Mr. Bongo Films
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
As far as I know the main problems are that they're overly obscure about who they are licencing prints from and that they have consistently avoided following the law with regards to the BBFC
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
They've also illegally offered their UK products directly for sale on Amazon US.
-
- Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:42 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
On the plus side, their music reissues are superb, the two DVDs I have are not bad (Hourglass Sanatorium and L'Avventura) and the Underdevelopment blu-ray costs a mere ten pounds. If you order direct, things are sent out quickly and efficiently. And they are actually releasing stuff like this, and not the gore/exploitation schlock which most UK labels seem transfixed by these days. Can't say I'm in tears about them defying the will of the BBFC either, if that is the case.
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: SLC, UT
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Well it directly hurts labels that play by the rules like Eureka, Arrow, BFI, Soda, New Wave, Artificial Eye, Indicator, etc.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
It's not "defying the will of the BBFC", it's breaking the criminal law. The BBFC won't be affected either way, unless for some inexplicable reason all the majors decide to stop supporting them - the Board has always been a creation of the mainstream film industry.
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Mr. Bongo Films
I'll give an indifferent shrug with kubelkind on this one. There's lots of crap criminal laws that I don't agree with and breaking them is ethically fine and/or is victimless. Whether Bongo are undermining the BBFC for the right reasons or not, I don't know, but the sooner there is greater movement towards reducing their censoring influence, the better.
Last edited by TMDaines on Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
They're not "undermining the BBFC", they're (or were) trying to get away without paying them, which is in fact undermining every other boutique label that plays by industry rules. It makes no difference to the BBFC, so what effect is it going to have?
- TMDaines
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:01 pm
- Location: Stretford, Manchester
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Why would we care particularly? You can make just as much of an argument that them not paying the BBFC means their releases are cheaper which means consumers have more money to spend elsewhere after buying their releases.
The BBFC are a bunch of parasitic censors and I feel for all of you who feel the need to engage with them in order to avoid leaving yourself open to criminal charges.
Publishers should be able to self-cert 18 and be done with it at the very least.
The BBFC are a bunch of parasitic censors and I feel for all of you who feel the need to engage with them in order to avoid leaving yourself open to criminal charges.
Publishers should be able to self-cert 18 and be done with it at the very least.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
BBFC fees are unlikely to have much impact on the RRP, unless we're talking a really extreme case like Jacques Rivette's Out 1. The most likely scenario is that it might free up enough budget for an additional extra, although when Mr Bongo wasn't paying the BBFC their typical product was utterly barebones with dodgy transfers and subtitles, so the consumer clearly wasn't benefiting.TMDaines wrote:Why would we care particularly? You can make just as much of an argument that them not paying the BBFC means their releases are cheaper which means consumers have more money to spend elsewhere after buying their releases.
It's not that we "feel the need to engage with them", it's that we're legally compelled to in the same way that virtually any firm in any industry is compelled to deal with certain types of regulatory legislation - were I operating in the food or pharmaceutical industry, I suspect I'd be forced to jump through far more hoops. Personally, I find the fact that Sony has to be paid a hefty licensing fee per disc for the right to use the Blu-ray logo and encryption system to be rather more irritating - at least the BBFC has a discernible point in that its legal vetting can be genuinely useful (and much cheaper than hiring a specialist lawyer).The BBFC are a bunch of parasitic censors and I feel for all of you who feel the need to engage with them in order to avoid leaving yourself open to criminal charges.
I completely agree, and I've been calling for such a system for literally decades. Just as I've been calling for the abolition of the ridiculous law that prevents R18 material from being posted from one UK address to another - abolish that law, and the possibility of curated UK special editions of films by people like Radley Metzger and Stephen Sayadian becomes a commercially viable possibility instead of a complete non-starter.Publishers should be able to self-cert 18 and be done with it at the very least.
But as an industry professional, I have to abide by the existing criminal law, and my colleagues and I reasonably expect other companies to do the same thing.
-
- not perpee
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Let's leave the BBFC issue to one side for a moment, along with the ill-informed indifferent shrugs:
i.) Multiple licensors have not been paid royalties by Mr Pongo.
ii.) Mr Pongo have released some films without properly licensing them from anyone. This makes them thieves.
iii.) Mr Pongo have no quality control and no qualms about releasing shocking quality discs – dreadful transfers of ropey prints, full of damage, burned in subtitles that are hard to read, NTSC > PAL conversions, the lot. They have been known to release discs with anamorphic menus but non-anamorphic features. Basically, all the no-nos – they just don’t give a shit.
iv.) Mr Pongo are known to reverse engineer encodes from releases in other territories. Presumably because they haven't paid a licensor for access to a proper master. There are numerous, proven examples of their DVDs and Blu-rays being repurposed illegally in this way.
--
For all the reasons above, and more, they deserve zero respect from everyone.
i.) Multiple licensors have not been paid royalties by Mr Pongo.
ii.) Mr Pongo have released some films without properly licensing them from anyone. This makes them thieves.
iii.) Mr Pongo have no quality control and no qualms about releasing shocking quality discs – dreadful transfers of ropey prints, full of damage, burned in subtitles that are hard to read, NTSC > PAL conversions, the lot. They have been known to release discs with anamorphic menus but non-anamorphic features. Basically, all the no-nos – they just don’t give a shit.
iv.) Mr Pongo are known to reverse engineer encodes from releases in other territories. Presumably because they haven't paid a licensor for access to a proper master. There are numerous, proven examples of their DVDs and Blu-rays being repurposed illegally in this way.
