Where dead media lives.
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.
DVD Upgrade: Indestructible Man
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
Watch Now: The Dream Team
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
Treasure of the Sierra Madre on VHS. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt. With Bruce Bennett, Alfonso Bedoya. Directed by John Huston. 1948.
The stinking box says:
Pure cinematic gold! This triple Academy Award-winner well deserves its status as a renowned classic. Both a riveting adventure story and a richly sardonic fable, Treasure of the Sierra Madre digs deep into the depths of the human soul, producing one of Hollywood’s all time richest finds.
Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt play a trio of Americans on the bum in 1920’s Tampico. Pooling their resources, they strike off into the mountains of Mexico in search of gold. Hounded by jungle Indians, a fortune-hunting Texan (Bruce Bennett), and cold-blooded banditos (led by Alfonso “I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!” Bedoya), they finally must confront they most dangerous adversaries of all… themselves.
As the crusty Fred C. Dobbs, who succumbs completely to his lust for gold, Bogart’s performance stands as a high point in his grand career. But it was the Huston father-and-son team who won the film’s three Academy Awards — Walter for Best Supporting Actor and John for Best Director and Screenplay.
DVD Upgrade: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Beat the Devil on VHS. Starring Humphrey Bogart. With Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lorre, Robert Morley, Marco Tulli, Ivor Barnard, Edward Underdown. Screenplay by Truman Capote. Directed by John Huston. 1953.
From the box:
Movie Favorites
A strange lot of characters plot to capture a uranium treasure on the African Coast.
DVD Upgrade: Double Feature – Humphrey Bogart (Beat the Devil & Humphrey Bogart on Film)
Apocalypse: Caught In The Eye of the Storm on VHS. Starring Leigh Lewis, Richard Nester. Directed by Peter Gerretsen. 1998.
From the box:
A Man And A Woman, Caught In The Eye Of The Storm…
Army after army descends into the Valley of Armageddon in Central Israel. Millions of people suddenly vanish. It’s a media event unlike any in history, and the entire world is glued to their television sets. At that very moment, a great charismatic leader arises and performs a miracle of astounding dimensions. Is he the long-awaited Messiah? The whole world is convinced he is.
Upgrade To DVD (Before It’s Too Late!): Apocalypse – Caught In the Eye of the Storm
Listen To The Soundtrack Of The Apocalypse: Apocalypse: The Soundtrack
Armageddon on VHS. Starring Bruce Willis. With Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Steve Buscemi, Keith David, Peter Stormare, Michael Clarke Duncan, Owen Wilson. Directed by Michael Bay. 1998.
From the box:
For Love. For Honor. For Mankind.
When NASA’s executive director, Dan Truman (Thornton), realizes the Earth has 18 days before it’s obliterated by a meteor the size of Texas, he has only one option — land a ragtag team of roughneck oil drillers on the asteroid and drop a nuclear warhead into its core.
DVD Upgrade: Armageddon (The Criterion Collection)
Halley’s Comet: A Viewer’s Guide With William Shatner on VHS. 1985.
From the VHS box with holographic cover:
Don’t Let The Comet Pass You By!
William Shatner guides you to the farthest reaches of the Universe for the once-in-a-lifetime return of Halley’s Comet in 1985-1986, and tells the story of Edmond Halley and his comet.
Not Found on DVD. Replace: Halley’s Comet – A Viewer’s Guide (1985 – VHS)
