[ajzepp]

Its a shame some people are averse to reading subtitles.  There is a veritable universe of great foreign films they never get a chance to experience, these films included.

Amen, Jim!

[Cacophonix]

Just saw the movie, and i agree with the rest here. One of the best i've seen so far this year. Don't miss it 

Everyone has played their parts extremely well and in particular the actress playing lisbeth is very very good. Many times, when i've watched movies of this type (investigative thriller), i feel manipulated to an extent. But not here ... Very well made thriller.

[nunhgrader]

Thanks for the recommendation - watching this one tomorrow on Netflix instant - thanks!

This movie was awesome - not perfect - but, I loved it - thank you for the recommendation!

[Hugh]

Just finished watching this after picked it up at Costco for $13.99.

EXCELLENT!

Thanks for the recommendation.

Also bought The Girl Who Played With Fire.

[doug s.]

fabulous movie; i watched it in the theatre a few months ago.  hard to imagine the american remake could be anywhere near as good.  (and yes, the movies i enjoy most seem to have subtitles.)  looking forward to watching the second in the series.

and, for those who have read the book, my wife read the book, and still loved the movie...

doug s.

[Photon46]

Even though I didn't care too much for the first installment in the film cycle,  the second film impressed me to much greater degree. The thing I disliked the most about the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was the high degree of plot and character compression the film script had to make. Now I know this is the case in all film adaptations, but it struck me as particularly onerous in the first film. It felt as if the viewer was hyperkinetically rushed through the plot development in ways that were confusing and which left the characters and their motivations poorly developed. The second book had a basically much less complex plot line so there was more time for the screenwriters to flesh out characterization, motivations, and personality dynamics. I know my opinion is in the minority. Professional reviews tabulated at RottenTomatoes.com show much higher ratings for the first film and decreasing ratings for each of the two subsequent films. Like Doug's wife, my wife also read the book and liked the first film a lot. 

[doug s.]

Even though I didn't care too much for the first installment in the film cycle,  the second film impressed me to much greater degree. The thing I disliked the most about the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was the high degree of plot and character compression the film script had to make. Now I know this is the case in all film adaptations, but it struck me as particularly onerous in the first film. It felt as if the viewer was hyperkinetically rushed through the plot development in ways that were confusing and which left the characters and their motivations poorly developed. The second book had a basically much less complex plot line so there was more time for the screenwriters to flesh out characterization, motivations, and personality dynamics. I know my opinion is in the minority. Professional reviews tabulated at RottenTomatoes.com show much higher ratings for the first film and decreasing ratings for each of the two subsequent films. Like Doug's wife, my wife also read the book and liked the first film a lot.

all i can say is, that as a wiewer who hadn't read the book, i didn't feel at all rushed thru the plot dewelopment, wasn't at all confused or felt that the character's and their motiwations were poorly deweloped.  of course, i would expect much better character dewelopment in a book, tho.

a similar analogy for the book & movie "the kite runner" - here is one movie where i had read the book first, and loved it, and still loved the movie.  and, of course, the character dewelopment in the book was better, but the movie character dewelopment was yust fine, imo...

doug s.

[JohnR]

The "v" key is nowhere near the "w" key on any keyboard that I'm aware of... 

[davidrs]

Its a shame some people are averse to reading subtitles.  There is a veritable universe of great foreign films they never get a chance to experience, these films included.

The "Dragon Tattoo" and, to a slightly lesser extent, "Played with Fire" are about the best films I've seen so far this year.  Now Hollywood wants to produce English versions.  I can't imagine them being any better and there's a good chance they won't be nearly as good.

If you've ever wondered how Pippi Longstocking turned out as an adult, these films are well worth seeing! Very well done.

- Jim

Agree with Jim and AJZEPP.

When I rented 'Dragon Tattoo' on BluRay it defaulted to dubbed English. Quickly switched over to subtitles.

Living is Spain for some time, it was disappointing to go to the theater to view US films that were invariably dubbed into Spanish. Not so in Portugal, where the US films were shown in English with Portugese subtitles.

