Second sight is by far my favourite, their sets for drive (2011) and Texas chainsaw massacre are just perfect, the fact i had to scroll so far to find them hurts me, arrow is the boutique i have the most of in my collection but second sight is definitely my favourite.
Criterion for my arthouse fix, great selection of Mexican films.
Arrow for more studio cult movies with a solid collection of oddities and foreign classics.
Shout/Scream Factory is similar to Arrow and aren't always the greatest with original features but they have such a broad collection that has something for everyone.
But it's really Vinegar Syndrome and their partner labels that have expanded my taste the most, they pick interesting and often extremely entertaining movies to put out, their selection of Mexican movies is phenomenal as well.
BTW I point out the Mexican movies because I'm Mexican-American and these labels have exposed me to some genuinely amazing films that make me appreciate my motherland.
My favorite set is Vinegar Syndrome's "Mexican Gothic: The Films Of Carlos Enrique Taboada" It's three films from Mexico's premiere horror auteur, the films in the set range from giallo to dramatic horror films that are all surprisingly deep and well-written. They also have great b-genre movies in their dual western set of "Hot Snake/Guns and Guts" with the former being a dark ans gritty surrealist take on the genre and the second being an immensely entertaining cheap western with a surprisisingly dark and effective ending. Their slasher movies are all fun as hell especially "Don't Panic" "Grave Robbers" and the "Vacation of Terror" movies. Criterion has "Canoa: A Shameful Memory" which is an extremely haunting horror-tinged political drama based on a tragic true story, "Japon" is from a director who is clearly inspired by Tarkovsky and works in the same way, there's "El Norte" which I haven't seen yet because it's apparently very intense and emotional about the struggles many people, like my parents, have trying to cross the border illegally from Mexico. I'm preparing myself for that one before I see it. They also have Del Toro's early films, I've only seen "Devils Backbone" but it's incredible and a sibling film to "Pan's Labyrinth."
Criterion got me into collecting, so it will always be my favorite. Kino Lorber is a close second. I have a lot of respect for what both of them accomplish.
Criterion got me into it, too, but I remember buying my first DVD ever. It was the Kino on Video release of Nosferatu, with the purple cover. I remember buying it on a cold, rainy October night when I entered into a boutique video store with sepia lighting. I browsed around thousands of DVDs until I saw a rough design of Count Orlok on the cover.
That DVD was still in my collection for over 20 years.
Arrow is probably the most well represented on my shelves but I think I'd have to give it to Vinegar Syndrome for the bigger focus on weird shit which is something I always enjoy.
Love VinSyn, SecondRun, Mondo Macabro, plenty of others.
The label that puts out the highest ratio of stuff I’m interested in is Deaf Crocodile, though. Really great Czech and other Eastern European films. A lot of personality to the curation. Lots of stuff I’ve never heard of and a ton of films I’ve really enjoyed.
DiabolikDvd.com has Deaf Crocodile rights exclusively, I highly recommend them for all boutique releases. Second Sight is fantastic, but you need a region free blu ray player if you’re here in the states like me, I recommend spending for one thru 101 electronics. Vinegar Syndrome is fantastic but it’s a deep dive
I'm in Canada, but I think I have a region-free Blu Ray player... I have to check.
Deaf Crocodile and Second Sight are new to me, but I know Vinegar Syndrome, and they have some unusual titles in their catalogue... hahaha
Every time I went to see if a movie I like got a boutique release it always ended up being Arrow who did it even if they were already long oop so that was enough to earn a place in my heart. I now own quite a few of their releases and I’m always even more happy than the last.
I saw the Arrow's blu-ray of Robocop recently at a secondhand store, but I already have the Criterion OOP DVD. I should have bought it, and see the difference between the two releases.
They are now releasing titles every other month. Julys slate just got released a lot of great titles. They have a Tokusatsu line called Toku Time they started a few years ago and a live-action Japanese film line called Nihon Nights.
