Vinegar Syndrome

{{Short description|American film restoration and distribution company}}

{{About|the home video distribution company|the deterioration of cellulose acetate film|Vinegar syndrome}}

{{Infobox company

|name = Vinegar Syndrome

|logo = File:Vinegar Syndrome logo.png

|logo_caption =

|type =

|traded_as =

|founders = Joe Rubin
Ryan Emerson

|industry = Film restoration
Home video

|foundation = {{Start date and age|2012}}

|location_city = Bridgeport, Connecticut

|location_country = U.S.

|area_served =

|key_people =

|products = DVDs and Blu-ray Discs (2013–present)
Exploitation.TV (2015–18)

|revenue =

|operating_income =

|net_income =

|parent =

|subsid =

|assets =

|equity =

|num_employees =

|homepage = {{URL|https://vinegarsyndrome.com/|vinegarsyndrome.com}}

}}

Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films".{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/vinegarsyndrome/|title=Vinegar Syndrome (@VinegarSyndrome) on Twitter|website=Twitter|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=November 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126153154/https://twitter.com/vinegarsyndrome|url-status=live}} The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore and distribute old X-rated films that were lost or otherwise unavailable. Their catalog has since expanded to include other types of cult and exploitation films, including horror films and action films.

Vinegar Syndrome has been compared to the Criterion Collection for its importance to "physical media and film preservation,"{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/its-black-friday-how-about-a-free-blu-ray-of-cutting-cl-1830597345|title=It's Black Friday—How about a free Blu-ray of Cutting Class, starring a young Brad Pitt?|last=Rife|first=Katie|date=November 23, 2018|work=The A.V. Club|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202010009/https://news.avclub.com/its-black-friday-how-about-a-free-blu-ray-of-cutting-cl-1830597345|url-status=live}} as well as similarly garnering praise for high-quality home video offerings.{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3353479/5-blu-ray-labels-saving-physical-media/|title=5 Blu-ray Labels Saving Physical Media|last=Coffel|first=Chris|date=July 20, 2015|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202012506/https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3353479/5-blu-ray-labels-saving-physical-media/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/145013/top-10-horror-blu-ray-releases-of-2016-to-add-to-your-collection/|title=Top 10 Cult Horror Blu-ray Releases of 2015 to Add to Your Collection|last=Serafini|first=Matt|date=December 31, 2015|website=Dread Central|access-date=February 1, 2020|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202010017/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/145013/top-10-horror-blu-ray-releases-of-2016-to-add-to-your-collection/|url-status=live}} Like the Criterion Collection, Vinegar Syndrome is considered a boutique Blu-ray label.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/best-boutique-blu-ray-brands/|title=10 Best Boutique Blu-Ray Brands|last=Jarvis|first=Henry|date=August 12, 2022|website=CBR.com|access-date=June 27, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2023/06/crowdfund-this-boutique.html|title=Crowdfund This: Boutique, New Doc Chronicles The Rise of Specialty Distributors|last=Mack|first=Andrew|date=June 6, 2023|website=Screen Anarchy|access-date=June 27, 2023}}

In September 2021, Vinegar Syndrome announced the establishment of Vinegar Syndrome Pictures (VSP), a sub-branding dedicated to the production and distribution of films.{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/pages/vsp|title=Vinegar Syndrome Pictures - Press Release|publisher=Vinegar Syndrome|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211080353/https://vinegarsyndrome.com/pages/vsp|archive-date=December 11, 2021|url-status=live}} The first film released under the VSP banner was New York Ninja, which was shot in 1984 and abandoned until Vinegar Syndrome acquired the footage. Without access to the original audio or screenplay, Vinegar Syndrome then restored and reconstructed the film, adding music and newly dubbed dialogue.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/movies/new-york-ninja-movie.html|title=With 'New York Ninja,' Lights, Camera and, Finally, Action|last=Grode|first=Eric|date=November 19, 2021|website=The New York Times|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217123727/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/movies/new-york-ninja-movie.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/new-york-ninja-vinegar-syndrome/|title=Vinegar Syndrome Finds Itself in a New York Ninja State of Mind|last=Crump|first=Andy|date=November 2, 2021|website=Paste|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209203512/https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/new-york-ninja-vinegar-syndrome/|url-status=live}}

