[Movies/TV] dub, subtitles or pure?

[Deleted]

if a film or TV show is in another language than the channel it's on, there are generally 3 types of "translations" possible:

1) they replace the spoken sound in foreign language with the translation in their own language. this is mostly done with recordings aimed at younger audiences.
2) they subtitle the entire thing, but leave the audio intact.
3) they do nothing with the recording.

which one do you prefer and why?

personally, i prefer subtitles (and even pure) over dub, for several reasons:

1) it does not disturb the original setting. especially when you're considering films with actors in several different languages, like english and chinese (some jackie chan films for instance), having it dubbed breaks the immersion.
2) you get to know the original voice actors, so the mood of the film isn't thrown away. an actor with a very gritty voice or 2 actors that sound alike (and often are chosen for that goal) adds a lot to the color of the film.
3) oftentimes, the dubbed sound does not fit the actor AT ALL. an example of this: a cartoon network show titled "cow and chicken" is dubbed where i live (belgium). chicken has a rather scraping voice in the dub, which doesn't seem the case in the original, and cow sounds almost boyish in the dub, not girly at all.
4) subtitles allow for things other than voice acting to be translated in a more immersive fashion. things like written words. sometimes, the written words are needed for the understanding of the show, but the actor is speaking during this.
5) dub often changes the order of the words, which breaks some of the jokes. for example, someone opening a bucketed door in english might sound "don't go inside through that" *bucket falls* "...door". in Dutch, that becomes "ga niet door die deur(don't go through that door)" *bucket falls* "binnen (inside)". it gives a totally different feel, and it kills the joke. with subtitles, you can just state at the bottom "ga niet door die deur binnen", ending right before the bucket falls.
6) sometimes, there's already source material that's subbed or dubbed, and choosing the opposite for another medium totally ruins it. a prime example of this is the simpsons movie in Belgium and netherlands. the original show is subbed, but for some reason, they decided to make a dubbed version of the movie as well. they think that it's a cartoon, so they should dub it for the kids, but the problem is that the original cartoon was aimed at an age group that can at least read, and possibly older, due to the nature of some of the jokes requiring at least a basic cultural understanding. for example, the movie has a parody of the al gore documentary. i doubt someone who can't read understands this. similarly, schwarzenegger being president in itself requires a rudimentary knowledge of US politics.

i'm sure i can come up with more reasons, but these are the most prominent.

the question remains: dub, sub or pure?

[Jon]

If it's in a language I don't understand, subtitles ofc.

Dubbing is for idiots, I don't understand why people in Germany, France etc (where they do a lot of dubbing) accept it.

I'd never watch a dubbed movie, it's only acceptable if the movie/cartoon/whatever is aimed at small children who can't read yet.

[solonglonesome]

Always subs if it's a foreign movie. I am also glad that some dvd companies started snatching up Shaw Brothers movies and actually have subs on them instead of the horrible dubs on most of them.

[Deleted]

I've grown up on subs. My country never dubs anything unless it's a cartoon for 3-year olds, but I don't need 'em anymore since I have CAE level knowledge of English. However, I like to have English subtitles if it's a movie with complex plot, just in case.

[Deleted]

I like to have the subs on when I watch a movie.. In case there is some word I fail to hear, or there's something that I don't understand. Makes the whole experience more enjoyable for me at least.

[Shiny212]

Dubbing is an affront to nature. Subtitles are kinda mandatory if the film is a foreign language.

[Solidito]

Subs ofcourse!

[Deleted]

subs if it a live/real movie, dub if its a cartoon.

[Skizzit]

Subs for sure. Very rarely are dubs done well and even then I would rather hear the original actors voice.

[Arcilux]

Subtitles for most. There have been a few (very few) where the dub was better than subtitles, but as a general rule subtitles are the best. You get the full movie/show as it was originally intended, none of this change a few things to make it culturally relevant or to meet ratings standards.

[razisgosu]

Without a doubt, subs. I watch a ton of anime and it's always subbed. I despise dubs because quite frankly most english voice actors are just terrible.

[Thigrai]

As much of the acting comes from the voice as from other things the person on your television does. Most dubs fail to relay emotions that originally were present, so i either watch raw or subtitles.

[solonglonesome]

Without a doubt, subs. I watch a ton of anime and it's always subbed. I despise dubs because quite frankly most english voice actors are just terrible.

I actually prefer anime with dubs.

[Acideyeliner]

The only time I watch a movie with subs is if it's in another language. And even then I only watch a few, mainly The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Dubs, to me, have seemed half-assed and take away from the movie more than me having to read every line. Just saiyan.

[Deleted]

If its Anime i prefer with sub however i do like the english dub of FMA.
I usaly never watch a movie with subs tho and if i was watching a movie that was not english or swedish in original spoken language i would rather prefer sub then dub however its not that often i come across anything thats not english.

[Venziir]

Subs, subs and more subs... Urrrgh unless I'm watching Hellsing, then dub it to death, simply just because the english version of Alucard is mental.

Hell, I'll even throw english subs on an english show, just to be sure I get the words right, like if I'm watching Game of Thrones, some of the persons or places do come with some funky names :P
And it's also good for keeping your spelling intact

[Glaziola]

2) they subtitle the entire thing, but leave the audio intact.

[Deleted]

No subs or dubs for me. I've yet to come across a tv series/movie that I cant understand completely. Most likely because I only watch stuff that is in english. Oh and I'm finnish, so english is not my native language either. :P

[Deleted]

If it's in a language I don't understand, subtitles ofc.

Dubbing is for idiots, I don't understand why people in Germany, France etc (where they do a lot of dubbing) accept it.

I'd never watch a dubbed movie, it's only acceptable if the movie/cartoon/whatever is aimed at small children who can't read yet.

Sir, you win. My thoughts exactly.

[Skizzit]

Hell, I'll even throw english subs on an english show, just to be sure I get the words right, like if I'm watching Game of Thrones, some of the persons or places do come with some funky names :P
And it's also good for keeping your spelling intact

See english subs on TV/Movies in english I find very distracting for some reason, but if I am playing a video game, I always turn the subs on. Not sure why. I think the many years of playing SNES/PS1 RPGs conditioned me to reading the story.