I didn't know till now that Youtube is full of users who upload tons of full-lengh movies into their accounts...I was used to see clips from all kind of movies but this thing of uploading full movies has really surprised me. But I have to say my heart is divided into two parts because of this....First, I am happy because we are given the chance to watch many rare movies from every corner of the world. I have seem movies that are not avaliable on DVD, VCD or VHS outside third-world countries or they are just collectors pieces...but in the other hand, I don't agree about uploading copyrighted movies...I consider myself a collector, I enjoy cinema & I think I have to pay for a work other people have done for my own entertainment. It is fair...You make a work, you develope your owns ideas, you have the right to get your benefit...I hate piracy & I despise pirates...
Platoon The Warriors is a copyrighted feature from IFD that is still on their catalog...someone has uploaded it to YouTube. The source is an English-dubbed language VHS from Greece, since the film has not known DVD release, I have decided to include it here, just in case some reader hasn't seen it yet. Anyway, I encourage you to purchase legal releases...
Platoon The Warriors, as you may know, was directed by Philip Ko who used as main body a 1984 filipino production titled Diegong Bayong, starred by filipino star Anthony Malonzo. Diegong Bayong is a powerful, bloody & gritty action drama that was nicely edited by Philip Ko. Platoon the Warriors is a personal favourite of mine.
Oh, I also found in Youtube the original Spanish trailer. I have to say, I had never seen it before on any spanish release...& I like it a lot!!!!!...
I agree 100% on full Godfrey Ho/IFD/Filmark movies being on youtube, because the alternative way to watch them is to have to struggle in finding rare VHS copies of said films! I searched for Soldier Terminators for three years on online shops, and, after never finding it, I noticed it had been uploaded onto youtube recently!
ResponderEliminarSo as for IFD movies. I consider it love, rather than piracy that people upload the full ones onto youtube.
Thanks Chris for your message!...yeah, I agree to see Full movies on YouTube if they are of public domain. It is not fair to upload copyrighted stuff without any kind of permission because we all lose: The producer loses, the director loses & we lose because small production companies will not invest on new entertainment products.
ResponderEliminarIf I paid the distribution of a movie & I invested my time & money on it but later someone distributes it without control, I would not be so stupid to do it again...and that's the begining of the chain...
I understand what you say & I partly ( as I said in the post)got happy to find these hard to find movies on YouTube...
Thanks again for your comment!
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These films are not in the public domain. IFD own the copyrights, end of story. A lot of films are being released in the US under this excuse but it's just not correct. The reason nothing happens is that IFD (and similar foreign labels) would have to sue them themselves (which is costly). In the US you can't just report them to the police as you can in most of the western world. But that's the legal stuff, personally I full-heartedly welcome that these films are on YouTube so that fans can watch them. You might say people ought to find legit copies but most of these films have never been released on DVD so you CAN'T actually find legit copies. Having said that I hate watching full films on YouTube.
ResponderEliminarThanks Jack for your comment.
ResponderEliminarNot too much to say after your words, just something about the public domain: As we know IFD films are copyrighted, but most of Filmark movies are not!...Most of Filmark movies are in the public domain ( like the ones done by Lo Wei with Jackie Chan) & just a small bunch of them, the kung fu ones previously produced by Asso Asia, that were shared by IFD & the company of Godfrey Ho. Actually, my friend Domingo Lopez met Godfrey Ho in a filmarket not too long ago & checking his catalog he found some movies previously released by Filmark. The rest of Asso Asia belongs to Joseph Lai.
So, that's maybe the mistake in the public domain about IFD films in USA. There are still many people who think IFD & Filmark were the same company...
In Feb 2009 I did a video interview to Mike Abbott & a documentary about IFD & Filmark filming locations in Hong Kong. This material was supposed to be edited & used as extra features in a dvd collection of IFD movies in Spain...eventually the project was cancelled because of piracy & not too many market chances to sell enough legal copies...Fred Anderson "Ninja Dixon" can tell something similar, right?...
That's why I am against uploading copyrighted stuff...and I also hate watching movies in a computer!!!!!...but at least it is a chance to let people know more about this cinema.
I used to have this on VHS. I should probably look around, I might still have it.
ResponderEliminarLove the blog!