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MaiGhost
Reviews
The Birdcage (1996)
An absolute hoot
One of my all time favourites. The first time I saw it we were laughing so much we raised a friend out of her sickbed and watched it again back to back so she could see what all the fuss was about. It was every bit as enjoyable the second time.
I have introduced the film to several people since and never tire of it. Beautifully pitched performances doing justice to a lovely piece of writing.
Some prefer the 1978 original which I saw yesterday and did not really enjoy. It seems a strange word to use about the Birdcage but my feeling is that there is a subtlety to it which the 1978 La Cage aux Folles version lacks that brings out the charm and humour of the writing. (It could be that it was dubbing of the 1978 version that marred it for me).
La Cage aux folles (1978)
Spoiled by dubbing?
The remake "the Birdcage" is one of my favourite films. I first watched it with pals while one of our friends was in bed with migraine. Just after we finished watching it she left her sickbed to see what we were laughing about so much. So that she didn't feel left out we watched it again straight away and laughed even more. I have watched it again several times and always enjoy it.
Yesterday I watched La Cage Aux Folles. This was on Netflix and had English dubbing. It often seemed stilted and flat. At times some of the characters came across as uncomfortably angry rather than comedy angry. I have wanted to watch the original for a long time as it is so well spoken of. I can only conclude that the dubbing must have robbed the film of its soul.