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VHS Video Cover Art: 1980s to Early 1990s
Video cover art is a unique and largely lost artform representing a period of unabashed creativity during the video rental boom of the 1980s to early 1990s. The art explodes with a succulent, indulgent blend of design, illustration, typography, and hilarious copywriting. Written and curated by Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge, poster artist extraordinaire and VHS obsessive, with a foreword by Mondo’s Justin Ishmael, this collection contains over 240 full-scale, complete video sleeves in the genres of action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller films. It’s a world of mustached, muscled men, buxom beauties, big explosions, phallic guns, and nightmare-inducing monsters. From the sublime to the ridiculous, some are incredible works of art, some are insane, and some capture the tone of the films better than the films themselves. All are amazing and inspiring works of art that captivate the imagination. It’s like stepping back in time into your local video store!
264 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 2015
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September 18, 2018
i have made a "books for weirdos" list over on riffle!! check it out!
https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/249555
when i was dragged along on my mom’s errands as a little girl, i would get bored with the “waiting in line to pay” portion of the excursion, and if we were at ann & hope or almacs, i would peel myself away to the VHS rental area and spend what felt like hours absolutely rapt before the mosaic-wall of movies i would probably never see, studying the cover art and the taglines - never actually taking them off the shelf to discover what they were about, just visiting my favorites like we were old friends.
i was particularly drawn to the horror section, because even as a little sprout, i had an appreciation for that winning combination of horror and humor, and this was the 80’s after all, a time when vanity and john stamos got top billing:
action heroes were not required to be shirtless and toned:
every other movie was about a giant killer vehicle:
and all of the horror movie covers were hilarious:
so when this book came out, it seemed to be the perfect way to recapture that memory of awe and bewilderment and celebrate the cinematic triumphs of a bygone age.
which it mostly did. it’s not a perfect nostalgia for me; many of my favorites were absent - seriously - no april fool’s day??
and i didn’t even recognize a lot of the ones included. what the hell is this one?
which, it must be noted, won an award for “best special effects” because yowza
the book is broken into sections: action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, thriller, but i would love to assist in the curation process for a second volume, one which focuses exclusively on horror, because everyone knows that’s where the most fun is to be had.
i mean, come on…
the comedy section of the book is the least interesting to me now, and was the least interesting to me as a kid killing time. it’s pretty much just boobies on parade, but the tone was so different from the boobies on parade on the horror covers - these made boobies seem silly and cartoony
and since i was at a boobless age when these half-understood things made me shy, they held no interest for me.
i’m old enough now to appreciate the gleeful middle finger to subtlety, but it’s still nowhere near as appealing as this wheel of madness, with its still-exploitative but somehow less demeaning approach to sexuality
interestingly enough, the lines between horror and comedy were further blurred for me by covers such as these, filtered through my little-girl brain:
monster in a toilet = funny
being spied on in the shower = scary
so, even though the book was not like visiting forgotten friends, it did introduce me to a lot of new ones that i might need to actually track down and view. because i need this in my life:
and in two years i’m gonna watch this one to see how close it came to predicting the fuuuuutuuuure:
my guess is - pretty damn close
and THIS! a must see!
even if it does look like a ripoff of the warriors
speaking of rip-offs, is this movie basically goonies?
and this one:
this one makes some pretty bold claims for a movie NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF EVER
this is also one i must track down:
so much information on the back
and look at these maniacs!! it's like a high school production of the thriller video
all the love in my heart for these covers.
and now for a parade of taglines:
and my favorite:
this one is the most baffling:
i do NOT know what! am i being obtuse?
some other gems:
does unconscious woman-toting not affect weapon-accuracy?
do they mean CANADA??
some of the synopses are also pure gold:
you will be on the edge of your seat for ALL 88 minutes.
well, approximately.
then there is this one, which is both too much and not enough information:
and continues to entertain:
but once again what??
i love how honest some of these boxes are:
definitely for the kids. adults not so much.
the book is not without its familiar faces, like the gem i manage to mention in 43% of my reviews:
and some films i actually own on vhs, although in both cases, i prefer the cover i own to the one featured in the book:
mine is less sensationalist, but more accurate to the movie itself:
i also own this one:
my cover is better:
but that still on the back of the book-featured back cover is pretty rad:
both are fine movies you should watch for yourselves, along with blood of heroes, which i also own on VHS.
