casablancalover Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Sorry to get back to the thread so late, but I have had an event-filled week. The backstory that was referred to it not unusual; it is frightening to some actors for a filming/production schedule to go too well! They prefer the tension of a production team that will keep them focused. Also, some actors (not all) will consider the problem-plagued production a good omen! They reason, I think, that if they deal with the problems early on, then the release will be smoother. Its their counter-intuitive thinking kicking in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hey, could some of you folks play close attention to Orson Welles' voice, especially during his first several scenes in this movie. A few years ago I noticed that Welles' voice seems unusually low during these segments when he is speaking. It seems to me that his audio is being played back at a slow speed, specifically to lower his voice. ---------------------- There is another part to this trick. See if anyone here notices it. If not, then I'll explain it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh yeah, I noticed too. There is some post work as well.. Maybe to recreate that drafty old mansion subtle echo sound. I think the sound is very well done and atmospheric. Love the Herrmann score too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 What post work do you hear? I'm trying to find out if other people hear what I hear, but I don't want to tell them all of what I hear. I want an objective opinion. About 15 years ago I had a tape of this film, and I played his first dialogue segments over and over again, trying to find out why his voice was so low, and how they made it low. Based on my experience at recording and playing back sound, there were several technical tricks involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Not so much that I hear it, but my son recognizes it. He does post work now.. What should I be listening for? He didn't explain it in detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Listen for Welles with an unusually low voice, like a bass opera singer. Also, watch for lip synch in the early scenes with them together. One seems synched to me, the other is not. I'm trying to remember this from 15 years ago. After it shows, I'll tell you how I think they filmed and recorded it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Henry Danielle is so evil wrapped in arrogance.. GREAT PRINT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 They are overlaying additional musical soundtracks to Herrmann's score. It is, musically speaking, overloaded with melody; not in a print I have. When the music sounds even eerier than ever, it's wasn't necessary. The melodies are competing.. I have Herrman's soundtrack. This isn't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Interesting. I don't know anything about the music of this film. -------------------- After seeing this intro, and those of other early 19th Century stories, it seems to me that most people in Europe would have had Post Traumatic Shock Disorder all the rest of their lives. Life was rough in those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Welles/Fontaine late night discussion at Thornfield is post... I can see that. Maybe they couldn't get the mics right with them both in the room, but at a distance. Some dialog has a live in a room feel, and some dialog is flat sounding. *The oboe/violin "Talking" is added, and doesn't even sound the same with Herrmann's work.* Visually good, sound is so out of it.. Disappointing to listen to musically. Love Welle's Rochester and Fontaine's Eyre so much however, I will soldier on.. Blanche is coming, and I love to hate her.. see you later for the post-op.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Ok, here's what I think happened: In the first close-ups, his voice was deeper than normal and his lips were not synched properly to his voice. But her voice was normal and she was lip synched. So, I think they first recorded him reading the lines, then they slowed down the recording a little and played it back a little slow, while he was being filmed and reading his lines again. That's why his lips don't synch up properly. Like when a singer fakes a singing of a song that is being played back on the set while they pretend to sing it. This is the only way they could lower his voice that much. Of course they could not slow down his moving image to match the slowed-down voice recording. So he had to lip synch his acting to try to synch up with the playback of his slowed-down voice recording. But her lips were synched because her recording was made at the time she was filmed. Feel free to disagree with me if you think I'm wrong. It just seems to me that Welles' voice is much deeper (lower in tone) in this film than in any of his other films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileys Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I thought they dubbed his lines in those early scenes in Thornfield, but not necessarily to deepen his voice. Maybe he was just unhappy with his delivery? Score was messed up? I didn't notice, I was too busy enjoying the lovely picture and clear sound rather than that awful copy AMC used to air. Thanks, TCM! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 actually, Fred, I have been watching my VHS print of Jane Eyre. It was released by 20th Century Fox, as far as I could tell. His voice is very deep, and the playback could've been mixed with to match the film better, but I notice on reviewing that Welles sounds like he has a cold. I am serious. His delivery isn't so deepened in other parts of the film, like his scene with Blanche when he dumps her (or rather makes her dump him) and his scenes with Jane later.. It's just a disappointing copy that TCM received for all their efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 It is a little-known fact that the madwoman in the attic is Olivia de Haviland from *The Snake Pit*. No wonder Joan - er, Jane - is dismayed upon discovering her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I thought they competed for parts. That is one h__ of a consolation role! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 If Olivia was the madwomen in the attic, Joan wouldn't of been dismayed. Instead she would of used the line Olivia used in The Heiress; *bolt the door, Maria, bolt the door!* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Point for James! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 ****! Good one. Wish I had recorded this to save (even if the soundtrack is messed up.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexx Van DYne Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Welles was overwhelming. Huge and dominating, with his voice pitched at its lowest range -- a basso profundo that is possibly the deepest voice performance by a leading actor in the history of cinema. He's unforgettable in the role, and Joan Fontaine balances it by being soft and wounded, but strong-willed. And the movie is aided immeasurably by Bernard Herrmann's score, darkly sonorous and sad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 16 hours ago, Alexx Van DYne said: Welles was overwhelming. Huge and dominating, with his voice pitched at its lowest range -- a basso profundo that is possibly the deepest voice performance by a leading actor in the history of cinema. He's unforgettable in the role, and Joan Fontaine balances it by being soft and wounded, but strong-willed. And the movie is aided immeasurably by Bernard Herrmann's score, darkly sonorous and sad. So true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronxgirl48 Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 I've always found Elizabeth Taylor's performance very moving and quite mature. "Eat your bread, Jane" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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