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-   -   Ghost In The Shell 2 - bad subtitles makes dvd unwatchable (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-talk/402085-ghost-shell-2-bad-subtitles-makes-dvd-unwatchable.html)

Jepthah 01-19-05 10:18 AM

I REALLY hope this is true and gets done soon, because this was my 2nd favorite film of last year. Refusing to buy the incorrectly done DVD took a real act of willpower, but I think it was the only correct action.

Richard Malloy 01-19-05 12:53 PM


Originally Posted by logboy
having now watched the disc and having continued to follow discussion online, the major issue for me now is the talk that the subtitles have been dumbed down and obviously dont match those used at the cinema screenings of the film in the USA recently...

I didn't see GITS-II at the theater, but the issue you raise is every bit as big a deal for me as CCs vs. subs. I was aware that this charge had been made before viewing the DVD, and I did wonder on a number of occasions whether I was reading a dumbed-down translation.

This is something I've realized before, primarily when viewing new Criterion editions of films I'd only previously seen on VHS. Criterion always commissions new subtitles, and in many instances they are a revelation. Sometimes, it's only a more elegant translation, but often there's considerably more nuance and depth.

GITS-II is surely one of the more philosophically complex films of the year, and one needn't be a hermeneut to recognize that a nuanced and complete translation is of utmost importance to non-Japanese speakers. But for one to determine whether this has been done properly, one must be bilingual in Japanese and English and have more than a passing familiarity with questions of ontology, sentience, and other issues the story explores (a word-for-word translation often can be clumsy and inapt, so one really must understand the underlying concepts to properly translate such text). There may not be many on this forum who fit that bill, but I'd love to from them on this matter...

ZakVTA 01-19-05 02:48 PM

If and when they put out corrected discs, I will be getting one immediately. I do hope they make something to distinguish the corrected one. Maybe a new (non-ugly) cover perhaps? Yeah, sure.

ShagMan 01-20-05 08:46 AM

any word in replacing the CC'd disc with a captioned disc?

milo bloom 01-20-05 02:12 PM


Originally Posted by ZakVTA
If and when they put out corrected discs, I will be getting one immediately. I do hope they make something to distinguish the corrected one. Maybe a new (non-ugly) cover perhaps? Yeah, sure.

One way that comes to mind was when MGM messed up a Bond flick. They reissued it, and the new ones had asteriks on the top security sticker around the title. I believe it looked like ****Never Say Never Again****. So a casual buyer wouldn't know the difference, but somebody looking for it could easily see it.

And I wouldn't count on seeing them for several weeks. Remember, it's over a year and we still haven't seen corrected BTTF discs on the shelves.

eau 01-20-05 11:55 PM


Originally Posted by milo bloom
And I wouldn't count on seeing them for several weeks. Remember, it's over a year and we still haven't seen corrected BTTF discs on the shelves.

But they did setup an exchange program for the corrected discs though. Let's hope Dreamworks would setup a similar program.

bis22 01-23-05 07:49 PM

I hope this is allowed on the forum (mods please delete if it isn't), but since I'm a sucker for this sort of challenge, I used some really good OCR software to convert the subtitle track into text, removed all the extra closed captioning stuff to turn them into regular subtitles, and burned them onto a DVD with only the movie. I also made the subtitles smaller and closer to the bottom. If anyone knows how to rip the subtitle track from the burned DVD in a way so that other people who own the DVD can easily remux it with the main track and burn it, please just let me know and I can post the subtitle track. I know Dreamworks is issuing new discs eventually, but I had already made a lot of progress when I found out, plus, chances are the new subtitles will still be visually annoying.

Here's a sample:
http://webpages.charter.net/bis22/gits2c.jpg

cultshock 01-23-05 08:01 PM

Good job. It's kind of a tricky situation. I think that it is (and should be) perfectly legal to buy a unsubtitled DVD (or a flawed subtitled one, as in this case) and find or create your own subs to combine with the disc and burn onto a new disc (or if you have a HTPC set up, can just run the subs while your playing the disc). I guess the legal problem is circumventing copy protection, if you want to burn a new disc. But your situation is one where it would be perfectly warranted, IMO.

Jay G. 01-23-05 11:17 PM

For those without a DVD burner, but do have a DVD-ROM drive, you can view a new subtitle file over a DVD by using this program:
http://www.darkwet.net/dvdsubber/

As for burning a new DVD with new subtitles, this program would work:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=SubtitleCreator

Gamelore 01-25-05 03:20 PM

I would be interested to know if there is some (any) copy of the theatrical subtitles in existence. In addition to using CC rather than subs, Dreamworks also altered the actual subtitle dialog.

Using the subtitling links in this thread, I could then actually watch GitS2 the way it is supposed to be.

