horror films

[The Gline]

> Well actually you can see many of those Nikkatsu films since Weisser has
just started distributing subtitled tapes in the US, 50 titles debuted in
January and they run $39.95 each.  I didn't post any info about it before
because of Weisser's reputation and the nature of the films.  More info is
at http://www.asiancult.com (& if you know where to look you can find about
a hundred more unsubbed Nikkatsu films from the past 25-30 years).
>
> These however do seem to be completely legal; perhaps one reason Weisser
isn't selling them through VSOM.  VSOM is not exactly "semi-legit" since the
vast majority of the tapes are copyright violations, which he tries to
excuse by claiming the Berne Convention means exactly the opposite of what
it actually does.  That said, VSOM has offered a service by subtitling some
Japanese (and other) tapes that otherwise wouldn't have been and making
available literally thousands of other titles.  Whether there's a moral
problem with this is for each of us to decide, just don't be swayed by
VSOM's claims about what they're doing.

No illusions there. I am grateful that these titles are being made available
in some form, but I have to admit his methods are dubious. Whenever people
ask if they should order from him, I say, "Your move." I doubt the cops are
gonna come breaking down the door -- they've got better things to do -- but
to me it makes more sense to get together, say, a petitioning system to have
titles licensed and released domestically. If I had the cash, I'd love to
start a company to do just that.