The Wonderful World of DVD-R Bootlegging on the Web

After reading a recent article in the LA Weekly, my attention was turned to several internet sites that offer obscure films for sale on DVD-R. Actually, to say that these films are obscure is an understatement. Although some of the films available for sale are recognized genre classics such as Jacques Tourneur's "I Walked with a Zombie," (which until recently was simply unavailable on "legitimate" DVD) others are unknown or long-forgotten titles which will never be distributed in the US.

A trip to a site like 5 Minutes to Live will introduce you to film genres you never even knew existed, such as Nunsploitation (soft-core plots set in convents), Bruceploitation (films which claim to star Bruce Lee, but which were released after his death) or Turkish Remake Cinema - a category of films made in Turkey that loosely remake Hollywood blockbusters. Titles include Turkish Star Wars, Turkish Exorcist and Turkish Young Frankenstein ! (All films in Turkish, with no English subtitles).


Turkish Darth Vader?


"Bruce Lee" with Asian Popeye in "The Dragon Lives Again."
The film is dubbed into English and is subtitled in German !

The sites vary in content and presentation - some providing detailed descriptions of the films and the quality of audio and video, while others (like Robert's Hard to Find Videos) give only a line-listing of titles and prices. Each of these resellers is essentially a collector, and many of them are willing to accept trades of titles not yet in their catalog. Often, the titles are created with a standalone DVD-R recorder, with no perks or menus whatsoever, however the folks at Super Happy Fun recruit multi-lingual people to subtitle their DVDs ! Anyone fluent in another language with patience and a passion for cinema can enlist with them to create subtitles for DVD-R titles in trade.
While most of the DVD-R titles are mastered from horrible VHS copies with frame drop-outs, bad tracking, atrocious color and cavernous sound - some of these titles actually reflect a high level of care in their preparation.

Super Happy Fun stocks a title called "Superman 2 - Restored International Cut" which compiles all the known extant and accessible footage from the 1980 film "Superman 2" (culled from international broadcasts and collected from fans around the world). It is split onto 2 DVD-Rs and comes with a load of extra features, such as the out-of-print Superman 2 soundtrack score, original artwork and DVD menus, an on-screen subtitle guide with production information, a gallery of unpublished promotional stills, and a demonstration of the extensive video restoration work that was done on the footage to make it look more presentable. There is a lot of background information on the film's missing footage on the DVD-Rs, which has also been obsessively detailed on the fansite Superman Cinema. Granted, most of the "missing footage" consists of extraneous dialogue or endless 2nd unit sequences of extras enjoying Niagara Falls, so this is not the version of the film you would use to introduce kids to the Superman movie franchise. (It runs over 2 hours and yes, you notice the time going by). However, for fans who were always dying to see General Zod pick up a machine gun and fire it at soldiers in the White House, or for any cinephile curious about the story of how a major blockbuster film got all mangled up in studio red-tape and contract disputes, this DVD-R is a great piece of film history.
Who in the world would spend so much time and effort creating things like this?
Who in the world would waste so much time watching stuff like this?


Gen. Zod lobbies Washington in "missing footage" from Superman 2.

I was ecstatic to have found that there are people committed to sifting through images and collecting, compiling, categorizing and calling attention to them. I am eagerly awaiting delivery of my DVD-R copy of the 5-and-a-half hour workprint version of "Apocalypse Now." And I would definately recommend the "Lost and Found Video" series at 5 Minutes to Live. These are video grab-bags, around 90 minutes in length of select clips of recorded TV. The collection I saw contained a live performace by Funkadelic on an Ed Sullivan-type variety show as well as odd foreign commercials, highlights from televangelist shows and a Tracy Lords workout video.
Bad taste has never had a better home.


(clockwise from top left) A TV evangelist with a remedy for clear skin; the Fabulous Freebird tag team wrestlers; William Shatner's famed "Rocketman" spoken word performance; Barney and Fred relax with Winston ... Tastes good, the way a cigarette should ! (From Lost and Found Video Night Vol. 2 - 5 Minutes to Live)




5 Minutes to Live
Superhappyfun
Subterranean Cinema
Superhappyfun
Revenge Is My Destiny
Pimpadelic Wonderland
Gravedigger Video
Witching Hour Video
Robert's Hard to Find Videos