Discussing pirated movies

[devincf]

DON'T.

We do not like piracy of movies. It's a rotten practice and it makes you an asshole. I don't care what your half-assed, childish, self-deluding, moronic excuses are for pirating a movie, simply don't discuss pirated movies you've seen on this board.

Thank you.

[Patrick Ripoll]

Does the same go for music?

Honest question.

[devincf]

I just give a shit about movie discussions. You people can go nuts on your off topic stuff, I mostly quit reading it so I would stop being annoyed.

[Bitches Leave]

Too bad this thread didn't materialize after the endless discussions of the Wolverine leak. That movie received far too much attention.

[Graham]

Nice tag.

[Sebastian OB]

What if someone else pirated something and brought it over with a bunch of friends and beer and made you watch it with them?

[Domingo]

Who the fuck does that??

[Sebastian OB]

Who the fuck does that??

People who don't hang out on movie message boards and don't care about piracy.

[Reasor]

See post #1 regarding excuses.

Just don't bring your pirate bullshit here. Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants this site to develop a reputation for condoning that stuff. The reasons why have already been explained in simple enough terms for a child to understand.

[The Dark Shape]

Pff. I know some people who believe piracy is their civic duty.

http://www.poptower.com/images/db/1650/450/500/keira-knightley.jpg

I'm actually in something of a flame-war with someone over Harry Potter - he hates the last three films, downloaded Order of the Phoenix, and says he'll do the same with Half-Blood Prince. I called him a thief and his excuses were "Warner Bros. should make better movies!" and "Welcome to the digital age; everyone does it." Blah.

[Domingo]

Not to mention these boards are packed full of below the line people that aren't going to appreciate you casually spouting your douche-bag mouth off about how you steal shows. People aren't putting hours and hours of work into productions so you can fucking turn around and steal them you stupid, lazy, inconsiderate douche nozzles.

People posting on a fucking MOVIE MESSAGE BOARD have zero excuse.

[Sebastian OB]

Domingo, I'm gonna bit-torrent your funeral.

[reggie-wanker]

Domingo, I'm gonna bit-torrent your funeral.

Unless his funeral is copyrighted by an MPAA signatory, this is probably OK.

[Domingo]

*points*

Stop that.

[Bobby Bear]

I'm, obviously, with Devin on this. It was disgusting how those unscrupulous enough to watch the Wolverine leak had no problem with discussing that fact.

[Ken Savage]

Totally agree with the sentiment behind the rant but have to raise an obvious point. Even if you ban people for talking about pirating they will still do it, they just won't say the version they saw is a pirate.

Edited to add: Also if you are going to come out against it then it should be ALL forms of piracy. This board has TV and music forums on it and people regulary talk about downloading the latest lost or whatever. People are going to cry foul if you frown upon one form of piracy but don't care about others.

[Erix]

I'm going to agree 100% with Devin on this as both a filmmaker and lover of film, it is completely wrong to pirate movies. And I would never do it. Period. To date, the only time I've used torrent for downloading has been to get a hold of some fanedit. I think that's acceptable, right? No harm no foul.

However... That being said, I have to raise an interesting point and I may not be the only one with this problem.

Here in Bolivia, original DVDs are very hard to come by. Piracy runs rampant and so all you can find are bootlegs. They sell these fuckers on street corners and even "official" video rental places offer dupes. It's gotten to the point where the concept of renting a video is pretty much obsolete. If Eufforia can sell you the dupe for 10 Bolivianos (about a buck fifty), why would you "rent" it for 4 Bolivianos?

Therefore, the only way I can watch DVDs at home is through pirated dupes. This is not by choice. And I don't keep them. I have an arrangement with my "dealer" I'll take a stack home, watch the films, then take them back to him and get another stack at a reduced rate. Kind of like my personal Netflix... If I ever want to actually buy a movie to own, I'll do it through an import house or Amazon. (Case in point: I'm having the DC of Watchmen Blu Ray brought over. I'm getting the Amazon.com exclusive. It will end up costing me over 100 dollars. But it's worth it. Regular DVDs and Blu Rays cost me about 15 - 20% more than their list price.)

My point is, 80% of the time, I watch pirated movies here because I have no choice. But I don't download them myself and I don't keep them.

In some cases, certain movies don't even make it down here (like The Wrestler) and I absolutely have no choice but to get a bootleg off my dealer if I want to see the film.

In any case, I hope my perfectly valid excuse means I'm off anyone's shit list.

For the record: I did NOT see the leaked Wolverine (paid money to see that shit in a theater, thank you very much) and - although I'm aware of a torrent available for the Watchmen DC (a friend offered it to me, in fact) I will wait patiently until the end of the month so I can screen my Blu Ray at the Cinematheque... I think that will be a much more worthwhile experience.

[Richard Dickson]

Totally agree with the sentiment behind the rant but have to raise an obvious point. Even if you ban people for talking about pirating they will still do it, they just won't say the version they saw is a pirate.

In some cases, when they talk about is a giveaway as to whether they watched a pirated version or not.

