Iraqi Bootleg Movies...

Soldiers can watch the latest US movies in Iraq often before the American release date. Nope, they're not found at the local MWR or from a special Hollywood-Military connection... it's the black market.

Classic bootleg DVDs come in two varieties here in Iraq: CAM and TS.

A CAM is a copy of a movie captured with a hand-held camera from a seat in the auditorium and uses the camera’s own built-in microphone to pick up the sound. More often than not, the quality is poor.

A TS or "telesync" is considered a higher quality because it's shot with a professional camera on a tripod in the projection booth, with a direct connection to the sound source.

Whether it's a CAM or TS bootleg--you get what you pay for. Consider these "winning" cinematic qualities:

1) The audience laughs but the bad audio keeps you guessing why.
2) People walk in front of the screen during the good parts.
3) The camera guy munches on popcorn throughout the movie.
4) Camera angle is off--missing the frame and half the film too.
5) Audio defaults to German with subtitles in Italian, permanently.

                                           - But -

6) $10 spent at the hajji shop helps a local national and his family...