New Releases for June 24 2025

THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD (1993) (Criterion Collection)

A rare film biography as boldly unconventional as its subject, writer-director François Girard’s visionary portrait of iconoclastic, world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould explodes the conventions of the form to illuminate the brilliant mind and innermost obsessions of a singular artist. Across thirty-two vignettes encompassing everything from dramatic sketches to documentary interviews to avant-garde animation, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould pieces together the story of Gould’s trajectory from child prodigy to celebrated concert pianist who turned his back on public performance to pursue his all-consuming fascination with recording technology. Led by a tour-de-force performance by Colm Feore and underscored by Gould’s landmark recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Girard’s film daringly deconstructs the enigma of genius. (BLU-RAY + 4K)

DIRTY WORK (1998) (2 VERSIONS)

After losing his job, girlfriend, and apartment, lifelong prankster Mitch moves in with his childhood best friend Sam, and Sam’s cantankerous father, Pops. When Pops has a heart attack, his surgeon, Dr. Farthing, delivers grim news: Pops needs a new heart, which Farthing will gladly secure in exchange for $50,000 to pay off his gambling debts. Desperate for a lot of cash quickly, Sam and Mitch realize that their joint love of causing mischief could be the perfect means of raising funds, thus opening a revenge-for-hire business named “Dirty Work.” With creative solutions to spiteful problems and chaotically doled-out retribution, clients are lining up. But when an evil local politician hires them to pull off an especially malicious prank, Mitch is forced to reckon with the consequences of his actions.

Pushing the boundaries of crass gags and raunchy dialogue, acclaimed comedian Bob Saget’s (TV's Full House) sole theatrical feature directing effort, DIRTY WORK stars and was co-written by the legendary Norm Macdonald (TV’s Saturday Night Live). Featuring supporting performances from some of the biggest names in comedy history, including Artie Lange (TV’s Mad TV), Chevy Chase (National Lampoon’s Vacation), Don Rickles (Beach Blanket Bingo), and Chris Farley (Tommy Boy), plus two-time Academy Award® nominee Jack Warden as Pops, Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present the 4K UHD debut of DIRTY WORK, newly restored from its original camera negative and presented both in its theatrical version as well as its long lost “Dirtier Cut,” which is being presented to the general public for the first time ever! (BLU-RAY + 4K)

PALINDROMES (2004) 

Ever since she was small, Aviva has desperately wanted a baby. Now a teenager - with thoughts and feelings her well-meaning parents Joyce (Ellen Barkin, Drop Dead Gorgeous) and Steve (Richard Masur, The Thing) don't quite know how to handle - she'll stop at nothing to make that dream a reality. Played by a cast of rotating actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) and Sharon Wilkins, Aviva's journey towards motherhood never would run smooth. Bringing his trademark dry wit to another series of taboos, Todd Solondz's portrait of middle-American girlhood interrogates the naivety and hypocrisy of the post-9/11 psyche that continues to shape US public life and policy. (BLU-RAY + 4K)

DARK CITY (1998) (2 VERSIONS) 

From Alex Proyas, visionary director of The Crow, comes Dark City, a mind-bending science fiction thriller set in a shadowy world where the sun never rises and nothing is quite what it seems.

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes in a hotel bathtub with no memory of who he is or how he got there, but there's a body on the floor with bloody spirals carved into the flesh and a voice on the phone that tells him to flee. Soon Murdoch is on the run, wanted by the police, a woman who claims to be his wife and a group of mysterious pale men who seem to control everyone and everything in the city... except him. (4K ULTRA HD)

HONG KONG 1941 (1984) 

A versatile British-Chinese filmmaker whose career has spanned nearly fifty years, Po-Chih Leong has worked in a variety of genres, from action in Foxbat to horror in The Island, comedy in Ping Pong and the gangster movie in Shanghai 1920, which was nominated for Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival. His masterpiece, though, is Hong Kong 1941 – an affecting war drama starring Cecilia Yip (Nomad), Alex Man (Rich and Famous) and Chow Yun-fat (The Killer) in his breakout role.

Produced by Sammo Hung, Hong Kong 1941 follows three Hongkongers forced to negotiate life under occupation as their homeland falls to the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Ha Yuk-nam (Yip) is a young woman locked in a love triangle with her close friends Yip Kim-fei (Chow) and Wong Hak-keung (Man). As they dream of escape, their complicated personal relationships play out against the background of oppression and brutality that was brought to Hong Kong by Japanese rule between 1941 and 1945. (BLU-RAY)