[Justin Clark]

Lord knows I agree, but with all due respect, the whole sentiment is nothing more than internet masturbation when talking about a pirated movie isn't a bannable offense.

We all know that the whole point of bragging about having watched a torrent or bootleg basically boils down to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cnG3nbing). We know these people are advocating piracy, and are everything wrong with the movie industry, etc, etc. Yet they're allowed to stay. If these people are symptoms of a raging sickness in this industry, not backing up the repeated vigorous butthurt with action is the equivalent of allowing the sick industry to sit outside naked with open wounds while getting a cheap lapdance from a hooker with uncontrollable horrifying dysentery. These people get off on having a voice for their crime. Have the good taste to take that voice away, or kindly quit your bitching.

And by the way, it's supposedly off-topic, and Devin wants no parts of it, but it seems to be my prime domain on the boards these days, so, I'll gladly take up the flag on this one: I'm more than willing to extend that policy to any cuntrag in the Video Game forum who brags about playing a pirated copy of an upcoming game.

[reggie-wanker]

Someone needs to correct the spelling of "hypocrits" in their tag in the name of optimal search results.

[Weasels Rip My Flesh]

What I don't get is how dense you have to be to openly talk about it and draw attention to themselves. People will pirate movies, thats a given, but they can't just sit on their hands until post-release date before talking about it?

That's what I'm doing right now with Avatar.

Oops.

[Gabe Powers]

I dead serious with this question:
How morally outraging is my personal torrent practice? In the last year or so I've torrented 3 movies: Night of the Demon (killer bigfoot movie), The Gestapo's Last Orgy, and Absurd. I pirated them because they aren't available on DVD in ANY country (so far as I can find), and in all my years of scrounging video stores across the country I haven't even been able to find them on VHS. I really wanted to see them as a horror movie fanatic.

[Doug]

I dead serious with this question:


This am serious question!

[nekkerbee]

This is why most criminals and rulebreakers get caught, they're too goddamn stupid to keep their mouths shut. You can't justify piracy, either legally or by the ethics of this community, so if you do it don't talk about it. Fucking amateurs.

[devincf]

It's at times like these that I weep for the loss of common sense in this world.

[Chris Miller]

I don't think it matters. Think about it, who are you worried about offending? Unless you have some sort of urge to "get right" with Devin, I would just not talk about how you got those movies on the boards. At the end of the day, the website as a company wants to stay as far away as they can from condoning illegal downloads. If you found a suitcase of money and kept it, would you go on the irs website and ask if they thought you were still cool?

[Jason Pollock]

I still haven't seen Wolverine.

Who wants to touch me?

[Mr. Freeze]

*raises hand*

[Gabe Powers]

This am serious question!

At least I didn't refer to myself in the third person, right?

"Gabe watch bad horror movies without permission, am Gabe bad man?"

I should of worded it more like this:

The act of fanatical collectors bootlegging rare horror 'gems' predates internet forums, torrents, and DVD. It's kind of a 'grand tradition' for horror fandom to share these things. There were proto-message forums in the backs of magazines like Fangoria. At the time this was the only way to 'enjoy' such rarities. I'd argue that the passing of VHS boots insured the resurgence of interest that eventually led companies like Anchor Bay and Synapse Films to put effort into digitally remastering and releasing special edition DVDs of stuff like The Beyond, Phenomena, and The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue.

Do these rules still apply to horror fans, or does the digital age make them obsolete? Were we assholes in the first place, and I'm full of shit for having such fond memories?

[joeypants]

Do these rules still apply to horror fans, or does the digital age make them obsolete? Were we assholes in the first place, and I'm full of shit for having such fond memories?

I think it's safe to say that when it comes to films, no grey area of any kind is tolerated here.

[Jake]

Do these rules still apply to horror fans, or does the digital age make them obsolete? Were we assholes in the first place, and I'm full of shit for having such fond memories?

I'm probably going to be proven horribly wrong with this, but in my opinion there's a pretty big difference between some impatient ass downloading a crappy R5 screener (or a DVD-rip) of a movie because they want to be first in line to talk about it like they're part of the Kool Kids Klub and someone downloading something that's damn near impossible to find short of seeking out the masters of the film like in Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns".

EDIT: I know that the MPAA doesn't give a shit whether it's rare or not, in their eyes it's still illegal, but I also doubt that there are MPAA employees that are being assigned to track people seeding something like Titicut Follies.

[Alex Riviello]

Funny Gabe, was coming in here to reply to your first post with exactly that. Back in the day when horror cons still mattered it was the best thing in the world to go there and pick up a boot of say, Argento's cut of Dawn of the Dead, or Necromantik.

I don't think there is a true film fan alive who hasn't watched a bootleg at some point. It's unavoidable sometimes, especially when you're young and don't have the money (or yes, patience) to get it through legal means. Now of course that most everything is available fast and cheap, it's a different matter.

But anyway this is all a discussion for another thread.

[Phil]

I buy bootlegs of unavailable shit all the time at cons. That's archaeology. When and if they become available legitimately, I upgrade, but I've been waiting 20 years for some stuff.

