Vinegar Syndrome and Their Partner Labels

[dwk]

These are movies deep in the post-handover ghetto of Hong Kong films with much-reduced budgets and smaller artistic ambitions.

Thanks. I am much less interested in post-handover shlock. I may sample those two on youtube, but I am thinking this is likely going to be a pass.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Anyone have any opinions about the titles in the Made in Hong Kong set?

These are movies deep in the post-handover ghetto of Hong Kong films with much-reduced budgets and smaller artistic ambitions. I haven't seen any of these films, but they look like pretty cheap Anthony Wong Cat.III trash (as opposed to the Cat.III treasure (sometimes starring Anthony Wong) we see occasionally out there––usually from before the handover).

When I saw that they were all post-‘97 titles, I felt the enthusiasim for the release drop. I also thought that The Demon Baby was the totally bonkers Devil Fetus, and got very excited for a second before realizing I was wrong. Regardless, my masochistic curiousity got the better of me and I preordered the release. When they said it was a set of category III films coming out, I was hoping for a Sex and Zen or Erotic Ghost Story set.

[feihong]

When I saw that they were all post-‘97 titles, I felt the enthusiasim for the release drop. I also thought that The Demon Baby was the totally bonkers Devil Fetus, and got very excited for a second before realizing I was wrong. Regardless, my masochistic curiousity got the better of me and I preordered the release. When they said it was a set of category III films coming out, I was hoping for a Sex and Zen or Erotic Ghost Story set.

I was also hoping when I Googled the films that they would turn out to be alternate titles for movies I was really interested to see.

[agnamaracs]

Sounds like older films, which would be promising

First (actually, second) VSL is Julien Duvivier's Flesh and Fantasy (1943), so you might be onto something.

[pianocrash]

Though I know it has more detractors than admirers around here, The Scary of Sixty-First is part of the $10 sale for the next 12 hours or so, in the deluxe slipcase $49 MSRP edition. I'd (you'd?) be happy to chuck the film out and use that gorgeous sleeve to store my copy of Freebie & the Bean, but I know I'll pass on it at the last minute & add Pandora's Mirror to my order, which seems like the deeper (?), wiser choice :^o

I did pickup Alien From L.A. for the same price yesterday (praise be to Pyun, Deep Roy, & Kathy Ireland's voice), so maybe I'm relaying this message for the wrong reasons.

[therewillbeblus]

I'd rather buy the film reel of the trailer for the $100 or whatever it was going for without a projector to play it on than support the actual release, but I think it's sold out. That's the real Scary

[criterionsnob]

Added to the $10 deals today is something I already have, but enjoyed for its queer kitchen sink drama: The Leather Boys.

[Glowingwabbit]

Added to the $10 deals today is something I already have, but enjoyed for its queer kitchen sink drama: The Leather Boys.

Thanks. For that price I decided to grab it and the two Kani films that I was hesitant about

[What A Disgrace]

I just bought Leather Boys and Being Natural over their recent sale. so I'm a little miffed to see them deducted a further $10 so soon. I'm not going to pass up Ode to Nothing, though.

[senseabove]

Both those Kani releases are tickling my "Well, it looks interesting and the disc's cheaper than a film fest ticket..." fancy. Anyone have a good word to say about them, or is everyone else in the same boat?

[pianocrash]

I purchased Ode To Nothing secondhand for the same price as today's sale last year, so I will heartily recommend it & suggest you go in cold (atmosphere is everything!).

Being Natural is currently on Kanopy, so I will no doubt have to check it out with or without the plunge, soon. Looks great!

The Leather Boys was one I was really hoping for during this sale, as probably many here, too. Seems like an outlier in the AGFA catalog, but I'm glad somebody released it.

Also, I didn't notice until today that Umbrella Entertainment is the newest label to join (starting with Undead), so that seems pretty promising (showgirls.gif).

[Mr Sausage]

Wait, Ode to Nothing was released by VS? That’s the best thing I saw at the Fantasia film festival, a sad and haunting movie with the right amount of grotesque logic. Well, well worth seeing.

[What A Disgrace]

They aren't in the 10 for 10 sale yet, but Robinson's Garden, Tremble All You Want, and What's Up Connection are all worthwhile purchases from Kani. I don't think I need to recommend Cain & Abel any more than "a film by Lino Brocka" should suggest on its own, but it is well worth it.

[senseabove]

Wait, Ode to Nothing was released by VS? That’s the best thing I saw at the Fantasia film festival, a sad and haunting movie with the right amount of grotesque logic. Well, well worth seeing.

VS themselves did not, but Kani, one of their partner labels, did.

Thanks/*sigh* for the recommendation, folks!

[Calvin]

The Globe and Mail have an article about Canadian International Pictures which reveals that 2023 releases will include Paul Lynch's The Hard Part Begins and films by Mireille Dansereau, Denys Arcand, and Atom Egoyan.

[therewillbeblus]

Hmmm I bet they'll be releasing one of the early Egoyan AE blus again, which is fine (I'm grateful for Criterion's Exotica upgrade) but someone needs to release his underrated Where the Truth Lies stat

[Glowingwabbit]

Any early Egoyan would be great. I was happy to see Calendar (the superior of the two) released with Erotica. Talk about a director that really fell off a cliff. Unfortunately I don't share therewillbeblus enthusiasm for Where the Truth Lies.

[What A Disgrace]

I'm wondering if any of these films might be suitable for Other French New Wave 2. The best case scenario for a second volume would be Claude Jutra's A tous prendre and Michel Brault's Entre la mer et l'eau douce, but I have a very strong feeling there's some anxiety about anything Jutra, even outside of Canada.

