The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – American Style Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jul 18, 2011 in Culture
I’m not a huge fan of the Millennium series. For a variety of reasons, I wrote briefly about this back in 2010. Since then I’ve only managed to get myself through the second book. I still have the final book staring back at me from my bookshelf. Waiting. I just can’t seem to get into them.
That being said, there is no denying that the series is an international phenomenon, one that has stretched from the original three Swedish books to translations in several languages to a series of movies in Swedish to the upcoming release of the American version.
And the release of the first film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is coming soon. In December, the film will be released in the US to a lot of fanfare, at least if the success and continued hype surrounding the series is any indicator.
Sweden has a long history of successful film makers. You don’t need to look far to find yourself some Ingmar Bergman films in the discussion of all time classics. More recently, Lukas Moodysson has made a name for himself with movies like Fucking Åmal (Show Me Love) and Tillsammans (Together). But most of these movies have stayed in Swedish and been released with subtitles. Very few Swedish movies are re-made. There are of course exceptions. In 2010, Let Me In was released as an American re-make of Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In). However, the re-making of the Millennium series is a blockbuster on a different level.
Many people are concerned about the possible Americanization of the film, what that means exactly will depend on exactly who you ask. Others can’t wait to see what impact Hollywood money could have on the film. Still others just want to sit and pick apart the differences between the two versions.
Not too long ago, Sony released the first trailer for the film. Not a word of dialogue is spoken, instead we are treated to what looks to be a standard action/thriller.
My questions to you, have you seen the originals in Swedish? What do you think about the upcoming US versions of the films?
And finally, a language learning hint. Watch the film in Swedish but turn the subtitles to Swedish as well. It is a great way to force yourself to concentrate on what is being said and train your ears to hear what all those words you’ve been reading sound like in Swedish.
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About the Author: Marcus Cederström
Marcus Cederström has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2009. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Oregon, a Master's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in Scandinavian Studies and Folklore from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has taught Swedish for several years and still spells things wrong. So, if you see something, say something.
Comments:
Dario:
As a essential difference from you, I’ve just devoured the books (in Swedish) and thought they are fantastic 🙂
I’ve seen otherwise the first film (before I started to read) and thought it was quite cool. I’ve seen then the second (after I read all three books) and thought that it was such a bad copy of the book that I’ve never dared to see the third.
I don’t know yet what I think about the new movies. I’m one of those that fear the “americanisation” of the plot and with this I mean that Hollywood manage quite easily to destroy the refinement and grace of it to make it more direct and “catchy”. The trailer doesn’t help to solve the problem, I guess I’ll try to see it if I can gather courage 😉
Pauline Loven:
‘Watch the film in Swedish but turn the subtitles to Swedish as well’. Brilliant – that is just what I want to do, but I didn’t know it was possible!
I agree with your view of the books, I found them too violent and too wordy (but not in a good way). However, the facinating character of Lisbeth Salander carries them and makes you read on.
Eric Swanson:
I will reserve judgement until I have seen it, but I question the need for Hollywood to make an “American” version of a Swedish book-based movie. Why is it that viewers in North America are often unable even to see the original version of a movie until after the American version has been marketed? Or even not able to see the original movie at all? This seems to be a problem for many of us who like to watch Nordic movies.
Tira:
I have to say that I am a big fan of the books and of the movies (I’ve seen all three — twice), and I was pretty aggravated to hear about the American remake. (I’m a big fan of a lot of the actors in the American remake, but I’m not sure that any of them will be better than Mikael Nyquist and Noomi Rapace.) I think that they’re making a remake for one reason: money. As my husband said, there are a LOT of Americans who will never go to a movie with subtitles. So, even though the Swedish movies were terrific, loads of Americans never went. (The same is true for Let the Right One In, which I also thought was terrific.) I’m not seeing either of the American movies as a kind of pathetic protest, and will instead take the suggestion to watch the movies with the Swedish subtitles as a kind of homework. 🙂
Luke:
Good idea but I will pass since I just bought the audio book, in swedish of course 😉
Judy:
I enjoyed all 3 books (in English, I shamefully admit), and watched the Swedish/original version of the first book (I didn’t know that the other two books had been made into movies, too. Now I have to find them!). I thought the movie was exceptional. It kept the integrity of the book intact with all of the darkness and moodiness of the characters. But, I am sure that this movie would never make it as a blockbuster hit here in the States. And Hollywood is only interested in one thing: making money. First, the average American doesn’t want to read subtitles. Movies are a passive experience. And reading subtitles is too much work for our lazy brains. In addition, although it was full of action and suspense, it is sex and violence which make the most money. There isn’t enough of that in the Swedish version. Lastly, most big movies need a few big names to create a buzz for the movie. That’s why I believe Hollywood is doing their version. I expect it to be very good, but very different from the original. We’ll see!
Erik NorCal:
I read the books and watched all 3 movies and enjoyed them all. Hollywood making a remake is totally unnecessary. It is simply done to make money not art. There are far too many remakes of good movies today coming out of Hollywood. Have they run out of stories or ideas?
The US audiences should expand their horizons and seek out more of the “foreign” made movies. There are so many good movies out there to simply rely on Hollywood for your entertainment. So what if you have to read subtitles, open your mind and maybe learn something about other people/cultures while enjoying the movie.
Lycka till!
Eric Swanson:
I have a problem with the way that film directors keep the name of a book despite the massive changes they often make to the book in their film version. I feel the directors should be as creative as they want – but please change the name of the movie if you change the plot as written in the book! I must also say that I have trouble getting into the English language version of Swedish movies because the accent is all wrong. I would like to see more Swedish actors speaking English in the English language versions of Swedish language movies and books. I listened to the British accents in a Swedish crime thriller and it was distracting, especially when British slang was used in place of Swedish slang. Don’t misunderstand me. Brits, I love you! Granted many Swedes speak various versions of English fluently, but a Swedish accent in a Swedish story is my personal wish and preference if any of you Hollywood decision makers are reading our blog!
Marcus Cederström:
great discussion, everyone