UK art house fans must be pleased

[richieb1971]

Its simple diversity, plus the fact that the UK doesn't have much control of what American stuff comes out here. Usually we are at the mercy of politics and other crap.

We make less movies, but I think there is a higher % of good stuff here than there. Most of it wouldn't appeal to US citizens anyway.

[demoni]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

We make less movies, but I think there is a higher % of good stuff here than there. Most of it wouldn't appeal to US citizens anyway.

+1

You're my God!!

[Hugh K. David]

As a UK resident, I only have one single complaint, which is that licensing costs often prevent soundtracks and extras from leaping from the home territory. It annoys me, for example, that US editions of Black Book, Chungking Express and now Waltz With Bashir all carry commentaries, as do French BDs of Female Agents and Taken. UK distributors do try to offer exclusive interviews instead, and there are those who prefer the conciseness of a 15-minute to-camera piece from the director and/or star, but if a commentary has been recorded then, budget permitting, it would be nice to have it.

For those wondering, there are up to three costs associated with a commentary for UK distribs:

a) licensing the recording from the original studio/label
b) paying for it to be rated by the BBFC (as an extra, it has to be covered separately from the film, so the BBFC cost has just doubled before any other extras are submitted)
c) getting it subtitled when it is recorded in another language.

(b) is usually the deciding factor. Thank goodness for directors like Guillermo del Toro, who happily record brand-new commentaries for Optimum's releases of his Spanish-language films.