Steven Spielberg Refused to Use Subtitles in ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Give English the Power Over Spanish’

We thought we wrote it in English.

Spielberg is woke yo!

Ahem, I wrote the dialogue. At least in the original. Who knows what the fuck they did to it now.

Good. Only theater queens will see it anyway.

It depends how much of the dialog is in Spanish. If it's just words like pinga and caliente it's alright.

follame, quapo

Why didn't they use the Spanish lyrics from the Broadway revival of a few years back?

Coño

Cumonmyface por favor.

I wasn’t aware I was going to see it.

R7 Even the cast of that revival asked for the lyrics to be switched back to English because of the lack of reaction they were getting from audiences.

I've always despised Spielberg and that remark ensures that I will never watch the film.

Someone inform the illiterate Stevie that:

The work is based on a play by the Anglosphere's greatest White Writer.

The music is by a White Jewish son of RUSSIAN immigrants.

The choreography is the work of another White Jewish son of RUSSIAN immigrants.

Its inception is gringo from too to bottom.

Oh, did we forget who wrote the lyrics?

Hey, Stevie: let's di a remake of Schindler's List. All in German and Polish and Yiddish.

No subtitles. I mean, Stevie, you do know that Amon Goeth wasn't speaking the Queen's English in Ralph Fiennes' dulcet RADA trained tones, right?

Let's see how it sells.

It must be exhausting looking for new ways to try to be woke..... Fuck PEDO Steven Spielberg!!!!

So that's how he'll show it in China.

He’s a pedophile?

So I am supposed to pay to see a film which the director has decided I don’t deserve to understand because I don’t speak Spanish? Nein, danke, j’en ai assez.

I’ll see it, but I hope they limit the Spanish vocabulary to the few words I know.

R17 I doubt they will use the word “pinga”

I don't understand why he has done a remake, the original won 10 oscars.

Jo luv dees moovie!

Do we get to see the Ansel dong in Spanish?

Spielberg did agree to dub it in Italian, though.

For fucks sake.

[quote] I've always despised Spielberg

He's the most massively overrated director from the "Brat Pack" group, easily. A child who never grew up. A real director would not have made that red coat so blindingly obvious in Schindler's List. He just COULDN'T help himself.

r11 But I would think having dialogue in Spanish is a lot more problematic than having it in lyrics. At least with the songs, a lot of people are familiar with the English lyrics and can understand what's going on -- but people generally don't remember the dialogue. And of course this is a completely new screenplay.

When it's released in Spanish-speaking countries, are they not going to subtitle the English in Spanish?

He's a hack. Desperate for publicity at this point. Is his adopted daughter still doing porn?

I saw the revival with Spanish interspersed. It was just stupid.

Some enterprising vendor could sell headphones that offer simultaneous translation at select showings.

Aspies don’t know how to virtue signal in a sophisticated way.

This is idiotic. If all execs felt this way, we would sit through all these great Korean tv shows scratching our heads, just so that English doesn’t have “power over” Korean.

There goes my career!

I'm not going to see it first-run now. Fuck Spielberg and fuck wokeness.

[quote] He’s a pedophile

No he’s not but some of his most devout haters have been trying to push this rumor for years.

I bet poor ol Steven is on the verge of collapse, knowing that 33 bitchy gay dudes do not plan to attend his film.

[quote] I bet poor ol Steven is on the verge of collapse, knowing that 33 bitchy gay dudes do not plan to attend his film.

Yeah, we're real outliers when it comes to wokeness. Other Americans just love wokeness if we don't. Look at our political trends.

You’re gay. You benefit from wokeness. Stupid ass.

Sorry, my WHITE PRIVILEGE trumps any benefit and tips the balance against me.

Te jodes, Esteban.

Hello, fellow kids!

R25 That was my point. That Broadway audiences weren't responding to the Spanish lyrics to songs they already knew, so you can imagine the reaction to dialogue they don't.

I’m embarrassed for him.

It's just a one-inch tall barrier!

Thanks, asshole!

I saw that version referenced in R7. I don’t speak Spanish and I felt like I missed about a third of the show. It wasn’t just songs. Dialogue scenes with the Puerto Rican characters were entirely in Spanish. It was fucking ridiculous. I have nothing against people speaking in their native language but not when you’re watching a show that’s NOT specifically for bilingual audiences. Even the fucking opera has subtitles!!

[quote] Spielberg said that he chose to not subtitle any of the Spanish dialogue in the film “out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks’ boys and girls.”

Oh for Christ's sake.

R45 you’re lying.

R46 What does that even mean? He chose not to subtitle the Spanish in English 'out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks' boys and girls?"

It just sounds like woke word salad.

Uh, a LOT of well meaning movie goers are going to be asking "where's the subtitles?" Not a good look.

Please.

As if Americans of any race or ethnicity speak proper English as a first language.

I don't speak or understand Spanish, but, I'm pretty sure I'll catch the drift of the plot anyway even if some of the dialog is in Spanish.

Spielberg needs to be over.

Those of us who took the time in our lives to educate and learn other languages will not have a problem understanding.

Not to be outdone, Barbra Streisand has announced that she is developing an all Yiddish production of Yentl.

Yeah, Spielberg fucked up with his decision big time. Thank you R12 for noting the background of these artists.

There are a lot of Latinos in the U.S. who don't speak much, if any, Spanish. Especially after several generations in this country.

Will this be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film?

Remember when people complained over some special effects sound in The Last Jedi? And that was only like 3 seconds.

[quote] a totally Latinx cast

I guess Steve didn’t get the memo on the 3% approval for “latinx” amongst Hispanics.

I will translates for my 17 kids and about to be indicted esposo

Whatever Spanish I have picked up over the years is mainly from riding the NYC subways and reading the ads.

Accidentes? 1-800-Abogardo

I also know most of the curse words.

Steven Spielberg is well intentioned, but I don't think he realizes that not speaking a second language other than English does not make people wrong or lazy. Not everyone has time to learn a second language, or the ability to. I'm a Spanish speaker myself, but I wouldn't like it if there was a movie with Cantonese, Russian, or another language I don't understand with no subtitles. You don't have to be a right-wing idiot to be annoyed by this choice.

At the end of the day, it will all be decided at the box office.

Spielberg lost his magic after Jurassic Park. He’s ordinary now

The only Spanish I know is from watching "I Love Lucy".

R61 critics are saying this film is his best in many years.

Isn’t he currently working on Indiana Jones 15? Or historic movie that no will see.

I'm curious if the English is subtitled for those who don't speak it. If not then people who don't speak English might stay away and so will people who don't speak Spanish. So who is the audience then?

R63, that’s not saying much

Sorry this is OT.

r31 any Korean shows you care to recommend.

