Let the Right One In - sad that DVD ships with English overdubbs

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s1rrah

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I'm not sure how many folks here saw Tomas Alfredson's insanely good vampire movie, "Let the Right One In" ... when it debuted back in mid 2008 ...

I spent thirty minutes searching around this forum before posting so please forgive me if there is a thread started.

But as most critics will agree ...

I feel it is instantly historic as being one of the most heartfelt, ugly and honest takes on the Vampire mythos/genre that has ever been set to film.

And, ironically enough ... it was released around the same time as that ghey and trite piece of commercial garbage, "Twilight" was ... and it features a remarkably similar storyline ...

Both heartwarming and disgusting ... unlike most Vampire screen tales, this one does not leave you sort of wishing you could be a Vampire .... much to the contrary, it leaves you grateful that you are not.

Anyway ... I won't gush about the film other than to say I think it's just about the best film released in 2008 (and arguably, some of the film viewing world might agree) ... there are A GAZZILLION reviews online and I suggest you seek them out ...

But what I will say, having just received my copy of the newly released DVD (Mar 10th), ... is that I'm quite upset that the DVD includes english overdubs!

Much like Guillermo de Torro's decision to release "Pan's Labyrinth" in spanish only, recognizing the value and importance that the films native tongue plays in understanding the tone/mood/message of the film ... I figured that Tomas Alfredson would chose to similarly release "Let the Right One In" as a Swedish language only film as well ...

Even considering de Torro's above mentioned film (which I love) ...

Never has a foreign film so demanded that it be viewed in it's natively produced tongue as "Let the Right One In" ...

The director made such a huge consideration to the use of voicing, tone and delivery in the VERY SPARSE dialogue ... and considering that voicing has *everything* to do with understanding the agony portrayed by the 12 year old, "Eli" ... who just happens to have been 12 for a couple centuries ... that I find it unimaginable that he'd chose to allow english overdubs ...

But FEH! This is just me ranting.

...

Otherwise ...

I find it impossible that this gem of a foreign film has not been mentioned in this forum and so I chalk it up to my inadequacies as a "search" utility user.

:)

But if you have not seen the 2008 released, Swedish vampire love story (just throw "Twilight" in the trash while your at it) ... and if you are a fan of the Vampire mythos/film genre ... then you owe it to yourself to do whatever possible to view "Let the Right One In" ... as *soon* as possible ... and in it's native tongue.

Again ... the story is communicated mostly through direct actor interaction and some of the most perfectly choreographed scenic/environmental shots I've ever seen; the dialogue is extremely brief and is only that which is necessary to support the overall tale.

It's a treasure of a film ...

....

</rant over>

....

:)
 
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I prefer dubbing to subtitling -- even mediocre dubbing.

Subtitles are too distracting. I'm supposed to be watching a movie, not reading a movie. If dialogue is so important that you need to hear a specific inflection in someone's voice and it's not reinforced with visuals, then the movie has failed to be a movie and it's just a talking book with moving pictures.

The other thing which bugs me about subtitles is that a good director will very carefully orchestrate the mise-en-scene so that your eye moves over the image in a set pattern to reveal information. Subtitles obliterate this feature of films (for me one of the best features), and you're forced to choose between understanding what's going on or viewing the film the way it was intended.

A well-done film needs no subtitles or overdubs -- you can easily understand the gist of what's happening through visual action and the actor's expressions. I watch many foreign films without subtitles, turning them on only when I obviously missed something important.
 
I really don't like overdubs either, I much prefer subtitles. I've watched enough foreign films now that I forget I'm reading text. I agree - there's something about hearing the film in it's original state that is so great. I loved the voices in pans Labyrinth and couldn't imagine that being overdubbed. I feel the same way with this film.

I really enjoyed this film. I thought it was incredibly powerful - very thought provoking, soft, dreamy, I really liked it. Really good performances.

The score is really something as well.
 
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pmark23 said:
I prefer dubbing to subtitling -- even mediocre dubbing.

Subtitles are too distracting. I'm supposed to be watching a movie, not reading a movie. If dialogue is so important that you need to hear a specific inflection in someone's voice and it's not reinforced with visuals, then the movie has failed to be a movie and it's just a talking book with moving pictures.
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I have to agree with this.
To me film is about what's not said many times and what may be in the scene as a look or a prop or a gesture.
When I'm reading more than I'm viewing I usually need to go back and either watch a scene over or watch the whole movie again.


It's impossible to translate one language to another without something being loss but I'll take that over reading a film.


That said, thanks for posting about this film overall because I had not heard of it and I rather like different views on what are possibly the most used “monsters” in the history of entertainment.


Gotta love those pesky vampires...
 
Hidef1080 said:
That said, thanks for posting about this film overall because I had not heard of it and I rather like different views on what are possibly the most used “monsters” in the history of entertainment.


