Movies

The HBO show Sex and the City is very popular here. It is available on DVD and is played every night on one of the broadcast channels. Unfortunately my tv reception isn't great so it's just a dull blur most of the time. DVDs are a bittersweet pleasure here; it is possible to get the latest films on DVD for about $4 while they are still in theaters - however, they generally only have a Russian language track and no extra features, obviously, these are the bootlegs. You can get normal, non-bootleg versions with multiple language tracks for the same price as in the U.S. Unfortunately, the selection of titles is very poor. I went to the biggest store here for such things, a giant facility called Gorbushka, which sells electronics, computers, DVDs and CDs. As is customary here, it is not just one store, it is row after row of individual kiosks. While there is some variety, for the most part, they all have the same selection of movies and TV shows. So while you can get the latest films and Sex and the City, The Simpsons, Babylon 5 and the original Star Trek here, the later Star Trek series and The West Wing do not seem to be available here. Although, I haven't asked at every kiosk yet, in some ways, it's like the old days, where you have to go to a dozen different stores to eventually find the one thing you want. Russian tastes go for action films, Van Damme and Steven Segal are popular, and comedies are harder to find.