TOMB RAIDER MOVIE FOR A FIVER
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com Source: Sunday Mail

[ July 1st 2001 ]

Pirate copies of Paramount Pictures Lara: Croft Tomb Raider motion picture have flooded the famous Barras market in Glasgow where counterfeiters are charging five U.K pounds for illegal copies of the action movie on DVD or video tape, the Sunday Mail reports today. Tomb Raider was one of many new blockbusters, including Blow and Evolution, for sale as pirate copies. One stall-holder boasted:

"We can get you anything that's showing at the pictures. We're just like the Odeon." But trading standards officers last night warned people not to be tempted to buy, saying the videos will be of poor quality. Counterfeit gangs have managed to get their hands on the film from America and have manufactured thousands of copies.

Police and trading officers have mounted massive raids at the Barras to curb the booming counterfeit trade. One trading standards officer said: "You can tell the copies are counterfeit. The covers are poor photocopies of posters for the film. Wait until it comes out in the pictures because you'll only be lining crooks' pockets. When confronted, one stallholder denied she was selling fakes. She said: "I don't know what you're talking about. We don't want any problems. We're here every week selling videos and we only selling the best. If you're unhappy with them come back and I'll give you a refund."

Shoppers at the Barras said they didn't worry about buying counterfeit videos. One said: "I can't see what harm buying pirate versions does. Nobody gets hurt doing it." But a spokesman for Glasgow City Council's Trading Standards Department disagreed, he said: "The studios lose a fortune to the pirates. If we don't stamp them out, there'll be no money for companies to make movies like Tomb Raider."