I liked the 2nd movie in the theaters. It wasn't great, but it was good. I bought it assuming it would be like every other DVD (not including some bootlegs I accidentally purchased). Unfortunately, it seems like dreamworks has actually consciously chosen to put out this dvd in the most retarded manner conceivable by humans.
The DVD has 2 audio options: Japanese 5.1 and japanese 2.0. In the menu you can choose french or english subtitles. So far so good right? Guess again.
The english "subtitles" are actually closed captions. Meaning every sound effect (and there are a lot in this movie) is described, and most character names precede their words. And there is no other option for people who don't speak french or japanese. You can't turn them off. So the whole movie is:
[helicopter noises]
[singing]
[BATOU]: freeze!
[cat growls]
[shouting]
[gun fire]
[groan of pain]
etc.
Let's not even get into the fact that the cover art makes it look like 80's B fare. The movie posters were really nice and made it look more serious (which it is).
I should also mention that the tiny print on the back of the box which may or may not tell me how to contact the publisher is impossible to read since it is a dark blue and tiny font on a black glossy background. I went to the dreamworks site, no contact information aside from snail mail. I did eventually find a GITS 2 forum where there were 5 pages of rants about this very issue.
Pre-Update: I was able to return my copy to best buy for in-store credit.
Update: Apparently, according to IGN and other sources, dreamworks has responded to the overwhelming number of fans who complained about this. Though they were "aware of the issue for some time" they have finally done something. There is a new version with proper subtitles available now. The proper version has a "V4" along the spine. Further, dreamworks is offering an exchange program for fans unhappy with their coppy.
The DVD has 2 audio options: Japanese 5.1 and japanese 2.0. In the menu you can choose french or english subtitles. So far so good right? Guess again.
The english "subtitles" are actually closed captions. Meaning every sound effect (and there are a lot in this movie) is described, and most character names precede their words. And there is no other option for people who don't speak french or japanese. You can't turn them off. So the whole movie is:
[helicopter noises]
[singing]
[BATOU]: freeze!
[cat growls]
[shouting]
[gun fire]
[groan of pain]
etc.
Let's not even get into the fact that the cover art makes it look like 80's B fare. The movie posters were really nice and made it look more serious (which it is).
I should also mention that the tiny print on the back of the box which may or may not tell me how to contact the publisher is impossible to read since it is a dark blue and tiny font on a black glossy background. I went to the dreamworks site, no contact information aside from snail mail. I did eventually find a GITS 2 forum where there were 5 pages of rants about this very issue.
Pre-Update: I was able to return my copy to best buy for in-store credit.
Update: Apparently, according to IGN and other sources, dreamworks has responded to the overwhelming number of fans who complained about this. Though they were "aware of the issue for some time" they have finally done something. There is a new version with proper subtitles available now. The proper version has a "V4" along the spine. Further, dreamworks is offering an exchange program for fans unhappy with their coppy.
