Trying to get foreign films in U.S.

[4000dvds2many]

Okay, this pisses me off BIG TIME and someone please explain it to me:

DOGTOOTH is on Blu-Ray in the UK. It is one of the most talked about foreign language films of the year, and I have been dying to see it here in the US. Now I see that in January, Kino (who do indeed release Blu-Rays for some of their films) are only releasing it on DVD in the States. WHYYYYYY???

Now, I understand that Americans are retarded douchebags, believe me. A great many CAN'T read subtitles, not to mention the countless hordes who refuse to because they are too damn lazy or, like, it's distracting, man...

But here's what I don't get...
EVEN if more people in the UK will watch foreign language films, making it economically feasible to release them on Blu-Ray, there are 61M people there as opposed to 307M here in the States. That's a HUGE discrepancy. How can it be that out of 307M, not enough people will buy a foreign Blu-Ray, but out of 61M they will? I don't understand.

*** And before I get flooded with people extolling the virtues of Region-Free players -- I have one already. A Momitsu. And I hate it. Every time I purchase a Region Free player, it's a big hassle. Before Blu, I had a region free DVD player and it was a POS that would freeze up every 15 seconds and make weird sounds. Now, after reading through tons of recommendations, I purchased this one, and it makes a loud whirring sound all through the movie, and sometimes it won't load properly. If I suspect a film will absolutely NEVER be released on Blu here, I go for it, but I much prefer to watch my Region A Blu-Rays on my PS3.

[Q?]

A lot of anger there...

[4000dvds2many]

Wow, even when I try not to I sound angry. I'm just an angry person. It's the holidays, I lost two loved ones this year, and every time I get attached to something or love something dearly, be it a film franchise or a flavor of ice cream, it gets discontinued because apparently I'm always in the minority. Sorry for the tone of the thread. I just feel confounded at every turn...

[Arkadin]

wow, have you ever tried meditation?
as far as having a Momitsu, I'm not going to rag on it, but if you'll just get an Oppo and install the reversible mod kit, you can watch any bd you want, and you won't have issues 95% of the time.
You obviously like a good variety of movies--which is good--so I would stick with always having a region free player so that you won't have to get upset about films that don't get blu releases in the US.
Going region free is essential imo for true bd enjoyment because there will continue to be more and more great films--old and new--released on bds in other countries before they ever make it to the US, if they even get a US release.
EDIT: I have stuff I like get discontinued all the time also.
Like just going to record stores--
BOOM! can't do that anymore. and then the Barnes and Nobles superstore in our city closed last year, so BOOM no looking around in Barnes and Nobles anymore. all these stores I used to like browsing in have all closed, and I'm desperately trying to buy all the dvds I want before they all get deleted or turned into $20 a pop dvd-r releases. and don't even get me started on the music industry.
the whole digital age has been great for a lot of reasons, but in many other ways it has been a real bummer for a lot of things that were big parts of my life.

[nametag]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

wow, have you ever tried meditation?
as far as having a Momitsu, I'm not going to rag on it, but if you'll just get an Oppo and install the reversible mod kit, you can watch any bd you want, and you won't have issues 95% of the time.

+1

Not only do they play multi region BDs and DVDs, but they also will convert PAL and NTSC from one format to the other, so you don't have to worry about the possibility your TV will not play one format. They also play 50hz material... so you wouldn't have to worry about any European TV shows which are sometimes made with a different frame rate. Basically there's no disc encode it cannot play (which is not the case with all multi region players) and I've not had any problems with it playing discs. But sounds like the OP has bad luck with this, so..

I share some of his anger towards 'Got Em!!!' as well though. That and saying 'I could care less' are the most annoying forum phrases ever, but at the age of 21 I should be young and hip enough to go with it really.

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Originally Posted by 4000dvds2many

Okay, this pisses me off BIG TIME and someone please explain it to me:

DOGTOOTH is on Blu-Ray in the UK. It is one of the most talked about foreign language films of the year, and I have been dying to see it here in the US. Now I see that in January, Kino (who do indeed release Blu-Rays for some of their films) are only releasing it on DVD in the States. WHYYYYYY???

Now, I understand that Americans are retarded douchebags, believe me. A great many CAN'T read subtitles, not to mention the countless hordes who refuse to because they are too damn lazy or, like, it's distracting, man...

But here's what I don't get...
EVEN if more people in the UK will watch foreign language films, making it economically feasible to release them on Blu-Ray, there are 61M people there as opposed to 307M here in the States. That's a HUGE discrepancy. How can it be that out of 307M, not enough people will buy a foreign Blu-Ray, but out of 61M they will? I don't understand.

*** And before I get flooded with people extolling the virtues of Region-Free players -- I have one already. A Momitsu. And I hate it. Every time I purchase a Region Free player, it's a big hassle. Before Blu, I had a region free DVD player and it was a POS that would freeze up every 15 seconds and make weird sounds. Now, after reading through tons of recommendations, I purchased this one, and it makes a loud whirring sound all through the movie, and sometimes it won't load properly. If I suspect a film will absolutely NEVER be released on Blu here, I go for it, but I much prefer to watch my Region A Blu-Rays on my PS3.

