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Bilingual Covers (1 Viewer)

stephen^wilson

Stunt Coordinator
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Jun 16, 2002
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246
i received my copy of The Sum Of All Fears today and was annoyed to find that it was another english/french language cover.I know that by canadian law,if a dvd also contains a french soundtrack then the studio has to release a bilingual cover,but i would like to know if the cover only applies to canada or have the studios have released the discs with these covers in the U.S. as well, as i would really prefer the cover just in english.
 

EricW

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Jan 1, 2001
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only in canada, only some studios. there's another thread for this, i don't know the link offhand... one person posted a website that goes into detail about exactly which studios do what with regards to their bilingual packaging.
 

Kimmo Jaskari

Screenwriter
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Feb 27, 2000
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1,528
Its pretty annoying for us foreigners as well because the easiest R1 retailers to order from internationally are either canadian or sell canadian discs.

I could live a long and happy life without ever having a bilingual english/french cover on my discs... but that's not as bad as when they mangle the disc contents, which happens too on occasion.
 

jacob w k

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 17, 2002
Messages
172
It's only the cover but it is pretty annoying. Seperate covers for each language and a reversible cover would be much better.
 

ChadMcCallum

Second Unit
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Sep 8, 2002
Messages
438
Yes. I've held off on getting quite a few dvd's because of bilingual covering. I hate it and pray that the LOTR:EE won't have it.
 

Neil Joseph

Senior HTF Member
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How is this for an idea. How about they ship a sticker that contains all of the information located at the rear cover artwork and make the label in the alternate language that you can stick over the other language?
 

EricW

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Jan 1, 2001
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LOTR: EE won't have it (thank God) because the disc doesn't contain a french track.
 

Shane Bryant

Agent
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Mar 29, 2002
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40
LOTR: EE won't have it (thank God) because the disc doesn't contain a french track.
Actually, I read in a thread either here or at another forum that it WILL have a french track, but WILL NOT have bilingual packaging (this is all from Alliance Atlantis though - so no proof).
 

Florian B

Agent
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Jun 20, 2002
Messages
35
FYI: DV-Depot (Canadian retailer) lists in the disc specs if the Canadian version does have bilingual artwork. Sometimes they even show the Canadian cover, but the info in the specs is more reliable.
Best way to handle this issue, is releasing two seperate versions (one English, one French). BV and Warner do it that way. Very nice.
 

Sam_K

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 15, 2001
Messages
62
I have no problem with bilingual covers. The world is multi-lingual anyway. What's wrong with bilingual covers? If the disc is multi-lingual, the covers being multi-lingual is fine.
 
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
31
Sam it's not a question of the world being multi - lingual but being that having 2 languages on a DVd cover make it look horrible.. I now buy all titles from those studios which use bi-lingual packaging from the US and all others from Canada.. it's a shame really as Canadian DVD's are a lot cheaper to buy..
 

Simon Basso

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
125
I will never understand this.

Do you not watch the films then, just sit and stare at the box for two hours?
 

Gui A

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 25, 2000
Messages
596
Here's last week's thread on the subject...
Here's who's doing it... and here's the why.
It's only supposed to affect one province, Quebec. but studios like to save money, so they treat the whole country the same.
Personally, Alliance Atlantis/Universal and Paramount have lost my business in Canada. I either order them through Amazon.com which bypasses customs, sometimes it comes out cheaper than getting them here. Otherwise, I'll get them next time I'm in the States.
And the reason I hate bilingual covers is that they're aesthetically unpleasing. I DO look at the cover.
 

ChadMcCallum

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 8, 2002
Messages
438
I take pride in my collection and I have them sitting on my shelf. Everytime I glance at them the french titles on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Lord of the Rings (my only bilingual covers) catch my eye. I'm drawn to those first instead of my Anchor Bay tin's, Book of the Dead case or neon green Re-Animator. I should be drawn to those first but I'm not. The french text look's really bad and it really bothers me and I'm sure french people don't like english on their cases. The stupid thing is these covers are reverseable but both sides have french on them. It also ruins nice, special covers like Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. It just look's bad.

Neil Joseph that's a good idea. What they could also do is have a bilingual insert (like the one that came on the back of the metal T2:UE sets) that you put in the back of the case under the plastic so the cover isn't permently bilingual. I would be happy if they did that.
 

Neil Joseph

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Actually, if they printed duplex (on both sides) with English on one side and Spanish or Frrench on the other side then you could simply take the artwork out of the keepcase and reverse it. That would be even better.
 

Jeff

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
949
Simon, for me, I am a collector of DVD's. Packaging and all. I want the original cover, the way the studio intended. I do not want the print on the back of the cover to be twice as small so they can put in a language that I don't speak. Also, if anybody decides they want to sell one of their bilingual covered DVD's, have fun. They are worthless outside of Canada. If you Ebay it, no one from the US will bid on it. Unless you don't mention and don't picture the cover.



Jeff
 

JasonRH

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 8, 2001
Messages
496
Does anyone know the policy on Candadian distributers adding language tracks to existing releases? I checked the US version of the original release of LOTR at a few U.S. sites and they only list english tracks. The Canadian version, however, also has a french track and thus, bilingual packaging. So, did the Canadian distributer add a language track that wasn't present on the original release?
 

Jeremy Allin

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 6, 2001
Messages
895
Actually, if they printed duplex (on both sides) with English on one side and Spanish or Frrench on the other side then you could simply take the artwork out of the keepcase and reverse it. That would be even better.
I also think this would be the perfect solution, however, I'm sure companies are not at all willing to double the ink consumption used to make the covers by putting one version on each side.
Why this wasn't the case for LOTR is a real head-scratcher. They had both languages on both sides. :confused:
 

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