MovieChat Forums > Il mostro (1996) Discussion > What the hell?

What the hell?

posted 19 years ago by toonscribe
7 replies | jump to latest

I was really disappointed with the technical quality of this movie. I don't know if my DVD was just F'ed up or what, but the Widescreen side of the disc had the titles in Full Frame (so the edges were cut off), so I put it in Full Frame, which showed them in Widescreen. Most of the movie was then shown in full frame. The dialog is very badly dubbed (in Italian, no less). It was almost as though they only really went for Roberto's voice and did the rest in Post. And the party scene at the beginning of the movie had the most flagrant, unmotivated violation of the 180 degree rule I have ever seen. I loved La Vita é Bella. I also enjoyed Johnny Stecchino, even though I watched it by myself in a library (makes it a lot harder to laugh). Il Mostro, though enjoyable, left a lot to be desired. The technical flaws were quite distracting, and the plot was very formulaic. The jokes were telegraphed ahead a bit too much, and anticipating a gag can take a lot of the fun out of it. In short, the story is very predictable and does exactly what you think it will. Not a terrible movie, but not Benigni's best. . .

What I want to know is, did I just get a bad copy or something? (I got it from Walmart DVD Rentals by Mail). Has anyone else noticed problems similar to what I have?

Thanks.

[–] ninles 19 years ago

this is not really a movie to enjoy based on technical characteristics.. it's dialogue based. it's not an action movie that has to look perfect..

[–] herrhitman 19 years ago

I had a problem with my dvd player where it suddenly started playing it in Pan & Scan, but I was able to fix it. Other than that the subtitles and widescreen were formatted fine. As for the voice dubbing, you'll notice that the people who were dubbed weren't Italians (namely Michel Blanc playing Paride). It happens in other Italian films... even to well known actors such as Philippe Noiret in Il Postino. In Europe there are a lot more languages than there are in the USA, so sometimes actors will be in a film that they don't speak the native language of and sometimes it's easier to have them speak the lines in their native language and then just dub them later (and then they can use their real voice when playing it in their country instead of dubbing for that). I'm not saying I support it, just that I understand why the production will choose to go that route.

[–] dioro 17 years ago

They obviously went with the french actors so they could sell the film in france too. My DVD is full-screen and you can see a few times how parts of the screen are missing. My DVD is all in Italian, but the title in the film appeared under the French name of "Le Monstre".

I liked the film, but I fell asleep a few times trying to watch it, so it has dull moments here and there, especially in the police department. Also, the subject matter of "The Monster" was extremely gruesome.

[–] konitzlee 18 years ago

IF you wish to seek for perfect technology, pick up any average hollywood nowadays movie, you'll find what you want.

Technology versus substance? Substance, indeed.

[–] scorsese802000 17 years ago

Am I wrong, or wasn't the dubbing intended to be poor? Since a few of the actors don't even speak Italian.

Grampa: That's my son up there.
Jasper: What, the balding fat ass?
Grampa: Uh, no, the Hindu guy.

[–] esoterica11 15 years ago

my dvd has a full screen side and a widescreen side. the widescreen side only shows the opening scene widescreen with the rest of the movie full screen. i hate full screen and find it very distracting and annoying that it doesn't work.

[–] 15 years ago

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