I'm not trying to compare CO with 88, my only point (as mentioned above) is that I find what they are doing for Italian cult cinema is brilliant. 7 bucks for a HD genre film is a no brainer to me.
i'm not sure
what it is exactly that they are doing, for whatever cinema anyone cares to mention from the range 88 releases.
making it more readily available? the internet makes these things increasingly easy to spot.
making it more cheaply available? frequently flawed, but better exists at little extra cost.
making it more frequently available? okay if it's done right, wrong if not that great.
making it more easier to have a regular interest? plenty of resources cover multiple sources.
my aim isn't to call out 88 in isolation as much as it is to point out that the habits and culture of those interested in anything might be regarded as obscure / cult / alternative / underground is that research has always been necessary (never easier, still laborious) and and the rewards have tended to require ongoing expectation of seeking more complete and improved presentations of known films - at high(er) cost if truly unavoidably necessary. additionally, discovering lesser known films and trying to locate or encourage wider interest in others in the hope of encouraging companies to release them in ways which take things out of the realm of fansubbing bootlegs, defunct VHS copies or similar.
labels that are apparently careless in their work increase the frustration and remove the consideration - the combination is the deadly part, kills interests as people eventually feel they're not had good vfm - as much as they provide pitfalls for all people in the fanbase and fill gaps in the market for films which could have been handled better. this would free-up a limited commercial capacity to work on other, potentially lesser-known or little-seen films to have a crack at being monetised and legitimised.
sounds negative, i'm sure, but i always suspect there's a lot more detail to be dealt with relatively underground interests that are tempting to ignore, but fatal to not approach with increased consideration.