Hero Woes
It's no secret to any of the Listology regulars that I'm a fan of Zhang Yimou and to a lesser extent Hong Kong cinema and kung fu movies in general. So I've been looking forward to Hero, Zhang's first martial arts film, with great anticipation. Unfortunately it looks like Miramax (a company I am growing to hate) might be up to their old tricks. Rumor has it Miramax is planning on cutting the movie from 2 hours to 90 minutes, and it won't see limited US release until November of 2003! IMDb seems to believe the release date rumor, and this post seems to confirm some pretty bad cuts.
I've been developing a general sense of Miramax's misdeeds over the past few months, but in my morning's research I found a great site dedicated to the issue. Their FAQ is excellent. They list the movies Disney (Miramax) has the rights to, and where possible list the cuts made. And I thought this essay was quite good. I'm definitely going to explore this site more.
Jim, you'll be pleased to know (unless you knew already) that Hero is China's selection for this year's Foreign Language Film Oscar. If it makes the cut and gets nominated, of maybe even if it doesn't, I think that gives it a much greater chance of making it to the U.S. intact.
Thanks Dan! I hadn't heard that. I do hope you're right that that increases it's chances of not getting chopped up. I'm hoping Miramax limits it's sabotage to merely meddling with release dates as part of its typical Oscar gamesmanship rather than making cuts. I'd rather wait for two years than only see 75% of the movie.
Well, here's a positive review of Hero, anyway. Anybody out there have experience with region-free DVD players? Miramax may push me into a life of crime yet.
Jim, do you really think of a region-free DVD player as illegal?
I certainly feel justified in finding a way to watch a movie from my favorite director that Miramax is trying to prevent me from seeing. However, I think the DCMA makes it illegal to circumvent any kind of copyright or distribution-protection mechanism. Hell, the DCMA probably makes it illegal for me to even think about it. Not sure about any of that, but I do suspect region-free players are technically illegal, as must as I dislike that law.
So with the post above not only would I be breaking the law, I'd be knowingly breaking the law. If I get a player I better make sure I delete this thread! :-)
Well, I remember that the original Apex DVD players were region-free. Here's an old article from Wired News on them. If I remember correctly my brother bought one but I'll have to ask him to make sure. Anyway, I think if the Department of Commerce let them sell the product in the US I can't see how they can turn around and say it's illegal. I'm going to have to do some digging and see if you can even buy any DVD player domestically that has region-free capabilities.
This FAQ says it's legal. Shows what I know!
Here's how matters stood last time I heard. They may have changed. And I'll try not to sound too much like John Travolta discussing drug laws in Pulp Fiction.
When you buy a DVD player, it is yours. Do as you will. If you want to jump on the Internet to learn how de-regionize it (and it ain't too hard), then go for it. Technically, it will invalidate your warranty, so think about it first.
From what I understand, you can also buy a region-free player without breaking the law. The person / company that modified and sold it to you, however, did break the law. The modifing and selling is illegal, not the possession or buying.
I am no expert, however, and I have heard that the wording of these laws is pretty ambiguous, so anyone who actually knows what he or she is talking about should feel free to leap in and correct me.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
what a rip-off. I've been cheated several times over. well, now I know what to look out for. thanks for the heads-up, Jim.
That's really a shame - both the waiting and the cuts. Here's hoping for the best, but with that info, I may slightly downgrade (or even hold off a bit) Hero on my list, which really needs to be updated anyway.
Thanks.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs