Vertigo

Vertigo VHS cover art. Movie starring James Stewart, Kim Novak. With Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 1958.

Vertigo on VHS. Starring James Stewart, Kim Novak. With Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 1958.

From the box:

The Alfred Hitchcock Collection

Critics have hailed Vertigo as legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock’s ultimate masterpiece. This haunting tale of obsession, fear and murder stars favorite Hitchcock leading man Jimmy Stewart as a troubled detective pathologically afraid of heights and obsessed with a lost love and her look-alike. Kim Novak gives the performance of her career as the bizarre heroine in what is felt to be “The Master’s” most humane yet frightening feature because it works on a psychological rather than emotional level.

DVD Upgrade: Vertigo

Somewhere in Time

Somewhere in Time VHS cover art. Movie starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer. With Teresa Wright, Bill Erwin, William H. Macy, George Wendt. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc. 1980.

Somewhere in Time on VHS. Starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer. With Teresa Wright, Bill Erwin, William H. Macy, George Wendt. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc. 1980.

From the box:

Beyond fantasy. Beyond Obsession. Beyond time itself… he will find her.

Somewhere in Time is the story of a young writer who sacrifices his life in the present to find happiness in the past, where true love awaits him. Young Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is approached by an old woman who gives him an antique gold watch and who pleads with him to return in time with her. Years later, Richard Collier is overwhelmed by a photograph of a beautiful young woman (Jane Seymour). Another picture of this woman in her later years reveals to him that she is the same woman who had given him the gold watch. Collier then becomes obsessed with returning to 1912 and the beautiful young woman who awaits him there.

DVD Upgrade: Somewhere in Time (Collector’s Edition)

Listen To The Soundtrack By John Barry: Somewhere In Time: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Less Than Zero

Less Than Zero VHS cover art. Movie starring Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr. With James Spader, Flea, Brad Pitt. Directed by Marek Kanievska. Based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. 1987.

Less Than Zero on VHS. Starring Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr. With James Spader, Flea, Brad Pitt. Directed by Marek Kanievska. Based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. 1987.

From the box:

The best-selling novel by Bret Easton Ellis is vividly brought to the screen in this tale of Beverly Hills kids that have it all: money, looks, dreams… and stand to lose it all. In a spellbinding performance, Robert Downey Jr. (“The Pickup Artist“) portrays Julian, a boy with looks, charm, smarts, and a father who sets him up in the record business. He’s also got a best friend, Clay (Andrew McCarthy, “St. Elmo’s Fire“), and a girlfriend, Blair (Jami Gertz, “The Lost Boys“)… and Julian has a drug habit. Clay wants to help and is willing to do just about anything for his friend, but Julian’s going down the tubes so fast he might just take both Clay and Blair with him. Fueled by exceptional acting and immensely effective photography, this powerful drama is the unforgettable story of three kids who started out with everything going for them, and are about to wind up with LESS THAN ZERO.

DVD Upgrade: Less Than Zero

Read The Book: Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Sid & Nancy

Sid & Nancy VHS cover art. Movie starring Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb. With David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Andrew Schofield, Iggy Pop, Courtney Love, Nico, Slash. Directed by Alex Cox. 1986.

Sid & Nancy on VHS. Starring Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb. With David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Andrew Schofield, Iggy Pop, Courtney Love, Nico, Slash. Directed by Alex Cox. 1986.

From the box:

Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) was punk rock’s famous bad boy. Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) was a troubled American groupie looking for fame and notoriety. They surprised themselves and the rest of the world by falling in love.

DVD Upgrade: Sid and Nancy (The Criterion Collection)

Read The Book: Sid and Nancy: Love Kills

Hear The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (US Version) by Sex Pistols (1990) Audio CD

The Petrified Forest

The Petrified Forest VHS cover art. Movie starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran. Directed by Archie Mayo. Based on a play by Robert E. Sherwood. 1936.

The Petrified Forest on VHS. Starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran. Directed by Archie Mayo. Based on a play by Robert E. Sherwood. 1936.