Soooo, what do you want the members here to do about it?

[CZAR]

Its a conspiracy...............C.O.N.spiracy! Got Em!!

[4000dvds2many]

Argh. OK, uncle. I wasn't trying to be a raving *******. I just wondered if anyone ever thought about that discrepancy and how could there not be enough watchers of foreign films in this country to merit Blu releases... Sorry if I upset anyone.

[CZAR]

Originally Posted by 4000dvds2many

Argh. OK, uncle. I wasn't trying to be a raving *******. I just wondered if anyone ever thought about that discrepancy and how could there not be enough watchers of foreign films in this country to merit Blu releases... Sorry if I upset anyone.

Well I must be a retarded douchbag because I dont really do foreign films as I just dont care to read subtitles. Its not the same for me. Got Em!!

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by CZAR

Well I must be a retarded douchbag because I dont really do foreign films as I just dont care to read subtitles. Its not the same for me. Got Em!!

We already knew you were simple-minded from the incessant "Got Em!!"'s ending your every post. The information you offer here re: your disdain for subtitles is, as such, simply redundant.

To the OP:

The studios releasing niche films in the US are different than those releasing niche films in the UK - so it's not an apples to apples comparison. For some more obscure films, it's just luck of the draw - the right studio with the right mindset about the film will release it on BD, whereas other studios with the same film would pass. Sucks, but that's how it is. Criterion releases in the US are the envy of many film fans living abroad, so it happens in the reverse direction as well.

As for your Momitsu, honestly it seems like kind of a cheap player - I've heard complaints from other owners as well, and so I avoided it when choosing my own region free player. I have an Oppo BDP-83 and it was super easy to install the region free chip (no soddering or special tools required, just a screwdriver to get the case open). My experience with that player has been amazing - no complaints. It is discontinued, but you could surely get one second hand or from a retailer that still had stock, or you could wait for their new model the BDP-93 that will almost surely have a similar region free mod released for it.

As for the people heckling you, you do have a very negative tone in your posts. And beyond that, there's honestly nothing anyone here can really say or do to address your issues, as they're firmly outside our spheres of influence. I'd suggest writing polite letters to companies whose releases disappoint you, and investing in a quality region free player as suggested above. Region locking is unfortunately not going away any time soon so might as well get used to handling it.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by 4000dvds2many

*** And before I get flooded with people extolling the virtues of Region-Free players -- I have one already. A Momitsu. And I hate it. Every time I purchase a Region Free player, it's a big hassle. .

For someone with a massive blu-ray collection of your size, you can afford a non-problematic multi-region blu-ray player. Or you can get a cheap excellent $150 one as I did, which plays blu-rays from anywhere perfectly (my Sherwood BDP-5004) http://www.amazon.com/Sherwood-BDP-5...3135848&sr=8-7). And I haven't had to deal with any B.S. with firmware updates and modifying with some kit crap. I bought it as is, and just input a code on the remote everytime i switch regions. The only problem with this player is that it sometimes gets squeeky when I play DVDs. But if you also have a multi-region dvd player also, then just play your dvds in that.

If you like foreign movies and imports, you aren't going to be happy telling yourself "I just want my regular USA player and I hope they release this movie here". Great dvds and blu-rays get released in other countries that will never come here to the USA. That's a fact, so the only way to feel better is buy a multi-region blu-ray player.

Why wouldn't you spend a little more on a good player? It's like the equivalent of owning 2000 blu-rays but watching it on a Zenith square tv. Just buy a multi-region blu-ray player that has received good reviews. Simple as that.

Or just buy the DVD.

[jacobsever]

You complaining about the slight noise your region free player makes is just as bad as people who don't want to read subtitles.

GET OVER IT.

[4000dvds2many]

You complaining about the slight noise your region free player makes is just as bad as people who don't want to read subtitles.

GET OVER IT.

Well, it's not a "slight noise". It's a distraction, as I can hear it over my not-inexpensive sound system.

[jacobsever]

First world problems.

[4000dvds2many]

Okay, apparently only people with sunshine coming out their butts, with problems no worse than a hangnail can post on this forum, so I bid adieu and will stick to the collection area of this website from now on. But thanks to the people who actually addressed my concern. If I ever post again, I'll be sure to be a perfect gentleman and not offend anyone's delicate sensibilities. Sheesh.

First world problems...
Dude, you're posting on a Blu-Ray collection site. You're going to pretend you're so non-materialistic?

[gusw666]

Well, taking the bullcrap a side, I am from Argentina, I live in Argentina, and the releases that I can get here are CRAP, not to say that a new BD here costs about 40 dollars for a single edition. But what do I do to fix it, well, I buy movies from all over the world, DVDs, blus, and well, everything.

Im sorry for your loss!

Cya.


Gus