A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (1 Viewer)

[MatS]

To those emailing Magnolia

please ask that they release the brilliant "Man On Wire" on BD in North America while you're at it

 

[Loregnum]

Almost ordered this today at amazon.ca but saw a review mentioning this subtitle thing then went and found out the info and saw the comparisons....the U.S disc's subtitles look ridiculous compared to the theatrical titles.

I shall wait until this gets sorted out and then order the movie. I have never seen it but had I got the disc and found out about this (and saw those comparisons) I would be a bit ticked off, especially with Magnolia's "no exchange" stance which IMO is insane for a company to do.

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

Very good idea! I've already emailed them on LTROI, but did write to them asking about Man on Wire a month or two ago. No current plans for North America.

 

[MatS]

That's what I heard as well .... not sure if that was before the Oscar win or not

Just thought they might be swayed in the right direction with a bunch of requests hitting them

there is no way this brilliant award winning doc shouldn't be available in the best presentation possible in North America

 

[Carlo_M]

Ugh, we want to watch this movie, but if I open it I forfeit the chance to return it to Amazon. Chances are I won't anyway because it's such a hassle to set up return shipping. I just hope Magnolia does the right thing and offer an exchange program for current owners...

 

[Josh Pounds]

The changes in language have huge impact on tracking the internal motivations of characters, no two ways about it. There are fundamental changes being made to the picture by changing the intent of the subtitles. The omission of humor here, or the truncating of a bit of dialogue there have subtle but definitely impactful changes in the viewer and of the final product.

Still, Magnet is simply awesome for being willing to correct this. Kudos to them.

 

[dpippel]

Willing to correct it but not willing to allow customers who have purchased the "defective" disc to exchange it does not warrant kudos in my book. At all. Magnet has gone less than halfway and left the very people who drove initial sales of this offbeat foreign title hanging in the wind. We can only hope that they will eventually realize how stupid and ill-conceived their current stance is and change their tune.

 

[MattFini]

^ Here, here!

 

[Carlo_M]

The most unfortunate thing is that there is already a precedent set by numerous DVD and BD free exchanges for current customers. It started way back in the late 90s with The Crow DVD, which BVHE not only shipped to me free but sent me a $3.20 check to cover my shipping to them (which I did not even ask for or expect). It continued through the BD days with The Fifth Element and Stargate Blu-Rays, which Sony and Lionsgate shipped to me free as well, and one of them [can't remember which] didn't even want their original disc shipped back to them!

If no one had ever done this, I could understand (if not condone) Magnolia's reluctance to offer an exchange program. But this has been part of the deal since DVD's early days. Screw something up? Simple, offer a re-issue, reward the fans who "brought you to the dance" by offering a free or low-cost (i.e. cost of shipping) replacement.

 

[Mark_TB]

I don't know if this applies to subtitles or not, but isn't the studio required to label any changes from the theatrical version? We always see the notice at the beginning of a DVD when the aspect ratio is changed ("modified to fit your TV screen"), edited for language (TV versions), etc. Isn't this a similar change?

- Mark

 

[Ron-P]

Very well done film with a great A/V presentation. Very happy I got around to finally seeing it.

 

[Jonathon M]

Well, this one may go back to Amazon unopened. Unfortunately, I ordered it, then immediately came across the info (it had been in my basket since before release). By the time I tried to cancel it's order, it had entered shipping.

I'm appalled by Magnet's decision to not offer an exchange program, because of their failure to use the "correct" theatrical subtitles. If they are going to repress it, it's the least they can do to right the fact that, by their own admission, the product they are currently selling does not meet the expectations of it's audience (seeing the film that was released in cinemas).

Quite frankly, I just going to watch the screener copy that has been on my hard drive for a couple of months, return the BD to amazon, and order a copy from elsewhere in the world. If I can't get a copy playable in my (US) PS3, I won't get a copy.

And above all, I will never order anything from Magnet again. Including the "corrected" version of LTROI. Screw them, and it's a shame to say that, as they're part of one of the few independent studios that are doing something interested in their distribution method, and that is something I find admirable. Pity they can't seem to look after their existing customers.

