07/04/2005

When the team behind Horem pádem ("Upside down") by Jan Hrebejk christened on Wednesday the DVD version of the film in Prague, they had little to add to the now well reported success of the movie. But they thought it was more than necessary to say a word or two about cracking down on piracy.

"This -pirate DVD- is becoming a problem, which affects me as well as many others" protested director Jan Hrebejk which stressed the fact that a pirate version of the film had been circulating in the black market months before the official release of the legal copy. "Not long after the film was released in cinemas, a guy in a petrol station told me how excited he was after he had watched me on DVD the night before" revealed actor Jaroslav Dusek. Ironically enough, most pirate copies are made from the film's version aimed at people with visual disabilities. The latter includes comments by a narrator – an “unwanted” feature, which has prompted internet discussions of the kind “how can we remove it?”

According to the Czech Anti-piracy Union, one on every two DVDs currently on the Czech market is a pirate copy. The damage caused to the Czech film industry last year is estimated at 600 million CZK (cca € 20 million). "Do you want a few illegal copies to share with your wife or family? Make them but out of a legally bought DVD" was the compromise suggestion of actor Jirí Machácek, who holds one of the leading roles in the film. Horem pádem, awarded last month best local production of 2004 "Czech Lions" premiered in the theatres over six months ago and has sold more than half a million tickets in the box office. The DVD goes on sale on 11 April and will be available in one or two versions, with the latter including English subtitles as well as comments by the director and the usual making of.