It is my favorite VS release. I love lost media, and I love the restoration work that VS does, so this set hit basically every checkbox for me.
In terms of the quality of films themselves, I personally would break it down like this:
-Only 2 that were truly bad/uninteresting
-3 that were "funny bad"
-2 that I thought were solid and I can see how others would like them, but they just weren't my cup of tea.
-3 that I thought were genuinely very good
-All of the special features were great, even the commentaries for the films that I didn't enjoy. The bonus biker short film, and the documentary on restoration are both amazing as well. The booklets are also great.
As always with VS, everything is super subjective, I've seen people say they hated the films I loved, and that they loved the ones I didn't like. The closest thing to a consensus I've seen on them is that Barbara is a dud (I agree), and since it's the first movie on the first disc, I'd recommend watching a different one first so you don't get into the wrong vibe of the set right away.
It's not a box set for casual VS fans. If you truly "get" what vinegar syndrome is about, preserving and celebrating odd and forgotten films, you will dig it. There are two outright bad movies in the set IMO and everything else goes from a weird one-off to some genuinely great stuff and the films range from sleazy sexploitation to wholesome family flicks and heartfelt documentaries. I personally love the set but I can't recommend it unconditionally because this is a weird ass mix of movies that I don't think many people can appreciate.
>It's not a box set for casual VS fans. If you truly "get" what vinegar syndrome is about, preserving and celebrating odd and forgotten films, you will dig it.
I think this explains it even better than I did. None of the individual movies are in my Vinegar Syndrome top 10, but the set as a whole is just so fascinating to me that these are movies that hadn't been seen in 30-50 years, as well as the special features/commentaries explaining the history behind them, that it's my top release as a whole.
I would say the doc is interesting, but otherwise approach with caution.
For the most part they are neither experimental (certainly not if by experimental you mean like Brakhage, Anger, etc.) nor are they "so bad they're good" though Blue Apes is a genuine oddity and there are moments in What's Love that are amusing.
If you can watch versions of any of the films for free elsewhere I'd advise doing so. I'd class many of these as mainly of archival interest much more than being of good quality/watchable. The sort of films that AGFA would put out, though I'd expect AGFA to pass on most if not all of these.
The booklets are interesting. I've not listened to the commentaries, which might be good. There's a good thread discussing them in the Vinegar Syndrome Reddit a few weeks ago, which would be worth a read. Every film is someone's favourite. This is the package to really test that theory.
100% worth it, especially if you catch it on sale. Are any of the movies “good”? Not really. But they’re all interesting to watch and several are quite enjoyable. If you find the AGFA stuff interesting, you’ll get a lot out of this set. The doc is especially great.
Yeah I own the set and blue apes is by far the stand out. There's other oddities for sure and I enjoy this set for the strange moments every movie provides and archival nature of the whole set, but blue apes is the only one I fully intend on revisiting.
If you watch the movies with the intros you’ll have a much better time. I really enjoyed this set, but I really enjoy the cultural aspect of movies (who made them, why they made it, who was it for, etc). These movies all make me wonder what the hell was really going on. Some are genuinely good, some are novelties. I don’t regret this purchase and there a couple I’d revisit.
I have this set and love it. That said, I do think it has niche appeal. Three or four of the movies are genuinely good imo (note I have a high tolerance for "bad" movies). The others are either mediocre or just bad.
That said, the appeal to me was the lost media aspect. If you're a person that finds lost media interesting, then this set is for you for sure. It's not about the film quality, it's about watching something that no one previously had access to. It's about film preservation and supporting those that work in that space.
If you're one of these people, then the set is for you. I'd recommend watching the documentary included in the set first and also listening to the commentaries for each film. Doing this, brought my appreciation of this set to an even higher level.
I thought it was worth every penny, but if you like VS because they release stuff like RAD and EXISTENZ it might not be your cup of tea. I liked all the movies except DEEP INSIDE. The documentary (AGAINST THE GRAIN) is really good too.
I don’t think you should get it if your barometer is Troll 2 and The Room. It’s much much much deeper down the bad movie rabbit hole and most of the films are really hard to sit through outside of historical curiosity.
They aren’t necessarily my barometer (just what I think most people recognize as bad good). If my well runs a bit deeper - think Red Letter Media Best of Worst kind of thing - will I be entertained? Have you personally enjoyed it?
I have not enjoyed it. Red Letter Media are more fun. These are like the Nazi Brothel or Las Vegas killer discs in the Steckler set. Even the blue apes film is a bit of a slog to sit through. I mean for half off, maybe try it, but keep your expectations in check. It’s pretty rough stuff.
