Vinegar Syndrome has revealed several new upcoming releases. Amongst them are:
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) and
The Dark Half (1993).
The Dark Half 4K Blu-ray
Thad Beaumont is tired of writing trashy pulp novels under the pseudonym "George Stark" in order to make a living. Yearning to focus solely on scribing the intellectually stimulating literature he enjoys, Thad decides to - literally - bury his alter ego in a figurative attempt to finally break free of lucrative lowbrow temptations. However, George isn't prepared to be laid to rest and miraculously resurrects himself out of Thad's subconscious, fully transforming into a flesh-and-blood double and going on a grisly murder spree straight out of one of his own novels. With the police convinced that Thad is behind the series of bizarre killings, he is forced to confront his inner demons and determine where the real Thad ends and the "real" George begins in an attempt to put an end to George Stark's rampage.
Based on the thrilling novel by Stephen King (Carrie, The Shining) and directed by horror legend George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), THE DARK HALF is a tense examination of the violent and destructive nature of the creative process. Starring Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), Academy Award® nominee Amy Madigan (Twice in a Lifetime, Field of Dreams), and Academy Award© nominee Julie Harris (The Member of the Wedding, The Haunting), Vinegar Syndrome is proud to bring THE DARK HALF to 4K Blu-ray, in a brand new cinematographer-approved restoration of its 35mm camera negative and featuring a comprehensive selection of new and archival extras, including never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- TWO-DISC SET
- 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Commentary track with writer/director George A. Romero
- "My Roots with Romero" (12 min) - an interview with first assistant director Nick Mastandrea
- "A Merchant Ivory Cameraman in Pittsburgh" (10 min) - an interview with cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts
- "Shadows of the Past: Locating The Dark Half" (5 min) - a featurette on the shooting locations of The Dark Half
- "George Romero and The City of the Living Dead" (10 min) - excerpts from a 1991 Broadcast on WQED, Pittsburgh's Local PBS Station
- "The Sparrows are Flying Again" (36 min) - a making-of documentary from 2014 with writer/director George A. Romero, special make-up effects creators Everett Burrell and John Vulich, visual effects supervisor Kevin Kutchaver, actor Robert Joy, editor Pasquale Buba, and more!
- Archival making-of featurette from the Electronic Press Kit
- Archival interviews from the Electronic Press Kit
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Deleted scenes
- Storyboards
- Image gallery
- TV spot
- Original trailer
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by Daniel Kraus, Scout Tafoya, and Lawrence DeVincentz (Limited Edition Only)
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
Let's Scare Jessica to Death 4K Blu-ray
Recently released from a mental institution, Jessica, along with her husband Duncan and friend Woody, have decided to move into an isolated farmhouse in search of a fresh start. When they arrive there, however, they discover a young woman squatting on the property. With the group deciding to let their unexpected guest, Emily, stay with them, Jessica soon discovers that their new companion bears a striking resemblance to a girl who drowned in the nearby lake many years ago and who, as local rumor has it, now haunts the area as a vampire. At the same time, Jessica begins to experience strange and frightening visions - is she once again losing her grip on reality, or is something even more strange and sinister afoot?
Heavily inspired by the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw and Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963), John D. Hancock's (Bang the Drum Slowly) LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH is a somber, dreamlike, and, at times, utterly bone-chilling classic of early '70s terror. One of the first horror movies to make extensive use of a synthesizer in its score, which greatly enhances the film's numerous shock sequences, Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to present LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH newly-restored in 4K from its original camera negative, with approval from director Hancock, and loaded with a host of brand new and exclusive bonus features.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- TWO-DISC SET
- 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Commentary track with director John D. Hancock, moderated by Justin LaLiberty
- Commentary track with authors Kim Newman and Sean Hogan
- "A New Medium" (15 min) - an interview with director John Hancock
- "The Stars Align" (11 min) - an interview with co-producer Bill Badalato
- "The Sound of Terror" (12 min) - an interview with composer Orville Stoeber
- "A Haunted Quality" (22 min) - an interview with Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower
- Theatrical trailer
- TV spot
- Radio spot
- Image gallery
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by Molly Henery, Quatoyiah Murry, and Jason Bailey (Limited Edition Only)
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
Charley-One Eye
In the harsh desert landscape of 1860s Mexico, two outcasts cross paths. Richard Roundtree (Shaft, Crack House) is a former Union soldier, desperate and on the run after killing a superior officer. Roy Thinnes (Airport 1975, Rush Week) is a crippled Native American of mixed race, who lives as a pariah away from any tribe. Identified only as The Black Man and The Indian, the two deal with mutual hatred and mistrust before forming a strange partnership until a vicious bounty hunter played by Nigel Davenport (Phase IV, Nighthawks) finds his way to them. How long can they last holed up in this brutal desert, stalked by both Davenport and Mexican bandits, and reliant on an uneasy relationship that borders on madness?
