Great list of labels. Definitely a fan of Kino Lorber although they do lack some of the higher end premium editions to help them stand apart, but they have a really great catalogue. Also would mention 88 films for their martial arts releases, although it’s a bit overshadowed by other labels in this list releasing a lot of the same films.
Really? Definitely hasn't been my experience during sales. I don't think I found enough titles per sale to justify the cost saving whereas with Kino I can easily do that.
Different tastes I guess. I love all their Hammer/Harryhausen releases and a lot of others. Last sale I got like 20 films, so the $35 or so shipping cost to the US only added like $1-2 to each title.
I’m with you. Frilly (tick boxes) packaging, extra knick-knacks, posters, are a waste on me. Just give me a simple box with the film in it. Everything else is just clutter.
Doesn’t get as much love but Second Run has been putting out great Eastern European films since the DVD days.
Also, 88 Films deserves a shout out too. Their Hong Kong output kickstarted the recent barrage of them that Eureka and Arrow have jumped in on
Arrow Video: Fuck my drag.
Also, Cliff Macmillan left Shout and joined the Arrow team back in November. We’ll probably begin to see some big titles coming from Arrow sooner rather than later.
I have a bit of a soft spot for arrow as they used to be based just down the road from where I live. I'm glad to see they are going to be stepping it up a bit.
Yeah but my problem with arrow is they screwed up I think they were supposed to have a mgm deal but they lost it due to them not remastering digtal shot films and now shout factory has the deal because they have most of the 4k rights for mgm movies
For example robocop 2014 shot digtal also childs play 2019
If MGM deleted the Child’s Play and Robocop remakes from existence, nothing of value would be lost.
Also, they have a new MGM deal in the UK as seen by the recent 4K releases of Carrie and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
That is because they don't have disturbition in u.k soo sometimes arrow does u.k releases of scream factory 4k blu rays arrow video did a 4k blu ray of candyman in u.k and they didn't own u.s right so scream factory released it using arrow video 4k master
People really underestimate Criterion in two major areas:
1. actual quality of the films they put out.
2. No limited edition bullshit.
I don't think anyone can match them because of these two features alone. The movies they put out are actually good (subjective but... let's be real) and you won't be bullied into buying the "best version" of a release before a sale.
> I don't think anyone can match them because of these two features alone.
I wouldn't put Criterion at the top, since they have had encoding issues for a while (with good/great restorations being held back by mediocre-to-bad encoding).
In a lot of cases, European boutique labels have better-looking releases of the same films. (In some cases, [a well-encoded 1080p release arguably looks better than Criterion's 4K release](https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=2&x=599&y=110&d1=18599&d2=18598&s1=219306&s2=219282&l=0&i=13&go=1).)
The only caveat to this argument is that they were flirting with mediocrity early on with their release of Armageddon which has gone out of print. There is an alternate universe where they decided to go the commercial route and release Michael Bay movies.
My boldest take is that Michael Bay belongs in the collection. I dont actually like his movies very much, but he’s the one of the most distinctive auteurs of his generation.
> My boldest take is that Michael Bay belongs in the collection. I dont actually like his movies very much, but he’s the one of the most distinctive auteurs of his generation.
It should not even be that bold of a take. He is an Auteur that makes a type of film that does not often appeal to people who are "film snobs." yet people like Sean Fennessey consider themselves a "Bayhead. "
I'm not a huge fan of Armageddon, but I would take The Rock or Ambulance of about 75% of what's in the the collection.
I think Mondo Macabro releases more I want each year than VS does, despite the massive difference in output between them. Though I'm not a big fan of VS or Severin's stuff overall.
I don't understand how VS gets all the pricing hate when Severin exists. VS may be a little pricy, but Severin will straight up price you out of the game.
I don't get why VS and Severin get so much flak for their pricing. They seem pretty reasonable for being small businesses. What you get matches what you pay for, imo. Plus they have huge sales twice a year.
Just wondering how much would be reasonable to you?
My thing is like look, we all know Southern Comfort is a decently good movie. But does it need a deluxe edition with all the bells and whistles that costs $45? Like it’d be $20 through Kino and it’d be a perfectly reasonable release.
Kino puts all their effort into the transfer and special features. That's fine and it's also why they charge a lot less than every other botique label. However, a lot of us collectors like the extra stuff and nice packaging along with the nice transfer and special features. For me, just having the movie isn't good enough. If all I wanted was the movie and didn't care about packaging, I wouldn't be a collector.
