Bootleg DVDs on Amazon.

So far, I have bought all of my Region 1 and Region 0 bootleg DVDs from eBay
and other bootleg sites. These bootleg DVDs are titles that have been
abandoned in Region 1 by the studios that own them, such as _Song of the
South_ (1946), _Girls Town_ (1959) and _King Kong_ (1933). Ducking in and
out of eBay in an attempt to grab bootleg DVDs before the sales are
cancelled can be a real challenge.

But, all of this cloak and dagger stuff may be coming to end because bootleg
DVDs are gaining acceptance as a viable alternative when legitimate studio
releases are not available. I hope that as bootleg DVDs gain widespread
acceptance the quality of bootleg DVDs will get better and their prices will
drop.

Now that Amazon is selling bootleg DVDs, the day may soon come when we can
walk into Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Costo and buy high-quality, well-packaged,
reasonably-priced bootleg DVDs. Better yet, when the studios that are
refusing to release popular bootleg DVD titles see the huge popularity of
these movies, they may actually release official studio versions.

I am glad to see that bootleg DVDs have now become an acceptable offering in
Amazon's video lineup. The negative customer feedback on some of these
titles will provide an incentive for the bootleggers to find better source
material from which to make a better product. An Amazon search has turned up
27 homemade DVDs from Cheezy Flicks Entertainment, including these titles,
complete with customer reviews:

Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster (1964)
"This is a cheap bootleg. Do not even waste your time looking at
anything beyond this review. Why is this even on Amazon?"

Death at Love House (1976)
"The quality of the DVD, it is just awful, even a old vhs would be
better !! It is just a shame to sell a DVD with such poor quality, the
sound is terrible and the image is even worth !! 5 stars for the movie,
0 for the quality (only because you can not give negative rates !!)"

Star Knight
"Unfortunately there is a flaw, and it is a huge one. The producer's of
this DVD should have spent a little more time on it. The audio and video
don't track together, with the audio being about one second ahead of the
visual. This renders the entire movie into bad comedic farce.
Unfortunately the effect is not entertaining, but rather is a headache.
I would have to recommend that you avoid this film, at least until some
other company creates a viewable version."

King Kong (1933)
"The video quality of this _King Kong_ (1933) DVD from Cheezy Flicks
Entertainment is about the same as the NTSC VHS source from which it
appears to have been copied. The DVD has a pasty looking picture which
suffers from a total lack of contrast and there are occasional VHS-style
video dropouts. The picture is off centered to the left and has
excessive overscan. The "deleted" scenes are all way too dark. The crude
cover art is composed of fuzzy screen shots. This Region 1 NTSC disc was
made on a DVD burner."

Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster (1964)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...125699-6530320

Death at Love House (1976)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

Star Knight
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

King Kong (1933)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

http://store.cheezyflicks.com

One-Shot Scot

One-Shot Scot wrote on [Fri, 10 Dec 2004 07:28:04 -0800]:
> But, all of this cloak and dagger stuff may be coming to end because bootleg
> DVDs are gaining acceptance as a viable alternative when legitimate studio
> releases are not available. I hope that as bootleg DVDs gain widespread
> acceptance the quality of bootleg DVDs will get better and their prices will
> drop.
>
> Now that Amazon is selling bootleg DVDs, the day may soon come when we can
> walk into Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Costo and buy high-quality, well-packaged,
> reasonably-priced bootleg DVDs. Better yet, when the studios that are
> refusing to release popular bootleg DVD titles see the huge popularity of
> these movies, they may actually release official studio versions.

These are not for sale by Amazon but by the same people that sell them
on ebay. They come from the same place.

Just because it's listed as a marketplace offering doesn't in any way
shape or form mean Amazon is selling them. Amazon is only acting as the
middle man. The Amazon marketplace has always been a questionable place
to buy from, but since it's "part of the amazon experience" it gets much
more benefit of the doubt than it should.

Justin

"Justin" <> wrote in message
news:...
> One-Shot Scot wrote on [Fri, 10 Dec 2004 07:28:04 -0800]:
One-Shot Scot wrote on [Fri, 10 Dec 2004 07:28:04 -0800]:
> But, all of this cloak and dagger stuff may be coming to end because
> bootleg DVDs are gaining acceptance as a viable alternative when
> legitimate studio releases are not available. I hope that as bootleg
> DVDs gain widespread acceptance the quality of bootleg DVDs
> will get better and their prices will drop.
>
> Now that Amazon is selling bootleg DVDs, the day may soon come when
> we can walk into Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Costo and buy high-quality,
> well-packaged, reasonably-priced bootleg DVDs. Better yet, when the
> studios that are refusing to release popular bootleg DVD titles see
> the huge popularity of these movies, they may actually release
> official studio versions.

