OUATIC -Iron Subtitles?

[Ninja Sinai]

Hay fellow KFF clan members..

Finally got around to watching Once Upon A Time In China on Blu-Ray this evening.. one of my fav of the New Wave Kung Fu movies.

The pic quality was AMAZING but I sadly felt a little let down by the english subtitles. You see back in the day in the early 90s when I first watched OUATIC the character of Yen Shi Kwan was called Iron Vest Yim. Then later in the HKL DVD I think he was called Iron Robe Yim. In the Blu-Ray version I watched this evening he was called Iron Cloth Yim! I was like WTH.. Iron Cloth!!???

So I thought would ask you guys which was the most correct translation from the original cantonese, Iron Vest, Iron Robe or Iron Cloth?

Personally I think I will always refer to him as Iron Vest as that was what he was called in the first version of OUATIC I ever saw.  By the way I loved his character in OUATIC and I think Yen Shi Kwan did an excellent job portraying all the nuances of the character that led him to make the decisions he did.

Also the line Iron Vest says to Wong Fei Hung after he gets shot in the original version was, "How can we fight their guns with our Kung Fu?" which had more of an impact in the already emotional scene of him getting killed.. in tonights version the line read, "Our kung fu is no match for their guns." which sounded lame compared to the translation in the original english version.

Man what I wouldnt do a for a .srt subtitle file of the original english translation so I can use that for all future viewings of OUATIC.

Its so true that good subtitles make a HUGE difference when watching a movie compared to having only lame translated subtitles.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ninja Sinai

[gskmeva]

Are you talking about the translation on the latest Eureka bluray? Don't get me started. Filled with many problems and errors.

OUATIC 1 and 2 are some of my favorite HK films of all time (sorry 3) and I've seen these film on many formats including the original pan and scan VHS/VCDs, Media Asia DVDs, Sony DVDs, HKL DVDs and even 35mm back in 2001 for their limited re-release in the US (the audience was going wild).

To answer your question, Yen Shi Kwan's character in the film is 铁布衫严振东. 

铁布衫 = TIE BU SHAN, iron / cloth / upper garment (literal translation)

严振东 = Yan Zhendong (Mandarin pronounciation)

I do believe the original 35mm theatrical translation was Iron Vest Yim (which carried forward onto the Media Asia and Sony DVDs) and slightly altered on the HKL discs. I actually like Iron Robe Yim because it sounds strong and almost honorable. Where IRON VEST sounds like a piece of hardcore armor to be used in war or battle, IRON ROBE sounds like a gift bestowed by gods or royalty to someone of high prestige and skill. Iron Cloth Yim is more a direct translation of the original Chinese and I do agree with you that it sounds weaker. 

As a native English speaker who speaks fluent Mandarin (and enough Cantonese to know the bad words - haha), I always thought the original 35mm theatrical translation (I don't have the film on me but she is credited in the film's end credits) was very good.

The one perfect translation from the theatrical version that didn't carry onto the latest translations (including the HKL disc) was the term 中国鬼. This is when Jet Li's character meets British General Wickens the first time at the restaurant. Bucktooth So discovers that the general can speak Chinese and says, "This 鬼佬 foreign devil speaks Chinese!" The general is offended and says, "Don't call me a foreign devil, 中国鬼!" In the latest translations, 中国鬼 is translated as CHINA DEVIL which is a literal translation. However the original theatrical translation was perfect. Instead of "China devil", it was translated as CHINAMAN. Two characters calling out racial slurs at each other. Genius!!

Anyway, the latest version on the Eureka bluray does contain some errors that could've been avoided and I wrote a short post about my frustration about it months prior.

[Ninja Sinai]

On 9/17/2020 at 5:30 AM, gskmeva said:

Are you talking about the translation on the latest Eureka bluray? Don't get me started. Filled with many problems and errors.

OUATIC 1 and 2 are some of my favorite HK films of all time (sorry 3) and I've seen these film on many formats including the original pan and scan VHS/VCDs, Media Asia DVDs, Sony DVDs, HKL DVDs and even 35mm back in 2001 for their limited re-release in the US (the audience was going wild).

To answer your question, Yen Shi Kwan's character in the film is 铁布衫严振东. 

铁布衫 = TIE BU SHAN, iron / cloth / upper garment (literal translation)

严振东 = Yan Zhendong (Mandarin pronounciation)

I do believe the original 35mm theatrical translation was Iron Vest Yim (which carried forward onto the Media Asia and Sony DVDs) and slightly altered on the HKL discs. I actually like Iron Robe Yim because it sounds strong and almost honorable. Where IRON VEST sounds like a piece of hardcore armor to be used in war or battle, IRON ROBE sounds like a gift bestowed by gods or royalty to someone of high prestige and skill. Iron Cloth Yim is more a direct translation of the original Chinese and I do agree with you that it sounds weaker. 

As a native English speaker who speaks fluent Mandarin (and enough Cantonese to know the bad words - haha), I always thought the original 35mm theatrical translation (I don't have the film on me but she is credited in the film's end credits) was very good.

The one perfect translation from the theatrical version that didn't carry onto the latest translations (including the HKL disc) was the term 中国鬼. This is when Jet Li's character meets British General Wickens the first time at the restaurant. Bucktooth So discovers that the general can speak Chinese and says, "This 鬼佬 foreign devil speaks Chinese!" The general is offended and says, "Don't call me a foreign devil, 中国鬼!" In the latest translations, 中国鬼 is translated as CHINA DEVIL which is a literal translation. However the original theatrical translation was perfect. Instead of "China devil", it was translated as CHINAMAN. Two characters calling out racial slurs at each other. Genius!!

Anyway, the latest version on the Eureka bluray does contain some errors that could've been avoided and I wrote a short post about my frustration about it months prior.

Thanks man for clarifying that.. 

I think I may look at if theres a way to edit the .srt english subtitle file so as to get it closer to match the translation used in the original 35mm version. 

If anyone has any tips on bow to go about doing that them please do share.

Gonna watch the Blu-Ray version of OUATIC II next and see that how thats is (agree 3 was bad and I couldnt even watch 4, 5 & 6! lol).

[gskmeva]

The first time I watched OUATIC1 was the Media Asia VCD. It was a dreadful fullscreen copy and had so many scenes cut out. Anyway, that's how I'm familiar with the original theatrical English subtitles. Though it's been years since I've seen that version but I'm not suprised if they used the same translation for the original Media Asia DVDs from the late 90s.