Lost in Translation?

So, when I was in Italy recently as I mentioned, I went to see the Dark Knight (again). I haven't written a review for it yet, so moved was I by it's brilliance, but I probably will soon, once I've watched it again and again and again. But not, I might add, in Italian. I've always thought it a little strange but Italy gets all its films dubbed. All of them. There's no provision for, because there's simply no interest in, watching a subtitled movie.
That. Is. Mental. Right?

I had this discussion with my Italian flatmate many times, and she said most people just don't want to read a film. But I cried, that means that you don't even know what any of the hollywood greats sound like. You've never heard Pacino rant? You've never swam in McKellen's throaty stew? You've never err, basked in oh I don't know, Meryl Streep's chocolatey fondue? It's insanity! The really odd thing of course, is that there is a version of these actors in every territory. An Italian Christian Bale. A French Michael Caine. And these aural dopplegangers get all the work their Hollywood progenitor instigates. How bizarre. What's worse, because familiarity breeds love before contempt, my flat mate said she, and these mysterious "most people", preferred the Italian versions before she moved to the UK, and now has to put up with these third rate "real" voices. Wrong. While I now know she was generalising horribly concerning her fellow countrymen's cinematic tastes as the video over the break demonstrates, it raises an interesting point..

I personally,wouldn't dream of watching even a Miyazaki film dubbed, and they're just (!) cartoons! Is this just a case of me being some kind of film snob, or is this a real issue? I refuse to believe it's just me. Cinema, if anything is a fusion of vision and sound (so sayeth David Lynch) and words are a fairly integral part of sound I would maintain. And while TDK retained its brooding glory, the Joker amongst others simply didn't work. So much is lost from the performance, I almost felt sorry for Italy. But then would the nuances of the performance truly be retained to the non English speaking ear with the original voice? Am I really getting the whole Dae-Su Oh story in Old Boy just because I'm listening to Min-sik Choi's voice and reading his words? Is this something I just can't comprehend because I'm English and so are most of the movies I watch? Is the following really a better option than dubbing?

I say, yes of course it is, don't be stupid. But I'm conscious there are other people in the world prone to opinions of their own. So tell me, do you people like subtitles in movies or does what you don't know not hurt you?

You heard me.

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Dark night

So, we are all a bit gutted about Heath. Difficult to pin down the precis of why though. I didn't know him. I wasn't a particularly big fan of his work. I've still not even seen Brokeback. It may be that even though I hadn't seen all (or even that many of) his films, there was still somehow a sense he was good. You know, like really good. He had the air of an older, reverentially respected thesp. He looked and carried himself like a good actor. Nolan calls it charisma in this touching tribute. Obviously his being so young and his leaving a 2 year old daughter behind him may be causing the sting a little. But most reactions I've heard focus on what we have lost. We wont get to see the films he would have made. We wont get to see him reach his full potential. We will be a bit weirded out now watching the Dark Knight. I suppose these are fairly natural reactions, if a little self centred. I can certainly relate to that last one - its probably the source of the majority of my feelings on the guy. Strange now to think the ultimate sicko psycho fuck character will be his last performance proper, as brilliant and compelling as I am utterly convinced it will be. Indeed, to have got the Joker down, as I keep hearing he did, I doubt we're going to like him much. Hopefully Gilliam will salvage something a little more palatable from this latest disaster for all the mums and grans to remember him by. I'm sure the Joker will do for me.

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