The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 (Deluxe Limited Edition) 88 Films

[AndrewFM]

Hoping to replace my old Hong Kong Legends/Dragon Dynasty blu of the first (dodgy picture but good subtitles) and the Ronix Flix double feature of both (slightly better picture - crap dubtitles for both pictures!)

If the subtitles are decent, then this is a winner already. These films are great, especially the first.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Originally Posted by AndrewFM

Hoping to replace my old Hong Kong Legends/Dragon Dynasty blu of the first (dodgy picture but good subtitles) and the Ronix Flix double feature of both (slightly better picture - crap dubtitles for both pictures!)

If the subtitles are decent, then this is a winner already. These films are great, especially the first.

The subs will be much better than decent.

[filmlover22]

What is making this limited? I am not seeing any unique LE features. No booklets, poster, etc. Is it just the hard case?
??

[cooey]

Originally Posted by filmlover22

What is making this limited? I am not seeing any unique LE features. No booklets, poster, etc. Is it just the hard case?
??

This -

- Deluxe Edition Includes Rigid Slip Case with new artwork by “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien
- Individual Digipaks to hold each film with new artwork by “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien
- O-Ring Slipcase to leave the rigid case clean of logos

Once this has sold out, it'll be replaced with amarays.

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by cooey

This -

- Deluxe Edition Includes Rigid Slip Case with new artwork by “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien
- Individual Digipaks to hold each film with new artwork by “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien
- O-Ring Slipcase to leave the rigid case clean of logos

Once this has sold out, it'll be replaced with amarays.

Thank you. That is what I thought. I will wait for the amarays at a hopefully lower price point.

[Eibon]

Originally Posted by KUNG FU BOB

The subs will be much better than decent.

I respectfully disagree. Despite the high price tag, I decided to upgrade my uncut dvd with this slightly cut hd release because I didn't have #2, and I was fine with the cut because it wasn't too jarring, but omg, I wasn't prepared for the incomprehensible subtitles and continuous expletives. Was it subtitled by a juvenile amateur with an AI app? One of the plot points involves poetry which was nicely translated before but rendered meaningless gibberish here. And did officials exchanging formal platitudes really sprinkle their lobbying with "f"s and "mf"s?

I'm done with Eureka and 88 films HK fare until they hire paid professionals or offer multiple sub tracks including legacy ones.

Maybe I'm being overly critical but it really ruined the experience for me. Is it just me?

EDIT: corrected bad subtitling opinion from "Arrow" to "Eureka"

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Eibon

I respectfully disagree. Despite the high price tag, I decided to upgrade my uncut dvd with this slightly cut hd release because I didn't have #2, and I was fine with the cut because it wasn't too jarring, but omg, I wasn't prepared for the incomprehensible subtitles and continuous expletives. Was it subtitled by a juvenile amateur with an AI app? One of the plot points involves poetry which was nicely translated before but rendered meaningless gibberish here. And did officials exchanging formal platitudes really sprinkle their lobbying with "f"s and "mf"s?

I'm done with Arrow and 88 films HK fare until they hire paid professionals or offer multiple sub tracks including legacy ones.

Maybe I'm being overly critical but it really ruined the experience for me. Is it just me?

Can you list the older poetry translation and the new translation for comparison?

[Eibon]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Can you list the older poetry translation and the new translation for comparison?

A:
"The beauty puts up the curtain.
and sits moody with furrowed brows.
We only see traces of her tears.
Who does her heart belong to?"

B:
"The beauty rolls up the beaded curtain.
She sits, her eyebrows knitted deep.
But visible are traces of tears.
Not knowing who her heart hates."

To illustrate the impact of this beautiful poetry, the reactions compare as follows to play out the scene:

A:
I can't resist it!
He's just too romantic!
Every time he recites poetry, I get so excited.
My head is spinning.

Was I wrong to scold you?
No.
Come to bed then.

B:
I can't resist him, I really can't. He's so stylish.
Why do I get excited for no reason every time he recites poetry?
Giddy, dizzy, dead...

Was I right about you?
Right.
Then why don't you go to sleep?

[KUNG FU BOB]

Originally Posted by Eibon

I respectfully disagree. Despite the high price tag, I decided to upgrade my uncut dvd with this slightly cut hd release because I didn't have #2, and I was fine with the cut because it wasn't too jarring, but omg, I wasn't prepared for the incomprehensible subtitles and continuous expletives. Was it subtitled by a juvenile amateur with an AI app? One of the plot points involves poetry which was nicely translated before but rendered meaningless gibberish here. And did officials exchanging formal platitudes really sprinkle their lobbying with "f"s and "mf"s?

