Whether movie characters talk fast or have insanely thick accents (or both), sometimes subtitles work better for films, even when they’re speaking your language. And make no mistake, I love each of the films below, I’m just having a little fun with their unintelligible vernacular.
And believe me, I know I’m a silly American who can’t decipher certain foreign dialects. Fair enough. But mockery aside, make sure to tell me some films you have trouble with.
Out of the Past (1947)
Really, any film noir could be listed here, I only chose Out of the Past because it is my favorite. The brisk cadence of male noir characters can only be fully appreciated with accompanying subtitles. To me, anyway. The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Killers, Out of the Past – take your pick, they’re all more fun with words.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
More so than subtitles, I need a Cockney dictionary to understand everything Alex DeLarge and his droogs carry on about. But admittedly, not knowing is part of the fun. Viddy well, little brother.
Network (1976)
Not only do Paddy Chayefsky’s words fly off tongues at lightning speed, they are damn smart to boot. I honestly believe that by reading this film, you can actually become smarter. Every word is meticulously placed.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
My sentiments for this David Mamet script almost mirror those for Network, but Glengarry Glen Ross has an added bonus. If you’re ever in need of better, more creative ways to put someone down, let Mamet’s profane-laden masterpiece guide you.
Trainspotting (1996)
According to Entertainment Weekly, before Trainspotting was released stateside, director Danny Boyle dubbed over dialogue to help American audiences slog through the film’s many thick Scottish accents. Many thanks, Danny boy.
Snatch (2000)
Brad Pitt is so purposefully difficult to understand in this movie, that if you actually do watch Snatch with the subtitles on, there’s an entire scene in which Pitt’s words are subtitled as “?”
Sexy Beast (2001)
I love the verbal juxtaposition between Ray Winstone’s laid back, retired mafia man to Ben Kingsley’s grab-you-by-the-throat whack job. Kingsley has said he based his deranged character in this film on his own grandmother. What a lovely tribute.
Brick (2005)
I loved film noir long before I watched Rian Johnson’s shifty high school crime thriller, Brick. But the entire time I watched this movie, I kept thinking: “Huh?” Don’t get me wrong, Brick is a great tribute to the films of yesteryear, but it’s a whole lot more fun with the subs running.
Hunger (2008)
If you do watch Steve McQueen’s masterpiece with the subtitles, most of your time will be spent reading words like: (Screams), (Baton slams), (Gunshot), (Sink runs) and so on. But for that epic conversation, subtitles really do make all the difference.
Fish Tank (2009)
Despite the fact that I have trouble understanding every single word that star Katie Jarvis says in this film, it’s still one of the finest acting debuts I’ve ever seen. Seriously, where did Andrea Arnold find this little hellfire? Oh, right, arguing with her boyfriend at a railway station. Jarvis was cast, in part, because of how vehemently she speaks. Imagine that.
16 thoughts on “Top 10 English-speaking Movies that Require Subtitles”
I actually never had a problem with understanding anything in Fish Tank, but the rest of this list, especially Trainspotting, is pretty spot-on. Only problem: You forgot to mention the Red Riding Trilogy.
Ohhhh shit, you are dead on with the Red Riding Trilogy. So hard to understand. I watched that right around the time Netflix started including subs with their streaming service. Thank God.
Oh yes, subtitles in Trainspotting is a must. I would never watch Snatch with subtitles. It’s so much more fun like that.
I remember needing subtitles for True Grit.
Okay I’m actually curious… are American southern accents hard for you to distinguish or understand. I’ve always wondered that.
Sometimes they are. In this case, Jeff Bridges’s voice was so gruff and then there was the accent and I couldn’t understand anything he was saying.
Gotcha. Kinda like Nick Nolte in Warrior… you sort of have to go with it and assume what’s being said. Ha.
Love this list. Not only because of the movies in it but also because you got so many things about subs right. I never understand why they do (door opens), (voice fads)? Why do we need it? I mean, I have even seen a silent movie having subtitles. Whole 80-90 minutes of… doors opening and things dropping. It’s hilarious!
I saw The Treasure of the Sierra Madre this month as Blind Spot. I wrote about it in the poast as well but they talk really fast in that movie throughout but specifically, in a scene when they find traces of gold. Walter Huston just goes crazy in that moment. I had no idea he was saying and he goes on for more than a minute.
On a serious note, almost every Irish/Scottish film I have seen needs subtitles. Snatch, Fish Tank, Hunger, Trainspotting. I even needed them for Kes and In Bruges.
Well actually, most of those (Door slams), (Glass breaks) subtitles are for people who are deaf. So they know that a door has slammed off screen, even if the movie doesn’t show it.
Interesting about Sierra Madre…. but you’re so right. Old Walter goes nuts in that moment.
Kes was my number 11. That’s a tough one right there.
Yep, I wouldn’t understand any of Hunger lines without subtitles.
Tricky stuff, right? So so fast.
There’s some films in that films I didn’t have problems with understanding though I will agree with you that subtitles are needed like “Snatch” and “Trainspotting”. I also think “The Red Riding Trilogy” should’ve gotten some subtitles.
The Red Riding Trilogy is definitely a great call. I could barely understand what the hell was being said in that movie.
Ha, I came here to see if Trainspotting had made the list. I still haven’t made it past the first 10 mins of that film because my friend’s copy had no subtitles. As for Clockwork, a lot of the dialogue is unintelligible and you often understand what was said only through context, but somehow it works.
And am I the only one who needed subtitles for Gosford Park? I fell asleep through that one because I couldn’t understand a thing! British accents are not my forte.
I completely agree about A Clockwork Orange. Subs don’t fully help with that one, but knowing what they’re saying (even without context) makes it more fun for me.
Gosford Park is a great pick. That’s a tricky one right there.
Oh man, this list is perfect. I really wish I could have seen Out of the Past with subtitles on — I loved the film, but I’m sure I missed out on some brilliant lines here and there. And yeah, completely agree about Snatch. Pretty much any Guy Ritchie could fit in here, I think.
I just wanted to add that while Trainspotting is a great choice, its understandability is easy compared to another Irvine Welsh adaptation called The Acid House. That film’s “English” is so unintelligible that Netflix Instant just runs it with English subtitles. I’m sure it’s a big barrier to a lot of people even with the subs, which is a shame because it’s a good movie.