Non-Criterion Boutique Home Video Discussion (Kino, Warner Archive, Arrow, Indicator, Vinegar Syndrome, Code Red, etc.)

i've been eyeing up the Second Run dvds for a while now, always meaning to buy more, but i only have the Jancso box.

(and Daisies. but then everyone has Daisies)

I'm sad about the possible demise of WB Archive but to be honest I could never be bothered with bare bones releases, even if the transfers are very good.

Huh. Are the latter regular Warner DVD releases that went OOP?

Some are. They just released Curse of Frankenstein which I think got a crummy snapcase DVD release 20 years ago in the US but was otherwise only ever available in multipacks. The new blu-ray is a two-disc set with the film in three different aspect ratios and a whole lot of new features.

Looking over my recent purchases (Curse, Shop Around the Corner, Meet Me in St. Louis, Best Years of our Lives), only Best Years is fairly stingy with the extras.

Second Run's Goodbye Dragon Inn might be my favorite release of the last year. Or at least my favorite movie that finally got a decent set.

Didn't realise Nicky Wire Bananaman actually ran 88 Films, but did watch one of his documentaries on a release - might have been Massacre In Dinosaur Valley? - so it makes sense.

I have never understood what "nicky wire in a banana suit" means and had no idea he was a poster...is there some reasonable reason his company has that name?

Big Hitler fan and cinephile

One of those more believable than the other.

ugh hitler stans are so annoying

Just did a nostalgic search through thread titles started by his most frequent identity and that was a wild ride. I didn't realise there were just so many of them.

In actually relevant news I went to order that Czech film from Second Run but I can't check out the shopping cart. Oh well.

yeah sorry for derail (also embarrassingly realized I've figured this out before)

still, I would probably avoid releasing nazisploitation movies with that company name

I wasn't having a go except at myself because I thought I was derailing.

there are lots of WB Archives Blu-Rays with extras. Off the top of my head, a couple Michael Curtiz movies (Dodge City + Adventures of Robin Hood) have newsreels, cartoons, short films (by Curtiz!), trailers, and multiple radio broadcasts of the film in question. Usually some contemporary interviews with scholars/critics, too.

Dunno about entire extra films though, I've only ever encountered that with Criterion. They should really emphasize that more imo, I mean the Stranger Than Paradise disc for example: it has Permanent Vacation! That's hardly an extra. Stranger Than Paradise is an extra on that disc!

Gaslight at least has both the 1940 and 1944 versions of the film. I could swear I have at least one other with a bonus film.

But yeah, Criterion (and others who do likewise) should make a bigger deal about that. I bought The Front Page from Kino not realizing that it was included on Criterion's release of His Girl Friday.

Most (if not all) of the Warner Archive Blu extras are ported over from the original DVDs.

The first Gaslight with Anton Walbrook is grebt.

Wow, I had no idea about Gaslight. Yeah, I had the same reaction with His Girl Friday, tbh I didn't even know it had the extra movie when I bought it. I went to watch HGF again like 2 years ago and was like "what's this extra disc...? ...oh..... wtf?!!"

It Happened One Night has a feature length Capra silent (haven't watched yet), and the Stagecoach release has one of the best Ford silents I've seen, Bucking Broadway.

Killer's Kiss included with The Killing...The Report included with Certified Copy...yeah...

I'd imagine with Criterion that it has to do with them gatekeeping what gets the official "prestige" of being included in the Collection, which kinda makes since for stuff like De Palma's Murder A La Mod (bonus for Blow Out) or the 30s version of Magnificent Obsession on the Sirk disc, but is pretty baffling choice when it comes to Permanent Vacation.

Killer's Kiss included with The Killing...The Report included with Certified Copy...yeah...

― Motoroller Scampotron (WmC), Wednesday, February 24, 2021 1:24 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

YO

I'VE HAD THE REPORT THIS WHOLE TIME.....?

xxp Yeah that does make sense, it just feels like they should advertise them more, I mean I had NO idea Certified Copy came with The Report-- and I've had that disc for years!

But, then again, I don't read stickers!

My birthday present to you!

I love you

The studio killed the original UK Gaslight in various ways such as renaming it so as not to compete with the US remake, iirc..

Okay, MGM destroyed the negative at the time, and one or both versions were variously known as Angel Street and The Murder in Thornton Square.

