‘Pirate’ Girl With the Dragon Tattoo DVD confuses Americans

We can't decide if this is a huge gaffe or great marketing.

The American DVD of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' looks just like a pirated home-burned disc, with the title scrawled in magic marker.

[Related story: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo review]

It's a reference to lead character Lisbeth Salander - a computer hacker who doubtless burned the odd dodgy DVD in her time.

Fans will also have noticed 'Magda - 32016' on the disc - a reference to one of the victims in the book.

However, the unconventional artwork has confused many American film fans, with many returning the DVD thinking it was fake, according to The Washington Post.

Amazon has been forced to put a notice on their site reassuring punters they are not buying an illegal version of the movie.

It reads: "It has come to our attention that there has been some confusion on the DVD disc art as it appears to look like a bootlegged copy. Please note that the disc art is in fact the final approved disc art provided to us by the filmmakers."

US rental service Redbox put up a similar notice: "NOTE TO RENTERS: The handwritten look on the disc of this movie is legitimate and is intended to look like a burned DVD."

It's not the first time the gimmick has been used. The disc for "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" featured a similar design.

We contacted Sony, who told us they had not confirmed yet what the disc art for 'Dragon Tattoo' would look like in the UK.

But don't be shocked if your copy looks illegal when it goes on sale on 23 April.