Is there anyone here that won't watch subtitled films?

Karl Hungus · 22-08-2009 07:54PM #1

I'm curious about this. I always find it a bit of a cop out when people say that English language remakes of foreign language films need to be made, because people won't watch films with subtitles. I think that's a load of rubbish myself, we've had quite a few subtitled films doing extremely well, such as Crouching Tiger, Hero, Pan's Labyrinth, Letters From Iwo Jima or Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ to name a few. Not only that, there's a lot of American made films that are partially subtitled, Inglourious Basterds being a recent example, and quite a lot of TV shows similarly have subtitled sections like Heroes.

I just don't see that mainstream audiences won't watch subtitled films. So I put it to you.

MagicMarker · 22-08-2009 07:55PM

I have no problems with subtitles, but admit that sometimes I'm just not in the mood for subtitles.

Latchy · 22-08-2009 07:57PM

The French subtitled movies shown on British tv back in the 80s , usually in black and white, were quite popular back then and I enjoyed them .

I have no problem with them

Handsome Bob · 22-08-2009 08:48PM

Nope, I thoroughly enjoyed the likes of Pans Labrynth and The Passion of the Christ. More recent ones would be Mesrine and Let The Right One In. I think Hollywood's monopoly makes people automatically look down on foreign films.

titan18 · 22-08-2009 09:06PM

I have no problem with them and I imagine that most people who post in this forum don't.Lots of people won't watch them though.

tman · 22-08-2009 09:22PM

Latchy wrote: »

The French subtitled movies shown on British tv back in the 80s , usually in black and white, were quite popular back then and I enjoyed them .

Have you seen anything since then?

If the film is in anyway good, you'll soon forget that you're even reading subs and just enjoy it...
The only time that I've chosen a normal film over a subbed one was when I was too pissed to make out the text, subs can be quite frustrating when you have to squint at the screen with one eye:p

Latchy · 22-08-2009 09:31PM

tman wrote: »

Have you seen anything since then?

I dont go to see forigen movies were sub titles are required per se and not a regular movie goer as such .

I tend to wait till the dvd comes out so any sub title movies I have seen recently would have being mainly on tv .

I did recently watch Charlotte Rampling in 'swimming Pool ' which apart from herself and Charles Dance , had an all french cast and was (I think ) part French /English dialogue .

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1123621/photo_12_hires.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/swimming_pool/pictures/&usg=__dX0AWjsY-By3_n4g9cU4C9aGBTw=&h=507&w=700&sz=89&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=8u2M5qbdkR5IyM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dswimming%2Bpool%2Bcharlotte%2Brampling%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

If I hear of a good movie worth watching I will try catch it as when I can ,regardless of what cast /year / country it's being produced ,with or without subtitles.I dont buy into the hollywood thing and never did .

mike65 · 22-08-2009 11:05PM

I'd sooner read titles than listen to dubbed dialogue. The only thing that filmmakers need to be aware of is that the titles need to be readable in all conditions!

bnt · 23-08-2009 12:15AM

Subtitles all the way, though overdubbing can be done well e.g. the US voices on Miyazaki films. There's more to dialogue than just words, it can be a kind of music too, even if you don't understand the words.

sunzz · 23-08-2009 02:41AM

Oh god I couldnt even think of watching overdubbing.

for me foreign films are normally miles ahead of the holywood dribble that gets thrown out.

subs all the way.

Otis Driftwood · 23-08-2009 03:32AM

The problem with threads/polls like this is that the tone has already been set.

The replies have all been pro subtitles so anyone that goes against the grain will feel like a bit of a plank.

My own personal thoughts on this come from renting Pans Labyrinth from xtra vision when it first got a DVD release over here.Yer one,very nicely but not without a certain condescending tone asked,"you do know this is subtitled,right?"

In general people will not admit to hating subtitles or avoiding subtitled movies,because they will feel inferior for some reason.I can understand why some dont like them but if you dont,then dont be afraid to say it.

][cEMAN** · 23-08-2009 07:29AM

I'll watch em from time to time, if it's a good film, but I don't like them. They don't add to the film in my opinion, though I know a few people who would disagree with that. I know some people who will only watch films with subtitles - they put subtitles on with english spoken films.

When I watch a film, I like to see the whole picture all of the time. I don't like being distracted, or missing subtlety whilst reading. I also think that reading something you don't always get the same reaction or impact as you do when the words are spoken. It's like a joke badly translated, where you get a hint of the punchline before it happens, or it just doesn't make sense.

The other thing as well is that it's never a full and exact translation. Words are missed out. Words that are put in there for a reason. If you're going to cut out words that were intentionally put it to set the mood/tone, then you may as well cut out certain scenes because you don't like them.

It's why you have director's cuts - some stuff is just meant to be a certain way in films to get what they're trying to put across to you.

I just feel something is 'lost in translation'

RobD_ · 23-08-2009 08:26AM

subtitles annoy me,

they get in the way of the movie and always hard to look away from them :mad:

Kiith · 23-08-2009 08:40AM

No problem whatsoever with subtitles. Started watching Kung Fu movies on Friday nights on Channel 4 years ago, and got used to it that way. Also, i like seeing films in the cinema with subtitles as it pretty much gets rid of any stupid assholes from the cinema.

"Subtitles, **** this."

Vic Vinegar · 23-08-2009 11:04AM

I have no problem with subtitles, but if a foreign film has really good dubbing (like Nightwatch, say) i would watch the dubbed version instead out of laziness more than anything. Dubbing always works out better if the actual actors from the film are doing the lines instead of some randomer.

