Archival resources and uncertainties in film retranslation research

This article addresses some of the issues relevant to audiovisual retranslation with a focus on film redubs, a vast though still largely underexplored phenomenon that merits specific investigation. Redubbing is an umbrella term which encompasses translation and adaptation practices ranging from mere re-acting of a previously translated dubbing script, to slight revision, to completely new translating (Chaume 2007; Zanotti 2015). The present contribution aims to illustrate what archival resources are available for scholars wishing to pursue research on film retranslation and the specific problems that arise in dealing with redubs when considered from a historical and archival perspective. A case study is presented, focusing on For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), a classic Hollywood romance-at-war tale which was dubbed at least three times for distribution in Italy.