[beamish14]

I'm wondering if any of these films might be suitable for Other French New Wave 2. The best case scenario for a second volume would be Claude Jutra's A tous prendre and Michel Brault's Entre la mer et l'eau douce, but I have a very strong feeling there's some anxiety about anything Jutra, even outside of Canada.

Kamouraska would be a no-brainer, and I think both cuts of it already have HD restorations

The director I really hope they release works by is Jean-Claude Lauzon, and both of his features also have HD restorations, with Leolo (Jonathan Rosenbaum’s least favorite film ever, possibly, but don’t let that deter you!) getting a 4K screening at Cannes Classics

Les Ordres is so massively important, but has never even had a DVD release in Canada

[mrb404]

For those interested in vintage cinema from Québec, the French label Le Chat qui Fume (LCQF) has released a number of important movies a few weeks ago:
- La mort d'un bûcheron (Gilles Carle, 1973)
- La tête de Normande St-Onge (Gilles Carle, 1975)
- Gina (Denys Arcand, 1975)

The movies have all been restored in the context of the Éléphant program but the LCQF releases are unfortunately not english friendly (only French subs).

I guess future releases planned in the Other French New Wave series by Canadian International Pictures will include some of the movies restored in this program.
The full list is available here and most movies are streamable on Apple TV with English subs, including both versions of Kamouraska and Les Ordres.

[beamish14]

Any early Egoyan would be great. I was happy to see Calendar (the superior of the two) released with Erotica. Talk about a director that really fell off a cliff. Unfortunately I don't share therewillbeblus enthusiasm for Where the Truth Lies.

I saw him in person while he was promoting the underrated Adoration, and he said (as he does on its commentary), that Family Viewing is his favorite of all his films, and I concur that it’s his most perfect creation, although The Adjuster is close

[Calvin]

I'm wondering if any of these films might be suitable for Other French New Wave 2. The best case scenario for a second volume would be Claude Jutra's A tous prendre and Michel Brault's Entre la mer et l'eau douce, but I have a very strong feeling there's some anxiety about anything Jutra, even outside of Canada.

Kamouraska would be a no-brainer, and I think both cuts of it already have HD restorations

It's such a no-brainer, as is any other Jutra (especially À tout prendre) that I suspect it's a conscious choice to not release any Jutra due to the allegations. I could be wrong though and it's still relatively early days. I'd certainly buy À tout prendre, Kamouraska, and Wow.

I'm hoping that they get some Jean-Pierre Lefebvre; I've not seen many of his films but I've wanted to do a deep dive into his oeuvre ever since I saw this short film/tribute montage put together produced by the NFB. I've heard good things about Les maudits sauvages and Les dernières fiançailles in particular. Though, handily, I see there's now a handful on Apple TV that weren't there when I last checked a few years ago.

Les Ordres is so massively important, but has never even had a DVD release in Canada

It was released in a pretty comprehensive DVD box set nearly 20 years ago now that I think constitutes the only DVD release for most of Brault's films, which is long OOP. Clearly it should be a priority for CIP as should Pour la suite du monde and Entre la mer et l'eau douce

[John Cope]

Any early Egoyan would be great. I was happy to see Calendar (the superior of the two) released with Erotica. Talk about a director that really fell off a cliff. Unfortunately I don't share therewillbeblus enthusiasm for Where the Truth Lies.

I saw him in person while he was promoting the underrated Adoration, and he said (as he does on its commentary), that Family Viewing is his favorite of all his films, and I concur that it’s his most perfect creation, although The Adjuster is close

I love almost all his work even during the much maligned later period. Indeed, there has been some superior work produced post-Sweet Hereafter including Felicia's Journey, Ararat, Chloe and especially his most profoundly underrated (even by himself I suspect) Devil's Knot. I For me at least Where the Truth Lies is the nadir of his entire oeuvre with only the telethon scenes functioning as perfect Egoyan-esque set pieces; the rest of it is entirely miscalculated as far as I'm concerned with Egoyan being incapable of managing a more explicit vein of eroticism (or an eroticism actually meant in part to titillate unlike, say, Exotica in which that element is consistently undercut, complicated and transformed by his entire approach). The later Chloe is the one where he does finally manage to come to grips on how to present material like that in a way that actually contributes to and complements the film it's featured in. Still, I do always appreciate his vast ambitions and efforts, his unwillingness to settle for established forms (often even those he established himself); of course, this artistic restlessness is exactly what got him the troubled reputation he's received over the course of those post-Sweet Hereafter years and when it doesn't come off well you do long for what so often has in the past.

I would be happy to see new Blu editions of some of these early titles though as the AE set really is a bare bones presentation without even subtitle options. Beyond that they are also most conspicuously missing the commentaries which Egoyan recorded for the Kino releases years ago and those need to be included again for the best and most thorough presentation. But The Sweet Hereafter is missing far more than that from its original releases as well.

[What A Disgrace]

Les Ordres is so massively important, but has never even had a DVD release in Canada

I have a Michel Brault DVD boxed set with Les Ordres featured prominently on my shelf. so I'm going to have to A.) disagree that the film has never received a DVD release, and B.) hope that CIP plans to release this masterpiece soon.

[beamish14]

Les Ordres is so massively important, but has never even had a DVD release in Canada

I have a Michel Brault DVD boxed set with Les Ordres featured prominently on my shelf. so I'm going to have to A.) disagree that the film has never received a DVD release, and B.) hope that CIP plans to release this masterpiece soon.

I stand corrected. I thought that it had a restoration within the last 10 years, no?

It’s still owned by Paramount as far as I know, but The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is probably the single key Anglophone Canadian film of the 70’s, and it’s a shame that there is no Blu-Ray