TanG411 · 23-08-2009 11:11AM

I'd prefer an English movie, but subtitles don't bother me.

In fact, one of my top 3 movies is a Korean war movie called 'Brotherhood'. That's subtitled but it's a fantastic movie. Very emotional.

Burning Eclipse · 23-08-2009 11:26AM

Your poll won't prove anything to be honest. The population sample is not reflective of the whole... i.e. People who post about movies on an internet forum are not representative of the moviegoing public at large. We are the subtitle embracing group so to speak.

I can't abide by dubbing. I have to watch something in it's native language. I play JRPG's a bit and prefer to have a Japanese dialogue option in the game and read the subs.

missingtime · 23-08-2009 02:31PM

I love foreign movies but can only watch them with subititels. When the movie is dubbed, it impacts on the performace of the actors

I used to work in a video store and there used to be war over subtitles movies. They gave out so much over Downfall. Initally hearing that it was a great movie but dismissing it because of the subtitles.

"If I wanted to read, sure I'd by a book"

Philistines!!

ADTR · 23-08-2009 02:52PM

No problem with subtitles.

Latchy · 23-08-2009 02:58PM

Anybody remember the overdubbed Italian spagethi westerns ?

The dialogue as well as the gun shots were out of sync and very painful on the eyes to watch .

Delirium · 23-08-2009 03:03PM

Watch subtitle films myself, but my dad and brother refuse to watch a subtitle movie, even if the story appeals to them.

ttm · 23-08-2009 03:10PM

Nothing wrong with subtitles but I wish they would get someone who can speak both languages to do the translation! Watched a DVD with subtitle/dubbing options the other night and the dubbing was very different from the subtitles

.

unreggd · 23-08-2009 03:21PM

Yeah, its badly dubbed films I dont like

And if its gonna be dubbed, they should do it properly, like Nightwatch
[Russians speaking English]

Sometimes im not in the mood to read subs. If I wanted to read, I'd read the book, which is universally known to be 10 times better

3nero · 23-08-2009 03:39PM

I have a good few subtitled films in my collection..Night watch, day watch, host, taxi (the original french one not the queen latiffa joke) pans labyrinth and so on ,but the thing that bugs me about some of them is when there is something white in the scene and the subtitles vanish because of it or when they have huge long subtitles that only appear on screen for mere seconds and you have to rewind and pause just to catch up with what was just said. Also some DVD players just wont show the subtitles correctly and skip whole sentences. I have 3 players and only one will play pans labyrinth correctly and its a cheap €30 tesco player

I also find that when friends want to borrow movies they never borrow the subtitled ones which means i don't have to worry about them going walkies

indough · 23-08-2009 03:55PM

Latchy wrote: »

Anybody remember the overdubbed Italian spagethi westerns ?

The dialogue as well as the gun shots were out of sync and very painful on the eyes to watch .

not a chance, it added to the brilliance of those movies

TeganRainIsGod · 23-08-2009 11:21PM

i dont watch subtitled films and i never watch movies produced from england (eg hot fuzz) or movies starring clive owen!!!!

the only exceptions are - green street, layer cake and city of god!!!

Mikey23 · 23-08-2009 11:44PM

My only problem - and it's not something that's bothered me personally - is underhanded tactics from movie distributors. Say "Coco avant Chanel" or "Coco Before Chanel", as advertised on tv at the mo. There's no reason to stress that it's subtitled (like in the patronising manner that other posters have mentioned suffering - "You do now it's subtitled, right?"), hate that. But the flip side is disguising a foreign language film by showing dialogue-free sections as I recall with "A very long engagement". At least give those who are bothered a heads-up.

Dreadful films both, subtitled or not

missingtime · 24-08-2009 12:22AM

TeganRainIsGod wrote: »

i dont watch subtitled films and i never watch movies produced from england (eg hot fuzz) or movies starring clive owen!!!!

the only exceptions are - green street, layer cake and city of god!!!

I'm confused?

tarbuck · 24-08-2009 12:49AM

I'll watch a movie with subtitles, but the film would have to be something pretty special to make me endur it. People are kidding themselves if they think watching subbed movies is a 'normal' thing to do and that everyone should be encouraged to do it. Films with subs are less enjoyable than they would be if you were watching it with fluency in the language. The rare exception to this would be movies by Kurosawa and Jenuet which are usually strongly based on sound and visuals rather than dialogue but then deep down I suspect I'd even like them more if I could speak Japanese/French fluently.

Right now I have backlog of DVD's to watch and the pile with subs is the slowest one to clear purely because I have to mentally prepare myself beforehand to say *sigh* "right, I'm watching a subbed movie now....". That's no way to do something that you're meant to enjoy.

monkeyfudge · 24-08-2009 01:03AM

I hate the way that foreign language films are sold though.... like they don't want people knowing film is subtitled.

Saw the trailer for Coco Before Chanel recently and the trailer is edited together with a mentality of 'THEY MUST NOT KNOW THIS FILM IS IN FRENCH!"

Decuc500 · 24-08-2009 10:39AM

Subtitles don't make any difference to me at all. If it's a good film I'll watch it, no matter what country it's from.

One thing that annoys me though is the attitude that subtitled films are always better than American or English language films. There's nothing wrong with preferring Tony Scott to Lars von Trier.

Is there anyone here that won't watch subtitled films?

Do you watch subtitled films? 127 votes

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