Vinegar Syndrome and Their Partner Labels

[Yakushima]

I’d email them about it. I had another release I received from the sale skip a minute, they sent a replacement, and it didn’t skip. If it’s a known issue, hopefully they’ll flag it

Thank you for your feedback, therewillbeblus! I emailed them.

[therewillbeblus]

FYI, the email update for the Showgirls replacement disc didn't specify this (so for all I know VS will reach out to me with an error message), but I was able to "add to my existing order" and check out with free shipping tonight, I assume because they're shipping me a replacement - since I don't have any unfulfilled orders with them. Maybe entering the $5 coupon attached to the 'my bad' email triggered this option? Either way, worth trying if you're in that group

[Adam X]

You may want to email them then. The ‘add to my existing order’ option’s only valid when you have a sale/pre-order already placed, and they may just end up cancelling your order if you’ve paid no shipping.

Though VS tend to be a little more understanding about order errors than some.

[pzadvance]

Does the “add to existing order” option work if you’ve recently placed an order that’s yet to be fulfilled? Or is it *only* if it includes a pre-order or takes place during a sale (in which case, does the current limited sale qualify? God, VS’s inscrutable business practices are annoying!)

[Adam X]

The ‘add to’ option was previously only available during their twice yearly sales. It’s only this year when they decided to provide the option during monthly pre-order periods that it might’ve become complex if you’ve not been keeping up. Every sale they provide a page listing all the info you should need to know. Here’s the current one, linked at the top of the page above the logo.

Essentially if you place an order for any pre-order or sale items, you can add to that original order as much as you like. So long as that pre-order/sale period is still running. Monthly pre-order periods generally last for the first 2 weeks of each month.

If you’ve got an unfulfilled order made prior to the current event, it doesn’t count.

[criterionsnob]

If you haven’t picked up The Other French New Wave, The Ernie Game, or The Unknown Man of Shandigor now’s your chance to get them on sale.

[therewillbeblus]

You may want to email them then. The ‘add to my existing order’ option’s only valid when you have a sale/pre-order already placed, and they may just end up cancelling your order if you’ve paid no shipping.

Thanks Adam, I must have misremembered that this option is only made available if you do have what they’d consider a “pre-order” in their system. I’ll report back if the response I get confirms this loophole is eligible for the Showgirls replacement crowd, but I assume you’re right

[Calvin]

If you haven’t picked up The Other French New Wave, The Ernie Game, or The Unknown Man of Shandigor now’s your chance to get them on sale.

And Lino Brocka's Cain and Abel!

[yoloswegmaster]

2 new partner labels are coming:

The first big highlight of the press releases is the news that the new imprint Art Label run by Warren Xian, formally of Culture Shock releasing, will be joining the OCN Distribution collective. As the name implies, Art Label aims to expand beyond horror and exploitation titles to encompass rare, obscure, and well-known art house titles.

The next big piece of news in this press release is that independent cinema caretakers IFC Films will be joining OCN Distribution! On top of their expansive back catalog, IFC continues to give new films a shot on home video rather than letting them get lost (or deleted) in the streaming weeds. This means back catalog titles that were only issued on DVD may see their Blu-ray debuts and even some 4K UHD upgrades as new titles continue to reach physical media!

The first IFC release will come in December and will be a title from Alex Ross Perry.

[domino harvey]

Queen of Earth, I imagine

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Fantasia Festival has My Heart Is That Eternal Rose in this year's lineup, credited to Kani. It's listed as the "North American Premiere of Mei Ah's 2K restoration," which makes me think this is the same master Mei Ah themselves released on Blu-ray a few years back, but having rewatched it recently it holds up quite well.

[spectre]

This "Art Label" imprint certainly sounds like one to keep an eye on. Considered collectively, the VS partner brands seem to be doing the most interesting work of anyone at the moment.

[Adam X]

To follow up on my confusion regarding the Piotr Szulkin set, it is available for sale again, but only in the Limited Edition. The Standard Edition (which one would think would NOT be limited) is still “sold out.” I don’t know. At this point I think I’ve lost interest altogether.

Hey Matt, at the risk of sounding like their sales rep, I thought you might like to know that the standard edition is now available at VS, and looks to be up for pre-order elsewhere.

[Matt]

Thank you! I did, in fact, email them recently but the reply I got made me even more confused.

It has been ordered! My card has been charged! I am ready to enter a new era of my life, leaving all bewilderment behind!

[Adam X]

It’s a brand new world!

[swo17]

The VSP announcement Sick of Myself appears to have a few fans on the board. For example

It's definitely an acquired taste, but I think it's the exact kind of full-throated social satire that you would appreciate - and I think that probably gives others an idea of if it might appeal to them.

