Does anyone know if this movie has gone into pubic domain??

As far as I know, a movie made in 1980 would not enter the public domain unless whoever owned the rights to it relinquished them to the public. If that unlikely event didn't happen, Night of the Demon will be governed by the Copyright Term Extension Act and remain copyrighted for the life of its author plus 70 years. I also bought a copy on ebay, but it turned out to be a transfer from VHS and therefore probably an illegal copy. (I say so for want of a better explanation of doing a VHS transfer, if one had permission to copy and distribute the film.)

Maybe you're thinking of Night of the Living Dead, which does seem to be in the public domain. It was released in 1968, when the copyright symbol or other formalities may have been required that are now optional. Mabye someone neglected one of those formalities and accidentally left the work unprotected. Or maybe the filmmakers got public funding for their project on the condition that it belong to the public when finished. The upshot is that you may release your own edition of Night of the Living Dead, or even a new work that uses footage from it but with a new soundtrack and dialogue. People have done both.

My copy of Night of the Demon contains as an Easter egg a mock FBI warning, "FIB Warning," expressing contempt for copyright law. It points out that "no one can stop you from ripping this movie" (true but irrelevant), notes that copying for home use is ok (true but irrelevant), and admonishes the viewer not to rip and sell (apt but hypocritical--rip and sell is exactly what whoever added the mock warning almost certainly did). The mock warning also talks about "the Man," but I don't know who owns the rights to this film. It may be a single mother somewhere who inherited them from her dad, a giant corporation, or someone else who is not a, or the, Man. This idiotic warning was more annoying than expecting a transfer made for DVD and getting a bad VHS transfer. It's a little like robbing someone's house and spraypainting "property is theft" on the wall before you leave.

Nevertheless, this movie is better than Citizen Kane. If buying a bootleg is the only way to get a copy of the uncut version without also buying a VHS player, maybe it's forgivable. I'll buy an authorized uncut DVD version if one becomes available and enjoy the guilty pleasure of the one I have until then. If you're considering buying a copy, make sure you know what you're getting--"New Region 1 DVD!" may just mean a crappy bootleg, freshly burned. Still, I'd rather have what I have than nothing (or than a cut version). If whoever made the DVD made a sincere effort to find out who owned the rights first, they are doing a service by making it available. Finding out who owns rights to something can be a big pain.

Old authorized VHS copies of the uncut edition are still around on Amazon, etc. It is legal to buy one of these and make or have made a DVD copy for your own home viewing.


DO NOT ENTRY

lol



just torrent it if ya want it