Foreign films - subtitles or dubbed?

[Termite Man]

I've just bought a load of foreign films and tv programmes on DVD and I will be watching them with subtitles even though dubbed versions are available on the discs. I was just wondering what the prefered way of watching foreign films is on urban.

 

[Belushi]

Subtitles every time, can't watch anything dubbed.

 

[trashpony]

I want to hear the actors speaking, even if I can't understand what they're saying.

 

[Part 2]

Subs 99.9% of the time. Although I've a fondness for a badly dubbed version of Drunken Master.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Subtitles. Dubbing is really distracting, especially if, like me, you rely on a degree of lip-reading.

I kept making Greebo laugh last time we were watching German telly by saying "I don't know what that news-reader actually said, but her lips just shaped 'anal sex for everyone' " and the like.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Subtitles

for some reason people think it's ok to dub animation whereas they wouldn't dub film

 

[discokermit]

subtitles.

sometimes though, i like to watch films in the original language without the subtitles on at all.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

sometimes though, i like to watch films in the original language without the subtitles on at all.

so far i've only done that with porn

 

[DotCommunist]

Subs all the way, although similar to above mentioned drunken masters I quite like the awful dubbing on bruce lees Fist of Fury

 

[skyscraper101]

Subtitles every time, can't watch anything dubbed.

This. With the possible exception of old kung fu movies because thee's added comedy value in dubbed.

I don't know how people can watch dubbed movies or TV generally.

 

[skyscraper101]

Subtitles every time, can't watch anything dubbed.

This. With the possible exception of old kung fu movies because thee's added comedy value in dubbed.

I don't know how people can watch dubbed movies or TV generally.

 

[discokermit]

so far i've only done that with porn

try it with a regular film. you can get into it a lot better not being distracted by the subtitles constantly pulling your eyes down to the bottom of the screen.
sometimes you haven't got a clue what's going on though, which makes it less like watching a film and more like watching foreigners do stuff.

 

[Greebo]

Subtitles, dubbing never really works and gets distracting.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Subtitles please. Except Spaghetti westerns.

 

[strung out]

I always watch dubbed versions of animated foreign films (usually studio ghibli). Other than that, I prefer subtitles.

 

[skyscraper101]

Subtitles every time, can't watch anything dubbed.

This. With the possible exception of old kung fu movies because thee's added comedy value in dubbed.

I don't know how people can watch dubbed movies or TV generally.

 

[yardbird]

I want to hear the actors act - in no time I forget I'm reading subtitles.

 

[fatherjack]

I've just bought a load of foreign films and tv programmes on DVD and I will be watching them with subtitles even though dubbed versions are available on the discs. I was just wondering what the prefered way of watching foreign films is on urban.

Learn the language?

 

[discokermit]

funny how everyone seems to find the aural distraction worse than the visual one.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

try it with a regular film. you can get into it a lot better not being distracted by the subtitles constantly pulling your eyes down to the bottom of the screen.
sometimes you haven't got a clue what's going on though, which makes it less like watching a film and more like watching foreigners do stuff.

i've spent 10+ years watching anime. you get used to speed reading or at least reading wile still seeing the rest of the screen.

 

[skyscraper101]

Dubbing should only be done in comedy brummy and scouser a la Eurotrash.

 

[fatherjack]

i've spent 10+ years watching anime. you get used to speed reading or at least reading wile still seeing the rest of the screen.

and you never thought to learn Japanese?

 

[Part 2]

Subtitles

for some reason people think it's ok to dub animation whereas they wouldn't dub film

I was gonna say animation is okay for kids when it's dubbed, then remembered the dubbed foreign cartoons they showed in the school holidays when I was a nipper.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

funny how everyone seems to find the aural distraction worse than the visual one.

it's less about distraction and more about loss in my case

the loss of vocal part of the original acting is a big one. subtitles are something you can get used to where as dubbing will always remove something

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

and you never thought to learn Japanese?

i'm not very good with languages.

 

[fatherjack]

Apparantly Japanese and Mandarin are quite easy to learn.

 

[discokermit]

i've spent 10+ years watching anime. you get used to speed reading or at least reading wile still seeing the rest of the screen.

i disagree. you can't see the rest of the screen whilst you're reading. not properly. and no matter how fast you read, you always miss something.

i've been watching subtitled films since i was a teen. it was only fairly recently though that i noticed what a barrier subtitles could be.

 

[_angel_]

Subtitles, esp if you're trying to learn the language as well. Altho all too often they don't translate everything that is spoken.

 

[Jon-of-arc]

just to add to the kung fu suggestions, I'd rather watch Hard Boiled (and other John Woo) dubbed, simply because the plot/dialogue isn't worth bothering with, so I'll save myself the effort of having to read it. Then again, those films you really need to just skip to the action bits straight away.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Apparantly Japanese and Mandarin are quite easy to learn.

after 10 years so far all i've managed is kono bangumi ha goran no suponsaa no teikyou de okurishimasu.