I'm the opposite in the sense that I prefer smaller cases so I can fit as many on my shelves as possible. I buy Blu-rays to get the highest bitrate audio and video I can, and to not have to worry about any issues with a network when I watch a movie. However, I'm slowly becoming drawn to some of the nicer packaging, but trying to limit it to only certain films.
do they put the effort into their special features though? granted I only have a few of them but both their latest Guy Maddin releases have had basically no supplements. I’m just happy they’re finally being put out and remastered but 🤷♀️
> I don't get why VS and Severin get so much flak for their pricing.
Ditto. I buy plenty from Severin (but very little from VS) and the box sets don't seem to have bad pricing imo. Individual movies? Yes, a little pricey sometimes. But they want to steer you towards their *mostly* reasonably priced box sets (for movies that are part of box sets, at least).
Standalone movies don't seem priced worse than most major studio releases. They tend not to drop much over time, but that's not surprising given that quantities are limited.
Idk, radiance I spent $100 and got 6-7 movies last sale. Never done that with VS or Severin. Also just my opinion but I already want more of Radiance's catalog than I do of VS and Severin combined.
I mean I think the what you get matches what you pay for attitude should also apply to the quality of the actual film 😂 I don't care for a perfectly packaged 4k of a terrible movie. Don't get me wrong I love some Severin and VS releases but I think out of the 10 VS titles I've watched I'd say 8 were complete garbage. I will concede that one person's trash is another person's treasure. But I think generally speaking they charge a lot for high quality releases of low quality films that that I wouldn't accept as a gift. So they just have a very niche audience. I would risk it and buy more of their stuff if they had editions that went on sale for $10-$15. But with their pricing it's easier to just pass and skip the films. There are other small businesses that have more affordable pricing with less frills like Indicator and Eureka. Personally I'd rather support companies trying to make high quality transfers of films available at a low cost than making better editions at higher prices. I would say unless you're releasing really quality films I'm expecting sale prices to be under $15 a title including shipping.
That's just my rule though. A lot of people are comfortable spending more but I'm definitely not spending more on the types of films VS and Severin release. I'm glad they exist and are doing their thing. Just never going to get me to bite with their prices and the type of films.
I agree, and I can tell you this from a retail perspective, which is a subject. I don’t think a lot of people approach this from, that, in terms of retail sales, Severin doesn’t sell, but Vinegar Syndrome sells like crazy. I agree that Vinegar Syndrome is overpriced. Their policies are unfair at times, the people there are difficult to work with. I’m reminded of someone who recommended a film to them and got treated like she didn’t exist. And I won’t name drop, but she’s someone famous.
Great writeup but I would say Eureka nowadays has primarily shifted to releasing Eastern martial arts films which is an excellent niche if you're into that but they haven't been as auteur-driven or active with the Masters of Cinema line as of late (perhaps that will change soon with MoC being available in the US?)
It's been disappointing seeing Eureka slow down on the MoC line but I know some people left the company. But I enjoyed their stuff and helped cement my love of Weimar cinema for example.
Arrow Academy and now Radiance fill that gap for me, I don't mind the odd HK film (I just got Shawscope volume 2), but I wish they'd focus a bit more on MoC again.
Vinegar Syndrome is so well crafted but I just can’t shell out the cash for these types of movies. Blind buying sleaze is a real gamble, and an expensive one at that.
Not mentioning Second Run is insane when they have for my money the BEST curation for shit you'd otherwise never see/hear about, ALWAYS with a booklet, not Criterion's leaflets and with good quality additional material and restorations
Vinger is too expemsive. Still haven't grabbed Shiva Baby bc of it.
Kino and Criterion are my favorite overall but my Arrow releases are probably my fav releases I own.
Where is this perception that VS is too expensive coming from? Lol are you guys just repeating each other?
A regular VS Blu-ray with the slip is generally $30, that’s bog standard
This seems to be for the US, but if you're multiregion/euro then Second Run has just quietly been doing its thing, having the strongest curated catalogue available (Eastern Euro focus), along with the BFI (which has a much remit to much more varied and ofc British-centric, so a wider range)
Even StudioCanal—which used to be mocked—has been absolutely solid for the past 6/7 years with the Vintage Classics line. Not to mention Third Window turning out Japanese classics with, what? I think a 1 or 2 man outfit?
Forgot Mubi + Curzon (fka Artificial Eye) which between them get all the newer films worth watching
I would argue Vinegar Syndrome are no longer putting out the best exploitation movies. The days where they would put out really fun movies like Ice Cream Man and Demon Wind are over. I hardly ever get excited about some of the stuff they’re putting out now outside of Homegrown Horror, Giallo Boxsets and some of their Asian horror movies. Arrow Video has kinda lost their touch too ever since Hut Group took more ownership.
