Pan's Labyrinth is subtitled and our banner says Grand Opening.

[NightAngel]

My problem with watching subtitled movies is that I tend to focus intently on written words and forget about the pictures. I have to remind myself to look at the screen and not just at the black box at the bottom. I do this with everything- for example I can tell you what a billboard SAID but rarely what the picture on it was.

The other thing is that my hubby sometimes has problems seeing the words *cough*needsglasses*cough* so I usually wind up reading most of the movie outloud. I don't mind doing this for him but it detracts from both of our movie experiences.

[Andara Bledin]

Movies with subtitles don't bother me. Then again, I'm an old-school anime fan who has been reading shows for over a decade.

My mother, however, has gotten to the point where she can't see the screen well enough for most subtitles, so she needs shows to be dubbed before she can watch them.

Dubbing quality in America varies wildly depending on the actors and how seriously the dubbing company takes what they do. Some dubbing houses should be assaulted with moldy seafood.

Thankfully, especially with the professional treatment the recent releases of Studio Ghibli material, more people are treating dubbing work as real acting and not just hack work.

Just to add a bit to what I said earlier—when it comes to Anime, I will go with dubbing, but for some high quality things like Akira, one must appreciate the fact that the mouth movements were drawn to perfectly match the Japanese voice actors. It's also interesting to watch in English with the subtitles activated, just to see how much was lost in translation and rewriting to make the dialog fit!

An interesting note about dubbing and subbing for anime. They don't have to create or remove much dialogue in order to fit the length of time the mouths move any longer. They've got it set up now so that they just do subtle alterations to the display speed to have the mouths move at the right times.

Also, I've been told that most anime makes absolutely zero attempt to have the mouth movements actually match the words. They just move when there is speaking and don't move when there isn't. American animation is supposedly much more likely to produce something in which you can actually read the lips of the characters.

As for Akira... the re-mastering really ticks me off. There are some powerful moments in the score that were very well-done originally that have been undermastered in the latest version. They did that to Heavy Metal, too, and that pisses me off to no end, particularly since Heavy Metal is about the animation and the music and the dialogue is just an afterthought. I have the soundtrack to Akira. They actually had the score composed at the same time as they were creating the animation, so that both would work off of each other.

Bah, come to the dark side and join Blockbuster.com, you can trade your movies in at the store and get it when you want it.

But... but... I despise Blockbuster with a passion second only to how much I despise Walmart. I would actually prefer to wait for my movies to show up (oh, no, a whole two days wait for having them do it all for me) than set foot inside a Blockbuster.

On another note: I've had friends who would watch Snatch with the subtitles on just so they could understand what the hell Brad Pitt was saying. I didn't really have much trouble with his dialogue, myself.

^-.-^

[AFpheonix]

... on the other hand, games (like Soul Calibur III) remain in English because I do like the dubbing...

I had to change Enchanted Arms back to Japanese, the English voice acting was sooo bad. I have never encountered a more annoying group of voices in my life.

[Kara]

I have never encountered a more annoying group of voices in my life.

Star Ocean: The Second Story for Playstation. Worst. Voice Acting. Ever.

Honorable mention for Mega Man X4 for Playstation and Grandia II for Dreamcast (and any other versions, since I assume they used the same dub).

[Mad-Bassist]

*Gets a sheet and a can of shoe polish*

I ASSURE YOU, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN OPEN!

An interesting note about dubbing and subbing for anime. They don't have to create or remove much dialogue in order to fit the length of time the mouths move any longer...

Also, I've been told that most anime makes absolutely zero attempt to have the mouth movements actually match the words...

Interesting. I'm really aware of the mouth movements for Akira because of the feature that mentions it on the second disc, so I assumed Mr. Otomo's following productions and those he influenced would do that too. That said, I still prefer to stay with English dubbing, but I did enjoy watching it in Japanese too.

Most anime I've encountered has the simple squared mouth movements, so no big deal there. When you think about it, much of what you hear in movies is looped anyway because of things like wind machine sounds, C3P0's loud crackling suit, et cetra; it's not too uncommon for a movie to screw it up too, so it looks like it was dubbed from another language!

Still, I much prefer to hear the native language, especially for things like Jackie Chan's movies from the seventies. It's a good thing DVDs offer choices now--I remember when subtitled editions of features cost more than the dubbed ones. (If only the original Drunken Master could be properly restored!)

There are some powerful moments in the score that were very well-done originally that have been undermastered in the latest version.

Hmm! I wasn't aware of that, but then my experience with the original was very limited. Now I want to check that out...

[Andara Bledin]

Mad-Bassist: With Akira, the most notable scene is the one with the vicious teddy bears. A friend and I would make the 'pya' sounds while goofing off. When I saw the DVD, I was incredibly disappointed that when it got to that point, the music was muted, since it makes the scene rather less disturbing than it was originally.

And with Heavy Metal, there is one scene where the cabbie gets to his place with the girl, and the animation shows him flipping the volume on his stereo all the way to max, and yet the music stays at a conversational level. Just plain sloppy.

^-.-^

[Estil]

Throw some of that seafood at the ones that dubbed Rockman.EXE and censored/cut the English version, MegaMan NT Warrior to death. Boy I wish I could buy the original uncut, uncensored Rockman.EXE anime so I can watch it on our TV/standard DVD player.

[myswtghst]

Thankfully, especially with the professional treatment the recent releases of Studio Ghibli material, more people are treating dubbing work as real acting and not just hack work.