Bonus films are indeed an awesome feature, though tbh I'm not sure I'll ever get around to the earlier version of Holiday

I haven't looked at the Warner Archive site in years, but I remember being wary because the DVDs (and maybe the blu-rays?) were sometimes DVD-Rs/MOD. The fact that a even some factory-pressed Warner titles from about fifteen years ago became unplayable over time helped sour me on buying Warner releases. But I also just rarely watch physical discs any more, unfortunately.

xxp Another bonus feature IIRC is The Traveler on Criterion's Close-Up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/arts/gaslight-movie-afterlife.html
J. Hoberman's overview.

xpost Warner Archive DVDs are, unfortunately, usually DVD-Rs and thusly not generally something I'm inclined to pay money for (except that I'm probably going to fold on the Forbidden Hollywood sets eventually). Their blu-rays, however, are legit manufactured discs and well worth checking out. They have so much good stuff.

I'm slapping myself just now because when I started this thread I knew I was forgetting to mention a major player and sure enough: Shout/Scream Factory is probably the most dominant boutique label in my collection. And sure enough: they're having a sale (on box sets).

https://www.shoutfactory.com/page/list/id/282131?utm_source=rejoiner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BOXSET+SALE+FEB+2021+-+FIRST+DAY&utm_content=BOXSET+SALE+FEB+2021

You see, this is how I blew through whatever stimulus money I received last year. Soooo many sales. It's a really easy way to go broke.

Olive Films puts out a lot of good stuff. Can't seem to find a proper home page.

https://olivefilms.com/

(doesn't show up on a Google search).

If you’re not buying the Maude box set from that Shout sale, seriously what are you doing in life?!

Lol

I was looking at the Barney Miller box.

Seeing that Homicide box, and remembering how ridiculously expensive the original season sets were back upon release in the early '00s: $80-$100 apiece (because of the music rights, iirc).

Wow, that is amazingly cheap, even at retail. Did they cut the music or something?

Looks like direct ports of the old discs.

When A&E did their complete series box, IIRC it was like $150-$200.

that
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up And Scald Myself With Tea film mentioned upthread fort mentioned in the guardian today in an article about a new (?) streaming service

https://easterneuropeanmovies.com/

which might be a bit off topic (being streaming) but looks interesting

(fuck autocorrect, you get the idea)

That does look great. I grumble about the big streaming services quite a bit but truth be told I could probably spend the rest of my life just watching old movies on stuff like this, the Cinephobe and assorted youtube accounts, without even getting into the Criterion channel.

the russian films are a separate (but related) website

and it has an interesting payment plan - $5 for a day, $15 for a week, $30 for a month, $100 for lifetime

you could probably get the cost per film down to $1 given a week and enough spare time (although probably avoid Satantango in that case!)

I'll admit to being very credulous about the desert vault and salt mine bits though.

The details are pretty perfect! What I'd love to know is if Bigelow had a heads-up.

Ha, I just read the "article," and yeah, it's a total goof. StudioCanal did tease it ... in a 2021 sizzle reel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VpuP_QX3LU

Last I heard supposedly the rights lapsed to the/a producer.

The Mondo Halloween titles finally turned up today. Blu-ray of Mystics In Bali, what a time to be alive.

VS releases interesting mainly for new eurocrime and french cinema boxes, but also a Stanley Long box that's possibly only a novelty but probably an entertaining one.

I also got the April Fool surprise, because I'm an idiot that enjoys being entertained by stupid things.

Lot of interesting Partner Releases though... Crosstalk, House of Dreams, Holy Trinity, Micro Budget, Spine of Night, Slopes Game Room

I've been buying the Exploitation Rarities sets by Umbrella so have a recent version of Crosstalk.

Yeah it's a rich partner release for sure -- as I noted on the separate Svankmajer thread, I went for Faust.

I got House of Dreams and Dracula, may end up with more

got the bleeding skull, as usual. love what they do.

boarding gate and the eurocrime and french thriller sets are the other ones most interesting to me.

The Mondo Halloween titles finally turned up today. Blu-ray of Mystics In Bali, what a time to be alive.

yes!! suzzannaissance is one of the better trends of the modern era imo.

got the bleeding skull, as usual. love what they do.

