Egyptian films began to appear on DVDs in 2002 subtitled into English and French. The new technology brought opportunities for marketing one of the major industries in the country: cinema. However, close examination of the subtitling of films on DVD reveal that the practice is not without some serious problems. The practice of treating Egyptian films as linear texts and without proper training in film semiotics; the subtitling fails to enhance what otherwise would be a marketable product. Subtitlers, eager to complete their “translation” on time fail to see and account for non-verbal communication in film and thus contribute inadvertently to damaging the very product they were contracted to promote. The paper looks at the current practice of Arabic DVD subtitling into English. It will focus on the English subtitling of one of Omar Sharif’s most enduring films A Man in our House.

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Case Study

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