Quite frankly, when a studio drives you to piracy in order to watch the film as intended, something is very subpar about the studio.

And finally, just for the hell of it, I will send a strongly worded, polite communication to them, requesting they consider changing their mind.

 

[Brian D H]

I've yet to see the movie and have been following this subtitle issue for the last week or so.

Can someone please post a list of versions I can buy right now that have the correct english subtitles?

I've heard some say that the one from Canada is OK. Is this true? Has anyone here actually seen it? Can I get it from the Amazon/canada website?
If not, what about others? While I'd prefer cheap shipping and region 1 (NTSC), I have a region free player and I can convert from PAL if necessary.

What version would you buy right now and from what international website?

 

[Jonathon M]

Further, I found this over on Icons Of Fright, it's a message from the US distribution co. to the CA co.

"Yes the bloggers are having a field day on this one. Normally they like to pick on the English Dub tracks, but in this case it’s the subtitles. Obviously online tend to get rowdy and bandwagon mentality without knowing all the details. The current subtitle track is not altering the context of the film at all, in fact it’s a more literal translation than any prior version of subtitles. It’s not a defective or faulty subtitle file. Just more literal and larger in size for the small screen. Both English and Spanish subtitle files were produced for this dvd release. Frankly it’s not all that uncommon to have the subs vary from prior releases, typically go unnoticed as subs are purely a translation of film dialogue. This wouldn’t have been a blip had it not been for one particular horror blog doing a side by side and claiming that they are wrong. They are not. We are not doing a recall or anything of that nature, again, these are not defective. Title came out two weeks ago and general public don’t notice and don’t care – bloggers are well known for jumping on something, making an issue of it and moving on. We have decided that based on the feedback that we will be making a running change, so that going forward (once inventories deplete), we will be making that subtitle version available. Options in set up will be; English Subtitles / English (theatrical) Subtitles / Spanish Subtitle"

There's a definite air of asshole-ism in my view, and to be perfectly honest, I'm surprised that when the CA company quoted this statement to people inquiring about the CA release that he didn't remove the tone of disdain with the remarks about "bloggers".

FYI, that was in the comments over here: Icons of Fright News and Updates: Let The Wrong Subtitles In To LET THE RIGHT ONE IN?!

 

[MattFini]

Screw Magnolia.

I'm going to hope Amazon will take my disc back. I'll import the overseas BD if they oblige me.

These guys won't be getting a penny from me ever again.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Well, if according to them, it ain't broke so why are they fixing it?

And if they are fixing it, why aren't they taking care of people that
bought it when it was broke?

Apparently, the omission of the theatrical subtitles is big deal enough
for them to include moving forward.

This is just plain in-your-face irresponsible response. The studio does
not want to spend the money, time and aggravation to address an issue
that they had to go and correct.

I don't know what more can be done at this point. I mean, apparently,
we are just bandwagon mentality bloggers and the rest of the general
public could care less.

Truth be, the rest of the public who don't read these boards probably
rented this title instead of buying it, and thus, probably don't care.

If Magnolia/Magnet were to do the right thing here, they would only
be dealing with a very small percentage of their buying market. Better
off to make their loyal purchasers happy than make us think twice about
buying another one of their titles the next time around.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Ditto. Considering I only have one of their releases amongst my 370 or so BDs, it shouldn't be too much of a hardship on my part never to buy from them again.

 

[Brian D H]

Agreed - Which overseas disc will you buy and from where?

(Thanks)

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

That's right. Whenever there is an exchange program, the actual percentage of buyers who actually participate is usually very very small.

Magnolia wouldn't break the bank mailing out copies to the limited numbers who asked for them, and they would win so much goodwill.

I find the tone of that email pretty damn obnoxious.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

My apologies for the miscommunication. Please refer to James Koch's post below.

Do we have an actual email for anyone over at Magnolia/Magnet save for their blanket "[email protected]" address?

Thanks

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I'm assuming Mr. Frank's direct email is [email protected] if you'd like to approach him directly. To say this is obnoxious is a massive understatement. I'm going to see what I can do about returning this to Amazon.
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