I am without a doubt the dumbest man on Earth

[AverageOldGuy]

So for weeks and weeks our daughter has told us we MUST watch the movie "Wicked."

I read the Wikipedia article on it where I found it was without a doubt one of the greatest productions of all times.

Tonight we found it on DirecTV OnDemand, rent, $14.95 for two days.

I gave up 20 minutes into it. Don't understand a word of it, can't follow the plot or the characters, cannot figure out what it's about, cannot understand most of the lyrics.

I'm too goddam old.

[Elessar Zappa]

1. What specifically didn't you understand?

Serious question.

[Faux pas]

2. I have no desire

to see it, they've killed any interest I might have had by advertising it so much it pissed me off.
So don't feel bad at least you tried.

[CentralMass]

3. It's not on my radar either. But I hear it's good.

[KentuckyWoman]

4. It isn't you. It's the sound quality

Almost anything made before 1990 I can watch without the closed caption pretty well at a reasonable volume. After 1990 it gets hit and miss, and anything after 2000 even with closed caption good luck. Even commercials. I can't understand any of the words because the other sounds are too damn loud. The mix is completely wrong.

I thought it was old lady syndrome but the youngers in my family have the same complaint.

[live love laugh]

11. SO true! I actually saw a small feature on the show Sunday Morning about close caption writers

Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2025, 02:20 AM - Edit history (1)

The close caption writer, they interviewed, said that many of the recent films are actually made with bad sound quality. (I wish I could find the clip — I’m going to look for it and I will post it here if I find it as he can explain it better.)

The biggest takeaway was that even the close caption writers themselves actually struggle to capture the words spoken in many programs. It has little to do with the audience. The issue is poor sound quality.

[live love laugh]

21. Found it! Why we're using subtitles more often while watching our screens

?si=8hoUe3SYBPad5JVj

[nuxvomica]

35. There's an underlying trend to all this

Filmmaking is, or should be, a form of theatre and in theatre "the plays the thing" but filmmakers no longer revere good dialogue like they used to. Most movies nowadays have no memorable lines or scintillating conversations because the soundscape and the visuals are supposed to tell the story. And if that's not enough to tell you what's happening, they add non-diegetic vocal music because the screenwriters can't convey the character's inner feelings without it. One of my favorite movies is My Dinner with Andre so that's where I'm coming from.

[allegorical oracle]

45. So agree. Seems films today rely so much on violence, too. My satellite dish has a

built-in DVR and I tape films. Many are Hitchcock and Merchant & Ivory. Enjoy story lines, twisting plots, lively dialogue...not two hours of explosions.

[TheProle]

84. Then you no doubt own the action figures....

[Rebl2]

44. Do they

purposely make movies with bad sound quality? I know some tv shows have music sometimes that, for me at least, drowns out what’s being said. It’s annoying.

[live love laugh]

81. The clip says that technology and sound effects are the cause.

Hopefully they will figure it out and fix the problem.

[duncang]

27. I bought a zvox soundbar.

I’ve had one for years. My first one went out after about 4-5 years. I mainly got it since I do have hearing problems.

It has some features other soundbars don’t have. It can lower background sound while keeping the voice range normal. It does take a little goofing with at first since there’s several options that may affect other options. But to me it’s been well worth it.

[Attilatheblond]

47. I stream TV and most streaming platforms allow me to adjust (in settings)

Sound to damping down music and other background sounds so dialogue is more clear to hear.

[moonscape]

78. Constant background music, which

seems to be getting louder and louder, is killing me!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

60. It's the same thing going on as in popular music

They fill the frequency spectrum so that there is sound in all the ranges all the time. Vocals are not isolated and highlighted. Likewise for films.

When Spector was doing it, it was called "a solid wall of sound", but even he knew to lay off it for parts of the song.

[cbabe]

68. Thanks for the education. Wall of sound: one guy has an idea. It

works for him. Imitators mess it up for years.

[LiberalArkie]

76. Turn off the surround sound and just set the audio for stereo. No dolby

[DavidDvorkin]

5. We have closed captioning on all the time.

[Intractable]

13. Closed captions (or subtitles) all the time in this house. Every movie, every show, every moment.

And I have great hearing and an excellent home theater.

