...not that you didn't already know that. ![]()
This is a copy of a well-written letter sent out to Disney (Buena Vista, Dimension, Miramax, etc.) regarding their treatment of Hong Kong movies. I've written (as well as called, emailed, etc.) Disney on many occasions regarding this, and will be doing so again shortly.
While looking around for DVDs to BUY, I noticed that Disney, who has the rights to a boatload of HK movies (as well as virtually all of Miyazaki's animes), was planning to release a dub-only, Americanized, hacked-up R-rated version of The Killer, one of John Woo's finest films.
Should Disney release a copy of any of John Woo's films in the US in anything less than their original form, they shall feel my wrath in a way that NOBODY (not even the MPAA or RIAA) has before. I will most certainly go out of my way to ensure that as many copies are bought and returned "defective" as possible; and even circulating bootleg copies, both DVD and DivX, as fast as humanly possible, physically and on the net.
Anyway, I'll save my rants for my newest letter to Disney, and in the meantime, I'll leave you with someone else's letter that should give you a pretty good idea on this situation.
(And to those that don't give a damn about HK films, remember that this mentality will include ALL foreign films, INCLUDING ANIME).
Eric Clark
May 20, 2002
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a plea for sanity.
Over the past several years, North America has seen a sizable surge in the popularity of Asian cinema, especially in the genres of Hong Kong action, Chinese martial arts, and Japanese animation/anime (if an art form encompassing everything from high drama to wildly imaginative science fiction and fantasy can rightly be referred to as a genre). Like certain competitors of yours, you have seized the opportunity to bring various works of these types of cinema to wider audiences and make a fair coin for yourselves in the process. All well and good, but your presentation of the films in question, and your business tactics in so doing, have been nothing short of appalling.
Now is as good a time as any to inform you that I am writing both as a private individual and as a representative of The Web Alliance for Respectful Treatment of Hong Kongs Best. Unlike the consumers to whom your releases of films such as Fist of Legend are geared, we are dedicated and discerning devotees of Asian cinema (Hong Kongs in particular, and that is where most of your energies in this matter have been focused) who are not fooled for one second by your pretense that your versions of these films are the real deal and are outraged by your lack of respect for the material.
The you to whom I refer is intended to be all-inclusive, as Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Miramax, and Dimension have seemingly all had a hand in the butchery of the Hong Kong films acquired by The Walt Disney Corporation, the owner of the aforementioned companies. Though they may operate with a certain degree of independence and make their own decisions about which movies to release and how to alter them, the term Disney will be used henceforth for the sake of brevity and simplicity.
I scarcely need to describe to you the atrocities you have inflicted on Hong Kong cinema, but let me list them here to establish the fact that I know full well what Im talking about. You have secured the distribution rights to select films featuring Asian stars who have attained some measure of success in the Western world, such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh. You have released many of these films under false titles in an obvious attempt to make them seem less Asian (examples: Twin Warriors in place of The Tai-Chi Master and The Legend in place of Fong Sai Yuk). You have made excessive and unnecessary cuts and modifications to the films for the purposes of censorship, Americanization, the alteration of their pacing, and/or simply to make them shorter. You have done away with the original musical scores and replaced them with music produced by individuals who had nothing to do with the films original creative processes, often resulting in soundtracks which sound completely out of place. You have substituted unprofessional English dubbing for the original dialogue and released your home versions solely in this format, despite the frequency with which other companies utilize the DVD mediums capacity for multiple language tracks, with the exception of Iron Monkey, which was released in its original language of Cantonese (not Chinese, as your packaging says) with English subtitles containing a great many inaccuracies and flat-out lies; hardly an improvement. You have taken steps to prevent North American retailers (including but not limited to HK Flix, which actively supports our cause) from selling the genuine, imported versions of these films, and pressured overseas distributors to refrain from shipping your movies to our shores. Worst of all, you have purchased the distribution rights to some films for certain parts of the world (including North America, in many cases) where you evidently have no plans to release them in any way, shape, or form. It can only be assumed, therefore, that your intention was nothing more than to prevent other distributors from making a profit on those movies and/or to create a situation where there is less competition for Disneys own productions. If, in so doing, you desired to set a new standard in pettiness and to prove yourselves the schoolyard bullies of the entertainment world, then congratulations; youve done it.
It may be hard to believe at this point, but we are actually trying to help you. The purpose of our campaign is not merely to complain and to tarnish the name of Disney. What we want is to educate people about the numerous ways in which your versions of Hong Kong films are different from (and, in the vast majority of the aspects in question, inferior to) the original versions, and to instigate respectful treatment of these films and quality releases of them so that viewers around the world can enjoy them as they were meant to be seen. I know of no word in the English language which can sufficiently describe how frustrating and infuriating it is for a passionate and long-time fan like myself to watch as some of Asias finest films are snatched up by a corporation that cares only about making a quick buck on the next big thing. Worse yet is the fact that you make so many unnecessary alterations to these films and then try to pass them off as genuine when it would be so much more pleasing to us, and so much easier and more profitable for you, to release them in an untainted state.
Consider this: until the American release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...which, I hasten to point out, was presented by Sony Pictures Classics uncut and in its original language, and earned more than $125 million during its U.S. theatrical run and 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture...there was no significant precedent for pure Asian cinema in mainstream American theaters, at least not in recent memory. Films like My Father is a Hero (or, as you erroneously call it, The Enforcer) may not be as prestigious or as ambitious as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but is that any reason to run them through the meat grinder that passes for Dimensions editing department and present them as cheap, generic action movies of irrelevant origin? No. We are living in an era in which many Americans are more accepting, and aware of, other cultures than was the case thirty years ago when poorly dubbed martial arts movies modified and marketed to appeal largely to the African-American population were all the rage (and it was thirty years ago; you may want to notify your marketing heads of this fact since they seem to think that these tactics are still sound). One has only to look at the immense popularity of the Japanese animation medium in the U.S. to realize this. While anime is not my area of expertise, it does hold some interest for me, precisely because it is exotic and distinctly different from (and more diverse than) Western animation in general. Browse the anime section of the DVD department in a store such as Best Buy and you will see that the vast majority of the discs contain both Japanese (original) and English (dubbed) language tracks, with subtitles available. Anime fans are generally a devoted lot who want it as originally intended or not at all. And they usually get it, since companies like Pioneer often make it their practice to present the material in a complete and admirable package. Given the large fan bases that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have in many parts of the world, it hardly seems like an unreasonable imposition to ask that the same treatment be applied to their films.
I want to make it clear here that we have no objection to English dubbing in and of itself. There will always be people who prefer listening to their native language rather than reading it, and thats fine with us. But the fact remains: original language tracks should not be sacrificed entirely in favor of dubbed ones. By all means, release English versions on video and DVD, and in theaters if you must, but dont forget that there are a great many people who find the campiness and lack of conviction which go hand-in-hand with English dubbing all too often insufferable. For those people...and there are far more of them than you seem to think...subtitles can and should be provided to accompany the original language tracks. Accurate subtitles, mind you. We dont want to see another translation like the one you provided for Iron Monkey.
The most baffling thing about your failure to include subtitles on your DVDs for these films is that you yourselves would not need to create them; they already exist. Hong Kong films made before 1997...which includes the majority of the films youve acquired the rights to...were required by law to have English subtitles. All you need to do is clean up the spelling and grammatical errors and remaster the text for the DVD and VHS formats. How difficult can that be?
