Ashes of Time
 

Does anyone have Ashes of Time DVD? Is it possible to turn off the subtitles on the Ashes of Time DVD even though there is no menu? Thanks in advance

The subtitles on the Mei Ah release are unremoveable.

The US release cropped the picture (I guess to cover up these subtitles) and added their own removeable subtitles.

I went with the Mei Ah release which I got rather cheaply off half.com with a coupon.

See the responses in this thread I started:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=111159

I recently bought the U.S. version of this instead of the HK release, thinking that the region one edition would naturally be better. Big mistake! As noted by garmonbozia, the picture is heavily cropped.

It would seem they took a print with burned-in Chinese subtitles and simply slapped a big grey field on top of those subtitles so as to superimpose English subs. This results in nearly half the picture being hidden, and you can still see the original Chinese subs peeking out over the masked area on occasion.

This is just unwatchable.

Yes, the US one is quite horrible, both in picture quality and in the subtitles.

However, it is controversial as to whether any version of this film is any good. Some people say that you must be able to understand Cantonese in order to understand this film. To me, it just seems like a typical bad art film, where characters spend half the film coming to "realizations" that most of us discovered when we were 10 years old. (This is not to say, btw, that there are not good art films, there are many.)

-rolleyes-

What?... so nobody can have an opinion different from yours? Just because you like a movie, it doesn't make it a good movie... it doesn't make you better than anybody or smarter or more attractive or more insightful or cultured. If you disagree, then you should tell us your thoughts instead of pooping on someone else's. Rolling your eyes just makes you seem arrogant and snobbish. At least he had a cohesive reason why he didn't like it as opposed to some of my reviews in which I simply say "it sucks" or your response which was rolling your eyes at him. Anyway - just wish you would lighten up a bit.

What? So I can't have an opinion on his opinion? It's ALL opinions - and I'm entitled to my opinion of his, as he is entitled to his opinion of the film. I just wish you would lighten up and stop hounding people when they express their opinions.

Plus, he hasn't rationalized a single part of his view except for blanketly calling the film a "bad art film".

What?... so I can't have an opinion about your opinion of his opinion not really being an opinion at all, rather being a gesture instead?? Sorry - I don't consider -rolleyes- an opinion. I haven't even seen the film, so I can't say either way - but you seem to like ALL "art films."

Anyway - I'm sorry if you felt I was "hounding" you about your "opinion". Wasn't trying to do that at all. I'm not going to continue this argument because it's pretty pointless... I don't even know if you read what other people type or if you just skim it. So - sorry I brought it up.

Considering that the worst film I saw last year was a Czech art film called "Landscape", I don't know exactly where you came with the conclusion that I like all art films.

Actually, scratch that - I forgot how much I loathed The Virgin Suicides.