Coffy

Coffy on VHS. Movie starring Pam Grier. With Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliot, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig. Written and directed by Jack Hill. 1973.

Coffy on VHS. Starring Pam Grier. With Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliot, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig. Written and directed by Jack Hill. 1973.

From the box:

Grier is Coffy, nurse by day and avenging angel by night. When she discovers that her little sister has been doped up — and freaked out — by a greedy drug pusher, she not only puts an end to his miserable days, but she also vows to follow his trail of corruption up to the top — the very top. But what Coffy doesn’t realize is that all is not as it seems… and that the leafy green behind the pusher’s scene just may come from someone she knows!

DVD upgrade: Coffy

Easy Rider

Easy Rider on VHS. Movie starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson. With Toni Basil, Karen Black, Phil Spector. Directed by Dennis Hopper. 1969.

Easy Rider on VHS. Movie starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson. With Toni Basil, Karen Black, Phil Spector. Directed by Dennis Hopper. 1969.

From the VHS cover:

A man went looking for America and couldn’t find it anywhere…

Experience the real, uncensored sixties counterculture in this compelling mixture of drugs, sex and armchair politics. In the role that catapulted him to stardom, Jack Nicholson portrays an alcoholic attorney who hooks up with two part-time, drug-dealing motorcyclists (Fonda and Hopper) in search of their “American Dream.” Heading from California to New Orleans, they sample the highs and lows of America the Beautiful in a stoned-out quest for life’s true meaning.

DVD upgrade: Easy Rider (Special Edition)

The music: Easy Rider: Music From The Soundtrack (1969 Film)

Part sequel, part prequel, Easy Rider: The Ride Back (straight to the dustbin according to reviews): Easy Rider: The Ride Back




Psychomania

Psychomania aka The Death Wheelers on VHS. Starring George Sanders, Beryl Reid, Nicky Henson. Directed by Don Sharp. 1973.

Psychomania aka The Death Wheelers on VHS. Starring George Sanders, Beryl Reid, Nicky Henson. Directed by Don Sharp. 1973.

From the VHS box:

Violence, excitement and a complete disregard for the conventions of society — this is the way of life for a group of motorbike riders who call themselves “The Living Dead.”

Leader of the gang is Tom, whose mother is a medium holding seances in her home. Together with a sinister butler, Tom’s mother exercises a strange communion with the dead. Through her, Tom learns a terrible secret — how to cross over the barrier between life and death. He suggests to his fellow riders that they put this new-found knowledge to the test.

One by one, they choose their own way to commit suicide with a difference — for each is certain he will arise from the dead.

At a secret place, a Druid’s circle of seven stones called “The Seven Witches,” the members of the gang return. Or do they? Is the butler really a domestic in a mystical household, or is he in reality Satan himself?

“Psychomania” is a powerful drama of the supernatural, the occult, and the violence which lies just beyond the conventions of society.

DVD upgrade: Psychomania



Freeway

Freeway on VHS. Thriller movie starring Michael Callan, Darlanne Fluegel, James Russo, Billy Drago, Richard Belzer. Directed by Francis Delia. 1988.

Freeway on VHS. Movie starring Michael Callan, Darlanne Fluegel, James Russo, Billy Drago, Richard Belzer. Directed by Francis Delia. 1988.

From the VHS box:

Next Time Someone Cuts You Off… Let ‘Em.

The Traffic Is Murder

If you’re going out on the freeway tonight, fasten your seatbelt and keep checking your rear view mirror. Because HE’S back there, ready to pull up alongside… and blow you away! FREEWAY — the murder thriller where life in the fast lane is a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Los Angeles is in a panic. The cops can’t find him, but they’re trying. Detective Boyle (Michael Callan) is close. He’s never seen the belly of the beast… but he will. So will Sunny Harper (Darlanne Fluegel), the beautiful young nurse working the graveyard shift. And so will Quinn (James Russo), the mysterious stranger Sunny meets on the freeway.

They’re all waiting for the next call from his cellular phone. They’re all waiting for his next talk show tip-off. And they’re all hoping that they don’t become his next grisly statistic. FREEWAY — driving will never be quite the same.

DVD Upgrade: Freeway

Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop on VHS. Action comedy movie starring Eddie Murphy. With Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher. Directed by Martin Brest. 1984.

Beverly Hills Cop on VHS. Starring Eddie Murphy. With Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher. Directed by Martin Brest. 1984.

From the VHS cover:

Eddie Murphy’s hilarious portrayal of Detective Axel Foley has propelled Beverly Hills Cop into the ranks of the top ten biggest box office hits in history!

