Godard's Histoire(s) du cinéma Finally Available On English-Subtitled DVD

Thanks for the update, Jon. In view of the price, I'm a bit wary of ordering until someone who has actually watched the set can confirm the presence of English subtitles. (The good folks at DVD Beaver linked to the Gaumont web site, which lists the features.) I look forward to the brave soul who can afford to do so!

According to Jack Griffin, who writes in the forum of DVDClassik:

"There are English subtitles. On the other hand, the soundtrack of the clips [which Godard uses to illustrate his film] is not subtitled. Nor are there any on the special features."

The most important item is Godard's voice-over narration (and that of the actors and actresses he has chosen to recite for him) which accompanies the images. Godard plays with the scraps of spoken dialogue (in French, English, Italian, German, etc.), sometimes speeding them up or slowing them down; not infrequently, song, music, narration and dialogue (often in different languages) overlap one other -- accompanied by the clicking keys of Godard's typewriter.

NotBillyTheKid at DVDClassik forwarded me this message from Samuel, who obviously feels Gaumont could have done a better job with the subtitling:

The only thing that's subtitled is JLG's voiceover. Now of course that is a great shame! This said, the translation is very good. Being a subtitler myself, I have to admit that the perspective of subtitling "Histoire(s)" would be a nightmare. Titles, puns, JLG's commentary and film soundtracks all at once... The trouble is 1) there's only so much the human eye can read, and 2) subtitles are a nuisance on the image. As it is, it is already problematic to put the English subtitles at a place where it is as practical as possible. When a title exists and JLG speaks, it would be very hard to subtitle both what is being said and what is to be seen. There would simply be no time to read the subtitles, unless one stops the frame. It can already be a problem when subtitling "normal" films.

Now that's one thing, but I wonder why the film clips in French haven't been translated at all, and why the titles are not translated, even when no one speaks? The answer would be "consistency", since it would seem odd to translate them at times and not at others, when the image/sound combination is already too "crowded." It seems a poor argument to me.

The goal of subtitling is not to translate literally, since it is impossible (you read slower than you can perceive oral dialogue). It is always an adaptation. Adapting a work such a "Histoire(s)" is a unique task, maybe an impossible one. Nonetheless, according to me, not enough thought has been put into getting some work done here. For the conception of a DVD, the publishing company has the final say (or the filmmaker, if s/he can be involved in the process: see a reproduction of English subtitles to "Soft & Hard" in "Forever Godard," if memory serves). It is in relationship with a translator, often through a subtitling company, and gives instructions regarding the subtitling. Here, this step has obviously been skipped.

I think I've read (maybe on this list?) that the Spanish edition has subtitles in different colours (titles, voiceover, etc.): this doesn't solve the problem of space, but is maybe a better solution (provided you understand Spanish, of course). Maybe a detailed booklet in English would have been a good idea? As it is, the English subtitles translate what JLG physically says; you have to understand yourself what other people say in French and what is written on the screen... To me, that's a mess, for which
Gaumont is to be held responsible. I doubt that the translator hasn't asked for instructions: even if he didn't, Gaumont should have taken a look at the finished product and found a better way to adapt this masterpiece to English-speaking viewers!

As for "Deux fois cinquante ans" [2X50 ans de cinema francais], it is utterly absurd that no English subtitles are provided, especially since it was produced by the British Film Institute! Even if we put aside the fact that subtitles were written at the time (a given translation is not automatically attached to the work it accompanies; however, it shouldn't be difficult to get hold of these subtitles), it is perfectly possible to ask for a new subtitling... Provided one pays someone for it! Once again, Gaumont did not rise to the occasion and thought it useless to translate this film. Shame on them!!! (even though as a French viewer, I'm quite happy with the boxset.)