Camino Barcelona Blog

Hey everybody,

I hope everything is going fine for you!

If you are a movie fan, here is the big question that you might have asked yourself several times:  

Is it better to watch a film dubbed or in its original version?

I am asking you this because a few days ago I had a long debate about this subject with some friends (who are all movie fans) and I realised that the answer was not so obvious:

Some people prefer seeing the films dubbed (mainly because the dubbing is very good in Spain and also because they say they cannot concentrate on both the sub-titles and the action) and other people will never watch a good film if it is not in original version.

I myself clearly belong to the second group (even though I am aware of the fact that my view point is very debatable). I will try to explain why:

First of all, the original version is a great way to learn languages! Not only the language of the film you are watching but also the language into which it is translated: Reading the sub-titles makes you pay attention to the vocabulary, the grammar and is a great way to learn the “slang” expressions of the country. (That is the way I learned most of the slang Spanish I know!!)

And second, to me seeing a film in its own language is the only way one can appreciate the work of the actors and of the directors: Films “dubbed” very rarely reflect the atmosphere of the film or the (often cultural) jokes of the dialogue. I have a clear example to illustrate this point: Have you ever tried to watch “Fawlty Tower” in Spanish? (where Manuel is changing name and nationality depending on the channel it is broad-casted!!!: He is either Mexican in Regional TV or Italian in Spanish TV ); “Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios” in Japanese? (!!!) or Woody Allen in French (!!!) etc. That sounds really weird! To me it just does NOT work. And that’s why I tend to avoid watching television and always go to the same cinemas of the city.

So… For the ones who enjoy watching films with sub-titles, you will find below a list of original version cinemas in Barcelona:

 

- Méliès Cinemes (2 rooms):
Address: Villarroel, 102.
Tel: 93 451 00 51.
Metro: Urgell

- Icaria (15 rooms):
Address: Salvador Espriu, 61
Tel: 93 221 75 85
Metro: Ciudadella  - Vila Olimpica

- Casablanca-Kaplan (2 rooms):
Address: Pº Gracia, 115
Tel. 93 218 43 45
Metro: Diagonal

- Renoir Floridablanca (7 rooms):
Address: Floridablanca, 135
Tel. 93 426 33 37
Metro: Universitat

- Renoir Les Corts:
Address: Eugeni d’Ors, 12
Tel: 93 490 55 10
Metro: Les Corts

- Boliche (4 rooms):
Address: Avda. Diagonal, 508
Tel. 93 218 17 88
Metro: Diagonal

- Verdi Park (4 rooms):
Address: Torrijos, 49.
Tel: 93 238 79 90
Metro: Fontana
http://www.cines-verdi.com/

- Maldà:
Address: Carrer del Pí, 5
Tel: 93 481 37 04
Metro: Liceo

- Verdi (5 rooms):
Address: Verdi, 32
Tel: 93 238 79 90
Metro: Fontana

- Filmoteca:
Address: Avda. Sarrià, 31-33
Tel: 93 410 75 90
Metro: Hospital Clinic

Last but not least…. Some of you probably know this website, but for those who don’t, don’t forget that this web is very helpful to find out about anything interesting to do in Barcelona. Not only about films and cinemas but also about concerts, restaurants, night-club etc. You can also buy “la guía del Ocio” in any newspaper kiosk. It costs 1€ and is published every Thursday.

And remember: “El día del Espectador” (a day when the cinema tickets are a bit cheaper than normal) in all the Original Version Cinemas of the city (except the Boliche Cinema and the Filmoteca) is on Mondays and not on Wednesdays like any other cinemas of the city!!!

Have a nice week!

Sandrine

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 5:34 pm and is filed under Actividades, What to do in Barcelona, Sandrine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.