While audiences pack movie theaters to see the latest offerings from Hollywood, many films never see the silver screen.
But some of these "lost movies" make it into the hands of film geeks who make it their mission to complete them.
That’s exactly what happened when the folks at Vinegar Syndrome unearthed the 1984 unfinished movie “New York Ninja” in their archive.
The Bridgeport-based film restoration and distribution company Vinegar Syndrome specializes in the preservation of 20th-century films in the cult and exploitation genres. Many of the films that the company has released on physical media had fallen to the side over the years, but found a home at Vinegar Syndrome.
The movie poster from "New York Ninja."
Contributed Photo/Vinegar SyndromeTitles distributed by the company range from the campy 1994 Denise Richards-led “Tammy and the T-Rex” to the body-horror gem “Body Melt.”
“New York Ninja” falls squarely into the typical range of Vinegar Syndrome offerings. The movie follows a news station technician (played by director John Liu) who takes on the moniker of the “New York Ninja” in his journey to avenge the death of his wife.
The movie was among a catalogue of films Vinegar Syndrome acquired from 21st Century Distribution Corporation, which went defunct in the 1980s, according to Vinegar Syndrome’s Kurtis Spieler, who served as the director of the “New York Ninja” release.
The unedited, original camera rolls for “New York Ninja" were included in that acquisition, Spieler said, though Vinegar Syndrome's staff only realized they were there while were taking inventory of the catalogue .
After some discussion, Spieler talked the owners of Vinegar Syndrome into giving him a budget to finish the movie. For the following two years, Spieler was hard at work piecing together the lost film.
Early in production, Spieler said that he attempted to reach out to Liu regarding the project, but was told that Liu was “living off the grid” and no longer wanted to be involved with his film career.
“This was kind of an original production for us, sort of," Spieler said. "Even though it was originally shot in ‘84, we did a lot of production work to finish it."
Spieler scanned the movie reels ahead of its home release, he said. He had no idea what Vinegar Syndrome was working with until they started the scanning process with the original reels, he said.
However, the biggest issue facing the production of “New York Ninja” was the fact that the original audio, including dialogue, was lost.
Spieler had to construct a script while seeking vocal talent in order to recreate dialogue from the original production as well as find era-specific music and sound effects that would match the final product.
A still from "New York Ninja." The 1984 picture has been released by Bridgeport-based Vinegar Syndrome in 2021.
Contributed Photo/Vinegar SyndromeThe recreation of the audio took place over most of the past year. Spieler also added special features like interviews, deleted scenes and a documentary on the making of the movie.
The film has since been completed and released as part of a special two-disc Blu-ray package, on Nov. 1. It's available both online and at the Archive in Bridgeport. According to Spieler, sales have been good so far.
“People have been frankly surprised with what we have been able to do,” Spieler said.
The release of “New York Ninja” marks the beginning of Vinegar Syndrome’s new label: Vinegar Syndrome Pictures. Vinegar Syndrome Pictures is a "sub-branding dedicated specifically to the production and distribution of carefully curated, often daring, first fun, genre-based feature films exclusively photographed on motion picture film."
A still from "New York Ninja." The 1984 picture has been released by Bridgeport-based Vinegar Syndrome in 2021.
Contributed Photo/Vinegar Syndrome“We are now acquiring films off the festival circuit — movies that were shot specifically on film,” Spieler added.
One such title is the 2021 horror movie “Censor,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and won “Best European Fantastic Film” from the Méliès d'Or.
“New York Ninja” has also made it onto the film festival circuit after premiering at Beyond Fest in October.
Spieler said that a 35mm print of “New York Ninja” has also been made, with plans for a theatrical release in 2022.
"Hopefully we will be doing more films like this," he said. "I’m sort of hoping that we can find other unfinished films that deserve to be finished.”
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