Welcome to Est. 1999, the official blog of Abraham Translations. As is perhaps easy to surmise, the name of this blog reflects the year that Abraham Translations was founded.
It all began with the correction of a few texts that had been translated by another time-pressed translator. Within the year, translating had become my main source of income; now, it has long been the only way I put bacon on the table.
I am rather proud of many of the projects on which I have worked.
Est. 1999, basically, is a visual confirmation of past projects, a blowing of my own horn, a presentation of translator-related topics, and an occasional departure into other areas that I deem worthy of presenting. Enjoy.

Tuesday 8 September 2015

100 Years of Hollywood — The Carl Laemmle Story (2011)

(TV, 43/52/78 min, HD.) Produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion, Berlin/Cologne, in co-production with SWR and Arte, written and directed by Kai Christiansen, and released in 2011.
I worked on the project as a translator way back in 2008, when I translated an 8-page synopsis for the then-proposed project. I was (and still am) thrilled about being involved in the project, if only so distantly, because so many of my favorite classic horror films — to name but seven: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 / full public domain film), Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary (1927 / full public domain masterpiece), James Whale's Frankenstein (1931 / trailer) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935 / trailer), Edgar G. Ulmar's The Black Cat (1935 / fan trailer), Dracula's Daughter (1936 / trailer), and Karl Freund's The Mummy (1932 / trailer) — were produced at Universal under Carl Laemmle (17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939). (Go here for a complete list of classic Universal Horror films.)
To present a corrected version of the press release used by Gebrüder Beetz (which I did not translate): "Red carpets, the frenzy of camera flashbulbs, tuxedos and evening gowns: Hollywood is celebrating its anniversary. For 100 years now the City of Angels has been the movie mecca of the world. Hollywood is the ultimate American Dream, which is why nobody would expect its success story to have its origins in small-town Germany: in Laupheim, the birthplace of the Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Studios.
"Coinciding with Hollywood's centenary, the documentary 100 Years of Hollywood — The Carl Laemmle Story traces the life of this small man from Germany who came to own the world's biggest film studio. Together with his niece, the actress Carla Laemmle (seen below, 20 October 1909 – 12 June 2014), who was born in the same year that the "dream factory" was founded 100 years ago, we embark on a fascinating journey through film history and go back in time to when Hollywood was still the Wild West and at Universal, the first Hollywood studio ever, Native Americans, elephants, and monsters lurked around every corner.
"In never-before-broadcast archive material, we suffer with the gesticulating grand diva of the silent screen, Mary Pickford; experience spine-tingling horror when confronted by the Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney), Frankenstein (Boris Karloff), and Dracula (Bela Lugosi); and fear for the heroes in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 / trailer), the courageous film which brought Carl Laemmle an Academy Award.
"100 Years of Hollywood looks back upon a life of unique work and searches for contemporary traces of Carl Laemmle's influence. In the spring of 2010, author and director Kai Christiansen and his team — cameraman Torben Müller and sound engineer Beate Müller — travelled to California where, accompanied by today's stars and filmmakers, they delved into Carl Laemmle's legacy. [...]"
The Great Carl Laemmle

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