Vinegar Syndrome and Their Partner Labels

[smokes]

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

don't you mean the "planet terror cover rip off"?

[pianocrash]

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.

One big sticking point with the VS app was adult titles vanishing from the site, which has more to do with iOS & Apple Pay, which don't allow for such content to be sold. Part of this merging will probably not solve that problem, but will eliminate a whole slew of others, i.e. some of the recent adult titles slipping onto Amazon (which could be squashed with a few bad reviews, but thankfully, that hasn't happened....yet).

Command Cinema titles were once carried in the Staff Picks section on the VS site, way before the pouring down of partner labels began, and, very frustratingly, is still around, albeit on a site with an expired certificate that blocks most visitors from even accessing it (and also explains how every one of their titles is now in the $200 range when they pop up 2nd hand). However, if you're determined, you can still email them and request a total, and they will be happy to help you out. Their releases were some of the most lavish adult sets available (until they weren't!), so it's great to hear they're being resurrected in this five-way partnership. Hopefully, that stalled release of Neon Nights will finally see the light of day!

As a huge Metzger fan, it's wild to think that The Opening Of Misty Beethoven might be released in 4K (nobody seems to be letting go of the OOP Distribpix blu, with good reason, but I'll happily purchase whatever VS/et al eventually has to offer), let alone the rest of his adult films, which really are excellent. The previous blu had about 3hrs of bonus content and few commentaries, so hopefully that whole package will make it's way back into the public viewing consciousness soon.

In terms of the adult content as a whole, I'm really glad that VS is sectioning it off, as, despite the saxy yellow lady in their logo, VS really has branched out of the adult material that jump started the company, and most of the adult releases seem to get lost in the fog of partner label releases, merch, books, pizza keyrings, astrolabes, etc., and the newer & fewer adult titles have become pretty flimsy on the extras, overall. By adding that curtain (just like a real video store), the releases will no doubt have an uptick in quality, breadth, and overall performance stamina (call your doctor if you're considering Melusine).

[MichaelB]

I’m not that fussed about a 4K Misty Beethoven (is there really that much extra detail to be squeezed out of the 16mm original?), but Blu-ray upgrades of the other Metzger hardcore titles besides that and Barbara Broadcast would be day one purchases. I’m particularly fond of The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, which I’ve yet to see in better than SD quality to date, so a bump up to 4K (if such a thing is planned) would be properly mindblowing.

[ianthemovie]

Score is my favorite of Metzger's films, personally, and I'm not sure the Cult Epics Blu-ray could be much improved on though I think it's currently out of print. Distribpix put out Pamela Mann and Barbara Broadcast around the time of Misty Beethoven. Assuming they still have the rights to those I would bet that we'll see them re-released in partnership with VS/Melusine.

I wouldn't have predicted that we would see real efforts made to preserve and restore vintage adult cinema in this way. A decade or so ago when I tried to do some research into this topic I found most of the films--even "classic" titles from the 1970s and 80s--were languishing in appalling DVD editions. Some appeared to be sourced directly from VHS. I understand that the original film elements for many of these films have simply become lost over time because nobody cared about doing anything with them. That seems to be changing now, thanks to the efforts of film historians and preservationists like Liz Purchell, who have made convincing cases for them as important pieces of film history as well as cultural history. Re-framing them in terms of queer and feminist perspectives helps, too. Prior to this only a handful of film scholars like Linda Williams and Richard Dyer were really willing to take them seriously in that way.

VS and Distribpix were both pioneers in trying to get this going in the mid-2010s but only now is it really taking off, which is exciting to see.

[MichaelB]

It’s so frustrating that it’s been impossible to do anything like this in the UK - Arrow was briefly interested in a couple of projects a decade ago but backed off when they realised that an R18 classification was certain.

This means that the final product can only be sold over the counter of a licensed sex shop, which makes it impossible to make any money on such releases unless you also have a financial interest in a chain of sex shops, as the people in that position already will pay an absolute pittance per unit, charge a huge mark-up and then pocket the difference.

Even changing the law very slightly to permit mail order would make a whopping difference - and the absurdity there is that it’s perfectly legal for me to order Distribpix and Vinegar Syndrome titles from abroad and have them delivered to my front door, but it’s illegal for me to order an exactly equivalent R18 title on a British label.

Sadly, I can’t see the law being changed any time soon, so I wish this project every imaginable success.

[Adam X]

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

don't you mean the "planet terror cover rip off"?

If you look at the logo again, I think you’ll find it’s based on the artwork for Long Jeanne Silver.

[colinr0380]

And with the upcoming "Online Safety Bill" in the UK that seems aimed at age gating content even more, the adult titles might be even more relegated from UK shores (or alternatively they might gain a resurgence as the UK tries to ban access to online pornography. Who knows!). I have picked up a few of the Vinegar Syndrome adult releases in my time (Corruption mostly due to the Peter Watkins angle; Memories Within Miss Aggie from forum recommendations; and Abel Ferrara's debut film 9 Lives Of A Wet Pussy) and it has been noticably harder (oo-er!) to access many of these titles through Amazon.com, let alone sellers shipping to the UK. Which is a bit annoying. There are still lots of amazing titles from that "XXX edition" of the 42nd Street Forever trailer compilation DVD that I would really like to see (specifically "F").

I have also been interested over the last decade in picking up that great run of Nikkatsu Roman Porno titles (which are not hardcore but definitely eye-popping in every other conceivable way!) put out by Impulse Pictures in the US, and really want that run to continue somewhere or somehow. I mean how else would I have ever encountered something as astonishing as Nurse Diary: Beast Afternoon?

