The Vinegar Syndrome Discussion Thread

[John Lyons Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Lyons]

John, first let me say how excited to hear about the prospects for your new label...I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys put out.

Second, I wanted to toss an idea at you. This is something that I'm actually surprised is not common practice among boutique DVD lines, given how frequently its done by book imprints and CD labels. Have you considered offering some kind of subscription service? I'm thinking of something along the lines of "pay $150 and get our next 6 releases (8 releases, whatever)". For the collectors it can be great if you offer little perks, like shipping before release date, limited edition packaging, exclusive extras, etc. etc. And it would seem like it could be great for the label too, insofar as it can serve the same purpose as a kickstarter campaign in gathering capital in advance of releases.

Anyway, just an idea there's been knocking around my brain...

An interesting idea for sure. Might be more logical to apply this to the MOD stuff than the pressed titles because there are going to be a hell of a lot more MOD releases than pressed combo packs.

[Rakesh R. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rakesh R.]

Did you read my mind or just the bottom of the Kickstarter campaign ;)

I'm dying to put that one out! We have the camera negs, trailers, outtakes, etc. IT WILL HAPPEN!

John, I was curious what kind of movie "Massage Parlor Murders/Hookers" is. IMDB lists it as a comedy, but the title sounds more grittier and ominous.

[John Lyons Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Lyons]

John, I was curious what kind of movie "Massage Parlor Murders/Hookers" is. IMDB lists it as a comedy, but the title sounds more grittier and ominous.

As I'm sure you gathered, IMDB is waaay off base with MPM.

While it does have a sense of humor, it's in no way a comedy.

It's sorta the ultimate exploitation film. It's a sleazy hooker murder/detective story with tons of sex, some neat gore, a fantastic car chase scene, times square footage and a funky score. Great NYC location footage and a hilarious cameo from Brother Theodore.

[Rakesh R. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rakesh R.]

As I'm sure you gathered, IMDB is waaay off base with MPM.

While it does have a sense of humor, it's in no way a comedy.

It's sorta the ultimate exploitation film. It's a sleazy hooker murder/detective story with tons of sex, some neat gore, a fantastic car chase scene, times square footage and a funky score. Great NYC location footage and a hilarious cameo from Brother Theodore.

Awesome! I appreciate the information. It sounds right up my alley and what's not to love about a Brother Theodore cameo!

[Mike K Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mike K]

John, just wanted to extend my happiness to you and Vinegar Syndrome. It's always a joy to see more independent labels emerge and put out quality stuff with real passion for the material. You guys really seem to be tapping into all realms of cult cinema. What other horror related titles are you guys looking into? Looking forward to supporting your company and I wish you the best of luck with it!

[Ignatius Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ignatius]

I'm a big supporter of the subscription service idea that Apronikoff mentioned. Even with labels I really love and want to support, with so much great stuff being released it's easy to pass on some of the releases I'm slightly less interested in. With a subscription I both get to support a company I love with a hefty injection of cash, but I always end up with really great releases that I might have ignored if I'd been buying everything separately.

And if the IMDB is right about Chris Jordan being the star of Massage Parlor Hookers that release cannot come soon enough. I recently started diving into Joe Sarno's mid-70s work and instantly fell in love with her. If you eventually get any Sarno stuff out on Blu-Ray I will be a very happy camper.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Yeah, Sarno's stuff would definitely benefit from a good HD upgrade.

Massage Parlor Murders sounds awesome! Donn Davison handled this one, didn't he? And it is the same movie as Massage Parlor Hookers?

[John Lyons Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Lyons]

Yeah, Sarno's stuff would definitely benefit from a good HD upgrade.

MPM was released through FVI as MPH.

Sarno Blus will happen. Distribpix owns many rare Sarno films and Steven is very interested in getting them restored...But, as I've said, Metzger is key right now.

[Apronikoff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Apronikoff]

And if the IMDB is right about Chris Jordan being the star of Massage Parlor Hookers that release cannot come soon enough. I recently started diving into Joe Sarno's mid-70s work and instantly fell in love with her. If you eventually get any Sarno stuff out on Blu-Ray I will be a very happy camper.

Oh yeah, Chris Jordan is awesome. I had the exact same reaction you did. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check out "Teenage Hitchhikers" which she stars in alongside Sandra Peabody (Or Cassel, whatever you want to call her...the girl form Last House on the Left.) That movie is a lot of fun and she's really good in it.

[John Lyons Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Lyons]

After reading the very valuable input from people on this forum and others, we've come to a couple new decisions.
People seem overwhelmingly disappointed with the concept of MOD releases for the 35mm print sourced 'drive in' line.

So, after consulting with my business partner, we've decided to listen to fans and potential buyers and scrap the entire MOD concept in favor of doing pressed DVD-9s.

There's good and bad in this. The good is that we'll still be releasing all the same titles and keeping the pressed DVD-9 double features at around $12 a piece. The bad news is that we're not going to be able to offer these releases as pressed blu-rays, due to the prohibitive costs of doing limited runs of BD-50s. So, we're eliminating the blu-ray component entirely for this line (all fully restored titles will still be available on blu).

All MOD titles will still be available for download at $4-5 a title in 720p.

We're also seriously considering a subscription model for these as well. But nothing has been solidified on that end.

[Jimmy Simard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jimmy Simard]

So, after consulting with my business partner, we've decided to listen to fans and potential buyers and scrap the entire MOD concept in favor of doing pressed DVD-9s.

It's the same format that ABA use for their disc, right? If so thanks since I prefer that to a DVD-R because it's more reliable in my mind (DVD-R for me equals SWV and their discs die fast on me...).

[John Lyons Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Lyons]

It's the same format that ABA use for their disc, right? If so thanks since I prefer that to a DVD-R because it's more reliable in my mind (DVD-R for me equals SWV and their discs die fast on me...).

DVD-9 just means that the disc can hold around 4 hours of video. A DVD-5 holds around 2 hours of video. Both are standard disc formats.

And Jimmy, I can assure you and everybody else reading this thread that our releases will be nothing like the junk being issued by ABA. We pledge to source all transfers from film, never employ any noise reduction and never insert 'new matter' on any title. The goal is to treat these films with respect and the key to that is making sure they look as close as possible to the way they would have in cinemas.

[Apronikoff Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Apronikoff]

So, after consulting with my business partner, we've decided to listen to fans and potential buyers and scrap the entire MOD concept in favor of doing pressed DVD-9s.

That's great news. I'm always leery of buying MOD stuff...

[Jimmy Simard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jimmy Simard]

See how I know almost nothing technologically speaking

I have just used ABA as an exemple because they press their DVD and not as an exemple of quality. I can't imagine you releasing a film in the wrong order like they did with The Story of Joanna or using VHS sourced materials with the tracking line included.

[Mike K Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mike K]

Very happy to see you guys drop the MOD concept! Pressed discs is the way to go and if a lack of Blu-ray counterparts for this line are the compromise, I am more than fine with that. Listening to customer feedback so early on in your company's journey is really great and it will only amount to better things for you guys in the long run. Keep it up!