ok. i for one absolutely HATE dubbing in pictures. i much prefer them to be subtitled. its not only that sometimes the people that do the actors voices are awful, or that you can tell the lips dont match the words they are saying.

its also that when i go see the movie, i want to hear the REAL actor speak and not some guy in a booth. acting is not only the pshysical perfomance, but also the speech. when i see deniro, i want to hear deniro, or if i see takeda (japansese actor famous for his samurai movies) i want to hear takeda, and the same for every language. its just not the same the other way.

what do you guys and girls think?

I totally agree! Subtitles all the way!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dreamer128:
I totally agree! Subtitles all the way!<hr></blockquote>

I agree. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Of course, thank God in the Netherlands it's normal to sub foreign series and movies, not dub them (only happens with some cartoons meant for children), but in other countries, like Germany and France, they don't do anything else... :(

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Grojlach:


I agree. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Of course, thank God in the Netherlands it's normal to sub foreign series and movies, not dub them (only happens with some cartoons meant for children), but in other countries, like Germany and France, they don't do anything else... :( <hr></blockquote>

Yea.
Hey, did you notice that those Cartoon Network cartoons, like Dexter's Lab and such, were a lot funnier when they were still in English? They s**k now that they are dubbed in Dutch.

I prefer subtitles. I agree with the point that the voice is part of the acting too - inflection, tone, emphasis etc. all form part of the actor's performance - and even if you don't understand the language you can gain a lot from those aspects of speech.

I agree too. I definately prefer subtitles over dubbing any day, unless it's in Spanish, in which case I don't want to watch it at all :D

PS. No offence to Spanish speaking people, it's just that Spanish has to be one of the ugliest sounding languages out there. Heck it's almost as bad as Americanized English ;)

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Darkman:
I agree too. I definately prefer subtitles over dubbing any day, unless it's in Spanish, in which case I don't want to watch it at all :D

PS. No offence to Spanish speaking people, it's just that Spanish has to be one of the ugliest sounding languages out there. Heck it's almost as bad as Americanized English ;) <hr></blockquote>

Oh, I LOVE the sound of Spanish. Can't go wrong with that language as far as I am concerned! Not that I speak any, mind you...

I agree all the way! I infinitely prefer subtitles over dubbing, for the same reasons. It's so true that speech is an integral part of acting. I know that that's why the dubbing is done by "voice actors" but they can never approach the same level as the person who played the part.

Well you can look at this from two aspects..
Yes, a movie is a disaster when it's dubbed, almost impossible to watch..
But it is also a disaster to the native language in the long run..
When more and more of what you come across in your daily life is in english, then it gets integrated in the native tongue and after a while, it will probabrly consume it completely..
Now take Sweden for instance (also known as America's 53rd state ;) ) where so many words have been "americanized" and so many new english words have been accepted that people born 40 years ago (or later of course) don't understand what the youths are saying..
And I know this isn't just happening in Sweden ;)
This might be a good thing, Sweden becoming more American, but it's also a very bad thing for the nationalism feeling..(that sounded strange?)..
And since they speak english in 85% of all the movies that are shown in Sweden, this all is going very fast..
But the difference is huge between the countries that dub and those who don't..

(This was written while I was very tired so please, overlook any spelling mistakes and sentences that make no sense [img]smile.gif[/img] )

Dubbing must DIE! First of all they can't find proper people to dub things with, the voices just NEVER fit, also, it ruins every single joke! Blech, it's almost as bad as translating books, now there's another horrible thing.....

I have to agree I prefer subtitles to dubbing... BUT... being a person of limited vision, the subtitles have to be done right. Large enough, clear enough font etc. And that can be tough to do during a conversation without falling behind.

