Badmovies.org Forum

I have a few comments/questions about movies in foreign languages.

1.  If you have a choice between watching a dubbed version or a subtitled version, which do you prefer?

2.  Have you ever watched a dubbed DVD, but also had the subtitles on?  Sometimes, it is very interesting because the spoken dialogue may be translated in such a way that the actors lips move almost in synch with the dubbed voices, but the subtitles are more "accurate" translations of the dialogue.  As a result, the conversation that you hear may be quite different from the subtitles that you read.  (The basic content of the conversation is usually about the same, but many of the specifics may be quite different).  A good example is DAS BOOT.  If you listen to the dubbed version and read the subtitles at the same time, you will be surprised at how different some of the conversations are.  Some scenes actually have a fairly different tone depending on whether you listen to the dubbing or read the subtitles.

3.  Do you get aggravated when they flash lengthy subtitles across the screen too fast for you to read them?

4.  What is the most pleasant foreign language to listen to?  The most irritating?

5.  Do you simply REFUSE to watch dubbed or subtitled movies?

If it's a b-movie, dubbed all the way..heh. If it's just a regular foriegn film - always subtitled. There is nothing more wretched then being distracted by really bad dubbing on a really good film. Plus whether or not you can understand the character is irrelevant, often an actor can convey much emotion and humor in the tone of their voice that is entirely lost in dubbing.

>>Do you get aggravated when they flash lengthy subtitles across the screen too fast for you to read them?
<<

I'm a fast reader. ;-) Actually some languages are quick-speaking so there is almost no choice..particularly when there is heavy dialogue, i've never had a problem with it tho. I've found overall men seem to really dislike reading during a film than women (from those I know)

I don't mind subtitles and I've enjoyed many subtitled movies, but I'll take good dubbing if I can get it, or as Susan said, bad dubbing if it's a b-movie.

I can appreciate that the written translation might be slightly more accurate, but I don't see what is so superior about reading the dialogue off the bottom of the screen. Seems like snobbery to me, but that's just my opinion.

I have seen some pretty frustrating examples of subtitling. A few years ago, I rented a tape of Solaris, in Russian with subtitles. The video was actually taken from a subtitled print of the film, with the type sized for a theatre screen. On my TV, I had to squint to make it out. There was also a problem with the subtitles appearing several seconds after a character started speaking, then disappearing immediately after he stopped. Add to that the slow pace and general dullness of the movie, and I finally just gave up.

I can also recall renting an anime once that often had characters talking over each other, fast moving dialogue, occasionally intercoms in the background, and subtitles desperately trying to show it all. I could keep up, but it was distracting and took the fun out of the movie.

As for the best sounding languages in foreign films, I like the sound of Japanese, and German sounds pretty cool too.

My all time favorite foreign film is "Stalingrad".
I prefer to hear German soldiers speak in German.

I watched the dubbed version of it on DVD and it was horrendous!

I'll watch subtitled movies, but I usually prefer them dubbed (assuming the dubbing is well done). I'm not the fastest reader in the world and sometimes I don't have time enough to read all the dialog. I've also seen films where the subtitles blend into the background making them hard to read. Not to mention that spending the entire movie looking at the bottom of the screen tends to make me miss parts of the action.

i love foriegn films, especially hong kong cinema and dodgy jap horror films.

my general rule of thumb is if the film is anime, it is good to be dubbed, but if it is live action its better to have subtitles.  i just get really annoyed when the voices don't match the movie; its hidden better in anime.

i remember watching an old jackie chan movie which had gangsters in it, but it was completely ruined by the gangster accents the voice actors put on [actually on second thought it was pretty funny, but i just wanted the action, and it was a bit distracting.]

i actually really like listening to movies in other languages, so i don't really have a favourite.

i know the dubbed version of crouching tiger is a bit different to the subtitles; some things were changed but i can't think of any off the top of my head.  personally i think alot of meaning is lost when translating, but subtitles seem a bit better.  though a chinese friend of mine was telling me that both were fairly inaccurate when watching a hong kong action flick called time and tide.

I really get annoyed when the subtitles are white, and then there is a scene in the desert or something, and you can't read a damn thing.  very annoying.

