They Are All Melons

December 3, 2012 4:10 PM

After seeing this hilarious summary of mistranslated subtitles for Chinese versions of Harry Potter films, I thought it would make a good gift for a friend. However, I'm having a hard time finding a place to purchase the amusingly subtitled versions.

Does anyone have any experience with actual DVDs with content like this? I'd like to avoid buying a bunch of Chinese versions only to find the English subtitles are correct. I realize these likely come from bootleg releases, but I feel like I've given enough of my money to the HP franchise to offset a transgression for the sake of a humorous gift.

In summary, where can I buy these?

posted by Cogito to shopping (2 answers total)

From my experience getting DVDs lke this was rather hit-and-miss. Sometimes the subtitles were spot-on, and sometimes they were hilarious, but you couldn't know either way unless you sat down and watched them. And asking to do that for every single DVD, before you buy, would try any shopkeeper's patience.

My guess is that it's nearly impossible to get DVDs like this unless you already are in China or have ready access to some place that sells bootleg DVDs from China. But somebody might know otherwise.
posted by ditto75 at 5:34 PM on December 3, 2012

You can try eBay and look for fansubbed DVDs. That's how I came in possession of some interestingly subtitled movies.
posted by patheral at 6:21 PM on December 3, 2012