<<These are not for sale by Amazon but by the same people that sell them
on ebay. They come from the same place.>>

<<Just because it's listed as a marketplace offering doesn't in any way
shape or form mean Amazon is selling them. Amazon is only acting as the
middle man. The Amazon marketplace has always been a questionable place
to buy from, but since it's "part of the amazon experience" it gets much
more benefit of the doubt than it should.>>


Yes, far too much benefit. I was ripped off by a lying, cheating Amazon
Marketplace seller and as a result, I never ordered again from Amazon
Marketplace. The overall negative feedback for Amazon Marketplace
sellers is far worse than the overall negative feedback for eBay
sellers.

I originally thought that the Cheezy Flicks bootlegs were available only
from the Amazon Marketplace. However, of the 27 Cheezy Flicks bootleg
DVDs listed on Amazon, these 8 titles are available directly from
Amazon, in new condition and with FREE Super Saver Shipping:

The House On Haunted Hill (1959)

She Freak

Shark

Horror Planet

Star Knight

Death at Love House

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)

Adios Amigo

One-Shot Scot

This is a fascinating thread. Now people complain about unreliable service
for illegal product from a major company. Unreal.

luminos

"luminos" <> wrote in message
news:...
> This is a fascinating thread. Now people complain about unreliable
> service for illegal product from a major company. Unreal.


Illegal product? If that were true, how could Amazon be featuring so
many bootlegs available DIRECTLY from Amazon, in new condition and with
FREE Super Saver Shipping? Everyone assumes that bootlegs are illegal,
but whatever their status, they are gaining acceptance as an alternative
to non-existent studio DVDs.

I too had assumed that bootlegs were illegal and I'm sure that the some
of the titles offered to me on the street and at flea markets might be
questionable. Current box office attractions, such as _Alexander_ ,
_Ocean's 12_ and _Polar Express_ are obviously in this gray area. (Well,
actually, I doubt that there is much demand for _Alexander_. When and if
this title ever makes it to DVD, it will immediately sink to the bottom
of the Wal-Mart bargain bin.)

On the other hand there are many movie titles that have been totally
abandoned in Region 1 by their owners. Take _King Kong_ (1933) for
example. Originally made in the USA, this title is available on DVD all
over the world -- everywhere but in the USA. The USA has had VHS and
LaserDisc versions of this title, but no DVD. Since Warner has shown no
interest in releasing _King Kong_ on DVD in the USA, what could be the
harm in buying a bootleg DVD version of this title? Warner certainly
isn't losing any money.

Same thing for _Song of the South_. Originally made in the USA, this
title has been made available on VHS and LaserDisc in Europe and Asia.
But there has never been a USA release of this title. Because Disney has
no interest in releasing _Song of the South_ on DVD in the USA, what
could be the harm in buying a bootleg DVD version of this title? If
Disney wants to make money on _Song of the South_ in the USA, they
should release the title on DVD.

What about _Girls Town_ (1959) with Mamie Van Doren? Republic has given
this title little consideration, with the last slap in the face being
the Extended Play (6-hour mode) VHS release of this title. I bought this
version that Republic calls a "6-hour QEP mode" (Quality Extended Play
mode) and of course, its quality is awful. The initial limited VHS
release of _Girls Town_ was done in the traditional Standard Play
(2-hour mode) , which I have rented from a local video store, and its
quality was on par with traditional VHS tapes. I finally located an
original SP VHS tape of _Girls Town_ on eBay and it is currently being
shipped to me. However, if the quality of this tape turns out to be
unacceptable, I will look into getting a bootleg DVD version of this
title. Once again, Republic is losing nothing because of my purchase of
a bootleg _Girls Town_ because they refuse to release this title on
DVD. Besides that, because I bought their piece of **** QEP mode tape of
_Girls Town_, (as well as an original SP mode version) I have paid the
price to legally watch this title. The bootleg DVD is simply a backup
copy of a title which I have already paid to watch.