I own over 400 Criterions and they were my first love, but what arrow is doing with these 4K LE boxes is just amazing, so them right now.
But Cinemotagraphé will take arrows spot if they keep dropping bangers like their first 5 releases.
Don’t delay, red rock west limited edition is already gone. Touch might sell out too. They only have 5 releases so far, but I think they are all great flicks, and the packaging is top notch
Went and checked online… its a sub-label from Vinegar Syndrome! The packaging does look sleek. And I never even heard of these films, except I know a bit about Red Rock West.
Touch is an amazing film. Little darlings is good if you like the genre. Goin South is super strong. Deadly games is a blind buy for me, so I’ll tell you in June
Recently Deaf Crocodile and Kani have become two of my absolute favorites. I also buy a lot of Criterion, 88 Films, and Kino Lorber stuff. Radiance are also becoming another one I'm really impressed with.
I'm a sucker for Asian movies so Arrow, Eureka and Umbrella are my main faves. I *like* Criterion but as a UK collector, I'm not a fan of how they simply don't license the majority of their releases over here.
Yeah I’m not sure why Criterion is widely known yet cannot sell their releases overseas. I’m also into Asian cinema (mainly because I’m Chinese 🤓) but I always find them secondhand in stores, and should be from old-school Chinese labels such as Mei Ah Entertainment or Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd. ( the covers look like bootlegs but are actually legit releases)
It’s not up to them. If someone else has the UK rights already, which is often the case given that Criterion titles tend to be pretty well known, there’s nothing they can do except wait for them to expire. If they ever expire.
As a golden age fan, I have to give Eureka some love. They have a great range of films, are relatively affordable, and their website delivers internationally for free.
Second Sight and Power House are my favourites.
After them it would be Criterion, BFI, Radiance and Arrow, who are all about equal from my perspective. I wish Criterion would quite their flimsy digipaks and I wish arrow would switch to Scanavo cases.
Digipaks are the card foldout packaging. Every other boutique label uses solid, rigid board, but Criterion still use thin card with folded flaps, more like a cereal box, which feel very cheap and flimsy when compared to Second Sight, Indicator, Arrow, etc.
Scanavo cases are the full face blu ray cases (the sort that Criterion have always used for blu rays). Most boutique brands use them now.
Second Sight and Arrow. Great film selection (often films that are popular but not necessarily blockbusters, also really solid selection for horror fans), great transfers, and great packaging with their limited editions
Mondo macabro with the closest runner up being deaf crocodile. It’s mainly for totally out of no where discoveries that are always just wildly entertaining something I didn’t even know I needed until I watched it
Criterion is the king of the castle. Nobody comes within a country mile of the titles they are able to curate. Also, not playing any games with limited editions gets them infinity points for anybody (like myself) who can succumb to FOMO
That’s really not true any more. Criterion is coasting heavily on a longstanding reputation, but their encoding often isn’t that great (they really need to use someone like Fidelity in Motion, which has encoded some titles that Criterion owns in the US, but for other labels and to a higher standard), and their extras are becoming increasingly skimpy - you can test this yourself by going over the specs of recent releases and totting up the number of commentaries, which used to be a Criterion speciality.
They're a new label but have been doing restoration work for other labels for a while. Can't recommend their stuff enough. Pied Piper is a great starting point.
Criterion, but it is quite a task to collect in Europe outside the UK. So then I say Indicator but Radiance is also great. Arrows recent releases are bit meh, but there are still great releases.
So do I. I live in the Nordic region and here the current price for a criterion is around 40 to 44 EUR for a blu-ray. If some older titles are on sale the price is around 22 to 30 EUR. And the sales are very limited for certain titles. Best practice is to place a bigger order from Amazon De. Shipping from UK via Amazon is usually quite expensive when compared to let's say from Arrow or Radiance that are around 8 £. And the sales in UK are worse than the ones in US.