[MadameButterfly]

16. Wow, I thought it was just me, or my penchant for foreign films

with a variety of English accents. Or the desire for natural effect over the old stentorian stage voices.

[Intractable]

19. There are two factors I see.

1. To movie directors, the sound is an afterthought.

2. On modern cable TV and Blu-ray disks, the video and sound are compressed such that the signals can fit into the allotted bandwidth, which is never big enough.

This is nothing new. People have been mishearing the lyrics to popular music since the advent of recorded media. When the lyrics mattered (e.g., Pink Floyd), they were printed in the album inserts.

In the famous song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the words the girl with kaleidoscope eyes were infamously misheard as the girl with colitis goes by.

[MadameButterfly]

22. I have one better

I thought Let it Be said "Mother Bear re-comes to me"

I can't believe I just admitted that on a public forum

[Intractable]

23. Ha ha. I think that one may be unique to you.

As for myself, at the time, as a child, I didn't realize it was a religious song.

Young as I was, I could see that Let It Be was a much weaker album than the mysterious White Album or the fun Abby Road.

[MadameButterfly]

26. Definitely unique to me

I think I was a little younger. I came to know the albums some years after they came out. I recall hearing "I've Just Seen a Face" on the radio and wondering why that wasn't just as good as a Beatles song. Then I learned it was a Beatles song. It's funny out of all the songs out there I could have asked that question about, it was a Beatles song I chose. Though it does have a folky western quality to it, so my confusion perhaps excusable.

[tavernier]

37. Religious song?

Paul is singing about his mother. Her name was Mary and she died very young. She came to him in a dream when he was having some emotional issues. It has nothing to do with religion.

[Intractable]

46. "It has nothing to do with religion."

Inspired by his mother, yes. But, a simple google search on "Let it Be lyrics" says that many feel otherwise, and that Paul wrote those lyrics in a manner open to interpretation, like so many Beatles songs.

Funny how the music sounds so churchy. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. There couldn't possibly be an intentional double entendre, between the name of his mother and that of Jesus.

[BannonsLiver]

50. 3. People in the thread are on the older side and may have hearing impairment

Occam’s razor.

[Intractable]

51. As stated earlier, I have excellent hearing and a sound system to match.

I wouldn't shave with that Occam's razor.

[Intractable]

56. I don't think you do. But, that's okay by me.

I'm also a sound engineer by trade.

You have a nice day now.

[EX500rider]

61. Actually Blu-ray has superior sound to streaming

Streaming uses a more compressed audio format. Blu-ray uses lossless master audio tracks like Dolby TrueHD/Dolby Atmos/DTS:X with an extremely high bit rate and the experience is incomparable.
4K even better:
4K Blu-ray discs offer advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS-X that are rarely offered on earlier Blu-ray discs. These upgraded formats allow 4K Blu-ray discs to support up to 16 audio channels, and the more channels that are supported, the better sound quality that is delivered.

[Emile]

36. The only time I don't have closed captions on is when

I'm watching sports. Watching "The Voice" it's the only way we can understand what the singer is singing, because they have the music too loud.

[NewHendoLib]

6. not at all our type of movie - no interest in seeing it.

[Skittles]

7. 15 bucks to watch a movie at home

NOPE

[Arazi]

42. Theaters near me are $12 plus

I’ll easily pay $15 to watch it at home with others. I love the ability to pause it when we want. Eat my own snacks. Replay parts we like.

And maybe watch it again the next day if we really liked it

[Polybius]

53. Other streaming services charge under $5 per movie to rent

The op paid too much.

[chia]

69. Rental rates are higher for recent releases or movies streamed concurrently with theater release

Example:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9218128/

[Arazi]

73. New releases that are still in the theater?

I don’t rent movies online often but I didn’t think $15 was out of the ordinary for blockbusters still in tier one theater release

[Skittles]

77. yeah but that is a MEGA BIG SCREEN

me, I will wait until I don't have to pay extra for a streamed movie, I never had the need to see something "right away"

[Orrex]

8. I'm not a musicals guy, but I plan to watch it.

Never saw the stage production, but the songs I've heard so far are pretty solid. "Popular" is an absolute delight.

[skylucy]

9. I thought it was just me that has to use closed captioning for a lot of the

newer movies. The sound quality is so bad. With all the new technologies, why is that?