I liked dubbed films, but with the DVD it is nice to have both versions.

Example: DJANGO is a poorly dubbed film, but the DVD provides both versions. Both dubbed, subtitled, and of course the nice extras.

since the art of acting includes voice inflection and emotion, i'll take subtitles over dubbed any day.

The Burgomaster wrote:

> I have a few comments/questions about movies in foreign
> languages.
>
> 1.  If you have a choice between watching a dubbed version or a
> subtitled version, which do you prefer?

I will always take the subtitled version, without question. Dubbing can ruin the flow of a movie.
Though this is not the best example; take the original Resident Evil video game. The translation was SO horrendous, it was laughable...The whole "MASTER OF UNLOCKING" speech was the cheeziest thing I've ever heard.
>
> 2.  Have you ever watched a dubbed DVD, but also had the
> subtitles on?  Sometimes, it is very interesting because the
> spoken dialogue may be translated in such a way that the actors
> lips move almost in synch with the dubbed voices, but the
> subtitles are more "accurate" translations of the dialogue.  As
> a result, the conversation that you hear may be quite different
> from the subtitles that you read.  

>  If you listen to the dubbed version and read the subtitles at
> the same time, you will be surprised at how different some of
> the conversations are.  Some scenes actually have a fairly
> different tone depending on whether you listen to the dubbing
> or read the subtitles.

I always watch DVDs with the subtitles on. I have a family member that is over 70% deaf, so I watch all television and movies with captioning. I can visualize subtitles whenever I watch a movie in the theater now. The only time I turn them off is while watching a horror movie; since it ruins the suspense.

I agree that the subtitling can give out completely different dialogue.
Best example? Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Watch the scene where Jade Fox fights the girl, her father, the bodyguard and Li Mu Bai. If you watch it in English with English subtitles, the dialogue doesn't even come close to matching.

Example: The subtitles say, "Another one!"
The actor says: "How many Jade Foxes are there?"

>
> 3.  Do you get aggravated when they flash lengthy subtitles
> across the screen too fast for you to read them?
>

Nope - I am a fast reader and with years of watching captioned programs it doesn't even phase me anymore.

> 4.  What is the most pleasant foreign language to listen to?
> The most irritating?

The most pleasant is Japanese. I'm convinced it cures insomnia.
The most irritating, Vietnamese. It sounds very rushed to me, with loud intonations throughout.

>
> 5.  Do you simply REFUSE to watch dubbed or subtitled movies?

I prefer hearing a movie in its original language. Sometimes if I am tired I will change the language to English, but I usually will prefer subtitling over dubbing.

It's great to watch movies on TBS or some other channel like that, and sometimes the curses aren't removed from the captioning. One of my favorite goofs on a DVD is in Wargames. One of the characters says "Yes, put it up!" while the subtitling says "Yes, put it put!"



Post Edited (11-27-03 21:53)

I prefer original language, but sometimes it is annoying because subtitles force you to give the film your undivided attention, so I can't use them as background material if I'm working or doing something else with the TV on.

Agree totally about subtitles needing to be the right color....

Most of the foreging movies I watch are anime, and I'll take dubbing or subtitled.  Either way, I don't care.

Lately I've noticed that one of the local Spansih channels has been playing a lot of movies that I'm familiar enuogh with in English that I'll watch them in Spanish, anyway.  This week had "Running Man" and "Beast Master"

I agree with Susan; ordinarily I'll take subtitles, but dubbing can make a cheesy movie even more fun! (Plus, being named Oscar, I love watching Story of Ricky and hearing people awkwardly shout, "When Oscar shows his tattoo, he must KILL!") Also, with Godzilla movies, it's worth tracking down both the subbed and dubbed versions, to compare and contrast; the differences in the original and 1985 are really quite profound.

5. Do you simply REFUSE to watch dubbed or subtitled movies?

My right to complain about what I'm watching pretty much ended when I started putting stuff like "Omega Doom" and "Nemisis II" in my VCR :)

1) Subtitled. Especialy with Anime.

2) You bet, I sometimes do this with my Fist of the North Star t.v. show dvds. There was even once a movie ,"New Legend of Shaolin" I think, where it was dubbed and subtitled. the subtitles were often a bit different from the dubbing. There was even a scene were nobody was talking and there was still subtitles!!LOL.

