Importing from Germany/France/Spain etc

[Blu Lemmy]

Are there any things I need to take into account when importing from such places?

I understand from a couple recent threads that France has a few things to look out for, but I'd be primarily looking at importing from Germany.

Any advice most welcome

[DTSBOY]

What shops? Amazon, Turbine etc?

With all the euro Amazon's you can just use your UK log-in. They're all translated via google with varying results of hilarity.

Turbine has a dedicated UK flag option you just go with that. Never used other places.


As for language options and subtitles then use this place for doing your research. Although I messed up with a recent title which is all German..

My mistake as I wasn't careful enough. This one. Wir Sind die Nacht

We Are the Night

[the13thman]

Some French discs have forced subtitles while in Germany there are still films that are cut, so those are the things I take into account.

[ronand]

Be careful if language/subtitle options are important - don't trust the amazon listing for accuracy.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Also, don't know you taste, but if you are into horror, then you should be aware that Amazon will not carry a lot of German and Austrian releases due to their censorship status. You will have to order those kind of titles from Austrian e-tailers like shop.dtm.at or beyondmedia.at.

[CelestialAgent]

Many European retailers will have stopped sending to the UK due to the changes in VAT laws. For example I believe Plaion Pictures stopped, though Subkultur, Wicked-Vision and Camera Obscura might still do it. I believe FNAC over in France ships to the UK, while JPC also does so. With Amazon, it’s worth looking out for multibuy options. Some eBay sellers will send to the UK, though the cost of shipping might be inflated relative to the cost of the disc. Used copies aren’t always difficult to find with Momox/Medimops, though quality can vary and you won’t really know until it arrives. UK based sellers can sometimes inflate the cost of an item compared to if you ordered it direct from France/Germany/Spain.

For researching titles, beyond DVDCompare it’s worth running some German language databases through Google Translate, like bluray-disc.de and blu-ray-rezensionen. French language sites include DVDFr, DVDClassik and homepopcorn. Or even just find a image of the back cover. Sometimes the studio website has different information to other retailers. Sprächen/tonformat/fassung and UT/untertitel are what to look out for if you’re checking if a film has an English soundtrack or subtitles. In France, you need to look out for VO/VF - Version originale/française and sous-titres (subtitles). Many Italian films which were postsychronised will include an English soundtrack option, while labels like Wicked-Vision, Turbine, Plaion, Capelight, Subkultur, Ostalgica, Camera Obscura, Explosive Media will often produce editions that are English friendly, including extras. Though booklets are rarely bilingual. One thing to make sure of is in rare cases like the Sabrina remake, only the German dub is included. Forced subtitles are notorious with Wild Side, but also many of L'atelier d'images‘s UHDs.

In terms of titles, many German releases (especially mediabooks) incorporate extras from US releases which might be absent from the UK editions (some Filmjuwelen releases), or have only been released on BD in that territory or the distributor produces their own set of unique extras. Though French releases do often have unique extras (some of the ESC and Carlotta releases, produced by Fiction Factory or Allerton Films), often with Sidonis or Rimini it will be a French language interview with a French critic so not of much use to an English speaker. Often English language commentaries might be replaced by a German language one (Mike Siegel with the Sam Peckinpah films), though on rare occasions it might have English subtitles. I would be wary of some UHDs though, with inaccurate HDR passes or use of DNR/upscaling like The Blood on Satan’s Claw, No Escape, Boss Level.

Spain is more complicated due to the number of bootleg releases, while the official labels will often use forced subtitles.

[drush9999]

Other than the amazons.

I regularly use fnac.fr and jpc.de with no issues. Great for pre-orders when they don't let you order from amazon until it comes out.

[Blu Lemmy]

Thank you everyone

[levcore]

I always use Amazon Germany and they regularly have those great offers, 4 for 22 EUR and 3 for 18 EUR etc

[Blu Lemmy]

Are the Germans a bit more relaxed in their censorship and cutting films?

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Blu Lemmy

Are the Germans a bit more relaxed in their censorship and cutting films?

well as 13thman said above, watch out with some releases, as some movies (i've only really noticed it with a handful of horrors) can be cut.

What are you after specifically, i'm sure many here could advise as to whether they are cut or not.

[CinemaScope]

I've ordered tons of discs from France & Germany (via Amazon) & no probs at all, half the time the stuff arrives quicker than from Amazon UK. You can set Amazon.de to English, just change the country box next to the magnifying glass search button.

[Cinematt]

Also do your research if you find that a title you've been looking for only seems to be available in Spain, there's a fair chance it's not a legit release. There are a few Spanish companies that just seem to ignore copyright and release bootleg discs and for reasons I don't understand it's just tolerated.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Blu Lemmy

Are the Germans a bit more relaxed in their censorship and cutting films?

I think the FSK can be a bit strict, though like with the BBFC some films are finally being passed uncut after being censored for decades. It’s not as bad as it was postwar too - after the Nazis banned films for their messages or because they were made by Jews, the West German release of Casablanca during the 50s was shortened by 25 minutes, cutting out the Nazis and references to WWII and turned Laszlo from a Resistance fighter to a Norwegian atomic physicist fleeing prison! In Germany, FSK 18s on the index can’t be sold in shops but by mail order, and you have to provide proof of age to the person delivering your Blu-ray!

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

Also do your research if you find that a title you've been looking for only seems to be available in Spain, there's a fair chance it's not a legit release. There are a few Spanish companies that just seem to ignore copyright and release bootleg discs and for reasons I don't understand it's just tolerated.

Perhaps amazon would sever business ties with them if H & M objected?

[The Hornets]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

I think the FSK can be a bit strict, though like with the BBFC some films are finally being passed uncut after being censored for decades. It’s not as bad as it was postwar too - after the Nazis banned films for their messages or because they were made by Jews, the West German release of Casablanca during the 50s was shortened by 25 minutes, cutting out the Nazis and references to WWII and turned Laszlo from a Resistance fighter to a Norwegian atomic physicist fleeing prison! In Germany, FSK 18s on the index can’t be sold in shops but by mail order, and you have to provide proof of age to the person delivering your Blu-ray!

This is why Amazon.de won't stock a lot of these as you have the hassle of proof of identity which also doesn't exist if they are selling outside of Germany.

FSK 18 can relate to both violence (action and horror titles) but also "adult" titles like many of the Jess Franco films (these being unrated in the US, and compulsorily cut or banned in the UK). These have to be imported from elsewhere or the Austrian retailers noted earlier in threat as they don't have the sales restrictions German retailers face.

[gap]

Originally Posted by Cinematt

Also do your research if you find that a title you've been looking for only seems to be available in Spain, there's a fair chance it's not a legit release. There are a few Spanish companies that just seem to ignore copyright and release bootleg discs and for reasons I don't understand it's just tolerated.

Copyright law is different in Spain, AFAIK. So while not 100%< it's not 100% illegal either. I'm sure someone else can explain it better than that; I'm sure there was an explanation on one of the threads before.

[RossyG]

As far as I know, Spanish law says that if a film isn’t legally available, it’s fair game for others to fill the gap.

[Blu Lemmy]

I mean, that's a bizarre law!

Thanks everyone, appreciate the info

[ukpaul]

I've been trying to find a way to get the Mandingo release outside of resellers at inflated prices and failed so far. The only way I've found is a business that buy things for you from Germany and that just inflates the price as well.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mandingo-Blu-ray/303295/