Would you sue over a DVD . . . the Japanese would (Spirited Away)!!! (1 Viewer)

[Sean Laughter]

http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=10473
Sorry if this was already posted elsewhere. So what are people's thoughts on this. Certainly a way to go about things, maybe those with sync problems on Moulin Rouge should think of such a tactic! I kid, I kid!

 

[Max Leung]

Um...so is the Japanese DVD version of Spirited Away truly defective or not?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

The answer would be "yes". If it doesn't look like it did theatrically, then it is defective. Disney has been trying to weasel out of it by claiming they calibrated the image to plasma screens, which is nothing more than BS. IMO of course.

 

[Sean Laughter]

Calibrated it for Plasma screens? That's an "inventive" excuse Given the "red" thing it's almost like it was mastered at 6500k.

 

[Brenton]

What a load of crap. Some people are sick sick sick to the core. $81 damages?? Those nimrods ought pay Disney $81 for being so damned idiotic.

Next thing you know, they'll eat the discs and sue Disney because they didn't include adequate nutritional information to tell them that it's unhealthy and will make them overweight.

 

[Todd Bennington]

Well, bearing in mind that it's the top grossing film EVER in Japan, people may be a bit particular about it. What's crazy is that Disney thought it foist a sub-par version of such a widely seen and widely loved film without getting some serious fallout. Not that I think they'll succeed (having no knowledge of the Japanese legal system), but I say anything that brings Disney under closer scrutiny is worthwhile. Film fans often feel helpless when they get shafted by crappy transfers but in this case it's not a bunch of DVD fanatics but plenty of Japanese soccer moms as well. All I really care about is that they fix this problem for the R1 release.

 

[Tim Fleming]

Brenton said:

What a load of crap. Some people are sick sick sick to the core. $81 damages?? Those nimrods ought pay Disney $81 for being so damned idiotic.

What is idiotic about bringing a major company to account for trying to foist sub-standard product on an unsuspecting public and then refusing to admit that they had made an error? And really, sick sick sick to the core?? :rolleyes

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It's called

"Oh crap, Miyazaki requested we give the red a little push to compensate for the red issues on LCD and plasma screens (becoming quite popular in Japan) and we pumped it by about 5-600% more than it needed to be(that's the figure a Toshiba techncian gave on another forum). Hmm, it'll cost us millions to recall and repress all those discs, so we'll put it out and see if anyone notices, and when we run out of these, we'll put out a corrected disc and replace the 50,000 or so that give a shit"

Total Fight Club Car Company logic

 

[EricW]

have you guys seen the Reservoir Dogs SE? it's the same except instead of red being pushed it was brightness. makes you wonder how some "supervised" transfers can get through.

 

[Damin J Toell]

The answer would be "yes". If it doesn't look like it did theatrically, then it is defective.

Then I guess every disc of every 35mm film is defective, since no DVD looks like 35mm film.

DJ

 

[JohnS]

WOW!
Just when I was about to order this and a region free player.
Maybe I better hold off on the DVD for now, untill the mess is straigtened out.

 

[Brian Kidd]

It's still a rather frivolous lawsuit, considering the court costs, lawyer fees, etc. involved. It's just a DVD, fer goodness sakes! Call the company, send letters, make noise, but don't tie up the legal system. What's wrong with people nowadays?

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Well if they win.. I'm gonna sue over every 4:3 and non-anamorphic title I own!

Even if it is frivolous, perhaps their legal noise will cause studios to wake up and realize there are people out there who actually care about picture quality.

 

[Dave F]

If a company sells a defective product and refuses to recall or even stop selling it, why is it frivolous?

-Dave

 

[Chris Hopper]

I just hope this doesn't cause delays in the American release....

 

[Ted Todorov]

I just hope this doesn't cause delays in the American release....

I hope it causes them to do the American release *right*.
Ted
Here is a Slashdot article on the subject.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I think it's cool that the Japanese take these things seriously. If Disney learns to serve their videophile interests in the process, we can all eventually get region-free players and get all our Disney DVDs from Japan. Maybe *then* we can watch Beauty and the Best on a projection system without the distracting mosquito noise we have on the R1 disc.
The sad thing is that the Japanese public apparently have stronger and more solid concerns about these types of issues than does the average memeber of this forum. I doubt we could get as avid a group on this forum to care as much about an issue that unnecessarily compromises the image of one of our beloved DVDs to take some *real* action to communicate to a studio and not just moan and whine to each other on some thread. I'm not suggesting that we sue Disney...but then again...it's an interesting thought. I'd like to take them to task for cutting off 1/3 of my Muppet Treasure Island and giving me no choice. Anyone with me?

 

[Edwin-S]

Maybe *then* we can watch Beauty and the Best on a projection system without the distracting mosquito noise we have on the R1 disc.
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Is this on the platinum edition of Beauty and The Beast ?

 

[Max Leung]

If this lawsuit results in a corrected version of Spirited Away (meaning that it serves the director's intent for home viewing), then I am all for this suit.

What choice do these consumers have, if the company refuses to correct the problem, now that it is proven?

Your .sig is very ironic, Brian:

Support Film Preservation before it's too late!

 

[Brenton]

What is idiotic about bringing a major company to account for trying to foist sub-standard product on an unsuspecting public and then refusing to admit that they had made an error? And really, sick sick sick to the core??

There's nothing wrong with being disappointed in a film's picture quality and lobbying for a corrected version. What's "sick sick sick to the core" is to attempt to sue them over it. And $81 damages! What damage could it have possibly done?

They are wasting valuable government time and money by abusing the legal system.