This Is Cinématographe

05.01.2024

Scene from Goin' South

Taking its name from the Lumière Brothers invention of the same name, Cinématographe is a new sub-label from Vinegar Syndrome that seeks to fill gaps in the canon of American cinema. Offering a mix of auteur driven studio films produced during the New Hollywood era of the late 1960s and 70s all the way through the indie boom of the 1980s and 90s, Cinématographe explores the wide breadth of American moviemaking, spanning numerous genres and scales of production. Curated and produced by Vinegar Syndrome’s Justin LaLiberty, each limited edition release will be housed in a specially designed, cloth-bound media book with embossed foil titles and custom-molded disc trays. They’ll be accompanied by a slipcase featuring newly commissioned art and an individually numbered J-card.

RED ROCK WEST

Michael (Nicolas Cage, Wild at Heart), a discharged marine turned drifter, ends up in Red Rock, Wyoming in search of honest work. Wayne (J.T. Walsh, Breakdown), a local bar owner, offers Michael the dishonest work of carrying out a hit on his wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle, The Last Seduction) after mistaking him for the actual hitman, “Lyle, from Dallas”, that he hired to murder his spouse. Before Michael can split town with his downpayment, he runs into the real Lyle (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet) and, from there, all hell breaks loose.

Directed and co-written by John Dahl (Kill Me Again), RED ROCK WEST is an endlessly twisty slice of distinctly American neo-noir set in the heartland of the United States. Featuring stellar performances from all three leads and a nearly repellent mean-streak, Dahl’s film is an often forgotten jewel of 90s crime cinema, making its US blu-ray debut in an all new restoration from Cinématographe.

GOIN’ SOUTH

Henry Moon (Jack Nicholson, Chinatown) is a cut-rate outlaw in post-Civil War Texas, convicted of bank robbery and property theft. Moon is sentenced to death by hanging in the town of Longhorn, a town that maintains an ordinance allowing for any condemned man to be freed from the gallows via marriage. Julia Tate (Mary Steenburgen, Clifford), a quiet virginal young woman with a secret gold mine, saves Moon from the gallows in an attempt to exploit him for free labor. With Moon intent on consummating his marriage to a virgin bride and Tate seeking to mine her hidden fortune, the two embark on an equally combative, comedic, relationship in the Old West.

The sophomore feature directorial effort from Jack Nicholson, following his counterculture comedy Drive, He Said in 1971, GOIN’ SOUTH is a commonly overlooked entry in Nicholson’s repertoire as an actor and filmmaker. Featuring gorgeous photography from noted cinematographer Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven) and a talented comedic cast including John Belushi (Animal House), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Danny DeVito (Wise Guys) and Ed Begley Jr. (Blue Collar), Cinématographe is proud to present Jack Nicholson’s wild western comedy on blu-ray and UHD for the first time in the world from a brand new 4K restoration of its original camera negative!

TOUCH

Former evangelist Bill Hill (Christopher Walken, King of New York), discovers Juvenal (Skeet Ulrich, Scream), a purported miracle worker who can heal people simply by touching them and bears the marks of stigmata on his body. Hill, no stranger to exploiting others, sees a potential fortune in Juvenal and primes him for show business but Hill’s plans go awry when the woman he entrusts to seduce Juvenal (Bridget Fonda, Jackie Brown) falls for him and a fundamentalist reverend (Tom Arnold, True Lies) threatens to put a stop to the whole enterprise.

Based on a novel by noted crime author Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Jackie Brown) and
adapted for the screen and directed by Paul Schrader (Hardcore, Affliction), TOUCH is a burst of post-Tarantino dark comedy, matching Leonard’s offbeat characters with Schrader’s unwavering examination of theology in America. Featuring an ensemble cast that also includes the likes of Gina Gershon (Bound), Lolita Davidovich (Raising Cain), Paul Mazursky (director of An Unmarried Woman), Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites) and LL Cool J as himself, TOUCH is quintessential Paul Schrader and ripe for rediscovery. Cinématographe is proud to present this often overlooked entry in the career of one of America’s most prized filmmakers in its first ever blu-ray release, sourced from a new 2K scan of its 35mm interpositive.

DANGEROUS GAME

New York based filmmaker Eddie Israel (Harvey Keitel, Bad Lieutenant) is embarking on a new production titled Mother of Mirrors, being shot in Los Angeles. Joining Israel in Hollywood are his film’s lead actors, Sarah (Madonna, Desperately Seeking Susan) and Francis (James Russo, China Girl), playing an unhappily married couple coming to terms with matters of religion, drug use and unconventional sex. As reality and fiction begin to merge, Israel’s wife, Madlyn (Nancy Ferrara, real life wife to Abel), enters the fray of the tumultuous film production that has become home to infidelity, drug use and acts of violence, setting the stage for an unpredictable and uncompromising final act.

A searing, remarkably raw, film industry drama from noted provocateur Abel Ferrara (King of New York), DANGEROUS GAME is propelled by fearless performances from its three leads and a naturalistic, and ferocious, script by frequent Ferrara collaborator Nicholas St. John (Ms. 45, The Addiction). Cinématographe is proud to bring one of Ferrara’s most underrated, yet exceedingly powerful, films to blu-ray in a brand new 4K restoration from its uncut original negative with a vast array of newly produced supplements featuring Ferrara himself as well as long time collaborators.