--
For all the reasons above, and more, they deserve zero respect from everyone.
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Would it be too expensive or problematic to just sue them ?
- kuzine
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:37 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Do similar practices occur with regard to their record label?
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
peerpee, you left out Mr Pongo's abominable persecution of local socialite Cruella DeVille
- hearthesilence
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
- Location: NYC
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Three out of four of those reasons would get them into massive legal trouble, at least here in the U.S. If they ever get tangled with someone with deeper pockets and a more litigious attitude, I imagine they'd be taken down pretty hard. (Or has anyone else tried yet?)peerpee wrote:Let's leave the BBFC issue to one side for a moment, along with the ill-informed indifferent shrugs:
i.) Multiple licensors have not been paid royalties by Mr Pongo.
ii.) Mr Pongo have released some films without properly licensing them from anyone. This makes them thieves.
iii.) Mr Pongo have no quality control and no qualms about releasing shocking quality discs – dreadful transfers of ropey prints, full of damage, burned in subtitles that are hard to read, NTSC > PAL conversions, the lot. They have been known to release discs with anamorphic menus but non-anamorphic features. Basically, all the no-nos – they just don’t give a shit.
iv.) Mr Pongo are known to reverse engineer encodes from releases in other territories. Presumably because they haven't paid a licensor for access to a proper master. There are numerous, proven examples of their DVDs and Blu-rays being repurposed illegally in this way.
--
For all the reasons above, and more, they deserve zero respect from everyone.
-
- not perpee
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:41 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Worringly, they also operate a "royalties collection service" for musicians.kuzine wrote:Do similar practices occur with regard to their record label?
-
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
I spotted on the R3:store Studios (they’ve done recent restorations for Arrow, such as The Apartment) website that they’ve restored I Am Cuba in 4K for Mr. Bongo and say that a Blu-Ray release will be forthcoming
-
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 3:23 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Bongo have a sale on right now, most DVDs are £4, blu-rays £5, and postage seems to be a flat £3.25 regardless of how many you order.
- rapta
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
- Location: Hants, UK
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Unless you order just the one, in which case it's £1.70...kidc wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 4:02 pmBongo have a sale on right now, most DVDs are £4, blu-rays £5, and postage seems to be a flat £3.25 regardless of how many you order.
I'd recommend Santa Sangre, and I also have The Hourglass Sanitorium but haven't watched the disc yet (it's a direct port of the Polish disc apparently). I'm tempted to get The Saragossa Manuscript despite the waxy transfer (DNR), and Memories of Underdevelopment just in case the Criterion never gets ported over (this is the cheapest I've seen it).
From what I've heard the Welles discs are a complete no-go (bad encodes/transfers), but Casanova is worth getting (but doesn't seem to be on offer, for some reason).
Interesting it has been 6 months since you've posted this and still nothing from Mr. Bongo's end. I'd be keen to get this on Blu-ray - I was given the DVD a couple of years ago but haven't had a chance to watch it. Obviously I'd get rid of it if a Blu-ray from the 4K restoration was imminent.Calvin wrote: ↑Sun Dec 31, 2017 4:14 pmI spotted on the R3:store Studios (they’ve done recent restorations for Arrow, such as The Apartment) website that they’ve restored I Am Cuba in 4K for Mr. Bongo and say that a Blu-Ray release will be forthcoming
-
- Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 3:23 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
I wasn't expecting great quality but I didn't expect their Kozintsev Hamlet DVD to be windowboxed... Ugh, even £4 is a rip-off.
-
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:16 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Hi, is anybody able to comment on the quality of the Outskirts, By the Bluest of Seas and Lola DVDs? Thanks.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
By the Bluest of Seas is a pretty high quality disc.
-
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:16 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Thank you!
Another question (for anyone to answer): I have read in the posts above that the restored DVD of The Saragossa Manuscript is pretty good, while reviews on the Blu-ray mention problems of waxiness/smoothness/DNR. Should I buy the DVD, then?
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
I would probably recommend the Ruscico Hyperkino editions of Outskirts and By The Bluest of Seas though. They are both available on Amazon UK, currently slightly cheaper than the Mr Bongo discs and have a second disc containing a version of the film with a running video commentary thing on them!
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
- Location: New England
- Contact:
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
How do the Ruscico and Mr Bongo compare in terms of picture quality?
-
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:16 am
Re: Mr. Bongo Films
Thank you.colinr0380 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:08 pmI would probably recommend the Ruscico Hyperkino editions of Outskirts and By The Bluest of Seas though. They are both available on Amazon UK, currently slightly cheaper than the Mr Bongo discs and have a second disc containing a version of the film with a running video commentary thing on them!
After some further research, I have found two online reviews (of which you may already be aware) which include some degree of comparison.Michael Kerpan wrote: ↑Thu Sep 06, 2018 4:29 pmHow do the Ruscico and Mr Bongo compare in terms of picture quality?
On Outskirts: https://www.thedigitalfix.com/film/cont ... outskirts/:
On By The Bluest Of Seas: https://www.theartsshelf.com/a-z/a-z/re ... t-of-seas/ (includes screenshots from the Mr Bongo edition):Of the two the Ruscico edges things in the presentation department thanks to a superior encode – the Mr. Bongo has the more prominent compression artefacts – and the slightly sharper image.
Further feedback is greatly welcome, though.The [Mr Bongo] image appears slightly sharper and more defined than the previously available Hyperkino edition.