Rumors persist that you dont include the original languages and musical scores because you dont have the rights to the audio portions of these films (Iron Monkey excepted). There are at least two cases where these rumors have been proven false, both of which are Jackie Chan movies. Crime Story is the one and only Hong Kong film you have released with the original soundtrack intact. And, in The Legend of Drunken Master (your incomplete version of Drunken Master 2), the film itself has been given an unwelcome new musical score while the original music is relegated to mere background noise during the Jackie Chan interview included as an extra feature. In light of these facts, your failure to provide the original sound tracks (musical and dialogue) for these films on DVD is absolutely inexcusable. As for the other movies in your Hong Kong reservoir, if indeed you could not be bothered to secure their audio rights, then, quite frankly, you had no business pursuing them in the first place. If you can afford to do it at all, then you can afford to do it properly.
The changing of titles is another practice that you must cease if you want to improve your reputation among those in the know. You released Armour of God after its sequel, Operation Condor, and pretended that it was the second film in Jackie Chans globe-trotting adventure series rather than the first. Would it really have been so difficult to include an indication that the events of Armour of God take place before those of Operation Condor instead of after them? No, but once again you decided to act like the film was your own creation rather than someone elses and unnecessarily altered it against all common sense.
Even worse are those instances in which you do away with the original titles entirely. I, for one, refuse to acknowledge The Tai-Chi Master as Twin Warriors or The Bodyguard from Beijing as The Defender no matter how heavily your versions are altered. These false titles of yours serve no worthwhile purpose. In those two cases I suspect the changes were made to decrease the Asian-ness of the films and thus make them more appealing to what you perceive as the average American consumer. Similarly, do not think that the ways in which you have tweaked the content of some Hong Kong movies to make them less Chinese has escaped the notice of fans like myself. Regardless of intention or extent, this is racism, pure and simple (and if you find that accusation offensive, I assure you that the millions upon millions of Asians around the world have far more right to be offended than you do). Small wonder that you have earned (note emphasis: earned, not merely got) the unflattering nickname of Disnazi on certain internet forums and websites.
There is another reason to refrain from renaming these movies. Many of the more casual fans of Jet Li and Jackie Chan have, through no fault of their own, ended up renting or purchasing the same movie more than once due to false titles. Since your versions of these movies typically hit the shelves after the genuine versions in stores that are wise enough to sell imports, the consumer is more likely to purchase yours second, and, upon seeing that it is merely another version of a movie they have already seen under a different name, they are quite likely to return it to the store and be wary about buying other releases of yours from now on. For every such case, there is a good chance of you losing a potential future customer.
Of all the alterations you have made to the content of the films in question, the excision of footage is the most offensive, and the various reasons for doing it are equally preposterous.
Censorship: There is no valid excuse for telling adults of sound mind what is and is not fit for them to watch, read, or listen to, and there never will be. Your decision to remove objectionable footage is hypocritical in the extreme, considering some of the other films in your various libraries, Miramaxs in particular. Kids verges on child pornography in some parts, and Pulp Fiction contains a scene which is practically a visual step-by-step instruction manual on how to shoot heroin. Yet the version of Fist of Legend released by Dimension (a branch of Miramax) has been stripped of a scene in which a major supporting character uses opium; a double standard if ever there was one. The degree of independence from Miramax with which Dimension operates is besides the point. Censorship imposed upon the public by corporations like Disney is utterly without justification, now and forever. The United States of America is a nation founded largely on freedom of speech and expression. How ironic that in your quest to Americanize Hong Kong cinema, you have violated that most basic of Constitutional (as well as, simply, human) rights. It should also be pointed out that the DVD medium provides parental lock technology which can easily be implemented to prevent the impressionable young viewers to whom you are obviously tailoring these films (despite the fact that many of them have received R ratings anyway) from watching exceptionally strong content. Alas, you have not seen fit to utilize this widespread feature, just as you have neglected to take advantage of the DVDs capacity for multiple language tracks. I guarantee that if you released two versions of a Hong Kong movie...one in typical Disney fashion, the other uncut with multiple language options...simultaneously, equally priced, and side-by-side after a period of unavailability in North America, the latter version would sell in bigger numbers.
Americanization: As already stated, your practice of removing or altering portions of the films deemed too Asian is entirely unwarranted and an insult to our intelligence. It is also a brazen slap in the face to the culture that produced these films in the first place.
Pacing: It seems that you think we all have the attention spans of toddlers and that we will only sit through a martial arts movie if it has been modified to cut back on plot and character development in order to lessen the time spent waiting for the next fight scene. Once again: an insult to our intelligence. Just because a foreign films pacing is different from that of a mainstream Hollywood production does not make it wrong. Since we, the audience, are the ones whose money you so desire, shouldnt we be the judges of what is extraneous and what is not? Yes, and the fact is, nothing should be removed from a finished film for this purpose anyway. Jackie Chan directed Operation Condor the way he did for a reason. What he included in his cut of the movie is what he meant for us to see. Shooting that movie was one of the most difficult productions of his distinguished career; a career in which difficult productions have been commonplace. When you slashed twenty minutes out of it for its American release, did you give a moments though to all of the hard work that went into the banished footage? I think not. Film makers deserve to have their creations treated in accordance with their wishes, and viewers deserve to watch movies that convey the vision of the creators, rather than that of some cut-happy studio executive.
Too long: Shortening a movie merely so you can show it more times per day in theaters and thus increase your own profits is a grave disservice to everyone else involved. As with pacing issues, the audience is the better judge of what constitutes too long. Additionally, cutting footage for the sole purpose of making the film shorter when dealing with direct to video and DVD releases is even more outrageous, for fairly obvious reasons.
It is not by accident that the tyrant in charge of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, has been dubbed (no pun intended) Harvey Scissorhands in some circles. I speak for many when I say that I find it appalling that a man with so little regard for the films acquired by his own company commands such a powerful and influential position in the motion picture industry. Now, it seems he wants to start a Miramax Channel on cable TV, aimed at hip, smart audiences, with a Friday night time slot devoted to Hong Kong action and martial arts movies. Somehow I doubt that smart viewers will appreciate the low-quality dubbing and Americanization that Mr. Weinstein insists these movies be subjected to.
And how about your fraudulent packaging? Your DVD and videocassette boxes may indicate that the films have been formatted to fit the viewers TV screen, but they make no mention of the fact that they have been altered in other ways. You obviously have no problem with lying to your consumers, even going so far as to refer to Zu Warriors (real title: Legend of Zu) as a work in progress even though the film was completed and released in Asia months ago. Do not think for one moment that the questionable legality of such tactics has escaped everyones notice.
Everything discussed thus far has been accepted by most Hong Kong movie fans with an Oh well, what can you do attitude. We figured we could tolerate your gross exploitation of these films as long as we could get the original versions on code-free DVDs. But now, you have tried to put a stop to our ability to do this. And that, for your enlightenment, was the last straw that triggered this letter, the others like it you have no doubt received in the recent past and will receive in the near future, and the establishment of The Web Alliance For Respectful Treatment of Hong Kongs Best, based at http://www.hkfilm.net/disney. I assume youve seen the MSNBC.com article by Jeannette Walls summarizing our purpose. A refresher: HK Flix (www.hkflix.com), one of North Americas biggest and best retailers of Asian films, has shown great wisdom in posting disclaimers about your impositions upon the sale of Fist of Legend, Project A, et al, on their website and in officially supporting our cause. They are, after all, fans of these films in addition to being business people, and unlike you, they care about the integrity of their wares. Other highly regarded, consumer-friendly, web-based retailers such as Poker Industries (www.pokerindustries.com) have been hit just as hard, losing the legal right to sell some of their most popular titles to the public. I fervently hope that these companies are able to survive the blow you have needlessly dealt them and stay in business.
