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Here in the Netherlands, almost everything is subtitled, unless it is for
children under about 12 old or is a Dutch language film.
 
Even Disney films are shown in two versions, dubbed and subtitles, so we can
 
choose.
 
As an Englishman who still finds reading Dutch at speed hard work, I am
able to go to English language films and relax, without the distraction
 
of having to read a foreign language.
 
As my Dutch gets better I find that I notice mistranslations, or ommitted
exchanges, so that too can be a distraction.
 
I recently went to a screening of "The Bandit Queen" which was in Hindi,
which I don't speak and subtitled into Dutch. There was also a simultaneous
translation facility available, which I tried, but found very irritating.
Luckily the dialog was simple enough that I could follow the subtitles.
 
We also get German television on our cable here, so we sometimes have fun
 
watching Bond movies. Hearing/seeing Sean Connery dubbed in
German always raises a smile. The only exception to the universal dubbing of
programs in Germany seems to be Monty Python, where they haven't attempted
the impossible.
 
Tim.