Author: King of the Island

The Ice Pirates

The Ice Pirates VHS cover art. Movie starring Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, Anjelica Huston, John Matuszak, Ron Perlman. Directed by Stewart Raffill. 1984.

The Ice Pirates on VHS. Starring Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, Anjelica Huston, John Matuszak, Ron Perlman. Directed by Stewart Raffill. 1984.

From the box:

It’s a mighty thirsty universe whose entire water supply is controlled by the evil Templar Empire. Holding the world by its thirsty throat, they ship frozen blocks of the precious fluid across the far reaches of space, thus ensuring their power over every galaxy. Only the Ice Pirates… are brave enough to hijack the frozen treasure.

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The Bad News Bears

The Bad News Bears on VHS. Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal. With Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten. Directed by Michael Ritchie. 1976.

The Bad News Bears on VHS. Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal. With Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten. Directed by Michael Ritchie. 1976.

From the box:

A major surprise as one of 1976’s top grossing films, The Bad News Bears is a movie about children that is refreshing, utterly believable, and quite cleverly funny. Walter Matthau is at his absolute best as the grumbling beer-guzzling former minor-league pitcher who gets roped into coaching a band of half-pint misfits somewhat loosely called a team. With this bunch in uniform, it’s impossible to get caught up in the suburban competitive spirit that drives other adults to extremes of parental discipline. So, instead, the Bears have a good time.

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Escape From L.A.

Escape From L.A. VHS cover art. Movie starring Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Peter Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Pam Grier, Bruce Campbell. Directed by John Carpenter. 1996.

Escape From L.A. on VHS. Starring Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Peter Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Pam Grier, Bruce Campbell. Directed by John Carpenter. 1996.

From the box:

Into the 9.6-quaked Los Angeles of 2013 comes Snake Plisskin (Russell). His job: wade through L.A.’s ruined landmarks to retrieve a doomsday device. Don’t miss the excitement as Snake surfs Wilshire Blvd., shoots hoops at the Coliseum, dive bombs into the Happy Kingdom theme park, and mixes it up with a wild assortment of family, friend and foes.

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The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! VHS cover art. Movie starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley. With Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Reggie Jackson. Directed by David Zucker. 1988.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! on VHS. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley. With Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Reggie Jackson. Directed by David Zucker. 1988.

From the box:

Those screw-loose Airplane! creators have done it again! Leslie Nielsen stars as Police Squad’s own granite-jawed, rock-brained cop Frank Drebin, who bumbles across a mind-control scheme to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, a stuffed-beaver, two baseball teams and an odd assortment of others join the wacko goings-on and blow the laugh-o-meter to smithereens.

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The Descendant of Wing Chun

The Descendant of Wing Chun VHS cover art. Movie starring Hsu Shao Chiang, Huang Chin Shen. Directed by Wang Ha. 1978.

The Descendant of Wing Chun on VHS. Starring Hsu Shao Chiang, Huang Chin Shen. Directed by Wang Ha. 1978.

From the box:

Fierceful fighting displays the Wing Chun style of kung fu in this tale of revenge. Evil bandit Ma Lung escapes from prison and seeks revenge on retired Wing Chun teacher Lam Chan, who had helped to imprison him. Ma wreaks havoc on Lam’s Wing Chun school and kills a few of Lam’s students. Lam has no choice but to avenge his students’ deaths as a final showdown confronting Ma. Director Wang Ha creates an unforgettable tale of vengeance that won’t release you from its grips until the final credits.

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Disturbing Behavior

Disturbing Behavior on VHS. Starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Bruce Greenwood, William Sadler, Steve Railsback. Directed by David Nutter. 1998.

Disturbing Behavior on VHS. Starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Bruce Greenwood, William Sadler, Steve Railsback. Directed by David Nutter. 1998.

From the box:

Achieve, be excellent… and be afraid.
When the esteemed Blue Ribbon Club of Cradle Bay High takes its slogans too far, things in the small coastal town begin to go wrong. Dead wrong. Newcomer Steve Clark finds fast allies in Gavin, an overly imaginative paranoid and Rachel, a “bad girl” with a razor-sharp tongue and a body to match. But when some “dark sinister force” begins turning the school’s curricularly challenged into the soulless, academic elite, these three “outsiders” join in a desperate, dizzying race to avoid becoming insiders–and losing their individuality forever!

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Mad Max

Mad Max VHS cover art. Movie starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne. With Steve Bisley, Tim Burns. Directed by George Miller. 1979.

Mad Max on VHS. Starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne. With Steve Bisley, Tim Burns. Directed by George Miller. 1979.

From the box:

Mel Gibson introduces the character of Max in this full-speed futuristic epic, a bleak, decaying landscape of the post-nuclear future that continues in “The Road Warrior.” MAD MAX is the dark vision of this stark future, a high-speed, high-intensity film that became an instant cult classic.

In this desolate wasteland, all that remains is the highways of the Australian outback, the scene of bizarre death chases between vicious rebel bikers and the police who guard what is left of civilization. Max is a gung-ho young cop, the best of his squad. But when Max’s best friend on the force is killed, Max hangs up his guns, taking his wife and young child across the country on a long-needed vacation. But the renegade gang isn’t through with Max just yet…

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Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona VHS cover art. Movie starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson. With John Goodman, William Forsythe, Frances McDormand. Written and directed by The Coen Brothers. 1987.

Raising Arizona on VHS. Starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson. With John Goodman, William Forsythe, Frances McDormand. Written and directed by The Coen Brothers. 1987.

From the box:

Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman star in Ethan and Joel Coen’s acclaimed screwball love story filled with mad chases, unexpected plot twists and wild pyrotechnics. Vowing to go straight, a convenience store bandit (Cage) proposes marriage to the police department’s photographer (Hunter). All is well in wedded bliss until they discover she’s unable to get pregnant and are turned down by every adoption agency in town. It doesn’t take long before they realize the only solution is to kidnap one of the town’s celebrated quintuplets and hit the road!

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The Man They Could Not Hang

The Man They Could Not Hang VHS cover art. Movie starring Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox. Directed by Nick Grinde. 1939.

The Man They Could Not Hang on VHS. Starring Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox. Directed by Nick Grinde. 1939.

From the box:

Filmdom’s Master of Horror, Boris Karloff, stars in this thriller in which a brilliant scientist is transformed into an insane killer. Doctor Savaard, who has invented a mechanical heart designed to restore life to the dead, kills a student volunteer in order to test the device. Midway through the experiment, the police break into Savaard’s lab and discover the dead body.

Bonus back cover scan:

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off VHS cover art. Starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara. With Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Ben Stein. Written and directed by John Hughes. 1986.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on VHS. Starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara. With Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Ben Stein. Written and directed by John Hughes. 1986.

From the box:

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man, Ferris (Matthew Broderick). One spring day, toward the end of his senior year, Ferris gives into an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck), to see the sights, experience a day of freedom and show that with a little ingenuity, a bit of courage, and a red Ferrari, life at 17 can be a joy!

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