Personally found 'Dragon Tattoo' a fascinating film and very well done.

'Played with Fire' was less satisfying, but still good.

To one of Jim's points that not enough people are into foreign made films:

Unfortunately in this case, Hollywood is going to be rewarded for their remake given how widely read the Millenium series is.

[davidrs]

The "v" key is nowhere near the "w" key on any keyboard that I'm aware of... 

John,

And the same with 's' and 'n' ....

Lest the alphabet police bludgeon me for it:

Living in Spain. Though I do believe it may have been somewhat Freudian:

Living IS Spain!  !Viva la Espan~a!

[Hugh]

Finished watching The Girl Who Played With Fire late last night.

While I like them both, the 1st one was more intrigued to me.

Can't hardly wait until picking up the last one.

[funkmonkey]

I saw this a week ago (streamed via Netflix), and just added The Girl Who Played With Fire.

Dragon Tattoo was an awesome film, didn't find it too hard to follow.  Not easy, or a film that you can kick back and shut your brain off for, but a very cool portrait of the human psyche, and it's extremes...

I totally agree with Jim (and others) that it is a shame that people aren't more receptive to subtitles.  Once a movie starts I forget that I am actually reading them, and being somewhat of a purist I could never deal with the English dubbed versions.  If the mouth movements do not match the sounds that are supposed to be coming out of them I go nuts.  The one exception to this (for me) is the old Shaw Brothers kung fu films of the 70's/80's which were brilliant romps and the dubbing was so bad that it was entertaining in itself. 

It may be a shame that Hollywood feels the need to remake these films in English versions, but that is certainly linked with Americans not wanting to be "hassled" by reading subtitles.  La Femme Nakita is a great example of this...  Original was outstanding, American remake just okay.  On the other hand, I am glad that they do: because it provides work for a lot of people in the film industry.  I am working right next to one of the stages where they are making the English version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and have a couple of friends that are actually working on it.  Right now, it is the biggest film in production (in Hollywood), and employs hundreds, or more like thousands of people.  Plus, it will drive a bunch of people to seek out the original that would otherwise have never seen it, or not bothered because it had subtitles.

So bring it on.  Creating more jobs for Californians! (and Michiganders, Bostonians, New Mexicans, Louisianians...)

Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy
Cheers

[davidrs]

Funkmonkey - great point about job creation!

You mention La Femme Nikita - and agree with you as well. The French original  was very special and has a place in film history.

The US version did not come close, though Don_S feels otherwise "Not to get too far off topic but I am thinking of one movie that has a foreign and U.S. version--"Point of no Return".  U.S version has much better action sequences and does not drag."

A more recently released French (likely to be classic): "A Prophet"

[Don_S]

davidrs,

I still think the young woman in "Point of no Return" could kick La Femme Nikita's butt. It has been a while since I saw either.  Maybe the foreign version developed the characters better and the US version went more for action and special effects.

I am looking forward to seeing the "Girl" series and seeing the person who plays Salander.  On the way home from my bike ride yesterday I stopped by the library and picked up my reserved copy of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest".  I have already finished 125 pages. The book is 563 pages I hate to think what that will be compressed to in video.

[davidrs]

Don,

Would actually love to see that --- no matter the outcome. 

Heck, we could throw Lisbeth into the mix as well. Though she might want to go the 'making out' route vs. the fighting it out route, given her predilections. Would still be worth watching...maybe even more so.

Send in a script - Funkmonkey can probably get it to the right folks!

[funkmonkey]

Don,

Would actually love to see that --- no matter the outcome. 

Heck, we could throw Lisbeth into the mix as well. Though she might want to go the 'making out' route vs. the fighting it out route, given her predilections. Would still be worth watching...maybe even more so.

Send in a script - Funkmonkey can probably get it to the right folks!

LOL  nah, I just build the sets...  well below the line and far from having any pull.  But, I would love to see a girl fight turned to 3 way with those three vixens. Grrrr. =)

[tankhouse]

From IMDB: Cast was complete a couple of weeks ago.

