Love and Bullets Hong Kong DVD Review Column #3: What happened to Web Alliance/Anti-Miramax Effort?

The Unraveling

Since there hasn't been updated to the official anti-miramax site I thought I might give an overview of the project from the start to where it is now from what I know.

Some History...

When DVD's arrived on the scene, early adopters of the format looked forward to their favorite movies getting released in what was being touted as a superior format to VHS and laser disc. For fans of Asian films, it was hoped that this would be
a great opportunity. Imported laser discs were very expensive and VHS tapes were usually not in the original aspect ratio and dubbed in English. VHS tapes were also pricey at times because they weren't always priced for the retail, only rental.
DVD's offered more for a lot less. The growing popularity of the Internet also increased avenues of purchasing legitimate releases so what could go wrong? It seemed that it was a great time to be a fan of these movies.

And for a short time it was. It didn't matter that some US companies were releasing cut and dubbed movies. There was a choice not to buy them because legal Region 0 DVD's were available in plenty of places. Then all of a sudden, something happened. Asian movies got popular in the United States. Stars like Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan were appearing in more American movies. John Woo was directing Hollywood films. Yuen Woo Ping was also choreographing action scenes in American films. US companies such as Miramax went on a feeding frenzy to snatch as many movies from these well known stars as they could. Some of the movies are classics while the kindest thing that
can be said about some is that they feature early performances by the stars mentioned above.

They also set out to lure talent that was enjoying success at the time such as Steven Chow. Chow's movies were acquired simply so that they could be owned by Miramax. Proof being that after these were acquired, a well known author of Asian film commentary was asked what these movies were about and if they were any good.

The hammer then dropped. Out of the blue, Tai Seng sent out a notice that it was immediately pulling titles out of print. A short time later, within weeks, US based online e-tailers were notified that there was a list of movies that they could not
sell because Region 1 distribution rights were owned by Miramax, Dimension, and Buena Vista. In the theaters, IRON MONKEY was getting prepped for release to attempt to capitalize on the success of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

TEST AUDIENCE...

In most theaters on the weekends you sometimes get asked if you would like to see a free movie. A friend was asked if they would like to see a new kung fu movie called IRON MONKEY. They said sure, and I went to. We were told when the movie
started that it was a work in progress and that alternate music was being used. Hmm, OK. This movie was finished in 1993 and they considered it a work in progress. The movie was subtitled which prompted a few "oh, I have to read this movie"
comments when it started. The temp music sounded like it was pulled from SHANGHAI NOON. I noticed a few needless cuts and waited for the little comment cards when the movie was over. I added comments to leave the film as intended when it was released in 1993. When handing out the cards the workers made comments explaining how to fill them out. They would say, "you don't like subtitles, do you? Put that on the card." They had put together a 'focus group" which consisted of college age, Mtv fashion victim, wannabe director types. They wanted people who had no idea that there were watching a movie that already had a theatrical run in Hong Kong. They didn't want me.

Enough...

While most webmasters did their own little parts to let word out that movies were becoming available, there wasn't a central location where everything was available. To see which titles were made unavailable one could look to HKFLIX.COM, where titles were listed but carry a disclaimer that they are not allowed to be sold because the distribution rights lie with Miramax, Dimension, Buena Vista, etc.. There was some public outcry on the forums such as cityonfire.com and asiandvdguide.com.
A petition was created that singled out Miramax and the website was born. In the beginning, there was a lot of support. Several web sites did what they could to spread the word. Some individuals took it upon themselves to list cuts and changes to movies. This was a pretty big movement at the time. Occasionally there'd be mention in the media, such as Entertainment Weekly, or MSNBC.COM. I would get into "test screenings" and report what changes were made and tell others how to get in, too. It was a very exciting time in many ways. These were people from all around the world working together to protect the movies they loved.

So what Happened?

Anybody that has a website knows how difficult it is to maintain it and balance real life obligations. This and maybe a little loss of interest played a part in the lack of updates by the webmaster. His contributions to the cause are greatly appreciated and he did what nobody until that time could, which was to give a central voice for everyone's concerns. Lack of updates has not changed the relevancy of what is included on the site. The only thing that may have changed is the list of movies since it appears that Miramax/Disney doesn't own the rights to all those listed anymore. The cut lists are as solid as the day they were written although new ones are not being added.

