Optional subtitles are provided in English and a plethora of other languages that are listed in the info column on the left – which brings me to the big fan controversy of the various DVD releases of this film. Basically, there have been two translations for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on DVD: The subtitles that were on the initial batches of the R2UK and 2nd batch of the R3HK DVD had a translation that differed slightly from the theatrical subs, this is the translation many fans refer to as the “dumbed down subs”. The R1 SuperBit, initial batch of the R3HK, and later batches of the R2UK and R3HK releases have subtitles that appear to match the theatrical showings, this is the translation fans refer to as “the poetic subs”.
What many fans won’t want to hear is that the subtitles on this BD release use the “dumbed down” translation, and I’m sure it will be receiving criticism for this. But the thing is, these do not appear to be dumbed down subtitles at all, in fact they appear to reflect what is being said on screen pretty accurately. From what I’ve been able to gather, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was written in English by James Schamus (and probably Ang Lee) then revised and translated into Mandarin by Wang Hui Ling and Tsai Kuo Jung. The “poetic” - or theatrical - subtitles have been transcribed from the original English script, but the dialogue on screen is a Mandarin translation of this script, which obviously isn’t going to match word for word. Eagle eyed fans who have some rudimentary understanding of Mandarin have pointed out that there are a few points in the film when the theatrical subs do not offer a literal translation of what’s being said, or simply skip what’s being said on screen at all (usually only background dialogue).
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