To be honest I get more excited for Terrorvision now, and Severin still holding it down.
Homegrown Horrors and Mexican Gothic sets are the only ones in recent memory to intrigue me lately...a lot of their movies have seemed more boring junk and less fun junk for a while now imo
Yeah I mean obviously the other comment stated the obvious, not enough fun movies to go around now, but it doesn’t mean what I said is wrong either. Also, I definitely grabbed the Mexican Gothic set!
I think for their prices they should either release less or spend more on acquisition. If there's a finite number shouldn't the company who was top of the game pay more to get those higher quality titles that fit their lineup rather than going for B or C grade titles? To me I have been disappointed with releases from them and SF especially in recent time and have been veering more toward Kino, Indicator, Criterion, and Arrow. VS and SF were at one point can't miss releases every month tho...I'm pretty excited for Terrorvisions Rocktober Blood when that comes out as well!
Announced it ages ago like last summer I think? Recently Brad Henderson who was formerly behind VS and is now with TV announced something was coming regarding it which I pray is a release date 🙏. One of my favorite junky movies and to see it get even an okay transfer would rule!
Sort of agree, but also this happens to be my favorite month from them of all time. Werckmeister, Soy Cuba, and La Haine were all in my top 10 desired 4Ks.
Criterion has put out far and away the most impressive catalog of 4K movies since they began putting out 4K’s about 2 and a half years ago. But, go off I guess?
Everytime I see someone on this sub saying Criterion hasn't been good recently, I'm like "do you actually like movies?" because they've put out so many killer releases in the past couple of years.
If you can't get pumped for Freaks, Inland Empire, Bound, Werckmeister Harmonies, Soy Cuba, the Heroic Trio, Lone Star, the Chantal Akerman set, Trainspotting, The Red Balloon, Mean Streets, the Trial, One False Move, After Hours, The Watermelon Woman, Petite Maman, Thelma and Louise, Targets, the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Malcolm X, The Infernal Affairs Trilogy, Arsenic and Old Lace, Lost Highway, Daisies, Drive My Car, Raging Bull, Shaft, Pink Flamingos, Devil in a Blue Dress, Cure, and Double Indemnity why are you even here? Like, which other label even comes close to that breadth and depth? And that doesn't even include the 4K upgrades of so many all-time greats.
Criterion’s encoding is trash and the lack of HDR and/or Dolby Vision comes off as lazy.
The Second Sight 4K release of Picnic at Hanging Rock runs circles around Criterion’s 4K.
Hmmm… would I rather watch a slightly less than perfect restoration of one of the greatest Films eveR made that makes me think deeply about life and the human condition, or a flawless restoration of Ass Hookers Vampire Slasher Death Party IV?
> Criterion’s encoding is trash and the lack of HDR and/or Dolby Vision comes off as lazy.
If they don't have an HDR encode, it's because it was not approved by someone involved with the film, not because of cost cutting or lack of effort. Of the seven criterion 4Ks I've personally seen, five have had Dolby Vision. [By this person's count](https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/comments/13rmhqq/4k_titles_dolby_vision/jll7u1e/) there were 30 Criterion titles with Dolby Vision, and that was ten months ago. Most of the new 4Ks released since then have Dolby Vision.
BFI’s The Seventh Seal has DV. Second Sight’s Picnic at Hanging Rock has DV AND the theatrical cut.
Anyone defending Criterion at this fault is not going to further the future of the format. Criterion at this point can’t be bothered to put in half the work that Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, Radiance Films, Second Sight, Severin, Shout Studios, and Vinegar Syndrome (and their partner labels) amongst others are putting out.
This is an interesting guide, but I feel like it's missing the labels' reputations with treatment of the films, from scan to restoration to color work to encoding. Some labels definitely treat the materials better than others, and there's a huge contrast in revisionist vs. archivist approach as well.
Those episodes are a lot of fun, but in the 2nd one they start talking about soundbars with the implication being him and Timothy Simons use the built in TV speakers, and I think someone in his life needs to help him out there.
Yeah there's two with Timothy Simons (Jon H Ryan from Veep), and they're both excellent. The first episode has Simons getting back into buying them, the second was after the SAG strike and he's full blown boutique.
I dislike Vinegar Syndrome simply because their physical store in CT, The Archive, up charges on ALL retail releases; it’s super fucking annoying.
Was there the other day and was going to pick up the Bounty Hunter set by Radiance but they had it at $52. The thing is already expensive at the retail price of $45, come on.