3)Yeah. "HEY I WASN'T FINSIHED!! $%^#!!!"

4) I really love listening to the Japanese language, I also find several of the India's dialects very fasinating, Spanish and Chinese as also joys to listen to, and I can't forget U.K, English and Austrailian English (I know both are mostly my language but I like the accents and the slang.) I really don't find any languages irritaing I love listening to a language that is different from english.

5.Look at answeres 1-4.

I prefer dubbed over subtitles.It usually easyer to follow the movie if you can hear whats going on in your language.I have watched some movies subtitled though, the first 10 min is usually a bit annoying but then your brain seems to speed up and your able to read the subtitles faster.

Er, as someone in the UK, do American films count as foreign language?  Probably not.  The reverse may be true - I understand some US viewers found the slang in Dog Soldiers hard to follow.

I prefer subtitles and the original language.  No matter what the translation a dubbed version may come up with, it cannot approach the poetry of another tongue - "Solaris" being a case in point.  Russian is an interesting language to listen to (a bugger to learn, though!),  and someone reciting even a shopping list in Russian sounds interesting.  

How about Welsh?  One of the most disorientating film experiences I ever underwent was seeing a film made in Wales, where the characters spoke in Welsh.  Having missed the start, I was completely wrong-footed.  "That's a British road sign," I realised.  "Where is this set?"  More weird dialogue.  "That looks like a British high street?  WHERE is this set!"  Conrad speaks to fellow audience member.  Ah.  Yes.  I see!

Reminds me of a movie I saw recently about a Scottish kid who becomes a drug dealer. We were laughing at the subtitles at first, because it was in English, but once the dialogue got going, they did come in handy. It was a little distracting reading subtitles while listening to dialogue I could at least partially understand. Forces the mind to go in two directions at once, I guess. With completely foreign dialogue it's easier to tune out the spoken words while reading.

I prefer to watch Japanese films in the original language. Good subs are fine, as long as they don't blend into the background, and they stay long enough to get the gist of the thought across.
AndyC : Try RED DWARF. Lister (Craig Charles) Can be hard to follow, but after a while, it settles in for me, and i can get the gist of the insults...useualy at Rimmer's expence!...although it did help to finaly find out what a Veruca was!
Never....ever!...listen to the Americanised version of Dwarf. Its just does NOT translate! The Brit style of verbal abuse is  part of the fun, and a Yankee equivilant, would be hard to imagin.

The Brit style of verbal abuse is part of the fun, and a Yankee equivilant, would be hard to imagine.

I've been thinking about British humor and why Americans like it and I think a lot of it really has to do simply with the dissonance between our own caricature of British people and what comes out in the humor.  I mean, an Americanized version of Fawlty Towers would not work because, well..watching an American hotel owner beat up on a Hispanic worker would not be nearly as funny  as watching Basil Fawlty beat up on Manual because Basil Fawlty strikes against our stereotype of the British as being proper and dignified and slighty stuffy.

Similar  with Red Dwarf.  It's funny in it's own right but it's funny to Americans because the accents reminds us it's British and the dialog is out-of-type for what we expect so that contrast makes it more humorous.

Definitely subtitles always -- they sometimes create unusual juxtapositions!
I first watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" when it first came out in Luxembourg -- There were 2 sets of subtitles on the screen:  French and German.  Obviously, neither of them were any good at all, as I was laughing out loud in many places wherein the theatre was dead silent.
If you watch the subtitled version of "Smiles of a Summer's Night" by Ingmanr Bergman, there are numerous places wherein the English subtitling is saying things like "everything about him is false", and what is actually being said in Swedish is "He uses a dildo when making love!".
Dubbing can be funny if really really bad -- I always love all the extra grunts and "hey!  Hey!"'s in various Kung-Fu flicks, in order to make the mouth movements work.
peter johnson

are people telling me there is an american dubbed version of Red Dwarf?

that's a travesty if it's true!

also i like the nifty special feature on my Snatch dvd which allows you to subtitle brad pitts character and co.  its bloody hard to understand them at parts, but it's all part of the fun [its just a funny extra they just added in]

Half the fun of the Pikeys is that you can just barely understand what they're saying.

