'Right One' Has Wrong Subtitles?
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Romance, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Magnolia, RumorMonger, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Remakes and Sequels, Fan Rant
I made a point of picking up a Blu-ray copy of Tomas Alfredson's chilling Let the Right One In just before leaving town for SXSW, so I didn't have time to pop it in and check the disc out for myself. However, from the look of things, I might still join in on Icons of Fright's geek outcry over the altered English subtitles on the Region 1 release that oversimplify the film's already sparse dialogue.
Browsing over the many provided comparison shots (see an example after the jump), I feel like we're already reading the dumbed-down screenplay for the coming remake. That may sound a bit too cynical, and this may all sound picky, but we all turned out for a certain version of a rightfully acclaimed film in theaters last fall, and by all accounts, this isn't the same thing we saw and supported.
Now I'm afraid to read the original novel and see how much of that was changed to begin with...
[Thanks to Devin at CHUD for bringing this to light.]
UPDATE: Magnolia has told The Digital Bits that, while it plans to re-issue the disc with a proper theatrical subtitle track, it will not be exchanging it for those already purchased.
Original
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New Version
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-24-2009 @ 7:07PM
Peter Hall said...
I was reading the Icons of Fright find earlier today. I too grabbed it on Blu and have yet to pop it in, but now I'm strongly considering sending it right on back to Amazon along with a complaint letter to Magnolia.
I saw people gripping about it here and there, but it wasn't until I looked at the comparisons that I too realized these are more than mistranslations of the language, they're downright mistranslations of the context.
It's inexcusable.
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3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Brian Marino said...
So, is it affecting the DVD as well? I just bought it yesterday on dvd and I don't have a blu-ray player. I'm very pissed as the version I saw in theaters had sucha beautiful subtitle translation.
I'll still get the creepy mood and visuals but its ridiculous that they changed the subtitles.
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3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Peter Hall said...
Yep, Magnolia used the same subs for both the DVD and BRD.
3-24-2009 @ 10:12PM
Brian Marino said...
ah crap.
Well, good thing I only rented it, i'll hold off on buying until this issue is resolved. I'll prob still watch what I rented, i'm in the mood for it and did pay for the rental.
3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Greg said...
That's so stupid, why would they do that? Makes no sense. It's such a great film, why ruin it with bad translations and not letting many of the people who didn't get to see it in theaters get a true viewing of the movie?
I rented the blu ray on Netflix, just arrived today, not I'm not sure if I want to rewatch it.
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3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Matthew said...
Balls. I bought it from Amazon on Blu Ray after all the hype I'd seen on this site. I'm sure it'll be a great, but I'll probably spend most of the film thinking about what I'm missing. Odd thing, since I don't really have anything to compare it to.
3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Jenn Brown said...
I haven't finished the book yet, but it reads very literate, not like the new and "improved" subtitles. It seems to be more proof that Hollywood hates me.
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5-23-2009 @ 12:12PM
rick h. said...
"more proof that hollywood hates me", now thats funny!
3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
Porcalina said...
That's incredibly annoying. I can't understand why they would do that. I read the book and it's very good. It goes into much further back story with all the characters and especially with the whole Jocke, Lacke, Virgina etc.. crew
If you saw the theatrical version I would recommend picking it up to delve deeper into the story.
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3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
e3m88 said...
Now you know how spanish (or any other language) speakers feel when they watch a movie. But a lot of people speak English too, so is not that bad.
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3-24-2009 @ 7:08PM
uforeader said...
I've watched LTROI with both the subtitles and with English dubbing. Notice too that the dubbed words are different than the subtitled ones. Does anyone know if the dubbed words are the same as the theatrical version?
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3-24-2009 @ 9:41PM
Adam said...
I think maybe. I got it in from netflix and it was dubbed (not very pleased about this). But over at io9 they had a screen cap with the simplified dialogue (Eli on the monkey bars) and the dubbed dialogue was the same as the original. Not sure about the rest of the film though, that was the only version I watched and I wandered off to do something else.
3-24-2009 @ 9:41PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Adam, you could choose the audio from Netflix. We picked Swedish with Subtitles. It defaults to dub but that's because Americans are general lazy and dumb.
As for the subtitles being wrong, maybe this explains why the film was shrug. It was interesting enough but nothing I hadn't seen or read before in a vampire story. Heck, the trailer made it seem like there was the vampire and a serial killer lose. The actual film nothing that interesting happens.
I'd heard so many great things I really expected something on the level of The Devil's Backbone or The Orphanage. Instead it was a well made and classy vampire film - and while nice to see something smart it didn't disturb me or move me emotionally.
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3-24-2009 @ 9:41PM
e3m88 said...
There is something i've never seen before. genre related.
3-24-2009 @ 9:41PM
Peter Hall said...
Well, in that case I wouldn't chalk it up to the poor subs, you just have no heart, Tick. ;)
3-24-2009 @ 11:32PM
Jeff S. said...
I prefer dubbed but only because at times the subtitles are too small and at time move by too fast, and I have trouble reading them. I like to think I read pretty fast, but I think DVD makers are all speed readers and enjoy putting as much text up as humanly possible in three seconds. I'd prefer to sit back and watch my TV then sit up close to the set and squint at the words as they fly past.
3-24-2009 @ 11:34PM
Adam said...
Well it appears my investigative skills leave much to be desired (I am also remarkably lazy). Still, what a ridiculous default...
3-24-2009 @ 10:49PM
Monika said...
This is getting ridiculous.
Having had family who were deaf, I have seen my share of subtitles. Long ago, I remember them being dead on. But increasingly, whether I watch a foreign film, or turn the titles on if I have to keep the sound low, something is off -- whether its translated, or one of those "OMG it's an English dialect we can't understand!" films.
The rationale escapes me. Whether you can spot it by listening and reading, comparing to the original, or because the thing is in English anyway, deciding to change the words does nothing but annoy people. It won't increase someone's enjoyment of the film, and will only annoy those that can tell the difference.
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3-25-2009 @ 11:57AM
C.A. said...
When can folks expect the corrected editions to hit?
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3-25-2009 @ 11:57AM
jason said...
As a deaf person I already have a list of sources or DVD versions I will not buy/rent/view because the captions/subtitles are so reliably bad or missing.
Magnolia is now added to the list.
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