[The Madcap]

10. Same issue with much music today

Not all, mind you, but so much is mixed with no dynamics, a ton of compression, and all gaps filled. It's like "oh, there's a gap between the bass and guitar. Add a big string patch to fill in the entire gap." What you get is a bunch of mud.

By the way, we saw it at the theater, and the sound was reasonably good. You might have an issue with your TV sound settings, depending on your setup.

[dgauss]

15. That seems to me like a pretty good description.

A lot of stuff sounds like mud to me too. The fact that it sounded good in a theater is interesting. My guess is that the sound mixing is done on higher end sound systems without enough regard for what might come out of a small, basic TV speaker. Seems ridiculous to overlook that but I can imagine sound engineers getting a little carried away with their high fidelity tools and not backtracking to the actual results on lower fidelity sound systems.

[NBachers]

30. I read the Jimi Hendrix used the pipe his music out to his car to see what it sounded like on a car speaker.

[MadameButterfly]

17. I think diction is taught less these days

in theater and music. I go to concerts where I can't understand any of the lyrics. Only the people who already know the music know what it's about. And others where I can, where the musician has made it a priority for the audience to hear the story. John McCutcheon, for example, you hear every word effortlessly in concert and in recordings. No need for liner notes.

[Meowmee]

12. I saw the broadway musical play a few years ago with friends

It was good. I didn’t know there was a movie. There’s a lot of movies I’m missing because of the pandemic, etc. but I will wait till they come online.

My all-time favorite, however, is still Cats which I saw a long time ago. I wanted to see Les Mis, but I never got to.

[SheltieLover]

25. I read article stating Wicked will be avail for purchase just adter 1/1

Enjoy!

[Meowmee]

83. Thanks 😀

I want to see the Bob Dylan movie first. I may actually go to the theater once I have immunity from my vaccinations. I just got the second set yesterday. And just wear a mask. My brother saw it and said it was good.

[John1956PA]

31. Nicole Parker was one of the first to play the lead.

I have been a fan of hers since she was a member of the cast of Madd TV in the 1990s.

[Meowmee]

82. I don't think she was in it when we saw it

I am terrible at remembering names, but I remember Kristin Chenoweth being in it… whoever played the lead role in Cats when we saw it, who was a fill In I think, whose name I also can’t remember now, had an amazing voice.

Since KC was in it, it was a lot longer in the past than I thought. I thought it was only like 10 years ago 😹

[John1956PA]

85. Years ago, Betty Buckley was the star of Cats.

Ms. Buckley way hailed as "The Voice of Broadway." I have enjoyed accessing YouTube videos of her 1980s performances on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. She is a very attractive lady. As an aside, I will mention that Ms. Buckley portrayed the ill-fated gym teacher in the movie Carrie (1977).

I caught a matinee of Les Miserables at the Majestic Theater in May 1996. It was presented on a revolving stage. The added comedic break of the scheming couple who ran the inn was amusing. The youth who potrayed the member of the insurgency did a great job. I may still have the playbill.

Contact me anytime you wish to discuss the theater.

[Meowmee]

86. Thanks I will 😁

I was just watching the various renditions of Memory on youtube after posting about this... I am not sure whose rendition I prefer in Cats most, Betty Buckley or Elaine Paige... I think now though listening to Barbra S on youtube it is hers maybe, and the lady who sang it at the one we saw 😁

*I just listened to BB again, she is amazing!

[obamanut2012]

14. Thw play has been out for 20 years

It is excellent

[hunter]

18. They now mix the sound for expensive home theater systems.

It used to be the sound track you heard on television and early DVDs was mixed for small town theaters with simple analog stereo sound systems. Big city theaters with sophisticated multi-channel sound systems got their own sound tracks.

My home television has an audio setting that's supposed to enhance voices and mix the audio track down to simple stereo but it's never as good as the old style analog sound tracks.

My wife and I watch everything with captions.

[kozar]

20. You might,

Want to spend a day with me,
And accept, you are the 2nd dumbest man on earth!

Koz

[Intractable]

24. I will not be one of the many who are "holding space" for this movie or the gravity song.

In my day, Disney movies were composed of hand-drawn animations (often reused from previous movies), and that's the way we liked it.

