On his 20th birthday, Lord Smeargle received a DVD/VCR, including seven videocassettes, four from the Pokemon franchise, and three from the Blues Brothers franchise. However, his lust for videocassettes ensured that this wasn’t enough for him, as he soon proceeded to buy and or find each videocassette from wherever he could get them. During this journey, you will encounter unique things that you may have never seen or heard of before… and a lot of beaten up videocassettes and covers. Join Lord Smeargle, as he proceeds to show you…
…The VHS Surprises…
Welcome to a blog series that’ll be my first of many surprises to come. I have been planning this blog series for some time, yet I was trying to figure out when the right time for this was, and what would be chosen as the first episode. Eventually I said ‘enough was enough’, chosen a movie, and here it is. Anyway…
Our first VHS that makes its debut is from a company that proclaimed itself as ‘King of Video’, which it claimed to boast at the time. However, the company appears to be the Australian Home Video equivalent to Cannon Films, releasing action movies (in King of Video’s case, martial arts movies), though like Cannon, they have branched out their output at some point. However, there are only a few ounces of variety that are known to exist from this company as of now, such as an animation film in Dick Deadeye, a horror film in The Forest, and a comedy film fittingly titled Swap Meet, which I’ll be talking about today.
(credit goes to ligeea for the trailer.)
The main reason why I’ve got this videocassette was that it's from the titular company, with the videocassettes (much like most of the Australian Home Video companies in Publishing and Broadcasting Video, Video Classics, and even the earliest Roadshow Home Video releases from the 80’s) becoming as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays. However, when I got the videocassette, it wasn’t very presentable at all, with the slick and the plastic supporting it look messy. The videocassette is encased in a big black plastic cover, which was a common range at the time in Australia, especially with the clamshells.
Another thing that you’ll find interesting is that the text box on the back of the cover slick actually gives away the whole story from start to finish, which will make you question ‘why did you buy this videocassette’ when you know the plot of the movie. To make matters worse, the slick is ugly, with the most attractive thing about this is the front cover, which looks cartoonish at best. The side and back part of the slick looks unattractive, with red text on the spine, and a huge yellow text box on the back. It also features a few stickers not worth mentioning, including a sticker indicating that it is in fact a VHS. Maybe it’s their way of telling us what it is on the inside...
But as the cover is opened, it is in fact a black videocassette, in decent condition, I might add! The top and front stickers are remarkably intact… which is what I would be saying if the top sticker wasn’t obstructed by a smaller sticker, meaning that the only way I can find out what the rating is for this movie (which is rated M by the way in the land down under), is on the front sticker of the VHS and the VHS cover itself). It also had an engraving of a crown on the top right side of the VHS, which is a really out there thing, even when it was from the 80’s. It also carried a few other stickers as well:
Surprisingly, however, the videocassette managed to alleviate the problem only in the first minute, with only a few snow streaks throughout the movie. Sure, it’s not in high quality, but it’s in better condition at the end of the movie, unlike Roy’s poor Ferrari. However, it begins abruptly, and ends abruptly, with only the logo, the warning and the movie shown in that order.
Speaking of the movie, even though the plot is spoiled, I like to think of this movie as having no plot, as it is just a film about what goes on at a market which is near the drive-in. It is at least quick, with the videocassette finishing when the movie finally finishes (81 minutes in), without any credits for the songs used, including the titular song from the movie. And if one notices, you can see both actor/occasional director Danny DeVito and Cheers star Rhea Perlman in this movie.
Getting back on topic, the movie manages to eject without a problem as well, especially when it rewinds a second time. In the end, the VHS is a huge surprise. While the movie is definitely nothing special, and the cover is nothing to write home about, the videocassette is in surprisingly good condition, and the film is decent as well, especially when it’s from 30 years ago. If you can find such a copy of this in good condition, I would recommend watching this movie on a weekend in Summer. I personally think that it’s not as bad as what most people think of this movie, especially when it’s cheesy, plotless and lacking music credits.
Final Verdict
VHS Cover: 3.5/10. It looked ugly at best.
Videocassette: 7.5/10. Aside from the obstructed top label, everything about this videocassette was interesting to see at the time.
Quality: 6/10. For a 30-Year Old Videocassette, it is a top mark.
Logo: 2.5/10. It doesn’t help that it began at the very beginning with the logo almost done and completely obstructed by the white streaks in the first minute of the VHS.
Warning: 1.5/10. It wasn’t informative and it was unappealing.