By now, I trust you have an idea of what I and the countless others like me think of your domestic Hong Kong releases. At best, they are a poor second choice to the uncut originals (which often suffer from less-than-pristine picture and sound quality as well as typographical errors in the English subtitles). At worst, they are superb examples of how not to present a foreign film to American audiences. When you declared war on our right to enjoy these movies in their original incarnations (and that is exactly what you have done; do not attempt to blur the truth with semantics), you made a bad situation even worse by further tarnishing your already poor reputation among die-hard fans. Since you alter some of these films so heavily...in many cases, you dont even keep the original titles...they can hardly be considered the same movie anymore. By what rationale, then, do you justify the restriction of import sales for law-abiding retailers? Are you concerned that businesses like HK Flix cut into your profits? If they do, then you have only yourselves to blame for releasing Asian films in incomplete and unfaithful forms. When people watch a movie, they want to see the WHOLE movie. Its that simple. Besides, hardcore fans of these movies know better than to support your releases anyway.
Thats a point worth stressing: we know better. You can buy the rights to our beloved movies. You can sit on them so nobody else can release them. You can alter them to your hearts (assuming you have one) content. You can produce bare-bones DVDs and video tapes with bloated price tags. You can just barely release the films in their original languages in a tiny handful of theaters and then show the dubbed version coast to coast in a pathetically transparent attempt to prove that subtitled movies are doomed to fail. You can use thug-like tactics to prevent honest retailers from providing us with untarnished films. You can deceive the public with packaging that fails to mention any of the modifications you have arrogantly and needlessly taken it upon yourselves to make. But one thing you can never do is change the truth. There will always be people who follow the Hong Kong movie scene instead of waiting for American companies to import and subsequently butcher the hottest films. There will always be people who possess the modicum of intelligence it requires to see that your releases have been altered and that the genuine article should be sought out. There will always be people who utilize the internet, and whatever other mass communication avenues may be open to them, to decry your treatment of Asian cinema. There will always be people who are only too happy to approach would-be consumers of yours in stores, rental outlets, and theaters to warn them about the alterations youve made to certain movies and tell them where and how to get the original, uncut version (on every occasion that I have done this, the person in question has thanked me for the advice and ended up not spending their money on your releases after all).
To reiterate: there will always be people who know better. And their numbers will increase all the time. I and others like me shall see to that.
And there will always be bootleggers, too. Piracy is very widespread in China and Hong Kong, as is the VCD format. VCDs are inexpensive, easy to duplicate, compatible with most DVD players, and, unlike DVDs, have no region coding. This makes them highly appealing for unscrupulous individuals who wish to profit from the hard work of others by selling directly to the public. While supporting these people is something that not all fans of Asian cinema are eager to do...many of us, in fact, find the idea rather odious...you leave the die-hards little choice when certain films become unavailable on DVD in their original incarnations. By denying people access to the pure versions, you have created a situation where many, many people will unhesitatingly put their money in the pockets of bootleggers rather than spend it on your releases. Such consumers are nothing if not devoted. Theyd rather have a grainy picture and garbled subtitles than have a bastardized American version of the same movie with top-notch audio and video quality. Doesnt that tell you something?
As previously stated, my intention is not merely to blow off steam. If you find my tone abrasive, take it not as the malcontented rambling of an elitist fanboy but as an indication of the displeasure you have aroused in much of the Asian cinema devotee community. Though my opinions are my own, an exploration of the internets various websites devoted (or at least pertaining) to Hong Kong film will show that a good many others are of the same mind as myself where these matters are concerned.
I can assure you, it would require very little effort on your part to make us happy and to wipe away the tarnish on your reputation in our eyes. One way would be to cease your practice of preventing consumers outside of Asia from legally acquiring these films uncut; however, since you wouldnt make any money as a direct result of this and since money is obviously the one and only thing on this Earth that you care about, I suspect that you will dismiss that prospect immediately. That being the case, a more appealing and realistic venture would be to release the films uncut with their original titles, languages, and soundtracks intact.
Honestly, thats all we want.
That hardly sounds like a radical, revolutionary idea, does it?
Look at some of the DVDs your competitors have put out: Time & Tide, Gen X Cops, Shiri (Korean), Tokyo Raiders, and the first three Once Upon a Time in China films from Columbia/TriStar, and Dragon Inn, The Untold Story, and Tai Chi II from Tai Seng. In each of these cases, the film is presented in the most complete manner possible, with the original titles and language tracks in addition to English tracks for those who prefer dubbing (and we are well aware that there is no shortage of such viewers). These companies have released Hong Kong films in disappointing incarnations before, but the point is that they at least have several titles that are presented in a faithful, respectful manner. Miramax and Dimension, on the other hand, have yet to release a single Hong Kong film in such a fashion. The same principle applies to Japanese animation. Companies like Pioneer and Manga Video frequently release fan-favorite titles in untainted incarnations with extra features to boot, while Disney seems to have little or no interest whatsoever in releasing the highly regarded works of Hayao Miyazaki at all (never mind the paper-thin excuse that Princess Mononoke was a commercial failure when it was barely released or advertised; the real reason for this is because Disney obviously wants to maintain its stranglehold on the American animation market and to perpetuate the erroneous popular belief that animated films must always be geared towards children). It is in your best interests to remedy this situation due to the fact (and it is a fact, not just my opinion) that your DVDs of international films do not meet widely-used, industry-accepted standards. Look to the aforementioned domestic releases for a sound education in how to release these movies in a crowd-pleasing manner, or, better yet, take the work of the UK-based label Hong Kong Legends (www.hongkonglegends.co.uk) into account. They make cuts only when required to do so by the BBC and provide additional features with each of their DVDs. Small wonder they are the label of choice for so many followers of Hong Kong cinema.
Asian film (anime included) is currently enjoying unprecedented popularity in the Western world, and despite what you would like to think, it is not solely because of your (*ahem*) efforts. Many Americans are more accepting of other cultures than was once the case and have broadened their horizons significantly. Yet you treat this phenomenon as little more than a throwback to the late 80s and early 90s, when Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal kept turning out generic martial arts action movies with interchangeable titles. Not to denigrate those films, but most of todays audience is perfectly ready, willing, and able to accept action movies that break that mold.
Another fact to consider: the French film Le Pacte Des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf) ran in American theaters uncut (nearly two and a half hours) and subtitled, and earned high praise from a multitude of critics. The films director, Christophe Gans, is a devoted fan of Hong Kong films and has formed a label called Hong Kong Video for the purpose of bringing more awareness of the films to France. This label recently released a Fist of Legend disc with three separate cuts of the film. Similarly, the Taiwan-based company Funny Multimedia Corp. has produced a quartet of Jackie Chan DVDs (Who Am I?, Mr. Nice Guy, Rumble in the Bronx, and Police Story 4, a.k.a. First Strike) with the English versions from New Line Cinema on one side and the Chinese versions on the other. This is indisputable proof that packages to satisfy both casual and hardcore fans of these movies are entirely feasible; if companies operating with just a portion of your financial resources can do this, then you have no excuse for not following suit. Arguments that subtitles are too expensive are baseless. DVDs from Hong Kong-based manufacturers often have subtitle options for up to and including eight different languages (nine if you differentiate between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese). If charging $25 and up for DVDs of incomplete films without their original language tracks does not constitute gouging, then nothing does.
