Vinegar Syndrome and Their Partner Labels

[Peacock]

I think we are losing track of the original debate. It was if a financially successful label should create sub labels or not. My argument was that Arrow Academy was great as it catered to a different niche to the main Arrow Video stuff. I used Arrow as just one potential example.

I’m not here today to demand a revival of Arrow Academy. But let’s humour that idea; who would curate it with Fran gone? James would I would assume, we know he enjoys arthouse cinema but probably can’t release as much as he would like without diluting the Arrow Video brand.

You imply James wouldn’t have the time to, which may or may not be fair. Which is why I’m not calling for Arrow to create more sub labels if they can’t afford to hire people to run them. I’m saying if a company like Vinegar Syndrome can afford to invest in them then there is nothing to lose for consumers.

If Arrow decided tomorrow to revive Arrow Academy like Criterion revived Eclipse I would be delighted, but as you say I wouldn’t expect more than a couple of releases a month.

But yes bottom line: more labels and more sub labels means more releases which means more chances of unreleased films getting put out.

[MichaelB]

But yes bottom line: more labels and more sub labels means more releases which means more chances of unreleased films getting put out.

...and existing labels inevitably selling less, at a time when the market is inexorably contracting.

(To the point where I'd frankly be foolish not to have made contingency plans for when things suddenly come to a halt, as is all but certain to happen at some point.)

[Peacock]

You’ve been saying that for years! Which is very responsible of you but so far a contraction of the boutique market has been anything but true thankfully. But that’s for another thread.

I just don’t buy that BFI release less because Masters of Cinema exist. Or that Indicator has harmed BFI’s output because they also release British titles. Or that Eureka release less product as MoC and Eureka rather than just Eureka.

But sure, competition affects things; labels are competing during sale time a bit. If their audience spends all their budget on Criterion right before a Radiance sale there’s going to be a knock on in some sense. And if there were double the boutique labels out there that would mean even more competition for film rights and for the money of this small group of physical media consumers. It doesn’t mean that suddenly the consumers will have double the funds to buy all this newly put out stuff.

[MichaelB]

You’ve been saying that for years! Which is very responsible of you but so far a contraction of the boutique market has been anything but true thankfully. But that’s for another thread.

The market is contracting. Labels are selling less per title than they were a decade ago, and a lot less than they were two decades ago. That's plain and simple fact.

Pessimists like Nick Redman, who famously predicted the death of physical media by 2020 have happily been proved wide of the mark, and there's hopefully enough of a market to sustain a small number of labels who are prepared to maintain high presentation and curatorial standards as far as the crunch point when the pressing plants either close up altogether or significantly increase per-unit manufacturing costs, but increasing output isn't going to help anyone in the long or even medium term. As you yourself acknowledge, people aren't made of money.

I just don’t buy that BFI release less because Masters of Cinema exist. Or that Indicator has harmed BFI’s output because they also release British titles. Or that Eureka release less product as MoC and Eureka rather than just Eureka.

I don't have time to look up the figures (and I once again curse that idiot Wikipedia editor for making research so unnecessarily fiddly now), but it certainly seems to be a widespread perception round these parts that MoC's output has shrunk in direct parallel with Eureka jumping on the Asian action bandwagon. And I'm also not absolutely convinced that the BFI's Ben Stoddart would wholeheartedly agree with your claim about Indicator, as anyone who's seen his many Facebook posts on the topic will readily confirm.

[What A Disgrace]

For what it's worth, a few VinSyn titles have booklets not advertised in their initial specs. Deranged comes with an essay by Staci Layne Wilson, Brimstone & Treacle has one by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and The Belly of an Architect by Scout Tafoya (with the cool title of The Cenotaph and Cake).

[Peacock]

Vinegar Syndrome posted an end of year video on their Instagram teasing up various things for 2026.

Announcing in January:

They mention a new line called, I believe, “Iconoclast” which will focus on rare tv films, miniseries and episodic television.

Cinématographe will announce two UHD titles in January, one of which is by a major director.

Mélusine will be announcing an “exciting new label”. All their sub labels and partner labels will be getting more releases and they will be delving more into the Mitchell Brothers titles.

Looking past the next Satō set being announced in January they are going to be expanding the Pink Line beyond Satō releases.

[Lowry_Sam]

But yes bottom line: more labels and more sub labels means more releases which means more chances of unreleased films getting put out.

...and existing labels inevitably selling less, at a time when the market is inexorably contracting.

Beyond just the sheer volume of product is also the issue of the quality of that product. While I was a bit disappointed at first to see Arrow Academy titles disappear (and thanks to this thread as I wasn't aware of the details), I have been elated to see a new label releasing the overlooked titles that the major boutique labels can't/won't get to and devoting energy into making that release something I would want to keep (proper color gradation, good encode, insightful extras, nice packaging). This is why I would consider Radiance over Vinegar Syndrome as label of the year.

Vinegar Syndrome has so many sub labels that it doesn't have an identity and makes it even difficult for people to find releases they might like as they get thrown in with a lot of product from genres they have no interest in. It's too much for the average person to keep track of and is the best example that quantity over quality doesn't work (unless you maybe go the cheap route of just getting product out quickly for less & not worry about branding/marketing like Kino).

[beamish14]

Vinegar Syndrome posted an end of year video on their Instagram teasing up various things for 2026.

Announcing in January:

They mention a new line called, I believe, “Iconoclast” which will focus on rare tv films, miniseries and episodic television.

Cinématographe will announce two UHD titles in January, one of which is by a major director.

Mélusine will be announcing an “exciting new label”. All their sub labels and partner labels will be getting more releases and they will be delving more into the Mitchell Brothers titles.

Looking past the next Satō set being announced in January they are going to be expanding the Pink Line beyond Satō releases.

