Why does it take hours to import mp4 files into iMovie

I have some home movies I imported from VHS-C and compressed to mp4 files and now I want to start going through them in iMovie but it takes hours just to import a single clip (~575 meg).
What can I do to speed this up? Would getting a Mac Pro with loads of RAM and CPU's help? Would converting to a different video format before I import work?
Right now I have all this video I converted to digital and thus far spent days just importing and haven't been able to do anything with it yet!
I'm using an iMac core duo with 2 gig RAM and the upgraded video card (best one they had at the time).
Any help is appreciated!

This worked fine for me, was exactly what I wanted.
1 - Create the project in iMovie HD and then save and close.
2 - Locate the file on your computer. Ctrl-click on the file and it will say "show package contents". Click on that.
3 - You will then see some folder items inside that. Open up "Media" and then drag and drop your mpeg file into it.
4 - When you reopen the project, you will be notified that there are files in your trash. You want to view them to find the file you just moved there.
5 - Take that file and drag it back onto the project and you're in.
A major blessing!

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