while i’m bragging about my excellent VHS collection, i am going to take the opportunity to show this off, a fillum shamefully neglected by this book:
if it’s not apparent, there is a layer of liquid blood beneath the plastic here, that you can move around in a most satisfying way with your fingie:
you need to see this one. it's GOLD.
one of the best things about this book is its size and shape, shown here with maggie for scale
it makes her ferocious!
and then abashed
all in all a really fun book, even if it didn't have the strictly-horror focus i craved. thank god for pinterest!!
https://www.pinterest.com/zombifystud...
come to my blog!
https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/249555
when i was dragged along on my mom’s errands as a little girl, i would get bored with the “waiting in line to pay” portion of the excursion, and if we were at ann & hope or almacs, i would peel myself away to the VHS rental area and spend what felt like hours absolutely rapt before the mosaic-wall of movies i would probably never see, studying the cover art and the taglines - never actually taking them off the shelf to discover what they were about, just visiting my favorites like we were old friends.
i was particularly drawn to the horror section, because even as a little sprout, i had an appreciation for that winning combination of horror and humor, and this was the 80’s after all, a time when vanity and john stamos got top billing:
action heroes were not required to be shirtless and toned:
every other movie was about a giant killer vehicle:
and all of the horror movie covers were hilarious:
so when this book came out, it seemed to be the perfect way to recapture that memory of awe and bewilderment and celebrate the cinematic triumphs of a bygone age.
which it mostly did. it’s not a perfect nostalgia for me; many of my favorites were absent - seriously - no april fool’s day??
and i didn’t even recognize a lot of the ones included. what the hell is this one?
which, it must be noted, won an award for “best special effects” because yowza
the book is broken into sections: action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, thriller, but i would love to assist in the curation process for a second volume, one which focuses exclusively on horror, because everyone knows that’s where the most fun is to be had.
i mean, come on…
the comedy section of the book is the least interesting to me now, and was the least interesting to me as a kid killing time. it’s pretty much just boobies on parade, but the tone was so different from the boobies on parade on the horror covers - these made boobies seem silly and cartoony
and since i was at a boobless age when these half-understood things made me shy, they held no interest for me.
i’m old enough now to appreciate the gleeful middle finger to subtlety, but it’s still nowhere near as appealing as this wheel of madness, with its still-exploitative but somehow less demeaning approach to sexuality
interestingly enough, the lines between horror and comedy were further blurred for me by covers such as these, filtered through my little-girl brain:
monster in a toilet = funny
being spied on in the shower = scary
so, even though the book was not like visiting forgotten friends, it did introduce me to a lot of new ones that i might need to actually track down and view. because i need this in my life:
and in two years i’m gonna watch this one to see how close it came to predicting the fuuuuutuuuure:
my guess is - pretty damn close
and THIS! a must see!
even if it does look like a ripoff of the warriors
speaking of rip-offs, is this movie basically goonies?
and this one:
this one makes some pretty bold claims for a movie NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF EVER
this is also one i must track down:
so much information on the back
and look at these maniacs!! it's like a high school production of the thriller video
all the love in my heart for these covers.
and now for a parade of taglines:
and my favorite:
this one is the most baffling:
i do NOT know what! am i being obtuse?
some other gems:
does unconscious woman-toting not affect weapon-accuracy?
do they mean CANADA??
some of the synopses are also pure gold:
you will be on the edge of your seat for ALL 88 minutes.
well, approximately.
then there is this one, which is both too much and not enough information:
and continues to entertain:
but once again what??
i love how honest some of these boxes are:
definitely for the kids. adults not so much.
the book is not without its familiar faces, like the gem i manage to mention in 43% of my reviews:
and some films i actually own on vhs, although in both cases, i prefer the cover i own to the one featured in the book:
mine is less sensationalist, but more accurate to the movie itself:
i also own this one:
my cover is better:
but that still on the back of the book-featured back cover is pretty rad:
both are fine movies you should watch for yourselves, along with blood of heroes, which i also own on VHS.
while i’m bragging about my excellent VHS collection, i am going to take the opportunity to show this off, a fillum shamefully neglected by this book:
if it’s not apparent, there is a layer of liquid blood beneath the plastic here, that you can move around in a most satisfying way with your fingie:
you need to see this one. it's GOLD.
one of the best things about this book is its size and shape, shown here with maggie for scale
it makes her ferocious!
and then abashed
all in all a really fun book, even if it didn't have the strictly-horror focus i craved. thank god for pinterest!!
https://www.pinterest.com/zombifystud...
come to my blog!
