I've seen Jane Campion's 1993 movie, The Piano many times, including theatrically, on LaserDisc and on DVD. In all cases, the Maori dialogue and much of Holly Hunter's sign language was subtitled. On the new Blu Ray version, however, none of these scenes are subtitled.
There are two possibilities: 1) The subtitles are missing and the disc is flawed or 2) The subtitles were never intended to be there but were added by Miramax for the American release. I know, back in the day, Miramax would quite often make modifications to their foreign acquisitions before releasing them in the U.S., so it's entirely possible that was the case and the Blu Ray is finally presenting the film sans subtitles, as Jane Campion originally intended. Since communication barriers are a major theme of the film, the lack of subtitles certainly makes artistic sense.
Does anyone know the answer?
There are two possibilities: 1) The subtitles are missing and the disc is flawed or 2) The subtitles were never intended to be there but were added by Miramax for the American release. I know, back in the day, Miramax would quite often make modifications to their foreign acquisitions before releasing them in the U.S., so it's entirely possible that was the case and the Blu Ray is finally presenting the film sans subtitles, as Jane Campion originally intended. Since communication barriers are a major theme of the film, the lack of subtitles certainly makes artistic sense.
Does anyone know the answer?