Which is why they're some of the only "dubbed" films I'll watch. Most of the anime and foreign films my friends and I are into we watch subtitled, to avoid bad voice acting, unless we just want to make fun of it, or are feeling REALLY lazy.

I don't mind subtitles, but I have to be in the mood to pay attention--meaning, I don't pick out a subtitled movie if I want something in the background while I work, but when I have time to sit down and watch, or at the theater. I recently watched Three Extremes, which I loved, even though I had to read those pesky words the whole time.

I think its your responsibility as a consumer to pay attention. If you don't like dubs or subtitles, and you pretty well know a movie is foreign (especially when it's something that's gotten a lot of press), it only takes a moment to ask if it's subtitled. The CSR doesn't have any way to know that you can't stand reading during the movie, and we still can't read minds (I know, I know, we're working on it!) I know that my dad will have a fit if a movie isn't in widescreen, so I take the time to make sure the box says it is WS before I rent/buy it for him.

And as for the Nascar, I have to jump in here, as I once dated and even lived with a guy who had a Nascar shrine in his room. I lived 4 years in MI, and it's a running family joke that you shouldn't date guys who love Nascar and park their cars on their front lawns, even though I did just that. I will say, it's not often you find a Nascar fan who's big into the more intellectual things in life, or things considered high class(fine dining and foreign films), but it doesn't make them bad people, and it doesn't always hold true. Heck, you don't meet many girls who love musical theatre and football equally, but I'm still here, aren't I? Given the rash of redneck humor (Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, for example), it doesn't seem so far out that people would crack that joke, anyways.

[Brazen Hussy]

The individuals who are responsible for the piss-poor dubbing of "Life Is Beautiful" should be stripped naked, coated with honey and staked to an anthill on a 100 degree day. That was one of the saddest excuses for dubbing I have ever seen and I only managed to suffer thru about 2 minutes of it.

I saw "Life Is Beautiful" with subtitles and I loved it. I cannot imagine having the same emotions after watching it with the bad dubbing. It wuold take all the soul and beauty out of it.

If y'all couldn't tell, I love subtitles movies. Yes, I am a dork.

[MoonChild2007]

I think dubbing over foreign films loses the film's authencity. I am one of the few people who love foreign films. They are more original than the tired old sequels, remakes and lame comedies of american cinema.

I don't understand why clerks or cashiers have to tell ANYBODY about a film. They just ring up the stuff. It also would help if people would STOP and READ the fine print before buying a movie. I knew Pan's was foreign to begin with. Also, this film was in fact nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars so how can people NOT know its subtitled?

We also must understand that about 90% of films are in english and yet people are complaining over a film that is subtitled?

There are lots of additional complaints about the violence in this movie, a lot of people were expecting another Narnia from the advertiments.

Why do people judge a film based on ads? Sometimes ads do NOT capture the TRUE aspect of a film, just the COMMERICAL parts of it. If they advertised it as a bloody movie with fantasy elements then nobody would watch it. I guess some people don't understand that not every film is going to be all sunshine and rainbows.

[Gravekeeper]

Star Ocean: The Second Story for Playstation. Worst. Voice Acting. Ever.

Baten Kaitos on the Gamecube. Few hours into that game and you *will* be able to morally justify kicking a puppy if it will make the voices stop. I've never been so relieved to have a party member get removed from my party because of a plot point before. Then so pissed when it returned him.

God I hate you Kallas. So much.


As for Pan. I didn't know it was subtitled either but it wouldn't bug me. 99% of what I watch is subtitled ( <3 anime ) but even if it wasn't I'm not morally offended by being forced to read.

But then again I think Nascar sucks... >.>

[Luna]

Pan's L. was a beautiful movie. Nothing like I thought it would be - but it was great. I'm also a huge fan of Hero, Crouching Tiger and damn I can't remember the other one. Subtitles don't bother me as I read at the speed of lightening anyway.

I've really just started watching foreign films recently and have found myself to be more emotionally moved than ever before. If you are an anime fan - watch Grave of the Fireflies. Prepare to cry and have your heart wrenched out of your chest.

Hubby, on the other hand - who won't read an email if it's "more than one scroll of the mouse" - refuses to watch subtitled movies. Simply refuses.

Sigh. So much lost time together where I have to go see them with someone else. He's missing out.

[Knightmare]

City of Lost Children.
Pan's Labyrinth.
Nightwatch.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

All excellent movies. All subtitled.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

[powerboy]

Mad-Bassist, its cool, I know what you meant. I just had to be a smart-ass.

I do not mind sub-titled movies & anime. I do not mind dubbed movies, if the voices are good, and not crappy.

[KamenRiderOsaka]

I love subbed movies. Some of my favorite movies are in Chinese and Japanese. I remember being in high school, and we watched Raise the Red Lantern, and our teacher didnt tell us it was subbed. So many people slept thru it, and they missed out on a great film, story and imagry wise. My stepdad didnt like Crouching Tiger because it was subbed, even though he loves to read.

Hubby doesn't like subtitles. He claims it's because he "can't read them fast enough" or has to pay more attention to the words than the movie itself. It sucks, cause I had to watch Hero with him dubbed (thank god I watched it before Tarantino got hold of it, the dub was awful!) but he actually watched House of Flying Daggers subbed. He will only watch anime with me as long as its dubbed (except Ebichu, which has no dub) and he was able to enjoy Moon Child.

Sorry, thread jack.