This special limited edition J-card MediaBook slipcase (designed by Jacob Phillips) is limited to 3,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
Note: this release is available to be purchased on its own, or bundled with the paperback book The Woman Chaser by Charles Willeford (book details can be seen below). This Limited Edition Slipcase + Book bundle is limited to 100 units. (Sold Out)
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 will explore 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 accompanied by a slipcase featuring newly commissioned art and an individually numbered J-card.
Richard Hudson (Patrick Warburton, Seinfeld), a shady used car salesman and aspiring filmmaker living in 1950s Los Angeles, writes the script for his first film: a tawdry drama about a truck driver who kills a young girl, titled The Man Who Got Away. Hudson’s path to becoming Tinseltown’s newest auteur is fraught with challenges; his film is deemed uncommercial, his sexual trysts keep piling up and his relationships with various family members manage to get worse by the day. Hudson will stop at nothing to see his vision through, even if it means destroying everything and everyone in his path, including Hollywood itself.
The feature directing debut of Robinson Devor (Zoo) and based on noted crime novelist Charles Willeford’s (Cockfighter) novel of the same name, THE WOMAN CHASER is a dark show business comedy in the vein of Robert Altman’s The Player and The Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink that isn’t afraid to showcase the more insidious aspects of the industry. Anchored by a wry, very funny, lead performance from stand-up comic and TV star Patrick Warburton along with striking 35mm photography (shot in color, but lit and graded for black and white) by six time Emmy nominee Kramer Morgenthau (Game of Thrones, Creed II & III), THE WOMAN CHASER is an often overlooked entry in the tail end of the American indie boom. Never before released on disc, and not seen uncut since its New York Film Festival premiere in 1999, Cinématographe is proud to present the world blu-ray debut of Robinson Devor’s uncompromising, hilarious, ode to 50s film noir completely uncensored, restored in 2K, and accompanied with hours of extras including the rarely seen color version of the film, The Art of Insanity.
directed by: Robinson Devor starring: Patrick Warburton, Eugene Roche, Ron Morgan, Emily Newman, Paul Malevich, Lynette Bennett 1999 / 90 min / 1.85:1 / English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Additional info:
Region A Blu-ray
The Art of Insanity - a full length alternate version of the film, presented in color
New audio commentary with writer/director Robinson Devor, moderated by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
New audio commentary with film noir historians Alain Silver and Christopher Coppola
Deadly Serious - a new video interview with actor Patrick Warburton
Biggest Little Movie - a new video interview with producer Joe McSpadden
Theatrical trailer
New text essays by film critic Glenn Kenny, writer and podcaster Chris Cabin and crime author Jesse Sublett
English SDH subtitles
The Woman Chaser - Paperback Book
Written by Charles Willeford
Richard Hudson, an inveterate woman-chaser and gifted used car salesman, possesses a pimp’s understanding of the ways in which women (and men) are most vulnerable — and justifies his seductions with a highly perverse logic. By day, he works his crooked car lot with much success. By night, he returns home to a family of misfits: an adoring, ageless mother; her washed-up husband, an ex-film director who is twenty years her junior; and a curious teenage stepsister ripe for corruption.
One day Richard is seized by a feeling of terror and revulsion; he realizes he’s wasting his life in the meaningless pursuit of money. His only hope, he decides, is to abandon the used-car game and try his hand at something creative–an ambitious and risk-laden film project that will “tie up in a single package his reason for existing.”
Richard completes his cherished project. But forces beyond his control swiftly reject and destroy it. As a result, the enraged and humiliated used-car salesman goes on a bender for the ages, drinking his way through the underbelly of Los Angeles and exacting a monstrous revenge on all who have crossed him.
8" x 5" 192 pages
Overall rating: 4.7438016 / 5 from 121 reviews.
AI Generated Review Summary
The Woman Chaser is a limited edition MediaBook slipcase featuring a restored 50s film noir, praised for its striking photography and dark humor. The release includes special features, a color version of the film, and insightful commentaries. Customers highly recommend this unique and uncensored presentation of a classic indie film.
"The special features and essays included are all great as well." — Ian C.
"The movie itself is very fun and a classic 90's throwback film about Hollywood back in the day." — Andrew M.
"Packing is great, I have yet watch the movie" — Phillip Y.
Reviews
Straight Up, No Chaser!
"Now this is what I'm talking about! Lost amid the late-90's independent-film boom, this neo-noir is a truly fantastic rediscovery. A period-piece that leans into Noir-tropes before blindsiding you with a meditation on art vs commerce, this one comes highly recommended. Predating the Coen's The Man Who Wasn't There by a few years, this was shot in colour but composed and printed in black and white, resulting in some astonishing cinematography that recreates the feel of the period without dissolving into pastiche. Cinematograph's transfer here is a revelation and it comes with some enlightening extra-features that shed some light on this unique production. Highly recommended!"