If I had young kids, I'd definitely take them to Wicked. As for myself, I'm sure I won't watch it even when it's available on streaming. Looks sugary sweet. I'm diabetic.

[LeftInTX]

28. Don't feel bad. I saw Star Wars 45 years ago and couldn't understand it. I still don't understand it!

Star Wars...I still don't know what the heck was going on in that movie. And the hottest guy on campus took me to see it. I had to "fake it".

When I had kids and they started renting it, I had the same problem.

Then I read an article: "Samuel L Jackson doesn't know what is going on with Star Wars". I felt vindicated!!! I was jumping up and down for joy. I found my soulmate. Then my son said, "Mom, it's not what you think. He doesn't know if he's gonna get the part."

Back to the drawing board. For a few minutes I felt vindicated.....

Oh well, I found a soul mate tonight. Even though the movie isn't Star Wars, I can relate!

[John1956PA]

33. A packed movie house in 1977 is where I saw Star Wars.

I did not understand the appeal. Alec Guinness's character going on and on about The Force lost me. I never had the interest to see a follow-up Star Wars movie.

[Polybius]

57. The second one is widely hailed as the best in the series

I was a small child when the original trilogy was released, and still have some toys left.

[wryter2000]

65. Same here

I was underwhelmed by the first movie and never bothered with the others.

[chia]

71. I miss standing in line for a blockbuster back when theater screens (and audiences) were huge. The shared experience

was part of the magic - now they're tiny theaters in 12-plexes. Just not the same.

[Kaleva]

87. I saw it while stationed in Orlando on liberty

[Polybius]

55. Which one didn't you understand?

45 years ago may have been Empire Strikes Back, the second one released. It came out in May 25, 1980.

[PJMcK]

29. Lots of problems with the movie

First, it’s ridiculously long! This film is Part One and corresponds to the first act of the stage musical. But it’s the same material and songs but it’s an hour longer! This makes following the story stretched out unnecessarily. I found myself ahead of the story and waiting for the plot to catch up.plus, there’s nothing like Hollywood mocking a cow…

Additionally, the songs felt chopped up with too much dialog interrupting the musical flow.

The cast, for me, was excellent except for Jeff Goldblum who is so mis-cast he’s laughable. Wait till you hear him “sing!”

The end of the film is light years more exciting, dramatic and plot-fulfilling than anything they did on stage. It’s just superior and almost made the two hours worthwhile.

The sound in movies today sucks and it’s geared toward people with low concentration abilities.

My advice is to skip Pert 2 and read the brilliant novel, Wicked, instead.

[WENSTJDON]

74. Wicked is a great book

I read it before I saw the play. And since, I have read the next 3 books in the series. I recommend all of them, if you liked the first book. Gregory Maguire, the author, actually gave the wicked witch the name Elphaba, as a nod to L. Frank Baum. The sound of his initials LFB.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

32. If you rented it for two days, ...

... you should have memorized all the words and should be able to sing along throughout.

What's it about? I think it's about singing along. It's the new "Rocky Horror Picture Show".

Series, thanks for the review. You saved me some money.

[NutmegYankee]

34. I don't have issues hearing movies, but that's because I'm into symphonic metal and power metal

I have the receiver sound system (multiple speakers and woofer) setups to properly play the complex audio. I particularly enjoy playing an LP on a nice turntable and pumping that into the receiver. Epica's "Design your Universe" is downright lovely on LP.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

38. Yeah, that movie sucked dog doo... gimme the original!!

[tavernier]

39. I've seen it twice at two different theaters.

I loved it both times but it was best when we sat quite close to the screen and really immersed ourselves in the story. It’s meant to be a large experience, and watching it at home on a tv screen is like taking a YouTube tour of the Grand Canyon. And I don’t understand the use of closed caption. For me it destroys the experience of watching a film, shooting my eyes back and forth to the words, missing the interaction and expressions of the actors telling the story. I don’t think movies have deteriorated. I blame cell phones. We rely on text messages as the visual and auditory world passes us by.

[BoRaGard]

40. Film is disappointing

but of course the will run out version II - not going to waste time on that

[Fla Dem]

41. Loves WICKED!! Didn't think I was going to like it, thought it was a kid's movie, but

Went to see it in the theater just after Christmas. All daytime shows were sold out. We got tickets for 7:30 show. Was hoping I would stay awake through the end (lol). I use subtitles all the time at home. While it's not possible in the theater, I didn't need it.

