MovieChat Forums > Woman in Gold (2015) Discussion > One unfortunate flaw

One unfortunate flaw

posted 8 years ago by fnj-07126
15 replies | jump to latest

This is a well-acted, absorbing, and touching story which is impaired by A TERRIBLE PRESENTATION OF THE SUBTITLES. As near as I could tell, the subtitles of foreign-language dialog were fine in terms of content, but they were inscrutable because of the way they failed to stand out from the complex background.

Unfortunately I don't know how you fix this. If they had put a big black or white background block behind the subtitles, it would have spoiled the impressive visuals of the scenes. I do think they could have improved the readability by using block characters with a contrasting outline.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] corinaam 8 years ago

Agreed! I could barely make them out they were so light!

[–] rotomato 8 years ago

they were inscrutable because of the way they failed to stand out from the complex background.

Glad I wasn't the only one. The worst subtitles ever. Lots of the principals wore black and white so the subtitles were consistently partially obscured. So funny. And yes, when the subtitles were placed in front of a Klimt, forget about it.

I watch plenty of movies with partial or 100% subtitles and this was the most frustrating.

[–] Verdi4331 8 years ago

Glad I wasn't the only one. The worst subtitles ever. Lots of the principals wore black and white so the subtitles were consistently partially obscured. So funny. And yes, when the subtitles were placed in front of a Klimt, forget about it.

I agree this movie's subtitles were very bad. I came to IMDB to read the trivia section of Woman in Gold as I also could not read the comments at the end. I have not upgraded my man cave analog TV to HD but I do not think watching on HD with my old eyes would make a difference.

[–] mlee1919 8 years ago

I agree completely. We were watching on a 55" HDTV and trying to read the subtitles was exhausting. We had to stop and rewind many times or just miss the dialogue. It certainly broke the flow of the film. How hard is it to get subtitles right?!!

[–] uhcsux 8 years ago

try changing the contrast on your screen...you have it too light

[–] lexp2005 8 years ago

BS!!! "uhcsux" I have tried everything imaginable and and the bloody subtitles are
AWFUL!!!

"You may very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment"

[–] dewinteralexandra 8 years ago

*beep* worst subtitles I've ever seen, tiny and the most terrible choice of font. I got double vision trying to read them while zoomed in. I concluded the film makers didn't want us to know what was happening in 1940s austria. I find it disturbing that out of all the people involved in making a movie, not enough of them could stop that from happening.

[–] EtaoinShrdlu001 8 years ago

I had to rewind and pause, as well, but I'm not going to blame my age!
Tiny white titles on a light background would make anyone squint.

It's really hard to read letters with outlines, especially when the size is so small.
(That's OK in a short, all CAPS headline.)

If they had been a little larger and in a neutral color like a light yellow with a black drop shadow, the subtitles would have been much easier to read.

As you might be able to tell, I used to be a typesetter.
Now, that's really showing my age!!

You Fill Me with Inertia.

[–] korintawanagsanliban 8 years ago

I Agree.i hope the dvd has better subtitles