Vinegar Syndrome has revealed several upcoming 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. Among them are: Invasion U.S.A. (1985), Lifeline (1997), and The Ripper (1985).
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. However, as Matt tries to remain one step ahead, the insidiously evil Rostov begins deploying bands of guerrilla fighters across the state to terrorize innocent civilians and force Matt out into the open and compel him to face off for one final, bloody showdown.
An action tour-de-force from director Joseph Zito (The Prowler, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) and one of the key films in helping establish Chuck Norris (who co-authored the screenplay with James Bruner) as an action superstar, INVASION U.S.A. was also one of the first true blockbusters from 80s genre film legends Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus' Cannon Films. Co-starring Richard Lynch (The Sword and the Sorcerer), Melissa Prophet (Goodfellas, Casino), and Billy Drago (The Untouchables), this epic feat of non-stop stunt work and incredible action setpieces comes to 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome, newly restored for this release from its 35mm original camera negative and ready for retribution with a staggering supply of new and archival bonus materials.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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
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.
LIFELINE, described by many as Hong Kong's answer to Backdraft, is masterfully directed by one of Hong Kong's most celebrated filmmakers, Johnnie To (The Heroic Trio, PTU). Focussing heavily on the personal lives of the characters, the film succeeds by not only being a strong study of the hardships firefighters must endure, but by also delivering intense stunt-filled action sequences, culminating in a nearly 45-minute non-stop climactic fire sequence. Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present LIFELINE on 4K Blu-ray for the first time, newly restored from the original camera negative, featuring beautifully photographed and pulse-pounding fire sequences unlike any you've seen before.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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
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.
A regionally-shot action extravaganza, THE INSTRUCTOR was the only film made by director Don Bendell and lead actor Bob Chaney. In the vein of films such as Champagne and Bullets and Death Promise, THE INSTRUCTOR is a low-budget tour de force that will leave you absolutely stunned. One of the most requested Vinegar Syndrome Archive titles of all time, we are proud to present THE INSTRUCTOR for the first time on Blu-ray, newly restored from the director's own personal print, and featuring some of the most jaw-dropping fight scenes ever filmed. This one is truly unlike anything you've ever seen before!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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
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?
The second horror feature to emerge from the collaboration between husband and wife directing/producing duo Christopher and Linda Lewis and executive producer Bill F. Blair's (Terror at Tenkiller) Tulsa, Oklahoma-based United Entertainment, THE RIPPER follows on from their 1985 shot-on-video slasher hit Blood Cult, ramping things up with gratuitous scenes of gloopy throat-slashing and disembowelment, unexpected dance sequences, Coca-Cola® product placement and the addition of actor and special effects guru Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn) in the title role. Sourced from the highest quality tape master, Degausser Video is thrilled to unveil the home video reincarnation of this SOV classic, presented alongside an array of archival and new bonus features, including a revelatory interview with The Ripper himself!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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
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.
Ethel Jankowski has just been released from an asylum where her both violent and suicidal tendencies had kept her under medical supervision. Deemed "cured," save for her severe weight problem, she moves in with her grandmother who, under doctor's orders, locks up the household's food supply to prevent Ethel from continuing to gorge herself. However, Ethel's raging appetite cannot be contained and, as visitors to the house begin discovering her growing stash of snacks, she has no choice but to violently kill them and hide their remains… A charmingly depraved proto-slasher anchored by a captivating performance from its (literally and figuratively) larger-than-life star, Priscilla Alden (Sodom and Gomorrah: The Last Seven Days), director Nick Millard's cult favorite, CRIMINALLY INSANE bursts with wild plot twists, regional charm, and plenty of gruesome kills.
Mark Gray is reeling from the horrible news that his sister, Nina, has committed suicide. Searching for answers, he travels to the secluded, forest-surrounded town in which she lived. Unsettled by the frosty, almost ghost-like demeanor of the locals, Mark begins to suspect that there might be something more sinister behind his sister's death, only to discover that the town itself is a coven of vampires. With more than its fair share of bright-red-bloody kills, Nick Millard's sophomore horror feature, SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING is a tightly constructed and incredibly atmospheric regional vampire thriller skillfully crafted in the Italian gothic tradition, despite its Northern California locales.
