Every child of the 80s will remember going to the video store and trying to find a movie to rent. Back before the days of Blu-ray and On Demand, selecting a movie usually meant finding the flick with the coolest box art. Like modern posters, classic VHS art has been lost but thanks to the Internet there are countless reminders of these cool creations. This column will be dedicated to bringing you reminders of a bygone era and a look at how cool some of these movies looked on store shelves.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Every child of the 1980s remembers their copy of the STAR WARS saga on VHS. These covers for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK are from before 20th Century Fox felt the need to make the art match for every film in the saga and we instead got some classic painted art. Wouldn't you rather your Blu-rays looked like this? Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
BLACK CAESAR
Blaxspoiltation films are a fun genre full of classics as well as some really bad movies. But, they also gave us great actors like Fred Williamson. BLACK CAESAR is one of the better movies from the sub-genre and features a pre-mustache Williamson in the lead. Both of these covers showcase the actor doing what he does best: being a badass. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
MALONE
If there is one actor less like Fred Williamson, it is Burt Reynolds. Reynolds is an icon and a badass of a smartassy sort, but seeing him wielding a gun in front of a wall of fire is pretty cool. Another great stache and you have the awesome art for MALONE. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
GOLDENEYE
Pierce Brosnan was born to play James Bond. His first outing as 007 is very much like the classic Sean Connery and Roger Moore films and a vast improvement over Timothy Dalton's era as the super spy. These boxes don't differ all that much and focus on guns, babes, and Brosnan's good looks. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
PRIMAL RAGE
I don't know what to think about this movie, but the box art is just so good. The first looks like your standard 1980s erotic thriller but with animal teeth. The second box looks like the cover for a heavy metal album from ths same decade. In either case, this is a movie that draws you in, even if it does end up being a terrible flick. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
INVASION U.S.A.
Chuck Norris. A mullet. A bazooka. A denim shirt. You need nothing else. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.
Feel free to pop us your favorite VHS box art and come back for each future column. You can send your finds or photos of your own VHS tapes to alexmaidy@joblo.com
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