You should realize that fans of these movies are, by and large, avid collectors. It is not uncommon to see visitors to certain internet forums boasting (in a good-natured way) about the sizes of their DVD and/or VCD collections while moping about the lackluster picture and sound quality of most Hong Kong releases. Just think of all the money you could make by simply cleaning up the audio and video (which you typically do anyway) and releasing the films in formats that will appeal to the die-hards. This means original titles, original soundtracks, original languages, accurate subtitles, and no additional cuts. If you wish to dub and Americanize the films in the mistaken belief that doing so improves upon them and then release those versions separately, thats fine; it will capture the attention of a larger audience. But the original versions of these films should always be available, especially on DVD (I find it ridiculous that I even have to say that, let alone italicize it, but it seems that my audience is sorely lacking in the common sense department). Furthermore, I know that a good number of us would appreciate it if you would kindly refrain from placing Quentin Tarantino Presents in big red letters on the packaging. Im not sure which is more outrageous: the fact that the subtitles in the Miramax release of Iron Monkey do not match the actual Cantonese speech, or the fact that Mr. Tarantino considers himself director by proxy for the film when he had absolutely nothing to do with its original creation.
No doubt you are skeptical about the profitability of such a venture. To minimize financial risk, my advice would be to start with just one film; Fist of Legend would be an excellent choice (certainly not the only excellent choice, but I will use it as an example). It is far and away one of Jet Lis most popular and highly regarded movies, and it is also rather hard to come by in its original form. From there, its a simple matter of following a list of dos and donts. Retain the original title. Restore the missing footage. Present it in widescreen/letterbox format with its original aspect ratio. Include the original language track, which incorporated Chinese, Japanese, and a small amount of English (the intricacies of which, needless to say, are completely lost in your English dubbed version). Provide accurate subtitles in English (Spanish would be wise, too). Label it Fist of Legend: Special Edition or what have you, and make sure it gets enough press and is released widely enough to ensure that the pre-existing Jet Li fan base is aware of it. Throw in an extra feature or two. A Jet Li interview would be good; a Jet Li commentary track would be even better. Do not exclude the English dubbed track as this would alienate some of the more casual fans. Do not overprice the package; this would only add to the bitterness against Dimension for releasing it in an incomplete state in the first place. Do not tamper with the movie for Americanization purposes as such practices defeat the purpose of watching international films. And, although this is a somewhat less relevant matter, do not attempt to pass the restored footage off as never before seen. Legions of fans have seen it...just not in your version.
And then, sit back and watch the bucks roll in.
It may seem as if I am inundating you with excessive demands, but, again, all you need to do to satisfy fans like us is to release the films here as they were released in Hong Kong. You hardly have to do anything to accomplish this. You only create more work for yourself and disappoint people who actually care about the quality of the movie when you take it upon yourselves to give these films modifications that they do not require. Let them stand on their own merits. People dont buy tickets to the latest Jackie Chan import to listen to some out-of-place new soundtrack; they do it to revel in the action and physical comedy. Dont cut anything, and the same people who watch your releases now will still watch them, along with the die-hards like myself who refuse to watch movies that have been heavily altered by anyone other than the original creators.
It should go without saying that future Asian releases must be treated respectfully as well if you are to earn our continued support. Of these, Shaolin Soccer is the hottest topic. Probe the internet and you will see enormous support for an untainted release of Stephen Chows box office smash. Aside from correcting the grammatical imperfections in the English subtitles, there is nothing you can do to that film to improve upon it. Similarly, replacing The Legend of Zu with Zu Warriors (your most baffling title change yet) wont alter the fact that it was a critical and commercial flop in Asia; you have apparently thought twice about a widespread theatrical release after the recent disastrous test screening in New Jersey (and changing actor Ekin Chengs name to Eric Cheng doesnt help matters, either). And as for your acquisition of The Touch, the first movie from Michelle Yeohs new production company, Mythical Films, I can only hope that the esteemed Ms. Yeoh does everything in her power to ensure that you treat the film respectfully, and that she gives you all sorts of hell if you do not.
What you need to accept is that cinema is not merely a moneymaking machine. It is an art form. Admittedly, art is not the first word that springs to mind when one is confronted with the likes of Freddy Got Fingered, but thats no reason to try and bring Asian cinema down on the integrity meter to match some preconceived standard of what Western audiences will enjoy. You could sell in large numbers to both purists and less discriminating viewers by packaging the original and Americanized versions together on DVD...and, as previously illustrated, it is entirely within the realm of possibility (not to mention your own best interests in terms of both profits and respect from consumers) to do so. Why you have not done this is a mystery that Sherlock Holmes himself would be hard pressed to solve. Your belief that Asian films and their makers are second-class, and your shameless exploitation of them, must cease.
(Speaking of exploitation, I could go off on a tangent about the quantity of Disney merchandise produced by children in sweat shops surrounded by barbed wire, or on the undeniable similarities between your film The Lion King and the Japanese animated series Kimba the King Lion, but those are topics for other letters.)
Many of us have decided to boycott all releases from Miramax and Dimension until they change their tune on this matter, and others...myself included...have taken it a step further and are not supporting Disney itself or any of its subsidiaries. This will persist until the totally indefensible treatment of Asian cinema by these companies is put to a permanent halt. This may seem like something of an empty threat...the vegetarians boycotting meat argument...but most of us dont love Asian films to the exclusion of all other films, and have tastes running a gamut that includes releases from Disney-owned companies (in my particular case, the outstanding Touchstone-produced work of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan).
As long as you insist on turning out watered-down, incomplete products and hoarding movies that you do not intend to release, we will continue to alert our relatives, acquaintances, and even complete strangers to these practices. Ergo, you are missing out on even more sales. Of course, discerning consumers hardly need our advice to realize that Disney has no respect for even its own films, let alone anyone elses. The fact that the DVD release of Snow Dogs does not include a letterbox format...even though DVDs that include full frame and widescreen versions are released by other companies all the time...on account of numerous complaints from astoundingly ignorant customers about black bars at the top and bottom of the screen shows that the studio has long since abandoned any notions of artistic integrity.
There is one last matter to which I wish to draw your attention. Our website (http://www.hkfilm.net/disney) has a permanent link to an online petition advising you to cease and desist your behavior where Asian film is concerned which, as of this writing, bears nearly seven thousand signatures. Unfortunately, a few of the individuals who have signed have chosen to include needlessly vulgar and/or embarrassingly sloppy additional comments with their names. Remarks such as theirs do not reflect our stance as a whole. Many, many of the others state that I will not purchase cut and dubbed DVDs or words to that effect time and time again. I call upon you to once again consider how much income you are missing out on by continuing to present these films the way you do.
With that, it remains only for me to thank you for reading this far, to apologize for any remarks I have made that may be construed as excessively hostile or snotty as opposed to merely indignant, and to hope that you will give this matter all the contemplation that it so richly deserves.
