Category: Thriller

Treasure of the Amazon

Treasure of the Amazon on VHS. Movie starring Stuart Whitman, Donald Pleasence, Bradford Dillman, Sonia Infante, John Ireland. Directed by René Cardona Jr. 1985.

Their Lust for Wealth Knew No Fear!

Treasure of the Amazon VHS cover art.

From the VHS box:

In the action-adventure tradition of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ comes Treasure of the Amazon. Bradford Dillman, Donald Pleasence and Stuart Whitman star as greedy fortune seekers in a thrilling quest for enormous riches deep in the savage jungles of South America.

Many a treasure hunter has met his fate on the treacherous paths leading to the vast gold and diamond deposits–it’s the jungle’s way of making a man earn his fortune. The Treasure of the Amazon is no easy take–first the hunters must hurdle several deadly obstacles–all in the name of greed. Brutal headhunters, killer piranhas and other unscrupulous treasure seekers are their formidable opponents. Can our swashbuckling adventurers escape with both their lives and their loot?

VHS back cover:

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Webmaster aka Skyggen

Webmaster VHS cover art. Movie starring Lars Bom, Jorgen Kiil, Puk Scharbau. Directed by Thomas Borch Nielsen. 1998.

No One Is Safe In Cyberworld

Webmaster aka Skyggen VHS cover art. Movie directed by Thomas Borch Nielsen. 1998.

From the VHS box:

In a futuristic cyber world taken over by advanced artificial intelligence, a lone computer hacker (JB) is suddenly drawn into an unknown world controlled by the enigmatic Stoliss. Trading on luck, JB is given the assignment of “Webmaster.” But when a hacker maneuvers his way into Stoliss’ cyber empire, JB is given 35 hours to trap the intruder or die trying. Now, in order to survive, JB is forced to terminate an imposter he doesn’t even know. Let the countdown to death begin.

Bonus back cover scan:

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The President’s Analyst

The President's Analyst on VHS video. Starring James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden. Directed by Theodore J. Flicker. 1967.

The President’s Analyst on VHS video. Starring James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden. Directed by Theodore J. Flicker. 1967.

From the VHS box cover:

Special Home Video Version

With responsibility for world peace, national debt and dessert choices at state dinners, the President of the United States carries a heavy burden. With all that pressure, it seems like a good idea to find him an analyst. Someone to talk to. And Dr. Schaefer (James Coburn) gets the job. Unfortunately for the shrink, the more the President gets off his chest, the bigger the price on the good doctor’s head. Hostile governments want Coburn captured so they can learn what secrets are confessed in the Oval Office. Friendly governments was him killed. What follows is a succession of comic near-misses.

Some music has been changed for the home video version of this title.

Buried Alive

Buried Alive on VHS video. Movie starring Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, William Atherton, Hoyt Axton. Directed by Frank Darabont. 1990.

Buried Alive on VHS video. Movie starring Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, William Atherton, Hoyt Axton. Directed by Frank Darabont. 1990.

From the VHS box cover:

Clint Goodman enjoys the simple life he’s created in age small town where he grew up. However, his wife Joanna yearns for a more glamorous existence and begins an affair with the local doctor who offers her a sinister but seemingly perfect way out.


Not found on DVD at this time: Get Buried Alive on VHS


True Lies

True Lies on VHS video. Movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Art Malik, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov, Charlton Heston. Directed by James Cameron. 1994.

True Lies on VHS video. Movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Art Malik, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov, Charlton Heston. Directed by James Cameron. 1994.

From the VHS box cover:

Be prepared to be blown out of your set as the action-adventure team of Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron join forces once again!

Arnold Schwarzenegger is special agent Harry Tasker, a top spy in the ultra-secret Omega Sector — although to his wife Helen, he’s just a boring computer salesman. When Harry’s two live unexpectedly collide, both he and Helen find themselves in the clutches of international terrorists, fighting to save not only their marriage, but their lives.


Available on DVD: True Lies


The Public Eye

The Public Eye movie VHS box cover scan. Movie starring Joe Pesci and Barbara Hershey. With Richard Riehle, Stanley Tucci, Jerry Adler, Jared Harris. Directed by Howard Franklin. 1992.

The Public Eye on VHS video. Movie starring Joe Pesci and Barbara Hershey. With Richard Riehle, Stanley Tucci, Jerry Adler, Jared Harris. Directed by Howard Franklin. 1992.

Murder. Scandal. Crime. No matter what he was hooting, “The Great Bernzini” never took sides, he only took pictures… Except one.

Academy Award winner Joe Pesci is a brash, 1940’s tabloid photographer whose camera leads him into a shadowy underworld of mob violence, unlikely romance and dangerous corruption in this atmospheric mystery-thriller.

