Pirated Versions of Woody Allen’s ‘Husbands and Wives’ Being Sold

Some film and video industry insiders have been invited to buy pirated video versions of “Husbands and Wives,” the new Woody Allen movie scheduled for theatrical release Sept. 18. They were approached by surreptitious callers, asking $150-$200 per copy. Two reliable sources purchased the $200 version; both said the audio and picture were outstanding.

Bill Baker of the Motion Picture Assn. of America’s pirate division, said that he hadn’t heard of any pirated tapes of the movie being peddled around town, although there were reports that a 35mm print had been lost en route to Dallas.

Pirates have sold video versions of other movies before their theatrical release, he said.

New York, Allen’s hometown, is more caught up in the scandal than other cities. A spot check of rental stores there indicates that many are out of all Allen movies. In stores in other cities, Allenmania isn’t quite so pronounced.

The next Allen movie to hit the video market is “Shadows and Fog,” which Orion is releasing Oct. 21. Mia Farrow co-stars.