Added by Nebula on 31 Jul 2009 09:45

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Lost in Translation: Portuguese Titles

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Decade: Rating: List Type:

1769

7.6

Planet of the Apes (1968)

PT: "O Homem que Veio do Futuro" - "The Man That Came from the Future" Okay... so whoever did that must have been really wasted. WTF?! When Tim Burton's came out, the translation, gladly, was different, a litteral one, like that:
BR: "O Planeta dos Macacos" - "The Planet of the Apes"

637

7.9

7.7

Down by Law (1986)

PT: "Vencidos pela Lei" - something like "Defeated by (the) Law", so, a suiting translation.
BR: "Daunbailó" - Ok, I just found out, and I just can't believe this is true (but it is). They made a portuguese phonetic transliteration of the english title "Down By Law"... Really... I mean... really?!!

294

6.1

6.4

The Man with Two Brains (1983) (1983)

PT: "O Homem dos Dois Cérebros" - "The Man 'of the' Two Brains"
BR: "O Médico Erótico" - "The Erotic Doctor" hahah!

775

5.6

6.1

Teen Wolf (1985)

PT: "Lobijovem" - well, clever translation: "Werewolf" in portuguese is "Lobisomem" Lobi + Homem (man), so here they made it Lobi + Jovem (which means young[man], a teen in this case)
BR: "O Garoto do Futuro" - "The boy from the future" Okaay, so it seems they didn't get over the "Back From The Future" series.

6382

8.7

9.2

The Godfather (1972)

PT: "O Padrinho" - it means, exactly, "The Godfather"
BR: "O Poderoso Chefão" - I feel that there is no good way to describe how ridiculous this sounds, but, what it means is "The powerful big boss"...

1288

7.1

Sixteen Candles (1984)

PT: "16 Primaveras" - "16 Springs", a good translation, since we can really use that term, instead of 16 years, 16 springs, and fits in with the film.
BR: "Gatinhas e Gatões" - man, I can't even explain this....

let's say... 'Cuties [girls] and Hotties [guys]' would be near the meaning

2241

Annie Hall (1977)

PT: "Annie Hall" - just fine, the same
BR: "Noivo neurótico, noiva nervosa" - well the words noivo/noiva mean groom/bride or fiance/fiancée, and *may* mean, in a *more informal way* in brazil, boyfriend/girlfriend; that said, and using the last ones (as the others just plain don't make sense) "Annie Hall" is "Neurotic boyfriend, nervous girlfriend"

Nebula's rating:

4979

7.6

7.8

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

PT: "Uma Família à Beira de um Ataque de Nervos" - "A Family on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (an obvious "reference" to the Almodovar film title "Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios"...)
BR: "Pequena Miss Sunshine" - "Little Miss Sunshine"

4802

7.4

7.7

Lost in Translation

PT: "Lost in Translation - O Amor é um Lugar Estranho" - "Lost in Translation - Love is a Strange Place" I find it interesting, and specially, there's no harm since it's a sub-title, keeping the original title.
BR: "Encontros e Desencontros" - "Encounters and Disencounters"

2288

7.6

The Sound of Music

PT: "Música no Coração" - quite literally "Music in the Heart"; well it suits its vibe and all.
BR: "A Noviça Rebelde" - "The Rebel Novice" lol

1016

8.1

On the Waterfront (1954)

PT: "Há Lodo no Cais" - "There's sludge on the pier/dock"
BR: "Sindicato de Ladrões" - "Syndicate of Thieves"/Thieves' Union

5066

7.9

8.5

The Prestige

PT: "O Terceiro Passo" - "The Third Step"
BR: "O Grande Truque" - "The Big/Great Trick"

1137

7.8

7.7

Miller's Crossing (1990)

PT: "História de Gangsters" - "Gangsters' Story"
BR: "Ajuste Final" - "Final 'Adjustment'"

1230

7.1

7.5

West Side Story (1961)

PT: "Amor Sem Barreiras" - "Love Without Barriers" Although frankly everyone knows this as West Side Story, I didn't even know about this title.
BR: "Amor, Sublime Amor" - "Love, Sublime Love'"

1190

7.2

7.1

Naked Lunch (1992)

PT: "O Festim Nú" - "The Naked Feast"
BR: "Mistérios e Paixões" - "Mysteries and Passions"

2937

7.7

7.9

Mystic River (2003)

PT: "Mystic River" - the same
BR: "Sobre Meninos e Lobos" - "About boys and wolves"

2274

5.5

5.9

The Grudge (2004)

PT: "A Maldição" - "The Curse" (although often accompanied by the original english title)
BR: "O Grito" - "The Scream"

2282

7.7

The Graduate (1967)

PT: "A Primeira Noite" - "The first night"
BR: "A Primeira Noite de um Homem" - "The first night of a man/A man's first night"

217

6.2

6.4

I Love You to Death (1990)

PT: "Amar-te-ei Até te Matar" - "I Will Love You Until I Kill You"
BR: "Te Amarei Até Te Matar" - also, "I Will Love You Until I Kill You"

2862

8.3

Vertigo (1958)

PT: "A Mulher que Viveu Duas Vezes" - "The Woman Who Lived Twice"
BR: "Um Corpo que Cai" - "A Body that Falls"

4394

6.5

6.8

50 First Dates (2004)

PT: "A Minha Namorada Tem Amnésia" - "My Girlfriend Has Amnesia"
BR: "Como se Fosse a Primeira Vez" - "As If It Were the First Time"

137

5.9

6.2

The Two Jakes (1990)

PT: "O Caso da Mulher Infiel" - "The Case [it also means "affair"] of the Unfaithful Woman"
BR: "A Chave do Enigma" - "The Key of/to the Enigma"

1103

7.1

7.5

The Life of David Gale (2003)

PT: "Inocente ou Culpado?" - "Innocent or Guilty?" Why not take on the actual title, like in Brazil?...
BR: "A Vida de David Gale" - "The Life of David Gale"

315

6.6

6.3

The Three Caballeros (1944)

PT: "A Caixinha de Surpresas" - "The Little Box of Surprises"
BR: "Voce já foi à Bahia?" - "Have you been to Bahia?"

335

5.7

6.1

Birthday Girl (2002)

PT: "Da Rússica Com Amor" - "From Russia With Love" (a reference here)
BR: "A Isca Perfeita" - "The Perfect Bait"

Ignition (2002)

PT: "Conspiração no Pentágono" - "Conspiracy in the Pentagon"
BR: "Contagem Regressiva" - "Countdown"

6.3

Fig Leaves

PT: "A Tentação de Eva" - "Eve's Temptation"
BR: ???

6.6

The Grass Is Greener (1960)

PT: "Ele, Ela e o Marido" - "Him, Her and the Husband"
BR: "Do Outro Lado, O Pecado" - "On The Other Side, The Sin"

5.6

Rennie's Landing (2001)

PT: "4 Amigos e 1 Assalto" - "4 Friends and 1 Robbery"
BR: "Rennie's Landing" - the same (!)

200

7.4

7.5

Jeremiah Johnson

PT: "As Brancas Montanhas da Morte" - "The White Mountains of Death"
BR: "Mais Forte que a Vingança" - "Stronger than Revenge"

6.4

Out Cold (2001)

PT: "A Louca Academia de Snowboard" - "The Crazy[wild] Snowboard Academy"
BR: "Ardendo no Frio" - "'Burning' in the Cold"

400

7.8

7.7

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

PT: "A Noite Fez-Se Para Amar" - "The Night Was Made For Loving"
BR: "Jogos & Trapaças - Quando os Homens são Homens" - "Games &, hum, Cheats - When Men are Men"

672

7.2

In the Mouth of Madness

PT: "A Bíblia de Satanás" - "Satan's Bible"
BR: "À Beira da Loucura" - "In the Verge of Madness"

876

7.2

7.3

Angel Heart (1987)

PT: "As Portas do Inferno" - "The Doors of Hell"
BR: "Coração Satânico" - "Satanic Heart"

1568

7.6

7.7

Dirty Harry

PT: "A Fúria da Razão" - "The Fury of Reason"
BR: "Perseguidor Implacável" - something like "Relentless Chaser"

296

5.1

5.3

The Watcher (2000)

PT: "24 Horas para Matar" - "24 Hours to Kill"
BR: "O Observador" - "The Watcher"

5.9

5.7

Rollin' with the Nines (2006)

PT: "A Vingança Tem Um Preço" - "Revenge Has a Price"
BR: "9mm - O Preço da Vingança" - "9mm - The Price of Revenge"

5.3

True Blue (2001)

PT: "Crime em Nova Iorque" - "Crime in New York"
BR: "Crime em Nova York" - "Crime in New York"

569

6.6

6.7

The Brave One

PT: "A Estranha em Mim" - "The Stranger in Me"
BR: "Valente" - "Brave"

431

5.9

6.2

Anywhere But Here (1999)

PT: "A Minha Mãe, Eu, e a Minha Mãe" - "My Mother, Me, and My Mother"
BR: "Em Qualquer Outro Lugar" - pretty close, litterally meaning "In Any Other Place" equivalent to "Anywhere Else"

4888

8.2

Taxi Driver (1976)

PT: "Taxi Driver" - the same
BR: "Taxi Driver - Motorista de Táxi" - they decided to "double" the title, naming it "Taxi Driver - Taxi Driver".

2037

6.8

6.9

My Girl

PT: "O Meu Primeiro Beijo" - "My First Kiss"
BR: "Meu Primeiro Amor" - "My First Love"
None of them is out of place, but read the next

668

5.2

My Girl 2 (1994)

PT: "O Meu Primeiro Beijo 2" - "My First Kiss 2"
BR: "Meu Primeiro Amor - Parte 2" - "My First Love - Part 2"
I find it amusing 'cause I mean, how many first kisses does a girl get...

2982

5.4

Stuart Little

PT: "O Pequeno Stuart Little"
BR: "O Pequeno Stuart Little"
"Pequeno" means little/small. So, "The little Stuart Little".
It's understandable since it is for children and all, being translated that way with the "little" before (and, right, 'cause Little is his Name), but still, a bit redundant right? wasn't the character's name enough?

1671

5.7

Chicken Little (2005)

PT: "Chicken Little" - the same
BR: "O Galinho Chicken Little" - so, "galinho" means "little chicken" (or more accurately, cock) so that title actually means "The little chicken chicken little", being even more redundant than Stuart Little.

Voters of this movie list - View all

This is a list with films that got weird "translations" in Portugal or Brazil.
Some are just a little odd, some absurd, others hilarious. I will also list some that thou not bad (having a relation with the story), are still quite different from the original title.
I'll be adding more as I remember or find others. Sugestões são bem-vindas.

Hopefully it will also help with putting an end to some "myths"... Por exemplo se você é do Brasil e ouviu dizer que o Psycho em Portugal se chama qualquer coisa como "O homem que era sua mãe", desengane-se, o título português é simplesmente Psico.
Despite thinking there are more of these titles in Brazil, for the simple fact that we (in Portugal) don't translate everything(*), Portugal has its share of pretty "interesting" ones as well.

(*)Films aren't dubbed in Portugal, as they are in Brazil or Spain, where many other things are translated, while here often stick to its english name.