TV releases could potentially be exciting if they’re able to get British and Canadian works. Who knows, they’ll probably blow their budget on Killdozer from WB and teenage alcoholic of the week nonsense

[colinr0380]

I must admit that the confusing number of sub-labels is the thing that has kept me from exploring Vinegar Syndrome for a long while (in favour of exploring the more graspable practices of Severin), although they did finally wear me down recently with the Hisayasu Sato films, finally picking up Last Tango In Paris and Paul Morrissey's Mixed Blood; and I did just yesterday put in a Mesuline order of those Benazeraf films, Behind The Green Door (to put next to Rabid) and Radley Metzger's Naked Came The Stranger (after MichaelB taking a stand for it in Sight & Sound's recent 'discs of the year' poll!)

So I have found a few interesting things over the year (plus this time last year I ordered that Dekanalog release of the Adult Swim "Yule Log" horror film through Amazon, which did not turn up until January, so I have been keeping it wrapped up all year ready for this Christmas!)

[yoloswegmaster]

Looks like one of the January titles has leaked:

[CSM126]

My eyes rolled so hard they’re stuck.

[mfunk9786]

Looks like one of the January titles has leaked:

Like leaking the upcoming presence of a fish in the ocean.

[swo17]

A twofer of Onimasa and Tokyo Bordello

I bought this, and the discs are mixed up. In other words, if you want to watch Onimasa, you need to play the Tokyo Bordello disc, and vice versa

[DRW.mov]

Looks like one of the January titles has leaked:

So who just generated this AI slop cover rather than wait 12 hrs for the actual cover??

[TechnicolorAcid]

So excited to finally get the chance to see Bye Bye Love which has been called a queer Japanese take on Pierrot Le Fou! Also equally excited to get The Great Silence on 4K too which I’ve been meaning to see for a while now!

[swo17]

The LE of Great Silence will probably sell out soon.

Also of interest:

Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film
Breillat's The Last Mistress

[Finch]

Great Silence LE is sold out. Wow.

[spectre]

I haven’t seen the independent Australian super 8 film A Grand Mockery (Yellow Veil) yet, but it made the festival rounds last year and has been getting some rave reviews – that and the Breillat film look like two highlights from this partner label suite.

[senseabove]

There’s also Pierre Creton’s latest, Seven Walks with Mark Brown (which I’ve not seen yet but last year’s A Prince was a fav), coming from a label called Several Futures, whose only other release (which I’d missed) is Heiny Srour’s Leila and the Wolves.

[luxta]

This new brand will focus exclusively on made-for-TV movies and series and will launch with the 4K UHD premiere of a classic 70s horror TV movie, marking the first release in a very exciting new studio licensing collaboration

Warner

[luxta]

Schedule 2026

Spoiler

February 2026:
3 VS releases $199.94 (SRP)
Including: DEMONWARP (4K UHD+BD debut), 1980s Italian horror (4K UHD+BD), Early 90s erotic murder thriller (Uncensored 4K UHD+BD)

March 2026
3 VS releases totaling $224.94 (SRP)
Including: FORGOTTEN GIALLI set feat. Bruno Mattei sleaze gem and two other trashy treats all in BD debuts (3x BD set), an ultra gory 80s Italian horror shocker (4K UHD+BD debut), gory 90s slasher (4K UHD+BD debut)

April 2026:
3 VS releases totaling $199.94 (SRP)
Including: LADY IN WHITE (4K UHD+BD feat. all three versions), 80s drive-in horror properly restored for the first time on disc (4K UHD+BD), classy and gory 80s Italian horror (4K UHD+BD debut)

May 2026:
4 VS releases totaling $279.92 (SRP)
Including: Essentially giallo in 4K UHD debut (4K UHD+BD), Studio made mystery/slasher (4KUHD+BD), plus two hard hitting Horror Surprise Releases (both 4K UHD+BD)

June 2026:
No VS releases planned during Partners Only Month

July 2026:
3 VS releases totaling $204.94 (SRP)
Including: All horror MADE IN HONG KONG (3x BD set), 80s Slasher (4K UHD+BD), early 90s horror (4K UHD+BD)

August 2026:
3 VS releases totaling $174.94 (SRP)
Including: UHD+BD debut of crazy 80s Italian horror, uncensored disc debut of jaw dropping Hong Kong thriller, 4K UHD debut of unnerving 80s horror/sci-fi

September 2026
3 VS releases totaling $174.94 (SRP)
Including: UHD double of classic early 80s horror, UHD+BD debut of weird and glory 80s Italian horror, disc debut of eerie 70s Hong Kong horror

October 2026:
4 VS releases totaling $274.92 (SRP)
Including: 4K UHD+BD debut of 90s horror by major director, disc debut of Hammer rarity, 4K debut of 80s horror, SHAW SCARES set feat. 3x Shaw Bros Shockers

November 2026:
4 VS releases totaling $279.92 (SRP)
Including: 4K UHD debuts of two bloody classics by genre icons along with two equally insane Surprise Releases

December 2026:
No VS releases planned during Partners Only Month

[mfunk9786]

Great Silence LE is sold out. Wow.

Saw it earlier and figured I’d order this afternoon. Whoops! Oh well.

Orbit says (on Reddit) that they get their opportunity to order as a retailer at 2 PM, two hours after VS customers, and they were gone by then. So no Orbit (and probably no Diabolik).

[beamish14]

This new brand will focus exclusively on made-for-TV movies and series and will launch with the 4K UHD premiere of a classic 70s horror TV movie, marking the first release in a very exciting new studio licensing collaboration

Warner

Willing to bet this is Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

[domino harvey]

If so then I bet the studio made slasher is Killer Party

[luxta]

If so then I bet the studio made slasher is Killer Party

Or Night School.