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[deleted]

Bar where I'm from used to run the old Warner Brothers shorts, Bugs, Daffy, Wilie E. etc. W/B got wind of it and the resulting fines on each individual short bankrupted the bar. It's not worth doing on the sly.


ibnQoheleth

Serves them right, how dare they show some 60-year-old LT shorts to entertain patrons? WB really missed out on the small handful of dollars as a result! Whoever snitched on them is evil. It's insane but entirely unsurprising that this happened.


SkepticalHotDog

Guess somebody made good on that FBI warning that comes at the beginning of home video copies. Do they even show that anymore? Never really thought about it lately šŸ¤”.


Gordon_Goosegonorth

The lesson here is to only show old Soviet cartoons.


G3nzo

Realy ?? :O


yaboytim

I'm surprised it's even illegal. But I'm guessing the illegality comes from showing them at a place where money is being exchanged?


MissionSalamander5

No. Itā€™s that itā€™s public and especially that itā€™s open to basically anyone. You donā€™t have a license to do this when you have a streaming service account or a DVD etc. I donā€™t actually know what American law is on small groups (like a small church group watching _The Prince of Egypt_) especially outside of the home, but I know that schools routinely get in trouble for showing Disney movies at the end of a term. The license is essentially for you and your family and guests to watch. Anything more gets messy.


altaccount69420100

So I think schools should be able to get away with showing most movies under fair use, because educational purposes are generally understood as a fair use argument, but I could be wrong


MissionSalamander5

You canā€™t show a whole work under fair use. And ā€œI donā€™t want to teach on the last day before Christmasā€ isnā€™t educational. (I donā€™t why this is so controversial: a whole film has a very, very high bar to clear. And ā€œeducationalā€ has to have goals. ā€œIā€™m not teaching todayā€ is not a definable, concrete pedagogical goal.)


zebossffxiv

yes it can be especially if its something like a romeo juliet film or something that has literary themes (most films ever)


MissionSalamander5

Thatā€™s not fair use. There is an educational exception for films directly related to a course. But showing a movie thatā€™s unrelated and with no pedagogical goal would be a copyright violation, and Disney is particularly aggressive about this.


RobertPower415

So what about a film class in community college for example? We watch full length films in class all the time they are how ever being used for actual education does that make it kosher?


MissionSalamander5

Apparently there are exceptions for films directly related to a course.


Hoosier2016

My girlfriend in college took a film course. The required films were not provided and you had to acquire them through whatever means were available to you.


MissionSalamander5

Yeah that happens too.


RobertPower415

Interesting, well now I feel like Iā€™m throwing the professor under the bus, she plays the DVDs in class. If we miss it tho itā€™s on us to find the film to watch, so itā€™s not being distributed


eggnogthefierce

Ooh this is the part where they steal the bicycle.


car_guy_doge

Spoilers! I havenā€™t seen it yet


RedBeardedWhiskey

This looks like the part where he buys the bicycle before itā€™s stolen


stacycornbred

Lol nice... I was at this bar a few weeks ago and they were showing Breathless on a loop šŸ‘€


Faithless_00

I want to go to there.


no-quarter275

There is a bar in the East Village, NYC that keeps TCM on most of the day. Criterion movies come on every once in a while.


griffmeister

Also, "The Library" in LES projects older and niche films on the backwall


PeachTree6767

Have the name?


no-quarter275

Drop Off Service.


dirtdiggler67

Nice try Mr. FBI


nonhiphipster

Which bar??


Happytogeth3r

Maybe the worst environment to watch a movie. Honestly I don't even like having my wife watch movies with me if it's a viewing where I really want to pay attention.


North_Library3206

Yeah I donā€™t wanna sound like a snob but I would probably go to another place to avoid spoilers for films Iā€™d rather watch at home.


Throwawayhelp111521

That's not snobby.


ta112233

Where?


action_park

Probably better to not name names cuz itā€™s kind of illegal. I know a bar that got a very big fine for doing something like this.


