My opinion for a movie is different because I read subtitles?

[SweetShark]

I had this question for a long time into my head and I decided to make now a thread about it cause I really found this very strange.

I am from Greece and most of the times when I go to watch a movie I watch them with Greek subtitles.

So, my question is:
Is there a specific reason, because I read subtitles to nearly all the movies I watched, to somehow affect my opinion about its quality?

I know this question sound very strange, but I would like to know.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I don't see why it would.

When I watch Japanese films, I insist on subtitles because the English dubbing is usually horrible,
but it's pretty much the same film, with the same plot and characters.
They're even usually saying close to the same things, the only thing that changes are the voices.

 

[Phasmal]

I can't see why it would change your opinion on a film.
I'm hard of hearing so I watch all my films with subtitles, if anything I enjoy a film more with subtitles. I have to watch without a few times, if I am at the cinema or round someone else's house (I don't like having to ask for subtitiles. Makes me feel deaf).

So I dont know why it would change, even if it was in another language.

 

[Sixcess]

I suppose only if the subtitles were a truly awful translation.

The only thing I have noticed, if I watch say a Japanese film, is that I don't register the distinctiveness of voices as much. On ocassion I've watched a foreign language film I'm already familiar with, except this time with the subtitles switched off, and whilst obviously I don't know word for word what they're saying, I'm more likely to pick up on subtle shifts in the way they're speaking.

However, terrible translations aside, I don't think it'd make a difference. I think dubbing would be much more likely to unduly influence your opinion of a film.

 

[Scrustle]

I think it does make a difference. If you're reading subtitles you're imagining the dialogue in your head, and mostly ignoring the actual speech in the film. Especially if you don't understand it. When you imagine the words you put your own interpretations on how lines are being said. Of course, even if you don't understand a language you can understand the tone of what someone is saying, but there's still an element of personal interpretation there when you have to come up with something yourself.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I don't see how it could. You still get to learn about the story through the dialogue the same way. I suppose it does alter your perception of the skills of the actors if you cannot understand the language and therefore do not know how well they are delivering their lines.

Otherwise the special effects, music, action sequences are totally the same.

 

[lord.jeff]

Yes it does, it can detracts from the actor and you can lose some of emotional impact of the character. Plus depending on the movie you can miss certain jokes namely puns.

 

[dickywebster]

Nothing wrong with subtitles, otherwise you wouldn't be able to comment on any film in a language you couldn't speak.
Besides, I tend to keep on for all my films, as I find there is some stuff I don't catch that actually adds to the film or the understanding of the scene, but there is sometiems a noise or just them whispering that makes it hard.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Your opinion of a foreign movie is always different whether it's subbed or dubbed, because either way you're watching a translation of a foreign language.

 

[SweetShark]

Yes actually it can. When you are readying subtitles you are not paying as much attention to the rest of the film and you will be more likely to miss small details. You movie will also feel different because you will not get the proper emotion, tone and subtlety with subtitles. There are also all of the issues regarding translation and cultural lingo.

Indeed, this is a good reason I must say.
That why sometimes when I see some reviews about some specific movies.
Many times I hear to tell the worst for some VERY TERRIBLE MOVIES [for them].
But for me, I am like "the movie was not so bad" or "What? Dude you are SO nitpicky..."

 

[SweetShark]

I think it does make a difference. If you're reading subtitles you're imagining the dialogue in your head, and mostly ignoring the actual speech in the film. Especially if you don't understand it. When you imagine the words you put your own interpretations on how lines are being said. Of course, even if you don't understand a language you can understand the tone of what someone is saying, but there's still an element of personal interpretation there when you have to come up with something yourself.

On a different note, I must say I enjoy more to reading books than watching movies for this specific reason you said.
But I only use my imagination when someone just describe a scene that don't appear in a movie.
A strange fact I must say.....I enjoy this kind of movies. The movies that let you uese your imagination I mean.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

Unless a character is speaking very slowly, subtitles tend to summarize what is being said instead of completely translating it. This is especially jarring during comedy series, where a lot of jokes are actually omitted because of this (or because they are hard to translate).

Because of this, I usually just ignore the Dutch subtitles of English shows and movies (unless the sound is turned off or the speaker has a thick accent).

When I'm watching something in a language I don't understand, though, I'm not really bothered by the limitations of subtitles; probably because I don't notice what is missing.

 

[GTwander]

The worst part about subtitles is that you can totally catch the surprise or punchline before intended. I like to keep them on because... well, fuck if I know - I just do... but I read really fast and tend to hit the jist of the dialog long before the actor has a chance to. I've had quite a few situations where I mentally stated "yeah, I wish I didn't have the subs on for this one".

 

[teebeeohh]

wait wait wait, you are from greece, how do you even afford to watch movies? aren't you guys broke to the point where you hunt for scraps of food in garbage bins and have leather clad nazis on motorbikes patrolling the streets?

 

[Llil]

I don't think so. If you live in a (non-English-speaking) country where movies and TV are subtitled instead of dubbed, you'll get used to it. With so many years of experience, you should get pretty good at reading subtitles without it distracting from the film.

I'm fluent in English, but I still watch English language movies with Finnish subtitles, because that way I don't have to concentrate so much on listening, and I can keep the volume lower. But I do still listen to what people are saying at the same time. If they're speaking a language I understand, I can follow both the speech and the subtitles just fine, and sometimes catch small things that were not translated. If I don't understand the language, I can still at least get the tone of the lines.

 

[SweetShark]

wait wait wait, you are from greece, how do you even afford to watch movies? aren't you guys broke to the point where you hunt for scraps of food in garbage bins and have leather clad nazis on motorbikes patrolling the streets?

Your post literally make me really sad and mad at the same time....
Do you really wanted to said that after you met someone from Greece?
I don't like your humor at all.