In hopes that this finds you receptive to what we believe is no more than simple common sense and in a forward-thinking state of mind, I remain, very truly yours,
Eric Clark
numskullduggery@cs.com
This is a copy of a well-written letter sent out to Disney (Buena Vista, Dimension, Miramax, etc.) regarding their treatment of Hong Kong movies. I've written (as well as called, emailed, etc.) Disney on many occasions regarding this, and will be doing so again shortly.
While looking around for DVDs to BUY, I noticed that Disney, who has the rights to a boatload of HK movies (as well as virtually all of Miyazaki's animes), was planning to release a dub-only, Americanized, hacked-up R-rated version of The Killer, one of John Woo's finest films.
Should Disney release a copy of any of John Woo's films in the US in anything less than their original form, they shall feel my wrath in a way that NOBODY (not even the MPAA or RIAA) has before. I will most certainly go out of my way to ensure that as many copies are bought and returned "defective" as possible; and even circulating bootleg copies, both DVD and DivX, as fast as humanly possible, physically and on the net.
Anyway, I'll save my rants for my newest letter to Disney, and in the meantime, I'll leave you with someone else's letter that should give you a pretty good idea on this situation.
(And to those that don't give a damn about HK films, remember that this mentality will include ALL foreign films, INCLUDING ANIME).
Eric Clark
May 20, 2002
Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a plea for sanity.
Over the past several years, North America has seen a sizable surge in the popularity of Asian cinema, especially in the genres of Hong Kong action, Chinese martial arts, and Japanese animation/anime (if an art form encompassing everything from high drama to wildly imaginative science fiction and fantasy can rightly be referred to as a genre). Like certain competitors of yours, you have seized the opportunity to bring various works of these types of cinema to wider audiences and make a fair coin for yourselves in the process. All well and good, but your presentation of the films in question, and your business tactics in so doing, have been nothing short of appalling.
Now is as good a time as any to inform you that I am writing both as a private individual and as a representative of The Web Alliance for Respectful Treatment of Hong Kongs Best. Unlike the consumers to whom your releases of films such as Fist of Legend are geared, we are dedicated and discerning devotees of Asian cinema (Hong Kongs in particular, and that is where most of your energies in this matter have been focused) who are not fooled for one second by your pretense that your versions of these films are the real deal and are outraged by your lack of respect for the material.
The you to whom I refer is intended to be all-inclusive, as Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Miramax, and Dimension have seemingly all had a hand in the butchery of the Hong Kong films acquired by The Walt Disney Corporation, the owner of the aforementioned companies. Though they may operate with a certain degree of independence and make their own decisions about which movies to release and how to alter them, the term Disney will be used henceforth for the sake of brevity and simplicity.
I scarcely need to describe to you the atrocities you have inflicted on Hong Kong cinema, but let me list them here to establish the fact that I know full well what Im talking about. You have secured the distribution rights to select films featuring Asian stars who have attained some measure of success in the Western world, such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh. You have released many of these films under false titles in an obvious attempt to make them seem less Asian (examples: Twin Warriors in place of The Tai-Chi Master and The Legend in place of Fong Sai Yuk). You have made excessive and unnecessary cuts and modifications to the films for the purposes of censorship, Americanization, the alteration of their pacing, and/or simply to make them shorter. You have done away with the original musical scores and replaced them with music produced by individuals who had nothing to do with the films original creative processes, often resulting in soundtracks which sound completely out of place. You have substituted unprofessional English dubbing for the original dialogue and released your home versions solely in this format, despite the frequency with which other companies utilize the DVD mediums capacity for multiple language tracks, with the exception of Iron Monkey, which was released in its original language of Cantonese (not Chinese, as your packaging says) with English subtitles containing a great many inaccuracies and flat-out lies; hardly an improvement. You have taken steps to prevent North American retailers (including but not limited to HK Flix, which actively supports our cause) from selling the genuine, imported versions of these films, and pressured overseas distributors to refrain from shipping your movies to our shores. Worst of all, you have purchased the distribution rights to some films for certain parts of the world (including North America, in many cases) where you evidently have no plans to release them in any way, shape, or form. It can only be assumed, therefore, that your intention was nothing more than to prevent other distributors from making a profit on those movies and/or to create a situation where there is less competition for Disneys own productions. If, in so doing, you desired to set a new standard in pettiness and to prove yourselves the schoolyard bullies of the entertainment world, then congratulations; youve done it.
It may be hard to believe at this point, but we are actually trying to help you. The purpose of our campaign is not merely to complain and to tarnish the name of Disney. What we want is to educate people about the numerous ways in which your versions of Hong Kong films are different from (and, in the vast majority of the aspects in question, inferior to) the original versions, and to instigate respectful treatment of these films and quality releases of them so that viewers around the world can enjoy them as they were meant to be seen. I know of no word in the English language which can sufficiently describe how frustrating and infuriating it is for a passionate and long-time fan like myself to watch as some of Asias finest films are snatched up by a corporation that cares only about making a quick buck on the next big thing. Worse yet is the fact that you make so many unnecessary alterations to these films and then try to pass them off as genuine when it would be so much more pleasing to us, and so much easier and more profitable for you, to release them in an untainted state.
Consider this: until the American release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...which, I hasten to point out, was presented by Sony Pictures Classics uncut and in its original language, and earned more than $125 million during its U.S. theatrical run and 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture...there was no significant precedent for pure Asian cinema in mainstream American theaters, at least not in recent memory. Films like My Father is a Hero (or, as you erroneously call it, The Enforcer) may not be as prestigious or as ambitious as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but is that any reason to run them through the meat grinder that passes for Dimensions editing department and present them as cheap, generic action movies of irrelevant origin? No. We are living in an era in which many Americans are more accepting, and aware of, other cultures than was the case thirty years ago when poorly dubbed martial arts movies modified and marketed to appeal largely to the African-American population were all the rage (and it was thirty years ago; you may want to notify your marketing heads of this fact since they seem to think that these tactics are still sound). One has only to look at the immense popularity of the Japanese animation medium in the U.S. to realize this. While anime is not my area of expertise, it does hold some interest for me, precisely because it is exotic and distinctly different from (and more diverse than) Western animation in general. Browse the anime section of the DVD department in a store such as Best Buy and you will see that the vast majority of the discs contain both Japanese (original) and English (dubbed) language tracks, with subtitles available. Anime fans are generally a devoted lot who want it as originally intended or not at all. And they usually get it, since companies like Pioneer often make it their practice to present the material in a complete and admirable package. Given the large fan bases that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have in many parts of the world, it hardly seems like an unreasonable imposition to ask that the same treatment be applied to their films.
I want to make it clear here that we have no objection to English dubbing in and of itself. There will always be people who prefer listening to their native language rather than reading it, and thats fine with us. But the fact remains: original language tracks should not be sacrificed entirely in favor of dubbed ones. By all means, release English versions on video and DVD, and in theaters if you must, but dont forget that there are a great many people who find the campiness and lack of conviction which go hand-in-hand with English dubbing all too often insufferable. For those people...and there are far more of them than you seem to think...subtitles can and should be provided to accompany the original language tracks. Accurate subtitles, mind you. We dont want to see another translation like the one you provided for Iron Monkey.
The most baffling thing about your failure to include subtitles on your DVDs for these films is that you yourselves would not need to create them; they already exist. Hong Kong films made before 1997...which includes the majority of the films youve acquired the rights to...were required by law to have English subtitles. All you need to do is clean up the spelling and grammatical errors and remaster the text for the DVD and VHS formats. How difficult can that be?
