Where dead media lives.
The Death Kiss on VHS. Starring Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Adrienne Ames, John Wray. Directed by Edwin L. Marin. 1932.
From the box:
HOLLYWOOD AS THE HEADLINES SCREAM — WITH THE MYSTERY — THE ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE OF THE STUDIOS!!!
(Odd homemade box with newspaper clipping complete with official store-bought VHS cassette.)
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The Dead Pool on VHS. Starring Clint Eastwood. With Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim, David Hunt, Jim Carrey. Directed by Buddy Van Horn. 1998.
From the box:
Dirty Harry In The Dead Pool
What happens when you put criminal scum behind bars? You become famous, that’s what. TV people want sound bites for the evening news. Writers want your life story. And sleazoid creeps want you dead.
Being famous isn’t San Francisco Detective Harry Callahan’s style. He doesn’t appreciate being lumped in with a rock star, a film critic and a talk show host. Especially because those three are dead. They’re murdered celebrities whose names are in an underground betting pool called The Dead Pool. Now Harry’s found another well-known name on the list: his.
DVD Upgrade: The Dead Pool (Deluxe Edition)
Dead Calm on VHS. Starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane. With Rod Mullinar, Joshua Tilden. Directed by Phillip Noyce. 1989.
From the box:
High Seas. Deep Terror. Try To Stay Calm.
A Voyage Into Fear.
The suspense begins on the high seas when John and Rae Ingram (Sam Neil of A Cry in the Dark and radiant newcomer Nicole Kidman) rescue a half-delirious stranger (Billy Zane). He says he’s the only surviving crew member of a crippled schooner, but he’s really a demented killer. And he’ll soon plunge his rescuers into a terrifying battle of cat and mouse. And life or death.
DVD Upgrade: Dead Calm
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider on VHS. Starring Angelina Jolie. With Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, Daniel Craig. Directed by Simon West. 2001.
From the box:
Exploring lost empires, finding priceless treasures, punishing villains in mortal combat… it’s all in a day’s work for adventurer Lara Croft. But a secret from her father’s past is about to lead Lara to her greatest challenge: The Triangle of Light, a legendary artifact with the power to alter space and time. Lara must find the Triangle before it falls into the clutches of the Illuminati, a secret society bent on world domination. To stop the Illuminati, Lara will have to survive a cross-continental chase filled with unimaginable danger. But for the Tomb Raider, danger is the name of the game.
Back cover scan:
Continue reading “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”
The Bone Collector on VHS. Starring Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah. Directed by Phillip Noyce. 1999.
From the box:
He takes his victims’ lives and leaves behind mysterious pieces of a bizarre puzzle. And the only person who may be able to make sense of the serial killer’s deranged plan is Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington), a onetime top homicide investigator. But after a tragic accident changes his life forever, Rhyme can only watch as other cops bungle the case… until he teams up with a young rookie, Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie), who bravely searches out the clues that help them solve the case.
DVD Upgrade: The Bone Collector
Indestructible Man on VHS. Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Max Showalter, Marian Carr. Directed by Jack Pollexfen. 1956.
From the box:
Betrayed by his friends, sent to the electric chair… he comes back from the dead in a quest for revenge.
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Watch The MST3K Treatment Now (Free With Prime Instant Video): Mystery Science Theater 3000: Indestructible Man
The Monster aka Il Mostro on VHS. Comedy movie starring Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Michel Blanc, Jean-Claude Brialy, Roberto Corbiletto. Directed by Roberto Benigni. 1994.
From the box:
Loris (Roberto Benigni) is always willing to take a stab at something new — so he lets Jessica (Nicoletta Braschi), an attractive stranger move in. What he doesn’t know is that Jessica is an undercover cop aiming to catch a suspected serial killer and certified sex fiend. And she’ll do anything to get her man.
THE MONSTER has slain critics who are calling it “hysterical” and star Roberto Benigni “A genius at work,” and “the funniest man in film today” (Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES). So prepare yourself for a monstrously good time!
DVD Upgrade: The Monster
Federico Fellini’s Ginger and Fred on VHS video. Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Giulietta Masina. With Franco Fabrizi. Directed by Federico Fellini. 1986.
From the box:
Masina and Mastroinna play ex-dancers Ginger and Fred. Forty years ago they made their living imitating the incomparably graceful Rogers and Astaire in Italian dance halls. Now, thirty years later, they are reunited for a nostalgic TV variety show, part of a bizarre cast that includes dwarfs, transvestites, necromancers and a retired admiral. Fred is the same as ever, drinking and chasing women. Ginger has grown up and gotten married, yet fond remembrances of more romantic days still gleam in her eyes. Two innocents adrift in the surreal world of television, they travel to a rediscovery of their importance to one another and together learn that they can never leave the past behind. Bittersweet, funny, and ultimately moving, Ginger & Fred is Fellini at his provocative and magnificent best.
DVD Upgrade: Ginger and Fred
The Dream Team on VHS. Starring Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst, Lorraine Bracco, Dennis Boutsikaris. Directed by Howard Zieff. 1989.
The VHS box cover says:
This morning they were playing ping-pong in the hospital rec room. Now they’re lost in New York and framed for murder.
This was never covered in group therapy.
Michael Keaton heads up an all-star cast in this irresistible comedy about four mental patients who are separated from their therapist on the way to a baseball game.
A chronic liar with a violent streak, Billy (Michael Keaton) finds himself on the loose in New York City with his fellow group therapy patients: Henry (Christopher Lloyd), a clean freak, Jack (Peter Boyle), a former advertising executive with a Christ complex and Albert (Stephen Furst), a near catatonic couch potato.
Faced with the task of rescuing their missing doctor from a pair of crooked cops, the group takes to the street in a series of hilarious misadventures. Rex Reed, At The Movies calls The Dream Team “a fresh and inventive comedy with laughs that come straight from the heart.”
DVD Upgrade: The Dream Team
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Casablanca on VHS. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid. With Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre. Directed by Michael Curtiz. 1942.
From the box:
50th Anniversary Celebration
Remastered Collector’s Edition
The time: World War II. The place: Morocco, seething with European refugees desperate for passage to neutral Lisbon. The film: Casablanca, “the best Hollywood movie of all time” (Leonard Maltin).
The legends loom larger as time goes by. In the 45th film of his career, tough guy Humphrey Bogart at last becomes a romantic leading man (in a role originally intended for Ronald Reagan). He and luminous Ingrid Bergman portray former lovers briefly reunited in the chaos of war. They’ll “always have Paris.” And we’ll always have their incomparable on-screen magic. Bogart is Rick, a world-weary nightclub owner who claims, “I stick my neck out for nobody.” Bergman is Ilsa, fleeing the Nazis with her Resistance-hero husband. Only Rick can help the pair escape, but he refuses… until Ilsa reawakens his idealism.
This 50th anniversary limited edition of Casablanca has been restored and digitally remastered, and includes a “making of” documentary narrated by Lauren Bacall plus the original theatrical trailer. Here’s lookin’ at you, Casablanca.
DVD Upgrade: Casablanca
Dinner And A Movie: Casablanca Ultimate Collector’s Edition 3 DVD Set Includes 3 Disc Set With Bonus Photo Book and Exclusive Dinner Party Metal Placecard Holders (Set of 8)
Here’s Looking At The Television Series: Casablanca: The Complete Series
