classic film on the big screen subtitled...

Mitch Cullin fpunk at yahoo.com
Fri Apr 9 11:54:47 EDT 2004


--- Tom Mes <china_crisis at hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'd really like to second Roland's suggestion of
> watching films without subtitles. It is an extremely
> educational and useful experience to watch 
> films in a foreign language without the aid of
> subtitles. Not that I'm saying we should forget 
> about subtitling, not at all, but cinema is at heart

> a visual (though today audiovisual) art form. 

I agree to some extent, Tom, although I suspect you're
fairly fluent in Japanese.  But please don't forget
that film is also--for the most part--a narrative form
as well.  Ideally I'd love nothing more than to just
view a film for its visuals alone, and, in fact, I've
done this.  However, perhaps a dual option should be
made available--one in which subtitles are provided if
they are needed, and can be removed when they are not
wanted (I guess that's called a DVD; in my case I
often watch a film first with the subtitles on and
then watch it again without subtitles so I can absorb
the images without any distractions).  In terms of
pure cinema, though, I think Shindo's "The Island"
best gives the ability of one not to be bogged down by
the distraction of subtitles while, at the same time,
being unable to speak or understand Japanese.  I'm
curious if there are any other Japanese films that
function in the same manner.  Suggestions?  Thoughts? 
Corn Flakes?

Mitch

=====
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http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/tidecull.htm
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=articleArchive&articleId=CA70934&display=searchResults&stt=001
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2000-11-10/books_set2.html
http://partners.nytimes.com/books/00/09/24/reviews/000924.24lewist.html
http://www.thepermanentpress.com/bookdisp.ihtml?id=303
http://www.fetchbook.info/Mitch_Cullin.html
http://www.corpse.org/issue_8/reviews/phelan.htm
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020613/242/d11q6.html
http://generationrice.com/index.phtml?talk=peterichang_1
http://www.minsky.com/branches.htm

"As the movie industry becomes more like the merchandising industry, the book business becomes more like the movie industry.  There's more pressure.  I think it's very difficult to be a young writer today.  I fear that young writers, after one or two books, will disappear the way young film directors do."  --Don DeLillo


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