Cannibal! The Musical - Vinegar Syndrome

[manta53]

Just wondering, will the refuse version work on my north american blu ray player? Really torn between refuse and vinegar syndrom.

[mattdevil]

Originally Posted by manta53

Just wondering, will the refuse version work on my north american blu ray player? Really torn between refuse and vinegar syndrom.

On their site it's advertised as "Region: Zone Free (Playable Worldwide)" so yes it should work.

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by manta53

Just wondering, will the refuse version work on my north american blu ray player? Really torn between refuse and vinegar syndrom.

Absolutely.

[Doombear]

I love this one. I brought the movie over to a friend's house for a viewing party and they asked me to turn it off halfway through; I was heartbroken.

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by Doombear

I love this one. I brought the movie over to a friend's house for a viewing party and they asked me to turn it off halfway through; I was heartbroken.

It's tough to find people on the same page movie-wise. There have been multiple times where I've screened favorite movies and then no one else cared for it at all.

[mike6001]

What's the differences between the UK cut and the main cut? I can't seem to find info anywhere, except for the title difference.

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by mike6001

What's the differences between the UK cut and the main cut? I can't seem to find info anywhere, except for the title difference.

There is a song in the UK cut that wasn't included in any subsequent cuts.

[kishiro]

Originally Posted by mrlanphear

There is a song in the UK cut that wasn't included in any subsequent cuts.

Thank you for the info
BTW; Will the UK cut be the new restoration with the extra scene inserted ? (either via seamless branching or it's own encode), or will the UK version of the film be an entire different scan from a british source (vhs) ?

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by kishiro

Thank you for the info
BTW; Will the UK cut be the new restoration with the extra scene inserted ? (either via seamless branching or it's own encode), or will the UK version of the film be an entire different scan from a british source (vhs) ?

It's an SD transfer taken from the UK DVD.

[kosvines]

Will this be available from Amazon?

[drush9999]

Shame it's not from the original 16mm elements, gotta look better than my ancient Troma DVD though right?

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by drush9999

Shame it's not from the original 16mm elements, gotta look better than my ancient Troma DVD though right?

I've personally spent years looking for these elements. I'd love if they would turn up some day. That said, it looks incredible compared to any previous release of the film. Does it rival a first-class 4K transfer of Casablanca or Blade Runner or something? Nope. But it looks far better than it has any right to look, especially given the constraints that we had to work with.

[BigPudge]

Originally Posted by refusefilms

[Show spoiler]Hey guys, I'm Liam Regan from the boutique Blu-ray label Refuse Films. I wish to clear up some confusion regarding our Refuse Films TromArchive Collection release and Vinegar Syndrome's Degausser Video release of Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical

Refuse Films is a small UK production company. We've produced and self-distributed the Blu-ray titles My Bloody Banjo and Eating Miss Campbell. Once my 13-year day job was terminated, I decided to extend our production company to a homegrown Blu-ray label, offering boutique Blu-ray releases to underground genre movies.

Due to my lifelong love and relationship with Troma Entertainment, I wanted to release comprehensive editions of their most popular titles and hidden gems in their catalogue and give these movies (which I've been watching since I was only 11 years old) the high-quality boutique Blu-ray treatment they deserve.

Our main breakout title was always going to be Cannibal! The Musical and Refuse Films licensed this title, along with The Toxic Avenger & Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD back in May 2023.

From May 2023 onwards, Refuse Films has been working with producer Jason McHugh on this Blu-ray release; I journeyed from the UK to Colorado, Los Angeles, and New York to unarchive the never-before-seen footage, behind-the-scenes clips and interview as many of the cast and crew as we could for our Blu-ray release.

Vinegar Syndrome's vague announcement regarding its contents, transfer, and special features has raised many questions about the similarities between the two labels and their releases of Cannibal! The Musical

Refuse Films is a tiny, independent boutique Blu-ray label. We currently have five titles available, and many more are slated for release each quarter. Your support of our release of Cannibal! The Musical will help us release more significant titles in the future. We thank everybody who has taken a chance on a Refuse Films Blu-ray release, and we promise to give each release the love and respect it deserves.

You can pre-order Cannibal! The Musical on Blu-ray from RefuseFilms.com

Please feel free to ask any questions below; I'll happily answer them as much as possible.

