Member kungfusamurai Posted August 2, 2009 Member Share Posted August 2, 2009 I'm wondering if a lot of the lackluster sales might be due to the titling of the Shaw DVDs. Perhaps if they had used the more familiar names like 'Master Killer' instead of '36th Chamber Of Shaolin', casual fans of the genre would be more apt to buying them based on impulse. The hardcore movie fans already know the AKAs, so we aren't going to be confused by the re-titlings, but fans who don't necessarily research or collect old school kung fu might not realize that King Boxer = Five Fingers Of Death, for example. And maybe the default option on the DVDs, when you hit play, should be the english dub without subs. I remember those old GZ DVDs sold like hotcakes, and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact they used the names more familiar to US and Canadian audiences. If it's going to result in an increase in sales, I don't mind not having the HK english name on the cover. Heck, if people are really anal about it, perhaps they could have a flip cover that can allow you to have the original HK name on the inside, like the way they designed those BCI shaw covers (at least the one I have, which is the Blu Ray Opium & Kung Fu Master) What do you guys think? KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted August 2, 2009 Member Share Posted August 2, 2009 You make a great point. I do see both sides of the coin as well because there would be hate for them changing the name of a classic. Even if it was the alternate title when released back in the day. I do like your idea of having flip side covers with the alternate and original titles. Don't know how much of $$$ issue that would be for a company like DD or MB, or Image. I also wonder is the average person going to be swayed by an alternate title. I mean if they really want the movie they would know it by it's original name. I just know many people that like martial arts films but when it comes down to it if they don't know a movie and don't ask me my opinion they steer clear no matter what the name is. I wish it wasn't the case...but I think sadly it is for a lot of consumers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted August 2, 2009 Author Member Share Posted August 2, 2009 It's probably also a reason why GZ and other similar companies by George Tan were able to sucker people into buying unrelated titles by giving them names like Master Killers. If they didn't have the flip cover with the original name, it wouldn't kill me. But it is disappointing that lackluster sales could hurt these films future releases. Even packaging the cover is important. For example, I think BCI got hurt with Shadow Warriors/Kage No Gundan's bad sales because their cover didn't feature pictures of ninjas or Sonny Chiba! It was some generic looking art that even I would have passed over had I not been expecting that Season 1 set to be released. Now, the Shaw Bros releases have been doing a pretty good job of showing the key actors in the film, or pushing a face that casual fans might recognize, but using the original US titles (or the TV broadcast names) might really be the real sales booster, as far as I'm concerned. The average fan might isn't going to know the film by the original HK name, but what they saw growing up on TV or in the theatres back in the late 70s/early 80s. When I worked in retail, they used those names, and rarely did they use the HK english names when asking for a film. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Not an American so this question obviously isn't aimed at me... but as a foreigner importing US DVDs I always prefer the original title. If the distributor wants to mention the theatrical title somewhere on the sleeve that's bad enough, but if they were to alter the film in any way that would be a big fat 'no'. Most people who buy DVDs weren't even born in the 70s never mind remembering what these films were called when they first came out in the US. I doubt any casual fan would bypass Five Element Ninjas, but then spot Super Ninjas and suddenly rush to the till. If these films are struggling it's because Old School Kung Fu as a genre is passe. The mainstream just isn't interested anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OldPangYau Posted August 3, 2009 Member Share Posted August 3, 2009 Most recent example? Five "Deadly" Venoms. Dragon Dynasty had been focusing on the original titles for the Shaw releases, with the biggest attempt at using the "classic US" titles being King Boxer. Basically said "KING BOXER Five Fingers of Death" on the cover... but still mainly went for the original title on the cover. Also, no "Master Killer" on the 36th Chamber of Shaolin DVD. However, due to the unfortunate sales of the previous SB discs for DD, they decided to mark their cover with the most popular title, and went with "FIVE DEADLY VENOMS" instead of just "FIVE VENOMS". They've yet to change the name on the film prints of the Shaw releases, so hopefully this is just a case of changing the title on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted August 3, 2009 Author Member Share Posted August 3, 2009 However, due to the unfortunate sales of the previous SB discs for DD, they decided to mark their cover with the most popular title, and went with "FIVE DEADLY VENOMS" instead of just "FIVE VENOMS". They've yet to change the name on the film prints of the Shaw releases, so hopefully this is just a case of changing the title on the cover. That's kind of what prompted me to think about their marketing strategy, after seeing them title the film with 'Deadly' in it. Maybe they should have put out Five Fingers of Death with King Boxer as the subname. I don't think they would need to change the titles on the prints, as that would be just a waste of time and money. I don't really know about the demographics of the people who buy them in 2009. I know back in 1999 when GZ was putting out Shaws, the main people buying were those who remembered them from US or Canadian TV, or Caribbean guys who remembered them from back home. The people I talked to quoted titles like 'Master Killer', with some referring to '36th Chamber'. Many of the same people were happy to have the english dubs, and weren't crazy about the kung fu movies with chinese languages and subs (like some versions of Jet Li's films I had for sale). I can't comment on UK audiences' tastes in films or what titles they are most familiar with, but DD seems to be geared to North American buyers (they are region 1 DVDs), so you'd think they'd market it to fans of Black Belt Theatre or whatever programs featured these flicks back in the day. But now that it's 2009, perhaps those casual buyers from 1999 are no longer interested in reliving their kung fu memories? And The Weinsteins missed the boat by not releasing these films back when they first acquired the rights? KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted August 3, 2009 Member Share Posted August 3, 2009 That's kind of what prompted me to think about their marketing strategy, after seeing them title the film with 'Deadly' in it. Maybe they should have put out Five Fingers of Death with King Boxer as the subname. I don't think they would need to change the titles on the prints, as that would be just a waste of time and money. I don't really know about the demographics of the people who buy them in 2009. I know back in 1999 when GZ was putting out Shaws, the main people buying were those who remembered them from US or Canadian TV, or Caribbean guys who remembered them from back home. The people I talked to quoted titles like 'Master Killer', with some referring to '36th Chamber'. Many of the same people were happy to have the english dubs, and weren't crazy about the kung fu movies with chinese languages and subs (like some versions of Jet Li's films I had for sale). But now that it's 2009, perhaps those casual buyers from 1999 are no longer interested in reliving their kung fu memories? And The Weinsteins missed the boat by not releasing these films back when they first acquired the rights? KFS Excellent point KFS they missed that whole "strike while the iron is hot" phrase when Croutching Tiger Hidden Dragon was released and martial arts movies weren't just full of whooshy sound effects and horrible dubbing. Of course us more seasoned viewers knew better and tried to turn as many people on as we could. At least I know that's when many people I know who didn't watch martial arts movies with me, got interested was around that time. Or those who missed stuff on TV back in the day.....which was a Wenesday if you didn't know. (Not a huge Dane Cook fan but that line is pretty good). At least Dragon Dynasty is now on Facebook and started a channel on YouTube to promote their releases, regardless of the name change. Here's hoping it helps sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OldPangYau Posted August 3, 2009 Member Share Posted August 3, 2009 I don't think they would need to change the titles on the prints, as that would be just a waste of time and money. KFS Well, I still don't know if Dragon Dynasty changed the titles of Righting Wrongs (Above The Law) and Millionaire's/Shanghai Express or if Fortune Star's prints had these titles to begin with. I know the changed titles were the original export titles in the mid-80s, but the original HK DVDs of these films had the original titles. But yeah, once the cover has the "marketable" title, we can assume no one would watch the opening and say "Hey... this says Five Venoms... this is the wrong movie! They're not deadly!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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