OTHER TECH

Less Red Tape Foreign studios and independent distribution companies also aren't forced to contend with the same rigid rights and licensing issues American distributors encounter on a regular basis. In the U.S., not only do multiple parties have to sign off on a film release (which, depending on the nature of their contracts, can include everyone from the producers, to the directors, to the actors involved), but domestic studios and distributors are forced to adhere to the rules established by a variety of organizations including the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and the Directors Guild of America, just to name a few.

Moreover, when studios like New Line and Dreamworks are dismantled and absorbed by other production houses, catalog ownership disagreements enter into the mix. It's this sort of red tape that delays major releases and buries catalog classics. These are the reasons Tarantino fans in Japan have seen more Kill Bill than we may ever. For the same reasons, fan-favorite films are available on Blu-ray in other regions, but strangely absent in the US.

Higher Demand Maybe it's just because I live in Western Maryland, but all my local video stores slap multiple warnings on foreign releases that feature phrases like "this movie is subtitled" and, I kid you not, "caution . . . you have to read this movie." I can't tell you how many times I've been waiting in line and endured the rants of a fellow customer demanding their money back because the actors in a film like The Orphanage didn't "speak American." Seriously, am I living in 1952?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling out people who genuinely have a difficult time sinking into a film when they have to deal with subtitles. I'm taking a shot at an infuriating attitude in this country that suggests foreign films are somehow lesser films. Fact is, other countries are more accepting and supportive of imported titles than the United States. As a result, European and Asian distributors are able to take bigger risks and flood their markets with more diverse titles.

Fan Appreciation Have you ever seen some of the special edition DVD sets released around the world? You can get the Alien Quadrology bundled in an elongated alien head, the Predator series packed in a dreadlocked noggin, the original Hellraiser flicks in a puzzle-box, and the entire Charmed television series in a latched chest made of real wood.

I know every collector doesn't have room on their shelves for such elaborate releases, but you have to admire how generous foreign studios and distributors have been to their consumers. Recent domestic releases have dabbled in similarly elaborate special editions (the 5-disc Blade Runner silver case and the upcoming Planet of the Apes Blu-ray box set are good signs that this trend is invading the States), but series fans in the UK and Japan have a lot of super-hyper-ultimate packages to get excited about.

Is It All Doom and Gloom? Thankfully, no. When it comes to high definition releases, US studios are taking a far more aggressive leadership role than they have with DVD by way of Blu-ray disc production, exclusive content development and implementation, consumer adoption, and overall profits. Take one look at a recent BD release like 'Sleeping Beauty' (a classic film, gorgeously remastered and overflowing with fantastic special features) and you can see that US studios are still fighting to sharpen their competitive edge. Best of all, extensive rental services like Netflix have made a point of stocking thousands of foreign films and niche titles you can't easily find anywhere else. Their selection may not begin to touch the endless list of the world's films, but it's a nice start.

Unfortunately, with a stumbling economy, it's unclear if these positive trends will continue to develop over the next few months or years. Here's hoping American film fans continue to sample and demand more films from around the world. How to Take Advantage of the Spoils Before the advent of Blu-ray, DVD importing was severely limited by strict region coding: Unless you purchased an expensive region-free DVD player, were comfortable paying outrageous prices, and swallowing ridiculous shipping fees, you were stuck with whatever US studios decided to toss on store shelves. Thankfully, times have changed. You can easily pick up an affordable region-free DVD player, find plenty of online sites that offer import discs at fairly reasonable prices, and take advantage of the hundreds of region free Blu-ray discs on the international market.

For the most part, Blu-ray studios have abandoned region coding to allow their consumers to import titles at will. To their great credit, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Brothers all release region-free BD discs, both at home and abroad. Most independent international Blu-ray distributors share the same philosophy. As it stands, Disney, Lionsgate, and Fox are the only major worldwide studios that still region-lock their releases (I attempted to obtain explanations from studio reps but received a variety of answers that contained the words "no" and "comment" in some form or another).

To safely and confidently import Blu-discs, you only need to visit two websites: a region coding resource (Blu-ray Region Codes is the most reliable, extensive site I've encountered) and an online retailer that ships internationally (Amazon UK and other international Amazon sites, as well as smaller boutiques like exploited cinema are my personal favorites).

Of course, the price of imports will always be higher than waiting for a domestic release, but for the impatient, the independently wealthy, and the pessimistic alike, it's often worth the cost. Happy hunting!

Kenneth Brown is a staff writer and reviewer at High Def Digest.