Wizard Video returns classic big box VHS tapes to your home!

As a child of the 80’s, the video store was my second home. There were a few shops here in St. Louis that carried some big box titles and among them, I always remembered Wizard Video. One of Wizard Video’s most notorious releases was I Spit on Your Grave. In the past few years, VHS tapes have become a collector’s item of sorts. Some people I know go crazy and try and collect all the VHS tapes they can find. I am a bit more selective with what I pick up (I tend to go for big boxes and releases that have some nostalgia for me). There is no doubt that there is still a market in VHS. Is it the best format to watch a film, no. However, there is a certain allure to watch a film on VHS. It feels more organic and feels dynamic and more close to the analog process of exhibition than the digital one that has invaded theaters, as evident in the Rewind This doc we talked about on Tuesday.

Wizard Video was started by Charles Band of Full Moon and they have now announced that they have found boxes of old Wizard Video VHS boxes in a warehouse and plan on selling them with duplicated VHS copies inside.. According to the press release, listed below, these are the original boxes but they will be numbered & signed by Band.

From the Press Release:

Horror legend and home video pioneer Charles Band had been putting off his warehouse cleaning for years.  But during a recent overhaul of his extensive collection of collectibles, he unwittingly resurrected a veritable treasure trove of vintage horror limited-edition VHS boxes coveted by horror fans and serious collectors.   Starting February 12, fans will be able to purchase these original boxes with authentically duplicated VHS copies inside – at an incredibly reasonable price.

“Back in the 80’s, I thought it would be cool to release these films in the oversize VHS boxes,” explained Band.  “In the short term, it was very successful – but by 1982 the trend had run its course and the titles were reduced back to regular VHS dimensions.”

Band started Wizard Video in 1980, and was the first to release horror cult films such as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I Spit On Your Grave in the early days of home video.

 “The kids who remember these oversized packages remember them fondly,” Band continued.  “The release of this collection is for them.”

Over a span of 3-4 years, Wizard Video published eighty titles in the large-format boxes.  Thirty-five years after the packaging’s popularity died out, Band and his excavation team uncovered the original big VHS boxes of thirty-six of these rare titles in mint condition, between two hundred to four hundred copies per title.   Each box will be hand-numbered on the spine and autographed by Charles Band and will include an authentically duplicated VHS copy of the film inside of a clamshell holder.   Band estimates that very few of these rare videos are still in print – and no more than 5-10 thousand units were manufactured at the time. 

Also found in the collection were original boxes of the first horror video games on the planet, from Wizard Video’s sister company, Wizard Video Games.  The Atari 2600 game boxes for Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween will be released TBD 2013 from Full Moon.   At the time of release, these titles were deemed too violent for children, and were either banned or sold by request-only, making them an extraordinarily rare find as well.

Website:  www.Wizardvideocollection.com 
For all other Full Moon information:  www.Fullmoondirect.com

Every month beginning February 12, 4 titles will be on sale at $50/title. 

Rollout schedule:

FEBRUARY 12 
RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES 
TRAUMA 
OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES 
DEMONIAC

MARCH 12 
A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD 
FEAR 
BREEDERS 
HEADLESS EYES

APRIL 
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 
BLOOD CASTLE
MANDINGA
TORMENTOR

MAY 
ZOMBIE 
MONSTER HUNTER
SPACE VAMPIRES
THE SCREAMING DEAD

JUNE 
SS EXPERIMENT 
DREAMANIAC
SAVAGE ISLAND
EROTIKILL

JULY 
ZOMBIE LAKE 
SPACE ZOMBIES 
ZOMBIETHON
BEST OF SEX & VIOLENCE

AUG 
FILMGORE
HELLTRAIN 
POSSESSOR
FAMOUS T&A

SEPT 
THE INVISIBLE DEAD 
BEAST
THE MISS NUDE AMERICA CONTEST 
FIEND

OCT 
FRAULEIN DEVIL
WHITE SLAVE
ESCAPE 
PARASITE

About Charles Band & Full Moon Features 
Charles Band founded MEDA Home Entertainment in the late 1970’s, one of the first independent video distribution operations in America.  With the foresight that home video was the future, a vision few others shared, he helped pave the way for the colossal home video boom to come. In the 1980’s, Band produced such hit cult favorites as Ghoulies, Re-Animator, The Dungeonmaster, Dolls, Troll, Robot Jox, and many more.

Band founded Full Moon Features in 1989 following the early 80’s success with Wizard Video, which released such cult classics as Zombie 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I Spit on Your Grave on VHS.   Wizard video was celebrated for their shocking and incomparable box art, especially after their switch to the “big box” format.  

Band soon teamed with Paramount Pictures and Pioneer Home Entertainment for direct-to-video releases on VHS and Laserdisc.  With upwards of twenty releases per year, Band has also built a reputation as a prolific and frequent director of entertaining low-budget genre films. In all, Band has produced almost three hundred features variously delving into the realms of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and family films under its Moonbeam Films label. 

The Puppet Master series is considered to be Band’s most celebrated and popular franchise. The latest installment, Puppet Master X: Axis Rising, is the 10th film of the most successful direct to video horror franchise of all time. Full Moon has created many other well-known franchises such as the Trancers series, starring Helen Hunt and Tim Thomerson, the Subspecies series shot on-location in Transylvania, Romania, as well asDollman, Demonic Toys, Killjoy and The Gingerdead Man (starring Gary Busey as a killer cookie!).  Full Moon’s recent releases include the Blaxploitation horror film Ooga Booga starring veteran actors Karen Black and Stacy Keach, the Blu-ray release of the critically acclaimed vampire series Subspecies, and two new grindhouse releases including Riot in a Women’s Prison and SS Hellcamp.   

Full Moon titles can be found at all major video retailer outlets, Red Box, and Netflix. Warner Digital distributes Full Moon films for North America on Pay Per View and Video on Demand, including Comcast, Time Warner, and AT&T U-Verse.  Full Moon movies are also available from sources as diverse as Walmart, Amazon, iTunes, Prescreen, and FlixFling. In addition to feature films, Full Moon is also very active in creating and marketing a wide variety of merchandise including original action figures, resin statues and 1:1 scale replicas of its better-known puppets and dolls.

While the VHS tapes are being sold at $50 a pop, there is no question that people will pay for them for the right titles. There will be purists out there that will want nothing to do with it and while I do think it is kind of neat to have the availability, it takes away what VHS collecting is all about and could be considered a cash grab.

What are your thoughts on it?