# I often can't tell what movie actors are saying **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563 "2010-07-22T04:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/1 "2010-07-22T04:03:18Z")
If actors are mumbling, whispering, or speaking fast, I often don’t know what they’re saying. Do other people have this problem? I try to buy DVD’s with subtitles. Without subtitles, I may rewind, turn up the volume and listen again, but still often can’t determine what is said. Accents and slang don’t help me either, but mumbling and slurring are the big problems. I do better with old movies; did actors articulate better decades ago? And I _do_ understand many or most actors; the problem is the mumblers. Is mumbling supposed to make the film more realistic? Isolated in rural Asia, infrequent listening to English may be a partial cause of the problem, though I _do_ understand my Western friends here. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/2 "2010-07-22T04:28:10Z")
I frequently watch movies with subtitles for that very reason. The sound effects drown out the quiet talking all the time. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/3 "2010-07-22T05:11:01Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I frequently watch movies with subtitles for that very reason. The sound effects drown out the quiet talking all the time. Same here. Almost always have the subtitles on. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/4 "2010-07-22T05:40:44Z")
The beauty of DVR and such is that we can rewind and check if we need to, and turn on subtitles! Yes, we often find that we can’t understand a line or two. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/5 "2010-07-22T14:18:42Z")
I think it’s just how movies are mixed today, with the sound effects being louder than the speech, and you need perfect ears to pick out all of it. That said, I’d rather monkey around with the sound than use the subtitles. TV shows may work with closed captioning always on, and I will do it to keep the volume low at night, but, in most movies, the captioning will get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/6 "2010-07-22T14:45:16Z")
In my experience, it’s usually the excessively loud sound effects and background music that are the problem, not mumbling or accents. Of course if it’s Schwarzenegger and Stallone, all hope of understanding the dialogue is out the window. Fortunately, understanding the dialogue can only detract from the enjoyment of their movies. It’s rarely a problem with TV series. Big-budget action movies are the worst. I really wish the dialogue was available on a separate audio channel that I could adjust. While I’m waiting for that feature, I use the subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/7 "2010-07-22T15:10:15Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I frequently watch movies with subtitles for that very reason. The sound effects drown out the quiet talking all the time. This is about 1/3 of why I don’t go to the theater to see movies. Without CC to see what’s being attempted to be said, I have no idea and wonder how they get away with such. Movies might was well revert to silents for the good the mumbled dialog does. Also with CC to assist, you find things being said (in the subtitles) that you just can’t hear at all! One-third is the inconsiderate people in the audience. The other third is the price. On Demand is getting as much as $10 for some first-run stuff that I refuse to pay that much to see. I have no need to be the first to see something. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/8 "2010-07-22T15:15:50Z")
Here’s a link to a thread I posted three years ago that seemed to help. There are ways to make the quiet sounds louder and the OMG EXPLOSIONS much quieter. It’s call Audio Normalization, and definitely helps if you have neighbors who aren’t big fans of you having to rattle the entire building just to hear the dialog. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-426209.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-426209.html) ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/9 "2010-07-22T15:54:22Z")
I had a much bigger problem with it before I got surround sound. The speakers on the TV just weren’t good enough to separate all the sounds. With surround sound the center channel really does a good job of rendering dialog making it much easier to follow. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/10 "2010-07-22T20:06:20Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I do better with old movies; did actors articulate better decades ago? Yes, they did. American actors and orators in the '30s and '40s were more likely to have cultivated what is sometimes called “Good American Speech.” Enunciation would have been a major part of the training of anyone in theater (from which of course many of film actors were drawn). Over time, the goal of performance has shifted away from presentational toward realistic, and in real life people mumble and slur their words. (It’s easy to blame Brando for this, but he was part of a movement, not the instigator. And of course it’s a huge generalization to say acting and dialogue are more naturalistic now than in the past. It’s easy to find exceptions, but I think as a general observation it holds up.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/11 "2010-07-22T20:28:35Z")
I have the same problem, especially with actors like Robert Downey. Most of _Sherlock Holmes_ was unintelligible to me. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/12 "2010-07-22T20:31:41Z")
I think many DVDs are set up for surround sound and many people just have stereo (2) speakers. But yeah, I have trouble hearing many movies and some TV shows as well. Same with my GF. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/13 "2010-07-22T20:44:14Z")
**Doctor Who** is an interesting case study. In the original series, 99% of intelligent life in the universe spoke the British Received Pronunciation form of English, with a smattering of cockneys. Sound effects and scoring were used sparingly, mostly at time no one was talking. In the current series, regional (albeit still British) accents are much more common, sound effects are much more frequent and the scoring seems to be nonstop and frequently competes with dialogue in volume. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/14 "2010-07-23T14:27:33Z")
I often can’t understand what the actors are saying but still get the gist of the movie. After watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy multiple times (never read the books) I finally got around to watching them with subtitles. It added an entire new level to the movie being able to see character’s names and places in print. A lot of Tolkien’s proper nouns don’t roll off the tongue very easily and if you’re not familiar with them leave you going “Who? Where?” ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/15 "2010-07-24T04:18:42Z")
And I thought it was just me! I’ve had a flat screen, Hi-def tv for about a year, and I’ve had a problem trying to get good audio. Especially a problem when I try to watch a DVD. But I think it’s mostly a universal issue with too much background noise and music. This evening I was watching a show on our small non-HD tv in the bedroom and the background music was either at the same level or higher than the dialogue; the music was so distracting I gave up on it and didn’t finish watching. Don’t the producers and director watch and listen to the finished product? ---
**Author:** ![Snifit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Snifit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snifit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/16 "2010-07-24T18:39:40Z")
Maybe you’re all getting old. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/17 "2010-07-24T18:45:05Z")
> [@Snifit](#): > > Maybe you’re all getting old. And you’re not? 🙂 Must be nice. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/18 "2010-07-26T04:52:25Z")
> [@Snifit](#): > > Maybe you’re all getting old. Hmmm… dialog getting harder to hear, wife has started muttering more (and she CLAIMS I’m snoring–tho I haven’t heard that), and my TV is slowly going out of focus: I have to squint if there’s type on the screen… May-beeeee… ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/19 "2010-07-26T05:37:28Z")
I usually get the gist of what they are saying most of the time, but I am surprised at how often what I thought they said was different than what they actually said, even though in general I get the right idea most of the time. Personally, I find that certain actors are just incomprehensible to me, Benicio Del Toro in particular. I cringe whenever he’s on screen. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-often-cant-tell-what-movie-actors-are-saying/547563/20 "2010-07-26T06:33:39Z")
I was just commenting on this last night … I have no problem in movie theatres. I have no problem when watching TV. But watching a DVD _on the same freakin’ TV_ 5 minutes later I can’t make out half the dialog. I have to turn the sound way up and cup my ear with my hand like some ancient fool, and even then I’m depending on visual cues and, I suspect, even lip reading. There is some muddy quality to the sound coming off DVD that makes dialog almost unintelligible for me, and I wish I knew what the hell that was about.