The only Spanish I know is from listening to Carmen Miranda records.

R67 Misaeng. I believe you can watch it on Netflix.

Curious as to whether the dialog that is in Spanish on screen, was in Spanish only in the scripts of the non-Spanish speaking cast members.

If he truly wanted to be authentic, that would be the case.

[quote] The only Spanish I know is from listening to Carmen Miranda records.

then you're really in trouble, because when doesn't sing in English she almost always sings in Portuguese.

*Sorry, that should read: "Then you're really in trouble, because when she doesn't sing in English she almost always sings in Portuguese.

Me too, R62

Way to go my Jewish bro! Two thumbs up!

It is reasonable not to use subtitles when you want the audience to share the English-speaking character's confusion, or when the Spanish dialogue is obviously curse words, of which everyone understands the intention. I hope this is in the explanation.

I'm in Australia, where you have to be lucky to meet a Spanish speaker one time in your life, so only the very Woke indeed will even see it for wokeness. Everyone else will just be, "Whaddide say?"

OTOH, just as most people already knew Sondheim's lyrics when listening to the Spanish ones, most English-speaking people already know Romeo and Juliet, so they're not going to be entirely lost and bumping into the trees.

Sorry, "I hope this IS the explanation."

Didn't Sandra Bullock make a movie where she and the others were bumping into trees?

DICK MOVE

[quote]Please. As if Americans of any race or ethnicity speak proper English as a first language.I don't speak or understand Spanish, but, I'm pretty sure I'll catch the drift of the plot anyway even if some of the dialog is in Spanish.

Ooh, Della, you're just SO fucking woke.

Vomit.

Damn right, r79.

It beats being SO fucking fearful. Cower in your corner, r79. What's it like to be so afraid all of the time?

I am an English-speaking American who also speaks French, but if I watch a French film I still want the subtitles.

We take for granted the way we speak our native tongue. We can talk incredibly fast and cut off word endings and let the words blend into each other, but another person with the same native tongue will completely understand you. It's a lot different when you're listening to people who speak a different language. Unless you're fluent and are able to speak and hear the other language on a regular basis or are some kind of scholar in that language, it takes effort and concentration for the average person.

This film will surely have international distribution, so I wonder if they'll have Spanish sub-titles for the English dialogue when it's shown in Spanish speaking countries? And if so, isn't that "giving Spanish the power over English"? What utter absurdity.

The only Spanish I know are the guys I’m sleeping with. Papi!

[quote]It beats being SO fucking fearful. Cower in your corner, R79. What's it like to be so afraid all of the time?

It's got nothing to do with fear. It's about taking a concept that's good in its intent (being woke, understanding perspectives beyond just the white one) and then turning it into something absurd. Do people like you have to agree with everything that's "woke", or are you able to be objective at all?

Della@ R79. That is a pretty asinine and lame comment you sent back to R78. You addressed nothing, your caftan suddenly blew up over your head, and you merely attacked R78.

Getting back to your asinine comment. I quote you: “Please. As if Americans of any race or ethnicity speak proper English as a first language…. “. Fuck off Della dear. Don’t tell me or a host of many, that our English is not spoken properly. That is an uppity, cunty, and condescending, remark. Ergo; asinine.

Again, you addressed nothing in your R79 comment to R78. You shot from the hip, and got nowhere. So now, shut the fuck up, Mary.

[quote] Do people like you have to agree with everything that's "woke", or are you able to be objective at all?

When I get around to deciding whether I owe you an accounting, maybe I'll answer your question.

I will, however, expand upon my post at r50 because I want to.

West Side Story is one of the most well-known pieces of popular entertainment of modern times. It has been performed countless times in high schools, in regional theatre, in professional productions in the US, London and around the world.

The plot is well-known and pretty simple: teenage boy and girl meet, teenage boy and girl fall in love, teenage boy and girl cause conflict, teenage boy dies tragically by homicide from jealous teenage rival.

Both English (mostly) and some Spanish is spoken.

If hearing some of the dialog in Spanish by characters whose first language IS Spanish because, gee, after all, they're Puerto Rican, you know, a Spanish speaking people? is too taxing for you, then you're either an idiot or someone looking for something to whine about.

It's West Side Story, not a musical of "Love in the Time of Cholera".

R55 Not to mention Spanish, just like English, changes in each country it is spoken. Sometimes using words and accents that are unintelligible to other Spanish speakers. Just as an American might have trouble with a thick Australian or Scottish accent.

How much of the film is actually in Spanish?

We know Spielberg doesn’t mean it, because if he really wanted equity the Puerto Rican characters would sing in Spanish. But that would ruin “America,” and that’s one of the big show-stoppers.

It’s not really that brave to let the Puerto Rican characters speak Spanish without subtitles, precisely because this is a musical with a plot most people know. This isn’t My Fair Lady, where the dialogue is lifted from Shaw, and the characters are interesting when they are speaking as well as singing. It’s a show where the songs do all of the work developing the characters, while most of the dialogue is essentially shoe leather, meant to move the characters around between songs. And since everyone already knows the story, the dialogue doesn’t even need to do that.

R84 I’m not who you were talking to but, Americans do speak English quite poorly. As an example, using adjectives instead of adverbs. It’s terrible.

Regarding the Spanish part of this thread, you all live in a country where 15% of the population speak Spanish (and there’s a rich history involving Spanish) and none of you have any good grasp of it? Isn’t that a little…..embarrassing?

R87, the original WSS movie is 60 years old. There are a LOT of younger people who have never seen it. And if you're not much of a theater person either, then the plot of WSS is NOT something most people know.

[quote]Regarding the Spanish part of this thread, you all live in a country where 15% of the population speak Spanish (and there’s a rich history involving Spanish) and none of you have any good grasp of it? Isn’t that a little…..embarrassing?

Holy fuck you are an insufferable cunt.

Triggered, r90?

Calm down, folks. I would say no more than about five percent of the dialogue in the movie is in Spanish.

Everyone knows WSS. The show is revived often enough and I think most people are familiar with the OBCR and film soundtrack equally. Even if it were performed in Japanese, everyone would still be able to follow it (and hum along).

We just had that dreadful Ivo revival right before the Covid shutdown and the Lin/Arthur-directed revival not long before that. The musical has never strayed far from our minds.

And, to clarify my point at R92, absolutely zero percent of the lyrics are in Spanish in the movie. Only some of the dialogue.

Exactly, R93. It’s not just a theater thing (and even purely theatrical productions things can permeate the culture, like Wicked). It was adapted into a movie that won ten Oscars and has remained popular for decades. It’s not exactly like we’re discussing Caroline, or Change.

