Cohen Media Film Collection

[kmhofmann]

Originally Posted by CMG Desk

- We are often contractually obliged to only offer most of our non-English language films, at least the classics, with subtitles that are NOT optional. Not ideal, but contractual.

Hi CMG Desk,
I get it that you (choose to) close contracts that only allow for non-optional subtitles. Makes for a cheaper license, no biggie.

But may I gently ask that you DO NOT encode these directly into the video stream, as you have been doing with many releases recently?

What you are currently doing is the absolute worst, archaic method of adding "forced" subtitles.
There is a much better alternative of just enforcing an active PGS subtitle layer and disabling the disabling of such. Which I'm quite sure will still easily fulfill your contractual obligations. (Otherwise please consider re-negotiating your contracts...)
This will make a) the subtitles more readable, b) avoid compression artifacts around them, c) a lot of savvy people more happy and thus increase sales.

And you never "burned" subtitles into the encode before, so why now?

I have been bitterly disappointed a few times and now completely stopped buying any Cohen foreign language releases until that practice changes again.

Thank you!

[senseabove]

Seconded. I will likely also be holding off on purchasing these Rivette titles to see whether they get a UK release without burned-in subtitles.

[kmhofmann]

Originally Posted by senseabove

Seconded. I will likely also be holding off on purchasing these Rivette titles to see whether they get a UK release without burned-in subtitles.

Some, though not all, of these, e.g., Gang of Four, already have French releases where player-generated subtitles can be added by perusing opensubtitles.org (and sometimes a bit of re-syncing work).
Vastly preferable to me over buying anything that has subtitles burnt into the video.

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by kmhofmann

Some, though not all, of these, e.g., Gang of Four, already have French releases where player-generated subtitles can be added by perusing opensubtitles.org (and sometimes a bit of re-syncing work).
Vastly preferable to me over buying anything that has subtitles burnt into the video.

Yeah, unfortunately none of my players support loading external subtitles as of now, but if there's no UK news in the next year or two, I'll likely import the French discs.

[KMR]

Originally Posted by kmhofmann

Hi CMG Desk,

There is a much better alternative of just enforcing an active PGS subtitle layer and disabling the disabling of such. Which I'm quite sure will still easily fulfill your contractual obligations. (Otherwise please consider re-negotiating your contracts...)
This will make a) the subtitles more readable, b) avoid compression artifacts around them, c) a lot of savvy people more happy and thus increase sales.

I wonder if (c) perhaps includes allowing the viewer to rip the video to their computer to render their own unsubtitled copy (thus doing what the contractual obligation of forced subtitles may have been all about). Just a thought.

[kmhofmann]

Originally Posted by KMR

I wonder if (c) perhaps includes allowing the viewer to rip the video to their computer to render their own unsubtitled copy (thus doing what the contractual obligation of forced subtitles may have been all about). Just a thought.

Sure, there's a remaining risk someone with strong technical knowledge could then create an unsubtitled version, but that's like what, 0.5% of the Blu-ray buying population? Or less. No big risk there. What's much more likely: some players allow moving the PGS layer vertically, effectively allowing moving the subtitles out of the picture. And people happily make use of that, because why shouldn't they. The label is fulfilling their obligations, the customers are also happy = win/win!

Any other reputable label implements "forced" subtitles by an activated PGS subtitle layer and not by encoding subtitles directly into the video bitstream. Yuck!
I highly, highly doubt that's the level of detail Cohen's contracts stipulate. If it were, I already wrote that I'd highly recommend Cohen to re-negotiate their contracts (spoiler: it's all a matter of license fees). Again, I have not seen this practice (almost) anywhere else - it's is unique to Cohen's new MO!

Cohen is just being very unfriendly to their customers by taking the most archaic way of adding "forced" subtitles while reducing video quality, even they could easily do something much more customer friendly. That kind of behavior does not need any rewarding or further defending.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by KMR

I wonder if (c) perhaps includes allowing the viewer to rip the video to their computer to render their own unsubtitled copy (thus doing what the contractual obligation of forced subtitles may have been all about). Just a thought.

While I don't fully understand why Cohen--and only Cohen--are forcing subtitles at all on their Blu-rays now, simply forcing a PGS subtitles track should be more than sufficient to cover any agreement that mandates forced subtitles, if indeed that is the issue. The bigger issue is of course why Cohen--and only Cohen--would need to capitulate to such a stipulation when, as a general rule, no one else in the US Blu-ray market does.

In France, one of the few countries where forced subtitles are an issue (and surely the country with the most Blu-rays with forced subtitles, by far), there is almost always a forced PGS subtitles track, even if there is only a single original audio option and French subtitles, as opposed to both original audio and French dubbed audio. Burned in subtitles on Blu-ray, as Cohen has been doing, are fairly rare globally.

Personally, I tend to feel that many releases with forced subtitles have them because the distributor is either getting a financial incentive (that is, paying less) or is simply being lazy and using a blanket template to author most or all of their discs. The latter is the only way I can rationalize how StudioCanal and Pathé releases--almost always in France, but a few in the UK, too--have forced or burned in subtitles. Surely two of the biggest and most respected distributors in the world are not being forced against their will to impose subtitles and limit the audience for their releases.

[MifuneFan]

Next Rivette, Love on the Ground, coming February 14th

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ226H...ect=1&sr=1-354

Jane Birkin and Geraldine Chaplin star as theatre troupe members who are invited by a mysterious playwright/director to perform in a strange mansion. As the rehearsal progresses, secrets are revealed and the line between fiction and reality blurs.

Special Features:
-Audio commentary track by Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival & Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University Richard Peña
-Re-release Trailer

[koberulz]

Someone shifted the subtitles on Who You Think I Am just a small touch too far down:

[BunyipPouch]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Someone shifted the subtitles on Who You Think I Am just a small touch too far down:

[Show spoiler]

Not sure what you mean, that subtitle clearly says:

V......_.---...i...--....i...---_

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Someone shifted the subtitles on Who You Think I Am just a small touch too far down:

I take it that it is the only instance of it in the film because I just checked my disc and stopped it at a number of places and the subtitles were fine.

Whereabouts in the film does this occur and for how long?

[koberulz]

17:58, it's just that line.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by koberulz

17:58, it's just that line.

That I can live with but it is disappointing all the same.

[koberulz]

Thankfully I have both Photoshop and Subtitle Edit.

[UnionJackMix]

Does anyone know why Sudden Fear is not listed on DeepDiscount (only as DVD)?

[dr727]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Does anyone know why Sudden Fear is not listed on DeepDiscount (only as DVD)?

Unclear. It’s still in-stock at KL (Cohen’s current distributor) but it’s also an 8–year old release at this point.

[the__projectionist]

Is Gang of Four has the same issue? Read "Per Cohen's standard operating procedure, English subtitles are forced" in the review but can't find it means burned-in or not.

[kmhofmann]

Originally Posted by the__projectionist

Is Gang of Four has the same issue? Read "Per Cohen's standard operating procedure, English subtitles are forced" in the review but can't find it means burned-in or not.

I am assuming that's what it means.

Cohen:

[rdodolak]

[Gacivory]

Up, Down, Fragile (Haut bas fragile) is the next Rivette.

Out April 11

https://kinolorber.com/product/up-down-fragile-1