How Subtitling Services Help Break Down the Cultural Divide

The immense benefit of professional subtitling services and their positive contribution to the on-going diffusion of cultures around the world can be understood more through this personal anecdote. In the old days, it was easy to dismiss, say, a movie whose language was unknown to you. Back in the early 1990s, when I first came across a VHS copy of Giuseppe Tornatore's award-winning film Cinema Paradiso, the audio was in Italian-a language I barely understand even now-and so my ignorance made it easy for me to toss the said copy in the back bin. Instead, I would often watch movies that were already in the language I knew-English-such as the usual Hollywood fares, action and science fiction and fantasy films.
Many years later, finding a DVD copy of Cinema Paradiso and eventually being able to watch it, I realized the huge importance of the work that I almost failed to see. The said movie, after all, earned several rewards from a number of film festivals and award-giving bodies, foremost of which were the Academy Awards, the BAFTA, and Cannes.
It is important to note that professional subtitling services played a very important role in my personal experience-without English subtitles, for instance, I would not have access to the incredible emotional depths of the movie. I would not have understood Alfredo's role in the life and love of Salvatore. I would not have been able to plumb the depths of Salvatore's sense of loss-and the eventual peace that enfolds him by the end of the movie, as he watches the spliced reels of all the kissing scenes in films Alfredo had gathered many years ago.
This little anecdote could also have been the story of so many countless people whose lives have been "enriched" by having access to great works from countries of a different language. One cannot discount the important contribution to global culture of so many nameless professionals who labour at language translation services only to bring us accurate subtitling services.
Along with newly emerging forms of media (the emergence and gradual popularity of new media formats such as Blu-ray, for instance), subtitling services will only become much more in demand in the foreseeable future. And of course, it is not simply limited to a small number of languages-a typical DVD or Blu-Ray disc, for instance, of a fairly popular movie can have as many as 10 language choices in its "Subtitles" section, whereas the audio option is usually limited to up to three languages. Obviously, subtitling services play a crucial role in the dissemination of cultural products around the globe.

Why the PS3 Can Save You Money - 3 Tips for Putting Cash Back in Your Pocket

I don't know about you, but when you're as obsessed with gaming (and in particular PS3) as I am, you quickly start to learn that it's not the cheapest hobby in the world. That coupled with my movie obsession had me almost broke.
I was always buying games I'm sure I'd like, only to find out that I didn't really enjoy them. I'd also spend tons on DVD rental a month - it all added up.
In fact I can't remember how much I've spent on purchasing games and DVDs over the years - a small fortune, probably. That's why I've come up with 3 money-saving tips I'd like to share, which I learned about the hard way.
Rent games instead of buying them - It took me a good while to discover that this was even possible. I wished I'd found out about this earlier than I did. There are a variety of services out there on the net where you can rent games, often with a free trial period. This is a great way for auditioning games before you buy. I have a plethora of abandoned games which I've either had to sell on or are just gathering dust on my shelf. Renting games means you know which games tickle your fancy before you buy.
Use Your PS3 as a Blu-ray player - instead of going out and buying an expensive stand-alone Blu-ray player to play your Blu-ray discs you can use your trusty PS3. This could possibly save you at least £400
Save on DVD, Blu-ray Purchases and even Cinema Tickets - Usually if you want to watch a film you have to buy the DVD or Blu-ray or stream the movie to your computer on a small screen. But you can now stream movies to PS3 and enjoy the full cinematic experience on your own full-sized television screen. No need to buy an expensive TV with movie streaming facilities or visit the cinema to see your latest flick either.
There are plenty of online services out there on the web for renting games and movies, but many aren't necessarily geared towards the PS3 user or make full use of the PS3 movie streaming facilities. Some of the services out there presently are Blockbuster, Netfix, Cinema Paradiso, and of course good old iTunes. Not all of which cater to the whims of us PS3 users. One service that I have recently found that ticked all the right boxes for me as a PS3 obsessive is Lovefilm.