I liked this but also felt a little dirty afterward. However, I do highly recommend the bonus short on this release, Eer, which is just as gross but in a more fantastical way that allowed me to appreciate the humor from more of a distance

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah, Eer is fun

[swo17]

These other shorts on his YouTube channel are also good:

The Loser
Former Cult Member Hears Music for the First Time
Softcore
The Altruist

[therewillbeblus]

Hit-or-miss for me, but Softcore's evolution took some inspired turns in addition to being a hilariously on-point satire, and would've been a very appropriate inclusion on the disc

[ianthemovie]

Looks like Vinegar Syndrome is radically overhauling their distribution of "adult" and sexploitation titles.

If I follow this labyrinthine press release correctly, VS is launching a new separate storefront, Melusine, to handle sales of their adult and sexploitation films. VS's adult films are officially being taken out of the VS catalog and discontinued (like we've already seen with the Wakefield Poole titles), and will be re-released/re-branded under the new Melusine label. I'm assuming, to continue with the Wakefield Poole example, we'll eventually see these titles come back under Melusine.

Melusine will apparently be VS's label for their own editions of "landmark works in hardcore theatrical features, with an emphasis on works by the genre’s most acclaimed filmmakers."

In addition, the adult label Distribpix (perhaps most notable for their lovingly restored Blu-ray edition of Radley Metzger's The Opening of Misty Beethoven, which they put out in 2013) is becoming a new partner label with VS. According to the press release they are working on Metzger's The Tale of Tiffany Lust, to be released late summer, and Michael Findlay's Flesh trilogy, slated for fall (in conjunction with Something Weird). Distribpix "will become home to all things sexploitation, pulling from both Vinegar Syndrome and Distribpix’s vast libraries and ranging from the earliest nudie cuties all the way through the tail end of theatrical softcore. Releases will be single, double and triple feature Blu-rays."

Another sub-label: Quality X, "will offer single film Blu-ray editions of standout and hidden gem theatrical hardcore features from around the globe."

Yet another sub-label: "Command Cinema," "which has been distributed by Distribpix for the last several years will also be joining the Distribpix/Vinegar Syndrome family and will see both Blu-Ray and 4K debuts of producer/director, Cecil Howard’s acclaimed erotica."

Peekarama is also going to stick around but will be now sold through Melusine rather than through the VS store.

(Got all that?)

The takeaway from all this seems to be that as VS continues to grow as a company they want to more clearly separate the handling of the adult content, in order to avoid complications (related to legality? optics? both?) that may come from selling and distributing these titles alongside the rest of their stuff. On the FAQ it says "By separating these films, we will not only be able to streamline the checkout process on the VS website, we will also be more than doubling the number of sex films released on home video, including adding more diverse film selections into the mix." If it helps them to release more interesting titles, I'm all for it.

[swo17]

But the VS logo is still going to be a sexy naked lady, right?

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

I just hope the Vinegar Syndrome points I’ve accumulated work with both stores. I think about 80% of the VS titles I pick up are their adult films so it would be annoying to start at 0 points again.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

One consequence of VS selling adult titles through their main storefront is that the entire site is blocked on my work network, which has been a problem during sales when I'm in a rush to order a low-stock item.

[ianthemovie]

But the VS logo is still going to be a sexy naked lady, right?

The one whose leg looks like a glass that's slowly being filled with urine? Probably!

I just hope the Vinegar Syndrome points I’ve accumulated work with both stores. I think about 80% of the VS titles I pick up are their adult films so it would be annoying to start at 0 points again.

The FAQ says points will work across both sites.

[Adam X]

But the VS logo is still going to be a sexy naked lady, right?

Will a lively mélusine do?

They first mentioned this leading up to the Summer Subscriber Week sale. Further info was in it's FAQ:

A few important notes:
1. We will be allowing cross-site purchasing / Order Stacking. If you have an open order on one site, you will be able to add to that package on the other.
2. Hardcore, and some soft, titles that were released with the VS branding (inclusive of all older Peekarama titles, standalone releases, and some Drive-In Collection films) will be phased out. For example: once a sex film with a VS catalog number sells out, its VS edition will be OOP. Select DVD only releases will eventually be re-pressed as BDs on the new site. Due to this, all VS branded sex titles will be heavily discounted once the new website is live.
3. In addition to increasing our hardcore and sexploitation output, several other labels will be joining this new website, including one of the most prominent and historic American sexploitation/hardcore film producers whose vast catalog will be put into release.