Category: Rare

Ski Patrol

Ski Patrol VHS cover art. Skiing comedy movie starring Roger Rose, T.K. Carter, Yvette Nipar, Leslie Jordan, George Lopez, Corbin Timbrook, Ray Walston, Martin Mull. Directed by Richard Correll. 1990.

Ski Patrol on VHS. Starring Roger Rose, T.K. Carter, Yvette Nipar, Leslie Jordan, George Lopez, Corbin Timbrook, Ray Walston, Martin Mull. Directed by Richard Correll. 1990.

From the box:

They’re The Patrol That’s Out Of Control.

The laughs are plentiful and the snow action faster than the men’s downhill, as the craziest group of skiers ever take to the slopes in Ski Patrol. Pops (Ray Walston) is the owner of the Snowy Peaks Lodge, a popular ski resort. His lease is up for renewal, but he’s not worried — his safety record is unblemished, in spite of the crew of misfits who make up his Ski Patrol, led by Jerry (Roger Rose) and Iceman (T.K. Carter). But unscrupulous land developer Maris (Martin Mull) has other devious plans — he wants to take over the lease from Pops and hires a blond ski hunk named Lance (Corby Timbrook) to sabotage the Ski Patrol’s efforts. It’s snow wonder as the Ski Patrol traverses and slaloms through the powder with breathtaking comic flair, as they try to save Pop’s mountain. Incredible aerial tricks, snowboarding and a spectacular skiing showdown all add to the excitement. Ski Patrol is a fun time for all seasons.

Not Found On DVD. Replace: Ski Patrol [VHS]

Or Hit The Slopes And Watch Now: Ski Patrol

APEX — Advanced Prototype EXtermination Unit

APEX -- Advanced Prototype EXtermination Unit VHS cover art. Time-travel sci-fi action movie starring Richard Keats, Mitchell Cox, Lisa Ann Russell, Marcus Aurelius. Directed by Phillip J. Roth. 1994.

APEX — Advanced Prototype EXtermination Unit on VHS. Starring Richard Keats, Mitchell Cox, Lisa Ann Russell, Marcus Aurelius. Directed by Phillip J. Roth. 1994.

From the box:

Trapped In A Future They Didn’t Create. Fighting An Enemy They Cannot Stop.

“…a cut above most time-travel cyborg thrillers.” — Seattle Times

The year: 2073. The place: Los Angeles. A rip in the fabric of time plunges the world into a cybernetic holocaust that only one man can stop in this futuristic action-adventure. Dr. Nicholas Sinclair (Richard Keats), leads an elite team of scientists in a robotic time-travel project utilizing computerized Advanced Prototype EXtermination units to shuttle back-and-forth from the present to the past. But when a routine experiment goes radically wrong, Sinclair himself is thrown through time into a parallel “time paradox” and finds himself in an altered 2073 — a world devastated by disease and decimated by terminator APEX units. Now he must lead a team of futuristic commandos in a desperate maneuver to reverse the timeline paradox and reshape the future in this explosive high-tech tale of a world gone mad.

Not Readily Available On DVD. Replace: Apex [VHS]

Split Second

Split Second VHS cover art. Action crime horror time-travel movie starring Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair Duncan, Michael J. Pollard. Directed by Tony Maylam. 1992.

Split Second on VHS. Starring Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair Duncan, Michael J. Pollard. Directed by Tony Maylam. 1992.

From the box:

He’s Seen The Future… Now He Has To Kill It.
He’ll Need Bigger Guns.

In the year 2008, the cops are better armed than before, but nothing has prepared them for this. Swift, sharp-clawed and deadly, something moves among them on the streets, in the alleyways, on the rooftops, tearing out human hearts and devouring them. Maverick cop “Harley” Stone (Rutger Hauer) lost his partner to the beast, and now it looks as if his girlfriend Michelle (Kim Cattrall) is next on the killer’s list. Even in the future, there aren’t guns big enough to stop the creature’s deadly force, but Harley has no choice. As the action explodes into a deadly struggle to save Michelle, Stone must track the killer to its lair before he too becomes its victim. It could be all over in a SPLIT SECOND.