R94, I’ve seen it, but I’d estimate the Spanish to be one quarter of the spoken dialogue. I saw estimates as high as 40%, but I think it’s lower than that.

Now I won't have to see it. I would have streamed it, but now I won't do that.

Omfg of all the wrongs to "right"......it's a musical written by americans ffs.

The funny thing is that if it's distributed to large foreign markets, all the language will be mercilessly replaced by "actors" who spend their careers dubbing movies/TV shows and doing commercial voice-overs. (Unless he insists on leaving in the Spanish, which would baffle Germans used to everything sounding like the non-regional, clearly enunciated car commercial voice).

R85, Being well-known and oft-performed are descriptors belonging to the original WSS and do not lend themselves to extrapolation.

Other musicals that might, then, given your criteria, be re-done in their "native" tongue without subtitles or audience rejection are:

Les Miserables.

Man of La Mancha.

The Sound of Music.

Fiddler on the Roof.

Evita.

The Mikado.

I remember when people were called 'crazy' for thinking that a boom in America's illegal and legal hispanic population would lead to woke social justice activists seeking to remake America into a 'bilingual' country. They lied and said there was no agenda to do this. The woke aren't keeping that facade up anymore.

So, for the record, conservatives were correct. I say this as someone who is moderate and center-left on many issues.

Speaking of Le Mis are they now going to change the musical to fully french speaking considering it takes place in france? Or does wokeness matters only when it deals with non whites?3

I saw a production of the play West Side Story a few years ago in Hollywood. It was well done. The Puerto Rican players spoke only Spanish. Maybe this wouldn't go over as well in Idaho but it was just fine for California. I hear the film is good. I'm planning to see it this month.

Estefano es so good doing dis because sometimes I have trouble remembering my English, like how you say eh.... cucumber?

Does he know that every Latino/a in America doesn't speak Spanish? Does he know how insulting is his assumption that everyone in America named Garcia, Ramirez, or Moreno speaks Spanish?

It's like assuming every descendant of Chinese, Korean, or Japanese speaks those languages.

The young actress who played Brando's love in Sayonara was a Nisei, American-born of Japanese ancestry. She not only didn't speak Japanese, she had to be taught how to speak halting English with a Japanese accent.

[quote]Not to mention Spanish, just like English, changes in each country it is spoken. Sometimes using words and accents that are unintelligible to other Spanish speakers

Very true. I wonder how well the Puerto Rican Spanish goes down with an Argentine audience. They might as well be speaking two different languages.

I hope there’s a lot of nudity to make up for this stunt

I speak fluent porn

Eldercranks acting like a movie partially filmed in a non-English language is the equivalent of the country being invaded? On MY Datalounge?

Famed slain singer Selena Quintanilla was second-generation American (of Mexican descent) born and raised in Texas but didn't speak an ounce of Spanish as a child. She had to learn the songs phonetically. Eventually, as a young woman, she learned to speak it somewhat fluently, but you could always tell that Spanish was not her first language. I remember when she was on the talk show Cristina a year before her death and she said "diecicuatro' instead of 'catorce' for 'fourteen.' LOL! J.Lo, who played her in the movie, also didn't grow up speaking much Spanish and she's a Nuyorican born and raised in the Bronx, NYC.

[quote]Speaking of Le Mis are they now going to change the musical to fully french speaking considering it takes place in france?

Les Miz was originally in French. It is a French musical that was translated into English for its UK and US productions.

[quote]Speaking of Le Mis are they now going to change the musical to fully french speaking considering it takes place in france?

This phantom "they" sure does a lot of work on these threads.

This bargain basement fearmongering requires people to believe that there's some all-encompassing "they" making changes to every segment of society, change that have no purpose except to "cater to the woke" for cynical and sinister reasons, and to judge you, personally, as "not deserving to see this movie."

It doesn't make any damn sense. Movies are released in multiple languages all the time. Did you cry when you couldn't understand the Swedish in MIDSOMMAR? Do you think WSS won't be released with closed captioning?

Les Miz was originally in French, the English IS the translation. Besides, the same "they" who made the decision for this version of West Side Story have no relation to the "they" behind future productions of Les Miz. If we had a more educated, logical and rational membership on DL, people would know that. If DLers were sane people who had any critical thinking skills, they wouldn't lose their collective minds on these threads all the time.

Donde el banjo? Mezcal needs tov flusho this crapo filmo.

Waiting for the lawsuit from the deaf community for not subtitling the entire movie. I hope it happens.

I wonder if there will be a lot of confusion and talking during the movie? 😆

Right on, r111.

And based upon the subsequent responses to your post, I'd say the rumble here between the Nyets and Sharks goes to the all-powerful, scary, "woke".

[quote]1-800-Abogardo

ABOGADO, querida.

[quote]This is idiotic. If all execs felt this way, we would sit through all these great Korean tv shows scratching our heads, just so that English doesn’t have “power over” Korean.

Again, I would say no more than about 5 percent of the dialogue in the new WSS movie is in Spanish. Although I can only understand a very few words of Spanish, I got most of it from context. I will admit, the one moment I wish had been in English was when Anita screams something at Valentina (the Rita Moreno character) right after Anita's attempted rape -- though, of course, it makes perfect sense and was very powerful for that line in particular to be in Spanish.

I'm assuming the screenwriter had to have help with the Spanish bits -- so does the person who helped him get screen credit?

For those of you who don't already know the lyrics backwards and forwards, I don't know what you're doing even reading this thread.

R111, Do YOU think you might read the OP?

Spielberg said no subtitles. Out of "respect."

R119, "Dialogue" is not "lyrics."

As a fan of Ricky Martin, I've always liked his Spanish-only songs (my favorite of all his oeuvre is the Spanish "Casi un Bolero"), even though I speak only English.

So I'll cope with the new "WSS." It's just that Spielberg's rationale is silly, and, if taken seriously henceforth, unfortunate.

R111, Unless you're thinking of when you watch it on TV?

He use Spanish without subtitles for artistic reasons. His choice. I'm fine with it. The reason he gives is really stupid though. He sounds like the typical Hollywood airhead.

...can

Dial 1 for English, for Spanish just stay on the line

[quote] And if you're not much of a theater person either, then the plot of WSS is NOT something most people know.

The basic plot of WSS is Romeo and Juliet. If most people are not familiar with this plot, we should just burn all the schools to the ground.

Also, to the people up thread, Les Miz was not just translated it was fully adapted. When it comes to the music around 1/3 is directly translated, 1/3 was adapted to keep the general meaning, and 1/3 is entirely new. They also added to the book.

[quote]Dial 1 for English, for Spanish just stay on the line

"Dial?" What do I do if I don't have a pencil handy?

R113, you dingus, closed captioning will obviously be available.

