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post #61 of 146
3/26/09 at 5:45pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
So, we can assume that they didn't pull these new disc subtitles out of thin air, but instead went back to the book's English translation. Nonetheless, IMO, that was a mistake because I've read posts on other boards from folks who have said that the theatrical subtitles are more in line with what is actually being said up on screen.

If this is true, then they basically decided to ignore the filmmakers' artistic choices, as far as dialogue goes?

There's a line in the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol that differs slightly (but is equally effective, I think) from the corresponding line in the book. When Marley tells Scrooge of the 3rd ghost, his line in the book is something like, "The third spirit will appear upon the next night when the last stroke of midnight ceases to vibrate." In the movie, this is changed to, "The third, more mercurial, shall appear in his own good time."

When I watch a movie based on a book, I want to see the filmmakers' interpretation of the material. Otherwise, I'll read the book.

If this is what's happened here, that's kind of a baffling decision that really makes no sense.
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post #62 of 146
3/27/09 at 12:30am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

To those emailing Magnolia

please ask that they release the brilliant "Man On Wire" on BD in North America while you're at it
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post #63 of 146
3/27/09 at 9:32am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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.
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post #64 of 146
3/27/09 at 10:44am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by 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

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.
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post #65 of 146
3/27/09 at 12:07pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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
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post #66 of 146
3/27/09 at 9:44pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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...
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post #67 of 146
3/27/09 at 10:12pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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.
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post #68 of 146
3/27/09 at 10:26pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Pounds
Still, Magnet is simply awesome for being willing to correct this. Kudos to them.
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.
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post #69 of 146
3/28/09 at 8:31am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

^ Here, here!
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post #70 of 146
3/28/09 at 8:50am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
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post #71 of 146
3/28/09 at 9:29am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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
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post #72 of 146
3/28/09 at 10:25am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Very well done film with a great A/V presentation. Very happy I got around to finally seeing it.
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post #73 of 146
3/28/09 at 10:51am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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.
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post #74 of 146
3/30/09 at 11:13am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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?
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post #75 of 146
3/30/09 at 11:58am

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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?! <--- near the bottom of the comments section.

According to DVD Compare, the Swedish BD is Zone free, and has english subtitles, but I'm not 100% sure on that (the listing is for a version with both a BD and a SD DVD).
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post #76 of 146
3/30/09 at 12:44pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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.
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post #77 of 146
3/30/09 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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.
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post #78 of 146
3/30/09 at 12:54pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.

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.
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post #79 of 146
3/30/09 at 12:57pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.

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

(Thanks)
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post #80 of 146
3/30/09 at 1:50pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

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.

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.
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post #81 of 146
3/30/09 at 2:08pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

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 "dvd@magpictures.com" address?

Thanks

>>
I'm assuming Mr. Frank's direct email is afrank@magpictures.com 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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post #82 of 146
3/30/09 at 2:57pm
Thread Starter 

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Dear Mr. Frank,


My name is Ron Epstein and I am co-owner of Home Theater Forum, one
of the largest DVD and BD discussion sites on the Internet.

Perhaps you would consider us to be one of those "bandwagon mentality"
online bloggers that get rowdy without knowing all the details.

Truth be, we work very closely with all the studios who look to our forum for
consumer feedback on their releases. In addition to providing very positive
responses and suggestions that the studios use for marketing purposes, there
is also times when defective studio product becomes the focal point of discussion.
Over the years negative feedback on our site has resulted in many defective DVD
releases being recalled where the studio took the responsibility of issuing replacement discs.

Unfortunately, it seems that Mongrel does not hold the same high value of quality
to their releases nor follow the same courtesy to their consumers as the major studios do.
In the case of "Let The Right One In," you released this film to DVD and BD with incorrectly
translated subtitles. You may not see this as a big deal from your perspective, but from
the perspective of the viewing audience, those incorrectly translated subtitles change
the entire context of the scenes they represent.

A recent email response of yours was just posted on the Internet, and I have to
say that it one of the most obnoxious responses I have ever read from someone
associated with a company who put out product that was clearly not mastered properly.

"Obviously online tend to get rowdy and bandwagon mentality without knowing all the details."

"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. "


This is clearly an obnoxious insulting response that translates into "We aren’t going to
take the time nor expense to take care of a mistake that we made."

Your core DVD and BD enthusiasts partake in daily discussions on many Internet
sites like ours. We are intelligent viewers rather than individuals who enjoy jumping
on whatever bandwagon seems popular at the moment. We are the people that buy
and recommend your product. The general public that "don't notice and don't care" are
typical renters who will probably watch this title once -- and you are correct -- they won't care.

If there is nothing wrong with the disc why are you now inserting the proper subtitles? It's
obvious that there is something wrong that you are looking to correct. With that in
mind, instead of taking an arrogant position against those of us that expected your
product to be mastered correctly the first time, why not do the right thing and initiate an
exchange program?!

The studios who generally always make good on defective releases understand that
exchange programs generally get a response from a small percentage of the Internet
community. This isn't going to cost you a mint. Furthermore, by making these exchanges
available it certainly speaks volumes about the studio's standards of quality. Your refusal
to make the exchange and your arrogant response speaks volumes about your lack of caring.

