General Movie Discussion - **please mark spoilers**

[Heather19]

Ah, ok, that makes sense. I thought you didn't care for it at all which surprised me. I'm not sure where I would rank it amongst all horrors. But it's definitely one of my favorites from last year.

[Heather19]

Jean, I just watched Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir last night. I'm assuming you've already seen it? It was really interesting. I had no idea that he was in Poland at the time of the Holocaust, and that his family was taken. He's been through some incredibly tragic things in his life.

[Jean]

Yes, he was a Cracow ghetto kid. That's why The Pianist is the film it is.

[Jean]

Still thinking about our talk from one of the Tournament threads - that Americans do not watch foreign films because of the subtitles. The thing is, the issud can be solved by a number of ways, and I wonder why they do not seem to work.

1. Don't want to sound like a smartass this time, but learning a foreign language, at least learn to understand it when spoken in movies, is not all that difficult. Pluses: you can do it by yourself; you get the enormous additional advantage of having learned a foreign language; you are sure of experiencing a film in its integrity. Minuses: initially, watching will be hard work, and for an indefinite amount of time you won't be sure you get all the intricacies. Time and practice are on your side here.

2. In some countries there is a tradition of dubbing foreign movies. Writers spend some time translating the original text the way it would fit the articulation, casting directors fiind actors with similar voices, then the film gets re-dubbed. Pluses: you experience a movie as a whole, very much like as if it was made in your own language. Minuses: you can never be sure it is adequate. In the former Soviet Union there was a whole school of such dubbing, and at least two generations of people who were denied any other access to anything foreign were given this precious gift of watching foreign movies without thinking of language barrier. I know that the same thing is (or was) very popular in Italy, and in some other countries of Western Europe.

3. In other countries there is a tradition of translating the movie, leaving the original voicetrack intact, but making its volume soft (although still audible), and adding the translator's voices above the original. This was you really hear the original voices and intonations, simultaneous with the voice of the translator, and, and, through an effort that is easy to master with time and practice, you get the meaning of what is being said, hearing the genuine way it is said. Pluses: both the meaning and the voices are adequate. Minuses: it really takes practice, and may be very annoying at the beginning.

3.1. Sometimes the above is done by a single voice, which is, come to think of it, more helpful if you want to master the art of listening to two voicetracks simultaneously. Most people, however, prefer another option:
3.2. done by professional actors. Then it is almost like dubbing, but cheaper and generally worse.

I mean, there are ways, and I wonder why they are not used in the USA. They all have their downsides, true, but still present some sound alternatives to reading subtitles (which I personally prefer to all of the above except 1; furthermore, even if you know a language well enough to watch a movie, subtitles sometimes are very helpful. I know that there are some English films, too, like Life on Mars, where the dialect is so thick even native speakers prefer to watch them with subtitles)

[Still Servant]

Still thinking about our talk from one of the Tournament threads - that Americans do not watch foreign films because of the subtitles. The thing is, the issud can be solved by a number of ways, and I wonder why they do not seem to work.

1. Don't want to sound like a smartass this time, but learning a foreign language, at least learn to understand it when spoken in movies, is not all that difficult. Pluses: you can do it by yourself; you get the enormous additional advantage of having learned a foreign language; you are sure of experiencing a film in its integrity. Minuses: initially, watching will be hard work, and for an indefinite amount of time you won't be sure you get all the intricacies. Time and practice are on your side here.

2. In some countries there is a tradition of dubbing foreign movies. Writers spend some time translating the original text the way it would fit the articulation, casting directors fiind actors with similar voices, then the film gets re-dubbed. Pluses: you experience a movie as a whole, very much like as if it was made in your own language. Minuses: you can never be sure it is adequate. In the former Soviet Union there was a whole school of such dubbing, and at least two generations of people who were denied any other access to anything foreign were given this precious gift of watching foreign movies without thinking of language barrier. I know that the same thing is (or was) very popular in Italy, and in some other countries of Western Europe.