Buying Bootleg DVDs of movie titles that have been abandoned by their
owners doesn't hurt anybody.

One-Shot Scot

If the copyrights have expired they are not bootlegs anymore. They are now
whats called public domain titles, BIG DIFFERENCE.

Anyone that wants to release the title can do so. Unfortunately everyone
will try and you will end up with many difference versions out there all of
them being complete trash.


"One-Shot Scot" <> wrote in message
news:YJadncbjvKRNjCbcRVn-...
> "luminos" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > This is a fascinating thread. Now people complain about unreliable
> > service for illegal product from a major company. Unreal.
>
>
> Illegal product? If that were true, how could Amazon be featuring so
> many bootlegs available DIRECTLY from Amazon, in new condition and with
> FREE Super Saver Shipping? Everyone assumes that bootlegs are illegal,
> but whatever their status, they are gaining acceptance as an alternative
> to non-existent studio DVDs.
>
> I too had assumed that bootlegs were illegal and I'm sure that the some
> of the titles offered to me on the street and at flea markets might be
> questionable. Current box office attractions, such as _Alexander_ ,
> _Ocean's 12_ and _Polar Express_ are obviously in this gray area. (Well,
> actually, I doubt that there is much demand for _Alexander_. When and if
> this title ever makes it to DVD, it will immediately sink to the bottom
> of the Wal-Mart bargain bin.)
>
> On the other hand there are many movie titles that have been totally
> abandoned in Region 1 by their owners. Take _King Kong_ (1933) for
> example. Originally made in the USA, this title is available on DVD all
> over the world -- everywhere but in the USA. The USA has had VHS and
> LaserDisc versions of this title, but no DVD. Since Warner has shown no
> interest in releasing _King Kong_ on DVD in the USA, what could be the
> harm in buying a bootleg DVD version of this title? Warner certainly
> isn't losing any money.
>
> Same thing for _Song of the South_. Originally made in the USA, this
> title has been made available on VHS and LaserDisc in Europe and Asia.
> But there has never been a USA release of this title. Because Disney has
> no interest in releasing _Song of the South_ on DVD in the USA, what
> could be the harm in buying a bootleg DVD version of this title? If
> Disney wants to make money on _Song of the South_ in the USA, they
> should release the title on DVD.
>
> What about _Girls Town_ (1959) with Mamie Van Doren? Republic has given
> this title little consideration, with the last slap in the face being
> the Extended Play (6-hour mode) VHS release of this title. I bought this
> version that Republic calls a "6-hour QEP mode" (Quality Extended Play
> mode) and of course, its quality is awful. The initial limited VHS
> release of _Girls Town_ was done in the traditional Standard Play
> (2-hour mode) , which I have rented from a local video store, and its
> quality was on par with traditional VHS tapes. I finally located an
> original SP VHS tape of _Girls Town_ on eBay and it is currently being
> shipped to me. However, if the quality of this tape turns out to be
> unacceptable, I will look into getting a bootleg DVD version of this
> title. Once again, Republic is losing nothing because of my purchase of
> a bootleg _Girls Town_ because they refuse to release this title on
> DVD. Besides that, because I bought their piece of **** QEP mode tape of
> _Girls Town_, (as well as an original SP mode version) I have paid the
> price to legally watch this title. The bootleg DVD is simply a backup
> copy of a title which I have already paid to watch.
>
> Buying Bootleg DVDs of movie titles that have been abandoned by their
> owners doesn't hurt anybody.
>
>

Biz

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 07:28:04 -0800, "One-Shot Scot" <>
wrote:

