Maybe they should strive to be bigger?

I decided on a blind buy of Flesh for Frankenstein. I watched it last night and I was expecting something much more shocking and ended up liking the movie. I think a lot of the dialogue seemed unintentionally hilarious.

Oh, it's intentional.

So Texas Chainshaw Massacre 2 on 4k is supposed to be among the new releases for the Halfway to Black Friday sale. I'm fine with the Shout Factory release.

It's coming later this year but after the Halfway sale.

(I think the idea is that you can buy subscriptions during the Halfway sale, and they're referencing TCM 2 as a "this is what you'll get if you sign up!" carrot.)

Well the Halfway to Black Friday starts at midnight tonight eastern time. I haven't decided yet if I want anything.

I got my order in for Ilya Muromets. The two other titles are Scared to Death (as expected) and Voyage of the Rock Aliens.




I might go back and order that last one. On the VSA front, there are Red Surf and Expect No Mercy. There are also some additional upcoming titles listed in the subscriber notice:

So they’re doing Righting Wrongs in the US… hmmmm. I’ll have to see the package, but I feel like I’d be loyal to 88.

More Jalal Merhi…

A little more info, if it helps:

Quote:

and to round out the month, we're bringing the Cynthia Rothrock classic RIGHTING WRONGS to Blu, presented in multiple cuts; it's the first of several Hong Kong genre pics we have in store for later this year!

Glad to see VS has more HK stuff on the horizon. I'm also hopeful that they – unlike virtually all the other labels – will be more willing to venture beyond the Shaw stuff and well-known Golden Harvest (etc.) titles that the other guys are putting out. Much as I'm grateful for the renewed interest in HK cinema from western video boutiques, as mentioned before they're not exactly releasing many titles that haven't already been available throughout the home video era; they're just doing it in a more definitive fashion as per new norms. I'm sure VS will have plenty of action titles, but I'm hopeful

It's interesting to think back to the stories of the difficulties DVD-era video companies often had getting decent quality, uncut materials from Hong Kong licensors, and how those same western companies would frequently compromise them even further (interlaced transfers, edited prints, new titles, etc). I'm betting these days the HK rights-holders are more than willing to play ball because their 'classic' cinema is really all they've got left (in addition to the respectful treatment the films are finally being given). They're still making a few interesting HK-centric movies each year, but they all pale in comparison to the older stuff, and by default today's HK filmmakers there have literally no choice but to toe the line. Sad times.


Seriously, what is their fascination with this guy? I guess they have his catalog, so they gotta release it. Back in my newspaper days ('memba those?) I used to include several capsule reviews of DTV stuff like that in a weekly column – including many of his pictures of the era – and I always remember Merhi's stuff being so bland and interchangeable. When a new screener would arrive, it felt more like a chore that I had to do in order to fill some space. There were far worse films on the market back then for sure, so I guess there's that, but I can't imagine anyone paying VS's inflated prices for these and discovering new gems they'll want to keep on their shelves for years to come. But what the hell do I know! To these eyes, his movies would be better suited to double-feature packs, but I do realize VS needs to milk catalogs for as long as they can, and Merhi and his collaborators are clearly willing to participcate in the supplements, so there's that.

Meanwhile, I'd love to see VS (or somebody) to acquire the rights to the PM Entertainment catalog (another Merhi, though unrelated I think). Those folks made similarly derivative crime/action/sci-fi/fu movies like Merhi, but they were obviously playing with more money, even at the low-budget level. And those car stunts!

I think they must have signed a deal with his production company for all his films.

Figured as much. More power to them, I guess. There were quite a few filmmakers like Merhi cranking out DTV stuff in the 90's – most of them only having careers to begin with because they financed or co-financed their own productions – so I can imagine other 'catalogs' being revisited in due time, some ok, others less so.

Or maybe even bought the library outright. That's how they wound up with New York Ninja.

That wouldn't surprise me. I'd imagine beyond what companies like VS can do with a library of this kind in the current market, rights-holders won't get many takers in the future, even overseas, other than (maybe?) for streaming, and I'm sure a lot of Merhi's movies, for example, have been streamable in DVD or VHS quality for ages (guessing). And frankly the HD upgrades don't make them better movies, so lot of folks casually surfing for crap to watch online probably don't care.

I watched about 20 minutes of New York Ninja on TCM a few weeks ago. Enough to know I didn't need it in my collection.

I've discovered that about a number VS titles over the years, usually the hard way by paying for the discs. Still, many were worth watching once, I suppose, and had probably been on my to-see list since the days of VHS. Mind you, I've bought so many over the years that there's literally nothing of interest in the current sale except REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS, but that's not going anywhere fast.

BTW, the commentary by the 'new' director of NEW YORK NINJA is absolutely gruelling. He can barely finish a sentence before something onscreen sends him on a new tangent, then he doubles back to pick up his lost stream of consciousness, then goes off on a different tangent! His approach is so fractured you get virtually nothing of use out of it (he's better in the documentary). Poor guy needed a moderator and I'm surprised VS couldn't have provided one considering how much effort they otherwise put into the box to make us think we needed to have it. Of course, even if John Liu had finished NYN in the 80's, it would've been a pretty awful film, just like his other directorial efforts.

VS killed one BD sale to me themselves, by posting a clip from Alley Cat among their screenshots. Because the lead actress is pretty as hell, I believe there's some nude scenes, but once I saw the level of acting in that clip, I'm like, "I can get good movies with pretty naked girls in them, I don't need any bad ones."

Reform School Girls is on my list as well, but like you say, not going anywhere. Hell, all the movies I bought were over 1000 copies left. I could have held out till November. Still, I only got true 50% off titles, and there's not too many more old catalog titles I want at this point.

I started doing the same a few sales ago. I’m just trying to focus on titles with low quantities. Unless it’s one I’ve been waiting a long time for.
I think I’m done with this sale but here’s what I got so far.

Rancho Deluxe
Rudy Ray Moore box set
Tiger Claws Trilogy
Miami Connection soundtrack
Slaughterhouse
The Executioner II
Girlfriend From Hell
Death Machines
New York Ninja
Battle For The Lost Planet
The Bees
The Muthers
Thriller : A Cruel Picture

Standard Edition (w/ LE Slipcover) of Thriller: They Call Her One Eye (1973) is up now!

https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collecti...ture-slipcover

Does anyone see Cloak & Dagger (4K) on any of the other retail sites? i tried Vinegar Syndrome site, eBay, Amazon and find nothing on all 3. perhaps someone with better surfing skills could find me a link? preferably Amazon, but i'll look at just about anywhere at this point. i know it just came out, but no listings anywhere? i find hard to believe. thanks in advance.

Vinegar Syndrome is in Partner Month mode, so you won't be able to buy any of their own titles there until July.

VinSyn gives themselves a window of exclusivity before their titles are available elsewhere. Looking at some of last year's Halfway to Black Friday releases, Surf II showed up at retail in late July, and Six-String Samurai took until October.

thx Adam.