— Aneurin M. (5/5)
This film may have fallen
"This film may have fallen into obscurity since its release. I'm glad that Vinegar Syndrome has decided to release it in 4k. It's an interesting discovery for me with a good cast and odd story that is a fun watch."
— Bradley T. (5/5)
Awesome indie movie I think
"Awesome indie movie I think everyone should have in their collection!! Great work getting this on Bluray 😁"
— Kris B. (5/5)
A Hidden Comedy Gem Worth Discovering
"The Woman Chaser is a quirky, offbeat comedy that mixes satire with dark humor in a way that feels genuinely original. The lead performance carries the film with just the right amount of charm and eccentricity, making even its stranger moments entertaining. It’s the kind of movie that quietly grows on you as it unfolds. One of the best things about this release is the sense of discovery. It’s an underseen title that deserves a wider audience, and it’s easy to see why boutique labels have chosen to give it new life. It feels like uncovering a forgotten gem rather than revisiting a familiar classic. The restoration is excellent, with a clean, filmic presentation that preserves the movie’s original character while noticeably improving detail and stability. The transfer allows the performances and visual style to shine without looking overly processed. Overall, this is a thoughtful release of a unique and underrated film that blends comedy with sharp character work."
— Tim L. (5/5)
Watched this years ago. Really
"Watched this years ago. Really fun and offbeat. Glad to have this edition of it."
— Edward l. (4/5)
jaggedly funny tonal balancing act
"A used-car salesman arrives in Hollywood determined to become a great filmmaker, armed with limitless ambition, absolute confidence, and only the most passing acquaintance with reality. The Woman Chaser took me a little while to settle into because it walks a remarkable tonal high wire. It is simultaneously a noir, a tribute to noir, a parody of noir, and a savage comedy about moviemaking. I kept waiting for it to collapse under the weight of its own self-awareness. It never does. That's because noir and filmmaking aren't really the subject. Self-mythology is. Rather than simply borrowing noir conventions, Robinson Devor commits to them completely, playing even the film's most absurd moments with absolute sincerity. That deadpan seriousness is precisely what makes the comedy work. Considering how easily this premise could have become smug or overly clever, the tonal balancing act is genuinely impressive. Adapted from a novel by Charles Willeford, the film follows Richard Hudson, a man who doesn't simply want to make movies—he wants to become the sort of person who makes movies. He's already cast himself as the misunderstood genius at the center of his own Hollywood legend. The only thing left is for reality to cooperate. Patrick Warburton gives one of the most surprising performances of his career. Best known for broad comic roles, he turns Richard into someone simultaneously charismatic, delusional, funny, and increasingly monstrous. His confidence never wavers, even as the world offers mounting evidence that his self-image bears little resemblance to reality. The film wisely refuses to answer the question of whether Richard is secretly a visionary or merely a fraud. We never see the completed version of his masterpiece. Instead, we're left watching the widening gap between the story Richard tells about himself and the story everyone else seems to be living. That gap becomes the movie. As the comedy gradually darkens, The Woman Chaser expands beyond satire of Hollywood or auteur culture into something more universal. Richard may be an extreme case, but the film quietly asks how much of our own lives are shaped by the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. Are we really as self-aware as we imagine? Made on a shoestring budget with several non-professional actors, the film nevertheless nails its noir aesthetic, creating a distinctive visual personality that feels far more accomplished than its resources would suggest. It remains funny, surprising, and occasionally unsettling throughout. Vinegar Syndrome's Cinématographe release feels like exactly the right home for it. This is the sort of overlooked oddity the label has become so good at rescuing—a film that initially looks like a clever genre exercise before revealing itself to be something considerably sharper, stranger, and more psychologically insightful."
— Jonathan M. (4/5)
Woman chasing
"Wonderful release of this under seen film full of great commentary on the media and beautiful cinematography"
— Michael P. (5/5)
A beautiful neo-noir comedy!!
"Another surprising blind buy. I saw the reviews of The Woman Chaser and decided to get this release. And thank God I got this movie. This is a pretty good neo-noir comedy that has a gorgeous cinematography and fantastic storytelling. Not only this, but we also have a colored version in this special edition. I saw both versions and both are beautiful, although I preferred the B&W version. Cinematographe rocks!!!"
— GILBERTO C. (5/5)
Something different
"A very interesting film. I was intrigued to buy to the popularity art the time. Check it out if you haven't seen it"
— Anthony G. (5/5)
Love Cinematographe
"Cinematographe has some of the best packaging in the business right now, and I appreciate that the label keeps presenting me with films I've never heard of before"
— Travis R. (5/5)
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