Arcane Question for Film Buffs

[Mister Tee]

Thanks for everyone providing information to resolve this enigma. It definitely makes more sense that the reference is to Katharine Hepburn, given the storyline centered on Noriko maintaining her independence as a single woman, something with which K. Hepburn was long-associated. I imagine the "I collected photos" part might have been what led the latter-day subtitle writer astray, as Audrey was a universal fashion icon by then.

Reza, if you heard the name "Hepburn" on the soundtrack, your ability to glean words from Japanese speakers well surpasses mine. Apart from the father's growls, I got all my dialogue-info from the subtitles.

[Reza]

The actress speaking the dialogue clearly says "Hepburn". No Audrey or Katharine. The subtitle mentions Audrey Hepburn. As mentioned below the subtitles must have been done years later when Audrey was clearly the more popular star in Japan. In 1951 the screenplay was obviously refering to Kate Hepburn.

[Big Magilla]

Thanks, guys. Makes sense.

Done by whoever did the subtitles for Criterion. Reza must have a version done by someone else. The film has seen different DVD releases in English speaking countries alone. The U.S., the U.K., and Australia have all put it out.

If the original reference is to "Hepburn", anyone with a knowledge of film history should know that that meant Katharine, the only one ever referred to as just Hepburn a la Garbo and Dietrich, until the other one came along, after which you had to say both names to make it clear who you were referencing.

Love the comment in the forum that suggests Criterion did it on purpose to sell more copies of Charade.

[danfrank]

In a Criterion Forum from 2005, another viewer picked up on the same quandary. The speculation was that it really was referring to Katharine Hepburn and that it was the subtitlist’s error to write “Audrey” instead.

“I just watched this one again and noticed a rather significant error in the subtitles.* Around 1:20:50 Aya is discussing Noriko with the boss and mentions that she used to collect Hepburn photos. In the subtitles, more than once, it's written as Audrey Hepburn, but that's impossible because Audrey didn't become a star until a few years after Early Summer was made. For Noriko to have begun collecting them in her younger years, it was obviously Katharine Hepburn's 1930s RKO period that Noriko admired. Ozu was drawing an important connection between the strong-willed, at times downright subversive characters that got Katharine labeled "box office poison" in the industry newsletters and Noriko's determination to make her own decisions about marriage, and even that she may viewed as a lesbian by society, which many "old maids" of the time actually were. It's clearly an important scene on a number of different levels, as Richie sort of notes in his commentary.

To put this error in perspective, I'll note that it's far more significant than mere typos, such as when the subtitles say "complement" instead of "compliment" at one point.”

[gunnar]

This topic came up in the Criterion forum many years ago and you can look at the discussion here if you like.

[Mister Tee]

Many thanks to you, for confirming my sanity.

[Big Magilla]

Tee is correct. It is Audrey who mentioned. Whether that was in the original film is unclear. It could have been changed from a reference to a then better known actress in 1951 to Hepburn for either the 1972 U.S. release or the 2004 updated subtitles by the Criterion Collection.

http://corky.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/2012/ ... -marriage/

[Mister Tee]

Only the name ‘Hepburn’ is mentioned and she is described as an “American actress”.

The reference is to Katharine Hepburn. Not Audrey.

Can you show me a screen shot of this? Because, unfortunately, I deleted the film from my DVR (recorded from TCM) after watching, and have no way to double-check. But I don't think I came up with the "Audrey" part from thin air; I'm certainly aware there are two Hepburns, and wouldn't have jumped to Audrey without it showing on my screen -- unless I'm fully losing my mind.

[Reza]

Only the name ‘Hepburn’ is mentioned and she is described as an “American actress”.

The reference is to Katharine Hepburn. Not Audrey.

[Mister Tee]

This is a real puzzler.

Last night, I was watching Ozu's Early Summer -- exquisite, like so many of Ozu's films.

At one point in the film, the ubiquitous Setsuko Hara is having a conversation with her boss, and mentions Audrey Hepburn. Her boss has never heard of her, and Hara informs her she's a Hollywood film star.

Here's the issue: though Early Summer, like many Ozu films, wasn't U.S.-released till the 70s, it was made and released in Japan in 1951. At which point, Audrey Hepburn was not remotely an American film star. She had a few barely-there appearances to her credit, and the most prominent of these (The Lavender Hill Mob) wasn't even released in the U.S. till 1952. By 1953, of course, she was indeed world-famous. But how is it possible Ozu could know this is 1951?

The only possibility I can think of is that the subtitles were done after-the-fact -- that, in the original script, some other, less-prominent person was cited, and those in charge of later releases changed it to speak better to a modern audience.

Anyone have any further insight into this oddity?