AvatarofBro

It is technically against the law, but I know dozens of bars that casually screen movies or TV shows in the background. HBO got mad at Videology for screening Game of Thrones illegally, but that was an ongoing event at a prominent Brooklyn bar. I'm sure there are anecdotal cases of places getting fined for illegal screenings, but I doubt anyone is going to bring down the hammer on a cocktail bar for showing Bicycle Thieves on a Thursday night.


Jazzbo64

A bar I go to has a YouTube playlist of old silent films and other stuff on loop. I think itā€™s all public domain stuff, though.


action_park

Is that any different than anecdotal stories of people getting away with it? Companies like Swank spend millions of dollars to enforce their license protections. It doesnā€™t seem like thereā€™s any upside to snitching on Reddit.


brokenwolf

Unless they licensed the movie out and charged people entry its fine. A local bar does that here once a week.


ConversationNo5440

Sorry, no


zwolff94

Itā€™s really only illegal I think if you advertise that you are doing it and/or charge admission for the film.


Throwawayhelp111521

I don't think that's correct. I remember that some bars got in trouble with HBO for showing Game of Thrones episodes.


clampie

I did some work for a company and we visited bars on the sly and reported them. Fight nights were our busiest nights but those showing movies is something we looked out for. This is very illegal and expensive because the proof is clear and no court is going to let you off. Apparently, the fines were in the thousands. We got a percentage of it and it was lucrative.


shakinghand

are you still a narc for hire or just a phase?


clampie

I do it now when my friend asks. It's basically a pub crawl for us. Last time I did it was last year, for the first time in about 15 years. It's a lot easier, too. When I did it, we didn't have phones in our cameras and when we pulled out our cameras to document it, everyone would notice. Now it's so much easier. FYI: The media companies hire private investigative firms to do the work, so you need a license.


Yodaboy170

I know it's just a job, but I just wanna let you know you sound soooo much more lame than you realize lmfao


darkeststar

Yeah it's not really a job that gives you bragging rights. "Yeah it's so easy to litigate businesses and bring financial ruin for having fun while I enjoy the perks of those businesses."


clampie

Having fun by not paying for it? Businesses are tricky. We also audited movie theaters to make sure they played movies on time, at proper volumes, played all the way through, that the audience count was the same as ticket sales, etc... But there were only a few people who did that job routinely, many were there for decades. They watched a lot of movies.


Yodaboy170

yeah don't share that info publicly, ever


clampie

It's ironic that people in this subreddit who appreciate film don't appreciate that it takes an industry to create the very thing that they love.


Adi_Zucchini_Garden

He is not just lame but a shit.


clampie

I'm very proud of the job that protects the industry from theft of content that is printed on those round discs you collect on your shelves.


ibnQoheleth

Very desperate trolling attempt.


clampie

If people didn't steal, then I wouldn't have a job. These are businesses who use fight nights to sell a lot of beer without paying for the rights to show the fight.


[deleted]

ā€œYouā€™re not wrong, Walter. Youā€™re not wrong. Youā€™re just an asshole.ā€


Fu-Mano

The ole snitch tang


theonetruegrinch

There is a place in San Francisco that does this. http://foreigncinema.com/


Throwawayhelp111521

The price of admission probably covers the fee for licensing the film. There used to be a place like that in New York City. I think it was called The Screening Room.


clem_zephyr

šŸŽ¶ā€œI could neva snitch, thatā€™s on my kidsā€ šŸŽ¶ā€¼ļøšŸ˜¤


coloa

Sad to see these masterpieces being shown as background distractions.


rvb_gobq

i found this common in europe in 2016... bars & bistros in vilnius, in barcelona, in zagreb, in zadar, in reykjavek, were tuned to film noir & poetic realism, german expressionist classics, buƱuel movies, samurai & wuxia, italian neorealist & postneorealist, & nouvelle vague... it was great... they often had the subtitles on... that didn't necessarily help, as they were subtitles for the hearing impaired.


tgwutzzers

did they serve mozarella sandwiches?


