Subtitles

johndoe99

I decided to put on a movie for some mates the other day, a foreign language DVD "REC", and as soon as they saw there was subtitles they asked for an english one.

Personally I don't mind subtitles, i like buying foreign language DVDs, as there are so many great movies from abroad.

So i'm curious how many others Like / Dislike subtitles.

L'prof

I'd never watch a dubbed movie, can't stand that. There are certain times I won't watch subtitled movies, usually when I'm tired. In general, they don't bother me. I can't see many people saying that they actually like them though as it does take away from the film a bit in that instead of focusing on the characters expressions and reactions, you have to read what they're saying first.

MagicMarker

I wouldn't say I like subtitles! It would be nice if all movies were in English tbh!! But I won't let subtitles put me off watching a movie. But I do admit that sometimes I'm just not in the mood for subtitles.

losthorizon

I have nothing against Subtitles. What really gets to me is dubbed movies. Thankfully you dont see it here but are more likely to see it on continental TV.

Anybody who won't watch subtitled movies are probably missing on some of the greatest movies ever made.

IsThisIt???

I don't particularly like subtitles but they are infinitely better than a dubbed film.

They certainly wouldn't put me off watching a film, in fact City of God and La Haine are two of my favourtites.

Necronomicon

Different strokes for different folks and all that; but people who disregard subtitles are denying themselves the viewing of some of the best films ever made IMO.

jaykhunter

i think you won't get a fair slice of what the public think because anyone here that would comment on films probably likes films more than the average irish.

I can't stand dubbed movies; i'll only watch subtitles. Even though you can't understand it, you still get the intonaton from the voice, which can/will be lost if another voice actor translates it.

I don't get why people can't read subtitles. People only talk when there's no action, so you don't miss anything! And you're looking at the screen to read subtitles!

Some people just can't stand them and it's their loss, good luck to them.

.........it does bug me that there's a big enough audience who refuse to read subtitles that they can just remake the film with american actors :mad: although sometimes it turns out great (The Ring, 2002) :pac:

e_e

Hell, I even watch English language dvds with the subtitles on.

norrie rugger

I generlly do not like dubbing, unless it is the original actor doing the voicover
but
one thing i hate about subtitles is if they translate badly
Sometimes you look at what the direct translation reads and it is way different than the subtitles.

Miguel_Sanchez

I find it very off putting to watch a dubbed movie.

Some subtitles are very badly done though. Wasn't there a big thing with Let The Right One In where American audiences got a really poor translation on the DVD that didn't get the nuances of the script across, despite the cinema release being well done?

S.M.B.

Would probably watch a dubbed animation ahead of the subtitled version. Plenty of effort is put into the Studio Ghibli ones though so maybe that's why.

johnny_ultimate

S.M.B. wrote: »

Would probably watch a dubbed animation ahead of the subtitled version. Plenty of effort is put into the Studio Ghibli ones though so maybe that's why.

I actually find anime one of the mediums that most demands subs, although that's just my staunch favourtism of all things Japanese winning out. It just feels weird to me having these wonderful Japanese drawings and characters speaking in anything other than their mother tongue. It's a bit too purist of me, but I genuinely feel it somewhat clashes with the vision of the director. I agree that the Ghibli dubs are very good - although the bastardisation the little Jonas and Cyrus did of the Ponyo theme song makes me angry - but I'll always hit the subs button over it, no question.

Of course, in live action cinema, dubbing pretty much always becomes distracting. Even slightly dodgy audio synching (in some Spaghetti Westerns, for example) can get to me. Subs all the way.

indough

i find the dubbing in spaghetti westerns is one of the things that make them great

Leeg17

I clicked hate, and I should make it clear that I hate it when people have them on for normal english movies (like Hurt Locker) even though they're perfectly capable of hearing the characters. Dubbed / foreign movies I don't mind.

mikemac

I don't mind subtitles

Feck it, I even watch the West Wing with subtitles on, lots of fast paced lines and acronyms, I need subtitles to keep up

bonerm

johndoe99 wrote: »

I decided to put on a movie for some mates the other day, a foreign language DVD "REC", and as soon as they saw there was subtitles they asked for an english one.

I have to admit I also watched REC using the English subtitles , as I'm not fluent in Spanish.

Galvasean

I much prefer watching foreign lanhguage films with subtitles than an awful dub (except old Godzilla films where its opart of the charm). That said, I generally can't watch foreign language films when I'm tired because it takes a little more effort to read 'em.