January 22, 2018
VHS Video Cover Art: 1980s to Early 1990s is a collection of box art from VHS tapes.
Not long ago, my wife and I watched Please Rewind, a documentary about the rise and fall of VHS and the underground culture of VHS collectors and was overcome by feelings of nostalgia. Days after that, this popped up as one of my recommendations on Amazon and I splurged.
As the title indicates, this is a coffee table book of VHS cover art, two boxes per page. Most of them are for b-movies, designed to grab the rubes by their resemblance to the art of popular movie boxes. This book screams 1980s from cover to cover.
Some of the box art took me back to days of riding down to the video store and having about five minutes to pick something out before Dad was ready to head back home. I hadn't thought of Earth Star Voyager or Misfits of Science in years. Others reminded me that movies like Bikini Carwash Company and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama had life outside of late night on Showtime.
The original cover art of Evil Dead and Return of the Living Dead were a couple of my favorites, since they looked like none of the 10-15 versions I'd seen before. Other boxes just reminded me how dumb 80s action movies were.
While I found the book charming for nostalgic reasons, there's really not much to it. Apart from two forewords, there's not much in the way of wordage. I think some artist profiles would have been nice. Maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon since Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction was so awesome and this one suffers by comparison.
All things considered, I'll be keeping VHS Video Cover Art on my coffee table as long as it can bear all the weight. Three out of five stars.
Not long ago, my wife and I watched Please Rewind, a documentary about the rise and fall of VHS and the underground culture of VHS collectors and was overcome by feelings of nostalgia. Days after that, this popped up as one of my recommendations on Amazon and I splurged.
As the title indicates, this is a coffee table book of VHS cover art, two boxes per page. Most of them are for b-movies, designed to grab the rubes by their resemblance to the art of popular movie boxes. This book screams 1980s from cover to cover.
Some of the box art took me back to days of riding down to the video store and having about five minutes to pick something out before Dad was ready to head back home. I hadn't thought of Earth Star Voyager or Misfits of Science in years. Others reminded me that movies like Bikini Carwash Company and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama had life outside of late night on Showtime.
The original cover art of Evil Dead and Return of the Living Dead were a couple of my favorites, since they looked like none of the 10-15 versions I'd seen before. Other boxes just reminded me how dumb 80s action movies were.
While I found the book charming for nostalgic reasons, there's really not much to it. Apart from two forewords, there's not much in the way of wordage. I think some artist profiles would have been nice. Maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon since Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction was so awesome and this one suffers by comparison.
All things considered, I'll be keeping VHS Video Cover Art on my coffee table as long as it can bear all the weight. Three out of five stars.
April 14, 2016
I think anyone growing up in the 80s will love this book. Well if you are a movie fan of course, but who isn't? It was quite nice to browse through the pages and look at all the wonderful (and sometimes quite weird) covers. Mostly are these movies I have never seen, hell mostly never heard of and I thought I was a movie buff. But it was great to read this book and I got a bit nostalgic. Just think it wasn't many years ago I had a collection of VHS now I just have a couple left...
Anyway, it was a nice book, perfect if you are a movie buff that likes old movies.
Here are some covers from the book, I will just pick some random ones. I did take a lot of screencaps and I can't post them all...:P
I have actually seen The Survivor and Fire and Ice...lol
3.5 stars
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Anyway, it was a nice book, perfect if you are a movie buff that likes old movies.
Here are some covers from the book, I will just pick some random ones. I did take a lot of screencaps and I can't post them all...:P
I have actually seen The Survivor and Fire and Ice...lol
3.5 stars
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
March 1, 2015
Such a unique and interesting book! A great selection of movie covers from the 80's and the 90's. Certainly filled with nostalgic feelings and a retro vibe.
The cult films with the graphic covers will definitely put a smile on your face and chances are you'll find yourself being more or less familiar with a few of these oldies.
Some dramatic, some gory, some even funny, the assortment is varied and extensive.
I had a good time reading this eccentric coffee table book. movies and all the paraphernalia, from a sociological spectrum are a great info provider of the ethos, everyday life, idiosyncrasies and so on of the time they were filmed. It's always amazing to observe those little things, this book remarks not only those but also another side of the movie industry.
The book is devided in the following categories:
Action
Comedy
Horror
Kids
Sci-fI
Thrillers
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK
- The intro was very good.
- I would like more info about every movie. I know the theme of the book is the artwork but still, it would have been a great bonus.
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!
The cult films with the graphic covers will definitely put a smile on your face and chances are you'll find yourself being more or less familiar with a few of these oldies.
Some dramatic, some gory, some even funny, the assortment is varied and extensive.
I had a good time reading this eccentric coffee table book. movies and all the paraphernalia, from a sociological spectrum are a great info provider of the ethos, everyday life, idiosyncrasies and so on of the time they were filmed. It's always amazing to observe those little things, this book remarks not only those but also another side of the movie industry.
The book is devided in the following categories:
Action
Comedy
Horror
Kids
Sci-fI
Thrillers
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK
- The intro was very good.
- I would like more info about every movie. I know the theme of the book is the artwork but still, it would have been a great bonus.
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!
December 13, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
An entertaining look back over the many lurid VHS covers from the 80's to the early 90's. Most of the covers are action, thriller and horror with some children and comedy thrown in for good measure. There is really just the covers to look at in this, no side notes on genres or anything to break up the covers.
There seems to have been a standard formulae for the action covers, guns, cars and nubile young woman share with cover with some Rambo lookey likey. It's all pretty cheesy and good fun but I have to admit I'd only seen a couple of the horror films so many of the covers were kinda lost on me as a trip to memory lane.
A quick fun read.
An entertaining look back over the many lurid VHS covers from the 80's to the early 90's. Most of the covers are action, thriller and horror with some children and comedy thrown in for good measure. There is really just the covers to look at in this, no side notes on genres or anything to break up the covers.
There seems to have been a standard formulae for the action covers, guns, cars and nubile young woman share with cover with some Rambo lookey likey. It's all pretty cheesy and good fun but I have to admit I'd only seen a couple of the horror films so many of the covers were kinda lost on me as a trip to memory lane.
A quick fun read.
May 25, 2015
One of those interesting finds from my retro awesome brother.
As a child of the 80s in a small rural town, one of the few forms of entertainment included renting movies on VHS. Before it became hipster fun to make bad movies on purpose, diverging from the popular blockbuster section was often view at your own risk. There was no Amazon app to warn you of potential wastes of money.
Vhs: Video Cover Art is a nice, often hilarious, trip down memory lane. See the lovely riff-offs of Rambo and Mel Gibson-ish characters. The over-the-top illustrations and graphics. The cheesy, totally-fake-now horror makeup. Fair warning, some of the covers are from Europe and have some nudity.
Overall, fun for kicks and giggles. A very nice conversation piece for those obsessed with this unique point in history.
As a child of the 80s in a small rural town, one of the few forms of entertainment included renting movies on VHS. Before it became hipster fun to make bad movies on purpose, diverging from the popular blockbuster section was often view at your own risk. There was no Amazon app to warn you of potential wastes of money.
Vhs: Video Cover Art is a nice, often hilarious, trip down memory lane. See the lovely riff-offs of Rambo and Mel Gibson-ish characters. The over-the-top illustrations and graphics. The cheesy, totally-fake-now horror makeup. Fair warning, some of the covers are from Europe and have some nudity.
Overall, fun for kicks and giggles. A very nice conversation piece for those obsessed with this unique point in history.
September 20, 2020
This book really captures the feel of browsing the racks at your local video store back in the day. I didn't realize how nostalgic I was for it, or just how much cover art has changed over the years. The intro talks about the VHS cover as a lost art, which is truer than you might immediately think. The media formats have changed, sure, but most DVD/Blu-ray/streaming covers these days are just stills from the movie with some words at the top. The battle for your attention is different than it used to be when everything was on the shelf.
