Vinegar Syndrome are back with another month of releases. If you missed out what they released in February 2018 then CLICK HERE. Below you can check out what they have set for release this MARCH 2018.
VS-213: Welcome Home Brother Charles / Emma Mae [BD/DVD Combo]
Before directing the legendary PENITENTIARY trilogy, Jamaa Fanaka helmed these two offbeat genre films, which helped catapult him to recognition as one of the most important black filmmakers working in 70s independent cinema.
In Fanaka’s debut feature, WELCOME HOME BROTHER CHARLES, a young black man is sent to prison, after being brutalized by a corrupt racist cop. Upon release, he takes deadly revenge against the cops, lawyers, and thugs who got him busted, using a most unusual weapon… As much a parody of exploitation films as it is a proud piece of genre cinema, BROTHER CHARLES combines horror and blaxploitation tropes with stirring social subtext resulting in a drive-in movie unlike any other.
Fanaka’s second feature, EMMA MAE, tells the story of a naive young woman who moves from the Deep South to Watts. Initially finding herself at odds with her surroundings, Emma eventually gains acceptance from a local drug addict and dealer. But when he’s arrested and jailed, she plans a daring bank robbery to bail him out… Featuring a cast of mostly non-professionals and shot entirely on location in Watts, this uniquely subversive action film is an insider’s view of black, working-class LA neighborhoods.
Vinegar Syndrome brings these two landmark films to Blu-ray, newly restored from their original camera negatives.
Directed by: Jamaa Fanaka
1975-1976 / 203 minutes / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Starring: Marlo Monte, Reatha Grey, Stan Kamber, Jerri Hayes, Ernest Williams II, Charles D. Brooks III, Leopoldo Mandeville, Malik Carter
Features Include:
• Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo pack
• Newly scanned and restored in 2k from 35mm original camera negatives
• “The History of the L.A. Rebellion & Jamaa Fanaka” – an appreciation by Jan-Christopher Horak, Director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive
• Post film Q&A with actress Jerri Hayes from a 2017 screening of EMMA MAE at BAMcinématek in Brooklyn, NY
• Original theatrical trailer
• Multiple original teaser trailers
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
VS-214: Star Time [BD/DVD Combo] *Limited Slipcover Edition of 1000*
This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Derek Gabryszak) is limited to just 1,000 units and is only available here at VinegarSyndrome.com!
Synopsis:
Henry Pinkle (Michael St. Gerard) lives for television. This world of make-believe consumes his every waking moment. But when his favorite show is canceled, Henry is driven over the edge and decides to commit suicide. Then he meets Sam Bones, a mysterious agent who promises Henry happiness and stardom – if he follows his instructions, engulfing Henry in an increasingly downward spiral of brutality and murder…
Hailed by The LA Times as “an impressively ambitious and potent first feature,” Alexander Cassini’s STAR TIME is an angst-ridden study of violent psychosis and media obsession, pronounced by surrealist visuals and gory violence. Co-starring John P. Ryan (IT’S ALIVE) and Maureen Teefy (FAME), Vinegar Syndrome presents this unique art-house horror film on Blu-ray, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in its never-before-on-home-video original director’s cut.
Directed by: Alexander Cassini
1991 / 84 minutes / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Starring: Michael St. Gerard, John P. Ryan, Maureen Teefy
Features Include:
• Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo pack
• Newly scanned and restored in 2k from 35mm original camera negative
• Commentary track with director Alexander Cassini
• “Shooting Star Time” – interview with Cinematographer Fernando Argüelles
• “The Great Performance” – a short film by Alexander Cassini
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
VS-215: Babyface II [BD/DVD Combo]
Alex deRenzy’s spiritual sequel to his 1977 classic, BABYFACE 2 tells the story of a bachelorette party gone awry!
A group of beautiful young women decide to host a sexy get together for their soon-to-be-wedded friend. But when they discover that the male stripper they’ve hired for the occasion (played by the one and only Jamie Gillis) is a drunken slob, they tease and humiliate him, unaware that he possesses unique mystical powers and intends to turn all of them into his sexual playthings!
Starring the beautiful Lois Ayres (DEVIL IN MISS JONES 3 & 4), Kristara Barrington (NEW WAVE HOOKERS), Stacey Donovan, and Taija Rae, plus a surprise, deja-vu appearance from Molly Seagrim as ‘Grandmother,’ BABYFACE 2 is quintessential deRenzy lunacy, mixing bizarre humor with unparalleled eroticism and comes to Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative.
Directed by: Alex deRenzy
1986 / 78 minutes / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Starring: Lois Ayres, Kristara Barrington, Stacey Donovan, Taija Rae, Candie Evans, Molly Seagrim, Jamie Gillis, Jerry Butler, Tom Byron
Features Include:
• Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo pack
• Newly scanned and restored in 2k from 35mm original camera negative
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
VS-216: Confessions of a Teenage Peanut Butter Freak [DVD]
Synopsis:
Ever since being sexually traumatized as a young man by his aunt, Billy has had an unhealthy association between peanut butter and sex. After his latest date leaves him, he meets Priscilla (Helen Madigan), an equally odd woman. As the two strangers decide to share stories of their unusual erotic experiences, Billy begins to realize that he may have finally found the girl of his dreams. But can their budding romance survive the ultimate sexual test?
One of the strangest films to emerge from San Francisco’s underground erotic film scene, Gerald Graystone’s CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE PEANUT BUTTER FREAK is a bizarre and surreal romantic comedy, co-written by and starring Zachary Youngblood (DEEP TANGO), and featuring the screen debut of Constance Money (MISTY BEETHOVEN). Vinegar Syndrome presents this under-seen oddity newly restored from rare vault elements and presented fully uncut for the first time on home video!
Directed by: Gerald Graystone
1975 / 91 minutes / Color / 1.33:1 OAR
Combine cast: Helen Madigan, Constance Money, John Holmes, Zachary Youngblood, Veronica Taylor, Kandi Johnson
Features Include:
• Region free DVD
• Scanned & restored in 2k from 16mm and 35mm vault elements
• Audio interview with: co-writer and star Zachary Youngblood
• Audio interview with: assistant director and assistant editor Jo-Anne Surtees
VS-217: Women at Play / Good Girls, Bad Girls [DVD]
Art Ben was one of the most prolific cinematographers working in NYC. However, between DP jobs he directed a handful of standout erotic features, including this duo of mid 80s rarities.
Synopsis:
WOMEN AT PLAY:
Beautiful Paula Meadows stars as a stage director, Wallis Greene, who is putting together an erotic play. Casting a group of young vixens in the roles, the young actresses decide to take a ‘method’ approach to studying up for their parts and embark on a series of erotic adventures, all the while making their husbands question where their wives go each night after dark.
GOOD GIRLS, BAD GIRLS:
An actress in a controversial sex themed stage show has been found murdered. Hard-nosed cop, Mark Costa (Joey Silvera) is on the case and soon finds himself in a bizarre and kinky world of erotic theatre, all the while dealing with the day-to-day struggles in his own romantic relationships. Co-starring Colleen Brennan, Sharon Mitchell, and Taija Rae.
Directed by: Art Ben
1984 / 168 minutes (combined) / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Combine cast: Colleen Brennan, Taija Rae, Paula Meadows, Sharon Kane, Tigr, Danielle, Cara Lott, Sharon Mitchell, Jerry Butler, Joey Silvera
Features Include:
• Region free DVD
• Both films scanned and restored in 2k from 35mm original negative
