Appeal to Disney for Respectful Treatment of Asian films

We appeal to Disney (in particular, the subsidiaries in question, Miramax and Dimension Films) to cease the act of altering Hong Kong films that they distribute. In particular, we object to the following practices:

1) Exclusion of the original dialogue and musical score. We believe that every film should have the original dialogue and musical score intact to preserve the integrity of the original work. As viewers, we believe in seeing the film as it was originally produced and released.

We have no opposition to the inclusion and availability of a separate dubbed version, and in fact, believe that giving people more choices is better. But, with the widely used ability of the DVD format to include multiple language tracks, we find it inexcusable that we are not given the choice to watch the films with their original audio.

2) Removal of footage. We believe that a film should include the same footage the filmmakers originally intended it to. Despite how those making these cuts would choose to organize a film, we believe that the filmmakers prepared a film with the footage that they believed best showed their vision. To remove this footage is to take away from the vision of the original filmmakers and to deny viewers the chance to see what the filmmakers intended to be seen.

We do not believe that any of the following reasons is appropriate for removing footage: to shorten the running time, to increase the ratio of action to dialogue, to lessen the "Asian" influence in order to westernize, to change the pacing of a film, or to censor. This list is not all-inclusive, but represents some aspects that we are concerned have or may in future cause cuts during film re-editing at Disney subsidiaries.

3) Changing the story and dialogue by any means. We believe that the story of a film should not be changed. When dubbing or subtitling, we are against changing the script to remove existing elements or add elements that were not originally intended. This has been prevalent in a number of releases from Disney subsidiaries, particularly the dubbed film "Fist of Legend" and the subtitled film "Iron Monkey". We also do not believe in re-editing of a film that might change the original story.

4) Renaming of films. This may not be as directly linked to the quality of the film watching experience as previous requests, but is an issue nonetheless. One must look no further than the confusion surrounding "Armour of God" and "Armour of God II: Operation Condor", released in reverse order by Dimension films and renamed appropriately, to see how the renaming of films can be detrimental. Generic names such as "The Enforcer" also imply a low-budget production, as opposed to the interesting and descriptive names of the originals.

As film fans, we believe that these films represent a vision and an attempt to tell a story by all those involved in the film's production. To alter these films is to take away from that vision. We wish to see these films and experience their stories as originally intended. The removal of footage, change of musical score, and removal of original dialogue in favor of low quality dubbing seriously undermines the integrity of these films. What we feel are some of the greatest films in the world now come off as low quality productions and this reflects unfairly on them.

As willing, money spending consumers, we believe that we should be given the ability to see these films the way we wish. It seems, though, that Disney and its subsidiaries have acquired the rights to these films, released them in a changed form, and give us no choice. It has come to our attention that Disney has recently pursued attempts to prevent sale of import versions of these films in the United States. We respect Disney's distribution rights that they have legally acquired, but feel that if their versions are the only ones we are allowed to purchase that these versions should respect the original film and give us consumers the chance to watch the film the way we want.

We appeal to Disney to change their ways and release Hong Kong films uncut, in their original language, and with their original musical score. We ask this not only of future releases, but we also wish to see past releases, such as (but not limited to) "Fist of Legend" re-released in accordance with these requests.

We would also like to point out that a number of other companies have already taken it upon themselves to release films that meet these standards. Columbia Tri-Star in the U.S. has released "Once Upon a Time in China" I - III, Jackie Chan's "Miracles", "Gen-X Cops", "Tokyo Raiders", "Time and Tide", and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". All of these are uncut, in their original language with subtitles. Similar future releases are planned, such as "Drunken Master" and "Shiri". These are releases that we respect and which many of us have or intend to purchase.

We would also like to point out the outstanding work of U.K.-based label Hong Kong Legends. They always include the original language tracks and, as far as is within their power, release films without cuts (other than those that are mandatory by the BBFC). In addition, they have gone above beyond our requests and include as many extras and options as possible on their discs and have some of the best audio and video quality, with premier restoration work. They have shown an undying commitment to providing the best releases that show the utmost respect to the original vision of the filmmakers.

These companies have shown a commitment to preserving the integrity of these films. We believe that if it is feasible for these companies to do it, that it is fair to expect major film studios such as Miramax and Dimension Films to follow suit.

We ask for our requests as money spending consumers. We will purchase products of high quality that respect the original vision of filmmakers. We believe that with such releases, all parties can be satisfied. We will have releases that meet our standards and Disney will acquire and keep key new customers from the avid Hong Kong film fan community.

Until such time that these requests are met, we will not purchase these inferior products. We refuse to spend our hard-earned money on products that do not meet our expectations.

We respectfully ask the serious consideration of these requests by those it concerns at the appropriate Disney subsidiaries. We will be your money-spending customers if they are met, but will refrain from buying those that do not meet our standards.