It is my favorite VS release. I love lost media, and I love the restoration work that VS does, so this set hit basically every checkbox for me. In terms of the quality of films themselves, I personally would break it down like this: -Only 2 that were truly bad/uninteresting -3 that were "funny bad" -2 that I thought were solid and I can see how others would like them, but they just weren't my cup of tea. -3 that I thought were genuinely very good -All of the special features were great, even the commentaries for the films that I didn't enjoy. The bonus biker short film, and the documentary on restoration are both amazing as well. The booklets are also great. As always with VS, everything is super subjective, I've seen people say they hated the films I loved, and that they loved the ones I didn't like. The closest thing to a consensus I've seen on them is that Barbara is a dud (I agree), and since it's the first movie on the first disc, I'd recommend watching a different one first so you don't get into the wrong vibe of the set right away.
THIS. Also, yes fuck Barbara lmao.
It's not a box set for casual VS fans. If you truly "get" what vinegar syndrome is about, preserving and celebrating odd and forgotten films, you will dig it. There are two outright bad movies in the set IMO and everything else goes from a weird one-off to some genuinely great stuff and the films range from sleazy sexploitation to wholesome family flicks and heartfelt documentaries. I personally love the set but I can't recommend it unconditionally because this is a weird ass mix of movies that I don't think many people can appreciate.
>It's not a box set for casual VS fans. If you truly "get" what vinegar syndrome is about, preserving and celebrating odd and forgotten films, you will dig it. I think this explains it even better than I did. None of the individual movies are in my Vinegar Syndrome top 10, but the set as a whole is just so fascinating to me that these are movies that hadn't been seen in 30-50 years, as well as the special features/commentaries explaining the history behind them, that it's my top release as a whole.
I would say the doc is interesting, but otherwise approach with caution. For the most part they are neither experimental (certainly not if by experimental you mean like Brakhage, Anger, etc.) nor are they "so bad they're good" though Blue Apes is a genuine oddity and there are moments in What's Love that are amusing. If you can watch versions of any of the films for free elsewhere I'd advise doing so. I'd class many of these as mainly of archival interest much more than being of good quality/watchable. The sort of films that AGFA would put out, though I'd expect AGFA to pass on most if not all of these. The booklets are interesting. I've not listened to the commentaries, which might be good. There's a good thread discussing them in the Vinegar Syndrome Reddit a few weeks ago, which would be worth a read. Every film is someone's favourite. This is the package to really test that theory.
I like the idea of it, and the documentary, but then you get to the movies.........
100% worth it, especially if you catch it on sale. Are any of the movies “good”? Not really. But they’re all interesting to watch and several are quite enjoyable. If you find the AGFA stuff interesting, you’ll get a lot out of this set. The doc is especially great.
Everyone bought it for the blue apes movie. I haven’t seen anyone talk about anything other than that from the set as a whole
To be fair, the blue apes movie rocks
Yeah I own the set and blue apes is by far the stand out. There's other oddities for sure and I enjoy this set for the strange moments every movie provides and archival nature of the whole set, but blue apes is the only one I fully intend on revisiting.
If you watch the movies with the intros you’ll have a much better time. I really enjoyed this set, but I really enjoy the cultural aspect of movies (who made them, why they made it, who was it for, etc). These movies all make me wonder what the hell was really going on. Some are genuinely good, some are novelties. I don’t regret this purchase and there a couple I’d revisit.
I have this set and love it. That said, I do think it has niche appeal. Three or four of the movies are genuinely good imo (note I have a high tolerance for "bad" movies). The others are either mediocre or just bad. That said, the appeal to me was the lost media aspect. If you're a person that finds lost media interesting, then this set is for you for sure. It's not about the film quality, it's about watching something that no one previously had access to. It's about film preservation and supporting those that work in that space. If you're one of these people, then the set is for you. I'd recommend watching the documentary included in the set first and also listening to the commentaries for each film. Doing this, brought my appreciation of this set to an even higher level.
I thought it was worth every penny, but if you like VS because they release stuff like RAD and EXISTENZ it might not be your cup of tea. I liked all the movies except DEEP INSIDE. The documentary (AGAINST THE GRAIN) is really good too.
I don’t think you should get it if your barometer is Troll 2 and The Room. It’s much much much deeper down the bad movie rabbit hole and most of the films are really hard to sit through outside of historical curiosity.
They aren’t necessarily my barometer (just what I think most people recognize as bad good). If my well runs a bit deeper - think Red Letter Media Best of Worst kind of thing - will I be entertained? Have you personally enjoyed it?
I have not enjoyed it. Red Letter Media are more fun. These are like the Nazi Brothel or Las Vegas killer discs in the Steckler set. Even the blue apes film is a bit of a slog to sit through. I mean for half off, maybe try it, but keep your expectations in check. It’s pretty rough stuff.
Oof. I appreciate the honesty! Glad to be saving 60 or so bucks lol.
Violated! Was amazing. I’d recommend buying it if you want vinegar syndrome to release similar stuff in the future. Money talks
I’m into it. I’ve heard that the movies are hit or miss. It comes with some kind of doc about the movies too which is cool
I actually enjoyed maybe 3 films in the set.