ballerina

Oooh and on another note (sorry if I am hijacking Anderson Council), I was gutted to discover that The Apartment was on at the theatre in Lerici but the run ended days before I moved back here! Can anyone suggest some good websites for listing theatre, ballet and opera - I found it so difficult searching the last time. Now that is a play I could watch in Italian. There was also Dante's Inferno, but I think that run has ended now too. There is a theatre in La Spezia but I get the feeling it has long been closed down... there never seem to be any posters or ads for anything there!

indiebird

My Italian friend (who really hates to hear my 'observations' on life here) keeps going on and on and on ad nauseum about how Italian dubbing is the best in the world... well it might well be, but I used to watch quite a lot of French and Swedish films late at night on BBC2 and they had subtitles. Subtiles are much better. I might not understand the lingo and I might have to read but you do get the 'gist' from the film without the subtitles and you can pick up more of the original intention of the film.... maybe I'm biased.... but even to live a life without ever hearing the expressions of Eddie Murphy or Hugh Laurie as Doctor House. How very, very sad.

Also I get the feeling that DVD's are released in regions and the subtitles/ dubbing reflect this. We are not in the same region as Italy, unfortunately.

Lorna at Vicenza

Our library has all the leaflets and stuff for local theatres and allsorts of other stuff. Have a wander to the library and see if they have a shelf or ledge full of pamphlets and leaflets.

Lorna at Vicenza

I think Italian dubbing is rubbish considering they only seem to have a collection of about 10 people. I hated it when I realised the same voice used for De Niro was also the same voice in a cartoon and the same voice advertising toilet paper etc.

Now that I have Sky there is another thing that bugs me sometimes ....... Italian dubbing on certain programmes or documentaries where they haven't completely removed and cancelled out the English voice underneath. I find myself listening to the English with one ear and getting the Italian in the other ear and then sometimes thinking "hey - hang on a minute - that's not what he said at all - you've got it wrong !!!!!"

I also think news channels should keep certain voices, speeches etc in the original language and just subtitle. There should be less dubbing here and more subtitles and then more people would get to hear proper accents and pronunciation and not go around like eejits saying frueeets and rechess-ee-on and pol-ee-teeeks etc.

Rant over.

Anderson Council

Yeah, dubbing's rubbish! I once had to translate a friend's film into English and so many Italians told me "It can't possibly work in English, it'll lose everything." They were very sheepish when I pointed out that their favourites - Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino etc - don't exactly "work" in Italian! And also, if you check on the DVDs, you'll find that often they just completely change the dialogue in order to fit the mouth movements!

Anderson Council

And don't even get me started (oops, too late) on the television presenters who are expected to translate their own interviews when their English isn't up to it. Half the time they just make up the interviewed's replies off the top of their heads!

PAT M

I agree totally with Lorna and Anderson Council's views on annoying dubbing and translations, back in the 90's a guy who advertised Lenor fabric conditioner was also the voice of John Wayne, James Stewart and other Hollywood greats. We used to say Oh no! it's Lenor man again. When I visit my son and family in Belgium, I see that besides the fact that they can pick up BBC TV, all the british and american films are in their original language with flemish subtitles, when out and about shopping, it is hard to find a belgian who cannot speak english.

I like Benigni's Life is beautiful, have always loved Toto' but hate the way Laurel and Hardy is dubbed by Alberto Sordi's voice with the take the pee english accent, I find it quite insulting to those two comedy greats. I like some old italian films, I think Anna Magnani's performance in Roma Citta' Aperta is great and Sophia Loren in La Ciociara(?) probably launched her career. I have never watched La Dolce Vita all the way through.

I read some Italian newspapers and magazines (Vanity Fair is quite good) but cannot bring myself to read novels in Italian.

Lorna at Vicenza

Oh yes - poor Laurel and Hardy.
When people have commented on my lack of English accent when I speak Italian, I have sometimes said "did you expect me to sound like the awful voices Laurel and Hardy have here?"

Anderson Council

No-one ever comments on my lack of accent. I probably do sound like Laurel and Hardy! I'm surprised no-one has yet mentioned Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. I thought EVERYONE loves Nuovo Cinema Paradiso! I saw the long version recently, where he meets up with his girlfriend from his teenage years and she's got a teenage daughter herself. Interesting, but I prefer the short version. I read somewhere that the actor who played the litte kid now works as a barman in Sicily.

indiebird

When my 'friend' gave me lessons when I first arrived here, I remember doing a lesson on 'spesso', 'ogni tanto' etc. and when I said 'di solito' she peed herself laughing. I looked at her feeling slightly horrified because I didn't understand what was so hilarious and she really laughed for what felt like ages. After she'd stopped and wiped her eyes with a fazoletto she explained that the way I said 'di solito' was just like they said it in those Laurel and Hardy films. I was gobsmacked and secretly decided in my head that I would spend my €20 an hour (mates rates and all that) on shoes and handbags rather than Italian lessons with her.

TestaRossa

ballerina - the theatres here have websites and you can subscribe to a newsletter via e-mail for notifications of concerts etc. - maybe some near you do too?? The cinema that play OL films does too.

No-one seen Gomorra? I tried to read the English translation but it was too depressing - as a novel I could read it, but as something that actually happened...TMI!!!

Anderson Council

They had it on Sky but I didn't get round to watching it. I'm too hooked on FX channel. They have some great comedy programmes that ease the pain of having had Eastenders taken away from me!

PAT M

You can watch Eastenders on Easy Online TV (Groovy TV), it's free so far. The blue buttons at the bottom work for UK channels, and the yellow one for BBC1 works too. I haven't watched any Italian TV for a couple of months now.

TestaRossa

Aw, you've disillusioned me now!! Eastenders!! If Pats suggestion doesn't work you can get a lot of UK/US tv shows to download on TorrentDay and UkNova. Never used the latter but the former is excellent.

Anderson Council

Unfortunately I'm the only person in the western world who doesn't have a computer or internet at home! I must sort that out. Even though I live in the middle of nowhere I probably can get internet. But I'm a. Too lazy and b. Too broke. Damn!