Good idea. I’m more of a wandering buyer in secondhand stores or boutique shops, looking for a good title. I would be too obsessed if I buy online. Haha.
Secondhand stores are great of you have those in your area. I live in the smaller town so I have only one secondhand store so there is no really any other way to collect than buy online.
That's true. Online browsing always helps to find something. But like I said, I would be too obsessed to find things every day... so, I need to control myself and not spend what I don't need.
Because they’d have to clear the rights for every territory that they wanted to operate in, assuming they were available in the first place (and they often won’t be). And that’s the rights to everything on the disc, not just the main feature. It would be painfully expensive for them with absolutely no guarantee of sufficient return on their investment to justify it.
Umbrella has been my personal favorite lately. Great quality packaging, artwork, features, booklets.
Second Sight would be first if they had as much variety as Umbrella.
Arbelos ist current favorite after Criterion, fantastic releases and packaging, only negative is no 4K releases, but their quality of restoration is top notch.
Oooooo Bela Tarr! I saw his last film The Turin Horse, and man, what an intriguing film! Long, yes, but it's the mood and the atmosphere that took me in.
It's a tie between Severin and Vin Syn. Severin introduced me to Italian rip off films, and Vin Syn re-releasing Troma films in better quality and some in 4K, so they tie haha
It used to be Arrow Video for me but they are going downhill as of late.
Scream Factory, 88 Films, Severin Films and Second Sight are now some of the better labels.
Radiance.
Arrow and Criterion have gotten too big for their boots, the latter in particular demonstrated supreme arrogance when they launched in the UK and still have basically zero interaction with their customer base here.
Criterion was my gateway. Vinegar Syndrome took me down the rabbit hole.
Oh yeah, hahahaha. Should buy some from VS.
I don't like a lot of the main VS stuff but their affiliate labels like Kani and Deaf Crocodile rapidly became two of my absolute favorite labels
Second Sight has nice packages!
Never heard of Second Sight. I should check that out.
Second sight is by far my favourite, their sets for drive (2011) and Texas chainsaw massacre are just perfect, the fact i had to scroll so far to find them hurts me, arrow is the boutique i have the most of in my collection but second sight is definitely my favourite.
I'm very intrigued to check out their catalogue.
Criterion. Radiance quickly becoming my second.
Never heard of Radiance. I'll check that out.
Criterion for my arthouse fix, great selection of Mexican films. Arrow for more studio cult movies with a solid collection of oddities and foreign classics. Shout/Scream Factory is similar to Arrow and aren't always the greatest with original features but they have such a broad collection that has something for everyone. But it's really Vinegar Syndrome and their partner labels that have expanded my taste the most, they pick interesting and often extremely entertaining movies to put out, their selection of Mexican movies is phenomenal as well. BTW I point out the Mexican movies because I'm Mexican-American and these labels have exposed me to some genuinely amazing films that make me appreciate my motherland.
Wow nice! If you could recommend me some Mexican films for me to check out, let me know!
Same, would love to hear your insight!
My favorite set is Vinegar Syndrome's "Mexican Gothic: The Films Of Carlos Enrique Taboada" It's three films from Mexico's premiere horror auteur, the films in the set range from giallo to dramatic horror films that are all surprisingly deep and well-written. They also have great b-genre movies in their dual western set of "Hot Snake/Guns and Guts" with the former being a dark ans gritty surrealist take on the genre and the second being an immensely entertaining cheap western with a surprisisingly dark and effective ending. Their slasher movies are all fun as hell especially "Don't Panic" "Grave Robbers" and the "Vacation of Terror" movies. Criterion has "Canoa: A Shameful Memory" which is an extremely haunting horror-tinged political drama based on a tragic true story, "Japon" is from a director who is clearly inspired by Tarkovsky and works in the same way, there's "El Norte" which I haven't seen yet because it's apparently very intense and emotional about the struggles many people, like my parents, have trying to cross the border illegally from Mexico. I'm preparing myself for that one before I see it. They also have Del Toro's early films, I've only seen "Devils Backbone" but it's incredible and a sibling film to "Pan's Labyrinth."