As for red Dwarf, I had no idea anyone had trouble understanding Lister. He has a thick Liverpool accent, but he speaks clearly enough. A bit of the slang might be unfamiliar, but the context usually provides a clue.

Back in the 70's when I was a young lad,  I happened to be stationed in a place called Edzell , Scotland.  Watched a lot of Brit comedies. Never  figured out why they find the cross-dressing thing so damned hilarious.

Anyway  to the point, I was reading the BBC  Radio Times and they had  published a translation guide for a French program they were airing. One of the readers had written in asking them  if they could publish one for Kojak which they were airing at the time.  

Americans seem to love or hate British  comedies (I guess they don't get the humor).  I  really love Red Dwarf  and Doctor Who (have seen all eight if you count  the Americanized tv movie Doctor).

dean wrote:

> also i like the nifty special feature on my Snatch dvd which
> allows you to subtitle brad pitts character and co.  its bloody
> hard to understand them at parts, but it's all part of the fun
> [its just a funny extra they just added in]

This is EXACTLY why I watch movies with captioning & subtitles. I would have had no earthly idea what Pitt was saying unless the captions were there.

5.  No.

4.  Italian is the coolest when spoken by a woman, German when spoken by a man.  Any inflected East Asian language is the most irritating, to me at least.  Inflected languages rely on the way you say a syllable (a rising or declining, or up-then-down tone etc) to convey its meaning.  To a Westerner, this can sound really dissonant.

3.  Yeah - this does bug me, but it seems to be a rare problem.  Another thing that bugs me is when all hell is breaking loose on screen (an air raid, a rhino stampede, werewolf on a crowded elevator, etc.) and the director feels the need to drop a subtitle into the movie to translate something like "Look out!" or "Hang on!"

2.  Never tried this.  I have watched American movies dubbed into German (which I speak - or at least I used to be pretty good) - which can be funny.  Example:  In Pulp Fiction dubbed into German, the Germans don't have a direct translation for "Bad Mutherf**ker," so Jules' wallet is the one that says (translated from German) "Evil Black Man."

1.  Depends on the type of movie.  Anything with any kind of action on the screen (or an exceptionally beautiful actress I don't want to look away from) then I say dub it.  Otherwise I guess subtitles are fine.

Dean : should have been more clear. There was an attempt at an american Red Dwarf, but by all accounts, it vaccumed, big time.
So Craig Charles is a "Liverpudlian", Eh? Thought so. I've just gotten so used to the cast and their style, its no that big a problim following the diologue.

Actually there were two American pilots made.  One had Terry Farrell of Star Trek and  Becker cast as a female version of Cat.  

Cat, you can't help but love a guy in a Gold Lame' spacesuit.

"Dean : should have been more clear. There was an attempt at an american Red Dwarf, but by all accounts, it vaccumed, big time"

thank god! that would been awful!  the great thing about it is listening to lister say 'smeghead' over and over again, i can't imagine that working in an american version.

that and cat being female? it could work, but i don't like it, it's so much better having a guy be a cat for once and be vain and all that stuff, and not go with the female stereotype.

Here is  a link to a page about the pilots and cast (with picture).  Note: Robert Llewellyn appears as Kryton in both US pilots.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/9548/redwarf.html

I Much prefer Subtitles to dubbing. A great example of this is "Ran" in Japanese with english subtitles. I think Japanese is a great language to listen to-especially when they yell! Vietnamese on the other hand is a really ugly sounding language(IMHO)

A little off topic, here is my experience with foreign films in Russia. My wife was at work and I turned on the tv and found a Jackie Chan movie on. Catch this, it was originally in Chinese, dubbed in English and dubbed over that in Russian. You could hear the Chinese and English under the Russian. I was laughing so hard, tears were rolling down my face.

1.  I strongly prefer subtitles, although on old kung-fu movies and many b-films dubbed can be fun.  I especially like when they use yellow subtitles, epseically on old black and white films (like they were when I watched The Seven Samurai and Yojimbo).  Makes it nice and easy to read.  Also, subtitling on letterbox flicks when the subtitles are in the black bar at the bottom.  Best example is in the Anime film Project A-ko, where the ONLY black bar was on the bottom, giving plenty of space for subs.  I wish they did that more often...
With only one exception that I can think of, ALL ANIME MUST BE SUBBED.