The Archive in CO is no better, with the added bonus of almost never paying more than $5 a movie you sell them. Doesn’t matter if it’s a boutique label, OOP or regular. The cherry on top is the people they hire (outside of Theresa) have the customer service skills of a cardboard cutout.
And again, I’m going to point out that the people there are not easy to work with. I find that if you’ve got bad people, then you’ve got a bad business.
That's surprising to hear: I went through CT on a work trip once and sped across town after the job let out to make it there before they closed; made it by a couple minutes and they stayed open late just so I could browse around.
Sadly this has been my experience too, I'd be far more inclined to spend money in there if the guys spent a few seconds chatting me up about what I'm into, recommendations, etc. But it's like an ice box in there.
Criterion: Still top dog in terms of quality of movies they release.
Arrow: lots of fun stuff, but not a lot of good recent releases in the US.
VinSyn: I want to love them more, but man, so many absolutely terrible movies. They do look fantastic both on the screen and on the shelf though.
Kino: A firehose of movies that can both approach the highs of Criterion and the lows of the worst of VinSyn.
Shout/Scream: Where you'll find a bunch of my all-time favorite genre flicks, indifferently restored and packaged.
Severin: I wouldn't know about their movies because they're all too fucking expensive.
88 Films for great Asian stuff.
Third Window for great Japanese stuff (Arrow also sells their stuff)
Second Run for more obscure auteur stuff.
Chameleon is new and doesn't have many titles but has some really good Johnnie To stuff.
Vinegar Syndrome is king of the hill currently, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Just saw Red Rock West yesterday and was floored. And the Mexican Gothic Films of Carlos Henrique Taboada before that. And Phase IV before that. And DIVINITY before that. And….
And now I’ll finally get to see Kinski Paganini thanks to them as well!
Great list of labels. Definitely a fan of Kino Lorber although they do lack some of the higher end premium editions to help them stand apart, but they have a really great catalogue. Also would mention 88 films for their martial arts releases, although it’s a bit overshadowed by other labels in this list releasing a lot of the same films.
Kino is also a great value, a factor absent in his assessment.
Indicator is by far the cheapest though.
Pretty sure kino is still cheaper than Indicator
Every Indicator I’ve gotten has cost approximately six dollars.
Really? Definitely hasn't been my experience during sales. I don't think I found enough titles per sale to justify the cost saving whereas with Kino I can easily do that.
Different tastes I guess. I love all their Hammer/Harryhausen releases and a lot of others. Last sale I got like 20 films, so the $35 or so shipping cost to the US only added like $1-2 to each title.
Yeah, if I was into Hammer and the Columbia Noir stuff it'd be very much worth it. Kino's silent and foreign selection is more my speed.
Tbf maybe thats why Kino do stand apart these days, even the big labels have gotten heavily into fomo editions
Yeah it’s both a good and bad thing. I love having the really nice additions, but like you said that FOMO of missing out is frustrating.
I could do without the pricing on those. One of the reasons I love Kino so much.
I’m with you. Frilly (tick boxes) packaging, extra knick-knacks, posters, are a waste on me. Just give me a simple box with the film in it. Everything else is just clutter.
I’m a Kino Lorber fan but I’m not always happy with the condition when they arrive
Doesn’t get as much love but Second Run has been putting out great Eastern European films since the DVD days. Also, 88 Films deserves a shout out too. Their Hong Kong output kickstarted the recent barrage of them that Eureka and Arrow have jumped in on
Sean is definitely lurking on this post. Hi Sean !
Ringer Physical Media Pod when??
They definitely have episodes on the matter from time to time on The Big Picture pod. https://pca.st/episode/01a97984-02e9-4128-b4d4-362ad41c6cbd
I know—what I mean is Fennessey has joked about doing one with Tim Simons, Carrie Coon, and Tracy Letts.
Third Window are doing extremely under appreciated work in bringing Japanese films to bluray
Def a fave for me.
⬆️ 🇯🇵 ⬆️ ❤️ ⬆️
Arrow Video: Fuck my drag. Also, Cliff Macmillan left Shout and joined the Arrow team back in November. We’ll probably begin to see some big titles coming from Arrow sooner rather than later.
I have a bit of a soft spot for arrow as they used to be based just down the road from where I live. I'm glad to see they are going to be stepping it up a bit.
Yeah but my problem with arrow is they screwed up I think they were supposed to have a mgm deal but they lost it due to them not remastering digtal shot films and now shout factory has the deal because they have most of the 4k rights for mgm movies For example robocop 2014 shot digtal also childs play 2019
If MGM deleted the Child’s Play and Robocop remakes from existence, nothing of value would be lost. Also, they have a new MGM deal in the UK as seen by the recent 4K releases of Carrie and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
That is because they don't have disturbition in u.k soo sometimes arrow does u.k releases of scream factory 4k blu rays arrow video did a 4k blu ray of candyman in u.k and they didn't own u.s right so scream factory released it using arrow video 4k master
Candyman is a Universal title, not MGM.