As I already said, that's one of the reasons why I don't understand why all the old cranks on here are having a meltdown.

R128 I wonder if the Spanish dialogue will only be in Spanish closed captioning.

If Spielberg is so woke, he would have subtitled it in Ebonics.

[quote][R128] I wonder if the Spanish dialogue will only be in Spanish closed captioning.

Usually when there is a foreign language being spoken, the CC will say "[speaking in foreign language]" instead of transcribing the actual dialogue. This is to represent what the general audience will be hearing.

R131 so closed captioning will still not help those who don’t understand.

R105...argentine here and yes, quite.

R123 - There is no "artistic" reason for ensuring that a vast proportion of your audience loses the sense of the dialogue.

The fact is, he's insulting one portion of his audience to pander to another. When foreign films are run in other countries, subtitles are used.

Would Ingmar fucking Bergman's films have meant anything to the wide audience beyond Sweden without subtitles?

It's a meaningless and profoundly stupid gesture. English is the the language in which the constitution of America is written.

For Spielberg to insinuate that because his film incorporated some aspects of Puerto Rican culture in New York City, the wider audience he hopes will make his film a financial success are somehow Really Bad People for speaking only English is spurious. English rules in Britain and in American the way French rules in France, German in Germany, Danish in Denmark, etc., etc.

It's a totally spurious bit of intellectually bankrupt pandering. And it will endear no one to "multiculturalism" and reinforce the assumption that liberals like Spielberg are out to destroy formerly coherent cultures.

Were all the camp inmates in Schindler's List played by Jews? Neeson played Schindler and he's a fucking Irishman. Fiennes is an Englishman. But, oh, that's DIFFERENT! Especially if the director is aiming for big awards!

Aidan Turner just did a stint as Leonardo da Vinci. Do I hear any squawks because he wasn't Italian?

The Guardian tried to push Idris Elba aond Chietel Eijofor as the next Bond, despite it being abundantly clear that his creator painted him as the scion of minor Scottish aristocracty.

But somehow, SOMEHOW, Steven fucking Spielberg doesn't have enough courtesy toward his audience to offer a translation of some minor Spanish dialogue.

The man's a pandering whore. His work never quite ascends to the level he wishes it would be viewed as, and this kind of shit is why.

Never mind forgetting that a the entire premise was the brainchild of a group of gringo men whose language was ENGLISH.

I don't need another WSS, so I'll be quite pleased to keep my money in my pocket re this one. Yes, I know he's already a billionaire, but I don't care. It's my money and he can fucking whistle for it.

I hope the awards season ignores him. Not holding my breath, but I hope so.

^*Chiwetel

On a related topic, I just have to vent:

I hate when I watch international porn videos and I can’t understand what the men are saying. How can I jack off if I don’t understand the context of the scene, or grasp any subtext? This issue of not providing subtitles has GOT to stop.

In the very lucrative Chinese market, still no subtitles?

Ask any Dutch person why they are so good at speaking English. The answer will be, "Because our TV isn't dubbed. It's all Dutch subtitles." Same for the Scandinavian languages which only dubb children's tv shows. Subtitles and closed captioning also are great ways to teach spelling and reading.

Don't most of you complainers about the lack of subtitles realize that 99% of the population knows the story already? Come on.

[quote]The basic plot of WSS is Romeo and Juliet. If most people are not familiar with this plot, we should just burn all the schools to the ground.

R126 I think most people know the basic story line; that Romeo & Juliet were star-crossed lovers who were forbidden to be together and killed themselves. (Just like most people know that Bonnie & Clyde were a criminal couple who went on a bank-robbing spree and were eventually gunned down by the police.) However, not many people know the details and all of the other characters involved.

R139 americans or the whole world? I do not think people outside of the US or English speaking countries know it that well but again, wokie progressives still manage to be chauvinistic about America.

R88

[quote] Americans do speak English quite poorly. As an example, using adjectives instead of adverbs. It’s terrible.

Yes, and the Brits cannot properly use pronouns.

But the Indians win the cup for their magnificently mangled syntax. Gibberish all the way.

Look at all the free publicity this little nugget has generated.

Spielberg still has a yiddishe kop.

Sucks. I was looking forward to seeing it.

But I don't speak fluent Spanish and there's no point in watching a film I can't understand.

I am glad he was kind enough to let us know this in English, however.

Thanks Steve.

Why not just call it "La Historia del lado Oeste" de Steven Spielbergo.

Is he going to redo Schindler's list all in Yiddish/German too?

Clearly Jaws needs to be redubbed in Great White.

How in the world it is woke to speak languages other than the one(s) you were raised speaking?

Only privileged, educated people speak languages that weren't spoken in the house those fortunate people were raised in.

Therefore, wouldn't it be more woke to have subtitles for more languages, not the other way around? Wouldn't it be more empowering to give every person - regardless of culture - the same opportunity to watch and understand the film?

Isn't the point of wokeness to give power to the powerless? It seems very elitist to leave people out just because they weren't privileged enough to come from multilingual backgrounds.

Many critics who don't speak fluent Spanish have reviewed the film and been just fine with it. Of course they're also not hissing Russian bots making everything about being "woke". You know what.? I live in a big city and see people all the time speaking different languages. And it doesn't bother me in the least. I understand what I understand and then I can use my ability to deduce reasonable communication skills if I really want to understand.

R148, I'd consider myself pretty woke. I love the idea of being exposed to different languages in a social setting. Like you, I really enjoy that aspect of living where I live (Los Angeles).

But not if I'm watching a film. I'd like to follow the story without guessing possible plot lines, etc. simply because I don't speak the language. I don't really get the point?

Btw, love French cinema, Swedish TV, Japanese horror. But I need subtitles. Sue me. It's super easy to do, does no harm to anyone, and it's just plain annoying to do otherwise.

"There are a lot of Latinos in the U.S. who don't speak much, if any, Spanish. Especially after several generations in this country."

I believe you meant to type: There are a lot of Latinos in the U.S. who don't speak much, if any, English. Even after several generations in this country.

r150 doesn't know many Latinos.

R128, What, pray, is so "obvious" about your (repetitive) assertion?

Spielberg, more than many, surely grasps the Wordsworth-Coleridge concept of "the suspension of disbelief."

That's why movies exist. That's why Hispanic characters can be presented as English-speaking.

Because we have IMAGINATIONS.

"West Side Story" isn't a documentary. And the "Romeo and Juliet" we know was written in English.

I could understand more doing the film all or mostly in spanish but why no subtitles? Don't people from other languages have a right to know what they're saying? Like, doing "America" fully in spanish (but with subtitles) makes more sense and is more respectful and inclusive to everyone involved than not including subtitles in a few minor speaking moments. Wtf is up with Spielberg lol.

