Pirated DVDs of Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers
are already on sale around Shanghai
despite the extensive efforts of the renowned director to protect
his film.
Zhang took similar precautions for his last film, Hero,
and it was also quickly available on DVD.
"We've made marks on each print and all three pirated versions
proved to be from the No. 56 print, airing in Zhujiang Cinema Lines
in Guangdong
Province," said Zhang Weiping, the film's producer. "The piracy
is earlier and more widespread than it was for Hero."
Cinema managers say they don't know how to stop the rampant
piracy.
"It's very hard since we cannot open audience members' bags to
check for cameras," said Gao Rong, marketing manager of Shanghai
Cinema World.
Zhang Weiping said that the film had taken in 55 million yuan
(US$6.6 million) at the box office as of yesterday, despite
negative reviews.
But Bao Yifan, vice marketing manager of the city's leading
United Cinema Lines, said the piracy would hurt the movie's
box-office revenue considerably. "The first week is crucial for a
movie and the pirated copies appeared on the fourth day of release,
much earlier than expected."
"Pirated DVDs sometimes show up on the day of the premiere or
even before the premiere," said Li Xiaojun, a producer at the
Shanghai Film Group. "Piracy creates a vicious circle for the
Chinese film industry. Unsatisfactory box office will diminish the
enthusiasm of investors and producers, which will ultimately affect
the quality of future movies."
Small comfort might be found in the fact that some DVD vendors
say the current copies of Flying Daggers are too poor to
sell.
"All the present versions are shot in cinemas," said one DVD
storeowner. "The quality is so poor that I don't sell them in case
customers are not satisfied. The high-quality DVDs will come in two
weeks."
(Shanghai Daily July 21, 2004)