jcutie Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I was watching the movie and at the end of the movie Ben M. refers to this movie being a take off on the Battle of Verdooon. He pronounced it like that when it's supposed to be the Battle of Verdun. I would assume most people would know that even if they aren't history majors. I'm fairly young and know about that battle. I don't know makes Ben M. sound kind of ignorant. I know R. Osborne wouldn't say that. Where is he anyways? I miss him. I don't know what they are going to do when RO retires. BM just can't hack it and doesn't have the charm or savoir faire that RO does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Well, hang in there, jcutie. I've found Ben to be, as they say, "an acquired taste", and after a few years of listening to his nasally voice, I've now become rather fond of the guy. Coincidentally, and speaking of "Paths of Glory", it was right after a TCM showing of this very movie about a year ago or so when this sudden change of heart about the Mankster seemed to come over me. Immediately following the film, Ben told how this film was banned in France for many years because he said the French thought it "shed a bad light upon their military", and THEN Ben's next sentence was, "Insert your own French Military joke here!" And so while anyone with a "tasteful" sense of humor would've probably thought that comment in "poor taste", I remember laughing out loud and thinking to myself: "Wow, Osborne sure wouldn't have had the guts to go for THAT joke here. Ya know, this Ben kid isn't half-bad AFTER all!" LOL (...btw...welcome to the boards) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heuriger Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 BM just can't hack it and doesn't have the charm or savoir faire that RO does. The cat they call Mank does not have the nimbleness nor the gravitas of dear R.O. He lacks a certain intangible quality, a certain je ne sais quoi, perhaps a chic that R.O. has in spades. Le Freak C'est Chic. C'est la vie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMadness Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Maybe he has Syria on his mind, and the ant hill won't be giving up any ants. There is a lot more to this movie than the easy way it is portrayed, sometimes tough commands have to be given and if troops look at it as a loss before they ever leave the trenches then there is no hope. Was the planning for the attack carried out correctly? Looks like there is a lot of blame to go around and Kirk was in over his head in this too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkeee Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I agree heuriger. Ben does not Nearly have the charm that R.O. has. Robert Osborne posses that unique ability of making the other person look good or as you mentioned,has that certain 'je ne sais quoi' Twink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 > I was watching the movie and at the end of the movie Ben M. refers to this movie being a take off on the Battle of Verdooon. He pronounced it like that when it's supposed to be the Battle of Verdun. I would assume most people would know that even if they aren't history majors. I would assume most people would know its pronounced with a nasal vowel, being French. Sorry, but if you're going to complain about Mankiewicz getting it wrong, then you ought to get it right yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyBackTransformer Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I agree with jcutie as most would pronounce it *Ver-Done*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 All I know is, I had an Aunt that lived in the Montreal suburb of Verdun, and she pronounced THAT as VER-dun. And I heard a recording of some British satirists doing their own version of "This Old Man"... "This old man, he played one; while in the battle of VER-DONE; with a riesling, merlot, bourgalaise and Rhone; This old man CAME ROLLING HOME!" Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 >I would assume most people would know its pronounced with a nasal vowel, being French. Well, like I said in response down there to the newbie...at least Ben always gets the "nasally" part down correctly then, RIGHT?! (...even when he's NOT speakin' French!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkeee Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 It's not just Ben. Unfortunately, R.O did not pronounce LE HARVE correctly, he was sooo far off, I cringed! Twink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hmmmm..."LE HARVE" ya say, Twink?! Wasn't that the French version of that movie about a 6 foot invisible rabbit or somethin'??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkeee Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 No, it is the name of a movie that is being shown right now on TCM. It is also the name of city on the coast of France where the Ocean Liners dock. R.O. was soo' far off, for starters, he didn't even say "LE", I couldn't quite make out WHAT he said, it was That Bad! (: Twink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 So it's NOT the French flick about that rabbit friend of Elwood P. Dowd's then ya say, huh?! (...okay, never mind then...that was just a "guess" anyway, ya know) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heuriger Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Sorry, but if you're going to complain about Mankiewicz getting it wrong, then you ought to get it right yourself. Acutally, jcutie never did pronounce the word. They simply spelled it out, so it's anybody's guess how they would pronounce it. N'est-ce pas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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