Final Score: 21/50 – Below Average.
…The VHS Surprises…
Welcome to a blog series that’ll be my first of many surprises to come. I have been planning this blog series for some time, yet I was trying to figure out when the right time for this was, and what would be chosen as the first episode. Eventually I said ‘enough was enough’, chosen a movie, and here it is. Anyway…
Our first VHS that makes its debut is from a company that proclaimed itself as ‘King of Video’, which it claimed to boast at the time. However, the company appears to be the Australian Home Video equivalent to Cannon Films, releasing action movies (in King of Video’s case, martial arts movies), though like Cannon, they have branched out their output at some point. However, there are only a few ounces of variety that are known to exist from this company as of now, such as an animation film in Dick Deadeye, a horror film in The Forest, and a comedy film fittingly titled Swap Meet, which I’ll be talking about today.
(credit goes to ligeea for the trailer.)
The main reason why I’ve got this videocassette was that it's from the titular company, with the videocassettes (much like most of the Australian Home Video companies in Publishing and Broadcasting Video, Video Classics, and even the earliest Roadshow Home Video releases from the 80’s) becoming as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays. However, when I got the videocassette, it wasn’t very presentable at all, with the slick and the plastic supporting it look messy. The videocassette is encased in a big black plastic cover, which was a common range at the time in Australia, especially with the clamshells.
Another thing that you’ll find interesting is that the text box on the back of the cover slick actually gives away the whole story from start to finish, which will make you question ‘why did you buy this videocassette’ when you know the plot of the movie. To make matters worse, the slick is ugly, with the most attractive thing about this is the front cover, which looks cartoonish at best. The side and back part of the slick looks unattractive, with red text on the spine, and a huge yellow text box on the back. It also features a few stickers not worth mentioning, including a sticker indicating that it is in fact a VHS. Maybe it’s their way of telling us what it is on the inside...
But as the cover is opened, it is in fact a black videocassette, in decent condition, I might add! The top and front stickers are remarkably intact… which is what I would be saying if the top sticker wasn’t obstructed by a smaller sticker, meaning that the only way I can find out what the rating is for this movie (which is rated M by the way in the land down under), is on the front sticker of the VHS and the VHS cover itself). It also had an engraving of a crown on the top right side of the VHS, which is a really out there thing, even when it was from the 80’s. It also carried a few other stickers as well:
- A ‘Video Ezy Dee Why T54643’ Barcode Sticker on top left side of the VHS
- A 'Video Ezy' Top sticker which obstructed the other top sticker.
- A 'Cleaned and Serviced by RTI Tapechek' Sticker (most likely a VHS-repairing company).
- It also used to carry a rectangular sticker on the left side of the VHS's view, judging by what's left of it.
Surprisingly, however, the videocassette managed to alleviate the problem only in the first minute, with only a few snow streaks throughout the movie. Sure, it’s not in high quality, but it’s in better condition at the end of the movie, unlike Roy’s poor Ferrari. However, it begins abruptly, and ends abruptly, with only the logo, the warning and the movie shown in that order.
Speaking of the movie, even though the plot is spoiled, I like to think of this movie as having no plot, as it is just a film about what goes on at a market which is near the drive-in. It is at least quick, with the videocassette finishing when the movie finally finishes (81 minutes in), without any credits for the songs used, including the titular song from the movie. And if one notices, you can see both actor/occasional director Danny DeVito and Cheers star Rhea Perlman in this movie.
Getting back on topic, the movie manages to eject without a problem as well, especially when it rewinds a second time. In the end, the VHS is a huge surprise. While the movie is definitely nothing special, and the cover is nothing to write home about, the videocassette is in surprisingly good condition, and the film is decent as well, especially when it’s from 30 years ago. If you can find such a copy of this in good condition, I would recommend watching this movie on a weekend in Summer. I personally think that it’s not as bad as what most people think of this movie, especially when it’s cheesy, plotless and lacking music credits.
Final Verdict
VHS Cover: 3.5/10. It looked ugly at best.
Videocassette: 7.5/10. Aside from the obstructed top label, everything about this videocassette was interesting to see at the time.
Quality: 6/10. For a 30-Year Old Videocassette, it is a top mark.
Logo: 2.5/10. It doesn’t help that it began at the very beginning with the logo almost done and completely obstructed by the white streaks in the first minute of the VHS.
Warning: 1.5/10. It wasn’t informative and it was unappealing.
Final Score: 21/50 – Below Average.