bitbug

Much has been made here about Disney's treatment of HK films. I'm not interested in repeating the justly deserved bashing.

They've spent presumably significant sums buying the rights to them. They are, compared to Disney's usual fare, very much a niche market, and film and soundtrack editing is expensive. Disney is surely aware that said niche market is adamantly opposed to editing, which severely erodes what is, for Disney, a tiny market. So why does Disney want them, and why spend money altering them? Putting aside for the moment the issue of restoration, which many of these films sorely need, why doesn't Disney just put out an unedited anamorphic film-only DVD? It's quick, cheap, a probable cash cow, and doesn't piss off their customers. Is Disney so rich that they will gladly reduce their profits in order to preserve an "image"? I'd bet that the average DVD buyer doesn't know Disney owns Buena Vista. Why not release under that label, which both preserves their "image" and offers the higher profit of an uncut film?