History

=2012–13: Early history=

Vinegar Syndrome, named for the acidic smell of deteriorating film, was founded in 2012 by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/movies/smut-refreshed-for-a-new-generation.html|title=Smut, Refreshed for a New Generation|last=Piepenburg|first=Erik|date=January 23, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 November 2019|archive-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002072611/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/movies/smut-refreshed-for-a-new-generation.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/24/5341158/vintage-porn-is-making-a-comeback-vinegar-syndrome|title=Vintage porn is making a comeback|last=Hamburger|first=Ellis|date=January 24, 2014|website=The Verge|access-date=25 November 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202012503/https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/24/5341158/vintage-porn-is-making-a-comeback-vinegar-syndrome|url-status=live}} The company was founded to restore and distribute X-rated films from the 1960s to the 1980s, including pornographic films released during the Golden Age of Porn, on home media. Rubin and Emerson emphasized that the company is not a part of the pornography industry, with Rubin noting that they choose to restore films that they feel "provide value", and stating: "We are film archivists who happen to focus on preserving sex films."{{cite web|url=https://www.flavorwire.com/504050/meet-the-film-archivists-working-to-preserve-classic-sex-films|title=Meet the Archivists Working to Preserve Classic Sex Films|last=Nastasi|first=Alison|date=February 11, 2015|work=Flavorwire|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=November 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127134103/https://www.flavorwire.com/504050/meet-the-film-archivists-working-to-preserve-classic-sex-films|url-status=live}} The first three films to be released on DVD and Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome were each directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis—Ecstasies of Women, Linda and Abilene (both 1969), and Black Love (1971).{{cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-lost-films-of-herschell-gordon-lewis-collection-reveals-the-x-rated-side-of-the-wizard-of-gore-8794c9d402e1/|title='The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis' Collection Reveals the X-Rated Side of the Wizard of Gore|last=Hunter|first=Rob|date=March 19, 2013|website=Film School Rejects|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212200741/https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-lost-films-of-herschell-gordon-lewis-collection-reveals-the-x-rated-side-of-the-wizard-of-gore-8794c9d402e1/|url-status=live}} Previously thought to be lost, they were released in 2013 in a box set titled The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis. Since that debut release, Vinegar Syndrome's catalog has expanded to include cult and exploitation films in a variety of genres, including horror films and action films.{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/cult-dvd-label-vinegar-syndrome-launches-all-exploitati-1798282178|title=Cult DVD label Vinegar Syndrome launches all-exploitation streaming service|last=Rife|first=Katie|date=July 23, 2015|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=November 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121013416/https://news.avclub.com/cult-dvd-label-vinegar-syndrome-launches-all-exploitati-1798282178|url-status=live}}

=2015–18: Streaming service ventures=

In 2015, Vinegar Syndrome began developing a subscription-based, VOD-style streaming service called Skinaflix, described by Rubin as "Netflix for sex films, but curated for cinephiles".{{cite web|url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/meet-skinaflix-the-netflix-for-aficionados-of-old-school-porn/Content?oid=2505516|title=Meet Skinaflix, the Netflix for Aficionados of Old-School Porn|last=Abrams|first=Simon|date=February 27, 2014|work=Riverfront Times|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019154445/https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/meet-skinaflix-the-netflix-for-aficionados-of-old-school-porn/Content?oid=2505516|url-status=live}} Funded by an Indiegogo campaign, the service was initially intended to offer sexploitation films and other X-rated works, but its catalog was expanded to include films from other genres prior to its launch. Additionally, the name of the service was changed to VinegarSyndrome.TV and finally to Exploitation.TV before its launch. Exploitation.TV was launched online and on Roku devices on August 20, 2015. The service was discontinued on July 31, 2018, in order to allow Vinegar Syndrome to focus on its core operation of restoring and distributing films for physical home media.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ExploitationTV/posts/2476222109063246|title=Exploitation.TV on Facebook: "We have decided to discontinue service on Exploitation.TV as of July 31st, 2018..."|date=June 21, 2018|website=Facebook|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227104133/https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FExploitationTV%2Fposts%2F2476222109063246|url-status=live}}

= 2021–present: Vinegar Syndrome Pictures (VSP) and Cinématographe =

In September 2021, Vinegar Syndrome published a press release announcing the establishment of Vinegar Syndrome Pictures (VSP), a sub-branding dedicated to the production and distribution of films. The first film released under the VSP banner was New York Ninja, a film originally directed by and starring John Liu. Though shot in 1984, the footage for New York Ninja was shelved when the film's original distributor went bankrupt, and was eventually acquired by Vinegar Syndrome. Despite not having access to any audio, storyboards, or scripts from the original production, Vinegar Syndrome reconstructed the film using a new director, Kurtis M. Spieler, and dubbed dialogue recorded by such actors as Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Michael Berryman, and Cynthia Rothrock.{{cite web|url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/new-york-ninja|title=New York Ninja (VSP) – Vinegar Syndrome|publisher=Vinegar Syndrome|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209235043/https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/new-york-ninja|url-status=live}}

The second film released under the VSP banner, in association with Magnolia Pictures, was the 2021 British film Censor, directed by Prano Bailey-Bond. Pre-production on a new feature film by VSP is scheduled to begin in late 2021.

In December 2023, Vinegar Syndrome announced a new sub-label Cinématographe, named after the early motion picture system pioneered by the Lumière brothers.{{Cite web |title=Cinématographe |url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/cinematographe |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Vinegar Syndrome |language=en}} Intended to "fill gaps in the canon of American cinema", the first two releases under the label were announced for pre-order in January 2024: a 4K/Blu-ray combo pack of Little Darlings{{Cite web |title=Little Darlings |url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/little-darlings |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Vinegar Syndrome |language=en}} and a Blu-ray of Red Rock West.{{Cite web |title=Red Rock West |url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/red-rock-west |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Vinegar Syndrome |language=en}}

Formats

=DVD and Blu-ray=

Vinegar Syndrome began publishing films on DVD and Blu-ray in 2013, starting with the release of the Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis box set.{{cite web|url=https://thetakemagazine.com/vinegar-syndrome-film/|title=Saving Cult Classics in Connecticut|last=Hall|first=Phil|date=August 10, 2017|website=Take Magazine|access-date=June 3, 2021|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603193806/https://thetakemagazine.com/vinegar-syndrome-film/|url-status=live}} In 2015, Chris Coffel of Bloody Disgusting ranked Vinegar Syndrome as one of the five best Blu-ray labels releasing horror films on physical media, praising the company's customer service and calling the quality of their releases "breathtaking". That same year, Matt Serafini of Dread Central wrote of Vinegar Syndrome's releases: "Vinegar Syndrome has only been on the scene for a few years, but they've proved themselves a force to be reckoned with."