In fact, I am in favor of neither subtitling nor dubbing non-English language films. If you can't learn as many languages as films are made in, watch them anyway! As many have observed already, especially Evan Cameron so cogently, subtitling deforms the visual image as badly as dubbing deforms our aural "picture." I would point out, too, that "dubbing" is common in many, many cinemas where it is routine to use other voices for on-screen actors. How many Americans realize that the adult star of _Cinema Paradiso_ is French and is thus not speaking the Italian dialogue? Italian popular films were ALL post-dubbed and it was common to use a different voice for an on-screen actor. Do you think by the way, in the ITALIAN versions of the Leone masterpieces that Clint speaks Italian? And those wonderful, wonderful Hong Kong films of the 70s that found their way into the US in horrendously dubbed versions were shown overseas to Chinese audience ALREADY dubbed from the Cantonese-speaking actors into Mandarin. Subtitling of English-language films in other nations is also often hopeless. How do you think, say, _M*A*S*H_, with all its overlapping dialogue, intrusive sounds, etc., works in subtitles? And when I saw Godard's _Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle_ in Paris without subtitles (of course) I realized again, but very profoundly, how very often Godard uses offscreen sounds, shifts the volume on dialogue, etc., so that maybe you're not supposed to hear what the subtitles assume for you is crucial! Just some thoughts. David ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]