At this moment, members of our forum are looking at your response and publicly posting
that they won't buy your product anymore because you won't stand behind it. I personally
will never again purchase any DVD from your company and will make a point to remind
prospective purchasers of any future Mongrel release that this is the same company that
put out the defective "Let The Right One In" and refused to stand behind a mistake they made.
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post #83 of 146
3/30/09 at 3:09pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

In short, what is this BRD missing? Also, what's missing will it negatively affect my enjoyment of this movie?






Crawdaddy
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post #84 of 146
3/30/09 at 3:26pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Wow, what a turn of events. I was just getting ready to open this up and just buy the new title when it came out (if they didn't acquiesce to an exchange policy) when I read the latest.

Well this "rowdy bandwagoner" is going to return his unopened BD to Amazon asap.

Poor form, Magnet. You just cost yourself 2 sales with this bandwagoner, and an untold number of customers when I begin telling all of my friends what kind of company mentality Magnet has going on with regards to its consumers.

---------------
Edited to take out Mr. Frank's name, as he is just the messenger and not the one who wrote the comments
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post #85 of 146
3/30/09 at 3:37pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

I'm dying to see this film, but I want the subtitles to be right. So I guess I'll be waiting until they get it right.

Very intrigued by the film.
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post #86 of 146
3/30/09 at 4:05pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
In short, what is this BRD missing? Also, what's missing will it negatively affect my enjoyment of this movie?

Robert, in short, what's missing are properly translated theatrical subtitles for this release. For whatever reason, the first go round Magnolia/Magnet choose to use a different translation of the English subtitles. Some have said this new translation is 'dumbed down', while others have offered that it is a more in line with the dialogue as it appeared in the book.

Will it affect your enjoyment of the movie? Probably not. If I hadn't been alerted to the error, ignorance would indeed been bliss. However, what's clear, to me anyway, is that the film, as is, is not what the director intended and the theatrical subtitles should be presented as the director approved them for theatrical release. What is also clear to me is that I haven't seen a company cut off its nose to spite its face this spectacularly in a long time.
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post #87 of 146
3/30/09 at 4:13pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Arnette
Robert, in short, what's missing are properly translated theatrical subtitles for this release. For whatever reason, the first go round Magnolia/Magnet choose to use a different translation of the English subtitles. Some have said this new translation is 'dumbed down', while others have offered that it is a more in line with the dialogue as it appeared in the book.

Will it affect your enjoyment of the movie? Probably not. If I hadn't been alerted to the error, ignorance would indeed been bliss. However, what's clear, to me anyway, is that the film, as is, is not what the director intended and the theatrical subtitles should be presented as the director approved them for theatrical release. What is also clear to me is that I haven't seen a company cut off its nose to spite its face this spectacularly in a long time.
Thank you for the clarification.
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post #88 of 146
3/30/09 at 5:14pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

There are just a few things I wanted to comment on.

The comments from Andrew Frank, are actually not his comments. He works for Mongrel Media, the Canadian company that handles distribution of Magnolia's DVDs. All they do is release what ever Magnolia gives them.

If you follow the link and read the email Mr. Frank sent, it reads
Quote:
"Here is Magnolia's official response to this issue to, which I received last Friday:
He is just passing on to us Magnolia's e-mail to him about this.

He did respond to a reply already, in which he said:
Quote:
"Hi, John - I too, was pretty surprised by Magnolia's reaction. I didn't know that they were planning to issue a different version of subtitles on the DVD; they never disclosed that to us. In any event, we will release the new version in Canada as soon as it is available with the theatrical subtitles. I can certainly appreciate your desire to delay your purchase until that time."

So take from that what you will.

Also, Ron, your email most likely did not go through to him. His actual email address is andrew@mongrelmedia.com

I have e-mailed all of the information on Magnolia's comments to both Bill at The Digital Bits, and The Consumerist. However, with Magnolia's attitude towards this whole situation, I wonder if more bad press would actually mean anything to them.
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post #89 of 146
3/30/09 at 7:00pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Thanks for the clarification, James. I clearly had my Magnet, my Mongrel and my Magnolia all mixed up and amended my post above.

Quote:
Originally Posted by James_Koch
There are just a few things I wanted to comment on.

The comments from Andrew Frank, are actually not his comments. He works for Mongrel Media, the Canadian company that handles distribution of Magnolia's DVDs. All they do is release what ever Magnolia gives them.

If you follow the link and read the email Mr. Frank sent, it reads

He is just passing on to us Magnolia's e-mail to him about this.

He did respond to a reply already, in which he said:


So take from that what you will.

Also, Ron, your email most likely did not go through to him. His actual email address is andrew@mongrelmedia.com

I have e-mailed all of the information on Magnolia's comments to both Bill at The Digital Bits, and The Consumerist. However, with Magnolia's attitude towards this whole situation, I wonder if more bad press would actually mean anything to them.
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post #90 of 146
3/30/09 at 7:01pm

Re: A few thoughts about.....LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Wow. Thanks for the posts, everyone.

And yes, it should be made clear that it wasn't Mr. Frank that was responsible for those disparaging comments. In fact, he should be commended for posting them, allowing everyone else to see what Magnolia apparently thinks of its customers.

As I posted in the thread on the DVD release (and as others have pointed out both here and on Icons of Fright), "literal" doesn't necessarily mean "correct." I don't understand Swedish, but it does appear that the theatrical subtitles were interpreted a little more carefully than the ones on the DVD & Blu-Ray.

Again, what's most frustrating about this is that they are fixing it "based on the feedback," but refusing to extend that "fix" to the people who created the feedback.
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