Vinegar Syndrome (company)
Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films".[1] The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore and distribute lost and otherwise unavailable films, including vintage X-rated and pornographic films. Their catalog has since expanded to include other types of cult and exploitation films, including horror films and action films.
Industry | Film restoration Home video |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Founders | Joe Rubin Ryan Emerson |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Products | DVDs and Blu-ray Discs (2013–present) Exploitation.TV (2015–18) |
Website | vinegarsyndrome.com |
Vinegar Syndrome has been called "as important to physical media and film preservation" as the Criterion Collection,[2] another film restoration and distribution company, and has received praise for the selection and quality of their home video releases.[3][4]
History
Vinegar Syndrome, named for the acidic smell of deteriorating film, was founded in 2012 by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson.[5][6] 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.[5] 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",[5] and stating: "We are film archivists who happen to focus on preserving sex films."[7] 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).[8] Previously thought to be lost, they were released in 2013 in a box set titled The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis.[8] 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.[9]
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.[8] 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".[3] 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."[4]
Streaming service
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".[10] 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.[7] Additionally, the name of the service was changed to VinegarSyndrome.TV and finally to Exploitation.TV before its launch.[9] Exploitation.TV was launched online and on Roku devices on August 20, 2015.[9] 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.[11]
References
- "Vinegar Syndrome (@VinegarSyndrome) on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Rife, Katie (November 23, 2018). "It's Black Friday—How about a free Blu-ray of Cutting Class, starring a young Brad Pitt?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- Coffel, Chris (July 20, 2015). "5 Blu-ray Labels Saving Physical Media". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Serafini, Matt (December 31, 2015). "Top 10 Cult Horror Blu-ray Releases of 2015 to Add to Your Collection". Dread Central. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- Piepenburg, Erik (January 23, 2014). "Smut, Refreshed for a New Generation". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- Hamburger, Ellis (January 24, 2014). "Vintage porn is making a comeback". The Verge. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- Nastasi, Alison (February 11, 2015). "Meet the Archivists Working to Preserve Classic Sex Films". Flavorwire. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Hunter, Rob (March 19, 2013). "'The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis' Collection Reveals the X-Rated Side of the Wizard of Gore". Film School Rejects. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Rife, Katie (July 23, 2015). "Cult DVD label Vinegar Syndrome launches all-exploitation streaming service". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Abrams, Simon (February 27, 2014). "Meet Skinaflix, the Netflix for Aficionados of Old-School Porn". Riverfront Times. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- "Exploitation.TV on Facebook: "We have decided to discontinue service on Exploitation.TV as of July 31st, 2018..."". Facebook. June 21, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.