2. I do this all the time at my friend's house  - hell, we put the subtitles on English movies when we can.  I like having a second reference for the dialogue, and it makes it easier for me, I don't know why.

3. Never a problem for me, and not because I'm an especially fast reader.  Subtitles take getting use to, that's all.  Once you're proficient with subtitiels, it doesn't distract in the slightest.  As far as missing dialogue, that happens to me with dubbed and original English films, too, so why should it bother me any more with subtitles?

4.  I love Japanese.  It's a really pretty language.  French is kind of fun, too, but I wouldn't call it pleasent.  I also like Chinese, Spanish, and Russian.  I also like English, Australian, and (espeically) Irish accents - but that doesn't really count, now does it?

5. It's a near thing.  I prefer subtitles VERY strongly.  Some films I can't get ahold of subbed, so I make due, although Anime (as a rule) is so poorly dubbed as to be painful.

1.  I usually go for the subtitles.  It's in most cases a completely different translation that what you get when you use the dubbing.  My wife on the other hand despises subtitles so I am forced to view bad dubbing on some occasions.

2. Just as Burgo mentioned, the Das Boot dubbing/subtitles are completely different.  Usually the subtitles are a better translation of a film than the dubbing.

3. I consider myself a bit of a speed reader, therefore most fast subtitles don't bother me.  The only DVD that I've had this problem with is the Special Edition Battle Royale DVD.  The subtitles, no matter how long or short, only stay on the screen for about a second before disappearing.

4. I'd have to say that Japanese is the most pleasant.  Their dialogue is spoken quite fast and just flows together.  I was also quite suprised at how pleasant German was to listen to.

5. I don't refuse to watch either.  I do believe however that dubbing is a disgrace to the film and that subtitles should be used instead.

Depends what it is.

If it's from Hong Kong, it absolutley, positively MUST be Dubbed. No arguments!

I prefer my Asian films in general dubbed, because I find Japanese and Chinese so difficult to fathom.

European languages I prefer subtitled, although Brotherhood of the Wolf is excellent either way- I saw it in the cinema subtitled, loved it, and then got it on DVD and find myself watching it dubbed- either way, it's a brilliant film.

What really gets on my nerves is when American TV shows subtitle English and Australian people speaking! (Ripley's Beleive it or Not is the worst offender for this...)

Look, I know it's a different accent, but it's not THAT hard to follow. For example, I've yet to see a film or show with subtitles for Ebonics, but yet I seriously doubt there's anyone outside the US who can understand much of it... (Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake, I'm looking in your direction!)

As for Red Dwarf- one of my favourite TV shows ever! I really can't see how anyone can have trouble following Lister... sure, he has a Liverpudlian accent, but listen a bit and you'll stop noticing (much like Cartman from South Park's voice- at first it's incomprehensible, and then you understand it clearly).

The scary thing with Snatch is I've seen it often enough now to understand what Brad Pitt is saying! My friends think it's black magic, however...

If you want trouble understanding people speaking English, then watch Trainspotting. Then come back to us. :-)

(For the record, I have no trouble understanding the dialogue in Trainspotting...)

I am not american, so most movies are foreign to me. In my country there is the tradition of watching any foreign film dubbed, and even today few theatres offer subtitled movies. My opinion on the subject is that every film should be watched in its original language with subtitles. Period. It may require some time to get used to it, but it is the only way to do justice to the acting.

EXACTLY Neville!

The worst offender of ruining a fantastic film with dubbing was Ichi The Killer.  The main Yakuza bad guy is a small 110 pound dude.  Yet, someone decided to give him a deep big burly voice that you would hear come out of a 400 pound body builder.  Completely different character in the voice than what the actor was portraying.  

