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Article published In:
Translaboration: Exploring Collaboration in Translation and Translation in Collaboration
Edited by Alexa Alfer and Cornelia Zwischenberger
[Target 32:2] 2020
► pp. 217–238

Translaboration in a film context

Stanley Kubrick’s collaborative approach to translation

ORCID logo | Roma Tre University

This study explores the notion of translaboration in the context of audiovisual translation using Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) as a case study. Specifically, it explores the dynamics of translaboration in the Italian version of Kubrick’s film by drawing on archival methods and sources to examine the material traces left by the translation process. The study aims to unveil the translaborative dimension that characterized Kubrick’s approach to film translation, pointing to the specificity of a collaborative interaction in which one participant holds ultimate authority. Findings gleaned from translation-related material in the Stanley Kubrick Archive (University of the Arts, London) are combined with insights from working documents found among the personal papers of Riccardo Aragno, who translated Kubrick’s last five films into Italian for both dubbing and subtitling. Archival documents show that Kubrick was involved in collaborative work with his translators, sometimes adopting an interventionist approach.

Keywords: Stanley Kubrick, dubbing, subtitling, collaborative translation, archives
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Translaboration in film translation
  • 3.Translaboration and archival-genetic methods
  • 4.Exploring translaborative dynamics through archival sources: The case of Full Metal Jacket
    • 4.1The study
    • 4.2Collaborative dynamics in the Italian dubbed version of Full Metal Jacket
      • 4.2.1Finding a title
      • 4.2.2Discussing translation solutions
  • 5.Conclusions: Translaboration or forced collaboration?
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 1 July 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.20077.zan
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Continuity and Spotting List
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Audiocassette
Scotch 6090m. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Sony HF 60. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Sony HF 120. Riccardo Aragno Papers. Private collection.
Corrected subtitles
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/19.
Final dubbing script
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/8/6/13.
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Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/17.
Italian subtitles – first draft
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/5/3/42.
Italian dubbing script – first draft
Full Metal Jacket. The Stanley Kubrick Archive. The University of the Arts, London. SK/16/4/2/19.

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