[Gabe Powers]

I did the foot work on Necromantik, Alex. I remember driving 45 minutes to the south Phoenix suburbs just to rent it. And now I own the DVD. I never watch it, but it's there, just in case I need to clear out a house party fast.

[Alex Riviello]

I actually first saw it a midnight screening in a packed theater. Quite the experience. But I could never find that movie on VHS! Friend grabbed boots of it and the sequel... that made for a fun night.

Er, but yeah, bootlegs.

[joeypants]

Stuff like that (i.e. things that you couldn't pay for even if you wanted to) are about the only things I've ever really downloaded/pirated/bootlegged.

Case in point... I torrented "Living with Michael Jackson" the other day. Didn't want it... just NEEDED it.

[devincf]

Look, we all know what I'm talking about here. Can the rabbinical parsing of the rules. I'd be fucking psyched if people on these boards discussed old or rare movies.

[Peter Judson]

I still remember the joy of finding a Japanese VHS dupe of the El Topo laserdisc in high school. I miss Blackest Heart Media, but there are still plenty of sites devoted to these "grey market" films. A buddy recently sent me Demon Lover Diary. May give it a spin tonight.

And yeah, stealing legit releases sucks and you suck when you do it. Especially if its a smaller company's release or a cult item that genuinely needs the support your cash provides.

[Bitches Leave]

Erix I'm sad to hear about the situation in your country but nevertheless I would say that supporting bootleggers with actual money is even worse than downloading the movies.

[Erix]

Erix I'm sad to hear about the situation in your country but nevertheless I would say that supporting bootleggers with actual money is even worse than downloading the movies.

Most of the people who sell the DVDs aren't the actual bootleggers. They get their copies from Peru and so forth... and if you were to trace it back to the source you would probably find that the original DVD it was ripped from came from some dickwad who works at Warner Brothers or whatever. The proof is in the pudding: at the end of the year, many of the DVDs you find are copies of Academy screeners.

So, by giving my dealer 20 Bolivianos every couple of weeks, I'm helping him feed his family. It's not his fault this is the only merchandise available to him.

Yes, it's a vicious circle. And yes, by actually consuming the product in any form, I am inadvertently supporting it. But the fact is, if I didn't get my movies from a street dealer I'd never watch movies here. (What. Wait for them to show up on cable in full screen? Why?) As I said, I treat it like a rental. I certainly don't stock up on pirate DVDs. And I never get a bootleg DVD of a movie that is in current release. The stack next to my TV at the moment is as such: Push, REC, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, Knowing and Geoffrey Wright's Macbeth (which I have to take back anyway because this copy only has a Spanish language track).

You can judge me for doing this. But think about what I said - Back when Video Rental houses existed, they also rented you dupes. (Before DVD... Back when it was still VHS) DVDs got so cheap and piracy got so widespread that it killed the video rental business in this country. Video renters realized it was better for them to just sell their shit.

(A couple of dealers buy originals themselves and sell you dupes of their own stuff. There are a few who actually download stuff from the internet and make DVDs of that - like the guy who offered me the Director's Cut of Watchmen - but that's kind of where I draw the line.)

When video download services start making their stuff more accessible outside the US (like Netflix or PSN or iTunes) things may change. But, for now, I really have no choice but to get whatever is available. If everywhere I go, all they have is dupes, what choice do I have?

I still purchase what I want to own online. I still go to the movies at least once a week if I can. I do what I can to support the industry. And it really needs it here.

[Gabe Powers]

Especially if its a smaller company's release or a cult item that genuinely needs the support your cash provides.

Yes! This point can't be stressed enough. Especially since the smaller cult companies are folding left and right (or being bought out by Starz and refusing to release anything interesting any more). I wish there was a way to insure that the small guys would get a hair of profits every time I rented one of their movies on Netflix. Am I wrong in assuming Netflix just tosses them the cost of a disc and profits off the rest?

[Snaieke]

Not to mention these boards are packed full of below the line people that aren't going to appreciate you casually spouting your douche-bag mouth off about how you steal shows. People aren't putting hours and hours of work into productions so you can fucking turn around and steal them you stupid, lazy, inconsiderate douche nozzles.

People posting on a fucking MOVIE MESSAGE BOARD have zero excuse.

www.hulu.com (http://www.hulu.com)
or
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

TV shows are online, streaming and free... Also, you can see movies on hulu... I fail to see the need to pirate when shit is free.

As to movies, I need that shit in 1080p or I'm just not happy and neither should anyone else! -- That being said... pirating may be a viable alternative once movies aren't available anymore. I think VHS has a shelf life on it and using devices like an Archos to transfer something digitally may be the only way to save these classics until the studios finally dust off a print and transfer to DVD\BR (maybe not even a good one, look at a lot of the transfers of movies that are shown little love)

Look back at some of the movies that were released on Beta\VHS that haven't been transferred to DVD yet and now with Blu-Ray... there's a vast quantity of great films that are slipping through the cracks. I can see it now, 5 years from now entire torrent sites devoted to Eddie Cantor!! God help us all when TCM becomes a sellout like AMC and predominantly airs movies that were made in the last 10-15 years.