Spielberg said we are allowed to tap on the shoulder of the LatinX in front of us and say, “What, what was so funny, I don’t get it, say it again,”

I have heard that a lot of the best inside jokes and plot twists are in Spanish in order to empower one group over the other

[quote]I do not think people outside of the US or English speaking countries know it that well

Truthfully I don't even think as many Americans know it as well as some of the replies here indicate.

WSS film is 60 years old. Yes it's a pretty famous film but it was never an "event" film like The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz, playing on network television every year. I guarantee you millions of Americans, especially the younger ones, have never seen it.

Yes, the writings of Shakespeare are supposedly timeless. But while most people have probably heard of Romeo & Juliet, again I guarantee you MANY would not be able to summarize the plot because they've never read the play.

Hell, I still have a surprised reaction when someone younger than me doesn't know the music of the Beatles. And if you've ever watched those music reaction videos on YouTube, they're filled with young people listening to Barbra Streisand or the BeeGees or the Rolling Stones or countless other huge names in Music for the very first time.

God Relax…critics have already said in their reviews that in the limited Spanish only scenes, there is more than enough context to make it possible to figure out what is happening and what is being talked about.

Some of you sound like such crybabies.

And if you are determined to hate this film and not see it, don’t use this as the excuse either.

R157 it's not a big deal, but its just an incredibly stupid reason for doing it. That's what is being called out.

3 hrs at the McDonald’s drive thru window

R157, your point is my point. It's NOT a big deal at all: To include fucking subtitles!

No one has ever, in the history of the cinema, complained that a film had subtitles. Ever. Not the left, not the right. Not anyone. It's just the decent thing to do.

I'd only support the lack of subtitles if the characters themselves are not meant to understand the dialogue. For example, I'm thinking of an Italian film where they run into French tourists. The dialogue of the tourists is not subtitled.

[quote]Hell, I still have a surprised reaction when someone younger than me doesn't know the music of the Beatles. And if you've ever watched those music reaction videos on YouTube, they're filled with young people listening to Barbra Streisand or the BeeGees or the Rolling Stones or countless other huge names in Music for the very first time.

Never mind that, my Gen Z nieces and nephews barely even know Madonna, Nirvana or Whitney Houston.

It's as if most of you have never watched a TV show or movie where there are characters who speak another language when appropriate. And if there are no subtitles, that means the director and/or screenwriter intends for you NOT to know what they're saying -- and that the other characters in the scene who don't understand that language (if any) aren't understanding it either. It's usually a plot point. This happens ALL THE TIME. And it's INTENTIONAL.

R163 if the intention is not to offend like it is in this case then it's moronic. End off.

Growing up pre-cable when there were a limited number of tv stations. I was a big NY Knicks fan and sometimes the only station that aired the Knicks game was the Spanish language channel.

The announcers would speak rapidly in their native tongue and then all of a sudden, one would yell “Dave deBusschere!!!”. While I didn’t understand what they were saying, it didn’t stop me from watching and enjoying the game.

R134, there's a little bit of truth and sense to some of what you wrote, but your reaction is ridiculously overblown -- ESPECIALLY because, as I have already noted here twice and will not bother to repeat again after this, I would say only about five percent of the dialogue in the new WSS film is in Spanish. And even if I'm considerably off in my estimation, and it's actually more like 10 percent, that still means at least 90 percent of the movie is in English. Including ALL of the lyrics. So can you please take a pill or two and calm the hell down?

Also -- this is not the first mainstream American movie that has incorporated some foreign language dialogue with no subtitles, though of course I can't come up with the name of another example at the moment.

[quote]While I didn’t understand what they were saying, it didn’t stop me from watching and enjoying the game.

Wow, you mean you still understood the plot of the basketball game even though the commentary wasn't in English? That's amazing.

[quote]It's not a big deal, but its just an incredibly stupid reason for doing it. That's what is being called out.

No, SOME idiots here now seem to be convinced that a tremendous amount of dialogue in the new WSS film is in Spanish with no English subtitles, and they are losing their shit over that. But....

Only about five to ten percent (at the absolute most) of the movie's dialogue is in Spanish with no English subtitles.

Only about five to ten percent (at the absolute most) of the movie's dialogue is in Spanish with no English subtitles.

Only about five to ten percent (at the absolute most) of the movie's dialogue is in Spanish with no English subtitles.

ONLY ABOUT FIVE TO TEN PERCENT (AT THE ABSOLUTE MOST) OF THE MOVIE'S DIALOGUE IN IN SPANISH WITH NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

ONLY ABOUT FIVE TO TEN PERCENT (AT THE ABSOLUTE MOST) OF THE MOVIE'S DIALOGUE IN IN SPANISH WITH NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

ONLY ABOUT FIVE TO TEN PERCENT (AT THE ABSOLUTE MOST) OF THE MOVIE'S DIALOGUE IN IN SPANISH WITH NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, maybe THAT will work.

I’m not in the mood for idiots tonight R167 so forgive me for saying, fuck off.

Does anyone know approximately what percentage of the dialogue is in Spanish? I think it would be important to understand that within the context of this subtitles discussion. Anyone?

And R167 lay off Della, you piece of shit.

[quote] This bargain basement fearmongering requires people to believe that there's some all-encompassing "they" making changes to every segment of society, change that have no purpose except to "cater to the woke" for cynical and sinister reasons, and to judge you, personally, as "not deserving to see this movie."

We're told that English is not the official language of the US. How much more accommodating can you get? Where I live, there are certain theaters that have Spanish subtitles because most people are first generation immigrants. Public School has an ESL curriculum. I would say society has changed.

As for me, I speak 3 languages but unfortunately, Spanish is not one of them. I don't regret being multi lingual but at the same time, I don't expect other people other than family or close friends to understand me. The American experiment wasn't to make this country multilingual but bilingual. And if we object to this, we'll be told that California is really Mexico and that we're racist colonizers or something to that effect.

Because the Spanish weren't racist colonizers lol!

R163 how daft are you?

If Spielberg said: There is some Spanish lines that we didn't subtitle because we don't necessarily want or need the audience to know what's being said? There would be zero issue with his decision.

But that's not why, according to the man himself, he omitted subtitles.

There's no reason to play dumb. It's okay to say: I like Spielberg and I'm woke (both true of me, btw), but this is a really idiotic choice.

I used to wonder why people characterized Della as insufferable, bot now this thread shows why.

Wow.

Who's Della?

Why can't there be English subtitles? It's not a big deal. Christ, everything is political these days.

Does Spielberg even speak Spanish? Seems majorly hypocritical to me. Doing stuff like this seems deliberately exclusionary especially if you're woke base is also trying to eliminate merit based education in schools. Way to go excluding people who can can't even read or write English at an adult reading level.

