Posted on 03/01/2007 12:35:54 PM PST by DollyCali
You are too kind! (Thank you!)
What I want to share, though, is that the movie had open captions...same as closed captioning available on t.v.s. I had never been to a movie before where that was offered and wondered if anyone else has come across this feature?
As I said, it was at a multiplex (18 theatres) and only one theatre was offering open captioning and we were warned when we got our tickets about it...so I am thinking it is something new.
Haven;t seen that yet but it is on "the list".. friends who have seen it say it is fun & light.
I have never even heard of open captions. It is like subtitles?
Actually Clive looks kind of like me. :)
I See you are in college in Oklahoma.
I have a nephew at University of Tulsa(senior) and his sister Sarah (who turned 20 yesterday) At Central in OK city.
here is a pix of Sarah.. (since you are too young for me & just right for her) they live in Choctaw
I've never heard of it for English-language movies. Was it superimposed on the main screen, or was there another screen? I've heard about some opera companies that offer English subtitles on a small horizontal screen adjacent to the stage.
Is this in a neighborhood with a large deaf population, maybe a school or college nearby? Or is this a shiny new digital theater? I would imagine that it would be easier to embed captions in a digital movie (like on a DVD) and turn them on by flipping a switch than to order a special print.
It was obviously operated by a switch as it did not come on till about 20 minutes into the movie.
We are not in the center of a large deaf community....I very rarely see Deaf people signing...our local schools mainstream Deaf students and it is a very small population...we are not near a school for the Deaf. But the theatre is very high tech...they even have machines to purchase your ticket via debit or credit card and in fact only have two cashiers on duty, encouraging patrons to use the machines.
I have a brother who is Deaf...he lives in another part of the country and he is not able to enjoy theatre movies yet but I am encouraged that maybe someday his theatres will have this feature or similar features.
Closed captioning can be hit or miss. Usually on DVDs it's pretty tight, though they do abridge dialogue because most folks can't read as fast as they can hear.
Closed captioning done live, for news or sports, tends to be a lot more sloppy, because typing 250 words per minute means a lot of working phonetically, and there isn't time to go back and correct. I sometimes wonder how helpful those captions are to deaf folk, because while it's pretty easy for me to recognize the homophones, someone who learned English as a written language first might not immediately spot that "way" should be "weigh."
As far as subtitles go, the best I've ever seen are the ones from the 1990-ish Gerard Depardieu version of Cyrano de Bergerac. I knew just enough French to catch spots where the translation wasn't very precise, but the English text was in rhyming couplets, as was the French dialogue -- it captured the flavor of the writing better than a more literal translation could have.
I have a brother who is Deaf...he lives in another part of the country and he is not able to enjoy theatre movies yet but I am encouraged that maybe someday his theatres will have this feature or similar features.
Oh, I'm sure it will get even better -- it wouldn't be too difficult to send the captions wirelessly, to have a heads-up display in a pair of glasses that deaf patrons could use so others wouldn't see the captions. The technology exists. It just has to get cost-effective enough that it's commonplace.
If y'all haven't done "To Kill a Mockingbird" yet, I'd love to write it up. I can't really call myself a "critic," as I find very little in that movie to criticize.
I hadn't thought of it before, but I think this would be a useful experiment. On New Year's day or your birthday, each and every year, write down a list of your favorite movie, favorite song,favorite play and favorite book of all time. Not your current fixation, but the best ever. Flipping back through that list, I think, would provide a pretty good snapshot of what you were thinking at that moment.
In my case -- and leaving out everything before adulthood, because a kid's favorite movie is likely the last one he watched -- I've gone back and forth between Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and To Kill a Mockingbird for the last decade and a half or so. They're all still in my top five, but the interesting question is which is number one at a given moment in life.
We see in our movie heroes what we aspire to be -- Casablanca's Rick hides his idealism under a veneer of cynicism, but he is an ardent and loyal lover, and when he tells Ilsa to get on the plane, he is willingly sacrificing his happiness for hers, and for the greater good. Kane is a Randian hero, an unabashed idealist and iconoclast (not to mention egotist) who never backs down, never accepts or admits defeat. Atticus Finch is a strong, wise and protective father who never talks down to his children, never condescends to his "inferiors," and rises above his times. Atticus does what he can, and more importantly, does what he must.
An old personality test used to ask, "who's you favorite Beatle?" Paul was the cute one, John the smart one, George the quiet one and Ringo the funny, outgoing one. Movie heroes are like that, but more layered and subtle. When I wanted to see myself as a lover, I wanted to be Rick. When I wanted to be a crusader, I wanted to be Kane. Now, I want to be a mentor and a protector -- I don't have children of my own, but I have nieces and a nephew and I'm at that stage of life -- I want to be Atticus.
It's not for nothin' that when the AFI released its list of the top 100 movie heroes of all time, Atticus Finch topped the list. It's like Lord of the Rings -- Legolas and Gimli had skill, Boromir and Frodo had destiny, Gandalf had power. But the real hero was Samwise Ganjee, who had none of those things, but had sheer determination and force of will, loyalty and love for his friend.
Even in the more mundane pursuits of our daily lives, there is a lesson there. I cannot decide to become Spiderman or Superman. I cannot decide to be Legolas. But I can decide to be Sam. Or Atticus.
I've chosen "Jaws" for my review, and I'm working on it as we speak, although I did seriously consider "Casablanca." I've only seen "To Kill a Mocking Bird" once, and that was a LONG time ago, so I'd have to brush up on that one.
Want me to put you down for April 1 next thread for To Kill a mockingbird, Citizen Kane, Casablanca???
What is the update on the medical condition in the Onyx household? are you both about well?
I look forward to your write-up of Mockingbird. Both the book and movie are favorites of mine.
The Miracle Match? I just got it on netflix last month. It's a good movie, and definately worth a look for Gerry fans. Have you seen him in Beowulf and Grendel (2005)? Also netflix. Great movie, some odd casting (Sarah Polly as a viking witch?) but the extras are as good as the movie. Love that!
I volunteer for the family/kid review. Does it have to be something that is in theaters right now, or recently? I have just the movie in mind and it's not animated!
great! I do have tomorrow already covered/done. It is Bridge to Terabithia, but how about next week? or for the new thread in April. Just FReepmail me the title (It helps as far in advance as possible so as I have time to work up the links & do pix)
If there is NOTHING at the box office, a recent DVD release would be fine...or even an older on that might work out
Would you like this to be your regular category? Reviewers can always go back & forth but they will have one area of concentration
We're planning on going this weekend (probably Saturday), so I would be happy to add my two cents' worth to the discussion in the form of a review. And I can give you my hubby's and nephew's thoughts, too, since they will be going as well.
This should be interesting, since I normally abhor violent movies. But, after all, it IS Gerard Butler, LOL!
PS. Regarding "Dear Frankie", I recommend using subtitles the first time you watch it: sometimes the delightful Scottish brogue is a little thick to understand at first.
thanks Always .. Gerald Is ALL YOURS (and Maven's) for April.
You can surely add their comments & opinions & get the male perspective in this way. Since there will only be ONE new critical review it can be longer.
Would you want to review for the third week in March (next Thursday) Frankie under one of the OLDIEs? You have tickled my fancy on this one.
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