An unusually racially-focused entry in the canon of the ""anti-Western"", director Don Chaffey's (Jason and the Argonauts) CHARLEY ONE-EYE came during a flurry of English Westerns of the era. Recalling the work of Sam Peckinpah, it lays on both allegory and graphic violence liberally, with stunning performances from its two leads. Shot in Spain's famed Almería, a shooting location of many Eurowesterns, CHARLEY ONE-EYE is scored with a sparse, haunting soundtrack by John Cameron (Psychomania). Newly scanned in 4K and restored to its fully uncut version, Vinegar Syndrome Labs proudly presents this intense and unique character-driven tale of raw survival.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- Commentary track with film historian Toby Roan
- "Chicken Shoot" (34 min) - a making-of featurette with first assistant director Nick Granby, first assistant editor
- "One Eye on the Neg" (25 min) - an interview with first assistant editor Geoffrey Mackrill
- "Twixt, Orchestral, and Minimalist" (18 min) - an interview with composer John Cameron
- "A Force to be Reckoned With" (16 min) - blaxploitation film historian Josiah Howard on Richard Roundtree's career
- "Richard Roundtree's Final Film" (10 min) - a conversation with Thelma director Josh Margolin
- Trailer
- 16-page booklet with an essay by film writer Jourdain Searles
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-A "LOCKED"
Iron Angels 1-3
In the world of Hong Kong action cinema, Teresa Woo doesn't have the same notoriety as many of the other big-name directors. However, unbeknownst to many, she is responsible for bringing us one of the most exhilarating action franchises, the Iron Angels series. Filled with bone-breaking brawls and bullet-riddled action set pieces, Vinegar Syndrome Archive proudly presents this inexplicably overlooked trio of explosive martial arts films for the first time on Blu-ray in the United States.
Iron Angels (aka Fighting Madam, 93 min): After drug enforcement officials destroy opium fields in Thailand, disrupting a global drug network known as the "Golden Triangle," the officers responsible for the raid are one by one targeted for assassination by the violent cartel. Unable to stop the bloodshed, the government turns towards an elite "spies-for-hire" group known as the Iron Angels. Saijo, the legendary Angel #1, is accompanied by two beautiful and deadly agents, Moon and Elaine, and the trio is then partnered with an American DEA operative named Alex. Together, they discover that the ruthless Madam Yeung has violently taken over the criminal enterprise, and the Iron Angels must stop at nothing to take her down. Soon, the agents find themselves in a bloody fight against Madam Yeung and her group of killers, led by her right-hand man, Mr. Chang (played by fan-favorite Hwang Jang-Lee).
Iron Angels II (aka Fighting Madam 2, 97 min): Now an Iron Angel himself, Alex goes on vacation with Elaine and Moon for much-needed rest and relaxation after completing a dangerous mission. While in Malaysia, Alex meets up with two old friends, Peter and Marco, to enjoy some laughs and reminisce. However, the stakes become deadly when Alex discovers that the CIA is secretly investigating his wealthy friend Peter for funding a government coup. To make matters worse, Elaine has fallen for Peter and soon finds herself held captive by his private army upon discovering his secret. With the help of Iron Angel Kharina, Alex and Moon must head into the jungle to get Elaine back, culminating in a bloody showdown between the Iron Angels and Peter's private army.
Iron Angels III (aka Return of Iron Angels, 92 min): The Iron Angels are back once again, this time to stop an international terrorist organization hellbent on starting a war between Thailand and Vietnam. Moon must go undercover as a deadly assassin to infiltrate the terrorist group as they are planning to assassinate several high-ranking government officials. In the meantime, Alex and Kharina are partnered with a young newcomer named Kwai and a tech specialist nicknamed "Computer" to assist Moon. However, after losing contact with Moon, it is up to the other Iron Angels to try and stop the assassinations before it is too late. When the group gets word of a potential attack at a government summit, Alex and Kwai jump into action and quickly find themselves in the middle of an all-out battle, good thing they are armed with machine gun-mounted jet packs!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- TWO-DISC SET
- Newly restored by VS from existing studio masters
- All films are presented with their original Cantonese language soundtracks with newly translated English subtitles, in addition to English language dub soundtracks
- Mandarin language dub soundtracks are included for Iron Angels and Iron Angels III
- Commentary track with film historian & author Samm Deighan for Iron Angels
- Commentary track with martial arts film expert Frank Djeng for both Iron Angels II and III
- "Meeting an Angel" (21 min) - a discussion between actress Elaine Lui and Hong Kong film historian Arnaud Lanuque
- "The Angels Go To War" (18 min) - an interview with production manager Johnny Lee
- "Three Directors and an Angel" (30 min) - an interview with executive director Raymond Leung
- "The Shadow Action Director" (33 min) - an interview with acting director Stanley Tong
- "Angels Shed No Tears" (9 min) - a video essay by Frankie Balboa
- Original trailers for Iron Angels and Iron Angels II
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by Michelle Kisner, Madelyn Sutton, and Erica Shultz
- Newly translated English subtitles
- REGION-FREE
FROM SUBLABEL LABEL CINEMATOGRAPHE:
Breathless 4K Blu-ray
Jesse (Richard Gere, American Gigolo), a restless and cocky common criminal with a penchant for fast cars, rock 'n roll music and comic books, finds himself obsessed with Monica (Valérie Kaprisky, La Femme Publique), a French exchange student at UCLA. On the run for car theft and the accidental slaying of a highway patrolman, Jesse finds himself on the streets of Los Angeles, passing time in swimming pools, making love with Monica and dodging the law that is closing in on him.