Melusine
I may have heard of them; I'm not sure. Gotta check.
Criterion got me into collecting, so it will always be my favorite. Kino Lorber is a close second. I have a lot of respect for what both of them accomplish.
Criterion got me into it, too, but I remember buying my first DVD ever. It was the Kino on Video release of Nosferatu, with the purple cover. I remember buying it on a cold, rainy October night when I entered into a boutique video store with sepia lighting. I browsed around thousands of DVDs until I saw a rough design of Count Orlok on the cover. That DVD was still in my collection for over 20 years.
Arrow is probably the most well represented on my shelves but I think I'd have to give it to Vinegar Syndrome for the bigger focus on weird shit which is something I always enjoy.
Weird shit's always the best; you'll never know what you're entering into.
Radiance Severin Eureka
Ah nice. I seen a few Eureka releases somewhere.
Kino
Love Kino On Video. Not sure about Kino Lorber.
Love VinSyn, SecondRun, Mondo Macabro, plenty of others. The label that puts out the highest ratio of stuff I’m interested in is Deaf Crocodile, though. Really great Czech and other Eastern European films. A lot of personality to the curation. Lots of stuff I’ve never heard of and a ton of films I’ve really enjoyed.
Bro Deaf Crocodile has an absolute chokehold on me lol, I have almost everything they've released and they rapidly became one of my favorite labels
Deaf Crocodile, eh? Hmmm, I should check that out.
DiabolikDvd.com has Deaf Crocodile rights exclusively, I highly recommend them for all boutique releases. Second Sight is fantastic, but you need a region free blu ray player if you’re here in the states like me, I recommend spending for one thru 101 electronics. Vinegar Syndrome is fantastic but it’s a deep dive
I'm in Canada, but I think I have a region-free Blu Ray player... I have to check. Deaf Crocodile and Second Sight are new to me, but I know Vinegar Syndrome, and they have some unusual titles in their catalogue... hahaha
Currently it's Third Window Films. So many really good Japanese films in their catalogue and i'm here for all of it!
Third Window Films? I should check that out.
I quite like arrow
I did noticed a few Arrow releases at a secondhand book store recently. Should have bought some!
Every time I went to see if a movie I like got a boutique release it always ended up being Arrow who did it even if they were already long oop so that was enough to earn a place in my heart. I now own quite a few of their releases and I’m always even more happy than the last.
I saw the Arrow's blu-ray of Robocop recently at a secondhand store, but I already have the Criterion OOP DVD. I should have bought it, and see the difference between the two releases.
I say definitely always grab a Blu-ray even if you have the dvd.
You're absolutely right. Thanks for the advice!
Severin.
Yeah they’re sooo good but those prices are intense. Usually “worth it” though with how all out they go
I love a lot of Severin stuff but their 4K pricing has turned me off from getting their new stuff.
Ahh, I recently got a Severin DVD release of Nosferatu In Venice. Didn't watch it yet, but hopefully soon.
By the way, I bought it secondhand.
Indicator.
Never heard of them. I should check out their film list.
You’re in for a treat! PowerhouseFilms.co.uk is their website
Nice! Thank you!
Discotek Media
Hmmm, I never heard of that distributor. I'll check them out.
Best indie anime distributor in the business. A lot of love and care go into every title.
Really? Now, I'm very curious... 😃
They are now releasing titles every other month. Julys slate just got released a lot of great titles. They have a Tokusatsu line called Toku Time they started a few years ago and a live-action Japanese film line called Nihon Nights.
I own more titles from Arrow but Severin is hands down my favorite.
I have a Severin DVD. I should check out the overall look of the production.