[Graham]

Lest we forget (http://www.chud.com/articles/articles/16123/1/THE-DEVIN039S-ADVOCATE-GIVE-THEM-SPACED/Page1.html)

The first paragraph is ALL you need.

[Erix]

www.hulu.com (http://www.hulu.com)
or
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

TV shows are online, streaming and free... Also, you can see movies on hulu...

Yes. But not outside the US. Or at least, not around these parts.

You don't know how much I miss Conan... Can someone send me DVDs of The Tonight Show? I'll suck your dick.

[reggie-wanker]

Yes. But not outside the US. Or at least, not around these parts.

You don't know how much I miss Conan... Can someone send me DVDs of The Tonight Show? I'll suck your dick.

iPlayer doesn't work in the US.


Can I use BBC iPlayer outside the UK?

Rights agreements mean that BBC iPlayer television programmes are only available to users to download or stream (Click to Play) in the UK. However, we are aware of demand for an international version.

Most radio programmes are available outside the UK in addition to podcasts, although sporting and other programmes may be subject to rights agreements.

In addition, many BBC News programmes are available for viewers outside the UK, as are BBC Sport highlights.

Do make sure you check for the latest updates on BBC iPlayer or contact your own country's broadcasters to find out if they offer a similar service to BBC iPlayer.

[Sean Blackwell]

Lest we forget (http://www.chud.com/articles/articles/16123/1/THE-DEVIN039S-ADVOCATE-GIVE-THEM-SPACED/Page1.html)

The first paragraph is ALL you need.

I don't think Devin's aim here is to state that he's above reproach on this topic. We've all done things that are illegal and stupid, from smoking pot to thinking you're okay to drive home when you're probably not, etc. I think his point is that while these activities may be going on, speaking about them on the boards is the pinnacle of lunacy. Especially on a site whose bread is buttered by the very people against whom this particular crime is being committed.

The bottom line is this: if you're illegally downloading things, you're a dick. If you're actually creating evidence of your idiocy (while also potentially implicating the site in the process) by posting about it, you are King Dick.

[Graham]

He didn't speak about it in the boards...

HE SPOKE OF WATCHING BOOTLEGS ON THE FRONT FUCKING PAGE!

Who are you, his shrink?

[ogre]

He didn't speak about it in the boards...

HE SPOKE OF WATCHING BOOTLEGS ON THE FRONT FUCKING PAGE!

Who are you, his shrink?

Devin's never said he's not a dick.

[devincf]

And I've discussed it with Edgar Wright as well, Graham. Fuck off already. Stop being the latest crazy person obsessed with me.

[Sean Blackwell]

He didn't speak about it in the boards...

HE SPOKE OF WATCHING BOOTLEGS ON THE FRONT FUCKING PAGE!

Who are you, his shrink?

Like I said, there are few of us who are above reproach on this topic. This thread has just seen a lot of hemming and hawing over what types of bootlegging is okay and what isn't, which was probably the impetus for the origination of the thread in the first place (ironic, no?). For the sake of distancing themselves from anything that might appear to be condoning of piracy, the showrunners here need to make statements like Devin's to ensure the health of the site.

And no, I'm not Devin's shrink. I wouldn't wish that job on anyone.

[joeypants]

We've all done things that are illegal OR stupid, from smoking pot....

Fixed.

[Sean Blackwell]

Fixed.

I wasn't implicating myself with or providing support for the described actions, merely illustrating a point. The second one probably was a bad example, though...

[Graham]

And I've discussed it with Edgar Wright as well, Graham. Fuck off already. Stop being the latest crazy person obsessed with me.

Sorry, you're just too cute...
Can we cyber?

[Snaieke]

Yes. But not outside the US. Or at least, not around these parts.

You don't know how much I miss Conan... Can someone send me DVDs of The Tonight Show? I'll suck your dick.

Try Fancast?

http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Tonight-Show-with-Conan-OBrien/103325/full-episodes

or

NBC.com - Tonight Show (http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/)

Not sure of legalities for other countries but there are the links for you to investigate.

[Punchinello]

To echo Erix's posts, I've been living in China for the past 3 or so years. I think most of you guys would have a heart-attack at the sight of how rampant and casual movie piracy is here. Transformers 2 is available in every DVD shop here for 6RMB (1$). It is playing in theaters here for 50RMB. Finding real DVDs is actually difficult here and costly. Even the foreign supermarket chains here (like French giant Carrefoure) have bootlegs on sale.

Some of these DVD shops have a selection that blow away the best DVD shops in my hometown in Canada (Montreal). I have seen movies that I would never otherwise have had the chance to see and to be completely honest, at a tiny fraction of the price. All kinds of films from around the world, some DVDs that are out of print, documentaries, entire TV shows (you can the entire run of any HBO show for about 12RMB.

