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How do?

Another random one, spinning off from a conversation on another website.

See, when I was a kid, it wasn't at all uncommon for swearing in films to be dubbed over when airing on terrestrial tv.

Most of the time, it was pretty ludicrous - memorable ones included 'f-damn, monkey-feather, mother-father, melon-farmer and money-fondler'. All I suppose could be construed as insults, but the dubbing was so obvious as to be laughable.

But then, just once in a while, I find the dubbing of a more innocent word actually embellishes and improves the scene. Best example? Paul Verhoven's Robocop. Oh boy, to get that on our screens it was cut to absolute ribbons. Indeed it wouldn't be until much later in life that I found several scenes entirely new, or much extended.

For reasons I'm sure you can guess, one which suffered was Murphy getting all shot up by Bodicker's gang. Very little graphic violence - just lots of guns going off. Now I don't mind gore one little bit - but here the implication served well enough. The one thing that did improve that scene? A line of Bodicker's was changed to 'I bet that really ticks you off'.

Now that line...for me, it makes the ensuring cavalcade of gunfire all the more chilling. It's as if Clarence Bodicker is completely at ease with outrageous acts of violence, but doesn't like Naughty Words. The word being substituted makes narrative sense - the sweary meaning the same thing in the same context. Another take is that by not swearing, something traditionally associated with frustration, Bodicker is showing he's merely mildly inconvenienced, and knows he's got nothing to worry about, so can do what he wants.

I've no idea if it was some BBC/ITV busybody that made that switch, or if it was a Studio Endorsed sanitation of the scene. But it really does work!

But what about you? Do you have any memories of curious dubbing choices?

I remember when some movies actually had alternate scenes filmed to remove the swearing. Ghostbusters is the biggest one I remember, growing up with a videotaped copy of the TV version meant it was a bit of a surprise to hear the "dickless" line from the DVD years ago.

"Do The Right Thing" - a challenge indeed to show on 'free TV' - had the classic MF'er changed to "Mickey Fickey", IIRC?

(Which I'm probably not?)

I always laugh more when stuff is just literally 'beeped out' - I think South Park is way funnier like that than vs. hearing the actual swears!

It was that Ghostbusters 'Dickless' scene change that I thought of, too.

"Forget you" was a favorite.

And then there's the end of Falling Down. That was the opposite.

This one is a cracker.

'Leslie Tiller was funking murdered!'

Don't know if this version was ever actually shown, or just done as a joke, but it's every bit as funny as the original.

It's hard to top "This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!"


Starship Troopers had a line that was never actually swearing, but sounded like it was. One of the marines goes nuts shooting a bug and screams, "You funky sucking sack of maggot puke!"

I'll always have fond memories of Tupac screaming "You ain't the motherlover no more! I'm the mother lover now!" in the TV version of Above The Rim.

I've seen a few funny bad swear dubovers on Youtube. One of them is Samuel L. Jackson in Snakes on a Plane. He says, "Enough is enough! I have had it with these monkey-fightin' snakes on this Monday-Friday plane!"

Probably the best one is Die Hard 2, though. So many bad dubovers and a bad impersonation of Bruce Willis' voice for those dubovers. In fact, I'll just leave this here:

Was just discussing this with the wife the other day. We agreed "Bull Flipping Spit" was our favourite.

That impression.....just....wow.

Sounds more like Mr T to my ears!

I do miss that era though. Was an occasional treat to discover the uncut versions years later.

Spesh Conan. Original I saw had a much reduced crucifixion scene, and Thulsa Doom's death was around three seconds long!

I remember being surprised just how much swearing was in Aliens when I finally saw a non-taped from TV version many years later.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I remember being surprised just how much swearing was in Aliens when I finally saw a non-taped from TV version many years later.

The UK telly version of Aliens had one the best dubs ever when Vasquez inexplicable turns very English whilst suggesting Nerve gassing the hive, its not so much the words as the sudden switch to Queens English RP

Harry Enfields 'ruined for TV' Goodfella's sketch kind of summed it up so well

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Harry Enfields 'ruined for TV' Goodfella's sketch kind of summed it up so well

'Did you fun my wife?'

I used to go out of my way to watch Die Hard movies on TV just to see what they did to "Yippee Ki-Yay". "My friend" was pretty popular and I remember at least one instance of "Meeeesta Falcon".

I'm pretty sure the practice largely stopped after Snakes on a Plane though. That one just took the whole concept to its logical extreme.

Snakes on a Plane for me as well. Samuel L. Jackson is just so constantly intense that I think just about anything he says comes out hilariously XD

I have a soft spot for the TV dub of Moron in the cross eyed gunner scene in Space Balls, I always felt it sounded more like somthing that could actualy have been an unfortunate name.
However I always enjoy the early 90's ads in my old home recorded copy as if they are a part of the movie as well.

The Die Hard movies definitely took the biscuit on this one.
I remember ITV (a UK channel) used to butcher them to bits

 Necroagogo wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Harry Enfields 'ruined for TV' Goodfella's sketch kind of summed it up so well

'Did you fun my wife?'

I never funned your wife you cake sucking earhole

Some of my favorites were Judas Priest instead of JC, Shut the Front Door instead of STFU, and Flip you.

I personally think over the top and obvious censoring used for comedic effect is better.

https://youtu.be/czAlG9oEaGw?t=553