is it me or is there ALOT of translation [subtitles] missing in the movie? Half of the lines are translated, and most of them seem to be fragments of what the characters are really conveying. This REALLY annoys me because I know I'm MISSING something.
That didn't happen to me with the DVD, do you have to American one? One problem could be the viewing on your television. I know this happened to me for a couple movies, I had to change my viewing format from like wide zoom to like normal zoom or something.
shareI'm dying to own the UK R2 double disker but recently I read a review somewhere that English subtitles on this disc are inaccurate and also missing at times. Is this true? I'm really looking forward to owning this, I'll be thankful to anyone who could let me know if subtitles on R1 and R2 are same?
shareI don't know about the UK version, but the American version definitely has a poor job of subtitling. I don't think it's a problem with the DVD or anything, just a crappy translating job. I speak Spanish and noticed A LOT of simplification in the subtitles. I just turned them off after the first ten minutes because they were so inaccurate. Idiomatic or slang expressions were completely given up on, and a lot of lines were just left out entirely, at least for the short part I watched in subtitles.
share[deleted]
I totally agree with you. I speak spanish but the people I was viewing it with don't...
Anyway, I am in Tokyo, and we were viewing the American DVD on a region free player... I agree with you, the translation is shoddy, missing... Of course I know it's simplified but a lot of times the replies of the characters weren't even translated!
I am going to try and borrow the UK version.
thanks ;)
Hmmm...I don't speak Spanish (though I do know quite a bit, just not enough to be truly conversational though I hope to be someday), but I'm a huge fan of Spanish and Latin American cinema, especially Almodovar films and Mexican cinema in general (and Gael Garcia Bernal, I can't lie!). After a while, I got to the point that I know the subtitles aren't exaxtly correct, but I can deduce the true meaning both with my limited Spanish and the context of the situation. It's almost like you learn to "absorb" it without being fluent in the language, if that makes sense. This is why it irritates me when Americans like me refuse to watch subtitled films, because if they would give it a chance it would get easier as time went on.
"I guess I started smoking when I was about...four."
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Must be difficult to translate spanish. It's a language full of proverbs, set phrases, double entendres... and very varied in all Spain areas.
sharei've only noticed little things, such as when sole says "who put the tupperware out for each of us?" she says (in spanish) "one for you and one for me." you still get the point, but there are small differences like that in the translation.
shareIt's in the nature of subtitles to simplify and shorten the text into a concise form as possible. If you watch many foreign language DVDs with subtitles and you know the foreign language, then you will notice that it is common practice to not translate the dialogue word-for-word, but rather to find a more concise matter of saying it a different way. Yes, some things are lost in translation, but again, that is part of the nature of translation itself.
shareThanks for your "lesson" in subtitles. Of course I know that things are simplified.
I'm in Tokyo watching a DVD from America, on A region free DVD player... they are not all there.
teom i love you. that is all.
shareThe translation is worse than a high schooler could do. Sometimes they just leave out important nuances and sometimes there is a completely different meaning. It is not just simplifying for the text, it is a lazy, half-assed job of it. When watching it with friends who don't speak Spanish I translate in the fly for my friends because the subtitles are so awful.
shareI completely agree with u. But the thing is, in this partical movie its sooo funny the way they to say things... They r using very funny expressions from Southern Spain and its a pitty not the find the way to do the same thing in English. I mean, sometimes is funnier the way to say things that the idea/sentence itself. I guess most of the times is impossible to do it correctly.
shareI'm relieved i'm not the only one who thought the translations were piss poor. I can speak basic spanish (I hate preterite and imperfect, and don't get me started on the subjunctive), but even I knew some of the subtitles were way off.
Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt -Slaughterhouse-Five RIP Kurt Vonnegut
I started watching this film last night and came to this board because I was wondering the same thing. In some cases I can understand a few lines and I KNOW the subtitles are oversimpiflying much more than necessary. In other cases I cannot understand the Spanish and am frustrated about what I am missing.
Thanks to others for mentioning the UK version. I bought mine used from Hollywood in the US.
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Is there really a difference between American and UK subtitles? Anyway, I'm watching a UK DVD and they seem fine to me - I did have to alter the format on the screen though, to see the full text.
shareI watched a (the?) UK version and some of the subtitling was appauling. They entire sentance would appear on screen for about one frame.
Still slightly better than 70s kung fu films where the subtitling is in white and every character is wearing a white t-shirt.
The German subtitles on the European DVD are fine!
Gretchen: You're weird.
Donnie: Sorry.
Gretchen: No, that was a compliment.
I have the UK DVD and the subs are ok. I thought they were Americanised but perhaps not if people are reporting a difference between UK and US. I've also downloaded an HD version and the subs for that are terrible, perhaps they're the US ones? It goes out of sync, spaces between words are missing and some subs stay on screen for an age while the conversation has obviously moved on.
shareYeah, I noticed the same problem (of Americanisation). However, I'm sure there was a bit where Raimunda says ‘Aye, pet!’ as if she were from Newcastle (near the Scottish border)!
(I rented this on DVD here in Melbourne.)
As for simplification, it is possible that there was slightly more in this movie than in others. If so, it will be because of the larger amount of dialogue compared to, for example, an action movie. If they put in every word, most of the audience wouldn't be able to read fast enough and still look at the actors.
I'm normally dissatisfied with subtitles, so this film didn't stand out in that respect.
Balibari - That's not the American version. I downloaded that one too to have as a copy and it's terrible. I don't know who translated it but it's appalling. The English doesn't even make sense.
I can understand the need for the simplified subs. I'm a fast reader but watching this I didn't always have enough time to read and look at the picture. I'm going to chalk this up to being like Gimore Girls in Spanish, the dialouge was just so fast. I can't even imagine how this would be if they listed word for word. You also have to remember a lot of stuff gets lost in translation that's just how it is. They wouldn't be able to explain everything on the screen.
I think most Americans can figure out what's being said, even if they agree the subs are bad. Our Spanish is not Spain Spanish but we hear so much of it in everyday life we know enough to get by. My grandmother spoke Spanish all the time, even though I had no clue what she was saying I knew what she mean't. That's how it is watching the film. The subs just give me more insight. They're not mean't to be literal translation.
If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all
I don't notice that except for things that we should know without translating. If a character says "Sole," we should know that that character is talking to Sole. If a character says "no no," we should know that that character is saying "no no."
Besides, they compress things in closed captioning of English things too. Sometimes they remove entire sentences or reduce an elaborate explanation to "I did" or things like that.
First time I watched this I downloaded English subtitles on the internet - I THINK they were American. Subtitles were pretty bad. For example, in Spanish it said something at the start like "Morir en un incendio, no creo que haya muerte peor" (To die in a fire, I can't think of a worse way to die") or ("I don't believe there's a worse death") but it was translated as "Mama wanted to die in a fire?!" So they were really simplified.
But I recently watched the UK DVD and subtitles were fine :)
i think that there is something missing the subtitles. i speak both english and spanish so when i watched this movie i didn't really need the subtitles, but i was wathching it with my parents whose spanish isn't as good. there would be jokes and lines that i though were halarious and my parents didn't get them at all. but i know that if the english translation had been more accurate they would have understood more and laughed along.
share