Is my copy of Hard Boiled a fake? (1 Viewer)

I just purchased the Winstar/Fox Lorber version of Hard Boiled off of ebay. The cover looks identical to the original i see at Blockbuster. The disc looks very similar to my Winstar version of The Killer, which i know is legit. It seems to be the same kind of disc. The label looks like the same kind of print and paper The Killer has. So what bugs me?

Well it seems the case is different than other people's case of Hard Boiled. Its an Amaray case, but a different style. The other versions i see come with a Winstar insert card for The Count of Monte Cristo. This one has one too, but it uses a different kind of paper.

Do companies ever change the style of Amaray case they use?
This one is suppossed to be brand new. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

By the way, i double checked, the insert card is the same. So the only difference is the case....

Anybody know if companies change the case of their DVDs?

Only the biggies (aka hundreds of thousands/millions of orders) can specify what kind of case they want. They can indicate a preference, but if they're out of Amaray or Alpha they switch to the other hubs.

Sounds legit

Was it used? Maybe the person who owned it changed the case.

-ian

Often times discs are released with slightly different keepcases. Even more so when you have a title that has been out for a while and been pressed numerous times. But even on brand new hit titles I would often get a new releases at the video store I worked at, that came with a different keepcase than the copy I bought for myself at Best Buy. Hell with Universal's dvds, I have seen titles in which we would get 2 copies at the same time and each would have a different case.

As long as the insert, artwork and actual dvd are the same. It's nothing to worry about

Everything was the same except for the case. It is "claimed" to be new, but there was no security sticker on the top of the case even though it was sealed. After i saw that, then i got paranoid. I contacted the seller and they said that they ordered it from a now out-of-business company called Valley Distribution. The seller claimed they were the largest music distribution firm on the West Coast.

So i checked the web for this so called company and found no results. Maybe someone here may have heard of this company and knows if they have a "shady" history....

The seller claims that some of the lesser known CDs and DVDs they buy from them didn't come with security stickers.

The optimistic side of me says that it would be too much trouble to make a bootleg with the exact same kind of disc, cover, region encoding, label, and insert. It looks absolutely identical, except for the fact it has a different case.

Tony, distributors don't often have easy to find websites. Honestly, I'm 99% sure you're OK, and I'm Mr. Bootleg alarm

Thanks Jeff, i know you are. I've read many posts regarding similar matters, and you were always helpful. I just love this movie and i wouldn't mind buying another copy if i had too.

I've always wondered if my Criterion version was real or not because there is a glitch halfway through which no review has mentioned.
In the scene outside of the restaurant when the guys come out and see all of the newspaper over their cars, right before Tony Leung hits Chow Yun Fat with the gun the frame freezes and then moves onto the next frame which is also frozen but the audio coninues to play. After a few seconds it continues as normal. I don't think it's a layer change.
Happened to anyone else?

the info on Valley is correct.
I visited the warehouse in 2001, which was AMAZING.

FEW

there is a big story about what happened to Valley - quite interesting.

anyone curious?

[raises hand]



Kyle

Well Chris, what are you waiting for? Don't leave me in suspense....

lol,

like watching 24. anyone else think they should call the 2nd season 48?

alrighty...Valley was aggressively growing in 2001 with DVD expansion, retailers folding due to competition - you know when all the coupons started drying up when B&Ms got into the fray.

they started distribution for CD Now etc.
watching the order process and assembly line was amazing. this is probably similar to the stories told about DVD Express' operation.

my supplier simply logged in orders into the B2B database, and it was ready for pickup within hours. My DVDs and CDs were ready to go on the plane with me! lol.

anyway, studios started shrinking the distribution channels, ie. valley got left out of product, forcing to buy sideways etc. obviously orders dropped, costs went up. and the obvious but also incredulous happened. CLOSED.

the studios did this to get a better markup etc, and the usual politicking that goes on in the distribution business.

this was 2 months after I visited.

I will be visiting my supplier in his new location in January (with his new distributor), and swing by Vegas for CES.

will also check out rental stores there to see what they've come up with.

was that worth the wait?

Thanks Chris! Very interesting. I didn't know they were that big and supplied retailers such as CDNOW. Shows how much i know about stuff. Well, thanks to Valley for my LEGIT copy of Hard Boiled!

they didn't supply CD Now, they were actually filling orders for them (their virtual warehouse).