I think what I've always loved is the potential for stories on every VHS cover. The movie itself might actually suck, but a good cover will make you imagine all the ways it might be incredible. My sister and I used to browse the horror shelf long before our parents let us rent any, terrifying ourselves with stories of what might happen in those flicks. The marketing worked exactly as it was supposed to: a creepy cover would stand out enough to pick up and turn over, and the spooky stills from the back would freak us out a little more. The shelves in VHS Cover Art are from that very era of '80s and early '90s when the cover artform really peaked, and includes a lot of videos I remember. If I have any complaint, it's that I wish the book was longer. This is a really fun book to flip through if you ever loved the video store.
I think what I've always loved is the potential for stories on every VHS cover. The movie itself might actually suck, but a good cover will make you imagine all the ways it might be incredible. My sister and I used to browse the horror shelf long before our parents let us rent any, terrifying ourselves with stories of what might happen in those flicks. The marketing worked exactly as it was supposed to: a creepy cover would stand out enough to pick up and turn over, and the spooky stills from the back would freak us out a little more. The shelves in VHS Cover Art are from that very era of '80s and early '90s when the cover artform really peaked, and includes a lot of videos I remember. If I have any complaint, it's that I wish the book was longer. This is a really fun book to flip through if you ever loved the video store.
April 26, 2015
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Video cover art is a unique and largely lost artform representing a period of unabashed creativity during the video rental boom of the 1980s to early 1990s. The art explodes with a succulent, indulgent blend of design, illustration, typography, and hilarious copywriting. Written and curated by Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge, poster artist extraordinaire and VHS obsessive, with a foreword by Mondo’s Juston Ishmael, this collection contains over 240 full-scale, complete video sleeves in the genres of action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller films. It’s a world of mustached, muscled men, buxom beauties, big explosions, phallic guns, and nightmare-inducing monsters. From the sublime to the ridiculous, some are incredible works of art, some are insane, and some capture the tone of the films better than the films themselves. All are amazing and inspiring works of art that captivate the imagination. It’s like stepping back in time into your local video store!
Video covers - there have been a fair share of goodies and baddies over the years (this book focuses on the 80s and early 90s) but, for the most part, we readily identify the theme of a film by the cover on the video box. Screaming girl = horror film. Muscled guy holding a massive gun = action film. Little green men = science fiction film...and so on. And this book has all of those...and so much more.
The book is broken up into a few categories of film: Action, Comedy, Horror, Kids, Sci-Fi, and Thrillers. A lot of the classic films are here: Teen Wolf, Robocop, The Garbage Pail Kids. Some covers instantly recognisable. The art sticks in our minds for different reasons - but we know that they are memorable for more than just the film (in some cases, the films are forgettable.)
There were a lot of films that I didn't recognise - and, judging by the covers, I think I may be glad for that. There are some very well designed covers that instantly draw the eye and make me think it could be a film worth checking out - and there are some that are pretty bad and I know that I don't really wanna catch up with those particular movies!!
I think this would make a great coffee table conversation piece - there are some images that may scar young children for life (haha!) but, on the whole, if you were a teenager in the 80s, this will be like a walk down memory lane (or, in some cases, a run down a dark alley with a shadowy figure chasing you with a knife!!)
Recommended!!
Video cover art is a unique and largely lost artform representing a period of unabashed creativity during the video rental boom of the 1980s to early 1990s. The art explodes with a succulent, indulgent blend of design, illustration, typography, and hilarious copywriting. Written and curated by Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge, poster artist extraordinaire and VHS obsessive, with a foreword by Mondo’s Juston Ishmael, this collection contains over 240 full-scale, complete video sleeves in the genres of action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller films. It’s a world of mustached, muscled men, buxom beauties, big explosions, phallic guns, and nightmare-inducing monsters. From the sublime to the ridiculous, some are incredible works of art, some are insane, and some capture the tone of the films better than the films themselves. All are amazing and inspiring works of art that captivate the imagination. It’s like stepping back in time into your local video store!
