Does anyone know if there is a surefire way to tell if a Criterion DVD is a fake or not? I am looking for "Hard Boiled" and "The Killer" on DVD (as well as LD) and there seems to be a massive amount of Criterion bootlegs out there; especially of these two films.

I recently picked up "Robocop" and am questioning its status but if it is a bootleg it is a damn good one; it looks perfect and everything is ported over from the LD and works.

I read a couple of threads about bootlegs over on the Criterion forum and my eyes glazed over .

Does anyone have any advice or trusted sellers to buy from?
Thanks

Why that's just heresy here on LDDB.com. How could you even suggest that such a simple alternative solution from buying the actual LD's, exists? or worse yet that the quality is good?

You made a promise but just couldn't keep it. You just had to take a swipe at LDs didn't you? Why don't you just take off instead of playing Eddie Haskell to the rest of us?

It's not LDDB forum paranoia, DVD bootlegs do exist and are not hard to create, even nearly as good as originals that would be hard to notice. Or is it that you somehow think bootlegs are okay?

I could have you a bootleg copy of the killers in 2 hours and you wouldnt know the difference other then if the LD has more features then the DVD.

Relax, I didn't bring it up, I only helped surmise the posting. Your the one reading into it too hard. Although I do find it hilarious that you take it so serious. Are you now the LDDB ethics comittee chairman?

Whoa; flame off folks!

The two DVDs I am looking for are LD ports and I want them for the commentary tracks basically as well as collectors items.

I also know there are some high-income people on here but I am not one of them and need to keep LD player hours to a minimum ($$) where as I can by a DVD drive for next to nothing.

I'm not really understanding where the hostility is coming from as this post is in the 'not related to LD' section and after all we are all LD collectors; that is why we are here on this forum to begin with...

Well, Elivs is mocking those of us who still collect LDs and doing it whenever he can. Apparently he feels superior for ripping all his media to hard drives.

Do what I do, everyone, just ignore him. He doing it to get a rise out of you and you're letting him.

As far as bootleg Criterions. The only one I knew that was boing bootlegged was Salo, but that was before they re-released that title in 2008. The 1998 DVD was only printed once and was hard to come by (which sent the LD release price up for a short while as well.)

Does that mean I am better too, because I even rip beta and ced, does that put me one leg up on him?
Lol
I have a 2 terabite hd I am filling up with old stuff.

Blasphemy !!!

I am a bit of a Criterion OOP DVD expert (I have a legit copy of every single Criterion OOP DVD). If you post really good quality pics, I can tell you if the copies you have are real or not.

There are confirmed bootlegs of the following:

Dead Ringers
The Killer
Hard Boiled
The Unbearable Likeness Of Being
Akira Kurosawa: Four Samurai Classics - The Criterion Collection
Salò

But, I suppose any of them can be bootlegged except This Is Spinal Tap because of its dual-sided disc.

What hypocrisy. You didn't initiate the topic, but you made the snide comment referencing LDs vs HD formats.

Then if someone objects, you act as though it wasn't you causing it, or you really didn't mean it and that it was in jest and others should relax. That's typical word game behavior of those who want to appear superior, but don't want to be held to any standard about what they state, making comments they know will be construed a certain way, but trying to leave some sort of wiggle room should they be caught. Then the last resort is always to say, I was only kidding, so don't take it seriously, and if you do then you're the one who's accountable, not me. This type of behavior is called projection.

What's hilarious is yourself saying one thing, then another, then trying to say you didn't say it, or that you didn't really mean it, or making a promise and then backing out of it.

As long as you want to be the LDDB devil's advocate, I don't mind being the ethics committee, and I think there's a few other members on it as well.

Dude, you need help!! I won't touch this one.