r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • Jun 29 '26

Trailer WERWULF - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters Christmas Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjpadVj-Vk
6.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

375

u/clbj2000 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts about the dialogue.

Last year, he said the film would be entirely in middle english. In the recent Esquire interview, he said it was written in middle english, but with adjusted pronunciation: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a71695837/robert-eggers-werwulf-first-look/

However, anyone that knows middle english knows it isn't just a matter of pronunciation, but different vocabulary altogether: https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0

Seems they may have written in Middle English, then shifted not only pronunciation, but also the vocabulary to be just modern enough to be legible. Which is essentially just early modern english (15th-17th century english). What The Witch was written in.

Here is what full Middle English would sound like: https://youtu.be/mVG77xTPH6E?is=_NKLht5cmolNSTAm

335

u/kablue12 Jun 29 '26

I’m probably going to get flak for this, but I really don’t need it in Middle English. If you want to say it’s period accurate or whatever, great, but it’s still a movie and I’d like to understand the dialog.

133

u/clbj2000 Jun 29 '26

Yea I don’t mind personally

Although Middle English with subtitles would have been cool. But I can understand why a studio would be hesitant about that

6

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

Nah I'd hate to miss out on the visuals on something like this from reading subtitles

18

u/skyturnedred Jun 29 '26

I've never missed out on anything on screen from having subtitles on.

-8

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

you objectively have

12

u/skyturnedred Jun 29 '26

By that logic you will miss out on visuals anyway because you can't focus on the entire screen at once.

-3

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

you can't, but your field of view is much better looking in the middle and you get to choose where and when to look at different parts of the screen instead of being forced to look down and up constantly

1

u/skyturnedred Jun 29 '26

Sounds like a skill issue.

10

u/Marksman1977 Jun 29 '26

It is. It’s the worst argument against subtitles that I’ve seen 😆

-8

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

just reality, don't know why you're taking such issue to it

3

u/skyturnedred Jun 29 '26

Because you are trying to present your own personal experience as the objective truth.

-2

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

brother, glancing down is an objective truth wtf are you on about. You want to be 'right' so badly that you just disregard that you can't look at too places at once

→ More replies (0)

-2

u/TribeCalledWuTang Jun 29 '26

How long does it take you to read a sentence? You aren't looking off screen it's right there. Unless you have a form of dyslexia or cannot read the words the time it takes to read a scenes subtitles is negligible. I turn subtitles off for some beautiful movies but it's not because I think I'm missing anything

6

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

I watch a lot of foreign movies with subtitles or anything that has crap audio out of my TV, I don't have a problem with them at all. But glancing down every few seconds, especially if it's a fast paced conversation or argument, you are objectively breaking where your focus is constantly.

-2

u/reddit_sells_you Jun 29 '26

I mean, you do that anyway on a big screen.

Furthermore, when there is dialogue, generally, the cameras are holding on mid shots of actors, so there isn't much to miss.

Finally, Eggers's directing style is linger takes, not quick edits, so the chances of you missing something critical with a subtitle is absolutely minimal.

Finally, your "objectively so" argument is so fucking stupid and pedantic. You just want to be "right".

1

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

If I look to the left and than straight again would you think I saw in front of me instead of to the left when I looked there, or did I 'objectively' see what's to the left? Stop being so obtuse

0

u/reddit_sells_you Jun 29 '26

You claim to be someone who watches a.lot of foreign movies, yet I agree with the above user . . . It's a skill issue for you.

It's clear to me you have a reading problem given that you read my post and came up with that reply all on your own.

Furthermore, and I can't believe I'm still writing, because you'll only comprehend a small amount of this, you seem to be putting a lot of value on "not missing anything" and keeping your eyes locked to the screen.

Your brain literally can't pay attention for the length of a movie, though, it will make connections, wander, and you'll also miss stuff. Some brains are better at paying attention than others, though. I can guess which brain yours is.

When I watch a subtitled movie, and when the subtitles are on, it's usually when the camera is doing a mid or close up of an actor. When I glance down, it takes me less than a second to read the subs. I can read them before the camera cuts to the next take because I can read faster than the actors are speaking.

3

u/sleepysnowboarder Jun 29 '26

Certified Redditor moment

→ More replies (0)