Yeah that looks fun. That and The Illegal Immigrant are my further 'maybe' choices for the month but I could only get one for now.

yeah, illegal immigrant looks like a good one too. haven’t seen it tho.

as much as i like radu and vamp and want to support dracula, that is not a movie i think i can rewatch very often (tho def worth a single watch at least)

*vamps lol

Thanks for convincing me on Bad Luck Banging, I really liked it a lot

🫡

v frustrating that he had two new movies out last year and neither got EL territories releases

Sort of a double secret rope-a-dope prank with that "Near Dark" non-announcement, since a bunch of DVD nerds (Bill Hunt, Diabolik, Orbit) have since outright said that it was presented as a joke but it *is* supposedly happening, likely Synapse, maybe 2027.

There are some obvious failings in CSO but the Blu-ray Mystics In Bali is amazing. Genuinely a top 100 movie.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/warner-archive-announcements-and-discussion-thread.355802/page-617

The Warner Archive releases for May 2026 include It's a Wise Child (1931). This is a seriously big deal because it had been hindered by rights issues (based on a play that has finally gone into the public domain). I'm not a big home video buyer but may get this just to thank Warner for bringing it out. Any chance of getting Letty Lynton (1933) or Christopher Bean (1934) as an encore?

Radiance announce La Cabina. Haven't seen this in years but remember it so well.

just got my copy of Imprint's 4K of the 2018 Suspiria, excited to finally have it less excited it cost like $45

just be glad you didn’t buy the German box with the 70s original

Kino Lorber's having their Spring Sale until April 20: https://kinolorber.com/collection/spring-sale-2026
Free shipping for orders over $60.
Some offerings I noticed there: both "Babe" movies (4K & Blu), "Bug" (which just finished a Broadway run - kudos to Ashley Judd for a deeply unsettling, over-the-top performance), a bunch of Buster Keaton and Guy Maddin (incl. "Tales from the Gimli Hospital"), Bill Morrison's "Dawson City: Frozen Time" documentary (highly recommended!), "Diva" in 4K and Blu, "Goodbye, Dragon Inn," Altman's "The Long Goodbye"...

And Warner Archive has just announced Letty Lynton (oh, and something called Last Summer, from somebody named Frank Perry).

And there's lots of talk about Ken Russell's The Devils having been scanned, and scheduled for festival and theatrical screenings later this year, and maybe coming to home video after all....

Barnes and Noble running a sale of 50% off OCN distributed titles, which includes Vinegar Syndrome but also many of their other labels
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/50-off-ocn-films/_/N-3143Z1f?Nrpp=20&page=1

Buncha boutique-y restorations reportedly just waiting (sometimes for years) for filmmaker sign-off. "Children of Men," "Memento," just read something about Peter Jackson's restored formative works showing up ... I kind of wish they would get a move on and release them before the total death of physical media, lol.

Perpetual rumours about Peter Jackson, lots of people seem to think Dead Alive is one of the VS secret titles but I reckon no chance.

Don't think so either, seems too high-profile. And VS described the secret films as "two terrifyingly gruesome chillers," and Dead Alive ain't no terrifying chiller. Knowing this imprint, the secret titles will be shitty, lol.

This is what I saw reposted somewhere:

https://preview.redd.it/please-some-news-regarding-a-new-release-of-these-movies-v0-b7gvm9yeh41h1.jpeg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=c6c69695fb332d946b216fea95aab5141c24443b

that is great news!

hoping naked blood is one of the gruesome chillers since i think they said more sato stuff is on the way. tho i suppose that is more bleak amd sad than chilling…

Heh, just saw someone note that Jackson first mentioned the imminent restoration of his early works 11 years ago ...

Ok, Human Lanterns as one of the secret 4Ks for this month is 100% in character for Vinegar Syndrome and a pretty dope, yet still surprising choice. They all cost too much money to buy, but I love the spirit.
(Not familiar with The Mangler - Tobe Hooper, 1995)

yea human lanterns rules. i have the 88 films release already but intrigued by the longer cut.

My understanding is that Celestial cuts scenes that look rough and can't be remastered to their standard. There was longer cuts on German blurays of many Shaw films. So I guess some labels persuade Celestial to let them have the rougher scenes?

My memory of The Mangler is that it has a great opening scene, but not much else going for it. Characterizing it as "shitty" wouldn't be unfair.

you think? most tobe hooper movies are shityy, imo.

I absolutely loved Troll 2 after getting it as a surprise last year so I'm hoping there's enough in The Wrangler to make it worthwhile - but Human Lanterns is good enough