One think that drives me bonkers is when people with non-American accents speaking English are dubbed in films. Seriously, who can't decipher, "We will kill you!!!" when said in a Nigerian accent?!?!?!

tman

I can't stand dubbing even if it's supposedly well done (crouching tiger, most of the recent Ghibli output...)
No matter how hard they try, it always feels out of place... I'd much rather stick with subs

Earthhorse

johndoe99 wrote: »

I decided to put on a movie for some mates the other day, a foreign language DVD "REC", and as soon as they saw there was subtitles they asked for an english one.

Keep your DVDs. Get new friends.

El Horseboxo

I don't like subtitles because you lose so much in translation from them. I speak Spanish and i'm semi fluent in Portuguese. Having watched some films in both languages with English subtitles on i've seen how bad they are. And i'm not talking about the loss of translation between languages in general. I'm talking about lazy translations where they leave out some of the detail that easily crosses over.

I've watched a good few films in Latin America where the audio is English with Spanish subtitles. And i pity people over there who really like films but don't speak English because they get the half assed version of the film. A fella might say, "i have to leave the party because my dog just got ran over by a snow plough". And they'll put up "tengo que ir" in Spanish meaning simply, 'i have to go'.

I'll never watch a dubbed film though.

Recently my housemate went to rent a DVD - he said he was going to get [REC]2 and went to XtraVision. At the counter they informed him that it was subtitled and he didn't want to get it.

Yargh.

johnny_ultimate

Someone came up to me in work today with a copy of A Prophet. We put a small genre sticker on every DVD, and this - like all foreign language films, even though it's not a frickin' genre - was labeled 'foreign'. Anyway, this guy comes up, and the following is a rough transcript of the discourse that followed.

Guy: What does this foreign sticker mean?

Me: It's a French film, it's subtitled.

Guy: Oh. [pauses] Are they all subtitled?

Me: Yeah. Any video with a foreign sticker is subtitled.

Guy: Oh.

[Guy walks away from the counter, dejected. He walks back over to the DVD stands, and examines up a number of copies of A Prophet]

Guy: [to wife] Look, all the copies are foreign!

Me: *silent weeping*

Smokin_Aces

Does it bother anyone when they watch an english language movie with subtitles? Reason I ask is in my course, we will be watching alot of films and I rely on subs.

facken

One of the best films I've seen is taxi (and taxi 2 for that matter) not true art I'll admit but in English or French it's still a great flick. Possibly even beter in French.

L'prof

Smokin_Aces wrote: »

Does it bother anyone when they watch an english language movie with subtitles? Reason I ask is in my course, we will be watching alot of films and I rely on subs.

It drives me insane!!!

liah

L'prof wrote: »

It drives me insane!!!

But why? Just 'cuz they're on doesn't mean you have to read them, and it's hardly as if they take up the entire screen.

L'prof

liah wrote: »

But why? Just 'cuz they're on doesn't mean you have to read them, and it's hardly as if they take up the entire screen.

I don't, they're a distraction. Would you leave a glass on the coffee table if it obstructed part of your view? I wouldn't!

liah

L'prof wrote: »

I don't, they're a distraction. Would you leave a glass on the coffee table if it obstructed part of your view? I wouldn't!

Recently I've watched a few movies with German friends (they're fluent in general English, but with UK/Irish accents they can't make a lot of it out) in English with English subs and tbh I didn't even notice!

If the movie is in any way good I doubt you'd notice a tiny percentage of your screen taken up. Kinda like that blurred bar on certain "legally" obtained films (please don't ban me for that, oh god ).. I notice it at first, but if the film's good I totally forget it's even there.

But I guess everyone's different. I can see the benefits, it's actually kinda handy when you get films that have great rises and dips in volume that are really annoying to keep on top of.

SugarHigh

Smokin_Aces wrote: »

Does it bother anyone when they watch an english language movie with subtitles? Reason I ask is in my course, we will be watching alot of films and I rely on subs.

No, not at all. I watch a lot of English movies with subtitles especially pre 1960's because the sound quality isn't always the best and accents can be quite thick.

jaykhunter

liah wrote: »

But why? Just 'cuz they're on doesn't mean you have to read them, and it's hardly as if they take up the entire screen.

I watched Emily Rose last night with the subs on (don't ask why), and even though it's in english, my eyes were automatically drawn to the subs. Couldn't help but read them.

Other than that I only ever watched one english film with subtitles on, that's Lord of the Rings, you (by that I mean "I") pick up a whole lot more details with the subs on.

Voodu Child

Smokin_Aces wrote: »

Does it bother anyone when they watch an english language movie with subtitles?

A little.

Mainly because most subtitles have poor timing - often they show two sides of a conversation at the once. So for example if a character is asking a question and someone else answers, the subtitles sometimes show both dialogue lines onscreen at the same time. For me that spoils some scenes a bit because I know what people are going to say before they say it.

However if I was watching a movie with someone who needed subs it wouldn't bother me. It would put a minor gripe like that into perspective.