They can share my air...but for sure I consider such folks to exactly be "Knuckle Dragging Troglodytes" if they refuse to bother with either...especially B&W.

I knew a guy once who would only watch foreign dvds with the English dub on.

I wonder if those who hate subtitles and use the "I don't want to read.." excuse are really just illiterate or poor/slow readers. Thus in usual ignorance would prefer to avoid such a thing instead of trying to expand their vocabularly and reading skills?


At least my friend I mentioned earlier admitted to being a 'slow' reader,thus getting frustrated with subtitles.

their eye sight might not be good. i know mine sucks, and have strayed from watching foreign movies when i had a small tv. Not that i stopped watching them completely, just limited them. now with a decent sized tv, its not so much of a problem.

My mom doesn't like subtitled movies, but she'll read 2-3 books a week.

I know many people like this. Some would say it's stupid to hold that against them to the point where you're talking down to them, but really, it's insane to write off something because it's in B&W.

Not all the best movies are in B&W, but the fact is, many are. By discrediting these movies, you knock off about half of film's history. I know such things are a concern for casual movie-goers, but it's still the truth.

I won't try and draw a real connection, but it's funny how everyone's told not to judge people by their race, but it's okay to pass on something because it's not in color. I know, apples and oranges, but the basic idea is still the same. You're making a decision to write something off based soley on a factor that couldn't really be helped.

Ah...great thread!!

I avoid foreign films at all costs and typically have zero interest in such releases. I hardly follow the non-R1 market as well.

Ciao,
Pro-B

i don't associate with such people. truthfully, i can't think of anyone i interact with on a routine basis that would hold such an ignorant view of movies.

I'll watch subtitlted DVDs ... but not nearly as often as perhaps I would watch an English movie simply because I'm usually multi-taskind and can't split my attention when I have to read the subtitles. I will not turn on the English dub, however.

Luckily all my friends will watch B&W & Foreign films. In fact. I don't think I could be friends with someone who didn't, not because I would be upset or annoyed, but because it probably means we have totally different mindsets and wouldn't be able to relate to each other.

I sometimes turn on the english audio track if it's available (usually depends on what kind of mood I'm in). What benefit is it to me to hear a language I don't understand? I know people say to listen to their voice tone...etc...etc, but it distracts me more than adds to the experience. I feel that far more of the actors' emotions are revealed in facial expression and body language. I get the gist of the voice inflection in the english dub. I guess I'll have to get my flame suit on, but I don't care what you people think of me anyway. It's silly to put someone down because of their preferences in movie viewing. I bet a few others agree with me, but are afraid to speak out.

I have watched some films without an english track. "Downfall" comes to mind. I enjoyed that in German so I'm not totally against ever listening to a foreign language.

I refuse to watch foreign film DVD's with bright large YELLOW LETTERING

It's better than invisible WHITE LETTERING as I so learned watching Battle Royale.

Sometimes it's a blessing. The first time I saw M (in a film class) the print was old and washed out, and it seemed as if half the conversations were with groups of men sitting around, all wearing white shirts. Half the subtitles were totally obscured. Yellow subtitles would have been most welcome.

On another subject, I can never understand why some people always assume 'foreign' and 'arthouse' are synonymous. Is The Killer an 'arthouse 'movie? Amelie? I'd say no. Both are fairly straightforward with simple narratives and conventional structures. Neither are 'difficult' films, but both are perfectly fine films - The Killer being a masterpiece, IMO.

Anyone that puposefully limits themselves to only the art of the country they happen to live in is doing themselves a tremendous disservice.

I usually prefer black and white movies to color...not neccessarily because they are in black and white - I just like older movies. As for foreign, subtitled movies - meh. I don't go out of my way to avoid anything, and there are plenty of foreign movies that I truly love - but I don't go out of my way to watch every single one either. I prefer to watch a movie in a language I can understand. For all I know, the actors are all giving extremely hammy performances in monotone voices - I wouldn't be able to tell the difference by reading the subtitles.

Most of the time, the people who refuse to watch B&W or foreign films are the saem ones that won't watch indie movies, serious dramas, or a majority of the "award winning" type pictures.

I will admit that I'm not big on subtitles. It has nothing to do with not wanting to read or hating foreign languages. To me it's a matter of subtitles being a huge distraction. A lot of films rely on specific framing of shots, and the director has went to great effort to convey a certain image/message. If I'm spending the majority of the movie with my eyes focused on the bottom third of the screen I'm missing out on that. I get far more enjoyment out of a dubbed film, as I can excuse the fact the lips don't match up and let myself just fall into the movie. With subtitles I'm constantly darting my eyes around to take it all in.

I don't know about that. In various threads we've had about "what Criterions do you own" and things of that nature, I'm always astonished at how so many people will have almost every English-language Criterion in print, but none in another language (or maybe a couple of Kurosawas and that's it.) I've also spoken with a fair number of people who love movies, primarily "indie"-type movies, yet rarely or never watch something in another language.

To me it's like loving to read, but never reading anything by Dostoyevsky, Proust, or Thomas Mann, because they weren't written in English...

Another point to consider is that the photography for many black and white movies is a work of art. Great care was taken for lighting, textures of clothing, etc. to create mood. In comparison, shooting in color almost seems like cheating.

Cheating?! Ok c'mon now it's not like a director can just throw up a camera loaded with color film and automatically come out with something like In the Mood for Love or Days of Heaven.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times........I prefer Welch's, or better yet, watered-down Grape-flavored Kool-Aid.......after reading this thread I'm now a little paranoid about what my wine connoisseur acquaintances are saying behind my back........can anyone point me over to the Internet's leading wine discussion forum?

I remember a reviewer said something similar when Crouching Tiger was making it's way around multiplexes. "We're too focused reading what's being said at the bottom instead of focusing on the actor's performance" and yeah, that can be tough for those who aren't fast readers.

My cousin said the exact same thing when we were watching Maria Full of Grace on cable. But the same guy didn't say that when I showed him Battle Royale. It just really depends on what kind of movie it is for some folks.

That's true. I haven't seen Day of Heaven but In The Mood for Love is beautifully filmed. Christopher Doyle obviously is a master of color photography. I realize I was generalizing, hence the "almost".
What I was trying to convey is the black and white photography can be exceedingly beautiful requiring a lot of work to pull off and that I personally like it very much. I've read a lot of quotes from movie directors and directors of photograpy about how "powerful" some colors are on screen. The implication being that it is easier to direct attention and mood with them.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of crappy looking black and white movies just like there are crappy looking color movies.

I have a cousin and nephew who enjoy watching Shaw Bros movies but they struggle to keep up with the subtitles. It is tiring for them to read them. I personally don't even notice them anymore. Reading them has become automatic for me but it is obviously not the same for some people. There are probably many factors that turn some people off to them:

1) poor vision
2) size of TV too small
3) not used to it
4) weaker reading skills
5) just want to be entertained (why do I have to work to watch a movie?)
6) sense of entitlement (if they want me to watch this, they better dub it in english)
7) just not interested in other cultures