"Foreign" Films

[MooseMom]

On a world-wide board like IHD, it's not easy to define "foreign films".  To most of the world's population, anything out of Hollywood is a foreign film.  So, I'll leave the definition up to each of you individually.  Do you enjoy "foreign films"?  What about them do you most enjoy?  Which are your favorites?  Do you watch them dubbed or subtitled?  Do you find that the cinema of certain nations are particularly adept in particular genres?

[monrein]

I like foreign films and am not a big fan of Hollywood movies at all.  I prefer subtitles to dubbed as I like the expressiveness that's conveyed in the original language of the movie.  I'm always a bit stumped by why a film like "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" that's just come out is now being remade as an "American" version.  I like to be exposed to world views that differ from my own.  I generally like smaller budget movies to the blockbuster type and I really dislike hyped movies.

[Rerun]

I cannot keep up with the subtitles.  I always miss the last 3 words.  I can pause the DVD but that gets tiresome.  I've never found one that is "dubbed" which by the way would probably drive me nuts.  I can't stand it when an older film has the words going a split second slower than the film.

So, no I don't enjoy Foreign Films.       

[MooseMom]

I like foreign films and am not a big fan of Hollywood movies at all.  I prefer subtitles to dubbed as I like the expressiveness that's conveyed in the original language of the movie.  I'm always a bit stumped by why a film like "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" that's just come out is now being remade as an "American" version.  I like to be exposed to world views that differ from my own.  I generally like smaller budget movies to the blockbuster type and I really dislike hyped movies.

Oh, don't you just hate it when they make the "American version"?  It's damned insulting.  My husband's favorite film is the American "The Ring", which I can't understand because the original Japanese version was so much creepier.  A lot of good cop dramas come out of Hong Kong, and the Spanish come out with some really creepy horror stuff.  Japanese horror is not bad, either.  The best thing about Netflix is that you can watch foreign films that would never come to your local mall cinema.  I'm watching a Japanese horror film right now, Onibaba, that takes place in medieval Japan.  It's pretty cool.

[MooseMom]

I cannot keep up with the subtitles.  I always miss the last 3 words.  I can pause the DVD but that gets tiresome.  I've never found one that is "dubbed" which by the way would probably drive me nuts.  I can't stand it when an older film has the words going a split second slower than the film.

I struggle a little bit with Japanese anime because I like looking at the art work, which is hard to do while reading subtitles. 

I've watched a lot of foreign films on DVD, and I don't recall a single one that didn't have an option to watch it dubbed into English, although admittedly that doesn't mean ALL films are dubbed.  But yes, I could see how dubbing would drive you nuts...it does me, that's for sure.

[Sunny]

Every once in a while I'll watch a Netflix foreign film. I prefer subtitles. I usually pay attention to reviews to make choices about what to rent.

[Stoday]

I thought the Japanese film The Seven Samurai was much better than the Hollywood version of it, The Magnificent Seven.

[MooseMom]

I thought the Japanese film The Seven Samurai was much better than the Hollywood version of it, The Magnificent Seven.

Ooooh, so true!!!  There's something about the faces of the people in Seven Samurai that I found so interesting.

[galvo]

Good heavens, I find myself agreeing with Stoday!

[monrein]

Just saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and thought it was very well done.  Of course they had to leave out, or simply hint at, some of the more minor story threads but it was a long film anyhow.
I can't imagine why they'd be making an American version of this but I'll wager it won't be as well done...will they make everyone drop dead gorgeous and set it someplace other than Sweden...maybe, but if the subtitles are the issue they could spend the money on good and careful dubbing.

[fc2821]

     I have enjoyed seeing "foreign films", that is not holywood movies, since the 1970's.  I've seen tons.  I prefer the French films because I don't have to read the subtitles, but I like films from every country. When I was in college, I had a course in cinema and photography in which we watched films (all kinds) for 2 hours and later we learned what was innovative or special about how they were made.  Here I saw my favorite foreign film for the first time "Le Jete".  It is only 28 minutes, but very very powerful. 
      I don't care for dubbed versions, like others I want the subtitles if I don't understand the language and to hear the actual actor's voices and inflection.  I despise a French film dubbed.  You loose a lot when you get the dubbed version and I am sure that applies to other languages as well.   

     I do not like it when they remake a foreign film in Hollywood.  Usually they are not as good as the original and they always tamper with the story line or chacters.  Changing them from the original and thus ruining the whole story. 
   
      Galvo and Stody you guys are right, the "seven Samurai"  is a much better film than "The Magnificent Seven".  Though the scripts are almost exactly the same.  It is the acting and the photography.   I really don't consider "The Magnificent Seven" as a remake though, it is (to me) a totally different film. 

[Stoday]

   I prefer the French films because I don't have to read the subtitles,

What do you make of this then? It's a lush opera film of La Traviata by Zeffirelli, sung in Italian with French subtitles!

Click

.

[fc2821]

Hummm, don't know much Italian but I don't think the subtitles match the Italian.  Not much of an opera fan myself, though. 
                              Or
Hummm, ne savent pas beaucoup l'italien mais je ne pense pas le match de sous-titres l'Italien.  Pas beaucoup d'un ventilateur d'opéra moi-même, cependant.


    It helps when you are maried for many years  to someone who learned to speak French at home. Il aide quand vous êtes maried pendant beaucoup d'années à quelqu'un qui a appris à parler français à la maison.   

[Stoday]

There was a French film that came out some five years ago called 'Baise Moi'. English newspapers had a field day hinting at the translation without actually translating it.

The film was released worldwide, except for Australia, where it was banned. Unsuitable for sensitive persons like Galvo.

 

[natnnnat]

May also have caused RM's temperature and BP to soar, not good not good. 

[galvo]

I think I heard the English translation being groaned by the English fans after their slaughter by the Germans.

[MooseMom]

I think I heard the English translation being groaned by the English fans after their slaughter by the Germans.

Ohhhhhhh, that's so cold.

[Stoday]

  @ galvo