>So far, I have bought all of my Region 1 and Region 0 bootleg DVDs from eBay
>and other bootleg sites. These bootleg DVDs are titles that have been
>abandoned in Region 1 by the studios that own them, such as _Song of the
>South_ (1946), _Girls Town_ (1959) and _King Kong_ (1933). Ducking in and
>out of eBay in an attempt to grab bootleg DVDs before the sales are
>cancelled can be a real challenge.
>
>But, all of this cloak and dagger stuff may be coming to end because bootleg
>DVDs are gaining acceptance as a viable alternative when legitimate studio
>releases are not available. I hope that as bootleg DVDs gain widespread
>acceptance the quality of bootleg DVDs will get better and their prices will
>drop.
>
>Now that Amazon is selling bootleg DVDs, the day may soon come when we can
>walk into Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Costo and buy high-quality, well-packaged,
>reasonably-priced bootleg DVDs. Better yet, when the studios that are
>refusing to release popular bootleg DVD titles see the huge popularity of
>these movies, they may actually release official studio versions.
>
>I am glad to see that bootleg DVDs have now become an acceptable offering in
>Amazon's video lineup. The negative customer feedback on some of these
>titles will provide an incentive for the bootleggers to find better source
>material from which to make a better product. An Amazon search has turned up
>27 homemade DVDs from Cheezy Flicks Entertainment, including these titles,
>complete with customer reviews:
>
>Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster (1964)
>"This is a cheap bootleg. Do not even waste your time looking at
>anything beyond this review. Why is this even on Amazon?"
>
>Death at Love House (1976)
>"The quality of the DVD, it is just awful, even a old vhs would be
>better !! It is just a shame to sell a DVD with such poor quality, the
>sound is terrible and the image is even worth !! 5 stars for the movie,
>0 for the quality (only because you can not give negative rates !!)"
>
>Star Knight
>"Unfortunately there is a flaw, and it is a huge one. The producer's of
>this DVD should have spent a little more time on it. The audio and video
>don't track together, with the audio being about one second ahead of the
>visual. This renders the entire movie into bad comedic farce.
>Unfortunately the effect is not entertaining, but rather is a headache.
>I would have to recommend that you avoid this film, at least until some
>other company creates a viewable version."
>
>King Kong (1933)
>"The video quality of this _King Kong_ (1933) DVD from Cheezy Flicks
>Entertainment is about the same as the NTSC VHS source from which it
>appears to have been copied. The DVD has a pasty looking picture which
>suffers from a total lack of contrast and there are occasional VHS-style
>video dropouts. The picture is off centered to the left and has
>excessive overscan. The "deleted" scenes are all way too dark. The crude
>cover art is composed of fuzzy screen shots. This Region 1 NTSC disc was
>made on a DVD burner."
>
>Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster (1964)
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...125699-6530320
>
>Death at Love House (1976)
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd
>
>Star Knight
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd
>
>King Kong (1933)
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd
>
>http://store.cheezyflicks.com
>

TROLL

trollbuster@notrolls.com

<> wrote in message
news:...
> TROLL


Thanks for identifying all of the pesky trolls who have infested this
newsgroup and repeating everything they have written.

Those who do verbatim quotes of every word written by every troll do
nothing more than expand troll threads. Every copycat troll post just
adds more content and more credibility to the original troll thread.

I like your approach; A troll who quotes other trolls.

What a great idea!

Keep up the good work.

TROLL

One-Shot Scot

<> wrote

> TROLL

And quoted a lot more to demonstrate that she is an idiot.

John Howells

John Howells

In article <>,
<> wrote:
>On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 07:28:04 -0800, "One-Shot Scot" <>
>wrote:

>>So far, I have bought all of my Region 1 and Region 0 bootleg
>>DVDs from eBay and other bootleg sites. These bootleg DVDs are
>>titles that have been abandoned in Region 1 by the studios that
>>own them, such as _Song of the South_ (1946), _Girls Town_
>>(1959) and _King Kong_ (1933). Ducking in and out of eBay in an
>>attempt to grab bootleg DVDs before the sales are cancelled can
>>be a real challenge.

....


>>King Kong (1933)

>>"The video quality of this _King Kong_ (1933) DVD from Cheezy Flicks
>>Entertainment is about the same as the NTSC VHS source from which it
>>appears to have been copied. The DVD has a pasty looking picture which
>>suffers from a total lack of contrast and there are occasional VHS-style
>>video dropouts. The picture is off centered to the left and has
>>excessive overscan. The "deleted" scenes are all way too dark. The crude
>>cover art is composed of fuzzy screen shots. This Region 1 NTSC disc was
>>made on a DVD burner."

My copy of King Kong looks wonderful. Complete with the Universal
opening color logo, a making of king kong documentary and some
other features.

I'd region 2 PAL but there are so many players that can handle that
you shouldn't have too look to far.

Just go to amazon.co.uk . If you have an Amazon account it works
at the other sites too, Canada, England, Germany, France, and I
don't know if there are others.

I got mine from the UK. With the dollar/pound ratio chaning
drastically the 7 pounds will be close to $14US .

Why bother with bad looking bootlegs when you can get looking
DVDs.

Bill

--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com

Bill Vermillion