Foreign Language Movies?

rusty

rusty

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Oct 19, 2010
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Do Italians watch foreign language movies? Here in the US, people are not very open to it - unfortunately. Anything with subtitles is considered a nuisance... I think it's plain laziness. How about Italians? Of course, Italian movies are probably preferred, but are they open to watching foreign-made films?
 
The majority of films shown on Italian TV are foreign. However, they are dubbed in Italian 99.9% of the time.

Sometimes they use subtitles in documentaries and short clips etc and its normal to use the subtitles provided.

The great thing with satellite and digital TV is that you can select the language in which you wish to watch programs. This is only applied to films and international channels such as the discovery channel. etc..
 
It's mostly North European countries that use subtitles. Probably one of the reasons their English is a high standard. I have Dutch friends who's children all speak English with an American accent, because of the amount of time they spend watching MTV!

The dubbing they use in Italian movies is done well. The funny thing is they usually give certain characters a deep macho voice. When my Italian friends first heard the original voice of Tom Cruise they were shocked, they thought "he sounded like a mouse":)
 
Hmmm... Interesting bits of information I get here, thanks @David & @JohnD. If Italians dub 99.9% of foreign-language films they show on TV and in theaters, which I assume (correct me if I'm wrong) is mostly Hollywood (ergo, English), I'm just wondering, how much of the current Italian population is bilingual?
 
Most Italian speak at least two languages by default.

The first being Italian and the second being their local dialect. (or the other way around!) People in one city 100km from another do not understand each others dialect.

In regards to the English Language.

Many speak English in Rome but I guess that is because we have a lot of tourist here.

I guess only those who need to use English with their jobs etc.. speak it. From my experience of living here, Italians do not speak English as much as some other European nations (Germany for example).

However, English is now taught from a very early age at school so you are more likely to find that it is more popular within the younger generation.
 
David said:
Most Italian speak at least two languages by default.

The first being Italian and the second being their local dialect. (or the other way around!) People in one city 100km from another do not understand each others dialect.

In regards to the English Language.

Many speak English in Rome but I guess that is because we have a lot of tourist here.

I guess only those who need to use English with their jobs etc.. speak it. From my experience of living here, Italians do not speak English as much as some other European nations (Germany for example).

However, English is now taught from a very early age at school so you are more likely to find that it is more popular within the younger generation.
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I totally understand your point about local dialects; I can well imagine the vast gulf that exists between a paisano in Milan and one from Palermo, which are not only separated by several hundred kilometers of Italian peninsula but by the Straits of Calabria as well.
 
A lot of American films I've seen in Italy are kept in English, as most everyone here speaks more than one language. Some are dubbed especially in Italian, which is humorous for me as I speak both languages. The mouths will say one thing, while the Italian is coming out. It's just funny to watch.
 
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