I
think it was the documentary Rewind This!
(2013) which
claimed
that
less than half of all U.S.
movies with
a VHS release also got
released on DVD. This number will
rise as distributors slowly
select older titles
they hope will make
some easy money, but for now,
the statistic
means that viewers have less opportunity to discover (or rediscover)
pictures that were released before video tape’s
obsolescence. This hits the
fans of direct-to-video
flicks particularly hard, as
theatrical features have always received preferential
distribution. Martial arts
movies face their own particular hardship here, as the overwhelming
majority of U.S. karate
features have been
direct-to-video. (A good rule
of thumb for pre-Matrix
movies: unless it stars Van Damme, Seagal, or
Norris, it probably didn’t
get a theatrical
release.) As such, many
martial arts movies produced before the proliferation of the DVD
still haven’t been released in that format – at least not in the
U.S.
This
problem isn’t prevalent with
newer flicks, but if you’re
a connoisseur of older films, it can be disheartening to
try to find these movies in a desired format.
Having faced
this issue for years, I feel
qualified to provide a general overview of such
films’ availability
and how to best get your hands on ones you’re looking for.
VHS
– This is the
format on which
DTV martial arts films are most widely available, but
no major U.S. distributor markets
tapes
anymore and they’re
unlikely to be sold
by primary
sellers.
This leaves you with only third-party sellers to buy from – mainly
online, where eBay tends
to provide good
deals.
Of course, one
of the reasons
behind video tape’s obsolescence is its inferior audio/video
quality, and the fact that it
will inevitably deteriorate over time.
Pros
– Unmatched availability for
earlier
films, cheap prices
Cons
– Third-party sales only, substandard technical
quality, progressive tape
deterioration
DVD
Compilation Packages
– The option
of finding a rare movie as part of a DVD set
is
often overlooked due to their
relative obscurity
and the fact that they sometimes don’t show up in searches
for individual titles.
Nevertheless, in cases where
the single DVD release is incredibly expensive or the picture hasn’t
been released otherwise, such
sets can be a cheap
option. However, the more obscure the distributor is,
the less likely you’ll be getting anything more than a crappy
tape transfer.
Pros
– Inexpensive
Cons
– Relatively
rare, poor
technical
quality
Overseas
DVDs –
Sometimes,
video tapes just don’t
cut it and there simply isn’t
a modern format
of your desired
movie available in
the States.
In such cases,
you could
look abroad. It may surprise some American viewers that international
viewing preferences don’t
directly
mirror the U.S. mainstream, and cheap martial arts films are
actually widely available on
disc in other countries.
Personally, I’ve had luck acquiring
them from German, British,
Australian, and Malaysian distributors – just go online, find a
site from these countries that sells movies (Google’s translation
service
can be
a big help), and check out what they have. Disappointingly, not every
distributor will ship to U.S. addresses, and even if they do, the
import costs can be outrageous.
Additionally, many
of these releases aren’t
the highest quality; many
will inevitably be direct
tape
transfers. Worse yet,
plenty of films
are only available overseas
in censored formats.
Pros
– High
availability, cheap retail price
Cons
– High shipping price, questionable technical
quality,
proliferation
of censored editions
VHS-to-DVD
Conversion*
– There are many devices
commercially available that allow you to
record your video tapes onto a DVD (or even a hard drive). I’ve
heard some people mention that they did this with
their entire VHS collection following the shift
to DVDs, so while I’ve never had much luck with it
myself, it obviously works
well enough for other people. The obvious drawback is that this is a
direct video transfer, so the quality of the DVD will mirror the
quality of the tape – it might even be a little worse. That said,
unlike the tape, the DVD will maintain the
resulting quality
indefinitely.
Pros
– Infinite usage
Cons
– Questionable quality, might be difficult to use
*Technically,
this may be illegal. I feel compelled to mention this, but really, if
you’ve ever burned music to a disc or even recorded something off
the radio, you’re already
guilty of the same level of crime. Just don’t try and sell your
transfers.
Online
Video Streaming
– I’m referring to services like Netflix and other authentic
platforms that have a legal right to market movies. Obviously there’s
much less appeal here for viewers who prefer a physical medium.
There’s
also
the
fact that even if you purchase a film for indefinite use on these
platforms, you don’t actually own
the movie like you would a
DVD: you’re
still technically
renting it, and there’ve
been instances where providers have legally reclaimed what consumers
assumed was their personal property. However, these platforms are
useful for a couple of reasons: they allow you to rent movies that
you won’t find at the progressively
rare
video stores, and they increasingly
provide movies of this subgenre
for a lower cost than more recent productions.
Pros
– Growing availability, rental option
Cons
– Limited by internet service quality, digital
ownership
paradox
I’m
choosing to not list illegitimate video streaming as an outlet. While
distribution on sites like Youtube is
tempting, I don’t
condone consuming content in
a way that won’t directly benefit the filmmakers I wish to support.
And while some
martial arts filmmakers have chosen to post their content freely,
these are typically newer
movies.
B-Movie Dragons 