Why are there two releases?

The Digital Bits broke the news about our World Blu-ray Premiere of Cannibal! The Musical on Monday morning, and around six hours later, Vinegar Syndrome posted its announcement, even though their announcement was initially scheduled for November.

Even though we are a UK-based company, we believe in producing and creating Blu-ray releases that can be shipped worldwide, much like every other boutique Blu-ray company, including Vinegar Syndrome.

International imports have always been part of the physical media culture and predate the internet. Unfortunately, Vinegar Syndrome's knee-jerk announcement has caused many people to request the cancellation of our Blu-ray release of Cannibal! The Musical.

Are you using the same transfer?

Refuse Films located the original Betacam master tape in the Summer of 2023 while travelling to the Troma archives in NYC. We digitised the master tape and then worked alongside Mark Brindle of Maniac Films to manually remaster Cannibal! The Musical in high definition. The Refuse Films release is also a frame-by-frame remaster, which took six months to complete.

For more information regarding the remastering process, please read Mark Brindle's process in The Digital Bits article. I can confirm that Robert Muratore, the director of photography of Cannibal, has approved our high-definition transfer! The Musical, and it is exclusive to Refuse Films.

Why does shipping cost $16?

We are a UK-based company, and the cheapest we can send a Blu-ray in a trackable way is $16. Our shipping includes a sturdy cardboard box and bubble wrap to protect the Blu-ray. Our shipping is fully trackable for our customers and is requested to be signed for, too. Shipping usually takes 5 to 7 working days to be received internationally from the UK.

Are the special features different on each release?

Our new in-house-produced special features are exclusive to our Refuse Films release. These include but are not limited to a new audio commentary with producer Jason McHugh, cast and crew interviews, an optional remastered stereo track, and a brand new HD remaster of the movie, approved by the director of photography, Robert Muratore.

To reflect our TromArchive Collection brand, we sourced all the adjacent footage from the darkest depths of the Troma archives. This footage features fully uncut interviews with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which have only been available in short edited extras on past releases. We also include all the special features that have appeared on previous DVD and VHS releases of Cannibal! The Musical.

Will the UK release of Alferd Packer: The Musical be available on the Vinegar Syndrome release?

We can't confirm what's on the Vinegar Syndrome release of the movie. Still, I can confirm that we're using the original 1993 UK master from the now-defunct British distribution label Screen Edge. Screen Edge was the first distributor for the movie, and Refuse Films came full circle as the first distributor to license and release the movie on the Blu-ray format.

Will the original inebriated audio commentary featuring Trey Parker & Matt Stone from 2000 be available on the Blu-ray?

All audio commentaries, including a brand-new audio commentary, will be available on our release.

Does your release come with a slipcover?

All our Blu-ray releases come in an American-sized slipcover, just like all your favourite boutique Blu-ray labels.

Fudge Packer?

��

I'm sold! Just pre-ordered (I will say, I personally hate having to sign for mail because I'm often not home when it arrives and it becomes a hassle to get it... I may be in the minority on that, I'm not sure)

[leethompson]

The new listing here (#373221) has this releasing from Troma in addition to Refuse Films (and presumably Degausser Video via Vinegar Syndrome) or is this is an extra entry? Or is Troma releasing it in the US?

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by leethompson

The new listing here (#373221) has this releasing from Troma in addition to Refuse Films (and presumably Degausser Video via Vinegar Syndrome) or is this is an extra entry? Or is Troma releasing it in the US?

It is an extra entry. It is not on Troma's schedule.

[cooey]

[Dragun]

I got excited until I saw that the print was a video-out. Oh well...

[PegasusKenshiro]

Wouldn't this almost be in theory better than the source being used for the UK release since the tape hadn't been barely degraded at that time? Wouldn't they had to have made some color adjustments for it as well before transferring to film?

[sb5]

This “battle of the competing boutique releases of Cannibal! The Musical” has been weirdly compelling. Different transfer sources, different participation from those involved with the movie, different special features, labels asking boutique sellers not to sell their competitor’s version, region coding complaints, etc.

[postmodel]

I have my preorder in for the Refuse release and was probably gonna skip the VS release but hmm…i have multiple versions of other Troma films so why not this one?

Will never be a fan of a company blocking retailers from selling other versions though.