Prachya Pinkaew’s Ass-Kicking CHOCOLATE Hits English Subtitled DVD June 3rd!

Reader Comments

1. ASIAN FLIX 05/23/2008 @ 6:26am

   If this is the same ver that someone else wrote about on the web, then forget about it, they said the sub titles are so bad that you can not understand them. I dont know, wait and see.
   But I have found that a lot of the Thai movies have the most horrible subtitles of any country. I have Muai Thai Boxer, and the subtitles are horrible.
   Just a heads up on this, let me know if the subs are good on Chocolate.

2. Todd Brown 05/23/2008 @ 8:29am

   This is the first legitimate English subtitled version to release anywhere in the world and it doesn’t come out for another week and a half.  If people are writing about subtitled DVD versions of this film already then I absolutely guarantee that they are writing about a bootleg version and if you’re dumb enough to pay someone for something that they stole then you don’t really have the right to complain.

   The subs on this will be fine, probably based from the subtitles used on the festival prints.

3. markc 05/27/2008 @ 11:13am

   unfortunately, according to Yesasia the release has been pushed back till June 30th and will no longer contain English subtitles.
   http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-index/pid-1010916176/

4. kenixfan 05/29/2008 @ 7:17am

   Yep, I got the e-mail today from Yes Asia after pre-ordering this weeks ago.

   I guess the Weinsteins bought the rights, leaned on the Asian distributors to remove subtitles, and will release this at their leisure, with a new title.

   Really, I don’t know if it was them but I’m sick of this sort of crap.

   I’m beginning to understand why people download movies when the majors play around with stuff based on antiquated notions of regions and markets.

5. ASIAN FLIX 05/29/2008 @ 8:04am

   Like I said (more or less), you cant trust any Thai movie with english subs that comes out on DVD, its all a big wait and see for Thai DVDs, and if a Thai DVD has good English Subs, then it must have been done by another country…
   I have a small DVD Rental and Sales store (Asian/Anime/Foreign) here in the U.S. (midwest), and I try to keep up on what is out and what the quality of the DVDs are, and as I said before Thai DVDs have the worst English Subs of all countries, uless the Subs are done by another country, and that statement is based on first hand knowledge.

6. Todd Brown 05/29/2008 @ 8:36am

   Dude, that statement’s based on buying bootlegs.  Every significant Thai film of the last decade has had full, proper translations done in Thailand to create subtitled prints for festival play and for limited play within Bangkok, where Thai films frequently screen in subtitled versions for the ex-pat audience.  The done-in-Thailand translations are pretty damn close to flawless as a general rule.  I’ve seen Chocolate with the official Sahamongkol translation and there’s no problem with it at all.  I’ve seen all the current GMM Tai Hub films, all the current Five Star Productions films, everything that would travel outside of Thailand for any reason in the past five years and they all have perfectly good subtitles IF YOU GO WITH LEGITIMATE, PROPERLY SUBTITLED version.

   The ONLY reason you get discs with shit subtitles is because you’ve bought bootleg versions translated by hacks who don’t know what they’re doing because the bootleggers don’t have access to the proper translations.  That’s the ONLY time it happens these days.  Buy legit product and you won’t have a problem.

   Like I said earlier, THERE IS NO LEGAL, LEGITIMATE SUBTITLED VERSION OF CHOCOLATE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON DVD.  If the subs on whatever versions are out there are bad it’s because they’re bootlegs and when you buy shit you get shit and you don’t really have the right to gripe about it.

7. kenixfan 05/29/2008 @ 12:08pm

   I recall that the only legal version of Tom Yum Gaa with English subtitles was the Korean DVD until the film came out in America with the title of the Protector.

   So Todd, I hear ya, I agree with you wholeheartedly, but what’s the deal?

   I’d happily pay $30 for the Korean version of this with English subtitles if it’s the only legal version.

   But, I am now willing to buy a bootleg because of this lack of subtitles issue.

   This has all the earmarks of a Weinstein-kind of shenanigans; as this was listed as a Hong Kong release, and as 95% of HK releases have English subtitles, it sounds a bit fishy.

8. Geert Jan 05/29/2008 @ 3:15pm

   Yep, my Thai DVD of Tropical Malady has pretty much perfect English subtitles. I’ve heard good things about other (legal) Thai DVD releases as well.

   But that’s all a bit besides the point here, because this news post was about the upcoming Hong Kong release of Chocolate. The Thai release is already out and doesn’t have English subtitles.

   By the way, I’ve checked out those subtitles that are floating around the web right now, and I’m pretty sure they’re machine translated, in other words garbage. They are most certainly not from a legitimate Thai (or any other) DVD release.

9. Todd Brown 05/29/2008 @ 5:45pm

   Can’t blame this on the Weinsteins.  They had the film but the deal fell through for some reason ... it aint them ...

10. kenixfan 05/30/2008 @ 6:23am

    Thanks Todd—I remember that they lost the deal now that you say that!

    I think I let my Weinstein animus get the better of me—again!

    Word is that their version of Come Drink With Me is a decent DVD set—too bad it took them this long to put it out as the Celestial/IVL R3 one has been out for almost 5 years now—it was the first R3 I bought actually!

11. Nerve 06/04/2008 @ 7:19am

    Hi…

    I came across two english subtitled versions, well one version being sold on two sites… edaymovie and cineast… are these still not legit?

12. Geert Jan 06/04/2008 @ 8:43am

    I can’t find that cineast site you’re talking about, but the DVD sold on edaymovie.com is a bootleg.

13. zombeaner 06/04/2008 @ 9:47am

    Come drink with me is great except that it, like Dragon Dynasty’s Hard Boiled, has dubtitles rather than proper subtitles.

14. Nerve 06/05/2008 @ 4:01am

    dam...was thinking of getting it after hkflix bombed out… The other site is cine-east.com, google it.

    i came across a review site which provides different links to where movies can be purchased, think its lovehk or something like that… Is dragon dynasty come drink with me the only print available?

15. The Visitor 07/04/2008 @ 9:41am

    Geert Jan, i have that exact same copy of Tropical Malady. very nice transfer too.

    i also have the Thai DVD of Last Life In The Universe, but it’s still in its shrinkwrap, and i haven’t seen it! that one has subs too, and i’m pretty sure they’re good subs.

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