The cause goes much deeper than the site itself and it does seem that interest has died down from people in general. One reason is all region DVD players. Movies that are not available in Region 1 in any form can be purchased from other regions.
People also have a choice if they want the cut and dubbed US version of a movie or the uncut one from another country over the internet. (If people in the industry don't like this, well, tough. There is a market for something and you aren't providing it. People will go elsewhere. When people buy your dubbed movies and become interested in Asian Cinema, they quickly abandon you and seek out the original versions. You lose anyway.) Aside from two movies, even people staunchly against cutting and dubbing of movies for the Region 1 market have lost interest because they can still see the movies they want to.

Another reason that not much has changed is probably one that is often overlooked. It may come as a shock to people, but there are still a lot of people who don't use the internet at all, let alone for movie information. Most people who work in the industry are too busy doing their jobs to check internet forums for fan opinion. This may be changing but very slowly. The only way to reach these people would be to take out a costly ad in Variety or the Hollywood Reporter. Most mainstream,
non-Asian movie related DVD sites would normally defend the cause but will not publish anything without opinions from the players involved. Most of these stars are currently working in Hollywood so they will not say anything negative about the companies employing them.

There is one more reason to think about. Most people don't care. To them, Asian films are poorly English dubbed kung fu movies and nothing more. Nothing will convince them otherwise. To each there own.

What would I have done differently? I think there were some choices made that may have limited the scope of the site.
This is only my opinion and in no way undermines what anybody else has done.

For one, singling out Miramax/Disney etc. may have turned people off. They are one of many who cut and dub films. Yes, they are the worst offenders on Earth but it's obvious when people see the lists of movies that are cut and dubbed. I understand that the site was in direct support of the petition to Miramax but I think a petition could have been made to other companies as well. Letting the site serve as an educational piece on incomplete Asian films released in region 1 might expand interest to those who may not be interested in Asian films per se, but interested in the preservation of all films in their original forms as intended by the director. There are plenty of "Disney/Miramax Suck" types of web sites out there.

Something that annoyed me a bit can be found here, http://boycott.crowfans.com/. Fans of the CROW were boycotting the release of The Crow: Salvation because they felt Miramax wasn't supporting it. Miramax actually asked them to stop the boycott. As far as I know, Miramax may have been watching the appeal site but never contacted anybody willing to talk about the issues. While the fans of The Crow couldn't change how Miramax handled the theatrical release, they at least let Miramax know there was interest and had more attention paid to the DVD box set. The boycott was dropped due to reasons mentioned in the link above. At least there was some sort of closure. Miramax only sent e-mails to Asian film related web sites asking to run Shaolin Soccer ads for goodies. This was for the cut theatrical release which I wouldn't support. The Shaolin Soccer DVD was too late. Miramax could have jumped at the opportunity to turn the negative publicity into something positive but they didn't. Yes, the Shaolin Soccer DVD has the uncut version with the original language but
so many people were prepared for the worst that they had already bought the import. All in all, the Crow Fans did something right that we didn't. I wish I knew what it was.

Things also need to reach past the internet. People who don't shop online may not even know that original versions are available elsewhere. Worse, people may think that the versions they are buying are as the were originally intended.

The Future...

With the state of Miramax today who know what will happen to their catalog of Asian releases. Hopefully what ever is done will not take so long that we miss out on DVD releases all together and have to wait on the next format to come out. This
affects even the Shaw Bros. releases in the US. As for the other companies involved, most have gotten the hint that there is a demand for uncut movies in their original language. Fox has been doing fantastic with their Fortune Star releases. While older titles where hit or miss, Columbia/Tristar seems to be making sure new properties are released with the original soundtracks. Occasionally they release something that was planned a long time ago and that is why some only have English soundtracks.

Thanks to everyone who worked on the Alliance web site or spread the word.

Copyright © 2004 Matt