New York, 1942. Prowling the crime-ridden, midnight streets of the city, freelance shutterbug Leon “Bernzy” Bernstein (Pesci) captures life’s seamy side in his lens — and dreams of the day his pictures will be recognized as works of art. Then, ravishing nightclub owner Kay Levitz (Barbara Hershey) lures Bernzy into investigating the thugs trying to muscle in on her business. Before he knows it, he falls for the unattainable Kay — and plunges camera first into a treacherous realm of black market scams and mafia gang war. Now, Bernzy’s either going to take the fall or take the one-in-a-million shot that could change his life forever.



It Conquered The World

It Conquered The World on VHS video. Movie starring Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef. Directed by Roger Corman. 1956.

It Conquered The World on VHS video. Movie starring Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef. Directed by Roger Corman. 1956.

From the VHS box:

Every man its prisoner… Every woman its slave!

It was part plant and all monster, with crustacean arms and chainsaw teeth. Humanity had never seen anything like it. But whatever it was, It Conquered the World!

Producer-director Roger Corman tapped into the Red Scare of the ’50s with this harrowing tale of a vege-alien from Venus who can bend human minds to his evil will. The terror begins when the monster makes contact with a well-meaning American scientist (Lee Van Cleef, the spaghetti-western star who here packs a microscope instead of a six-gun). The scientist guides the monster to earth… but regrets his hospitality when the newcomer sends out hordes of bats whose bites reduce the townsfolk to zombies.

Peter Graves and Beverly Garland are among those who battle back in this top sci-fi thriller that critic Leonard Maltin calls “well acted… one of Corman’s best.” A creepy monster, blood-sucking bats, screaming victims and earnest men of science: now that’s a Drive-In Classic!

Not found on DVD. It Conquered the World on VHS or DVD-R? Be careful ordering this one.

You know you want the poster: IT CONQUERED THE WORLD *1SH MOVIE POSTER


O

O the movie sealed VHS box cover art scan. Starring Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Josh Hartnett. Based on Othello by William Shakespeare. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. 2001.

O the movie on VHS video. Starring Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Josh Hartnett. Based on Othello by William Shakespeare. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. 2001.

From the sealed VHS box cover:

Trust. Seduction. Betrayal.

Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare’s classic, “Othello.” O is Odin James, the school’s basketball player and future NBA hopeful. He has the adoration of all, including the team’s coach and the Dean’s beautiful daughter, Desi. Odin’s troubled friend Hugo, the coach’s son, is deeply resentful of his father’s preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seeds of mistrust between O and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity. “O” is a stunning tale that will stay with you long after its final, powerful frame.

Upgrade to DVD: “O”

Watch now: (O) Othello

Summer City

Summer City on VHS video. Starring John Jarratt, Phillip Avalon, Steve Bisley, Mel Gibson. Directed by Christopher Fraser. 1977.

Summer City on VHS video. Starring John Jarratt, Phillip Avalon, Steve Bisley, Mel Gibson. Directed by Christopher Fraser. 1977.

From the VHS box cover:

Mel Gibson in his movie debut

Mel Gibson in his film debut stars in this Australian teen rebel film. Four wild friends go on a surfing weekend at a sleepy little seaside community only to find trouble when one of them gets involved with a local’s daughter. Fun-and-sun surfing film complete with romance, hot rods, and murder.

DVD upgrade: Summer City



Nightfall

Nightfall on VHS video. Starring Jennifer Burns, Winsome Brown, Joseph Hodge (Haj), David Carradine. Based on the story by Isaac Asimov published in 1941 and subsequently expanded into a full novel by Asimov and Robert Silverberg in 1990. Directed by Gwyneth Gibby. 2000.

Nightfall on VHS video. Starring Jennifer Burns, Winsome Brown, Joseph Hodge (Haj), David Carradine. Based on the story by Isaac Asimov (which was inspired by an Emerson quote) published in 1941 and subsequently expanded into a full novel by Asimov and Robert Silverberg in 1990. Produced by Roger Corman. Directed by Gwyneth Gibby. 2000.

From the VHS box:

“The Greatest Science Fiction Story of All Time.” as voted by The Science Fiction Writers of America

The people of the planet Aeon, blessed with six suns, have never experienced night. When an archeological excavation uncovers evidence of an ancient catastrophe, all signs point towards the impending darkness of the very first Nightfall. Panic erupts as the suns slowly disappear one by one. Science struggles against superstition as the people race to comprehend the approaching Nightfall… the end of the world as they know it.

DVD upgrade (scathing reviews): Nightfall

They say the book is always better than the movie: Nightfall

Go back in time and pretend the movie never existed: Nightfall and Other Stories (Crest Science Fiction, P1969)