The movie was FANTASTIC!!! The first hour was a bit slow as the plot and characters were being set up, the last hour and half was over the top. The music was great throughout. I really enjoyed it. While I was concerned it would be overly geared to younger people, (not Seniors) this movie held my attention right to the end. Did not want it to be over and I'm looking forward to Part 2.

Oh and I didn't doze off.

[robbob]

43. Since I watch tv alone,

For movies and many shows I use Bluetooth headphones; it gives my that theatre quality sound without the need to invest in a big sound system. Without them, for movies especially, I can’t make out half of what they are saying. Especially newer releases; TCM channel sounds just fine; watched Hitchcock’s Spellbound last night and understood the dialogue perfectly well.

[BannonsLiver]

48. Classic DU curmudgeon thread up and down the line.

I. Am. Dying.

Chef’s kiss to all involved! Absolutely magnificent.😘

[Polybius]

59. I love that word!

[EX500rider]

62. Question: Are you using the stock speakers with your TV?

New flat screens have small speakers on the back of the unit which gives a muddy tinny sound IMO

They are designed to be used with a aftermarket sound setup like a sound bar or a full system like I use with a subwoofer, center speaker & 4 surround sound speakers in the corners of the room.
Mine is a 1,000 watt Sony I got at a pawn shop for $80.

[LilElf70]

63. Ya know, for what we are charged to view recent movies,

the very least I expect is high quality sound, which includes the ability to hear and understand EVERY word. Why this movie has not accomplished this, is beyond me.

[cbabe]

64. Can we talk about radio voices? Where have

all the engaging voices gone?

So many are nagging and borderline hostile or whispery or screechy.

They push the listener away like a mean kindergarten teacher instead of welcoming one into their story.

My major daily whine.

Ps my recent hearing test put me on top of all metrics. And I’ve given up on many film/tv recordings.

[Ms. Toad]

67. Not just radio voices,

But the NPR penchant for backing voices with music or other distracting sounds. I'm constantly reaching for my phone before I realize it's just the radio playing music behind the voices. And I worry about my mother, whose hearing aid largely just amplifies all sound - so she can't distinguish the voice from the music.

[cbabe]

72. Yep npr is a culprit. I wonder if good voices left public radio and are making podcasts and money

Or npr has poor equipment. I noticed poor sound during COVID. Lots of at home broadcasts of poor quality. Seems to have hung over.

Maybe talk to an audiologist for helpful tips for your mom.

[Ms. Toad]

66. Rewatch the wizard of Oz for context clues.

There are a lot of very direct references that help you understand the plot.

[Iggo]

70. The story sounds interesting.

I seem to remember the main characters from an obscure little technicolor film from back in 1939. Talking scarecrows and flying monkeys and such.

[cksmithy]

75. It could be your tv's sound setting.

I have a Roku tv that you can adjust the sound settings from standard, speech, theater, music, big bass and high treble and auto. I have it set on speech and use headphones if not wearing my hearing aides for tinnitus. If tv is set on theater, for example, I hear the sound effects of people walking the across the road and mumbling voices, not people talking as they walk across a road. Having the sound set to speech makes a big difference. It makes voices or speech very prominent. I also have the cc on all the time in case I miss a word. Our old tv's all had an audio setting on the tv main menu for the tv's settings, like color, size ratio, audio, etc. Hope this helps and you still have time to watch. I have never seen Wicked, but I hear it is good.

[cyclonefence]

79. Won't you join my campaign to pronounce it "wick'd"?

It'll make you feel better.

[PCIntern]

80. No...maybe this guy is:

Two old guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on a park bench one morning. The 87-year-old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath. The 80-year-old was amazed at the guy's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy. The 87-year-old said, "Well, I eat Jewish rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies. You'll feel like 40 again!"

So, on the way home the 80-year-old stopped at the bakery. As he was looking around, the saleslady asked if he needed any help. He said, "Do you have any Jewish rye bread?" She said, "Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?"

He said, "I want five loaves." She said, "My goodness, five loaves! By the time you get to the 3rd loaf, it'll be hard."

He replied, "I can't believe everybody knows about this rye bread but me."