The latest Vinegar Syndrome slate of 4K and Blu-ray releases has been revealed. It brings a fresh and rereleased selection of cult and obscure movies from various genres that have been respectfully restored.
You can find out what’s coming below.
New Vinegar Syndrome 4K and Blu-ray releases
Invasion U.S.A. – 4K Blu-ray
Matt Hunter thought he had put his fighting days behind him when he retired from the C.I.A., preferring to live in the serene solitude of the Florida Everglades. But when notorious Soviet terrorist Mikhail Rostov decides to exact revenge against Matt, this one-man-army has no choice but to dust off his martial arts skills and face off, Uzis in hand, against his deadliest enemy.
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Presented with the following sound options: 5.1 surround mix; 2.0 stereo mix; brand new commentary track with director Joseph Zito; brand new commentary track with Austin Trunick, author of The Cannon Film Guide and an archival commentary track with director Joseph Zito and Michael Felsher
- Operation Invasion U.S.A. (31 min) – an interview with director Joseph Zito
- Writing the Real Thing (23 min) – an interview with screenwriter James Bruner
- The Stories We’re Telling (22 min) – an interview with editor Dan Loewenthal
- Heroic Moments (16 min) – an interview with composer Jay Chattaway
- It’s in the Eyes (14 min) – an interview with actress Melissa Prophet
- Do You Like Talking? (7 min) – an interview with actor James Pax
- Cannon Carnage (18 min) – an archival featurette on the make-up effects of Invasion U.S.A.
- Loose Cannons (29 min) – an archival interview with screenwriter James Bruner
- Original trailer
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- 4K BLU-RAY: REGION-FREE/BLU-RAY: REGION-A “LOCKED”
Lifeline 4K Blu-ray
Yau Sui is an arrogant firefighter working at a tight-knit Hong Kong fire station where he and his fellow firefighters believe their station is cursed due to the constant hardships they must face. Yau Sui struggles with trying to rise in the ranks of his department and his skill as a leader becomes challenged when a new senior officer is transferred to their station. In the meantime, Yau Sui sparks a relationship with a troubled doctor and he, like the rest of his fellow firefighters, struggles to maintain a balance between his personal and professional life. However, the drama comes to a head when a catastrophic five-alarm fire in a chemical plant forces Yau Sui and the other firefighters to put aside their differences and work together in an attempt to break their station’s curse.
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Presented with the following sound options: original Cantonese mono theatrical soundtrack with newly translated English subtitles, Cantonese stereo ‘home video’ remixed soundtrack, Mandarin language dub soundtrack and a commentary track with martial arts film expert Frank Djeng
- Brand new interview with director Johnnie To (27 min)
- Brand new interview with special effects artist Chi Shui-Tim (10 min)
- Johnnie To in the 1990s – a video essay by film historian Samm Deighan (18 min)
- Archival Making-of Documentary (15 min)
- Archival interview with director Johnnie To (4 min)
- Archival interview with actress Ruby Wong (3 min)
- Archival interview with actor Raymond Ho-Yin Wong (2 min)
- Original trailer
- 28-page booklet with an essay by film critic Sean Gilman
- 16.5 x 22″ double-sided full-color poster
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- Newly translated English subtitles
- 4K BLU-RAY: REGION-FREE/BLU-RAY: REGION-A “LOCKED”
The Instructor Blu-ray
The Instructor (played by real-life martial artist Bob Chaney) runs a local karate school where he spends his days training his students in the art of defense, including his best friend Thumper. Since discovering his wife dead under mysterious circumstances, The Instructor has vowed to only use his martial arts training for good in an attempt to overcome his desire for revenge. However, when a rival martial arts school run by the slimy Bud Hart begins engaging in crime and corruption, The Instructor finds himself struggling to contain his anger and is pushed to a breaking point when Hart sets his sights on The Instructor’s students. After Thumper is mercilessly beaten in a locker room during a martial arts tournament, The Instructor can no longer suppress his anger and sets out to take revenge on his evil rival.