Chupame Della !

Rita made me do it.

So, r163, you're arguing that Spielberg does not want non-Spanish-speakers to understand the Spanish parts?

I thought we decided that whole "power of English over Spanish" thing in 1588.

I'll definitely be skipping this one in theaters. Hopefully when they release it for streaming, they will at least have an all-English subtitles version instead of an English/Spanish mix.

[quote]For those of you who do not understand Spanish, you better learn it fast.

Why? I was never planning to watch this piece of shit movie anyway.

For the last time, it is Spielberg's explanation for why he refused to put English subtitles under Spanish dialogue that is so infuriating, not the exact amount of the dialogue that is left untranslated that is the problem.

In a country that prides itself on its ability to do so much of a better job of assimilation, its interest in bringing people together, of bringing about more understanding among different cultural heritages there, why, why the FUCK would that bellend use language that instead fans the flames of resentment?!

Spielberg acts as if forgot that America won its independence from ENGLAND, that its laws and constitution are written in English, the country's mother tongue, and that there's nothing wrong with a country having a mother tongue. Language is the GLUE of culrure.

The mention of the words "power over" is a piece of counter-productive baiting of nationalists.

Art is supposed to communicate. Smugly insisting that you really have no interest in your creation communicating with its widest possible audience is the action of a brain-dead billionaire who believes his own press.

And, lastly, the truth is Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, is a really dumb story written with exquisite language.

WSS is equally witless without its gorgeous score and choreography.

The dialogue even in English is probably forgettable. Spielberg's stance on this is just proof of how culturally low his artistic creds are.

R185, you keep going on about Spielberg’s explanation or intention for doing this being the reason it is so offensive, for those of us not as clued in as you, would you mind sharing it with the rest of us who don’t know?

What was his reason for doing this? According to him.

The director, 74, told IGN in an interview that he "didn't want to subtitle any of the Spanish out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks' boys and girls." "The director, 74, told IGN in an interview that he "didn't want to subtitle any of the Spanish out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks' boys and girls."

Thanks R186..you just made me lose a few hundred brain cells acrually reading the drivel. It somehow managed to sound even stupider than I thought.

Oops forgot this last gem:

"If I subtitled the Spanish I'd simply be doubling down on the English and giving English the power over the Spanish," he said. "This was not going to happen in this film. I needed to respect the language enough not to subtitle it."

Old man is either gaga or trying desperately to stay relevant by being woke. For this alone I hope the film bombs.

[quote]What was his reason for doing this? According to him.

His direct quote was “Este hilo terminará en lágrimas”.

This is what actual privilege looks like. When you have so much money and fame that you become out of touch with reality.

[quote]For the last time, it is Spielberg's explanation for why he refused to put English subtitles under Spanish dialogue that is so infuriating, not the exact amount of the dialogue that is left untranslated that is the problem.

I understand that's YOUR point, and for what it's worth, I pretty much agree with you. But, clearly, this whole discussion has resulted in lots of people apparently thinking that there's a huge percentage of Spanish dialogue in the movie, and that is NOT true.

However you feel about Spielberg's rationale for not including subtitles, I'm sure you'll agree it makes a big difference whether the amount of Spanish is 90 percent of the movie's dialogue, or 50 percent, or 40 percent -- or only about 5-10 percent, which is the case.

Or to put it another way, if he used his rationale to support a film with half the dialogue in Spanish with no subtitles, that would be FAR worse than using it to justify a film with only about 5-10 percent of the dialogue in Spanish with no subtitles. Wouldn't it?

R191 Percentage doesn't matter. What matters is context. Does the dialogue important for understanding the plot or character motivation. If so, it needs to be understood.

Well, the movie will be popular with non-binary tweens and almost all of Puerto Rico.

How nice for Steven.

He likes tweens. And he can tolerate Puerto Ricans for the six months left that's needed.

[quote]As if Americans of any race or ethnicity speak proper English as a first language.

Do you know how many British people don't speak proper English?

I forget that Americans don't consider Spanish to be a European language i.e. a "white" language. As far as Americans are concerned, Spanish is a POC language and Spanish people are somehow POC in America. It's truly strange.

It would have been more interesting if he'd have opened the film with a land acknowledgement.

[quote] It's truly strange.

In America, most people who speak Spanish are of Mexican descent. Not strange at all.

^Though you do have other ethnicities who speak Spanish claiming to be POC as well and it's rightly ridiculous.

[quote]Does the dialogue important for understanding the plot or character motivation. If so, it needs to be understood.

To answer your ungrammatical question, no, I would not say that relatively small amount of Spanish dialogue in the new WSS is important for understanding the plot or character motivation.

What percentage of the dialogue is in Spanish? It is it 90%?

Never mind, Spanish, r200. Can you read English?

It's been stated many times here by a poster who has actually seen WSS 2021, that only a very small percentage of the dialog is in Spanish.

1) is there any male nudity

2) are the 💃🏽 dance-offs fierce

The percentage is not the problem. I speak spanish. They choice of not adding the subtitles is not the problem. Its the mentally deficient, divisive and woke explanation that is resoundingly stupid that is the problem. Spielberg trying to go woke to impress the kiddos and going overboard.

Thanks, R201, but R200 was just being a nasty bitch in response to my attempt to clarify the situation for people who seem to be under the very mistaken impression that there is a great percentage of Spanish dialogue in the movie.

R190 Don't I know it!

R201 The percentage doesn't matter. It's Spielberg's comments that are disgusting.

I'm sure we can all follow along without the subtitles. WSS isn't The Manchurian Candidate, you know.

R128 is a hag who has been shitting on gay men all over the DL for months.

So then how much of the film is actually in Spanish without subtitles? That hasn’t been addressed yet.

Refusing to use subtitles IS giving English the power over Spanish. Audiences will identify with dialog they can understand and tune out what they can’t.

Assuming the audiences only speak English, r209. You just proved Spielberg’s point.

In English-speaking nations, yes of course. From where I come from there are few Spanish speakers (I am one of the few). Will it not be dubbed/subtitles in other markets? I would not expect non-English speakers to try to understand a film in English.

[quote]Assuming the audiences only speak English, [R209]. You just proved Spielberg’s point.

If a Japanese-made movie plays in Japan, would you assume that the default language of the audience is Japanese?

Let me spell this out for you very clearly, r212. Some characters in West Side Story speak Spanish. Others speak English. The Spanish speakers understand English, but the English speakers do not understand Spanish.

Your analogy would be correct if the Japanese movie included English. Maybe they would subtitle it, maybe they would not. Have you actually seen foreign movies?