3. In other countries there is a tradition of translating the movie, leaving the original voicetrack intact, but making its volume soft (although still audible), and adding the translator's voices above the original. This was you really hear the original voices and intonations, simultaneous with the voice of the translator, and, and, through an effort that is easy to master with time and practice, you get the meaning of what is being said, hearing the genuine way it is said. Pluses: both the meaning and the voices are adequate. Minuses: it really takes practice, and may be very annoying at the beginning.

3.1. Sometimes the above is done by a single voice, which is, come to think of it, more helpful if you want to master the art of listening to two voicetracks simultaneously. Most people, however, prefer another option:
3.2. done by professional actors. Then it is almost like dubbing, but cheaper and generally worse.

I mean, there are ways, and I wonder why they are not used in the USA. They all have their downsides, true, but still present some sound alternatives to reading subtitles (which I personally prefer to all of the above except 1; furthermore, even if you know a language well enough to watch a movie, subtitles sometimes are very helpful. I know that there are some English films, too, like Life on Mars, where the dialect is so thick even native speakers prefer to watch them with subtitles)

All valid options, but beyond that, the reason most Americans don't watch foreign films is that most foreign films don't appeal to mainstream American moviegoers.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the current taste of a mainstream moviegoer in America is pretty basic. They like superhero films, animated films, horror films (but only really basic ones, not the artsy ones) and huge action movies. That's about it. They're not going to watch a black and white Polish film that takes place in the 50s where a music director falls in love with a singer during communist Poland. It's just not going to happen. Plain and simple.

It's the very reason a film like Roma is on Netflix.

[Iwritecode]

All valid options, but beyond that, the reason most Americans don't watch foreign films is that most foreign films don't appeal to mainstream American moviegoers.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the current taste of a mainstream moviegoer in America is pretty basic. They like superhero films, animated films, horror films (but only really basic ones, not the artsy ones) and huge action movies. That's about it. They're not going to watch a black and white Polish film that takes place in the 50s where a music director falls in love with a singer during communist Poland. It's just not going to happen. Plain and simple.

It's the very reason a film like Roma is on Netflix.

[Heather19]

Yes, definitely true. I feel like the only films that get made these days are big action superhero movies. I had free tickets to go to the movies around Christmastime. It took me 2 months before something was released in the mainstream theater that I could use the tickets on. I've definitely been visiting the indie theater way more lately.

[Jean]

Everything everyone has said sounds perfectly correct - of course - but the thing itself is so very wrong. The problem is that the demarcation line is drawn between countries, although it can exist only between genres.

I remember some 10 years ago - there may still be people here who remember it - I came to Gem theater here, bursting with what seemed to me a formidable joke. Like - look, guys, what I've just seen in an American film site, you won't believe it, bwahahaha, they actually have "foreign film" alongside with "action", "thrillers", "family" and the like, as if it was a genre, mwahaha. And my friends shrugged their shoulders, like: what are you surprised at, everyone is long used to its being a separate genre.

But no, no, it can't be! I won't go to see a superhero movie or a blockbuster based on special effects not because it is American, but because I am not interested in genre. I will rush to see "a black and white Polish film that takes place in the 50s" not because it is Polish, but because I expect to see some cinema there. I understand the difference between mainstream and arthouse (indie), and I totally see why the vast majority of people in any country prefer the former; but can't come to terms with the fact that this difference is identified as "American vs. foreign", and this false identification perpetuated in the absurdity of separating "foreign film" into a genre category.

(the absurdity is only made worse by the obvious fact that there are tons of arthouse movies made in the USA. Which would, if not for the language, perfectly fit under "foreign film", or what is usually expected of this category. And this brings me back to the idea I started this conversation with - why not use other ways of translating films in addition to subtitling them, and thus put an end to this preposterous tradition of confounding genres with nationalities?)

[Still Servant]

The interesting thing is that it didn't used to be like that. America would release all kinds of films and often times they would perform quite well at the box office.

I would say over the last 12 to 15 years, movie studios have invested more and more in these big tent pole films.

I could argue that it would benefit movie studios to invest in smaller films that appeal to a wide audience. The budget would be smaller and the box office potential huge.

As for the dubbing, I'm not sure that would matter. Movie studios need big name actors in order to sell a film. Hiring an A-lister to dub a movie still won't bring people to the theater.

