PDA

View Full Version : Any DVDs worth buying in Russia?

DavidMcGowan
12-02-2002, 20:44
I am off to Russia at the end of the week and was wondering if anyone had any experience regarding the availability of DVDs and whether there are any in particular to look out for. I was particularly interested in sampling a couple of the Ruscico discs and basically anything else that is of interest, but I can't seem to find very much regarding Russian DVD releases, other than the Ruscico reviews on the DVD Times site. As Artificial Eye appear to be releasing some of the Ruscico discs, I would be interested to see which discs are currently unique to Russia, and which are particularly recommended. I have no idea how much to pay or even where to seek out these sorts of discs, so any information would be very useful so I don't end up getting completely conned while I'm out there - the number of Russian phrases I know can be counted on one hand so I'm hoping they won't take (too much) of an advantage :D
r.griffiths
13-02-2002, 06:32
Do you know of any Russian websites ?
Hendrik
13-02-2002, 08:47
...erm... fwiw RUSCICO discs are not (should not be) available in Russia... at least that's what it says in small print on the cover of every RUSCICO DVD that I own ("Vente n'est autorisée qu'en dehors de l'ex-URSS")...

. . . :o . . .
Hendrik
13-02-2002, 08:52
...a Russian site ? your wish is my command !...

www.dvdclub.ru

. . . :o . . .
John Mardaljevic
13-02-2002, 10:50
See thread (http://thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54431).
DavidMcGowan
13-02-2002, 18:58
As the Ruscico discs do not seem to be available within Russia itself, are there any other discs anyone can reccomend? I know Russia is hardly the best country for DVD shopping, but I'm sure there must be a couple of good locally-produced discs that I can pick up anywhere else.

EDIT: Oops, that should have read "good locally-produced discs that I cannot pick up anywhere else" - the thrill of picking up a Russian copy of 'Mickey Blue Eyes' or 'Kevin and Perry Go Large' is something I think I can pass on for the time being :D
Hendrik
13-02-2002, 20:30
...ahh... Brother 2 ?! ...

...frankly, however, I suspect you will find that 'Hollywood Imperialism' has taken hold in Russia, too... i.e. you will find tons of shoot-'em-up, big-bang-explosion, leave-your-mind-at-the-door US dross - which is what 'people' (not just in Russia!) really want to see...

(signed) Cynical Onlooker

. . . :o . . .
Michael Brooke
14-02-2002, 08:43
I can vouch for that – 99% of all the DVDs I found for sale in Prague were Hollywood in origin, and the number of homegrown Czech films could be counted on the normal complement of fingers and toes with a couple to spare.

Still, virtually all the DVDs offered English subtitles, which was a pleasant surprise – and this seems to be very common with minority-language films (it’s an obvious thing to add, as it costs little and makes the discs much more saleable).

There are Russian discs out there other than the Ruscico ones – I reviewed Alexei Balabanov’s <A HREF="http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?html=y&id=reviews/other/brother.html">Brother</A> a year or so ago – but given that the subtitles on that disc are the worst I’ve ever seen (and as a long-term Hong Kong veteran that’s no small claim!) I’d be a little reluctant to buy anything else from the Amalgama label at the moment unless I knew the film very well indeed and fancied a laugh . That said, the transfer was surprisingly good.