During my travels some friends and I found ourselves in Croatia, and on this particular day, unmotivated, we visited the cinema to watch ‘The Very Bad Trip – Part II’ – that is – The Hangover Part II. It puzzled me then and it puzzles me still, who decides on the sometimes very special movie titles when they’re translated into different languages. I’ve come across many more in Austria, so here are some of my favourites – and I’ll translate them literally so you can enjoy them the same way I do.
Versprochen ist Versprochen
This translates to – promised is promised – can you guess the movie? No? This is a famous Christmas movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger – Jingle all the Way. Get it? No? Me neither.
Das Perfekte Verbrechen
This translates to – the perfect crime – and actually makes sense in terms of what the movie is about. But the English name is completely different – Fracture.
Bridget Jones – Shokolade zum Frühstück
Now you know this is a Bridget Jones movie, but can you guess which one? Because this translates to – Bridget Jones, chocolate for breakfast. So of course it is – Bridget Jones’ Diary.
Ein Zwilling kommt selden allein
This translates to – a twin seldom comes alone – which is very odd, when this is that delightful comedy starring a young Lindsay Lohan – Parent Trap.
Mein Partner mit der kalten Schnauze
I guess you can make out half of this, but the rest? It translates to – my partner with the cold snout – which is of course – K9 – the police detective movie starring James Belushi… along with his evidently cold-snouted partner!
Der Soldat James Ryan
You can probably work this out… but this simply translates to – the Soldier James Ryan. Nothing about saving him!
Sie liebt ihn, sie liebt ihn nicht
This translates to – she loves him, she loves him not. And what movie would that be? Of course it is – Sliding Doors – starring Gwenyth Paltrow.
Doppelmord
This one is close… but translates to – double murder – rather than – Double Jeopardy. The strange thing I find about this one is that in the movie they actually use the words Double Jeopardy, just not in the title.
Schweinchen Babe
So I’m not really sure why they had to add ‘piglet’ to this title, when Babe would have sufficed.
Durchgeknallt
This means – to be crazy – which is kind of right since the movie is about a crazy person. This one is – Girl, Interupted.
Eine Hochzeit zum Verlieben
This one isn’t entirely clear to me what the correct translation is, but it is something like – falling in love at a wedding – which is almost but not entirely the same as – The Wedding Singer
I hope you had a good laugh!
an aussie in austria 