Gotta love those pesky vampires...
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Go get it immediately ... guaranteed to be a refreshing bit of genre fare ...

What I think most wonderful is that it's one of the most touching love stories ever, cleverly disguised as a "horror" film ...

Again ... it succeeds in all areas that Twilight (MHO) was such a hideous flop.

When "Eli" said to the poor bullied Oskar, "You've never hit back have you? You have to hit back. Hard." I was completely smitten.

...

Anywho ...

Thanks for all the comments, interesting takes on the whole subtitle thing.

I'm definitely a fan of viewing a film in it's native tongue but only when poetry is involved ... only with films that are crafted around a certain tone and delivery of dialogue (as is Let the Right One In) ...

In fact, the film used Swedish voice overs for parts of Eli's lines as it was important to convey the impression (very wierd) of her being much older than her 12 year old appearance ... and it works so so well.

The dialogue is extremely sparce ... another reason the sub titles were not a bother ... as some of you have expressed is your preference, the film very much relies on exquisite framing and environmental shots ... as well as very poetic interaction between the two children ... to communicate it's message.

Otherwise ...

Were I watching an action movie like Ong Bak or Chocolate ... I would view with the overdubbing ...

Thanks again for the comments; very interesting.

:)
 
If anyone else has or gets the DVD, would you do me a favor and let me know if your "English Narrative Subtitles" setup choice works?

Mine doesn't ... I get no subtitles at all when chosing that ...

There is, strangely enough, a seperate "English Subtitles" setup option that works but for some bloody reason, it's a completely different (here and there) set of subtitles which were originally used in film release! And they are not nearly as good as what I'm assuming are the "English Narrative Subtitles."

They totally obliterate a couple key scenes with really crappy interpretations of the script ...

Does anyone know why they would do this?

I mean, have one set of subtitles for the film and another set for the DVD? Or even more curious, why would they include with the DVD, "English Narrative Subtitles" as well as "English Subtitles"????

I'm considering renting a copy to perhaps see if it's a problem with my particular disc ... or better yet, trying to find a way to get Amazon to take it back ...

So let me know if you have the DVD and if your English Narrative Subtitles option works ... they would be yellow subtitles (as in original film) and not the white ones you get when selecting the standard English Subtitles option.

Thanks for any assist.

.joel
 
Hidef1080 said:
It's impossible to translate one language to another without something being loss but I'll take that over reading a film.
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This would be true of the written as well as the spoken word so even us readers lose something in the translation.

I don't understand how anyone can stand to watch something when the lip synch is out. This by far outweighs any advantages of dubbing. It's terrible and as visually distracting as subtitles anyway.

I also find it distracting that for instance in world war 2 movies the Germans speak english just for our convenience. It's a quick reality check for me that I'm simply watching a movie and not observing reality as the creators would want us to.

You can say that us readers miss a lot of visual references but I think it is minimal and the real reason you want to listen to english is simply an aversion to the written word. (although the fact that you are still reading down to here tends to disagree slightly with that.)

Anyway I'm just pleased you are watching Foreign films in the first place as they tend to be much better at storytelling than Hollywood.

Back on topic - Let the right one in has just opened in limited release here in Australia. If I had any reason to think it was dubbed I would not go see it or buy it.
 
leepback said:
Back on topic - Let the right one in has just opened in limited release here in Australia. If I had any reason to think it was dubbed I would not go see it or buy it.
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It will show with english subtitles ... no dubbing in any of the theatrical releases.

On another note ... Amazon is sending me a new copy since my "English Narrative Subtitles" option didn't work ... these are the subtitles from the theatrical release and they are very good and in line with the Swedish dialogue.

The alternative "English Subtitles" selection ... for some reason are completely different than the "Narrative" set and are HORRIBLE!

I just got a bunk DVD ...
 
I don't want to read the lyrics to my favorite songs but that doesn't mean I have an aversion to reading,


I listen to music.
I read books.
I view films.


People interpret things differently but to say one is better than the other and people who go in the opposite direction are somehow “not fond of reading” is pretentious at best.:)
 
Hidef1080 said:
People interpret things differently but to say one is better than the other and people who go in the opposite direction are somehow “not fond of reading” is pretentious at best.:)
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Sorry to offend you...wasn't my intent and perhaps as I was typing it realised this would not always be the case (hence my bit about still reading up to that point).

Obviously like most things it will be a matter of personal taste and we tend to be fairly pointed on forums regarding ours being the right one.

Actually the only things I read are internet based or film subtitles so I suspect you actually read a hell of a lot more than me. I've never been much of a book reader myself and don't go out of my way to do so. With dubbed foreign movies it's the lack of lip synching that really annoys me and I can't understand how people can watch it. I don't like coffee or beer either but they seem to be reasonably popular too.
 
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