Rumors persist that you dont include the original languages and musical scores because you dont have the rights to the audio portions of these films (Iron Monkey excepted). There are at least two cases where these rumors have been proven false, both of which are Jackie Chan movies. Crime Story is the one and only Hong Kong film you have released with the original soundtrack intact. And, in The Legend of Drunken Master (your incomplete version of Drunken Master 2), the film itself has been given an unwelcome new musical score while the original music is relegated to mere background noise during the Jackie Chan interview included as an extra feature. In light of these facts, your failure to provide the original sound tracks (musical and dialogue) for these films on DVD is absolutely inexcusable. As for the other movies in your Hong Kong reservoir, if indeed you could not be bothered to secure their audio rights, then, quite frankly, you had no business pursuing them in the first place. If you can afford to do it at all, then you can afford to do it properly.
The changing of titles is another practice that you must cease if you want to improve your reputation among those in the know. You released Armour of God after its sequel, Operation Condor, and pretended that it was the second film in Jackie Chans globe-trotting adventure series rather than the first. Would it really have been so difficult to include an indication that the events of Armour of God take place before those of Operation Condor instead of after them? No, but once again you decided to act like the film was your own creation rather than someone elses and unnecessarily altered it against all common sense.
Even worse are those instances in which you do away with the original titles entirely. I, for one, refuse to acknowledge The Tai-Chi Master as Twin Warriors or The Bodyguard from Beijing as The Defender no matter how heavily your versions are altered. These false titles of yours serve no worthwhile purpose. In those two cases I suspect the changes were made to decrease the Asian-ness of the films and thus make them more appealing to what you perceive as the average American consumer. Similarly, do not think that the ways in which you have tweaked the content of some Hong Kong movies to make them less Chinese has escaped the notice of fans like myself. Regardless of intention or extent, this is racism, pure and simple (and if you find that accusation offensive, I assure you that the millions upon millions of Asians around the world have far more right to be offended than you do). Small wonder that you have earned (note emphasis: earned, not merely got) the unflattering nickname of Disnazi on certain internet forums and websites.
There is another reason to refrain from renaming these movies. Many of the more casual fans of Jet Li and Jackie Chan have, through no fault of their own, ended up renting or purchasing the same movie more than once due to false titles. Since your versions of these movies typically hit the shelves after the genuine versions in stores that are wise enough to sell imports, the consumer is more likely to purchase yours second, and, upon seeing that it is merely another version of a movie they have already seen under a different name, they are quite likely to return it to the store and be wary about buying other releases of yours from now on. For every such case, there is a good chance of you losing a potential future customer.
Of all the alterations you have made to the content of the films in question, the excision of footage is the most offensive, and the various reasons for doing it are equally preposterous.
Censorship: There is no valid excuse for telling adults of sound mind what is and is not fit for them to watch, read, or listen to, and there never will be. Your decision to remove objectionable footage is hypocritical in the extreme, considering some of the other films in your various libraries, Miramaxs in particular. Kids verges on child pornography in some parts, and Pulp Fiction contains a scene which is practically a visual step-by-step instruction manual on how to shoot heroin. Yet the version of Fist of Legend released by Dimension (a branch of Miramax) has been stripped of a scene in which a major supporting character uses opium; a double standard if ever there was one. The degree of independence from Miramax with which Dimension operates is besides the point. Censorship imposed upon the public by corporations like Disney is utterly without justification, now and forever. The United States of America is a nation founded largely on freedom of speech and expression. How ironic that in your quest to Americanize Hong Kong cinema, you have violated that most basic of Constitutional (as well as, simply, human) rights. It should also be pointed out that the DVD medium provides parental lock technology which can easily be implemented to prevent the impressionable young viewers to whom you are obviously tailoring these films (despite the fact that many of them have received R ratings anyway) from watching exceptionally strong content. Alas, you have not seen fit to utilize this widespread feature, just as you have neglected to take advantage of the DVDs capacity for multiple language tracks. I guarantee that if you released two versions of a Hong Kong movie...one in typical Disney fashion, the other uncut with multiple language options...simultaneously, equally priced, and side-by-side after a period of unavailability in North America, the latter version would sell in bigger numbers.
Americanization: As already stated, your practice of removing or altering portions of the films deemed too Asian is entirely unwarranted and an insult to our intelligence. It is also a brazen slap in the face to the culture that produced these films in the first place.
Pacing: It seems that you think we all have the attention spans of toddlers and that we will only sit through a martial arts movie if it has been modified to cut back on plot and character development in order to lessen the time spent waiting for the next fight scene. Once again: an insult to our intelligence. Just because a foreign films pacing is different from that of a mainstream Hollywood production does not make it wrong. Since we, the audience, are the ones whose money you so desire, shouldnt we be the judges of what is extraneous and what is not? Yes, and the fact is, nothing should be removed from a finished film for this purpose anyway. Jackie Chan directed Operation Condor the way he did for a reason. What he included in his cut of the movie is what he meant for us to see. Shooting that movie was one of the most difficult productions of his distinguished career; a career in which difficult productions have been commonplace. When you slashed twenty minutes out of it for its American release, did you give a moments though to all of the hard work that went into the banished footage? I think not. Film makers deserve to have their creations treated in accordance with their wishes, and viewers deserve to watch movies that convey the vision of the creators, rather than that of some cut-happy studio executive.
Too long: Shortening a movie merely so you can show it more times per day in theaters and thus increase your own profits is a grave disservice to everyone else involved. As with pacing issues, the audience is the better judge of what constitutes too long. Additionally, cutting footage for the sole purpose of making the film shorter when dealing with direct to video and DVD releases is even more outrageous, for fairly obvious reasons.
It is not by accident that the tyrant in charge of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, has been dubbed (no pun intended) Harvey Scissorhands in some circles. I speak for many when I say that I find it appalling that a man with so little regard for the films acquired by his own company commands such a powerful and influential position in the motion picture industry. Now, it seems he wants to start a Miramax Channel on cable TV, aimed at hip, smart audiences, with a Friday night time slot devoted to Hong Kong action and martial arts movies. Somehow I doubt that smart viewers will appreciate the low-quality dubbing and Americanization that Mr. Weinstein insists these movies be subjected to.
And how about your fraudulent packaging? Your DVD and videocassette boxes may indicate that the films have been formatted to fit the viewers TV screen, but they make no mention of the fact that they have been altered in other ways. You obviously have no problem with lying to your consumers, even going so far as to refer to Zu Warriors (real title: Legend of Zu) as a work in progress even though the film was completed and released in Asia months ago. Do not think for one moment that the questionable legality of such tactics has escaped everyones notice.
Everything discussed thus far has been accepted by most Hong Kong movie fans with an Oh well, what can you do attitude. We figured we could tolerate your gross exploitation of these films as long as we could get the original versions on code-free DVDs. But now, you have tried to put a stop to our ability to do this. And that, for your enlightenment, was the last straw that triggered this letter, the others like it you have no doubt received in the recent past and will receive in the near future, and the establishment of The Web Alliance For Respectful Treatment of Hong Kongs Best, based at http://www.hkfilm.net/disney. I assume youve seen the MSNBC.com article by Jeannette Walls summarizing our purpose. A refresher: HK Flix (www.hkflix.com), one of North Americas biggest and best retailers of Asian films, has shown great wisdom in posting disclaimers about your impositions upon the sale of Fist of Legend, Project A, et al, on their website and in officially supporting our cause. They are, after all, fans of these films in addition to being business people, and unlike you, they care about the integrity of their wares. Other highly regarded, consumer-friendly, web-based retailers such as Poker Industries (www.pokerindustries.com) have been hit just as hard, losing the legal right to sell some of their most popular titles to the public. I fervently hope that these companies are able to survive the blow you have needlessly dealt them and stay in business.