Rare Region 1 HBO Video DVD Upgrade: Split Second US/Canada DVD

Rare HBO Video VHS: Split Second [VHS]

Best of Marvel Cartoons

Best of Marvel Cartoons on VHS.

Best of Marvel Cartoons on VHS.

Compilation including:

Iron Man: Enter Hawkeye, So Spins The Web, Triple Jeopardy
The Hulk: Micro-Monsters, The Lair Of The Leader, To Live Again
Sub-Mariner: Peril In The Surface World, So Spreads The Net, The Unveiling, The Start Of The Quest, Escape… To Nowhere, A Prince There Was
Captain America: The Sentinel And The Spy, The Fantastic Origin Of Red Skull, Lest Tyranny Triumph, The Origin Of Captain America, Wreckers Among Us, Enter Red Skull

Many with original commercials.

Running Time: 1 hour 52 minutes

DVD Upgrade: Not Readily Available

The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four (1994) on VHS. Starring Alex Hyde-White, Jay Underwood, Rebecca Staab, Michael Bailey Smith, Joseph Culp, Carl Ciarfalio, George Gaynes. Directed by Oley Sassone. Produced by Roger Corman. 1994.

The Fantastic Four on VHS. Starring Alex Hyde-White, Jay Underwood, Rebecca Staab, Michael Bailey Smith, Joseph Culp, Carl Ciarfalio, George Gaynes. Directed by Oley Sassone. Produced by Roger Corman. 1994.

From the box:

Lights! Spandex! Action!

Can Marvel capitalize on this comic quartet?

DVD Upgrade: Not Readily Available

But here’s the story about this doomed movie on Blu-ray from Amazon

(One of these days when I figure out where I put this I’ll scan the back cover.)

Robot Jox

Robot Jox VHS cover art. Movie starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo. With Robert Sampson, Jeffrey Combs, Ian Patrick Williams. Directed by Stuart Gordon. 1990.

Robot Jox on VHS. Starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo. With Robert Sampson, Jeffrey Combs, Ian Patrick Williams. Directed by Stuart Gordon. 1990.

From the box:

Two Men! Two Machines! Too Wild!

Robot Jox. The massive killing machines of the future. Driven from the inside by the world’s greatest warriors, these incredible robot gladiators use their awesome size and computer weapons to fight each other… to the death.

Achilles is our country’s mightiest fighter. Now he faces the three most dangerous challenges of his life. He must attempt to crush his undefeated rival, the powerful Alexander, and try to uncover a traitor who is leaking top secret information to the enemy. But his greatest battle will be against his teammate Athena, a woman warrior bred to fight, who will stop at nothing to take his place.

Climb in the cockpit of a giant killer robot and take on the enemy in the war of the future. It’s a clash of metal and minds for guts and glory… and the winner takes all.

DVD Upgrade: Robot Jox

Read The Movie Tie-In: Robot Jox Paperback by Robert Thurston

No Holds Barred

No Holds Barred VHS cover art. Movie starring Hulk Hogan, Joan Severance, Kurt Fuller, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Mark Pellegrino, Jesse Ventura. Directed by Thomas J. Wright. 1989.

No Holds Barred on VHS. Starring Hulk Hogan, Joan Severance, Kurt Fuller, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, Mark Pellegrino, Jesse Ventura. Directed by Thomas J. Wright. 1989.

From the box:

He’s rough, and he’s tough — he’s the one-and-only Hulk Hogan, the international wrestling superhero and star of the action-packed adventure No Holds Barred!

Loaded with red-hot excitement and plenty of heart-pounding battles, the film features Hulk Hogan in his first starring role as “Rip”, a larger-than-life wrestling champ who’s been flooring some of the biggest bad guys ever to rock ’em and sock ’em in the ring. It’s not long before Rip’s unstoppable success catches the eye of unscrupulous television executive Tom Brell who sets out to use the champ to boost his sinking ratings.