Both CRIMINALLY INSANE and SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING have been meticulously restored in 4K from their long-lost 16mm camera reversal elements and are making their worldwide Blu-ray debut from Vinegar Syndrome!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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)
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.
Despite its early 90's production, Vsevolod Plotkin's RED MOB (Chtoby vyzhit) is staunchly situated in the stylistic tropes of late 80s action blockbusters. Helicopter dogfights, incredibly staged explosions, and death-defying action sequences abound, played against a tense and suspenseful story of survival.
Barely given a release outside of Russia, RED MOB played an important role in post-USSR Russian cinema, with much of its cast and crew continuing on to create the highly-successful NIGHT WATCH duology. Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents RED MOB on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, newly restored from its 35mm Interpositive in both its Russian and slightly extended American version.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
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
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...
Director Michel Levesque's (WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS) much sought after and over the top women-in-prison thriller, SWEET SUGAR, is an action and violence packed exploitation classic, filled with blood, nudity, and a barrage of absurd twists. Long available in poor quality video transfers, Vinegar Syndrome is proud to bring SWEET SUGAR to Blu-ray, newly restored from its 35mm interpositive.
While hosting a masked orgy, socialite Scarlet is murdered by an unknown killer. Hired to investigate the case is put upon private dick Dexter Sleuth who immediately takes to interviewing the soiree's various guests. From politicians, to gossip columnists, to broadway stars, to stag film producers, it seems that everyone had a motive to stick it to Scarlet, but who really did it? As the bumbling detective attempts to narrow down the suspect pool, the mysterious assailant decides to bump off Sleuth but, due to repeated unfortunate timing, leaves a trail of other corpses along the way!
Acclaimed filmmaker Chuck Vincent (Roommates, Misbehavin') teamed up with legendary producer Cecil Howard (Firestorm, Neon Nights) for this uproarious send-up to detective thrillers and hard-boiled whodunits. Featuring a cast of New York's top 70s sex film stars including Kim Pope (The Intrusion), Darby Lloyd Rains (Chorus Call), Jennifer Jordan (Angela The Fireworks Woman), Eric Edwards (The Virgin & the Lover), and starring Teri Hall (The Story of Joanna) as the devious and deceased Scarlet, Command Cinema proudly presents this outrageous neo-noir on Blu-ray, newly restored in 4K from its 35mm camera negative.
directed by: Chuck Vincent, Cecil Howard
starring: Kim Pope, Darby Lloyd Raines, Terri Hall, Jennifer Jordan, Eric Edwards
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
Master filmmaker Chuck Vincent teamed up with acclaimed producer Robert Sumner to helm this duo of lavish, globe trotting hardcore comedies, which are presented together on Blu-ray from Quality X, both newly restored in 2K and loaded with informative extras!
Burt's (Randy West) life couldn't be more in the pits. His girlfriend (Kandi Barbour) can't stand him and he's just about broke. But when a computing error at his bank accidentally adds three zeros to his account balance, transforming his measly $300 in savings into $300,000, Burt seizes the opportunity to live his fantasies; transferring the money to a Swiss bank account and heading for Europe in search of all of the pleasures he's been deprived of. However, he soon learns that the rich life isn't as easy as he would have suspected.
A quick paced and witty comedy of errors, THAT LUCKY STIFF co-stars Samantha Fox, Candida Royalle, Kelly Nichols, and Merle Michaels.
Faith (Kelly Nichols) has had little success in her thespian pursuits. However, while attending a ritzy party she eavesdrops on a wager between two wealthy friends that offers a quarter of a million dollars to any woman capable of bedding the world's ten greatest lovers in a mere 50 days. Volunteering herself for the challenge, Faith is soon whisked around the globe on a mission of seduction, but slowly learns that the allure of romance might have a stronger hold than money.
A frothy tribute to Hollywood's jet-set comedy trend of a couple decades earlier, BON APPETIT offers sophisticated laughs, amongst beautiful locales.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATIONS OF BOTH FILMS - Bon Appetit from a 35mm Answer Print and That Lucky Stiff from it 35mm Original Camera Negative
Select scene commentary with actress Kelly Nichols moderated by film historian Casey Scott (That Lucky Stiff)
Brand new Audio Commentary with actress Kelly Nichols moderated by film historian Casey Scott (Bon Appetit)
Video Interview with actress Kelly Nichols conducted by film historian Casey Scott