Comments on: Killer Imports: Painted Skin

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:14:33 +0000

Yanny, I agree with you. Much of the problem is translating the dialog so that the dubbing actors can say the translated dialog to match the lip movements of the original actors. Many of us are accustomed to the stilted delivery that results. Actually, even in non-foreign films, ADR (automated dialogue replacement) requires actors to replicate delivery of lines in non-ideal circumstances.

One similar notion I would like to point out is that sub-titling may be better, but it’s not ideal. Sometimes cultural differences make translation difficult. Is it better to translate exactly, or let the translators do their own interpretation of the dialogue for audiences?

By: Yanny

Yanny — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:44:48 +0000

I totally abhor watching Chinese films dubbed into English. Most of the time it feels like a sacrilege, as up to 50% of the flavor and meaning can be lost. There’s a lot of history and subtlety in Chinese words and lines, which can be totally lost in translation or by inept delivery. Half of acting is in the delivery of lines; you really can’t tell how well an actor acts if he is dubbed and thus robbed of his delivery. Chinese-language films can differ greatly in cultural depth depending on whether they’re produced in the mainland, in HK, in Taiwan or in Singapore. Let alone if they’re dubbed into another language!!

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:31:09 +0000

Humeichi, I agree that Ip Man showed Donnie Yen’s versatility with his martial arts, but I doubt whether it showed any acting skill. There was a moment of tenderness that he showed in a scene with his wife, but I don’t think the script demanded too much acting talent.

So far, the acting that I’ve seen from Donnie Yen is on par with Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Steven Seagal. Okay, maybe he’s better than Steven Seagal.

By: Humeichi

Humeichi — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:35:10 +0000

Ip Man best shows a few of Donnie Yen’s strengths as an actor and martial artist combined.

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:00:46 +0000

Jack, I haven’t read the original story. Do you know if there is an English translation anywhere on the Internet?

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:41:19 +0000

The real catch of this film is that “Painted skin” is a famous acient Chinese story and most Chinese already know the story well. While previous version with the same name largely stick with the original, this film COMPLETED CHANGED the plot, while still kept the core spirit of the original story. So to most Chinese who knew the original story, the film is quite a refreshment.