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM AN ARCHIVAL 35MM PRINT
- Commentary track with writer/director Don Bendell
- A Journey to Akron: The Making of The Instructor (25 min) – an interview with writer/director Don Bendell
- Booklet with an essay by film historian Richard Heldenfels
- Double-sided poster
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-FREE
The Ripper Blu-ray
One of the most feared figures in all of history, the elusive Jack the Ripper prowled the streets of Whitechapel in London, England in the 1880s, murdering and eviscerating a number of women before disappearing back into the shadows… until now. A century on from these gruesome crimes, a professor at a Midwestern college, teaching a course on famous crimes depicted on film, happens across an old ring at an antique store, which bears an uncanny resemblance to one believed to have been worn by Jack the Ripper himself. No sooner has the professor started wearing the ring than he finds his dreams assailed by visions of women being gruesomely disemboweled. When grisly real-life murders start taking place in the local area bearing the hallmarks of the murderer of Whitechapel, could it be that a Jack the Ripper copycat is on the loose, or is something even stranger afoot?
- Newly transferred and restored from the best quality archival tape master
- Presented with the following sound options: original 2.0 stereo soundtrack, brand new commentary track with producer Linda Lewis and author/film historian John Wooley and an archival commentary track with director Christopher Lewis and composer Rod Slane
- Tom Savini Rips on The Ripper (10 min) – an interview with actor Tom Savini
- Trading Out (12 min) – an interview with producer Linda Lewis
- It’s All an Act (14 min) – an interview with actress Andrea DeLesDernier (formerly Andrea Adams)
- On a Knife Edge (4 min) – an interview Bob Blair, VCI president and son of executive producer Bill F. Blair
- “Fire” music video
- Original trailer
- Original video promo
- Inside sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-FREE
Criminally Insane/Satan’s Black Wedding Blu-ray
In the annals of 1970s regional filmmaking, Nick Millard carved out a niche with his extremely low-budget, yet highly artistic horror and action movies. Presented here are his two seminal works, offered as a double feature, just as they originally screened in drive-ins and grindhouses across America.
- NEWLY RESTORED IN 4K from its 16mm camera reversal
- CRIMINALLY INSANE is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with the following sound options: original English mono soundtrack, a brand new commentary track by film historians Millie De Chirico and Liz Purchell, and an archival commentary track with director Nick Millard and Irmi Millard moderated by 42nd Street Pete
- SATAN’S BLACK WEDDING is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with the following sound options: original English mono soundtrack, a brand new commentary track by Brian Albright, author of Regional Horror Films, 1958–1990, and an archival commentary track with director Nick Millard and Irmi Millard moderated by 42nd Street Pete
- Remains to Be Seen (18 min) – a featurette produced by the Vinegar Syndrome Film Archive on preserving the films of director Nick Millard
- Right Out of Left Field (48 min) – author Stephen Thrower on Criminally Insane, Satan’s Black Wedding and the early filmography of Nick Millard
- Archival video interview with writer/director Nick Millard on CRIMINALLY INSANE (7 min)
- Archival featurette with writer/director Nick Millard and actress Priscilla Alden on CRIMINALLY INSANE (10 min)
- Archival video interview with writer/director Nick Millard on SATAN’S BLACK WEDDING (5 min)
- Original trailers for both films
- Inside sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-FREE
Red Mob Blu-ray
Russia. 1992. The Soviet Union has fallen but there remains an unholy alliance between the mob and the KGB. Oleg, an Afghan war veteran, is running a survivalist summer camp when his son is taken hostage as retribution for his friend’s refusal to lead a drug and gun smuggling caravan. With no other options to save his son, Oleg agrees to lead the caravan himself and is soon pitted against a siege of violence as he attempts to carry out his orders and live to see his son again.
- PREIVIOUSLY RESTORED IN 2K from 35mm Interpositive
- Includes both the Russian language version and the American version
- “Producing RED MOB” – video interview with Producer Arthur Schweitzer
- “Shooting from the Hip” – career featurette with Arthur Schweitzer, founder of Cinevest
- Original English trailer
- Promotional still gallery
- Original cover artwork by Derek Gabryszak
- Reversible cover artwork
- English & Russian SDH Subtitles
- REGION-FREE
Sweet Sugar Blu-ray
The beautiful Phyllis Davis (TV’s VEGAS) stars as Sugar, a fun loving nympho traveler, who’s entrapped by a corrupt cop and sent to a female prison camp hidden deep in the tropical jungles of South America. Assigned a position on the notorious sugar cane gang, Sugar soon discovers that the plantation’s owner, Dr. John, uses the prisoners in violent and diabolical experiments. Sugar may soon become another of his victims, that is, unless she can bust out first…
- NEWLY RESTORED IN 2K from 35mm Interpositive
- Video interview with Screenwriter Donald Spencer
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original cover artwork by Derek Gabryszak
- Reversible cover artwork
- English SDH Subtitles
- REGION-FREE