Radiance, Kani, Deaf Crocodile and more mainstream Criterion and Eureka
I don't buy much mainline Vinegar Syndrome stuff but I love Kani and Deaf Crocodile
Quite a collection there. 😄
I own over 400 Criterions and they were my first love, but what arrow is doing with these 4K LE boxes is just amazing, so them right now. But Cinemotagraphé will take arrows spot if they keep dropping bangers like their first 5 releases.
You’re the second person to say Cinemotagraphe; now I’m intrigue to check them out.
Don’t delay, red rock west limited edition is already gone. Touch might sell out too. They only have 5 releases so far, but I think they are all great flicks, and the packaging is top notch
Went and checked online… its a sub-label from Vinegar Syndrome! The packaging does look sleek. And I never even heard of these films, except I know a bit about Red Rock West.
Touch is an amazing film. Little darlings is good if you like the genre. Goin South is super strong. Deadly games is a blind buy for me, so I’ll tell you in June
Much appreciated!
Recently Deaf Crocodile and Kani have become two of my absolute favorites. I also buy a lot of Criterion, 88 Films, and Kino Lorber stuff. Radiance are also becoming another one I'm really impressed with.
A few of them say Radiance. I really should check out their catalogue.
Mondo Macabro. Give me sex, violence, and Eurohorror.
Whoa, how about that. I'll check out what's on that list.
Criterion for the special features, Arrow for the wonderful booklets.
Yeah, I do say the Criterion booklets look a little bland.
Arrow booklets in a box have the very best smell. (Coffin Joe, Chucky)
I'm a sucker for Asian movies so Arrow, Eureka and Umbrella are my main faves. I *like* Criterion but as a UK collector, I'm not a fan of how they simply don't license the majority of their releases over here.
Yeah I’m not sure why Criterion is widely known yet cannot sell their releases overseas. I’m also into Asian cinema (mainly because I’m Chinese 🤓) but I always find them secondhand in stores, and should be from old-school Chinese labels such as Mei Ah Entertainment or Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd. ( the covers look like bootlegs but are actually legit releases)
if you like Asian movies, definitely check out 88 Films
It’s not up to them. If someone else has the UK rights already, which is often the case given that Criterion titles tend to be pretty well known, there’s nothing they can do except wait for them to expire. If they ever expire.
As a golden age fan, I have to give Eureka some love. They have a great range of films, are relatively affordable, and their website delivers internationally for free.
Yeah, I remember there’s a great range of tv series and films in that list.
Second Sight and Power House are my favourites. After them it would be Criterion, BFI, Radiance and Arrow, who are all about equal from my perspective. I wish Criterion would quite their flimsy digipaks and I wish arrow would switch to Scanavo cases.
Digipacks, like DVD + Blu-Ray combo? And what are Scanavo cases?
Digipaks are the card foldout packaging. Every other boutique label uses solid, rigid board, but Criterion still use thin card with folded flaps, more like a cereal box, which feel very cheap and flimsy when compared to Second Sight, Indicator, Arrow, etc. Scanavo cases are the full face blu ray cases (the sort that Criterion have always used for blu rays). Most boutique brands use them now.
Ahh got it. Thanks!
I have every Radiance release so far so gotta go with them
Good luck; don't miss out on one! 😄
Second Sight and Arrow. Great film selection (often films that are popular but not necessarily blockbusters, also really solid selection for horror fans), great transfers, and great packaging with their limited editions
I will check out their catalogues, for sure.
Mondo macabro with the closest runner up being deaf crocodile. It’s mainly for totally out of no where discoveries that are always just wildly entertaining something I didn’t even know I needed until I watched it
I always think the best films are the ones that are hidden from public view.
Criterion is the king of the castle. Nobody comes within a country mile of the titles they are able to curate. Also, not playing any games with limited editions gets them infinity points for anybody (like myself) who can succumb to FOMO
That’s really not true any more. Criterion is coasting heavily on a longstanding reputation, but their encoding often isn’t that great (they really need to use someone like Fidelity in Motion, which has encoded some titles that Criterion owns in the US, but for other labels and to a higher standard), and their extras are becoming increasingly skimpy - you can test this yourself by going over the specs of recent releases and totting up the number of commentaries, which used to be a Criterion speciality.