The strong but sensitive Rip soon finds himself caught in a web of danger and intrigue when Brell tries to goad him into battling a monstrous killer named “Zeus” (Tiny Lister) on the air. The fight’s a “no go” until Brell sics his thugs on Rip’s beautiful girlfriend Samantha (Joan Severance), and has Zeus savagely attack his brother Randy. Now enraged, Rip goes after the brutal Zeus in a relentless battle of brawn where anything goes and there are No Holds Barred.

Get a ringside seat for non-stop fun and excitement when you see your favorite gladiator Hulk Hogan shine in the spotlight and go for the gold!

(The Long Awaited) DVD Upgrade: No Holds Barred

The Big Brawl aka Battle Creek Brawl

The Big Brawl aka Battle Creek Brawl VHS cover art. Movie starring Jackie Chan, Kristine DeBell, José Ferrer, Mako. With Rosalind Chao, H.B. Haggerty, Ron Max, Directed by Robert Clouse. 1980.

The Big Brawl aka Battle Creek Brawl on VHS. Starring Jackie Chan, Kristine DeBell, José Ferrer, Mako. With Rosalind Chao, H.B. Haggerty, Ron Max, Directed by Robert Clouse. 1980.

From the box:

Chan — whose Asian films became a bigger box-office draw than Lee’s — plays Jerry Kwan, the fun-loving, Americanized son of a tradition-bound Asian family operating a restaurant in Depression era Chicago. But Chan would rather fight than cook, using the skills taught to him by his uncle and mentor (Mako). And fight he does, whether he’s setting gangland Chicago on its pin-stripped keester or battling his way through a fabulously frantic roller-skating tournament that makes professional Roller Derby look like a Sunday stroll in the park.

The hard-hitting fun intensifies when a gangland patriarch (José Ferrer) blackmails Chan into representing him at the annual Battle Creek, Texas, strongmen’s slugfest where the brawling breaks out before the national anthem ends.

One by one, Chan outwits and outfights a series of Goliaths who look mean enough to sprinkle nails on their morning cornflakes. But these behemoths are only a warm-up for the mayhem that awaits Chan when he is lured into the town’s theater — and a special seat is reserved for you to witness the no-holds-barred conclusion.

DVD Upgrade: Battle Creek Brawl

VHS Replacement: The Big Brawl [VHS]

Great Movie Stunts & The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark

Great Movie Stunts & The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS. Great Movie Stunts: Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Steven Spielberg. Directed by Robert Guenette. 1981. The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark: Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Paul Freeman, Norman Reynolds, Douglas Slocombe, Howard G. Kazanjian, Frank Marshall. Directed by Phillip Schuman. 1981.

Great Movie Stunts & The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS.

Great Movie Stunts: Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Steven Spielberg. Directed by Robert Guenette. 1981.

The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark: Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Paul Freeman, Norman Reynolds, Douglas Slocombe, Howard G. Kazanjian, Frank Marshall. Directed by Phillip Schuman. 1981.

From the box:

An Action-Packed Double Bill!

“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the spectacular story that has captured the imagination of millions with the heroic adventures of Indiana Jones, has been called “the movie Hollywood was born to make.” As thrilling as its story, though, is the discovery of the techniques, effects and daredevil stunts that went into the creation of “Raiders.” This cassette actually contains two made-for-television specials: “The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Narration by “Raiders” star Harrison Ford enlivens the “Stunts” episode, which demonstrates how major action sequences were designed and executed. “The Making Of Raiders of the Lost Ark” captures the cast and crew in the studio and on location as they tackle the many problems created by an adventure spectacular of this magnitude. Together, these two programs document the unforgettable thrills and adventures so completely that it’s almost like seeing the movie again. And what a movie! Winner of 5 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Sound, Editing, Art Direction and Sound Effects Editing.

Not Available On DVD? Replace: Great Movie Stunts and the Making of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” [VHS]