Everything you said is spot on though. Most people do see foreign film as a genre, until that changes, it will never catch on with people.

[Ricky]

This is great.

http://www.ew.com/movies/2019/02/07/...stival-mash-up

[Still Servant]

This is great.

http://www.ew.com/movies/2019/02/07/...stival-mash-up

I'd watch the shit out of that!

[Mattrick]

Part One of my deep look at Melvin Udall from a As Good As It Gets
https://matthewblivingston.wixsite.c...ter-man-part-1


Part Two will be up in the next 48 hours.

[Mattrick]

Part 2 of my look at Melvin Udall.

https://matthewblivingston.wixsite.c...vinudall-part2



A Ghost Story is next!

[Still Servant]

Great piece there, Matt!

[Mattrick]

Thanks Mike. It's a little lengthy, which I was trying to avoid. It's the problem I got into writing my Barry Egan one before this...which I still have to finish. I don't know how to do The Ghost Story shot-by-shot without it being 4 or 5 parts though lol

[Still Servant]

Thanks Mike. It's a little lengthy, which I was trying to avoid. It's the problem I got into writing my Barry Egan one before this...which I still have to finish. I don't know how to do The Ghost Story shot-by-shot without it being 4 or 5 parts though lol

Although I watched As Good As it Gets years ago, I never felt inclined to own it. Your piece inspired me and I found the film on DVD at the flea market yesterday for a buck.

[Still Servant]

Has anyone ever heard of Kanopy? It's an app that allows you to watch movies using your library card. Check it out and see if you're library has an account.

The cool thing is that the films that are on there are smaller more independent films. You can browse their selection without having to sign-up. There's quite a few films on there that I've been meaning to watch like Killing of a Sacred Deer, Ghost Story, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, A Prayer Before Dawn and much more. There's also stuff like Moonlight, A Most Violent Year and Room if you haven't already seen those.

https://www.kanopy.com

[Heather19]

I've never heard of it. I'm looking it up now, thanks! I always use Overdrive to borrow audiobooks or books to my kindle from the library. I never once thought about video though.

[Still Servant]

I've never heard of it. I'm looking it up now, thanks! I always use Overdrive to borrow audiobooks or books to my kindle from the library. I never once thought about video though.

I think it's right up your alley. Especially in light of our recent conversation about how hard it is to have access to certain films. There's a ton of smaller run movies on there. In fact, the first film I watched was A Ghost Story because I've seen Matt talk about it so much.

[Mattrick]

I think it's right up your alley. Especially in light of our recent conversation about how hard it is to have access to certain films. There's a ton of smaller run movies on there. In fact, the first film I watched was A Ghost Story because I've seen Matt talk about it so much.

Did you like it? My next article is on A Ghost Story

[Mattrick]

As Chris Hemsworth is set to star in a biopic on the early days of Hulk Hogan. It's set for Netflix and is produced by Hulk, Eric Bischoff, and Bradley Cooper...who was rumoured last year to be playing Vince McMahon in a biopic. Perhaps he'll play Vince in this one?

[Heather19]

I've never heard of it. I'm looking it up now, thanks! I always use Overdrive to borrow audiobooks or books to my kindle from the library. I never once thought about video though.

I think it's right up your alley. Especially in light of our recent conversation about how hard it is to have access to certain films. There's a ton of smaller run movies on there. In fact, the first film I watched was A Ghost Story because I've seen Matt talk about it so much.

I went and signed up but my local libraries don't participate

Speaking of free streaming services have you guys heard of Tubi tv? I recently came across it on my fire stick and they have tons of free movies and tv shows. A lot of random older ones. I've mostly been watching that lately over Netflix and Hulu.

[mae]

I went and signed up but my local libraries don't participate

Have you tried Hoopla?

[Heather19]

Also curious what you thought of A Ghost Story. It was interesting, but very slow. I definitely recommend Killing of a Sacred Deer if you haven't watched that one yet.

[Heather19]

I went and signed up but my local libraries don't participate

Have you tried Hoopla?

No, I'll have to look it up.