Terrible sound and NO subtitles!!! - Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009) Discussion

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] dingdongdenny 14 years ago

Well, it wasn't your hearing at fault, PieceofJazz, that's for sure. I'm two movies into the trillogy now and hopefully will watch the third one tonight.
The sound problems are not as bad in the second part.

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[–] hackermc 14 years ago

The first part was filmed on 16mm, the second part on 35mm and the third part on digital video. This was to give the impression that all three films were actually filmed at different times. This may explain why the sound got better in the second installment.

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[–] ursinevulpine 14 years ago

Mind you, just because it was filmed on different formats for each film, it doesn't mean that the sound should be any worse. They will all have recorded through external devices and not through the camera themselves and then synched the video and audio in post, as is common practice for nearly all films.

Unless they all recorded on different sound devices of different ages, then i would probably blame the accents on people finding it hard to understand rather than the sound recordings themselves.

Personally, i found the dialogue just fine in all of them. 1974 is my favourite one. I am British so that might have helped.

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[–] sgraf_x 14 years ago

Agreed. Did not finish the first one because of this and I am not sure that I will go back and try to finish it.

There is NO Gene for the Human Spirit.

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[–] LCShackley 14 years ago

Part of the problem is the thick Northern accent used by most of the characters. This one really cried out for subtitles.

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[–] dingdongdenny 14 years ago

I wonder if the American region DVD will include them?

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[–] Chops-4 14 years ago

I just viewed part I, American region, and thankfully it had good subtitles, although the dialog wasn't as unclear as it is in many British films that don't have them.

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[–] Wyrmis 14 years ago

Yeah, to back up Chops-4. It does have subtitles. I didn't have much trouble with the sound, either. Maybe they remixed or something to improve the quality.

Si Vales, Valeo.

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[–] crouss 14 years ago

Just watched part 1 on Netflix Instant. I agree 100% that the sound of the dialogue was bad, or maybe it was just the accents were tough to unscramble. And no subtitles were available.

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[–] steve_talamantes 12 years ago

I just watched the whole trilogy on Netflix, and parts 1 and 2 had subtitles, but not part 3.

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[–] dogsoldier9 14 years ago

They're speaking the same damn language that Americans speak: it's called Engish. They have a different rhythm and cadence to their speech but on the whole it's the same damn language! Pay attention and you'll get it. You must be kidding when you say that you need subtitles to understand this film.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] LCShackley 14 years ago

Have you traveled around the English-speaking world? I have, and there are areas (in the UK and the US) where the local accent is so thick that it's almost like a foreign language.

The heavy Northern dialect is not heard often in the US. Most of what we get is posh costume dramas, or Cockney comedies, which many Americans have gotten used to.

I've watched enough British programs to be pretty good at understanding most regional accents, but subtitles are a great help, especially when a lot of the dialog is so soft that it's hard to hear, let alone interpret.

Unfortunately, Netflix streaming video does not offer subtitles, which is one of the major flaws of that service (although I love having instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows).

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[–] cherubalways 14 years ago

"They have a different rhythm and cadence to their speech but on the whole it's the same damn language!"

Exactly. But, it's a different rhythm and cadence many American's aren't use to. Many of us may have similar problems with our own regional dialects (the deep south for example.) I usually have the worst time understanding Scottish accents.
Sign,
The Ugly American
California

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[–] Attila_Krieger 14 years ago

I truly found it awkward... why?
Because im Portuguese born and raised, learned english at school and i understand it just fine, i even play with accents sometimes, like scottish or like an indian guy speaking english, or a japanese guy.
Though english is not my natural language.
How can you not understand your own language(with different accents)?
Maybe people that are used to joke around with accents have a better understanding? I guess we might have a point here

Cheers.

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[–] FollicleMan 14 years ago

Well, I'd point out that, being bi-lingual and prone to experimenting with accents, you're probably more attuned to dialectic differences than an American used to always hearing people who sound like him. That said, I'm an American who has no linguistic skills and has never left the country, but I found all the dialogue, minus a brief phone conversation, perfectly clear.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Stirchley 13 years ago

However, the Netflix instant play (on which I original saw the trilogy) did not have subtitles.

The first two movies have subtitles, but the third movie does not. So annoying because this will spoil my enjoyment of the final part of this story. Why does Netflix.com do this? Give us subtitles for two parts, but none for the third.

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[–] kyyylekey 14 years ago

The Bluray has great sound and subs.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] thedude716 14 years ago

I actually had no problem understanding the thick Northern British Accents they used. And I'm American.

But the film is really fantastic if you take away the fact that it may have been fuzzy for you. I'm so glad I was able to watch it. Really fantastic direction and action.

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[–] boomstick7693 14 years ago

I understood it just fine. AND I'm an American. So...

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[–] Filmsweep-by-Persona 14 years ago

I tried it on Netflix Instant Viewing and, yeah, I could've made it through, but instead waited for the DVDs and subtitles (wish we would have had an option for English and then English for the hearing impaired)... anyway, it was a hundred times better with the subs on the DVD.

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[–] Mr_Vickers 13 years ago

I had the exact same problem. After it was going for 40 mins I realized I had hardly any idea what was going on because I could only understand every other word.

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[–] pf498467 14 years ago

I turned on the close captioning and it helped a lot.

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[–] busterbboy 14 years ago

Jeez, don;t you moaners have any imagination?

I watch countless American films which have various vernaculars - black, southern, New York - where I don't actually understand a word of some sentences, but that doesn't mean I can't understand what they're saying or appreciate the love of language and playful variations.
Like 'The Wire' for example - whole blocks of dialogue that, word for word, were incomprehensible, yet it seemed easy enough to grasp what they were saying.

Personally, I prefer to watch the film rather than read subtitles.

The sound was a little quiet, however, and again this is personal, but I thought this added an atmospheric, repressed quality.

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[–] queen_of_anarchy 13 years ago

busterbboy, you nailed it in one. Same goes here. I don't need to clearly understand every word to get the gist of what is going on. And I like being immersed in the dialect or slang of the region in which the film or show that I'm watching is set. I have seen shows with extremely thick accents that I've still not required subtitles for but, I can understand that some may like to have them available. I always urge people to refrain from treating a film in your native language as a foreign film - that's just insular and weird. Busterbboy gave a great example with The Wire - another example for those in the US is the original series of "Life on Mars" and their Mancunian (or purely English) slang, for example, calling someone a "div". You don't need to be from Manchester or even England to realise that it is a simile for being dim-witted or stupid - you just need to hear it used in context. I agree with busterbboys - "Jeez, don't you moaners have any imagination?"

And finally, as an endnote, what is everyone going on about the sound?? I watched this tonight on SBS in Australia and had no trouble what-so-ever. As another poster expressed (Portuguese I think) - English is English so what's the problem????

I don't want this last comment to sound anti-American but, with such an insular nation, you really need to get out more... (If you don't see the humour in THAT statement then you REALLY have bigger problems than understanding a film or TV show).

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[–] dingdongdenny 13 years ago

That is the most idiotic and disrepectful post to screenwriters I've ever read. Congatulations, it doesn't matter what is written, you don't even need to understand it...Jeez!

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[–] raswens 13 years ago

I wish I had seen this thread before I watched it. I got it from Netflix, with no closed captioning, and I don't think I understood more than half of the dialog. The combination of the unfamiliar accent, the poor sound quality, and the fact that most of the characters mumbled made it almost impossible to follow. Since I only have a vague idea of what happened in the first installment, I don't think I will be watching the second and third.

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