Criterion 'Notorious' - for $5 (1 Viewer)

[Douglas R]

This isn't correct because Universal recently released a 2 disc Spartacus which contains all (or practically all) the Criterion extras. A few years ago Buena Vista issued a 2 disc region 2 version of The Rock which also contained all the Criterion extras. So they DO licence material.

 

[Matt Czyz]

The selling of these Korean versions isn't exactly hidden at all, and seem to be found at reputable websites. If these versions are, as Criterion says, *not* legitimate, why is Criterion not doing anything to have them taken off those websites for purchase? It wouldn't be too hard to get the sites to stop selling them if Criterion tried hard enough. Their inaction only bolsters the idea that they are not bogus, IMHO. If I was a bigger fan of these particular movies, I'd be all over this.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Have you ever tried to stop copyright infringement in Korea?

DJ

 

[Bob Movies]

Brian - Have you been out to Pacific mall? I'm thinking of making the trip this weekend to see what's available locally.

Bob

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

A couple of titles out of the thousand odd films Criterion has worked on does not make it the norm, and as I stated earlier, at least with the majors it would make sense if it allowed Criterion access to other studio titles.

The Korean situation makes no sense.

As for the discs being openly sold, it again comes down to how easy it is to do something about it. If there isn't an agreement in place between the US and Korea about IP infringement, doing anything about it is next to impossible.

 

[David McIntosh]

AFAIK, the R2 disc of Chasing Amy has its extras licenced from the Criterion version too. And that's selling for UKP 7 at Play.com right now.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

CHASING AMY is one of the few Criterions that actually sells for a low price in the states. I think you can usually find it for around $14.99 US. Same went for ROYAL TENENBAUMS which was streeted at a pretty low price.



Bob

Pacific Mall rocks. There's a fair amount of discussion of that place, and others nearby (not to mention recommended stores), over in the "Asian Cinema on DVD" thread in this forum, probably somewhere between pages 3 and 7, if I recall correctly. It's a bit of a quest to find legit stuff anymore, but it's there, and it's usually super cheap because those retailers have to compete with the bootleg outlets. Somewhat surprisingly, many of the bootleg places sell some legitimate product as well, mostly VCDs or de-listed DVDs of Hong Kong titles on labels like Universe, Mei-Ah and MegaStar titles. Lately, I've found a TONNE of this stuff going for $5 apiece, down from $7.50 earlier this year.

My girlfriend and I are currently making plans for the Canada Day weekend and one of our choices is Toronto, which means I'll probably be heading up to Markham/Richmond Hill to do a little hunting. She's Korean so very little arm-twisting is required to get her into the Asian malls.

 

[Mark_vdH]

In the case of Spartacus and Do The Right Thing, amongst others, Criterion actualy licensed the film for R1 release from the studio. It would make sense if licensing the extra features to that studio for release in another region is part of the bargain.

 

[Gary Tooze]

Pacific Mall is okay, as long as you don't have to park there... But I have seen some REAL bootlegs there...

Cheers,

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Parking's only bad depending on the day you're there and how close you like to park to the stores you go into. Me, I like a little walk between the car and the mall, so I park on the fringes.

Weekdays, including Fridays, are probably the best days to go to Pacific Mall. That place goes nuts on Saturday and Sunday, with people literally prowling the lot for ages waiting for a parking spot to come available. Better selection on the weekdays too.

If the lot is full, park at the Staples plaza just a teensy bit east on Steeles. It's only about a three minute walk and there's rarely that many cars there.

Or better yet, head up to First Markham Place on Highway 7 in Richmond Hill. From the street, it doesn't look like a Chinese mall, surrounded as it is with Chapters, Winners, Cineplex Odeon etc. But the mall proper is a great place to find deals on Asian movies.

 

[Damin J Toell]

A thousand-odd films? Their DVD catalog is currently at 256 (including boxsets that have a number of their own) and their LD catalog was up to 384, with many titles overlapping between the two catalogs.

Anyway, Criterion has made it a much more regular business practice to license out their supplements in recent years. Anchor Bay UK have released a number of titles with licensed Criterion supplements (Time Bandits, Mona Lisa, The Long Good Friday, etc.), along with various supplements having been licensed out for US distribution to Fox/Image (Bodies, Rest and Motion), New Line (Once Were Warriors), and Columbia (Monty Python & The Holy Grail).

DJ

 

[Bob Movies]

I think I'm going to take the long subway and long bus ride out there tomorrow (I live downtown, so it's quite a haul!)

Brian, I read your tips about which stores to shop at in the Asian Cinema on DVD thread - thanks very much for the guide! One quick question though - are there any stores you recommend that sell both Asian and North American DVD's? I'm very new to Asian cinema so I'll probably end up buying both!

Thanks,

Bob

P.S. This is kind of off topic, but for those in the Toronto area the Royal Cinema (608 College St.) will be showing the martial arts movies "Dynasty" and "Revenge of the Shogun Women" in 3-D. I saw "Revenge" two years ago, and it was amazing! So many incredible 3-D effects, not to be missed. "Dynasty" is playing at 9:45 on Friday August 6, and "Revenge" is playing at 7:00 on Sunday August 8. If you've never seen a 3-D martial arts movie in the theatre, you haven't lived! There will be more info up at www.festivalcinemas.com closer to the dates.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN is absolutely phenomenal. None of that anaglyphic red-lens/blue-lens crap. This is full blown polarized 3-D in which, for once, things really DO jump OUT OF THE SCREEN!!! I saw this about two years ago and was flat out blown away, having only seen crappy anaglypic "3-D" videos up until that time and one 3-D movie, SPACEHUNTER, in the theatre back in the 80's. My only regret about this upcoming showing is that the damned thing's on a friggin' Sunday! I tried to take my girlfriend to it last year and the big power outtage across central North America scotched the deal. Now I'm bummed.

Sorry I couldn't respond in time to your request for stores, Bob. I was away for the long weekend. Hope you found some good deals. You may have noticed some of those stores actually do sell American films, TV sets, etc, but I'm not sure this is the place for me to vouch for their authenticity.

By the way, do you have some kind of advance word on the Royal Cinema's Kung-Fu Friday's presentations? I've tried to plan little getaways for me and my gal around them, but always end up with either so-so movies or missed opportunities. I usually check the website you listed or www.ultra8.com but I suspect the info's available on the street before it gets posted online.

 

[Brian PB]

Again, to reiterate, Criterion has NOT licensed any of their disc contents to Korean producers. I received this reply from Criterion's John Mulvaney this morning:


Individual forum members can continue to call Criterion liars on this subject, but it is apparent to me that you are supporting bootleggers when you buy these Korean knockoffs.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

That was pretty much the same reply I got, Brian. I don't know how much clearer they can be.

 

[Kai Penttila]

Somewhat off topic, but this reply from the webmaster of the KoreanDVDs message board in last November to a query about a dodgy Disney title, tells something about the e-tailer’s business practices;

“I was alarmed to find out that they [the dodgy Bambi DVD—still sells for $12] are indeed Disney version. There are other disney titles from Skycinema, a minor studio specializing in public domain titles, but I never bothered to try to watch it. We only checked out the Bambi and it clearly states in the beginning ‘copyright by Disney.’ We've sold other versions of this studio's animation series and never heard anything from Buena Vista/Disney Korea. We are assuming that it is in fact in the public domain.”

 

[Estevan Lapena]

I'm finding it somewhat difficult to find a lot of films that I would be interested in on this site. If it's not to hard, could there be a list posted on what Criterion items the store is selling?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

There are NONE. They are bootlegs, as Criterion has stated to at least a few of us.