It's almost sickening.

i definately prefer subtitles. always. no matter what language it is originally in.

dubbing annoys me, especially when i have seen the movie (and understand the original language).

dubbing takes out the flavour, the emotion, the tone, basically... everthing away from the movie (whether it is a good or a bad one).

for me, the actors are the source of a good movie.... regardless the quality of the script and props. of course, if you have a bad script then the movie is then bad... but some credit should be given to actors who have done the best they can.
and by dubbing, a bad movie is worse.

of course the fact that comedic and fast-dialogued scenes are really hard to translate accurately.
accuracy = length. and for fast-dialogued movies, well... you need to shrink the subtitles itself, and thus inaccurate.
comedic scenes are also hard to translate. note that different cultures/languages uses different expressions and puns. translating the comedy from those are tough! (or at least, i would imagine so).

so far, all foreign languages are pleasant to my ears.

I prefer the dubbed version.  It's extremely hard to enjoy a movie when you can barely watch it because you're always reading the bottom of the screen.  All you see of the movie is an ocassional glance - most is watched via you peripheral vision.  I don't care too much if the dubbed dialogue isn't right;  I get absolutely no emotional impact from anything I'm frantically reading anyway.  

Favorite languages to listen to would be German, it's a beautiful language.  Don't think there are any that I find especailly unpleasant to hear.  

Normally I have very little interest in movies with subtitles, but I'll ocassionally watch one.  I just saw "Not One Less" the other day, I think it was from China or some Asian country.  Pretty good movie because it had a very independent film feel to it.  Definitely not Hollywood.

1. Subtitled unless the dubbing could be potentially funny

2. Have you ever watched a dubbed DVD, but also had the subtitles on?
--------
Not that I can remember

3. Do you get aggravated when they flash lengthy subtitles across the screen too fast for you to read them?
-------
HELL YES!

4. What is the most pleasant foreign language to listen to? The most irritating?
------
Finnish sounds kind of neat, most irritating- German, middle eastern languages

5. Do you simply REFUSE to watch dubbed or subtitled movies?
--------
Nope I'll go for subtitled but if dubbed is all I can get I'll watch it.  The audio track is important but it isn't the end all thing of importance to the movie.

1. Dubbed movies suck,it's kind of annoying, in my 7th grade Spanish class we watched ET dubbed, it also didn't help that we couldn't understand any Spanish after taking it for only a few months.

2. No, but one time I watched Taxi Driver and the Spanish subtitles were stuck on, and it was funny, cause my friends were trying to say whatever the subtitles were.

3. Not really, but I hate it when the subtitles are white, and it's really hard to read them.

4. I really like Danish, especially when they yell at eachother, and for some reason the only way I can tell if it's Danish and not Swedish or Norweigan is when they yell, German is also amusing.

5. I may refuse to watch a dubbed movie, except for a few minutes of some movies that are originally in English, then dubbed to something else(usually Spanish)

1.  Subtitled- hands down.

2. I've not done that, I'll try it.

3. I'm a fast reader, so I haven't had a problem with that.  It does suck, though, when they put the words in white and you can't read them.  That's another reason why letterbox is better: they have the words on the black part on the bottom.

4. I love listening to Japanese and Mandarin. Spanish starts to grate on me after a while.

5. I try to limit my dubbed movies to bad kung fu.

If you have a choice between watching a dubbed version or a subtitled version, which do you prefer?

Don't care either way.  I watch cartoons with voice actors originally in English and if the voice actors are good, then it works.  Stuff dubbed from another language is the same, it really depends on the quality of the translation and the skill of the actors.  Similar with subtitles, sometimes it's done well, sometimes it's not.  If I want to see something, I don't worry about whether it's dubbed or subtitled.

Have you ever watched a dubbed DVD, but also had the subtitles on?

I've watched English movies dubbed into another language and then with English subtitles on and on movies I'm familiar with, I know the subtitles don't match the original dialog :)

Do you get aggravated when they flash lengthy subtitles across the screen too fast for you to read them?

That's what the pause button is for

What is the most pleasant foreign language to listen to?

Spanish.  My wife is Hispanic and I live in a part of the country where Spanish is spoken regularly so it has personal connections with me.

The most irritating? probably French

Do you simply REFUSE to watch dubbed or subtitled movies?

With some of the junk I watch?!?!  Far be it from me to quibble on this point of production style

Wow.  I started this thread back in November.  How the heck did it get resurrected?