DAM and MEGALON News from Media Blasters

[Sydney Aradi]

Wataru,

That's a cute graphic and all, but piracy in this case is theft of legally protected information. Granted, many artists are perfectly fine with and endorse the disbursement of their art through free channels, and if that's how they want to share their work, God speed to them. However, other artists want to legally protect their creations because of the time, resources, and money they've exhausted to develop their product and because they don't want third parties profiting off of what they've made. Film corporations own films because they essentially contract creative teams to make their productions. Then, after paying the creative teams for their contracted labor, they try to make a return on their investment via exhibition in theaters and through home media. Often times, exhibition through home media can salvage the initial investment when a film bombs at the box office. The return on the investment is used to pay the people running the corporation, to pay the bills, and to fund future production investments. This model guarantees the existence of commercial art, which in turn allows all manner of artists the opportunity to practice their respective crafts. Just like any other industry, this model isn't perfect, and corporations can and do get greedy. But that doesn't justify the unlawful theft of their property through piracy, no matter how old their product is. Corporations and artists may sometimes be guilty of greed, but pirates are always guilty of covetousness and theft. Grow up and get a moral compass. If someone doesn't want you to use their product without their consent or compensation, move on.

*applauds* Nice speech but I doubt that good ol Watsy will stop.

[Gojira-Fan]

I agree with what Bannaoil said, but I do think there is some good justification for piracy under certain instances.

What about when there is literally no legal way to see a movie? Or in cases with films like Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla 1985, or Godzilla vs. Biollante, where the only copies available are VHS tapes on the second-hand market. Once something is only available on the second-hand market, none of the money is going to the company who owns the rights, just to sellers that happen to be selling a copy.

And what about the Japanese versions of these films? Some of them may never become available in the U.S. Look at King Kong vs. Godzilla, when it was released on DVD in the U.S., the John Beck edit was the only one available. It's almost universally agreed among the fandom that the Japanese version is superior, so why do we have to be regulated to the inferior edit?

In cases like these, I think bootlegging/piracy is justified.

If Toho wants me to buy a legitimate release, then one should be available.

[bananaoil]

I agree with what Bannaoil said, but I do think there is some good justification for piracy under certain instances.

What about when there is literally no legal way to see a movie? Or in cases with films like Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla 1985, or Godzilla vs. Biollante, where the only copies available are VHS tapes on the second-hand market. Once something is only available on the second-hand market, none of the money is going to the company who owns the rights, just to sellers that happen to be selling a copy.

And what about the Japanese versions of these films? Some of them may never become available in the U.S. Look at King Kong vs. Godzilla, when it was released on DVD in the U.S., the John Beck edit was the only one available. It's almost universally agreed among the fandom that the Japanese version is superior, so why do we have to be regulated to the inferior edit?

In cases like these, I think bootlegging/piracy is justified.

If Toho wants me to buy a legitimate release, then one should be available.

Well, I understand your frustration. If you can't get access to a ridiculously priced import that isn't marketed towards you anyway, and if you can't get access to a means to watch it, I suppose your only option is to go grey market if you absolutely MUST see it. I can't condone that action myself, but I don't think it's as dubious as going boot all the way.

*applauds* Nice speech but I doubt that good ol Watsy will stop.

Yeah. I don't expect him to have appreciation for anyone's legal protection.

[Gojira-Fan]

I agree with what Bannaoil said, but I do think there is some good justification for piracy under certain instances.

What about when there is literally no legal way to see a movie? Or in cases with films like Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla 1985, or Godzilla vs. Biollante, where the only copies available are VHS tapes on the second-hand market. Once something is only available on the second-hand market, none of the money is going to the company who owns the rights, just to sellers that happen to be selling a copy.

And what about the Japanese versions of these films? Some of them may never become available in the U.S. Look at King Kong vs. Godzilla, when it was released on DVD in the U.S., the John Beck edit was the only one available. It's almost universally agreed among the fandom that the Japanese version is superior, so why do we have to be regulated to the inferior edit?

In cases like these, I think bootlegging/piracy is justified.

If Toho wants me to buy a legitimate release, then one should be available.

Well, I understand your frustration. If you can't get access to a ridiculously priced import that isn't marketed towards you anyway, and if you can't get access to a means to watch it, I suppose your only option is to go grey market if you absolutely MUST see it. I can't condone that action myself, but I don't think it's as dubious as going boot all the way.

Don't get me wrong, I support legit releases. All of my tokusatsu, except for one exception (King Kong vs. Godzilla, and that is the Japanese version, mind you), is legit. All I ask for is the version of the film I want, along with accurate subtitles.

Still, sometimes I guess that's too much to ask for.

[wataru]

Graphic is still accurate, Bananaoil.

Youre not stealing property, youre stealing PROFIT. And if the 'industry' wants MY money need to put out a good product at a reasonable price. Supply & Demand. Theatres overcharge, distributors FORCE you to buy DVD or BRD/DVD. I dont want to pay $10.50 to see a movie in a dirty theatre with other people, nor do I want both BRD/DVD. Im demanding these things as a consumer and so are other people since there are many auctions with people just selling the DVD or BRD from the pack seperately because they too dont want both formats. They dont want to supply it? I'll get it elsewhere.

And I do support a legit release of DAM and Megs. Just not with a shady company like MB. And not a barebones release.

[Gawdziller]

Wataru,

That's a cute graphic and all, but piracy in this case is theft of legally protected information. Granted, many artists are perfectly fine with and endorse the disbursement of their art through free channels, and if that's how they want to share their work, God speed to them. However, other artists want to legally protect their creations because of the time, resources, and money they've exhausted to develop their product and because they don't want third parties profiting off of what they've made. Film corporations own films because they essentially contract creative teams to make their productions. Then, after paying the creative teams for their contracted labor, they try to make a return on their investment via exhibition in theaters and through home media. Often times, exhibition through home media can salvage the initial investment when a film bombs at the box office. The return on the investment is used to pay the people running the corporation, to pay the bills, and to fund future production investments. This model guarantees the existence of commercial art, which in turn allows all manner of artists the opportunity to practice their respective crafts. Just like any other industry, this model isn't perfect, and corporations can and do get greedy. But that doesn't justify the unlawful theft of their property through piracy, no matter how old their product is. Corporations and artists may sometimes be guilty of greed, but pirates are always guilty of covetousness and theft. Grow up and get a moral compass. If someone doesn't want you to use their product without their consent or compensation, move on.

Thank you. He's posted that pic several times, and I find it naive at best. It completely misses the point of what piracy is and does. It just comes off as a ignorant excuse for being ignorant.

[Legion1979]

That's nice wataru. That really is.

You still spend way too much time here finding excuses to talk about bootlegs and dropping hints as to where they can be purchased. It's really gotten old and I'm sure Toho doesn't give a shit what your definition of piracy is. We all want to have a really good, legit version of Megalon on DVD/blu-ray here. What we don't need is basically hearing "F@ck Media Blasters. Go bootleg. There's a dealer in NJ you can buy from. Bootlegs all the way!" over and over again.

I'm really surprised that's tolerated.

[Captain Aktion]

Y'know, I've been known to use certain internet gray-market means to acquire products in the past but I've never been so naive as to delude myself into thinking I'm doing something like sticking it to the Man.

Look, here's my list of things I have gotten in the past and the reasons why:

Certain PC games...because I have owned them before and were either lost or taken by friends. I see no reason why I can't download a copy of a game I have legit paid for in the past. There's nothing illegal about making a backup copy, which essentially this is.

Music...because there was very, very little access to ANY music where I once lived. That, coupled with no credit/debit card to order online with meant if I wanted to hear anything new, I had to do it.

Movies...see both reasons above. Also, I don't know if there are any Hong Kong film fans on here, but you tell me where I can buy a legit R1 copy of, oh, this film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092273/, and I'll eat my hat. So, again, gray channels just to get to experience the film.

However I have always, always looked to pick up a legit release of all of these things. If it's a movie I have no legit access to, damn me, but I WILL find a copy. But as soon as any enterprising company wants to actually release that movie, I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

I have 3 copies of Destroy All Monsters. I have 4 copies of King Kong vs. Godzilla. I have 3 copies of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. And so on and so on.

So having said that and admitting to my own flaws in this regard, Wataru, you kinda suck. Media Blasters was a God-send to me years ago when I found out about their Takashi Miike releases. Then they started releasing Toho films. In widescreen. Subbed AND dubbed. I finally got to see Dogora not as a shitty boot VHS. Mysterians, the original Varan. Absolutely a God-send to a Godzilla fan such as myself, plus I could finally get legit versions.

When you complain about their releases and turn around and download a shittier version than MB put out...well, you just sound like you're cheap.

EDIT: Oh, and if you're ordering boots from some dude in NJ and actually paying for them you're even dumber than you sounded at first. You aren't even doing any work for yourself to acquire any of these surely pristine bootlegs that you are using to stick it to the Man AND you're actually giving you're money to someone for the privilege of doing so? Wow. Mind=blown, really. No offense Wataru, but, uh, well...http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chump.

[wataru]

The selective reading in this thread is mind-blowing, lemme tell ya...

[Captain Aktion]

There's a lot of that mind blowing thing going on in this entire thread.

[wataru]

There's a lot of that mind blowing thing going on in this entire thread.

Yeah the sheer amount of blind faith people have in MB is mind-blowing.

[Captain Aktion]

HAhahaha. I take it you have faith in your guy from Jersey?

[Biollante]

So to change the topic, I'm buying Destroy All Monsters on Amazon so I can get super saving shipping. Should I go with the DVD or blu-ray?

I hear blu-ray gets an extra audio track or something?

[Goji]

The Blu-ray has the AIP and International credits as a bonus.

Both English dubs are on the DVD.

[wataru]

HAhahaha. I take it you have faith in your guy from Jersey?

Well he does have Megs on DVD.

[Captain Aktion]

^So do a million other shady dealers.

OT, I have the DVD as I'm not quite ready to convert to Blu as of yet. I'm totally happy with my copy, so I'm sure if you have the capability the Blu will be the way to go if you care about the picture fidelity. I'm just happy to watch it and I think it looks nice on my TV.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

I agree with what Bannaoil said, but I do think there is some good justification for piracy under certain instances.

What about when there is literally no legal way to see a movie? Or in cases with films like Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla 1985, or Godzilla vs. Biollante, where the only copies available are VHS tapes on the second-hand market. Once something is only available on the second-hand market, none of the money is going to the company who owns the rights, just to sellers that happen to be selling a copy.

And what about the Japanese versions of these films? Some of them may never become available in the U.S. Look at King Kong vs. Godzilla, when it was released on DVD in the U.S., the John Beck edit was the only one available. It's almost universally agreed among the fandom that the Japanese version is superior, so why do we have to be regulated to the inferior edit?

In cases like these, I think bootlegging/piracy is justified.

If Toho wants me to buy a legitimate release, then one should be available.

I'm of like mind, pal. If I can't get my hands on a legit copy of a film, then I'm going to get it in any way I can. That being said, I do follow one golden rule: If and when a legit R1 (or compatible) release becomes available, if I already own a gray-market copy, then I will absolutely purchase the legit release as well, regardless of quality/version etc.

I have to say, though, I don't make any exceptions if the official release is only on VHS. If a movie was put out as a legit American video, I will be sure to own it before buying a boot. For instance, I have subbed grey-market, Biollante and G'84 DVDs, but I purchased American VHS tapes as well.

No, I don't think this is a perfectly innocent system, since my money would be supporting a bootlegging operation whenever I did make the choice to buy from them. However, I've made peace with the decision personally, and I'm not trying to convince anyone else to do the same.

[Gojira-Fan]

I agree with what Bannaoil said, but I do think there is some good justification for piracy under certain instances.

What about when there is literally no legal way to see a movie? Or in cases with films like Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla 1985, or Godzilla vs. Biollante, where the only copies available are VHS tapes on the second-hand market. Once something is only available on the second-hand market, none of the money is going to the company who owns the rights, just to sellers that happen to be selling a copy.

And what about the Japanese versions of these films? Some of them may never become available in the U.S. Look at King Kong vs. Godzilla, when it was released on DVD in the U.S., the John Beck edit was the only one available. It's almost universally agreed among the fandom that the Japanese version is superior, so why do we have to be regulated to the inferior edit?

In cases like these, I think bootlegging/piracy is justified.

If Toho wants me to buy a legitimate release, then one should be available.

I'm of like mind, pal. If I can't get my hands on a legit copy of a film, then I'm going to get it in any way I can. That being said, I do follow one golden rule: If and when a legit R1 (or compatible) release becomes available, if I already own a gray-market copy, then I will absolutely purchase the legit release as well, regardless of quality/version etc.

I agree with this.

I have to say, though, I don't make any exceptions if the official release is only on VHS. If a movie was put out as a legit American video, I will be sure to own it before buying a boot. For instance, I have subbed grey-market, Biollante and G'84 DVDs, but I purchased American VHS tapes as well.

Eh, I meant more if the original release is more of a collector's item than an actual means of watching the movie. As in, it's marked up to an outrageous price. I suppose I didn't really word what I said they way I wanted to (although none of your money is going to the copyright holders).

Granted, all legit American VHS copies of Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante are English-only. So I think it would be justifiable to get boots of the Japanese versions.

In the end, I think we need to eliminate the simple-minded "us vs. them" styles of thinking that's prevalent in the debate on copyright infringement.

There are bad things on both sides of the argument.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

I suppose I didn't really word what I said they way I wanted to (although none of your money is going to the copyright holders).

Granted, all legit American VHS copies of Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante are English-only. So I think it would be justifiable to get boots of the Japanese versions.

Actually, my money did go to the copyright holders, since I bought the videos new from a first-hand retailer. Granted, that's no longer an option in most cases. I should have noted that, and I certainly didn't mean to suggest people should feel obligated to throw ridiculous amounts of money out there for a used copy.

In the end, I think we need to eliminate the simple-minded "us vs. them" styles of thinking that's prevalent in the debate on copyright infringement.

There are bad things on both sides of the argument.

Once again, I can only agree with you. Everyone is in this game because they love these films, and want to experience them whenever they want, and in the purest form available. If the company isn't giving you the chance to do so, fine, buy a boot. Once the copyright holder comes through with a release, then damn it, support them.

That sums up my view.

[omgitsgodzilla]

HAhahaha. I take it you have faith in your guy from Jersey?

Well, if the guy has quality products that he sends out in a consistent and timely fashion, why not? I'm not completely pro-bootleg, I support legitimate releases that are up to one's standards, but I don't see them as morally bankrupt parasites slowly killing an industry either.

Everyone is in this game because they love these films, and want to experience them whenever they want, and in the purest form available. If the company isn't giving you the chance to do so, fine, buy a boot. Once the copyright holder comes through with a release, then damn it, support them.

Basically this.