By now, I trust you have an idea of what I and the countless others like me think of your domestic Hong Kong releases. At best, they are a poor second choice to the uncut originals (which often suffer from less-than-pristine picture and sound quality as well as typographical errors in the English subtitles). At worst, they are superb examples of how not to present a foreign film to American audiences. When you declared war on our right to enjoy these movies in their original incarnations (and that is exactly what you have done; do not attempt to blur the truth with semantics), you made a bad situation even worse by further tarnishing your already poor reputation among die-hard fans. Since you alter some of these films so heavily...in many cases, you dont even keep the original titles...they can hardly be considered the same movie anymore. By what rationale, then, do you justify the restriction of import sales for law-abiding retailers? Are you concerned that businesses like HK Flix cut into your profits? If they do, then you have only yourselves to blame for releasing Asian films in incomplete and unfaithful forms. When people watch a movie, they want to see the WHOLE movie. Its that simple. Besides, hardcore fans of these movies know better than to support your releases anyway.
Thats a point worth stressing: we know better. You can buy the rights to our beloved movies. You can sit on them so nobody else can release them. You can alter them to your hearts (assuming you have one) content. You can produce bare-bones DVDs and video tapes with bloated price tags. You can just barely release the films in their original languages in a tiny handful of theaters and then show the dubbed version coast to coast in a pathetically transparent attempt to prove that subtitled movies are doomed to fail. You can use thug-like tactics to prevent honest retailers from providing us with untarnished films. You can deceive the public with packaging that fails to mention any of the modifications you have arrogantly and needlessly taken it upon yourselves to make. But one thing you can never do is change the truth. There will always be people who follow the Hong Kong movie scene instead of waiting for American companies to import and subsequently butcher the hottest films. There will always be people who possess the modicum of intelligence it requires to see that your releases have been altered and that the genuine article should be sought out. There will always be people who utilize the internet, and whatever other mass communication avenues may be open to them, to decry your treatment of Asian cinema. There will always be people who are only too happy to approach would-be consumers of yours in stores, rental outlets, and theaters to warn them about the alterations youve made to certain movies and tell them where and how to get the original, uncut version (on every occasion that I have done this, the person in question has thanked me for the advice and ended up not spending their money on your releases after all).
To reiterate: there will always be people who know better. And their numbers will increase all the time. I and others like me shall see to that.
And there will always be bootleggers, too. Piracy is very widespread in China and Hong Kong, as is the VCD format. VCDs are inexpensive, easy to duplicate, compatible with most DVD players, and, unlike DVDs, have no region coding. This makes them highly appealing for unscrupulous individuals who wish to profit from the hard work of others by selling directly to the public. While supporting these people is something that not all fans of Asian cinema are eager to do...many of us, in fact, find the idea rather odious...you leave the die-hards little choice when certain films become unavailable on DVD in their original incarnations. By denying people access to the pure versions, you have created a situation where many, many people will unhesitatingly put their money in the pockets of bootleggers rather than spend it on your releases. Such consumers are nothing if not devoted. Theyd rather have a grainy picture and garbled subtitles than have a bastardized American version of the same movie with top-notch audio and video quality. Doesnt that tell you something?
As previously stated, my intention is not merely to blow off steam. If you find my tone abrasive, take it not as the malcontented rambling of an elitist fanboy but as an indication of the displeasure you have aroused in much of the Asian cinema devotee community. Though my opinions are my own, an exploration of the internets various websites devoted (or at least pertaining) to Hong Kong film will show that a good many others are of the same mind as myself where these matters are concerned.
I can assure you, it would require very little effort on your part to make us happy and to wipe away the tarnish on your reputation in our eyes. One way would be to cease your practice of preventing consumers outside of Asia from legally acquiring these films uncut; however, since you wouldnt make any money as a direct result of this and since money is obviously the one and only thing on this Earth that you care about, I suspect that you will dismiss that prospect immediately. That being the case, a more appealing and realistic venture would be to release the films uncut with their original titles, languages, and soundtracks intact.
Honestly, thats all we want.
That hardly sounds like a radical, revolutionary idea, does it?
Look at some of the DVDs your competitors have put out: Time & Tide, Gen X Cops, Shiri (Korean), Tokyo Raiders, and the first three Once Upon a Time in China films from Columbia/TriStar, and Dragon Inn, The Untold Story, and Tai Chi II from Tai Seng. In each of these cases, the film is presented in the most complete manner possible, with the original titles and language tracks in addition to English tracks for those who prefer dubbing (and we are well aware that there is no shortage of such viewers). These companies have released Hong Kong films in disappointing incarnations before, but the point is that they at least have several titles that are presented in a faithful, respectful manner. Miramax and Dimension, on the other hand, have yet to release a single Hong Kong film in such a fashion. The same principle applies to Japanese animation. Companies like Pioneer and Manga Video frequently release fan-favorite titles in untainted incarnations with extra features to boot, while Disney seems to have little or no interest whatsoever in releasing the highly regarded works of Hayao Miyazaki at all (never mind the paper-thin excuse that Princess Mononoke was a commercial failure when it was barely released or advertised; the real reason for this is because Disney obviously wants to maintain its stranglehold on the American animation market and to perpetuate the erroneous popular belief that animated films must always be geared towards children). It is in your best interests to remedy this situation due to the fact (and it is a fact, not just my opinion) that your DVDs of international films do not meet widely-used, industry-accepted standards. Look to the aforementioned domestic releases for a sound education in how to release these movies in a crowd-pleasing manner, or, better yet, take the work of the UK-based label Hong Kong Legends (www.hongkonglegends.co.uk) into account. They make cuts only when required to do so by the BBC and provide additional features with each of their DVDs. Small wonder they are the label of choice for so many followers of Hong Kong cinema.
Asian film (anime included) is currently enjoying unprecedented popularity in the Western world, and despite what you would like to think, it is not solely because of your (*ahem*) efforts. Many Americans are more accepting of other cultures than was once the case and have broadened their horizons significantly. Yet you treat this phenomenon as little more than a throwback to the late 80s and early 90s, when Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal kept turning out generic martial arts action movies with interchangeable titles. Not to denigrate those films, but most of todays audience is perfectly ready, willing, and able to accept action movies that break that mold.
Another fact to consider: the French film Le Pacte Des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf) ran in American theaters uncut (nearly two and a half hours) and subtitled, and earned high praise from a multitude of critics. The films director, Christophe Gans, is a devoted fan of Hong Kong films and has formed a label called Hong Kong Video for the purpose of bringing more awareness of the films to France. This label recently released a Fist of Legend disc with three separate cuts of the film. Similarly, the Taiwan-based company Funny Multimedia Corp. has produced a quartet of Jackie Chan DVDs (Who Am I?, Mr. Nice Guy, Rumble in the Bronx, and Police Story 4, a.k.a. First Strike) with the English versions from New Line Cinema on one side and the Chinese versions on the other. This is indisputable proof that packages to satisfy both casual and hardcore fans of these movies are entirely feasible; if companies operating with just a portion of your financial resources can do this, then you have no excuse for not following suit. Arguments that subtitles are too expensive are baseless. DVDs from Hong Kong-based manufacturers often have subtitle options for up to and including eight different languages (nine if you differentiate between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese). If charging $25 and up for DVDs of incomplete films without their original language tracks does not constitute gouging, then nothing does.