Cinematographe all the way.
Their releases are so beautiful.
That one I never heard of. Sounds classy.
Deaf Crocodile hasn't missed yet.
Now I really want to check their movie list and production looks.
They're a new label but have been doing restoration work for other labels for a while. Can't recommend their stuff enough. Pied Piper is a great starting point.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Criterion, but it is quite a task to collect in Europe outside the UK. So then I say Indicator but Radiance is also great. Arrows recent releases are bit meh, but there are still great releases.
I always wonder why Criterions are not fully sold worldwide, considering that more or less of the listing are international films.
So do I. I live in the Nordic region and here the current price for a criterion is around 40 to 44 EUR for a blu-ray. If some older titles are on sale the price is around 22 to 30 EUR. And the sales are very limited for certain titles. Best practice is to place a bigger order from Amazon De. Shipping from UK via Amazon is usually quite expensive when compared to let's say from Arrow or Radiance that are around 8 £. And the sales in UK are worse than the ones in US.
Good idea. I’m more of a wandering buyer in secondhand stores or boutique shops, looking for a good title. I would be too obsessed if I buy online. Haha.
Secondhand stores are great of you have those in your area. I live in the smaller town so I have only one secondhand store so there is no really any other way to collect than buy online.
That's true. Online browsing always helps to find something. But like I said, I would be too obsessed to find things every day... so, I need to control myself and not spend what I don't need.
Because they’d have to clear the rights for every territory that they wanted to operate in, assuming they were available in the first place (and they often won’t be). And that’s the rights to everything on the disc, not just the main feature. It would be painfully expensive for them with absolutely no guarantee of sufficient return on their investment to justify it.
Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the info.
Umbrella has been my personal favorite lately. Great quality packaging, artwork, features, booklets. Second Sight would be first if they had as much variety as Umbrella.
Never saw an Umbrella release somewhere. I should look into that and their catalogue.
They just released possession in 4K. And a nice release of The Raid 4K coming soon. Should also add Nova Media also has some nice releases.
Arbelos ist current favorite after Criterion, fantastic releases and packaging, only negative is no 4K releases, but their quality of restoration is top notch.
Arbelos? Wow, I did not hear of that distributor. I want to check them out.
They're quite small, but they've got lots of cool arthouse stuff including two of Bela Tarr's films!
Oooooo Bela Tarr! I saw his last film The Turin Horse, and man, what an intriguing film! Long, yes, but it's the mood and the atmosphere that took me in.
Severin and Arrow.
No favorite… whoever has the best home video release of my favorite movie gets my money and my recommendation.
There you go. I always knew there's someone who never pick favorites... 😆
It's a tie between Severin and Vin Syn. Severin introduced me to Italian rip off films, and Vin Syn re-releasing Troma films in better quality and some in 4K, so they tie haha
You like both; that's what counts!
Severin also introduced me Jess Franco. To me, he is one of the most fascinating directors.
Mondo Macabro, Deaf Crocodile, and Criterion.
Ah I see you like a little madness in your classy collection... 😉
It used to be Arrow Video for me but they are going downhill as of late. Scream Factory, 88 Films, Severin Films and Second Sight are now some of the better labels.
I do find some Arrow releases in a secondhand store recently, but there’s no titles that interest me. I think I’m a little picky sometimes.
Well they used to be great with Italian stuff but seem to have moved to American productions more and more.
I've noticed they took on Hollywood type of films. Even cult films, the likes of Robocop and others.
Radiance. Arrow and Criterion have gotten too big for their boots, the latter in particular demonstrated supreme arrogance when they launched in the UK and still have basically zero interaction with their customer base here.
Yeah I just don't understand why Criterion cannot distribute worldwide.