Foley’s a brash, street smart Detroit detective who follows the trail of a friend’s murderer to the posh surroundings of Beverly Hills. And before Axel gets his man, he gets up to his neck in an international network of smugglers and drug peddlers.

It’s a fast paced adventure that proves the difference between a really good comedy and a great comedy is Eddie Murphy.

DVD upgrade: Beverly Hills Cop (Special Collector’s Edition)

Free Eddie Murphy (Free instant rental with Amazon Prime): Beverly Hills Cop

Bad Lieutenant

Bad Lieutenant on VHS. Movie starring Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Paul Calderon. Leonard L. Thomas. Directed by Abel Ferrara. 1992.

Bad Lieutenant on VHS. Starring Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Paul Calderon, Leonard L. Thomas. Directed by Abel Ferrara. 1992.

From the box:

Gambler. Thief. Junkie. Killer. Cop.

He has survived on the streets for twenty years. He’s a gambler… a thief… a junkie… a killer and a cop. Now he’s investigating the most shocking case of his life, and as he moves closer to the truth his self-destructive past is closing in.

Harvey Keitel gives a searing performance as an out-of-control police detective on a collision course in director Abel Ferrara’s brilliant and deeply disturbing melodrama.

DVD upgrade: Bad Lieutenant (Special Edition)

Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs on VHS. Movie starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. 1992.

Reservoir Dogs on VHS. Starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. 1992.

From the box:

Four Perfect Killers. One Perfect Crime. Now All They To Fear Is Each Other.

Full-Length Screener

They were perfect strangers, assembled to pull off the perfect crime. Then their simple robbery explodes into a bloody ambush, and the ruthless killers realize one of them is a police informer. But which one? Critically acclaimed for its raw power and breathtaking ferocity, it’s a brilliant new American gangster movie classic from writer-director Quentin Tarantino.

DVD upgrade: Reservoir Dogs (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Release the hounds (free instant video with Amazon Prime): Reservoir Dogs

The sound of dogs barking that is music to the ears: Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack




Lake Placid

Lake Placid on VHS. Horror comedy movie starring Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt. With Brendan Gleeson, Betty White. Directed by Steve Miner. 1999.

Lake Placid on VHS. Starring Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt. With Brendan Gleeson, Betty White. Directed by Steve Miner. 1999.

From the box:

An investigative team, armed with state-of-the-art equipment, high powered weaponry, and a biting sense of sarcasm, must work together to defeat Black Lake’s most ferocious resident: a 30-foot prehistoric crocodile! Betty White co-stars as cantankerous Mrs. Bickerman — a role you’ve got to hear to believe — in this terrifying tale of survival that “combines humor and thrills with remarkable deftness.” (New York Post)

Jump in the swamp DVD upgrade: The Alligator People / Lake Placid / Swamp Thing (Triple Feature)

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea on VHS. Classic Disney movie starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre. Based on the novel by Jules Verne. Directed by Richard Fleischer. 1954.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea on VHS. Adventure drama fantasy movie starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre. Based on the novel by Jules Verne. Directed by Richard Fleischer. 1954.

From the box:

Plunge into the most spellbinding undersea adventure ever filmed! The evil, renegade mastermind Captain Nemo (James Mason) pilots the fantastic submarine Nautilus on a memorable, adventure-filled journey beneath the seven seas in this Academy Award-winning classic. Held aboard the craft are three survivors of a shipwreck who, as involuntary guests of the sinister genius, witness the spectacular beauty and terrifying dangers of Nemo’s world — from an attack by a giant squid to the captain’s [spoiler removed].

DVD upgrade: Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Free 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Free e-book): Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea

Look, a non-sun bleached VHS copy: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea




Akira

Akira on VHS. Starring Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Mitsuo Iwata. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. 1988.

Akira on VHS. Starring Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Mitsuo Iwata. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. 1988.

From the box:

Neo-Tokyo Is About To Explode!

In the 21st century, 30 years after a devastating global nuclear war, mankind is once again on the brink of total annihilation. In a world populated by rival motorcycle gangs and petty politicians, a powerful psychic force, known only as “AKIRA,” suddenly resurfaces in Neo-Tokyo. Tetsou — a young, inexperienced biker — driven beyond the boundaries of sanity by the power of AKIRA, is forced to conjure up demons laying within his subconscious.

AKIRA redefines the very essence of the medium… a mindboggling film unlike anything seen before… a milestone in the history of Japanese animation.

DVD upgrade: Akira: 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD)