Tales from Earthsea (Is it legal in the USA?)

[Cordilow]

Hello,

I live in the United States—and, I've noticed that Tales from Earthsea (a Studio Ghibli film) is not supposed to come out in America until 2009.  However, I've noticed that you can buy a workable version for the United States and Canada on Amazon.com.  Supposedly, they need to wait until the movie rights, owned by those who made the Earthsea Sci-fi channel mini series, to expire (and that is supposed to happen in 2009).

My question is whether the version sold on Amazon.com is legal.  I have a hard time imagining that it's not, seeing as Amazon.com is a well-known store.  But, it still seems a little weird.  Is it all right to buy it?  Is it legal for them to sell it, but illegal for me to watch it in the United States?  How does this work?

Anyway, I really want to watch this movie, and I'd rather not wait until 2009, if my desire is legal.  If not, maybe it's legal in Canada …

[Cordilow]

All right, it's 2009 now. When this year is the Earthsea movie coming out in the USA?

I'm looking for officially-released stuff for the USA—not pirated copies.

Will it be in theaters? Was Spirited Away in theaters?

[Cordilow]

Hmm, I found this site selling a region-free version:
http://stores.kungfumoviestore.com/-strse-34/Tales-from-Earthsea/Detail.bok?gclid=COCK7PKlrJoCFRlcagodslMXdA

Does anyone know if it's authorized and legal?

I think I'll reply on this thread with a public email to them and see what they say.

[Cordilow]

Hello,

I'm just wondering if and how you can assure me that this product is legal (Tales from Earthsea—the region-free version). I'm just curious because I live in the USA, and would like to get it, but I haven't seen any official region-free releases. So, more information would be quite appreciated.

Thanks for any help you can offer!