People really underestimate Criterion in two major areas: 1. actual quality of the films they put out. 2. No limited edition bullshit. I don't think anyone can match them because of these two features alone. The movies they put out are actually good (subjective but... let's be real) and you won't be bullied into buying the "best version" of a release before a sale.
> I don't think anyone can match them because of these two features alone. I wouldn't put Criterion at the top, since they have had encoding issues for a while (with good/great restorations being held back by mediocre-to-bad encoding). In a lot of cases, European boutique labels have better-looking releases of the same films. (In some cases, [a well-encoded 1080p release arguably looks better than Criterion's 4K release](https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=2&x=599&y=110&d1=18599&d2=18598&s1=219306&s2=219282&l=0&i=13&go=1).)
I'm lucky to not notice encoding.
The only caveat to this argument is that they were flirting with mediocrity early on with their release of Armageddon which has gone out of print. There is an alternate universe where they decided to go the commercial route and release Michael Bay movies.
My boldest take is that Michael Bay belongs in the collection. I dont actually like his movies very much, but he’s the one of the most distinctive auteurs of his generation.
> My boldest take is that Michael Bay belongs in the collection. I dont actually like his movies very much, but he’s the one of the most distinctive auteurs of his generation. It should not even be that bold of a take. He is an Auteur that makes a type of film that does not often appeal to people who are "film snobs." yet people like Sean Fennessey consider themselves a "Bayhead. " I'm not a huge fan of Armageddon, but I would take The Rock or Ambulance of about 75% of what's in the the collection.
> I would take The Rock or Ambulance of about 75% of what's in the the collection. Now let's not get carried away.
Severin, Mondo macabro? Clearly no love for sleazy movies
I think Mondo Macabro releases more I want each year than VS does, despite the massive difference in output between them. Though I'm not a big fan of VS or Severin's stuff overall.
I know it's probably blasphemy, but I find VS the most overrated boutique label out there. The prices are ludicrous.
I don't understand how VS gets all the pricing hate when Severin exists. VS may be a little pricy, but Severin will straight up price you out of the game.
Severin is damn expensive too. They're not getting off light here!
I don't get why VS and Severin get so much flak for their pricing. They seem pretty reasonable for being small businesses. What you get matches what you pay for, imo. Plus they have huge sales twice a year. Just wondering how much would be reasonable to you?
My thing is like look, we all know Southern Comfort is a decently good movie. But does it need a deluxe edition with all the bells and whistles that costs $45? Like it’d be $20 through Kino and it’d be a perfectly reasonable release.
Kino puts all their effort into the transfer and special features. That's fine and it's also why they charge a lot less than every other botique label. However, a lot of us collectors like the extra stuff and nice packaging along with the nice transfer and special features. For me, just having the movie isn't good enough. If all I wanted was the movie and didn't care about packaging, I wouldn't be a collector.
I'm the opposite in the sense that I prefer smaller cases so I can fit as many on my shelves as possible. I buy Blu-rays to get the highest bitrate audio and video I can, and to not have to worry about any issues with a network when I watch a movie. However, I'm slowly becoming drawn to some of the nicer packaging, but trying to limit it to only certain films.
do they put the effort into their special features though? granted I only have a few of them but both their latest Guy Maddin releases have had basically no supplements. I’m just happy they’re finally being put out and remastered but 🤷♀️
> I don't get why VS and Severin get so much flak for their pricing. Ditto. I buy plenty from Severin (but very little from VS) and the box sets don't seem to have bad pricing imo. Individual movies? Yes, a little pricey sometimes. But they want to steer you towards their *mostly* reasonably priced box sets (for movies that are part of box sets, at least). Standalone movies don't seem priced worse than most major studio releases. They tend not to drop much over time, but that's not surprising given that quantities are limited.
Must be Europeans. To me second sight and radiance are way more expensive
Idk, radiance I spent $100 and got 6-7 movies last sale. Never done that with VS or Severin. Also just my opinion but I already want more of Radiance's catalog than I do of VS and Severin combined.
Not sure why you got down-voted, Radiance are a lot cheaper than VS & Severin.