From the box:

Bette Davis Signature Collection

Bogie plays Duke Mantee, a thug on the lam, who’s spent most of his life in jail. And, he growls, “It looks like I’ll spend the rest of my life dead.” At the Black Mesa Bar-B-Q, he holds hostages at gunpoint while waiting for his moll to show up with the getaway car. Among his captives are Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), a writer looking for something worth living or dying for, and Gabby (Bette Davis), a sweet-natured waitress who dreams of abandoning her nowhere existence for life as an artist.

DVD Upgrade: The Petrified Forest

Act The Play: The Petrified Forest: A Play in Three Acts

Pushing Tin

Pushing Tin VHS cover art. Movie starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton. With Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Jake Weber. Directed by Mike Newell. 1999.

Pushing Tin on VHS. Starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton. With Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Jake Weber. Directed by Mike Newell. 1999.

From the box:

“A High-Flying Comedy”

In the tradition of Grosse Point Blank comes an unconventional comedy about two air traffic controllers whose intense rivalry and penchant for one-upmanship causes hilarious havoc with their careers, their marriages–and the planes in their airspace!

Nick Falzone (John Cusack) is the busiest, and the best, air traffic controller on Long Island — until Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) roars into town like a motorcycle-riding cowboy. Fueled by caffeine and machismo, the two men embark upon an uproarious contest of wit and wills that can ultimately only have one winner.

DVD Upgrade: Pushing Tin

Instant Rental: Pushing Tin

Better Off Dead

Better Off Dead VHS cover art. Movie starring Starring John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin, Kim Darby. With Curtis Armstrong, Demian Slade, Amanda Wyss. Directed by Savage Steve Holland. 1985.

Better Off Dead on VHS. Starring Starring John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Diane Franklin, Kim Darby. With Curtis Armstrong, Demian Slade, Amanda Wyss. Directed by Savage Steve Holland. 1985.

From the box:

Teenage life has never been darker… or funnier.

After his girlfriend (Amanda Wyss) ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane (John Cusack) decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more and more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares, a family you can’t help but identify with and a host of wonderful comic characters, Savage Steve Holland’s directorial debut is a masterful look at those painfully funny teen years.

DVD Upgrade: Better Off Dead

So I Married An Axe Murderer

So I Married An Axe Murderer VHS cover art. Movie starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia, Brenda Fricker, Amanda Plummer, Charles Grodin, Phil Hartman, Debi Mazar, Steven Wright. Directed by Thomas Schlamme. 1993.

So I Married An Axe Murderer on VHS. Starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia, Brenda Fricker, Amanda Plummer, Charles Grodin, Phil Hartman, Debi Mazar, Steven Wright. Directed by Thomas Schlamme. 1993.

From the box:

Comedy sensation Mike Myers stars with Nancy Travis in this hatchet-driven romantic comedy about a wedlock-shy coffee house poet who finally meets the perfect woman. When it comes to love, Charlie MacKenzie (Myers) has had his share of bad luck… When Charlie meets Harriet Michaels (Travis) everything changes. Harriet’s not like the others. She’s smart, sexy and crazy about Charlie. This time Charlie is determined to overcome the fears that sabotaged his past relationships. This time, he’s ready for some commitment. Sure, Harriet may have her shortcomings–but so what? After all those other women, what’s the worst she could be? An axe murderer?

DVD Upgrade: So I Married An Axe Murderer

Xanadu

Xanadu VHS cover art. Movie starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly. With Michael Beck, Teri Beckerman, Sandahl Bergman. Directed by Robert Greenwald. 1980.

Xanadu on VHS. Starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly. With Michael Beck, Teri Beckerman, Sandahl Bergman. Directed by Robert Greenwald. 1980.

From the box:

Xanadu is a look at the future and a loving remembrance of the way things were in the heyday of Hollywood. The musical score includes the hit songs “Magic”, “I’m Alive”, “All Over The World”, “Suddenly”, and the title song “Xanadu”. Olivia Newton-John, the screen’s newest love goddess, will dazzle your senses with her luminous beauty and beautiful voice. She and Gene Kelly star in this dazzling musical fantasy. The 40s meet the 80s in Xanadu, a very special love story and the first lavish, old-fashioned musical to utilize today’s music.

DVD Upgrade: Xanadu (Magical Edition)

Listen To The CD: Xanadu [Soundtrack]