And since we are talking Randy Metzger, I never picked up Synapse's Blu-ray edition of it but do have the mid-2000s DVD edition of The Image, which is certainly something! More specifically a darkly cynical take on a Story of O-style S&M story fused with hardcore.

[smokes]

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

don't you mean the "planet terror cover rip off"?

If you look at the logo again, I think you’ll find it’s based on the artwork for Long Jeanne Silver.

still looks more like a planet terror silhouette to me. doesn't help that PT was part of "grindhouse" which ushered a resurgence in the very type of films that VS now specializes in

[Adam X]

Look closer.

[smokes]

i'll try again tomorrow.

[therewillbeblus]

Has anyone received their Showgirls replacement discs yet?

[mistakaninja]

I only recently ordered the box edition, and a double-disc sleeve with replacement UHD and blu ray was enclosed within the hard box when it arrived (the sealed case inside the box still contained the original press of the discs).

[EddieLarkin]

https://melusine.com/ now live.

The headline release is Radley Metzger's The Tale of Tiffany Lust on 4K UHD.

[Glowingwabbit]

Has anyone received their Showgirls replacement discs yet?

It looks like they are sending them out with July orders. I'll be able to check tomorrow when my July order arrives. I would assume if you didn't order anything in July you'll receive it in the next week or so.

[What A Disgrace]

Heroic Times (Deaf Crocodile), Death in Brunswick (Umbrella), Dream of Life (Deaf Crocodile), and Roemer's Vengeance Is Mine (Film Desk) seem to be the highlights of today's non-Vinegary announcements.

[PfR73]

Has anyone received their Showgirls replacement discs yet?

Mine came with my subscriber package a couple days ago.

[beamish14]

The new Jon Moritsugu set looks fucking magnificent. I can’t believe we’re finally getting his work in HD

[therewillbeblus]

The new Jon Moritsugu set looks fucking magnificent. I can’t believe we’re finally getting his work in HD

What's a good film to start with, or that might be a good barometer for if one should jump on this set?

[beamish14]

The new Jon Moritsugu set looks fucking magnificent. I can’t believe we’re finally getting his work in HD

What's a good film to start with, or that might be a good barometer for if one should jump on this set?

Probably Terminal U.S.A., which might be his most polished and restrained work. He’s sometimes compared to Gregg Araki, but beyond both of them being Asian-American filmmakers who use indie rock music and aesthetics, they have radically different sensibilities. Moritsugu is more like a sillier Jon Jost or maybe Sogo Ishii at times

[Calvin]

I've heard lots of good things about Mireille Dansereau's Dream Life, which CIP is releasing.

[DeprongMori]

Is there anyone here who has Szulkin’s Apocalypse Tetralogy? (Or has seen Golem screened from a print?)

On Disc One of the set, there may be a menu issue, and in Golem there may be a problem with the film itself.

“I just purchased your “Apocalypse Tetralogy” by Piotr Szulkin, and the menu navigation is not fully operational. On Disc One (“Golem”/“War of the Worlds”), if I select “Reel: 1” or “Reel: 2” of “Golem” it works fine. But if I select “Reel: 3”, “4”, or “5”, nothing happens. All the “Reel” selections in “War of the Worlds” menu seem to work fine. I have not tested Disc Two.

The problem seems to be on the production of the disc. It is only those noted reels which do not navigate. I have tested it on multiple players, and the problem is consistent across players. Could you please check the Disc 1 of the set at your end? If yours does not navigate to the selected reels 3,4,5 on “Golem” from the main menu, it wouldn’t do much good to send a replacement. It would be good to get independent confirmation from you. Thanks!

Could you also check something else for me? There may be a major quality control problem in the film itself. The entire scene between Pernath and Miriam in the empty room that begins at 1:08:00 (right after Pernath’s encounter at the escalator after visiting the empty TV studio where the musician is playing) is low-res and has a very stutter-y frame rate. While it is possible that is what Szulkin intended and what appears on the original prints, I really couldn’t discern any aesthetic reason he would do that. This is my first Szulkin film, and I have never seen it screened from a print. Please verify against an actual print to see whether perhaps an incorrect insertion occurred in production of the disc. Thank you!

Best wishes,”

[nick]

Could you also check something else for me? There may be a major quality control problem in the film itself. The entire scene between Pernath and Miriam in the empty room that begins at 1:08:00 (right after Pernath’s encounter at the escalator after visiting the empty TV studio where the musician is playing) is low-res and has a very stutter-y frame rate. While it is possible that is what Szulkin intended and what appears on the original prints, I really couldn’t discern any aesthetic reason he would do that. This is my first Szulkin film, and I have never seen it screened from a print. Please verify against an actual print to see whether perhaps an incorrect insertion occurred in production of the disc. Thank you!

While I've not seen Golem from a print, I can confirm that the frame rate effect is present on other digital formats like the one streaming on 35mm.online. I assumed while watching it off the VS disc that it was an intentional effect but I'm happy to hear if anyone has more information.

[therewillbeblus]

Did anybody else get a replacement booklet with their Showgirls discs? I wouldn't be surprised if it was a mistake since VS has a tendency to send extra stuff by accident sometimes, but I just want to make sure I didn't miss some advertisement of printing errors fixed in an updated booklet

[MichaelB]

I gather there was a mistake in the original booklets - possibly author misattribution - and so they took the opportunity to fix that as well.

[CSM126]

I still haven’t received the replacement discs. Starting to think I need to contact them about that.