Movies in China
While I was in China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gutierrez visited. Piracy was his major theme, both in software and entertainment media. On both CNN and the BBC World's reports, video of small steam rollers crushing pirated movies in China were shown. Hurrah! China is getting serious....or were they. These images were then followed with the Beijing-based correspondent leading the camera into a back room, or down steps, to the not-so-secret room of DVD's. We had noticed in Shekou that some of the on-the-street vendors of pirated movies have disappeared over the summer, though I still saw them in front of Wo Er Ma.
Movie piracy is a part of life in China. First of all, the Chinese government has limits on the number of foreign movies that are allowed into the country. I believe that number is 26, though movies that are jointly produced by a Chinese film company (like The White Countess) are permitted distribution beyond that 26. Limits are also placed on the number of films that are distributed as DVD's. Earlier this spring, the movie Glory was just released on DVD. With limits like these, the appetite for Western movies is never satisfied.
The limits were put in place to stimulate the market for China's own movies. I wonder how well they are working. A few of the Chinese people I've talked to about movies were mostly unfamiliar with some of my favorite Zhang Yimou movies (remember the mid-90s when it was incredibly hip to watch Chinese movies?). Yet, they had seen all kinds of popular U.S. films on DVD. Certainly, the prices of movie-going and DVD-viewing are still out of the reach of most Chinese wallets, but even the poorest of Americans know who Tom Cruise is.
A new multi-plex has opened at the Garden City Mall over the summer. If you are familiar with the movie theater chains in Hong Kong, it is an MCL. There are several multi-plexes in Shenzhen, but this is the one closest to Shekou. In the two months I was there, a few American movies were shown. Miami Vice was one of them, but it was overdubbed in Putonghua. Two others were reportedly being shown in English with subtitles: Half Light and World Trade Center. The Banquet was also showing for a while this fall, with English subtitles. I think I would have liked to have seen that one, but our sitter options have been non-existent.
I have tried to buy legally movies of any origin. If they are originally English-language movies, I would like to have them be in English. Rarely are American (or British or Australian or...) distributed with the original English soundtrack available. The legal DVD's cost about 15-20 RMB (pirated 5-8 RMB). I can imagine even Hollywood wouldn't want legal DVD's to have an English soundtrack available; with the piracy networks already out there in Asia, it wouldn't take long for these movies to come back to the US in greater numbers than we already see in the larger cities. Or to keep prices fixed in the US. The movies in China, with the English either removed or disabled, are priced low enough that someone could even start exporting them to the US and undercut the $17-$25 we pay for many new releases.
When I have tried to buy Chinese movies legally, I only want them to have English subtitles. That has also been difficult to find, though one store in the Mall had copies of Hero and 2046 with English subtitles. The clerk apologized to me that they weren't overdubbed. I guess since most American movies are overdubbed in China, subtitles must not be seen as a good thing. I mean, if I want to see a movie with Li Gong in it I want to hear her delivery. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see 2046 before I left. Price? 32 RMB. Quite the premium for sure.
Movie piracy is a part of life in China. First of all, the Chinese government has limits on the number of foreign movies that are allowed into the country. I believe that number is 26, though movies that are jointly produced by a Chinese film company (like The White Countess) are permitted distribution beyond that 26. Limits are also placed on the number of films that are distributed as DVD's. Earlier this spring, the movie Glory was just released on DVD. With limits like these, the appetite for Western movies is never satisfied.
The limits were put in place to stimulate the market for China's own movies. I wonder how well they are working. A few of the Chinese people I've talked to about movies were mostly unfamiliar with some of my favorite Zhang Yimou movies (remember the mid-90s when it was incredibly hip to watch Chinese movies?). Yet, they had seen all kinds of popular U.S. films on DVD. Certainly, the prices of movie-going and DVD-viewing are still out of the reach of most Chinese wallets, but even the poorest of Americans know who Tom Cruise is.
A new multi-plex has opened at the Garden City Mall over the summer. If you are familiar with the movie theater chains in Hong Kong, it is an MCL. There are several multi-plexes in Shenzhen, but this is the one closest to Shekou. In the two months I was there, a few American movies were shown. Miami Vice was one of them, but it was overdubbed in Putonghua. Two others were reportedly being shown in English with subtitles: Half Light and World Trade Center. The Banquet was also showing for a while this fall, with English subtitles. I think I would have liked to have seen that one, but our sitter options have been non-existent.
I have tried to buy legally movies of any origin. If they are originally English-language movies, I would like to have them be in English. Rarely are American (or British or Australian or...) distributed with the original English soundtrack available. The legal DVD's cost about 15-20 RMB (pirated 5-8 RMB). I can imagine even Hollywood wouldn't want legal DVD's to have an English soundtrack available; with the piracy networks already out there in Asia, it wouldn't take long for these movies to come back to the US in greater numbers than we already see in the larger cities. Or to keep prices fixed in the US. The movies in China, with the English either removed or disabled, are priced low enough that someone could even start exporting them to the US and undercut the $17-$25 we pay for many new releases.
When I have tried to buy Chinese movies legally, I only want them to have English subtitles. That has also been difficult to find, though one store in the Mall had copies of Hero and 2046 with English subtitles. The clerk apologized to me that they weren't overdubbed. I guess since most American movies are overdubbed in China, subtitles must not be seen as a good thing. I mean, if I want to see a movie with Li Gong in it I want to hear her delivery. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see 2046 before I left. Price? 32 RMB. Quite the premium for sure.
Comments