Hi

Though I know what they talk after reading a novel, I wonder why no English subtitles appear over Italian conversation between Michael and Sollozzo in a Italian restaurant. I remember that English subtitles appear on other Italian conversations in other scenes.

Is it becasue subtitles interruput the tense of this scene? What do you think?

Regards,
Rio

I always figured it was because you can pretty much guess what they're saying, nothing new.

it's because at this point michael hardly speaks italian, so we don't know what solozzo is saying. later in sicily, michael now has more knowledge of italian, that's why there are subtitles!

I am not sure about this particular scene, but in many other scenes, the english subtitles are present in one version and not present in other versions. In my collection GF2 has no english subtitles, so I can't understand a single thing that Vito, Genco, Clemenza, Tessio, Roberto, Ciccio etc speak
Luckily I have watched the movie on TV, where there was english subtitles.

I think you got a defective film sfig .Seriously thought, you have no subtitles on Part 2

It is the VCD version released in Asia by a distributor of Paramount in this region. As usual, customers here don't mean anything to them. It is the same story whether one buys books or CDs or digital cameras or whatever. I envy you guys in US

I think it is because even an English speaking audience can figure out what is being said... and remember, Michael breaks into English pretty quickly once he sees McCluskey is more interested in the best veal in the city than he is in the conversation.

The first piece of Italian dialogue is when McCluskey orders the veal and Sollozzo says "Capice?" to the wwaiter who says, "si."
Then he turns to Michael and points to his face (which McCluskey had bashed) and says, "Mi dispiace (I'm sorry)" which Michael waives off.

Then he says "Io, Io voglio pace" (I want peace)
and .."ma tu padre pensa d'antica" (your father thinks the old way," the emphasis is onthe words "dispiace," "pace" and "padre pensa antica"
those phrases are pretty easy to figure out, and of course then the conversation turns to English.

In sicily the conversations are more complicated, and the sicilians are speaking rapidly to one another, because they speak the language. When Sollozo speaks to Mike in the dialect he speaks slowly because he knows Mike struggles with it.

I also think that FFC used it as a device, just as they used the approaching el train. At the point when Sollozzo is really talking, Michael's thoughts are all rushing around in his head. He's not really paying attention to Sollozzo, but is content to let him babble on, since he's about to kill him. Michael is nervous, and if you listen carefully, the sound makes it seem as if Sollozzo is almost mumbling. I believe the lack of subtitles was a device to show Michael's state of mind at that moment.

DonT,

When Sollozo says "Antica" is that a loose translation for "thinking the old way"...THICK in his head?


Don Cardi

I thought I understood part of what Sollozzo said to Michael at first as saying that he greatly respected Michael's father. Something like: grande respecto patera. Or something like that.

~~ Lollie

Oops...actually, Sollozzo said something like, "Grosso respecto padre." Grossly respects his father. No?

~~ Lollie

Yes Lollie, he does say he has "grosso rispetto" for his father, which translated wwould mean "great respect." Incidentally, this is grammatically incorrect Italian. The correct way to say it would be "rispetto grosso."

I'd say "grande rispetto"

Maybe it is a dialect thing. Where in Italy are you from Lavinnia?

Rome. Do you speak Italian, DT?

Rome. Do you speak Italian, DT? [/QB][/QUOTE]
Si. Studiavo a Firenze multi anni fa. Ho dimenticato molto ma posso parlare mezzo mezzo.

WOW!!! Your Italian is good!
What brought you to Florence?

Stop me when I'm getting too nosey!!!

I always thought that we were at Mike's point of view, the train tracks were rumbling, Sollozzo was babbling in italian, then "bada-BING blows his brains all over his ivy league suit!"

Oh my goodness, do you know or have the transcript of the Sicilian conversation in that scene? I'm dying to know what exactly is being uttered (couldn't care less what exact English translation is, as it's pretty clear from the context). It would fit in well with my over-the-years "hobby," as it were, of memorizing as much of the film's dialogue as possible. Since I don't speak a lick of Italian, I've had to get by on phonetically GUESSING what's going on, so I'd come up with the following:

SOLLOZZO: (TO MCCLUSKEY) I'm gonna speak Italian to Michael.

MCCLUSKEY: Go ahead.

SOLLOZZO: (TO MICHAEL) Eddie's biyatchay?

MICHAEL: E saleed.

S: Good... Tu eyes a vee-ay. A keeta goza chezgra a mia tu padre. A un goza de bisinis. Eh? I un grozza respect a pa tu padre. Moltu padre. Benza banteek!!! E tu mo loah capide. Kay-AY-oh! Son o more di amore.

M: Como deddyyyyyy.... sssssstikose. Ay such.

S: Row sigh ay.

(and so forth)

SOLLOZZO: (TO MCCLUSKEY) I'm gonna speak Italian to Michael.

MCCLUSKEY: Go ahead.

SOLLOZZO: (TO MICHAEL) Eddie's biyatchay?

MICHAEL: E saleed.

S: Good... Tu eyes a vee-ay. A keeta goza chezgra a mia tu padre. A un goza de bisinis. Eh? I un grozza respect a pa tu padre. Moltu padre. Benza banteek!!! E tu mo loah capide. Kay-AY-oh! Son o more di amore.

M: Como deddyyyyyy.... sssssstikose. Ay such.

S: Row sigh ay.

(and so forth) [/QB][/QUOTE]


Montauk that is some phonetics! If yu have the rest I can translate.

What you have is this

Sollozzo to Michael -- I'm sorry (this is about Michael's face)

Michael - (roughly translated) Its nothing.

Sollozzo - Good. You have the way (literally) figuratively it means You understand whats going on here. This thing between me and your father ...it is a thing of business (as in its just business, not personal). I gave great respect for your father, but your father's thinking is old fashioned, and you know it. The last sentense is something about honor, and then...

Michael How do you say... these things.....

lol i didnt understand a thing u wrote "Eddie's biyatchay?" do mean Mi dispiace, but anyway the reason im pretty sure why they dont have subtitles is becuase it is a long dialoug and Coppola didnt like putting to many on the scene becuase it ruins the moment. He only does it when it is absolutly nessecary.