In Iceland we put subtitles on all movies (well except for childrens pictures, they dub them)
In Europe they dub the movies
In the US they just make a new movie

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Personaly I hate dubbing it is never as good as the real acting

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jorath Calar:
In Iceland we put subtitles on all movies (well except for childrens pictures, they dub them)
In Europe they dub the movies
In the US they just make a new movie

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Personaly I hate dubbing it is never as good as the real acting<hr></blockquote>

They don't dub everywhere in Europe. As Grojlach already pointed out, in the Netherlands we use subtitles all the time too ;)
But you're right about the big picture. (No pun intended :D )

j'aran is right. they dont dub everywhere in europe. here in madrid for example, it is a combination of both. sadly (for me at least) 90% of the cinemas show the movies dubbed, while the rest show them subtitled. strangely, those cinemas are attended by a majority of foreign students or tourists, and by a minority of spaniards.

an interesting point is that if you ask them (spaniards), they tell you that they just cannot read and watch the movie at the same time. its absolutely impossible for them since they are used to watching movies translated from very early age, so they have to force themselves to read the text, and by doing so they miss seeing the movie. me (being from argentina, where almost everything is subtitled), i am perfectly used to it as all people from a "subtitled culture". [img]tongue.gif[/img]

personally i just cant bear to watch a dubbed movie. it gets on my nerves, and eventually ruins the whole experience.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by J'aran:


Yea.
Hey, did you notice that those Cartoon Network cartoons, like Dexter's Lab and such, were a lot funnier when they were still in English? They s**k now that they are dubbed in Dutch.<hr></blockquote>

Absolutely! :(
Since I moved to live on my own in Eindhoven, I haven't been able to see any Cartoon Network series because I can't receive it for some strange reason. But when I'm back at my parents' home and I turn on the TV for some good old Cartoon Network, I get smacked in the face by Dutch imitators... Cartoon Network lost a lot of its charm with the dubbing, but I suppose it was necessary to compete with other children's sites since young kids prefer watching something in dutch over English. At least I think that's what they think... When I was young I sticked to English cartoons only (Sky Channel). ;)

<font color="lightblue">
An example of a great movie that I just saw on Saturday is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie is in Mandarin, with English subtitles. I dind't miss a thing, and was so into the movie, it seemed natural to be reading...almost as though the actors were saying the words! Granted...that movie had alot of action and fast moves, so I had to be quick and not blink, but it did not ruin the effect of the movie for me at all.</font>

<font color="white">By the way Darkman...your "P.S." messaage was not appreciated and wrong to voice publically. </font>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Larry_OHF:
<font color="lightblue">
An example of a great movie that I just saw on Saturday is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie is in Mandarin, with English subtitles. I dind't miss a thing, and was so into the movie, it seemed natural to be reading...almost as though the actors were saying the words! Granted...that movie had alot of action and fast moves, so I had to be quick and not blink, but it did not ruin the effect of the movie for me at all.</font>

. </font><hr></blockquote>

I saw the dubbed version of Crouching Tiger and simply could not stand it! It was horrid!!! The voices didn't match my perception of the characters I was seeing, nor was it synchronized (how can you synchronize American English words to Chinese lingual movements?)

When I lived in Italy, I noticed several American shows being dubbed for the Italian media. They lost most of the meaning in the translation, tho. I agree that language is not just the words themselves, but also cadence and timbre.

I'd say subtitles every time!

Dubbing somehow cheapens movies, imo. I spend more time noticing how the words just never fit the moving lips than I do in what is actually being said. But I must admit to enjoying the old 'Bruce Lee' movies.

I've recently taken an interest in subtitled movies - watched a french one 'Horseman on the Roof' that I thought was very good. Much better than dubbing.

I was very disappointed, when I saw the German version of shrek (OK, I didn't se the whole film, only a few minutes on DVD, and I watched the englich version first). But the donkey, spoken in the original film by eddie murphy is just great. The German translation is just poor (or better, not the translation but the voice itself; lots of the humor just got lost).

I actually liked the english dub for Crouching Tiger. When I watched the dub I actually liked it better, because I could focus on the character's action.

While reading subtitles I rarely pay any attention to the original voices. Im a visual person and require that I see whats happening on screen, the voices are mostly in the background unless there is just pure dialogue going on (when watching a sub movie that is). Subtitles are a bit of a distraction for me because they force me to focus on them while I would rather just watch the movie as a whole.

For most live action movies I do prefer subs though, because most dubs arent done very well. Now when I watch anime (Japanese Animation), I prefer the dub almost all of the time. There is little issue with voices matching mouth movements, and I, once again, get to focus on the action and not the dialogue at the bottom of the screen.

I do live in the U.S. though, and can see how dubs could effect Europeans. We have a little French up in Canada and a lot of Spanish down below but they have little effect on what language is used primarily. You guys have numerous languages all around you and I can see why many would prefer subs. Im sure most dubs are done just as badly as the ones here.

Just my 2.