Vendors of films from Russia and Eastern Europe:
- Amazon.com , Half.com [affiliated with ebay], Powells.com , etc. can be surprisingly good for finding used copies of hard to find or recently out of print videos. If you are trying one of the overseas versions of Amazon ( Amazon.de , Amazon.fr , Amazon.ca , etc.) make sure you double check the format (PAL or NTSC), and, if it is a DVD or VCD, the regional coding before buying. I know of no comparable resource for Eastern Europe or Russia (online auctions). If there is one that is worth knowing about, please let me know!
- Close Up International [russianbookvideo.com] offers packages of Russian language [no subtitles] films in NTSC format. The minimum order is 5 films.
- Facets is the primary supplier of foreign language/art house films. They also rent films. They are sometimes slow to process orders, but they have a remarkable range of titles. All, I believe, are NTSC format. Their site is not compatible with older versions of Netscape. Use Internet Explorer.
- Films for the Humanities and Sciences offers a wide range of films from/about Russia or Eastern Europe. Mostly documentaries and teaching aids. Make sure to look more broadly than just in their "language" category.
- First Run Icarus Films offers documentary films from all over. Occasionally they have films made in or dealing with Russia or Eastern Europe.
- Home Film Festival does not sell films, but will rent them out through the mail. They have an extensive inventory of international films unavailable for sale anywhere. This can be a good source if you need a film for a one time event (class or research) and are unable to purchase a copy.
- International Historic Films offers a number of titles from/about Russia or Eastern Europe, mostly on political or military topics.
- Internet Movie Database does not sell films but can give you the information you need to find the films, reviews, images, and other information you are after. Information tends to be good, but can also be way off (especially for some of the translated titles of foreign films).
- Kino International offers many relevant films, though not much of which is not available elsewhere.
- Kinopanarama has a nice variety of films at good prices. Free shipping for orders over 80 dollars (within the continental US).
- Kino Salon Sova seems to be a new Russian film site. I know little about it.
- Kultur Video - Carries videos on the arts (as well as of the arts: ballets, operas, etc.) including many on Russian and East European art.
- Lira.ru offers films (and other media) in Russian only.
- Ozon.ru - Offers a fairly remarkable array of videos. All, however, tend to be unsubtitled and in PAL format only. DVDs may have regional restrictions. Based in Russia.
- RBC [rbcmp3.com] has a wide variety of Russian videos/DVDs/VCDs in number of formats [PAL/SEECAM & NTSC] and regional codings. Most titles are available in Russian only, but they also offer a large number with English (and other) subtitles, intertitles, or voice-over.
- Reel.com is more of a gateway to other film sites and vendors, but may be helpful in tracking down a film supplier or information about a film.
- RUSCICO [the Russian Cinema Council] is digitizing a large number of classic Soviet Films. These are all available through the major vendors, but visiting their site will give you a sense of what else is slated for digitization, the magnitude of the project, standards, etc.
- Russianbuy.com is a site that brings together products from numerous sources for sale online. They have a rather extensive listing of VHS and DVDs. They are based in the US. Do not assume VHS and DVDs are subtitled, in NTSC format, or, if they are DVDs, are regionally coded for play in the US.
- Top 1 Video brags that they can find the videos or books that can be found by no one else (in Russian only). This would be valuable if it is, indeed, the case.
- Video Project offers educational videos dealing with the social sciences and sciences, some of which also deal with Russia and/or Eastern Europe.
- World Films offers films from around the world. They have a nice selection of Russian and East European titles. Generally anything they offer is also available through Facets or RBC, but if inventories happen to be low at Facets or RBC, this is a good place to look.
Multi-Format/Regional Encoding DVD/VCR Players or Enabling Software:
There are many companies that offer DVD players that get around the regional encoding dillema. Fewer do this as well as converting to NTSC from PAL or visa versa. Few players that do either of these conversions are often found through the usual retail outlets (though I hear J&R offers several types). Some of the brands that offer multi-regional encoding units are: Akai , Daewoo, Malata, Phillips , Sampo & Toshiba . Not all, however, convert between PAL & NTSC.
- DVD Player Hack List - This site gives information on how to work around your player's regional encoding limitations. Solutions given may or may not comply with current US law.
- DVD Region Free - A shareware that makes your system region free. More region free sofware is reviewed on DVD Digest .
- WinDVD Platinum - Optimized your computer's DVD player for viewing films. Includes PAL Truespeed, which adapts to the differing speed of PAL formats.
- VLC - This software allows you to use your computer to view DVDs of various regional encodings. Without comparable software, you are allowed to switch regional encodings only once.
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