Multiple Language Tracks...a thought
 

You know, I was thinking...yeah I know...that could be considered dangerous, but anyway hold on and hear me out.

A while back in the one of the House of Flying Daggers threads, the issue was brought up on whether or not that it would contain an English track in contrast to its Madarin and/or Cantonese tracks. The issue was whether it is preferrable and "intellectually" viable to only watch the film with its original language track. OK, now then, if viewing a movie using only it's original language track, then why do English movies and TV shows on DVD include other language tracks? Why include Spanish, French, Portguese, or German language tracks on and English-made film or show?

What I'm saying is, is there a double-standard here? Why pressure and/or force English speaking people to watch a foreign made film in the original language while ignoring or giving a pass to non-English speaking people who comfortable listen to their own native language track beit Spanish or French, etc.?

Now, I'm not saying that everyone should not at least give it a try to watch a film in its filmed language, but the alternate language tracks are there for a reason to give the rest of the people a choice. And I believe that is really what it's all about. I mean wasn't that one of the original marketing ideas used in the original days of DVD, that they could contain dozens of different language tracks? So why the, uh, elitism, for lack of a better word, by those who insist on people watching movies in their original language?

Good points man.
I am pro-choice :thumbsup: (when it comes to language tracks that is).

I don't give a pass to those dub tracks on English-language films. Unless those tracks are significant in some way (say, an alternate dub featuring some of the non-English-speaking cast's own voices or an alternate dub purposely prepared with a different mix by the filmmakers), I think they're a waste of valuable throughput and disc space. I don't care what the original marketing promises of DVD were.

DJ

Well, it depends on the market. In Latin America, at least, when I was growing up, they send the films over with subtitles. You get big films only a couple of weeks after their state-side release. Once they hit home video, you get a mix of sub and dub, and by the time they are on TV, they are completely dubbed.

The problem with dubbing into Spanish (the language) is that most people dubbing are Spanish (the country) and that in itself creates a lot of issues. First off, imagine if every single dub you see is translated into a sing-song cockney. Moreover, imagine if this work is done by only about a dozen people. This is what is so frustrating about Spanish dubs. All the people are Spanish, and for the most part, you can find similarities in how they all sound. So now, The Man With No Name sounds like Peter Griffin sounds like Policeman on Street #2. I'm exaggerating, but it's a valid point. Spanish dubbing is atrocious in that sense.

In Germany, they wait until the films are dubbed before they go to theatres. That means people are now probably lining up to see The Aviator. (I checked, and it looks like The Babynator is coming out this week... I wonder what film that is). This is the same much across Europe, at least for the major markets.

What I find funny is that if there's an additional language track on a R1 DVD, it's French, and Spanish is usually only subtitled.

For all I care, have a bunch of audio tracks and everything on the first disc. Leave the special features separate.

Why? Because it's funny to hear Jay immitate Wolverine in French.