Does anyone know of any DVDs that use Spanish of Spain as their Spanish. While I am in Spain, I would like to purchase some DVDs which are in Spanish with the option for English subtitles. I know that many DVDs in the US have Spanish as an option, but most seem to be in 'south of the border' Spanish. I am looking for simple, fun movies for my kids(and myself) - not the typical, award-winning, strong Spanish films.

I don't know where or if these exist but I would be careful with taking dvd's outside of their area of origen. Dvd's are coded by region. USA is in Region 1 along with Mexico and Canada. Europe is in another. Dvd's from one region will not play in Dvd players or another. Hope you have success!
Geoff

you can play spanish movies in the us using a region free dvd player. another option is to connect to ur tv using an s-cable coming from ur laptop or pc. try ebay or code free dvd

movies u may like and that are very palatable for most age levels: el abuelo, el milagro de p.tinto, LA NIÑA DE TUS OJOS (this one is excellent), muertos de risa

some that are excellent but more for adults: los amantes del circulo polar, airbag, tesis,
lucía y el sexo, torrente 1: el brazo tonto de la ley, torrente 2: misión en Marbella, sin noticias de dios, el espinazo del diablo, juana la loca

I know that the VHS format is not compatible, but I thought DVDs were all the same. Does anyone know for sure?

I answered my own question on the internet. I will revise my original question.....

Has anyone encountered any DVDs for region 1 that have a good Spanish of Spain sound option? The pronunciation in most that we have are more 'south of the border' Spanish.

all dvds are not the same..this is a certainty. however much i hate this but its true you don't have to take our word for it however..a simple search on ur own will affirm our responses. or, try this link dvd region article and dvd demystified for an explanation of dvd region coding.

i myself have an s-cable running from my laptop to my tv which allows me to watch foreign movies without purchasing a region free player.Laptops are made for travel and therefore they will play all DVDs. to avoid being locked out on ur laptop shareware can be downloaded.

if u want to "hack" ur present dvd try this link
dvd hacks or search google have fun watching spanish flicks!!

ps: the movies i mention above are all spanish movies so its castellano. dvd go has an excellent compilation of spanish movies and ships around the world.

NOT the same, I got into trouble with this last summer... If you buy the DVDs in Spain, they are coded for a certain region.. When you get back to the states they will NOT work in your dvd player, unless of course it is one of the specail ones which doesnt register the locked region.

you can buy a decoder that will read european dvds though. i dont know what is the name of it. u can ask at some informatic shops.

You'll find a lot of Spanish movies on DVD don't have any audio options such as subtitles. The exceptions are those which originally found a distributor abroad for theatrical release, ie the more marketable Spanish movies, Almodovar etc or Oscar-nominated ones. You can pick up Spanish movies for a small extra price on Saturdays and Sundays at the moment when you buy El País, but none of those I've bought yet has English subtitles as an option.
As to regional codes, you'll find you can hack most players by looking for your magic code on the internet. Find one the sites, look for your exact model, and type in the numbers on your remote. It takes about 7 seconds and hey presto!
I turned my Europen rgion player into a universal one (Zone 0) and now enjoy I Love Lucy, sent by kind friends in California.

i too would recommend going on the net to find a region free player. i bought a region free player which works fabulously (apex). all of my dvd's which i just bought in dec/jan play. it's amazing. it costs a bit more than what you can buy at best buy/circuit city/etc. but so worth it.
Barry: if you have any requests...