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JAMES BOND NEWS |
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JAMES BOND NEWS |
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Nikki van der Zyl’s
contribution to the early James Bond movies is legendary. Her revoicing of
many of the principal (and smaller part) actresses was demanding in the
extreme and her professionalism was admired by all who worked with her.
Only rarely in film production are the voices of actors deemed to be
unsuitable in terms of clarity, diction or accent, but throughout the
early days of the Bond series actresses were cast for their visual
suitability rather than their mastery of the English language. As a
consequence the voices of several ‘Bond Girls’ were judged to have
insufficient clarity for world markets and Nikki was selected for the
highly specialised task of re-voicing them. Film actors are frequently
required to re-record lines of their dialogue after a film is shot,
especially if ambient conditions on location have made the original sound
quality unacceptable. It’s a straightforward procedure as actors are
familiar with their own style of delivery and they rapidly recapture their
original performance and timing. On the other hand the task of replacing
the voice of another actor and achieving perfect synchronisation , clarity
and accent is a far greater challenge and only a specialised performer of
Nikki van der Zyl’s standing would be considered to take it on. It is to
Nikki’s credit that her performances have never been questioned and her
greatest reward is to witness the disbelief of those informed that Ursula
Andress’ voice is not her own. The same can be said of the voice of
Claudine Auger in Thunderball and many others too numerous to name.
As is shown by the credits at the end of any movie, filmmaking is teamwork
and in the case of those early Bond blockbusters Nikki played her part
with distinction. It is of great surprise to those who worked with Nikki
that her name was never included in the credits. |
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Nikki van der Zyl – Voice of the Bond
Girls
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