world's real Esperanto. " At ono popular picture theatre recently, when both German and American 'talkies' were offered, the management apologised that there had been no time to get the English captions translated, since the process o£ synchronisation is long and painful. An English audience might have left the theatre in disgust. Tho Germans were delighted. They proved their complete Understanding of a foreign tongue by laughing uproariously at the very bright and apt text to a travelogue. "Stress must be laid on the fact that the language was indeed English and not American, though Germans requiring lessons as often as not advertise nowadays for " lessons in American." But it looks as though any film coining from England or America will pass nowadays anywhere in Europe where the shop boy and girl spend their spare time learning English. •