I think I understand R213, but how much of WSS is in Spanish? Is it about 90%? No one has addressed this.

Why is "America" even sung in english then, when its sung only by Puerto Ricans?

Many Japanese speak English, btw.

I think it was mentioned way back in the thread that they tried this on Broadway back in 2009 and it didn't go over well. Arthur Laurents directed and LMM translated 2 or 3 songs and a substantial amount of dialog into Spanish. The critics were not impressed and audiences and the performers hated it. By the time the revival closed, the song lyrics and at least some of the dialog had been replaced with the original English.

R208 and R214, read between the lines as I hold up three fingers :-)

R217, yes, but it wasn't done in exactly the same way. When it opened, that Broadway revival had a pretty large percentage of the lyrics in Spanish, as translated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and as I recall, only a few lines of dialogue in Spanish. The new movie has quite a few lines of dialogue in Spanish, but ALL of the lyrics are in English.

[quote]Why is "America" even sung in english then, when its sung only by Puerto Ricans?

Well, that's pretty easily justified by the fact that the women in the number are singing in English because they're pro-America, and it would be odd if the men answered them in Spanish.

[quote]The new movie has quite a few lines of dialogue in Spanish

I heard it was about 90% or so. Is that true?

Yes, R219. Absolutely!

[quote]Yes, [R219]. Absolutely!

But I thought you or someone else said it was only a tiny amount. Which is it?

R221, the amount of dialogue in the movie that's in Spanish with no English subtitles is, of course, verifiable. If you're annoyed by my estimation of the percentage, I'll leave it up to you to time it out to find the exact percentage. Hugs and kisses to you!

But is it around 5% or around 90%? I'm not looking for exact percentages.

Well! Thanks to DL, I now know two words hitherto unknown to me: r185's "bellend"; and, from the "Let's be distracting celebrity traits," the eyelid procedure called "canthoplasty."

Yay!

[quote]When it opened, that Broadway revival had a pretty large percentage of the lyrics in Spanish, as translated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and as I recall, only a few lines of dialogue in Spanish.

You recall wrong. When that revival opened only I Feel Pretty and A Boy Like That were fully translated into Spanish. But nearly all the Puerto Ricans' dialogue was. And as I posted above, audiences and the performers hated it. By the time it closed, the lyrics were back in English and most of the dialogue was too.

^ The changes back to English weren't done in one fell swoop. They were done gradually over the course of the nearly two year run. The kept reverting more and more because the more they went back to English, the more the audience response improved.

[quote] Percentage doesn't matter. What matters is context. Does the dialogue important for understanding the plot or character motivation. If so, it needs to be understood.

Percentage is not even the point. I watch movies and TV with the closed captions on because I don’t want to miss even a word of dialogue. It’s not about if I can understand the plot or motivations. I’m sure we can all get the jizz of it by watching the context. That’s not the point. I need to know exactly what they’re saying. This just means I will never see this in the theater. I’ll wait for streaming when I can turn on subtitles.

The jizz of it. OMG. THanks for the chortle

Spielberg seems like the kind of Hollywood liberal who donated allot of money to BLM.

…alot

Actually, "a lot" r230.

Here he is talking about the Latinx. He didn’t even cast an Italian in the Italian role.

[quote]You recall wrong. When that revival opened only I Feel Pretty and A Boy Like That were fully translated into Spanish. But nearly all the Puerto Ricans' dialogue was.

I remember that the Sharks' lyrics in the "Tonight" quintet were also in Spanish. As for the dialogue, you may be right, but I seem to remember that the scenes involving Anita were mostly in English, because the point is that she wants to be an American and wants all of her friends to speak English. This is also true of the new movie.

I'll avoid seeing this in the movie theater and watch it at home with closed captioning. Problem solved.

He said he’s not going to close caption the home version either. The only way you can translate it is to hold up Google Translate to your screen.

I’m not going to see this because Tony should be played by a blond.

[quote] Even the cast of that revival asked for the lyrics to be switched back to English because of the lack of reaction they were getting from audiences

Who could have foreseen that tourists who don’t speak Spanish disengage from the performance?

So....when have subtitles become offensive? Even some shows in English, where the actors are speaking in whispers, or mumbling....I've used the CC feature. I was a little worried about seeing it in a theater, with this new covid variant....now this has made my decision easier, and will see it at home, with settings.

Isn’t it a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act not to close caption movies and television shows?

Well what do you expect from Hollywood? The whole reason they’re even rebooting this is to pat themselves on the back for being so inclusive and diverse by making an all Hispanics flick. 🤔 Yet that diverse Hispanic cast is 98.9% Puerto Rican. So what else is new? Ain’t anything original and on top of that it’s a reboot. What is that lame, BS, copout, racist, dated excuse they like to use? Documentation? Well maybe they’re right cause I ain’t documented. I’m also 5th generation Mexican so why I would even need to be is beyond me. But ok put everyone who isn’t Puerto Rican in that little bubble and continue to be the progressive, pioneers you claim to be. At least here other than Natalie Woods PR portraying roll, they’re sticking to the original format. What’s In the Heights excuse? All shades and shapes and sizes………of Puerto Ricans. We’ve sure come a long way alright 🙄

I read this film is in Spanish with no dubbing or subtitles. WTF?

Omg

R242, if we ignore R241, maybe the creature will go away.

[quote]other than Natalie Woods PR portraying roll

Is that anything like a Let's Roll Cinnamon Roll?

R240, you are embarrassing yourself. How is this movie an “all Hispanics flick” and why is it a problem for many of the Latino cast to be Puerto Rican when that is the whole point of the story. Don’t come to Datalounge without a working knowledge of Broadway musical plots.

Fuck off, Matt, you Aspie freak.

I could give two shits about your little showtimes there Nancy. If there’s a drag race version of jeopardy go on and win your billions in glitter and gold MSSSSSS R240. That’s what was brought up in the first place actually. This was supposed to be all Puerto Rican because of where it took place and that’s why I feel was really one of the main reason they up and rebooted the film in the first place. Hollywood got to pat themselves of the back for being so inclusive on the Puerto Rican community. Ok that was than, you were making progress, 50 years later who else is being hired to play majority of Hispanic characters? But of course if you complain you’ll seem like you’re poking at holes in the storyline and that’s the reason for the reboot. Where as Mexicans, Cubans, Centrals, Dominicans are always asking “why is it’s only the Puerto Ricans they’re hiring?” Here you can’t say that cause it’s a big thread in the story itself. That’s the genius of why this movie was picked to be rebooted in the first place.

they'll still provide subtitles for deaf people, so just turn that on.

[quote] they'll still provide subtitles for deaf people, so just turn that on.

Hey, numbnuts, what part of there are no subtitles don’t you understand? There is nothing to turn on.