You should realize that fans of these movies are, by and large, avid collectors. It is not uncommon to see visitors to certain internet forums boasting (in a good-natured way) about the sizes of their DVD and/or VCD collections while moping about the lackluster picture and sound quality of most Hong Kong releases. Just think of all the money you could make by simply cleaning up the audio and video (which you typically do anyway) and releasing the films in formats that will appeal to the die-hards. This means original titles, original soundtracks, original languages, accurate subtitles, and no additional cuts. If you wish to dub and Americanize the films in the mistaken belief that doing so improves upon them and then release those versions separately, thats fine; it will capture the attention of a larger audience. But the original versions of these films should always be available, especially on DVD (I find it ridiculous that I even have to say that, let alone italicize it, but it seems that my audience is sorely lacking in the common sense department). Furthermore, I know that a good number of us would appreciate it if you would kindly refrain from placing Quentin Tarantino Presents in big red letters on the packaging. Im not sure which is more outrageous: the fact that the subtitles in the Miramax release of Iron Monkey do not match the actual Cantonese speech, or the fact that Mr. Tarantino considers himself director by proxy for the film when he had absolutely nothing to do with its original creation.
No doubt you are skeptical about the profitability of such a venture. To minimize financial risk, my advice would be to start with just one film; Fist of Legend would be an excellent choice (certainly not the only excellent choice, but I will use it as an example). It is far and away one of Jet Lis most popular and highly regarded movies, and it is also rather hard to come by in its original form. From there, its a simple matter of following a list of dos and donts. Retain the original title. Restore the missing footage. Present it in widescreen/letterbox format with its original aspect ratio. Include the original language track, which incorporated Chinese, Japanese, and a small amount of English (the intricacies of which, needless to say, are completely lost in your English dubbed version). Provide accurate subtitles in English (Spanish would be wise, too). Label it Fist of Legend: Special Edition or what have you, and make sure it gets enough press and is released widely enough to ensure that the pre-existing Jet Li fan base is aware of it. Throw in an extra feature or two. A Jet Li interview would be good; a Jet Li commentary track would be even better. Do not exclude the English dubbed track as this would alienate some of the more casual fans. Do not overprice the package; this would only add to the bitterness against Dimension for releasing it in an incomplete state in the first place. Do not tamper with the movie for Americanization purposes as such practices defeat the purpose of watching international films. And, although this is a somewhat less relevant matter, do not attempt to pass the restored footage off as never before seen. Legions of fans have seen it...just not in your version.
And then, sit back and watch the bucks roll in.
It may seem as if I am inundating you with excessive demands, but, again, all you need to do to satisfy fans like us is to release the films here as they were released in Hong Kong. You hardly have to do anything to accomplish this. You only create more work for yourself and disappoint people who actually care about the quality of the movie when you take it upon yourselves to give these films modifications that they do not require. Let them stand on their own merits. People dont buy tickets to the latest Jackie Chan import to listen to some out-of-place new soundtrack; they do it to revel in the action and physical comedy. Dont cut anything, and the same people who watch your releases now will still watch them, along with the die-hards like myself who refuse to watch movies that have been heavily altered by anyone other than the original creators.
It should go without saying that future Asian releases must be treated respectfully as well if you are to earn our continued support. Of these, Shaolin Soccer is the hottest topic. Probe the internet and you will see enormous support for an untainted release of Stephen Chows box office smash. Aside from correcting the grammatical imperfections in the English subtitles, there is nothing you can do to that film to improve upon it. Similarly, replacing The Legend of Zu with Zu Warriors (your most baffling title change yet) wont alter the fact that it was a critical and commercial flop in Asia; you have apparently thought twice about a widespread theatrical release after the recent disastrous test screening in New Jersey (and changing actor Ekin Chengs name to Eric Cheng doesnt help matters, either). And as for your acquisition of The Touch, the first movie from Michelle Yeohs new production company, Mythical Films, I can only hope that the esteemed Ms. Yeoh does everything in her power to ensure that you treat the film respectfully, and that she gives you all sorts of hell if you do not.
What you need to accept is that cinema is not merely a moneymaking machine. It is an art form. Admittedly, art is not the first word that springs to mind when one is confronted with the likes of Freddy Got Fingered, but thats no reason to try and bring Asian cinema down on the integrity meter to match some preconceived standard of what Western audiences will enjoy. You could sell in large numbers to both purists and less discriminating viewers by packaging the original and Americanized versions together on DVD...and, as previously illustrated, it is entirely within the realm of possibility (not to mention your own best interests in terms of both profits and respect from consumers) to do so. Why you have not done this is a mystery that Sherlock Holmes himself would be hard pressed to solve. Your belief that Asian films and their makers are second-class, and your shameless exploitation of them, must cease.
(Speaking of exploitation, I could go off on a tangent about the quantity of Disney merchandise produced by children in sweat shops surrounded by barbed wire, or on the undeniable similarities between your film The Lion King and the Japanese animated series Kimba the King Lion, but those are topics for other letters.)
Many of us have decided to boycott all releases from Miramax and Dimension until they change their tune on this matter, and others...myself included...have taken it a step further and are not supporting Disney itself or any of its subsidiaries. This will persist until the totally indefensible treatment of Asian cinema by these companies is put to a permanent halt. This may seem like something of an empty threat...the vegetarians boycotting meat argument...but most of us dont love Asian films to the exclusion of all other films, and have tastes running a gamut that includes releases from Disney-owned companies (in my particular case, the outstanding Touchstone-produced work of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan).
As long as you insist on turning out watered-down, incomplete products and hoarding movies that you do not intend to release, we will continue to alert our relatives, acquaintances, and even complete strangers to these practices. Ergo, you are missing out on even more sales. Of course, discerning consumers hardly need our advice to realize that Disney has no respect for even its own films, let alone anyone elses. The fact that the DVD release of Snow Dogs does not include a letterbox format...even though DVDs that include full frame and widescreen versions are released by other companies all the time...on account of numerous complaints from astoundingly ignorant customers about black bars at the top and bottom of the screen shows that the studio has long since abandoned any notions of artistic integrity.
There is one last matter to which I wish to draw your attention. Our website (http://www.hkfilm.net/disney) has a permanent link to an online petition advising you to cease and desist your behavior where Asian film is concerned which, as of this writing, bears nearly seven thousand signatures. Unfortunately, a few of the individuals who have signed have chosen to include needlessly vulgar and/or embarrassingly sloppy additional comments with their names. Remarks such as theirs do not reflect our stance as a whole. Many, many of the others state that I will not purchase cut and dubbed DVDs or words to that effect time and time again. I call upon you to once again consider how much income you are missing out on by continuing to present these films the way you do.
With that, it remains only for me to thank you for reading this far, to apologize for any remarks I have made that may be construed as excessively hostile or snotty as opposed to merely indignant, and to hope that you will give this matter all the contemplation that it so richly deserves.
In hopes that this finds you receptive to what we believe is no more than simple common sense and in a forward-thinking state of mind, I remain, very truly yours,
Eric Clark
numskullduggery@cs.com
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