Director Giuseppe Tornatore Wins Best Foreign Film Oscar For "Cinema Paradiso"

Cinema Paradiso (Paradise Cinema in English) - 4 Stars (Excellent)
In my search for films that are not well known but tell a great story with an excellent presentation, I discovered "Cinema Paradiso" by Italian Director Giuseppe Tornatore.
Tornatore intended the film to be an obituary for traditional movie theaters (like Paradise Cinema) and the movie industry in general, but after the film's critical acclaim and box-office success, he changed his mind and apparently never publicly mentioned the demise of films again.
Many critics credit Cinema Paradiso with reviving Italy's movie industry, which would later produce "Mediterraneo" and "Life is Beautiful". Tornatore deserves even more credit than his directing effort; he also wrote the story and screenplay with some collaboration from Vanna Paoli.
Giuseppe Tornatore joins a very select group of writer/directors who have been able to create great films in a dual role. Most writer/directors fail miserably in their effort. I would elevate Tornatore to the same level as Tim McCanlies in "Secondhand Lions" and Kirk Jones in "Waking Ned Devine", both excellent pictures. It takes a lot more than gumption to create an excellent film, it also takes enormous talent, heart, sensitivity and maturity.
So just how successful was Cinema Paradiso? Among its 19 wins and 12 nominations for excellence was the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes, and Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
Cinema Paradiso will capture your heart when you see 6-year-old Salvatore "Toto" Di Vita (played by Salvatore Cascio) become captivated by the local cinema in his small, native Sicilian Village. He misses his father, who becomes a World War II victim, and through guile and a high interest level, convinces the cinema projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) to mentor him.
There are three "Totos" in the film-the younger (Salvatore Cascio), the teenager (Marco Leonardi) and the adult (Jacques Perrin). Perrin is a real-life film producer. Cascio steals every scene he is in with his incredible facial expressions, inquisitive mind and indomitable determination to learn how to be a projectionist.
Along the way, he gets into a lot of trouble. He loses his mother's trust by spending money he is given to buy bread for the family on an admission fee to see a film at the theater. He cons Alfredo the projectionist into giving him some film that causes a fire in his home and threatens his sister's life. He causes Alfredo to break his promise to Toto's mother that he will no longer let Toto into the projectionist's booth.
Ultimately, the flammable film also causes a fire and destroys the Cinema Paradiso and, in a harrowing act, Toto saves Alfredo's life but Alfredo loses his sight in the disaster. After the Paradiso is rebuilt as the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (New Paradise Cinema), Toto, who has learned to be a projectionist, is hired as a child to do so because he is the only one in the village who knows how.
The bond between Alfredo as a surrogate father to Toto will only grow deeper when Toto enters his teenage years. He will seek out Alfredo for advice on life when he falls in love with the beautiful Elena (Agnese Nano), who comes from a rich family and enters into a forbidden relationship with Toto.
Alfredo will encourage Toto to leave his village for Rome and never return if he is serious about a career in the movie industry. Toto will eventually grow up to become a famous movie producer in Rome.
Cinema Paradiso starts when Toto learns that his beloved Alfredo has died. Toto has not been back to his village and to visit his mother and sister in 30 years. The question is: Will he return for the funeral? After reliving his life in flashbacks during a sleepless night, he boards a plane home to find himself again. The total story is too good to reveal much more here.
Cinema Paradiso is all about relationships. The relationship of a mother to her son, of a surrogate father to a son, of a boy to a girl, of a young romance, of a village's citizens to its theater, and of intergenerational gatherings among the villagers.
The release of Cinema Paradiso in 1988 proves the adage that if success was easy every film would achieve critical acclaim and would be a box-office smash. The original version released in Italy was 155 minutes (2 hours, 35 minutes) and had a poor response. After shortening the film to 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes), it became an instant success.
I saw the 123-minute version that was released in the United States and was disappointed that there was no indication of what ultimately happened in Toto's relationship with Elena. I have since learned that Director Giuseppe Tornatore released a 173-minute version (2 hours, 53 minutes) in 2002 that contains exactly what I wanted to see. Find and watch the longer version if you can, it just adds to an already excellent film.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Read more of my movie reviews on relationships and families, including:
"A Christmas Story"
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
"Secondhand Lions"
"The Chorus (Les Choristes in French)"
"Waking Ned Devine"
These are all excellent films that can make you smile, laugh, cry and feel better for the experience. Don't just live life, experience life at its best.