Movie Answer Man: Let the right one in, but<br>with the wrong subtitles

Movie Answer Man: Let the right one in, but<br>with the wrong subtitles


April 12, 2009, 11:00 am 
Movie Answer Man: Let the right one in, but<br>with the wrong subtitles Image
  
 

Q. There’s been a lot of negative buzz among bloggers about the poorly translated subtitles on the DVD and Blu-ray release of the acclaimed Swedish vampire film “Let the Right One In.” The distributor, Magnet Home Entertainment, released the discs with subtitles that were “dumbed down,” compared to the more informative, accurate translation provided by the film’s theatrical-release subtitles.

Magnet has fixed the problem, and subsequent pressings will include the theatrical subtitles, with “theatrical subtitles” indicated on the packaging. Kudos to them for correcting the problem, but still, it seems like a mistake to even consider the misguided “benefit” of dumbed-down subtitles that eliminate subtleties of character and dialogue.
Jeff Shannon, Seattle

A. Mike Cucinotta of iconsoffright.com seems to have broken the story and uses lots of screen grabs to document the tone-deaf dumbing-down. For example: Oskar, a 12-year-old boy, sees Eli, a girl about his age standing outside on a winter night without a warm coat. She’s balanced on a jungle gym.

Oskar: Do you live here?

Eli: Yeah. I live right here, in the jungle gym.

Oskar: Seriously, where do you live?

Eli: Next door to you.

Oskar: How do you know where I live?

In the dumbed-down version, these are the subtitles for the same conversation:

Oskar: Where do you live?

Eli: I live here. Next to you.

Cucinotta says Magnet is restoring the original subtitles in discs now being released. Look for those crucial words, “theatrical subtitles.” The whole story is here:

http://tinyurl.com/dd7c3m

Source:Movie Answer Man: Let the right one in, but<br>with the wrong subtitles


Related Posts

Comments

We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional (use your real name, no keywords please), obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. Your comment must be related to the post. Please do not comment on how great or wonderful the post is. All comments are moderated and, if approved, will display in less than 24 hours.



Popular Incoming Search Queries For This Topic

This Post Is Filed Under The Following Categories

Roger Ebert Movie Reviews

Tags For This Article


www.theReviewList.com Archives

March 2010  February 2010  January 2010  December 2009  November 2009  October 2009  September 2009  August 2009  July 2009  June 2009  May 2009  April 2009  March 2009  February 2009  January 2009  December 2008  November 2008  October 2008  September 2008  August 2008  July 2008  June 2008  May 2008  April 2008  March 2008  February 2008  January 2008  December 2007  November 2007  October 2007  August 2007  July 2007  February 2007  October 2006  August 2006  May 2006  January 2006  December 2005  November 2005  June 2005  May 2005  December 2001  January 1979  January 1976  December 1969