re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

I missed all the me to responses but me to!

I think you are overlooking the fact that there is not a ton of new buyers in the physical media scene. People buying from VS are people who for the most part have been in the scene for years if not decades and I think there is a very good chance they have seen these movies at least when compared to American audiences as a whole.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Wasn't overlooking this, and I do agree that the majority of VS and other boutique buyers are probably veterans, but I do think there are still plenty of other, perhaps newer (or younger) fans out there who, for one reason or another (too young to know about them back in the day, not enough money then, lack of excessive reviews by everyone and their mother afforded by the current internet and social media, etc) missed out on a lot of these titles during the DVD and earlier blu-ray eras. I can't admit I watch a ton of YouTube "reviews" or unboxing vids, but I do on occasion, and I frequently see guys – and it's pretty much always guys – desperate for views, opening and/or reviewing whatever new over-packaged, overpriced collector's box that triggered their FOMO while admitting that they haven't actually seen the film(s) inside, only heard or read about it. The comments are often full of similar sentiment: "Wow I haven't seen this/these - this just became my must-see purchase of the year!!" Same for a lot of written review sites. But hey, ya gotta start somewhere, and in 2022 a lot of people seem more than happy to buy into the hype and pay whatever premium is necessary for the privilege, even forgoing better price reductions in future sales. And yes, I've done it myself and kind of regretted it – see my note earlier about Vinegar Syndrome's NEW YORK NINJA box – so it's not like I'm looking down from some lofty perch, but I've generally been pretty firm about holding off, or even just grabbing a cheapo used DVD version online because I suspect – with increasing regularity – that many of the film(s) these boutiques are acquiring don't automatically deserve all of the obfuscating bells and whistles, other than to justify the escalating price tags.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Vinegar Syndrome is proud to bring this Cannon Films classic to 4K UHD and Blu-ray, newly restored from its uncensored original negative, and loaded with all new extra features, including its alternate TV version, presented for the first time in HD!
https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collecti.../death-wish-ii


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...6d96fd5163.jpg

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

3 out of their 4 new releases are on UHD -- Death Wish II, Flesheater: Revenge of the Living Dead, and Stiff Competition. Alien Private Eye is the sole new BD-only release (well, along with 12 partner label BDs).

It's another month I'll be sitting out, but I'm glad to see their UHD support continuing. Fingers crossed for Deaf Crocodile's release of Sampo coming sometime soon. They finished the restoration a couple weeks ago.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Seems like aside from 4K and the commentary (the latter presumably ported from Shout's OOP edition), VS hasn't topped Umbrella's packed Blu-ray double feature of DEATH WISH 2 and 3, from which the interviews on the VS disc – or portions of them? – appear to have been poached. Umbrella's release also included a vintage hour-long Cannon promo doc, way more trailers, and four versions of DEATH WISH 2 (unrated director's cut on the Blu, plus theatrical, TV and Greek VHS versions on a DVD). I'm assuming VS will be releasing DW3 at some point, so the supplements may balance out there, but the Umbrella set can still be had for a reasonable price: www.amazon.com/Death-Wish-Blu-ray/dp/B07434HPGY

Beyond that, I can likewise sit this batch out. Finding that happening more and more with some of the boutiques. Often feels like the cherries have been picked already, sometimes more than once, and 4K isn't my thing.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

^ Thanks for the link to that DW2/3 Blu-ray, went ahead and ordered a copy.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Unfortunately a small Wisconsin record store chain is going out of business. I swung by today and picked up Trauma and Creature for only $15 each brand new. No slips obviously. I only wish they had a few more I was interested in.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Ah crap, The Exclusive Company is going out of business? I have fond memories of purchasing music there in my high school years.

Apparently, the owner died so they're closing down:
https://www.exclusivecompany.com/the...ose-all-stores

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

I guess Mr. G left the business to his nephew and he wants nothing to do with it. It’s really unfortunate. The Milwaukee location is staying open under new ownership. I hear the employees pooled together and bought it.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Looking into it, two managers of the store have started a GoFundMe to keep the store open under a new name, Lilliput Records, but the campaign hasn't reached its goal yet.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/68qdn-hel...lliput-records

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Maybe they should strive to be bigger?

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Oh, it's intentional.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.)

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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. :p On the VSA front, there are Red Surf and Expect No Mercy. There are also some additional upcoming titles listed in the subscriber notice:

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

More Jalal Merhi… :lol:

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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!

---

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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! :lol: 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!

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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

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

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

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.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

thx Adam.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...3ae2c12d0.jpeg

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

I guess it's from being in CA for so long, but I was surprised that there were states where you didn't have to pay your local state sales tax even when purchasing online.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

What's this thing called "Sales Tax". I don't understand. ;)

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

At least in my home state of South Carolina, we were always supposed to pay sales tax, even if it wasn’t collected on our behalf. There’s a box for that when filing taxes.

It seems like most places I order from automatically collect tax, but VinSyn (till now, anyway?), Synapse, Diabolik, and Bull Moose have been some of the exceptions.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

Yeah, that's why I'm glad they started just adding tax to everything, because I got that "Did you buy anything online?" question from TurboTax, I'm like, yeah right I'm gonna try to find all my Amazon shipping confirmations and just checked "no". I was always worried that one day some IRS agent with a stick up his ass and too much time on his hands would flag that for an audit or something.

re: The Official Vinegar Syndrome Thread
 

I found Voyage of the Rock Aliens on YouTube and that's one fun movie. It's kind of light on the plot but the songs are catchy and fun. I think I'll be ordering it once the website is back on July 1st.