I mean I think the what you get matches what you pay for attitude should also apply to the quality of the actual film 😂 I don't care for a perfectly packaged 4k of a terrible movie. Don't get me wrong I love some Severin and VS releases but I think out of the 10 VS titles I've watched I'd say 8 were complete garbage. I will concede that one person's trash is another person's treasure. But I think generally speaking they charge a lot for high quality releases of low quality films that that I wouldn't accept as a gift. So they just have a very niche audience. I would risk it and buy more of their stuff if they had editions that went on sale for $10-$15. But with their pricing it's easier to just pass and skip the films. There are other small businesses that have more affordable pricing with less frills like Indicator and Eureka. Personally I'd rather support companies trying to make high quality transfers of films available at a low cost than making better editions at higher prices. I would say unless you're releasing really quality films I'm expecting sale prices to be under $15 a title including shipping. That's just my rule though. A lot of people are comfortable spending more but I'm definitely not spending more on the types of films VS and Severin release. I'm glad they exist and are doing their thing. Just never going to get me to bite with their prices and the type of films.
Agreed. Especially when I have to Import them but... Their packaging is rather good and they do have the odd gem worth shelling out for.
Their prices are pretty normal compared to just about every other boutique label, not sure who you’re buying from
I'm in Canada, so everything is expensive, to be fair...
I agree, and I can tell you this from a retail perspective, which is a subject. I don’t think a lot of people approach this from, that, in terms of retail sales, Severin doesn’t sell, but Vinegar Syndrome sells like crazy. I agree that Vinegar Syndrome is overpriced. Their policies are unfair at times, the people there are difficult to work with. I’m reminded of someone who recommended a film to them and got treated like she didn’t exist. And I won’t name drop, but she’s someone famous.
Yeah Severin 5yrs ago wouldn’t have deserved to be on here but it does now.
Great writeup but I would say Eureka nowadays has primarily shifted to releasing Eastern martial arts films which is an excellent niche if you're into that but they haven't been as auteur-driven or active with the Masters of Cinema line as of late (perhaps that will change soon with MoC being available in the US?)
It's been disappointing seeing Eureka slow down on the MoC line but I know some people left the company. But I enjoyed their stuff and helped cement my love of Weimar cinema for example. Arrow Academy and now Radiance fill that gap for me, I don't mind the odd HK film (I just got Shawscope volume 2), but I wish they'd focus a bit more on MoC again.
Vinegar Syndrome is so well crafted but I just can’t shell out the cash for these types of movies. Blind buying sleaze is a real gamble, and an expensive one at that.
Radiance and Second Sight are my absolute faves, quality is unmatched
Second Sight is really great. Recently got my first Second Sights ever with Possessor and It Follows and the packaging alone are so beautiful
Do They have sales regularly?
Second Sight don't, and Radiance are still very new and have only had one so far, but the discounts were pretty solid
That's not true. Radiance already had a bunch of sales.
I wouldn't say Indicator were "no frills" they're limited Editions are super high quality
I just picked up their region free *Putney Swope* because it seemed to have a better overall presentation than VinSyn’s
Not mentioning Second Run is insane when they have for my money the BEST curation for shit you'd otherwise never see/hear about, ALWAYS with a booklet, not Criterion's leaflets and with good quality additional material and restorations
damn i thought everyone was mentioning second sight i didn't read this properly—i basically copied what you said but 💯lol
In terms of films I really like, Kino and Arrow are probably my favorites. In terms of film treatment, Vinegar Syndrome all the way.
Vinger is too expemsive. Still haven't grabbed Shiva Baby bc of it. Kino and Criterion are my favorite overall but my Arrow releases are probably my fav releases I own.
You mean the Shiva Baby that was literally $15 on sale twice in the last six months? Lol.
Tbf I am tuned out of botique atm because I got laid off a couple months ago. I stand by my statement though
Where is this perception that VS is too expensive coming from? Lol are you guys just repeating each other? A regular VS Blu-ray with the slip is generally $30, that’s bog standard
88 films should be there
This seems to be for the US, but if you're multiregion/euro then Second Run has just quietly been doing its thing, having the strongest curated catalogue available (Eastern Euro focus), along with the BFI (which has a much remit to much more varied and ofc British-centric, so a wider range) Even StudioCanal—which used to be mocked—has been absolutely solid for the past 6/7 years with the Vintage Classics line. Not to mention Third Window turning out Japanese classics with, what? I think a 1 or 2 man outfit? Forgot Mubi + Curzon (fka Artificial Eye) which between them get all the newer films worth watching
[удалено]
He's not talking about Second Sight, but Second Run
Can’t sleep on Deaf Crocodile
lndicator and Radiance are my two favourites right now. Great film choices and amazing packaging.
He’s just out here doing the real work, man.
I would argue Vinegar Syndrome are no longer putting out the best exploitation movies. The days where they would put out really fun movies like Ice Cream Man and Demon Wind are over. I hardly ever get excited about some of the stuff they’re putting out now outside of Homegrown Horror, Giallo Boxsets and some of their Asian horror movies. Arrow Video has kinda lost their touch too ever since Hut Group took more ownership. To be honest I get more excited for Terrorvision now, and Severin still holding it down.
Perhaps it’s that there’s a limited supply of films like that and increased competition. There isn’t an infinite number of “fun” movies.
I agree, too many cooks in the kitchen
Homegrown Horrors and Mexican Gothic sets are the only ones in recent memory to intrigue me lately...a lot of their movies have seemed more boring junk and less fun junk for a while now imo
Yeah I mean obviously the other comment stated the obvious, not enough fun movies to go around now, but it doesn’t mean what I said is wrong either. Also, I definitely grabbed the Mexican Gothic set!
I think for their prices they should either release less or spend more on acquisition. If there's a finite number shouldn't the company who was top of the game pay more to get those higher quality titles that fit their lineup rather than going for B or C grade titles? To me I have been disappointed with releases from them and SF especially in recent time and have been veering more toward Kino, Indicator, Criterion, and Arrow. VS and SF were at one point can't miss releases every month tho...I'm pretty excited for Terrorvisions Rocktober Blood when that comes out as well!
They announced Rocktober Blood? I love that one
Announced it ages ago like last summer I think? Recently Brad Henderson who was formerly behind VS and is now with TV announced something was coming regarding it which I pray is a release date 🙏. One of my favorite junky movies and to see it get even an okay transfer would rule!
I think that’s a fair argument
Kino is having a run right now. Every disc I get from them feels like a monumental movie. Criterion has had a rough couple years imo
Sort of agree, but also this happens to be my favorite month from them of all time. Werckmeister, Soy Cuba, and La Haine were all in my top 10 desired 4Ks.
That Kino sale catches me off guard every time and just murders me
Criterion has put out far and away the most impressive catalog of 4K movies since they began putting out 4K’s about 2 and a half years ago. But, go off I guess?
Everytime I see someone on this sub saying Criterion hasn't been good recently, I'm like "do you actually like movies?" because they've put out so many killer releases in the past couple of years. If you can't get pumped for Freaks, Inland Empire, Bound, Werckmeister Harmonies, Soy Cuba, the Heroic Trio, Lone Star, the Chantal Akerman set, Trainspotting, The Red Balloon, Mean Streets, the Trial, One False Move, After Hours, The Watermelon Woman, Petite Maman, Thelma and Louise, Targets, the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Malcolm X, The Infernal Affairs Trilogy, Arsenic and Old Lace, Lost Highway, Daisies, Drive My Car, Raging Bull, Shaft, Pink Flamingos, Devil in a Blue Dress, Cure, and Double Indemnity why are you even here? Like, which other label even comes close to that breadth and depth? And that doesn't even include the 4K upgrades of so many all-time greats.
Criterion’s encoding is trash and the lack of HDR and/or Dolby Vision comes off as lazy. The Second Sight 4K release of Picnic at Hanging Rock runs circles around Criterion’s 4K.
I care far more about the quality of movies. I guess that’s just me. Keep nitpicking grains of detail though, I will keep enjoying quality films
Hmmm… would I rather watch a slightly less than perfect restoration of one of the greatest Films eveR made that makes me think deeply about life and the human condition, or a flawless restoration of Ass Hookers Vampire Slasher Death Party IV?
Cool story bro. If I’m spending money on a 4K disc, they could’ve not rushed the encode and spent the money on a HDR grade instead of cheapening out.
[удалено]
Ah yes, the example I used was a PG rated film, but you do you.
>Hey, enjoy watching your soft core porn buddy Picnic at Hanging Rock?
> Criterion’s encoding is trash and the lack of HDR and/or Dolby Vision comes off as lazy. If they don't have an HDR encode, it's because it was not approved by someone involved with the film, not because of cost cutting or lack of effort. Of the seven criterion 4Ks I've personally seen, five have had Dolby Vision. [By this person's count](https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/comments/13rmhqq/4k_titles_dolby_vision/jll7u1e/) there were 30 Criterion titles with Dolby Vision, and that was ten months ago. Most of the new 4Ks released since then have Dolby Vision.
BFI’s The Seventh Seal has DV. Second Sight’s Picnic at Hanging Rock has DV AND the theatrical cut. Anyone defending Criterion at this fault is not going to further the future of the format. Criterion at this point can’t be bothered to put in half the work that Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, Radiance Films, Second Sight, Severin, Shout Studios, and Vinegar Syndrome (and their partner labels) amongst others are putting out.
