Is it true that you can understand movies with the sound off?

Tools    





Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
I've heard that before in a filmmaking course I took, that even without dialogue, a good movie you will still understand. Do you think that's true though?

There are foreign language films I wanted to see but there was no English subtitle release available, so I wonder if it's true, do I really need subtitles then, and should just watch the movies, without needing to understand the dialogue. Unless that's not true, and dialogue is necessary?



Probably... But never tried it. But movie like the Big Sleep, good luck with that.
__________________
My Favorite Films



I've heard that before in a filmmaking course I took, that even without dialogue, a good movie you will still understand. Do you think that's true though?
Silent movies were tremendously popular & they had no audible dialogue. (Personally, I hate silent movies.)
__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



The trick is not minding
Haha! You guys have once again fallen for his tricks!
You’ve all forgotten the most important lesson of all!
And that is....never answer a thread started by Ironpony! Mwahahaha!


*again, I’m just joking here. Don’t take it personal please 😜



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Silent movies were tremendously popular & they had no audible dialogue. (Personally, I hate silent movies.)
Yeah but they still had a certain amount of subtitles though to bridge the gaps.



⬆️ They did, but very minimal, I think. I mean 2 actors could be talking to each other for 5 minutes & nobody would have a clue what they were saying. Ugh, I hate silent movies.



Haha! You guys have once again fallen for his tricks!
You’ve all forgotten the most important lesson of all!
And that is....never answer a thread started by Ironpony! Mwahahaha!


*again, I’m just joking here. Don’t take it personal please 😜
Seriously though, if it wasn't for Ironpony, conversation would be lessened. It's hard to get a convo going unless it's a hot button topic. So I say bless Ironpony's ferrum heart

Silent movies...Yeah but they still had a certain amount of subtitles though to bridge the gaps.
True...and also: silent films are constructed, directed and acted much differently than a sound film.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I swear I had a dream in which I read this thread before. I believe I responded something like, "I'm not sure one could call spaghetti, spaghetti, without the pasta." But sure. You could still eat something. It's subjective. Like. Every. Other. Question. Ever.

What are your thoughts, @ironpony? Flip a switch and is it still recognizable? Baser emotions sure. Subtly? Not so sure. Something about communication norms. Something about how people typically interact with other people. Of how others observe and adapt to such interactions. Something something about experience and insight from that experience. Like, assimilation and accommodation stuffs.

What areyour thoughts?

Eh. that's all I got.
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



Yes and no. Silents were made with that in mind, but even they had inter titles. In recent times, however, not just dialog but also sound FX have become a huge part of the movie, as is the music. It's all meant to be part of the whole. In the sound era, actors learned to tone down their body language in comparison to their silent predecessors and focus on words. Even if you can understand main direction of what's going on, generally the "Why?" part of that is revealed in dialog and, I know something bad is about to happen because of the creepy turn in the music and I know when to startle when the big boom happens and I know that an argument is starting from the tone of voices. I imagine that movies would miss a lot for the hearing impaired since sound often conveys a lot of the emotional tone of the scene.



Welcome to the human race...
If you hear something like that in a filmmaking course, I think it's meant to encourage would-be filmmakers to get creative with their visual storytelling rather than just settling for having characters talk a bunch in a way that is dull to watch.
__________________
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



If its just conversations... I wonder what people would have thought of Travolta/Jackson talk burgers with the volume off. A lot of Tarantino's would be plain garbage then



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Oh okay. Well I want to see the director's cut of Cinema Paradiso, for example, but cannot find a subtitled version of that cut anywhere. Do you think that I should just watch it without, and I will understand, or do I need subtitles to fully enjoy that?



Silent movies were watchable coz the people who made it knew that people wouldn't hear anything so told the story in a different way. But yes visually if you keep staring, I think you still would be able to make out what the actor is trying to portray. Unless it's Kirsten Stewart.



If the movie is well done, whether with the sound off or in a foreign language, I believe you can understand what is going on.

I'm sure it would be that way with "Jagten" (2012), sound off and no subtitles, you can obviously tell what takes place and enjoy the film.



If its just conversations... I wonder what people would have thought of Travolta/Jackson talk burgers with the volume off. A lot of Tarantino's would be plain garbage then
A movie is nothing without a good script. Pulp Fiction has a wonderful script. And Reservoir Dogs without its excellent script would be nothing.

Oh okay. Well I want to see the director's cut of Cinema Paradiso, for example, but cannot find a subtitled version of that cut anywhere. Do you think that I should just watch it without, and I will understand, or do I need subtitles to fully enjoy that?
I won’t watch anything without subtitles. No matter the language. I don’t want to miss a single nuance.



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
A movie is nothing without a good script. Pulp Fiction has a wonderful script. And Reservoir Dogs without its excellent script would be nothing.



I won’t watch anything without subtitles. No matter the language. I don’t want to miss a single nuance.
Yes those are good points, I wouldn't want to miss some of the dialog in those movies. But I guess Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs would still make sense with the sound turned off?



The last half of Dogs, is all talk when the torture begins. So I don't think it would make any sense. Pulp Fiction, the whole movie would go over someone's head without dialogues. Tarantino's movies are told via conversations. Take Hateful Eight for example. None of it would make sense, without the words. And especially that frontier justice thing by Tim Roth. Muito Bonito!