MikeSRC 01-25-05 04:32 PM

Has anyone tried one of the versions on Ebay? If so, are they bootlegs? They supposedly have English subtitles. Here's the cover shot being advertised:

http://i12.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/82/f4/23_1_b.JPG

MBuhmann 01-25-05 06:07 PM


Originally Posted by MikeSRC
Has anyone tried one of the versions on Ebay? If so, are they bootlegs? They supposedly have English subtitles.

I asked this question a while back on a different forum (or was it this one?) and got yelled at. Apparently it is a Korean bootleg.

bis22 01-25-05 06:54 PM

Any specifics as to what subtitles were changed? I saw it in the theater (although only once), and I didn't notice anything different.

MikeSRC 01-25-05 08:57 PM


Originally Posted by MBuhmann
I asked this question a while back on a different forum (or was it this one?) and got yelled at. Apparently it is a Korean bootleg.

Thanks. I thought so. I just couldn't find any mention of it here or elsewhere. I don't buy bootlegs.

foodi 02-02-05 05:02 PM

in my haste to see a properly subtitled version of this thing im not ashamed to say i bought TWO bootlegs off ebay..

one was the korean yellowed one pictured above, the other was one with the white official poster as the cover. Both of these have subtitles that are woefully inadequate.

the yellowed one is better tho.

anyhow.. after i acquired the dreamworks release , the terrible CC subs have got me seeing red. bloody hell.

as has been afore mentioned in this thread, my concern is if this can be ripped and re-burned with corrected subs

This needs to be done not just with
1. CC elements removed, but also with
2. the subs positioned properly and
3. using a more aesthetically pleasing (and smaller) font.

if someone can confirm whether the above linked tools can accomplish these three tasks, i would appreciate it greatly.

MBuhmann 02-02-05 10:51 PM


Originally Posted by foodi
if someone can confirm whether the above linked tools can accomplish these three tasks, i would appreciate it greatly.

Why waste your energy since Dreamworks is correcting the problem? If you've bought the disc send it in for a replacement. If you didn't buy the disc look for the fixed version to be released soon.

foodi 02-02-05 10:58 PM

well, as has been mentioned, it can take a long while for the fixed item to arrive in stores

Jay G. 02-02-05 11:15 PM

For info on how to rip and author new subs, check out these guides:

http://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?howtoselect=5#5;20

Considering that the subs on the Dreamworks DVD will need some judicious editing, you may want to consider using the sub file from one of the other DVDs you have of this film. Or, you could try one of the many subtitle scripts available at various sites like this one:

http://subtitles.images.o2.cz/20/Mg

bis22 02-02-05 11:33 PM

As I mentioned in a post higher up on the page, I've already completed converting the closed captioned track to a regular subtitle track and also made it smaller. I've got the subtitles saved in a DVD Studio Pro project file, but I don't know how to export them from there or rip them from the burned dvd to a format that would be useful to other people. I've been meaning to experiment with some different programs to find out, but I haven't had a lot of time lately. Could anyone tell me what format I need and how to get it?

Trigger 02-03-05 02:29 AM

do a google search for ".*** to .srt" and put whatever file extension you're current project saved the subs with in place of the ***. It should give you a link to conversion software.

foodi 02-03-05 09:08 PM

ok, this from IGN


January 28, 2005 - As fans of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence know, there was an issue with the DVD release. Instead of using the subtitles from the theatrical run, the disc sports Closed Captioning for the hearing impaired. Plus, the fonts were large, ugly, and placed high on the screen.


Go Fish, the DreamWorks subsidiary that handled the DVD release, has been aware of the problem for some time. For starters, a new run of discs will begin appearing in stores with proper subtitles. Look on the spine of the DVD case for the marking "V4." If V4 appears on the spine, then it has the proper subs. If not, it has the old Closed Captioning.

If you already own the disc and are not satisfied with the Closed Captioning, Go Fish and DreamWorks have set up an exchange program. Head to the main GITS 2 site:

http://www.gofishpictures.com/GITS2/main.html

Click on "The DVD" option on the left side, then click on the text that reads "Questions About Your DVD?" You can fill out a form to get a postage paid mailer to return your DVD and they will send you a new disc.

problem solved!! :)

Chris Tribbey 02-03-05 09:13 PM

Yeah, there's another thread dedicated to the replacements...

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...ighlight=Ghost

canaryfarmer 02-23-05 11:12 PM

Where did the current thread about this issue disappear to? Someone had just said that they got their replacement disc in the mail, and now when I come back this evening, the whole thread is gone. The link right above now leads to an "invalid thread" page.

eau 02-24-05 03:16 AM

Good question. Maybe the OP or an admin accidentially deleted the thread. Anyway, you sure people had they got their replacement disc in the mail? All I have read so far was that people received their disc return mailer.

DVD Polizei 02-24-05 04:55 AM

I'm making my own English Language audio track. Only problem is, I can't make girl sounds, so I may need help.


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