But that's not the worst: most people here watch movies on the internet and not torrented - instantly streamed movies. For example, go to www.youku.com and search for Terminator 2. The entire Director's Cut film loads instantly.

I'm not defending it - I'm just saying you have no idea how easily accessible and widespread it is outside the "1st world countries". People here don't give a shit about no WTO.

[MoonBaseNick]

I can see Punchinello's point. Working close as a critic or what not in and for the film industry there is a sense of loyalty.

The "every man" and pretty much anyone out of the country could care less.

I've never seen the point in trying to torrent a movie, you always end up with shit quality, and I enjoy owning the real thing.
But like many on this site, I'm guilty of downloading a few movies in my past.

[Beageal]

My biggest annoyance with the casual ease of piracy is that I can't recommend anything to anyone anymore. I tell someone about Slumdog Millionare after my second viewing, back when it was new in theaters, and they thank me for it a few days later. The bastards watched it on their laptop. I even had someone else offering to give me the movie on DVD as a gift less than a month after its theatrical release.

And it's even worse with music; there are loads of people who still don't want to download movies but have zero problem torrenting an musician's entire catalogue. There's one person I trust to tell about new bands I find, and he never listens to my recommendations anyway.

Too many people only have morals when there's a risk of getting caught.

[Dave Jarvie]

I live in an igloo surrounded by an army of polar bears and their penguin overlords

is it ok then?

[billylove]

My biggest annoyance with the casual ease of piracy is that I can't recommend anything to anyone anymore. I tell someone about Slumdog Millionare after my second viewing, back when it was new in theaters, and they thank me for it a few days later. The bastards watched it on their laptop. I even had someone else offering to give me the movie on DVD as a gift less than a month after its theatrical release.

I've had the opposite happen to me. A movie that's not even out yet, someone would tell me I should see it. But, I tell them it's not even out yet. Then they offer me a copy the next day.

WTF has happened to people nowadays?

[Chris Miller]

Haven't you guys ever heard the phrase "A man is as faithful as his options"? I'm not condoning it, I don't personally download movies because:
A: I don't want to get caught
B: The quality is usually pretty shitty
C: My laptop sucks for downloading or watching any kind of legal video, so I can only imagine how bad a full length movie would be

I have plenty of reasons not to download movies before morality plays into it. But a shitload of people aren't worried about getting caught, have nice computers, and don't care about sound and video quality. That's why I don't get the "OMG why do people do this??" sentiment. Casual movie fans generally don't understand or care about the impact. They tend not to care even after you explain it to them, either. Same with casual music fans, though, I view music downloading a little different, and that's a topic for another thread.

[Beageal]

I was at a party, talking about some Wii games we wanted to get. I said I'd buy it through Amazon or some such. This friend of a friend places a hand on my arm, genuinely concerned, and says "Oh, if you buy the copy, it will be cheaper," like I didn't realize this. He was lending a helping hand.

Another time, I'm in a Korean video game alley, a bunch of sellers altogether, and I buy a real copy of Hotel Dusk for my DS. I show it to my friend as we stand before another seller. The seller laughs at me for not buying the ROM card rip thing he does. I was more curt with that fellow that I tend to be.

[Chris Miller]

Also, I'm guessing a lot of the shocked (SHOCKED!) people in here have never been to a barbershop. Christ, I used to work with a guy whose brother owned one, they did more business is shaky cam bootlegs then they did cutting hair. Those guys must hate torrents cutting their profits too, ironically.

[The Rain Dog]

People who are happy to watch some shitty quality torrented rip of a film, be it badly copied, shaky cammed or whatever, must just not like movies all that much. That's all I can put it down to.

[Reasor]

My barber has never offered me some bullshit he shoplifted online. I must not look like the type.

[Chris Miller]

Honestly, I don't know if they still do it, and back when I saw it all the time, it was well before torrenting existed. I do remember being really impressed that when I was in line to see Phantom Menace opening night, there was a dude selling multiple shaky cam bootlegs of it in the alley. Guy was quick, I'll give him that.

Ultimate Barbershop Bootleg? Barbershop.

[Beageal]

Haven't you guys ever heard the phrase "A man is as faithful as his options"? I'm not condoning it, I don't personally download movies because:
A: I don't want to get caught
B: The quality is usually pretty shitty
C: My laptop sucks for downloading or watching any kind of legal video, so I can only imagine how bad a full length movie would be

I have plenty of reasons not to download movies before morality plays into it.

For me it's all moral. I've got the system to download it quickly and play it in better quality than I would get from a DVD. I want to support the artists and industries, but I'm not under the delusion that the little I spend makes a difference to them either way (with the exception of some independent types whom I know noticed and appreciated the money). It's something I value, and I'm more than happy to pay for something I value. (Which reminds me... (http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117057))

But I completely get why someone who doesn't feel as I do would download. It's easy and consequence-free. Hell, I indulged back in the day. When I first realized what the Internet made possible, I downloaded without spending half a second on what it meant.

[Barkatthemoon]

A thread about NOT discussing pirated movies with 66 replies?