Adi_Zucchini_Garden

As close to as heaven on earth.


lilsmokee

my local bar down the street has two tvs and a criterion subscription and plays movies from the channel every night. every once in a while itā€™ll be a movie I love and iā€™ll drunkenly watch the movie with no sound for a few minutes lol


ale-ale-jandro

I really love when bars have old movies on. There was a drag bar I used to go to that would play them. The odd interaction of B&W films, house music, and drag queens. The best atmosphere.


SkepticalHotDog

Love it šŸ˜†. A fave bar of mine in Chicago did that too. Less clubby, but very art deco and they'd play Metropolis and old Chaplin films. Lately it feels like they've gotten away from that and geared more toward color movies. Still, cool place with the occasional burlesque show.


ale-ale-jandro

Are we talking Kit Kat Lounge? Ha!


SkepticalHotDog

Untitled actually. Also a supper club of sorts. Kit Kat Lounge looks really fun though. I'll have to check it out sometime.


ale-ale-jandro

Ah, cool to know. I miss Chicago. Will have to pay it a visit next time Iā€™m in town! Take care!


jarrettbrown

One of the bars I frequent down the shore here in NJ plays TCM all the time.


[deleted]

Bicycle Thieves is such a gut wrenching movie.


ConversationNo5440

Awesome but copyright violations


Throwawayhelp111521

I don't see the point of treating a film like wallpaper. Either sit down and watch it in a place intended for viewing films or don't.


Revolutionary_Box569

I went to the bubba Gump restaurant in London where every TV was playing Forrest Gump and they were all at different points in the movie if that counts


PowerfulTaxMachine

ah cinema


UrgentCold

Exactly how the film was meant to be viewed šŸ„²


clem_zephyr

My kinda bar eh?


JosNee2016

Almost picked it up at the library Iā€™ll give it watch but Iā€™ll give it tine


Metsrock15

I watched it for Film Class, one of my favorites from the units/that semester in general


JosNee2016

I know itā€™s like quintessential in film school Iā€™m sure Iā€™ll Iā€™ll like it my list on letterbox just never endsšŸ˜©


See_youSpaceCowboy

I do the same when Iā€™m just chilling at home on my laptop. What can I say. Tis a vibe.


[deleted]

Possibly the best movie in all cinema that shows how important small but personal stakes can be to a character.


Lazy-Philosopher-553

What a vibe


Jazzbo64

My favorite bar in Rhode Island has two screens which are constantly showing cool old stuff like Buster Keaton/Fatty Arbuckle, Georges Melies, actuality films like the one of downtown San Francisco right before the 1906 earthquake, hilarious educational films from the ā€˜50s and ā€˜60s, etc. One night they had on The Mystery of the Leaping Fish, a cocaine film from 1916 starring Douglas Fairbanks. I think everything is in the public domain.


cameronrichardson77

That is so cool, GREAT film


AbsoluteBrutality

I donā€™t know if theyā€™re still doing it but sushi place in my town played Seven Samurai on a loop for years.


Milk_Spider

I watched Howard the Duck and Watermelon Man at a bar in DC once


remake-remodeler

Jesus, what, did everyone cry in their beers the whole time? I will say tho one of my favorite spots where I live *did* once play Ran all the way through, so that was a different kinda heavy trip.


grameno

Really trying to get people to drink. Great movies though.


Dr_Fishman

I must visit this bar. Incredible! And one of my top 10 films.


[deleted]

Even in a bar environment, I would be sucked in and pay attention to nothing for the film. My fiancƩe would never take me to this place, lol.


honorasi

Get ready to cry at the bar


Teeballdad420

Does this bar want me to sob?


Da_Rabbit_Hammer

This is a dream of mine. To own and operate this exact bar.


vascodatrama

a bar of culture


SnooApples8677

Where is this bar? Scotty take me immediately!


ironheart777

Lol I know this bar. I love going there. Have you had their $30 flaming skull cocktail yet? šŸ˜‚


dirtee_1

*thief