Rooney Mara -Lisbeth Salander
Daniel Craig  -Mikael Blomkvist
Christopher Plummer -Henrik Vanger
Robin Wright  -Erika Berger

[ajzepp]

Agree with Jim and AJZEPP.

When I rented 'Dragon Tattoo' on BluRay it defaulted to dubbed English. Quickly switched over to subtitles.

Living is Spain for some time, it was disappointing to go to the theater to view US films that were invariably dubbed into Spanish. Not so in Portugal, where the US films were shown in English with Portugese subtitles.

Personally found 'Dragon Tattoo' a fascinating film and very well done.

'Played with Fire' was less satisfying, but still good.

To one of Jim's points that not enough people are into foreign made films:

Unfortunately in this case, Hollywood is going to be rewarded for their remake given how widely read the Millenium series is.

To me, it's a sin to watch a dubbed version. Aside from those who have vision issues and simply can't decipher the text, I just don't understand why anyone would want to take away so much from the actor's portrayal.

CAse in point: My favorite film of all time is Life is Beautiful. Anyone who is familiar with Roberto Benigni knows that he is a very unique personality. The authenticity of the performance is just lost when you have someone else delivering the lines. I often recommend this film to friends, and when I do I INSIST that they stay away from the dubbed version.

If not for subtitled films, I would have missed out on two of my favorite films of the last few years..."The Lives of Others" and "Let the Right One In". It's funny when I hear people say there just aren't any good movies out there to watch. That's akin to saying there aren't any good books to read or good music to listen to. I will be the first to admit that when I was younger, I had no interest in subtitles. Thankfully I matured a bit and opened my eyes, and the rest is history. There is a whole world of foreign/subtitled films out there for our enjoyment, and I know that I could never get through all the "good movies" in the world in only one lifetime lol.

[jsalk]

ajzepp -

I agree that "The Lives of Others" is a great movie.  If you ever wondered what life might have been like living under the control of the East German Government, this movie will take you there.

In 1989, I had a chance to visit East Germany.  It was a Sunday and the Berlin border was closed to all Westerners except our group of about 50.  We had a luncheon reservation at a hotel built exclusively to serve the needs of Western visitors and dignitaries.

We arrived at Checkpoint Charlie at about 11 AM and were given a thorough search by straight-faced, heavily armed GDR border guards. Our vehicle, a small tourist bus, was inspected inside and out for contraband.  They even used mirrors on long poles to completely check the underside of the carriage.  Once this 20-minute inspection was complete, we were allowed to pass through into East Berlin.

Growing up, I imagined East Germany to be an extremely depressing place.  I conjured up images of smog filled air, dreary gray buildings and people wandering blank-faced down streets with an occasional Trabant passing by. When we actually passed into East Berlin, I was amazed that it was almost exactly as I had imagined.  We went from a vibrant and colorful West Berlin into a totally monochromatic world.

We had a wonderful meal at the thoroughly modern, up-scale "tourist" hotel that East Germans were not even allowed to enter.  It somehow seemed unfair.  We then took a field trip to a fascinating museum which featured a wealth of artifacts from ancient civilizations.  This was our only opportunity to get close to actual East German residents. 

My wife Mary found the trip extremely depressing and just wanted to leave. I found it utterly fascinating.  It was so different than anything I had ever experienced, I would have liked to stay much longer.  But we had to get back over the border as our time was up.

Once back in West Berlin, we stopped and walked along the Berlin wall.  There, we noticed plaques with names and dates marking the places where individuals trying to escape to the West lost their lives.  We noticed one that had been placed there just a month earlier.

Standing at the wall, we wondered if it would come down during our lifetimes.  Little did we know, about 10,000 East Germans escaped to Austria over the Hungarian border that very day.  That day marked the start of an exodus that spelled the end of the East German government.  About thirty days later, the wall was gone.

"The Lives of Others" will take you back to that place in time.

- Jim

[drab]

Beautiful story Jim. There's no way I can't see "The Lives of Others" now.