[Punchinello]

I was at a party, talking about some Wii games we wanted to get. I said I'd buy it through Amazon or some such. This friend of a friend places a hand on my arm, genuinely concerned, and says "Oh, if you buy the copy, it will be cheaper," like I didn't realize this. He was lending a helping hand.

Another time, I'm in a Korean video game alley, a bunch of sellers altogether, and I buy a real copy of Hotel Dusk for my DS. I show it to my friend as we stand before another seller. The seller laughs at me for not buying the ROM card rip thing he does. I was more curt with that fellow that I tend to be.

I brought my PS2 back with me during my second year here, and I quickly realized that many of my LEGIT game discs were no longer functional. So, I brought my PS2 down to the mod the shop, had it modded for 30RMB, and bought precious gems that I only had on Dreamcast (also bought legit!) such as SF3 and Marvel VS Capcom 2 that I would've never found in the shops back home and would've cost me absurd amounts online. I mean, really. There's a point where I just can't defend paying 100$ for a copy of Capcom VS SNK 2. It's just absurd.

[Zhukov]

Did the same things to my PS2 after my other console went DRE. If the medium is faulty, then fuck em I say (obviously this doesn't apply to movies - the options available are pretty impressive). I personally think this is one of the reasons music piracy became so huge so fast - CDs are a garbage medium. Seriously. What a joke.

[Snaieke]

I know what you're talking about...back in the day before the internet... you'd go to conventions (Sci-fi, Star Trek, computer, gun, whatever) and there would ALWAYS be some guy(s) selling bootleg VHS tapes for $5-20. They dealt mostly with 'rare' vhs copies or laserdisc transfers like the full cut of Aliens (with the parents on the colony at the start) and the directors cut of blade runner. They've had these things going on forever and it is very easy to buy them and watch them, the hard part is dealing with the quality. Sure there are some amazing copies now (as technology has advanced) that you can download or watch on the internet but there will always be a loss in transfer, just like those VHS tapes. Speckles, distortions, audio fading or (now) out of sync. The real question is, how do you want to watch a movie? Much like when you meet someone for the first time, there can only be ONE first impression. Sure you can revisit the well and get some fresh perspective on a movie or change your opinion but there will always be an underlining emotional attachment to your first viewing of any film. The question people who pirate need to ask themselves is this; Do you want it to be some pixilated \ out of sync audio \ tin like sound \ etc... version of the film? or do you want the full movie going experience. Does it suck to spend 9 bucks on a shitty movie? Hell YES but when you hit that gem, that golden moment of greatness on the screen... it's just pure magic and that is priceless.

I get that people try to save money and they probably only download movies that they consider to be 'shitty' and not worth the money... but honestly... what's more worth your time? watching a shitty movie or checking out one of the tens of thousands of already made classic movies. Get a library card, you can check movies out for free if cash is the problem.

[Zhukov]

Saying Warren Peace shouldnt bootleg a copy of a movie he has already bought because he's dealing with other people 'who are stealing the movie' sounds a lot like the reasoning that suggests because you smoke weed, you are supporting terrorism and drug violence. I understand they are both largely technically correct (ohhh, but I only buy homegrown locally grown hydroponic greens! give me a fucking break), but drug cartel violence is substantially more important than peripherally dealing with probable movie thieves.

I get it, it's a movie board. Don't steal movies! But you can trick movies, if you buy a ticket to some art house crap and sneak into Transformers!

[Erix]

I agree wholeheartedly, by the way, that people who go off and get bootlegs of movies that are shot with a DVCAM off a movie screen probably don't give a shit about film.

It always boggles me how someone can enjoy a movie that way. It looks like shit, sounds like shit. I don't understand the impatience behind this.

Thanks for the links Sanieke... I'll look into it.

(If it works out, thanks again. I hope you didn't take me too seriously back there, though.)

[devincf]

Haven't you guys ever heard the phrase "A man is as faithful as his options"? I'm not condoning it, I don't personally download movies because:
A: I don't want to get caught
B: The quality is usually pretty shitty
C: My laptop sucks for downloading or watching any kind of legal video, so I can only imagine how bad a full length movie would be

I have plenty of reasons not to download movies before morality plays into it. But a shitload of people aren't worried about getting caught, have nice computers, and don't care about sound and video quality. That's why I don't get the "OMG why do people do this??" sentiment. Casual movie fans generally don't understand or care about the impact. They tend not to care even after you explain it to them, either. Same with casual music fans, though, I view music downloading a little different, and that's a topic for another thread.

This is CHUD.com, a movie website. Who gives a shit about casual movie fans?

[Andre Dellamorte]

The fact that downloading movies is shitty is self evident, but I think the important fthing here is that if you're going to do it don't talk about it on the boards, for the love of god. Save the moral qualms for whatever, it's best if you don't admit you committed an illegal act, regardless of your justifications. No one's trying to be a moral police, or a police police.

And if criminal repercussions aren't enough to ward you off talking about it, people involved with the film industry read the boards. You're being rude to them.

[Erix]

And if criminal repercussions aren't enough to ward you off talking about it, people involved with the film industry read the boards. You're being rude to them.