R249 Hey numbnuts, pretty sure he means permanent subtitles on screen for the Spanish dialogue. Am pretty sure they will have to provide subtitles for deaf people - for the English dialogue too.

Yes, for the English dialogue but not for the Spanish dialogue. Spielberg said his intent was for the audience to listen to the reaction of the Spanish-speaking audience and wonder what they’re missing out on. That way they can feel what it’s like for non-English speaking people to watch American movies. So no providing subtitles for the Spanish dialogue ever.

Well that was a stupid decision

That’s also a stupid characterization at r251.

That’s what he said. He said he wanted the audience to get their cues from the Spanish-speaking audience to wonder why they are reacting or laughing. To miss a joke or two is the point.

Little did he know there was NO audience for this so his little experiment couldn’t work anyway. How do you get cues from the Spanish-speaking audience when you’re the only one in the theater?

R254 It shows how out of touch Spielberg is that he thought the spanish speaking community would flock to see this and support their latina star “Rachel Zegler”

The topic of this thread is idiotic. There's barely any Spanish in it, and what there is is punctuated by English and easy to understand.

Only Trump supporting idiots think this is any kind of an issue.

It doesn’t matter how much Spanish is in it. When I watch a movie, I don’t want to even miss a word of dialogue. That’s why I watch movies with closed captioning on. Why should I have to wonder what was being said? I don’t want to get the jist of it, I want to know exactly what was said.

R257 Go take a Spanish class you swine.

[quote] [R257] Go take a Spanish class you swine.

And that’s why the movie failed. You expect audiences to take Spanish classes before seeing the movie. And audiences said no thanks, aint nobody got time for that.

Just watched it and it's much worse than what I thought. It's not just scenes that feature American actors who are not meant to understand, it's also scenes where only the Puerto Rican characters are interacting. It also includes language that was clearly intended to have a big emotional impact.

The most hilarious thing is Spielberg's decision wasn't enough to shield it from accusations of cultural appropriation. Beyond the characters, with only one exception, the music isn't really inspired by Latin culture. You could have easily changed it to something else and it would have had zero impact on the story.

Spider-Man: No Way Home also lacked subtitles when a character's grandmother spoke Tagalog.

R261 well, the original Romeo & Juliet story is about Italians, so clearly it should be translated back to Italian and recast exclusively with Italian actors. Italians are POC too, as I learned on DL. That Shakespeare bloke should be retroactively cancelled along with Spielberg.

Yeah, this is a complete non-issue. There's very little Spanish in the film. What there is is usually a line or two before they lapse back into English.

Anyone making an issue of this is a Trump supporting scumbag troll. Best to ignore.

R260 You're lying.

[quote] Anyone making an issue of this is a Trump supporting scumbag troll. Best to ignore.

Wanting to know the full dialogue of a movie I pay for is being a Trump troll? Okaaaay. 🙄

[quote]It shows how out of touch Spielberg is that he thought the spanish speaking community would flock to see this and support their latina star “Rachel Zegler”

R255 = mental midget and nasty POS.

The show still flopped.

WSS '61 on TCM now...

R256, Only a misguided director would make it a focus.

He only did the movie so he could be around gay dancers.

I don't care that he used Spanish and didn't use subtitles. What irks me is that he's overlooking the fact that Spanish is as much a colonial language as English is.

Americans are so weird about Spanish, they don't consider it a European language. It's actually older than English.

I've seen lots of foreign films and always preferred subtitled over dubbed so I could hear the voices and emotions of the original actors.

But this was awful. An entire film in Spanish, which I don't speak, with no dubbing or subtitles! Disgusting! The only way I followed the plot at all was because I saw the original film.

Wait for the DVD or Blu Ray with subtitles.

R274 Subtitling in theaters also has the advantage of shutting people up a bit as they try to read.

[quote] Wait for the DVD or Blu Ray with subtitles.

Doubt he’s going to sub-title the Spanish parts on DVD or Blu-Ray. That would defeat his whole point he was trying to make.

Frankly, it's a stupid notion. Spielberg needs to get over himself.

[quote] Doubt he’s going to sub-title the Spanish parts on DVD or Blu-Ray. That would defeat his whole point he was trying to make.

Those subtitles are for the deaf. Is he going to discriminate against the disabled? Isn't that illegal?

R278 He doesn't want to give "Silence the Power Over Spanish".

[quote]But this was awful. An entire film in Spanish, which I don't speak, with no dubbing or subtitles! Disgusting! The only way I followed the plot at all was because I saw the original film.

I'm sure you think that's hilarious, but on the contrary, your failed attempt at sarcasm is not even remotely amusing.

And yet it made you post.

[quote] Those subtitles are for the deaf. Is he going to discriminate against the disabled? Isn't that illegal?

No, he’s going to close-caption the whole thing “as is” for the deaf. The Spanish will be close-captioned as Spanish. The English will be close-captioned as English. It will be an exact match to what is said on screen. He’s just not going to translate it for the deaf or anyone.

Just put English subtitles, what's the big fucking deal?

He's a pretentious ass.

i find it weird that spielberg wanted to direct this, or even produce it.

It's strange that the entertainment industry thought that musicals were making a comeback. Also, you could just get the orginal. It holds up.

I love spielberg. They just got the prediction wrong about muscicals.

[quote] Just put English subtitles, what's the big fucking deal?

You think he’s going to hire translators just for the DVD release?

[quote]i find it weird that spielberg wanted to direct this, or even produce it.

He's said in interviews he's wanted to do it for years, if not decades.

Just the idea that this old billionaire thought it was his job to punish the audience paying $20 plus dollars per ticket shows how out of touch he is.

He absolutely deserved to lose every penny he did on such a humiliating flop.

I liked it. It's not a bad film. The young girl who played the lead, Anita and the guy that played Riff were all very very good.

[quote] Those subtitles are for the deaf. Is he going to discriminate against the disabled? Isn't that illegal?

I don’t think you understand what closed captioning for the deaf is. It’s not a translator. When another language is spoken, it usually just say in brackets [Japanese being spoken].

Why in the world are you bringing Trump into this R264? It was a stupid thing for Spielberg to have done. Has nothing to do with right or left. It was just dumb. Liberals do stupid things all the time. Doesn't make people pointing that out conservative. It just makes them honest.

I like Spielberg. I align very much with his politics. Almost down the board, I assume.

But he was dead wrong in this case. It's okay to say that. The Great Democrat from On High won't strike you down and kill you. I promise.

Everybody was good except Tony and Maria, who had no Chemistry. Overbite and the Pug. Casting Latinx doesn't mean casting Ugly, Steven!

R290, what the hell is your damage? Damn!