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What are your opinions on sub-titled films. With the success of "Crouching Tiger" I have changed my opinion to a more positive outlook. If the movie is good enough I don't think the sub-titles get in the way. What do you think?

I certainly favor subtitles over a poorly dubbed version.

My most interesting experience was seeing "Dances With Wolves" in Tokyo in 1991. The 35mm scope print was flawlessly projected, with the original US soundtrack. The Japanese subtitles were printed along the side of the print, and the English-language subtitles (when the Indians were speaking their native Lakota language) were at the bottom.

I was very impressed with the subtitling/captioning system DTS showed at ShowEast last year. They use a small digital projector linked to a computer and DTS unit to project subtitles.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
EI Worldwide Technical Services
Research Labs, Building 69
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

We love 'em! Dubed films are a crime against humanity, in most cases. Our seniors love subtitles because they can read along when the ears fail them.

You bring up some very good points. I agree with the dubbed versions of film. I much rather read along, although some times I don't have enough time to read it all. I'm not a slow reader, but I like to look at FXs and placement of the shots so doing all three at once is kind of tricky some times.

Just update this topic. I rented "Crouching Tiger" the other night and was surprised to find that the sub-titles were gone and it was dubbed. Didn't really take away from the movies too much because they're little peopple with tiny mouths.

poppajoe: Was that copy of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a VHS tape, or a DVD. I would be surprised if the DVD didn't offer the original Chinese dialog as the primary track, with an option of English subtitles or English-dubbed version. I would choose the Chinese track with subtitles.

I much enjoyed the subtitled print I saw in a theatre, with the original language track.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Hi John-You guessed right. It was on VHS. I also saw it in the theatre with the the sub-titles. Although I don't mind them I find that they are hard to read, especially when a long conversation is taking place.