This is a very good point.

I mentioned that piracy was rampant here in Bolivia. One thing I didn't mention is how you never see bootlegs of Bolivian films. If you do, they're "authorized" bootlegs made by the filmmakers themselves. It's an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality.

I was actually encouraged to bootleg my own film.

"But it's playing right now..."

"So what? Give me a stack, we'll sell them on the black market for 5Bs a pop and make a profit... And more people will actually see your film. And you'll be famous. Later, you can go on TV and complain about the 'bastards' who pirated your film and get more publicity!"

I didn't follow his advice.

[Warren Peace]

Jeez. You answer a guy's question as to how some one could have seen a film early (which is the only fucking thing I did) and everybody's heads explode.

I'm all for banning the topic. Most are utterly incapable of discussing it without breaking into insults and wild self righteousness, so it's just a waste of time.

If I reveal that I actually did get the film legitimately (through shipping) can everyone chill the fuck out? I didn't mention it because I didn't anyone cared, but I guess I was wrong.

All I did was answer the man's question. That's the total sum of my comments on the matter in the Watchmen thread. Assumptions were made, cunt hairs were measured and everyone turned into chicken little.

Yeeeeeeeeeeesh. This internet thingy is much more dramatic than it should be. If people could try not breaking out into a slobbering rage over every little thing, it would help. Let's try working up to the "fuck your mother!" argument instead of jumping to it right away.

In other words: If you're posting on here just to get into pissy fights, do us all a favor and fuck off from the board.

[devincf]

You didn't get the film legitimately.

[Andre Dellamorte]

No, it's not that, it's not that at all, and you seem to have no understanding of the situation, on a number of levels.

I knew a guy who was fired from his job for drinking on it. I couldn't believe it, but what I couldn't also believe was that he brought a bottle into work. If you're going to do something illegal/problematic/stupid, shouldn't you try and be covert about it? If you're going to drink at work, shouldn't you at least already mix your drink ahead of time, or do it in a toilet stall, or some shit so you don't get caught? Why couldn't you wait to comment on this until the film streeted? And why, when busted, would you admit to piracy? The crime is bad enough, but have the decency to lie about it. I'm not advocating piracy, I'm advocating not being a complete and utter obvious criminal about it.

[Warren Peace]

You didn't get the film legitimately.

Take it up with UPS, or whomever it was that did it. Unless you also consider luckiness to be a sin it's got nothing to do with me.

[The Rain Dog]

Wow, you're ability to miss the point when it comes to this subject is actually quite spectacular.

[Warren Peace]

Wow, you're ability to miss the point when it comes to this subject is actually quite spectacular.

Who are you talking to?

[devincf]

Amazon hasn't shipped the film yet. Your first post on the subject began with 'There's been a torrent out there for a week.'

Just fucking drop it.

[Warren Peace]

Christ. The poster above me in that thread talked about the shipping error (not Amazon), I mentioned another way someone could have gotten it, since that was your question.

I don't have to justify myself to you. That's what happened, I don't give a shit if you believe me.

[Nexus-7]

Dre already said it best(and Devin was pretty clear from the get-go), so I don't know why people are arguing. Pirating movies is retarded, but that's not even what this is about. Just don't fucking flaunt the fact that you pirated a movie on the boards. It's pretty simple.

Watchmen is out, but only review copies as far as I know. My buddy got his review copy in the mail just the other day. There's no point in arguing anymore, but no store(online or otherwise) would break street this early.

[Warren Peace]

I don't have to justify myself to you. That's what happened, I don't give a shit if you believe me.

It's not as if I'm the only one who's talked about this...

[The Rain Dog]

...just spectacular.

[Bitches Leave]

I smell another meltdown in the foreseeable future!

[Justin Clark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do6Ot23USI4#t=00m05s

[Doug]

And I've discussed it with Edgar Wright as well,

I don't care what your half-assed, childish, self-deluding, moronic excuses are for pirating a movie, simply don't discuss pirated movies you've seen on this board.


You make it too easy!

Dude, if you really want to stop this kind of discussion you need to work on your people skills. Look at the way Andre laid it out- frank, sensible, respectful. You come come running in with your hypocritical guns blazing, and of course you're going to reap the moronic whirlwind. Use some common sense, man!

[Chris Miller]

This is CHUD.com, a movie website. Who gives a shit about casual movie fans?
Just for the record, that was actually my point. People in this thread seem mystified about how other people in their lives can be so cavalier about these sorts of matters, so I was (admittedly clumisily) trying to point out that if you're an active member of this board, you probably have a stricter sensibility than other people around you when it comes to downloading movies.

[Erix]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do6Ot23USI4#t=00m05s

Thank you for that.

[Richard Dickson]

Cutthroat Island was pretty bad.

[joeypants]

You come come...

you talk to me? In the night, in my dreams?

[Ludwig]

I still haven't seen Wolverine.

Who wants to touch me?

