MovieChat Forums > Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô (1995) Discussion > Important Information (*****Spoiler*****...

Important Information (*Spoiler** )

posted 19 years ago by regresus
5 replies | jump to latest

The translation on the Tartan DVD release is incorrect at some places, especially in the ending scene the subtitles are completely wrong. I found the following post on Nice Flix Forums, which explains the issue:

I rented this last week & after watching it I was very confused. So I looked at Tom Mes's book Agitator, http://www.midnighteye.com/features/agitator.shtml. This only confused me more because the ending he describes was completely different from the ending on the DVD. Huh?

So I wrote Tom. Looks like the Tartan DVD carred by NicheFlix has some serious translation problems, leading to an ending that is almost the exact opposite of the original Japanese.

Looks like R1 releases of Miike's Triad Trilogy (Shinjuku, Rainy Dogs, Ley Lines) are coming later this year. Maybe they'll be well translated.

Below is Tom's explanation. You may not want to read this unless you've seen the movie.

The answer to this problem is quite simple: the translation of the final voice over on the Tartan disc is wrong. The subtitles on Tartan's version, as you noticed, say "He was my lover", but the voice over says "Tatsuhito was later killed in an alley". I have no idea what might have caused this error, but it's not the only subtitle problem on Tartan's Miike discs. Their disc of the otherwise superb film Ley Lines leaves entire scenes untranslated because they are in a Chinese dialect.

--
Ian
http://www.duallens.com
http://shawbros.typepad.com/shaw/

Philip Gerlee
Gothenburg
Sweden

[–] ColdBloodedJellyDonut 19 years ago

I thought that lover thing didn't make any damn sense. Thanks.

[–] metro_west_dude 15 years ago

Yes big thanks. I watched the movie and didn't understand the ending dialog either. I come to IMDB and VOILA! The answer!

Artie Lang Still Sucks.

[–] dasmachine 15 years ago

Thank you so much for this explanation!

[–] walidb123 15 years ago

Wow. That's a pretty giant mistake to make there b/c it's completely different.

Thank goodness I read this b/c it makes more sense now.

[–] carl75205 14 years ago

Yes, it is a bit confusing. I've seen two different subtitle files on the internet and the one that fits (I'm guessing since I don't know Japanese) end with the narrator being Wang's lover who also started the film. In the beginning he defines "Rontsua Pan" which is the term for a mixed breed that describes himself, Wang and the two Kiriya brothers - Tatsuhito and Yoshihito. All are misfits and troubled, not being able to fit within the pure blood Japanese societies (both good and bad). In the end, only Wang's lover seems to escape the carnage though it seems Tatsuhito tried to move on after Yoshihito's death.

The "purity" of a Japanese bloodline in Yakuza films is a repetitive theme which even translates into American film of such as Kill Bill: Volume 1 (Lucy Liu's character O-Ren Ishii).

Important Information (*****Spoiler****** )

Important Information (*Spoiler** )