I must mention the speech in American films is.... terrible, my one point of reference in "Jurassic Park", where Samuel L. Jackson
mumbles his way, then puts a cigarette in his gob, well that helped, yes, he should have been subtitled, but there are many American films of the same ilk," no bugger knows what the hell you are saying?" Me, I'm from the North, we speak free, either redub your bloody
films, or subtitles, your American street talk is lost over in the "true language" of your forefathers, strange how I can watch the old American shows but these people can enunciate, or can speak clearly, compare "Columbo" or "The Invaders" with how actors speak, or are recorded today, a world of difference in just a few decades. Makes a mockery of all these sound additions in cinemas, all this expense, when elocution lessons would have sorted it in acting school. Marlon Brando was made an example of bad speech, now it is the norm.

I cannot stomach Nicholas Cage films for the exact same reason! He drives me nuts. City of Angels would be brilliant with anyone but him in it.
He talks like he's constantly eating a grape!! Arghhh.

Exactly my point Andrew, modern actors, both British and American, the majority cannot enunciate, Myself, I am Cumbrian,
I accept there is a dialect, although I'm not aware, therefore when speaking to people in a foreign clime, I use the Queen's
English, there have been no misunderstandings on speech. I am not an actor, so would expect the same clarity from these
people, cockney slang or jive talk is not acceptable at Digirama prices, note the terminology, it is no less, cinema it ain't,
but the sound is deafening, the speech is inaudible!

Hahahahaha ! You should try some of our own Scottish "homegrown" films.
Even we Scots need subtitles in order to understand each others regional accents.

True David, where dialect dictates, but there are lots of Scots folk, I've worked with them, they are very clear in their speech.
looking behind their Scots "brogue", but my point is, especially the American and English soundtracks to film etc in recent years,
listening to the prologue to the TV series "The Invaders", one can hear every word of this, every consonant, pronounced perfectly.
with an American accent, which is lovely, these people can speak clearly. Pick any American show these days and fight to hear what is being said, usually among some rubbish music backup, unintelligible, the Brits are no better, tuned into a "comedy" last night, English, it should
have been subtitled, awful. I do like the accents of our neighbours, and my own countrymen, but these "actors these days CANNOT
enunciate, they mumble, sorry, but this everyday, "normal speech", is not acceptable, is it too much to ask these days?
My point is, old TV shows are perfect diction, especially American ones, what happened?