You had me at hello, having watched Wolverine or not. The question of touching Jason should be on the Voight Kampff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voight-Kampff_machine) test. It could in fact be the only question you'd ever need.

Believe it or not, I have recently destroyed all contraband in my home. The bullshit excuses I had for partaking in goods for free don't really mesh with my ability to pay for said goods. It sucks a little bit, as there are now some horror movies that have come to my attention that I may only be able to get in bootleg form, but I feel stragely liberated now that it's all gone. Of course, it's been fun replacing things through shopping too. Forcing myself to prioritize what I simply must own VS things I have a mild passing interest in is in itself highly educational.

[Overlord]

You make it too easy!

Dude, if you really want to stop this kind of discussion you need to work on your people skills. Look at the way Andre laid it out- frank, sensible, respectful. You come come running in with your hypocritical guns blazing, and of course you're going to reap the moronic whirlwind. Use some common sense, man!

Well thought out. Will be utterly ignored.

[devincf]

Yes, because I don't care. This isn't a conch-passing session.

[Overlord]

Yes, because I don't care. This isn't a conch-passing session.

Yeah, it's not like this is a sequence of people taking turns communicating.

[Nexus-7]

Watchmen is out, but only review copies as far as I know. My buddy got his review copy in the mail just the other day. There's no point in arguing anymore, but no store(online or otherwise) would break street this early.Forget I said anything, several places broke street date, including some Costco stores.

*shrug*

[devincf]

Yeah, it's not like this is a sequence of people taking turns communicating.

I don't care about other people's opinions on this matter. I don't care about perceived hypocrisy. If my request here is too much for you, or if the appearance of hypocrisy is too troubling, there are many other internet forums for you to use.

We are exceptionally lenient here. We have few rules and even those barely get enforced. Yet every time a guideline is brought up it becomes a huge controversy of some kind.

[Bitches Leave]

Yet every time a guideline is brought up it becomes a huge controversy of some kind.

most likely because it's you who's bringing them up. I'm not saying you always do it in a bad way, but for some reason it seems that many people perceive it as provocative when it comes from your mouth.

[Trejo]

This thread is soon-to-be 3 pages? What part of DON'T made it seem like it was up for debate?

Their house, their rules.

ETA: Ironically, I push it to 3 with this post..

[Bitches Leave]

make it a non-answerable sticky if you don't want a discussion.

[dannymears]

This is another one of those threads that I read and then don't have anything to add to the conversation except just a general fucking shock that it has reached 3 pages.

DO. NOT. FUCKING. PIRATE. MOVIES.

This is CHUD.COM and, while I don't post here often, I fucking read most every thread and the sensible and like-minded people are the reason I do that. I think there's a lot of legitimate and smart people here posting good commentary and having good discussions.

If you're pirating movies you are not. You are neither sensible or like-minded and I'd just as soon not read your fucking nonsense.

That said:

Said Devin:


I'd be fucking psyched if people on these boards discussed old or rare movies.


So would I.

Not that I, yet, have anything to add to the disccussion (I'm working on it), but there are people here I'd like to see post about old, rare, obscure, classic, great, [insert whatever makes you dance] movies I've never seen. One of the things I love about certain internet nerds (and I use the term honestly and respectually) is that they are great at being enthusiastic about something I've never seen or heard of.

I'd go on about how following some movie geeks on twitter has turned me onto greatness the last 6 months, but that's for another thread and derails my point.

Devin said:


I'd be fucking psyched if people on these boards discussed old or rare movies.


And I agree wholeheartedly. I'd actually love if the main page ran more discussion of old/rare/classic movies, getting people psyched about them. One of the best things on CHUD is the lists, and not because they are "lists." Rather because they are serious and thoughtful and absolutely want you to go and SEE SHIT right now. It's raw, unfettered, contagious enthusiasm for things and I can't think of a better reason why I read these board than that. I'd love to see more of it become a regular feature -- "CHUD SHOVES WONDERFUL SHIT DOWN YOUR THROAT AND YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING LIKE IT OR ELSE WE'LL FEED YOU TO THE GOD DAMNED GOBLINS," or something.

Trying to avoid an epic board meltdown (is the vodka showing?), that said (again):

FUCK YOUR PIRATED MOVIES.

[Phil]

You are neither sensible or like-minded and I'd just assume not read your fucking nonsense.

"I'd just as soon". Good energy!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/Gamer674G/nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg

[dannymears]

EDITED (heavily).

But, thanks.

[Andre Dellamorte]

People who spend a lot of time on the internet are a lot like Freepers, re: rules.

[Jason Pollock]

'Dre - what is that? "Freeper", I mean.

[bendrix]

'Dre - what is that? "Freeper", I mean.

From Wikipedia:

Free Republic
(Redirected from Freeper)

Free Republic is a moderated Internet forum, activist and chat site for self-described conservatives, primarily within the United States.[1] It presents articles and comments posted pseudonymously by registered members, known as "Freepers,"

[Jason Pollock]

"Free Republic" huh? I feel better having not known.

[Andre Dellamorte]

It's the mixture of entitlement with a persecution complex.