I'm done with Arrow and 88 films HK fare until they hire paid professionals or offer multiple sub tracks including legacy ones.

Maybe I'm being overly critical but it really ruined the experience for me. Is it just me?

Originally Posted by Eibon

A:
"The beauty puts up the curtain.
and sits moody with furrowed brows.
We only see traces of her tears.
Who does her heart belong to?"

B:
"The beauty rolls up the beaded curtain.
She sits, her eyebrows knitted deep.
But visible are traces of tears.
Not knowing who her heart hates."

To illustrate the impact of this beautiful poetry, the reactions compare as follows to play out the scene:

A:
I can't resist it!
He's just too romantic!
Every time he recites poetry, I get so excited.
My head is spinning.

Was I wrong to scold you?
No.
Come to bed then.

B:
I can't resist him, I really can't. He's so stylish.
Why do I get excited for no reason every time he recites poetry?
Giddy, dizzy, dead...

Was I right about you?
Right.
Then why don't you go to sleep?

I stand corrected.

That specific exchange is a special moment from the film, so I find it unfortunate that it would be translated this way.

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by KUNG FU BOB

I stand corrected.

That specific exchange is a special moment from the film, so I find it unfortunate that it would be translated this way.

Will the subtitles on the forthcoming Shout version be different?

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by Eibon

omg, I wasn't prepared for the incomprehensible subtitles and continuous expletives. Was it subtitled by a juvenile amateur with an AI app?

It was me.

One of the plot points involves poetry which was nicely translated before but rendered meaningless gibberish here.

Less elegant, I'll grant you. But that's because I take less license than most translators. Cantonese dialogue isn't typically poetic in nature. Perhaps I should've finessed it a bit.

And did officials exchanging formal platitudes really sprinkle their lobbying with "f"s and "mf"s?

That's what's in the script. For what it's worth Tiger Lei is supposed to be crude, his language out of place in proper society.

I'm done with Arrow and 88 films HK fare until they hire paid professionals or offer multiple sub tracks including legacy ones.

I'm not responsible for any of Arrow's subs. Phew!

Maybe I'm being overly critical but it really ruined the experience for me. Is it just me?

Ruined seems a bit much, no? But opinions vary.

[Eibon]

Originally Posted by Markgway

It was me.



Less elegant, I'll grant you. But that's because I take less license than most translators. Cantonese dialogue isn't typically poetic in nature. Perhaps I should've finessed it a bit.



That's what's in the script. For what it's worth Tiger Lei is supposed to be crude, his language out of place in proper society.



I'm not responsible for any of Arrow's subs. Phew!



Ruined seems a bit much, no? But opinions vary.

Translation is not about swapping words, it's about conveying meaning. This is why there are literary competitions that recognise and award prizes to translators as well as authors. Any chatbot can substitute words for equivalents.

In this case the poetry is meaningless, made worse because it's repeated in two other emotional scenes. I have no idea what knitted eyebrows are. And, now it sounds like she's contemplating a hate-filled massacre.

Finally, thanks for pointing out I named "Arrow" in my post, of course I meant "Eureka". With apologies to Arrow, I've corrected my original post.

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by Eibon

Translation is not about swapping words, it's about conveying meaning. This is why there are literary competitions that recognise and award prizes to translators as well as authors. Any chatbot can substitute words for equivalents.

In this case the poetry is meaningless, made worse because it's repeated in two other emotional scenes. I have no idea what knitted eyebrows are. And, now it sounds like she's contemplating a hate-filled massacre.

Finally, thanks for pointing out I named "Arrow" in my post, of course I meant "Eureka". With apologies to Arrow, I've corrected my original post.

Rest assured your points will be taken on board.

[TheRingshifter]

Originally Posted by Eibon

In this case the poetry is meaningless, made worse because it's repeated in two other emotional scenes. I have no idea what knitted eyebrows are. And, now it sounds like she's contemplating a hate-filled massacre.

Honestly, just wanna get my take in... until this comment I had no idea which of the two translations was supposed to be the "bad" one. I still don't really understand what the complaint is lol, except that "knitted brows" is too obscure which... I don't think it is.

I can't really comment fully as I haven't watched my discs yet, but yeah, given what's been presented, I don't really get it. I have also heard Frank Djeng say (I believe in commentaries) that a lot of the Hong Kong period pieces use a lot of anachronistic Hong Kong slang and stuff, so that sounds really believable and I think it's right to translate it how it actually is vs. how you might expect it to sound based on the setting/visuals.