Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Caveat Emptor
Jack Valenti can't be happy about this. And when Jack Valenti gets mad, Manny Perry gets furious. (NB: Yes, I know Valenti's retired. But I like to think he's retired so that he can fight piracy without attracting media scrutiny, like Batman). Of course, DVD pirates will get better, and that blows for Hollywood. I've bought two bootleg DVDs myself: DVD-R copies of the difficult-to-find Criterion Editions of Salò and The Killer. Neither one was available to rent or buy in genuine editions for less than $500, so I don't feel too bad about it. And I knew what I was buying; it wasn't made up to be a real DVD, just an exact digital copy of the incredibly expensive original. Criterion Collection editions are kind of the gold standard for bootleggers, as a genuine copy of Salò can fetch more than $700. There's a pretty good resource for identifying Criterion fakes here, with specific entries on known bootlegs. Bootleg merchandise will be the art forgery of our time.
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