Comments on: Don’t Be Afraid to Read Your Movies

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:56:41 +0000

I am English but live in The Netherlands, subtitles are a part of life over here. TV shows are not dubbed but subtitled, and not only did it help me learn the languange on my own fluently within a few years, but also means that they have a much wider appreciation of film in the country. I am a big fan of foreign movies and the one issue is that the dvd’s over here rarely come with English subtitles, which I am still more comfortable with. This being said, my Dutch is good enough to allow me to enjoy foreign movies to their full extent. Namely one on your list. The Devils Backbone. Great little movie.

By: Leah

Leah — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:02:21 +0000

@Geof:

Thanks for leaving a comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the list. And I know what you mean – if only Americans realized how many tremendous films they miss because they don’t want to read subtitles. Many people think because they watched the American remake that they’ve watched the original film – just in English – but most times (like you said) the films are also Americanized and lose a bit of their “magic.”

Take care,
Leah

By: Geof

Geof — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:54:37 +0000

I always welcome recommendations on good foreign films (especially horror flicks) and always choose the subtitles over dubbing. That drives me nuts when people would rather watch washed out American remakes (n some cases) over the original. Wife loves Vanilla Sky but won’t check out Abre Los Ojos.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:49:58 +0000

What, Leah likes movies. I never knew this. :-)

The Devil’s Backbone and House of Flying Daggers are both great choices. Haven’t seen the other ones you mentioned. My favorite foreign film is Black Christmas. Hey, it was made in Canada, that counts. Or if that’s not good enough, Let the Right One In, Grave of the Fireflies, and Talk to Her are what first come to mind.