Asian film fans have launched a global petition accusing Disney of buying and then 'butchering' Hong Kong's film culture.
They are particularly incensed by the entertainment behemoth's habit of 'improving' a Hong Kong film's original score, dialogue and even storyline to suit what they imagine is the taste of the American consumer. They cite Jackie Chan film Armour Of God, City On Fire starring Chow Yun-Fat, and Jet Li's Fong Sai-Yuk aka The Legend as examples Disney has tampered with. And they are concerned that Disney has the rights to such hits as Shaolin Soccer (below), The Touch and Farewell My Concubine. 'It amounts to cultural vandalism,' said Eric Clark, a member of the Web Alliance for the Respectful Treatment of Asian Cinema. 'What's worse is that Disney defends its distribution rights so fiercely that in the US it is often impossible to buy Hong Kong films in their original unvandalised form.'