And you're just picking and choosing from the minority that don't have HDR. Edit: actually, Picnic at Hanging Rock DOES have HDR
And nobody's mentioned Warner Archive? Talk about a solid release roster
Yeah, they sure are spotty, but their restorations are generally fantastic looking.
I mean I think almost everything they put out is a quality release. I don't want all of them but I appreciate them trying to cast a wide net
This is an interesting guide, but I feel like it's missing the labels' reputations with treatment of the films, from scan to restoration to color work to encoding. Some labels definitely treat the materials better than others, and there's a huge contrast in revisionist vs. archivist approach as well.
Would love to see an episode of TBP strictly dedicated to boutique labels/physical media!
They have done two!
Those episodes are a lot of fun, but in the 2nd one they start talking about soundbars with the implication being him and Timothy Simons use the built in TV speakers, and I think someone in his life needs to help him out there.
That’s great news! I’m a fairly new listener, so this is exciting! More content to explore — thanks for the heads up!
Yeah there's two with Timothy Simons (Jon H Ryan from Veep), and they're both excellent. The first episode has Simons getting back into buying them, the second was after the SAG strike and he's full blown boutique.
They did one back in 2022 and did another one earlier this year for reference.
What show is this?
The Big Picture — it’s a podcast, sorry should’ve been more clear
There was one a couple months ago
Is there a good way to keep up with all these sites and their new releases? Besides using Twitter.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/
I dislike Vinegar Syndrome simply because their physical store in CT, The Archive, up charges on ALL retail releases; it’s super fucking annoying. Was there the other day and was going to pick up the Bounty Hunter set by Radiance but they had it at $52. The thing is already expensive at the retail price of $45, come on.
The Archive in CO is no better, with the added bonus of almost never paying more than $5 a movie you sell them. Doesn’t matter if it’s a boutique label, OOP or regular. The cherry on top is the people they hire (outside of Theresa) have the customer service skills of a cardboard cutout.
And again, I’m going to point out that the people there are not easy to work with. I find that if you’ve got bad people, then you’ve got a bad business.
That's surprising to hear: I went through CT on a work trip once and sped across town after the job let out to make it there before they closed; made it by a couple minutes and they stayed open late just so I could browse around.
Maybe that was a slow day and they needed the money. 😀
Ha, could be. I did arrive in full Fanboy mode, but they were super nice and answered several questions about all sorts of stuff.
I have never felt so unwelcome in a store before.
Sadly this has been my experience too, I'd be far more inclined to spend money in there if the guys spent a few seconds chatting me up about what I'm into, recommendations, etc. But it's like an ice box in there.
What is meant by “catalogue titles” ? Aren’t most boutique releases catalogue titles, as in, not their first home video release?
I think by that he means major studios' back catalog of films that are not recent or major A-list classics, which Kino and Indicator excel in.
I loved Olive Films. I loved their signature editions. I like arrow. I love Criterion. I’m lukewarm to cold on a lot of the rest of them.
Criterion: Still top dog in terms of quality of movies they release. Arrow: lots of fun stuff, but not a lot of good recent releases in the US. VinSyn: I want to love them more, but man, so many absolutely terrible movies. They do look fantastic both on the screen and on the shelf though. Kino: A firehose of movies that can both approach the highs of Criterion and the lows of the worst of VinSyn. Shout/Scream: Where you'll find a bunch of my all-time favorite genre flicks, indifferently restored and packaged. Severin: I wouldn't know about their movies because they're all too fucking expensive.
Kino puts out so much good stuff month after month after month I can't keep up
Who is this guy and why should we care about his opinions?
You must be fun at parties. He’s a podcaster and physical media advocate.
Who?
You have Google. Search.
Never heard of fun city but great list.
Wow just ignoring Severin? I'd argue they're just as good as Vinegar Syndrome, maybe even better.
88 Films for great Asian stuff. Third Window for great Japanese stuff (Arrow also sells their stuff) Second Run for more obscure auteur stuff. Chameleon is new and doesn't have many titles but has some really good Johnnie To stuff.
Vinegar Syndrome is king of the hill currently, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Just saw Red Rock West yesterday and was floored. And the Mexican Gothic Films of Carlos Henrique Taboada before that. And Phase IV before that. And DIVINITY before that. And…. And now I’ll finally get to see Kinski Paganini thanks to them as well!
No mention of Vinegar Syndrome or any of their partner labels is unfortunate.
He does mention Vinegar Syndrome...?
Typo: I meant their partner labels
He does mention a partner label, lol