A controversial remake of Jean-Luc Godard's iconic staple of the French New Wave, À bout de souffle (1960), BREATHLESS is a decidedly 80s updating of the tried-and-true merging of romance and crime, giving way to the sex and violence expected from its era. Directed by American iconoclast Jim McBride (David Holzman's Diary, The Big Easy), who co-wrote the script with L.M. Kit Carson (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2; Paris, Texas), BREATHLESS is a potent blast of pop-culture idolation, eschewing the gritty monochrome of its source for a vibrant, colorful, Los Angeles, gorgeously captured by director of photography Richard H. Kline (Body Heat, The Fury). Cinématographe is proud to present Jim McBride's illustrious neo-noir in its world UHD debut of a new 4K restoration from its original camera negative.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- TWO-DISC SET
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- New audio commentary with director and co-writer Jim McBride, moderated by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
- New audio commentary with film writer Travis Woods
- Rock N Roll As an Attitude - a new video interview with Jim McBride
- A Different Perspective - a new video interview with casting director Jane Jenkins
- To Ensnare is to Enshrine: The Ghostly Layers of Jim McBride's Breathless - a new video essay by film historian Daniel Kremer
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending with audio commentary from Jim McBride
- Theatrical Trailer
- Booklet featuring text essays by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty, film programmer Justine Peres Smith and film critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim as well as original production notes and lobby cards
- English SDH subtitles
Swimming to Cambodia
Noted playwright, novelist and monologuist Spalding Gray spent eight weeks in Asia as an actor in Roland Joffé's Academy Award Winning historical drama The Killing Fields, chronicling the history of the Khmer Rouge regime. In his famed one man show, Swimming to Cambodia, Gray laid bare his experiences on set and contextualizes his anecdotes with the stark history of the region.
Directed for the screen by Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense), rendering Gray's heartfelt, often very funny, monologue cinematic with the help of collaborators like cinematographer John Bailey (Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters), editor Carol Littleton (Beloved), and multidisciplinary artist Laurie Anderson, who is responsible for the film's evocative score. Cinématographe is proud to bring one of the great performance films, and an oft-overlooked entry in Jonathan Demme's career, to blu-ray for the first time in the world in a 2K new restoration from its original camera negative.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
- New audio commentary with film critic Scout Tafoya
- Lifting Up the Carpet - a new video interview with Roland Joffé, director of The Killing Fields
- A Good Story is a Good Story - a new video interview with executive producer Ira Deutchman
- The Great Sensorium of the World - a new video interview with producer Edward Saxon
- Archival video interview with Jonathan Demme from 2013
- Two episodes of the Pure Nonfiction podcast: Jonathan Demme's Real Life Characters, recorded in 2016, featuring Demme discussing Swimming to Cambodia; and Jonathan Demme & Renée Shafransky on Spalding Gray, recorded in 2017
- New text essays by film critics Marya E. Gates, Chris Shields, Keith Uhlich and David M. Stewart, author of There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-A "LOCKED"
FROM DEGAUSSER VIDEO:
Criminally Insane 2
Thirteen years after going on a bloody, food-related killing spree, gluttonous Ethel Janowsky is deemed fit to return to society and transferred to a halfway house presided over by the kindly old Hope Bartholomew. Settling in alongside the other oddball residents, it's not long before Ethel's homicidal rage is once again triggered when one of the staff taunts her with chocolate bars. After throttling the man to death with a hastily-improvised noose, Ethel sets about hacking and slashing her way through the remainder of the residents - and anyone else unfortunate enough to wander onto the property.
The notoriously bonkers follow-up to the 1975 proto-slasher classic Criminally Insane, CRIMINALLY INSANE 2 (aka Crazy Fat Ethel II) - once again directed by prolific exploitation merchant Nick Millard (Satan's Black Wedding) - sees the inimitable Priscilla Alden reprising her role as the deliciously unhinged Ethel Janowsky in this delirious shoestring sequel sure to please fans of shot-on-video shlock. Now newly restored from the best surviving tape master, Degausser Video is delighted to serve up CRIMINALLY INSANE II for the first time on Blu-ray alongside a host of bonus features.
Special Features and Techncial Specs:
- Newly transferred and restored from the best surviving tape master
- Commentary track with The Hysteria Continues!
- "Doctor Bloodbath" (aka Butcher Knife) - a 57-minute shot-on-video feature film from 1987 directed by Nick Millard
- "Linebacker" - a 23-minute shot-on-video TV Pilot from 1991 directed by Nick Millard
- "Submarine" - a 25-minute shot-on-video TV Pilot from 1991 directed by Nick Millard
- Inside sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- REGION-FREE