Video covers - there have been a fair share of goodies and baddies over the years (this book focuses on the 80s and early 90s) but, for the most part, we readily identify the theme of a film by the cover on the video box. Screaming girl = horror film. Muscled guy holding a massive gun = action film. Little green men = science fiction film...and so on. And this book has all of those...and so much more.
The book is broken up into a few categories of film: Action, Comedy, Horror, Kids, Sci-Fi, and Thrillers. A lot of the classic films are here: Teen Wolf, Robocop, The Garbage Pail Kids. Some covers instantly recognisable. The art sticks in our minds for different reasons - but we know that they are memorable for more than just the film (in some cases, the films are forgettable.)
There were a lot of films that I didn't recognise - and, judging by the covers, I think I may be glad for that. There are some very well designed covers that instantly draw the eye and make me think it could be a film worth checking out - and there are some that are pretty bad and I know that I don't really wanna catch up with those particular movies!!
I think this would make a great coffee table conversation piece - there are some images that may scar young children for life (haha!) but, on the whole, if you were a teenager in the 80s, this will be like a walk down memory lane (or, in some cases, a run down a dark alley with a shadowy figure chasing you with a knife!!)
Recommended!!
March 2, 2016
'VHS: Video Cover Art: 1980s to Early 1990s' by Thomas Hodge is a collection of covers from schlocky VHS releases, many of them pretty obscure. I found it to be a fun trip down memory lane.
Starting in the late 1980s and for about 13 years, I worked in the video field. First as a salesperson for a distributor. This was the heyday of the video store, and I was working out of Los Angeles. Along with big films like Top Gun and Cobra, I got to sell such gems as Banzai Runner! and Red Heat (not the Schwarzenegger film, although I sold that one too). For independent B film studios, the only way to compete was through outrageous art. In some cases, the art was better than the movie. This book is a gallery of covers from that era. The focus is on lesser known films, but I recognized quite a few. With each full cover, the release year, studio and artist is given, where the artist is known.
This is certainly niche art. There are lots of bulging biceps, explosions, big hair bikini girls and mirrored sunglasses. This is likely the kind of thing you'd find being sold as art at a gas station, but it served it's purpose. In a world of so many choices, sometimes you could only sell something based on cover art that had some appeal. This book brought back lots of memories of late nights watching a lot of really bad movies. It made me smile.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Starting in the late 1980s and for about 13 years, I worked in the video field. First as a salesperson for a distributor. This was the heyday of the video store, and I was working out of Los Angeles. Along with big films like Top Gun and Cobra, I got to sell such gems as Banzai Runner! and Red Heat (not the Schwarzenegger film, although I sold that one too). For independent B film studios, the only way to compete was through outrageous art. In some cases, the art was better than the movie. This book is a gallery of covers from that era. The focus is on lesser known films, but I recognized quite a few. With each full cover, the release year, studio and artist is given, where the artist is known.
This is certainly niche art. There are lots of bulging biceps, explosions, big hair bikini girls and mirrored sunglasses. This is likely the kind of thing you'd find being sold as art at a gas station, but it served it's purpose. In a world of so many choices, sometimes you could only sell something based on cover art that had some appeal. This book brought back lots of memories of late nights watching a lot of really bad movies. It made me smile.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
March 4, 2015
We used to rent movies all the time, and there was a Blockbuster (I think it was Blockbuster) within walking distance of our house. Sadly, it eventually became something else, which then became a Baja Fresh, and which is now Pepe's Tacos. Some highlights from my movie-renting days include Throw Momma from the Train, random anime, American Gothic, and Sleepaway Camp (that final shot haunts me TO THIS DAY).
This was a fun little book. I have seen literally none of the movies featured within, however, though I still enjoyed looking at the covers and reading the tag lines. The kids' movies section was all over the damn place. Hardly any of them seemed like something a kid would watch, but then I remembered my four-year-old was freakin' fascinated by Tremors (I'm not a terrible parent, I swear).
Some of my favorite movies shown in the book:
Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (sounds, erm, interesting)
Sour Grapes: Beer sales are rising, the drinking age is dropping and all America's DRUNK! (featuring a scantily woman holding a beer and a big ass gun, with a beer-drinking baby strapped on her back)
Aerobicide: This workout'll kill you! (death by aerobics. Nice)
Berserker (The Nordic Curse) (well this actually sounds amazing and I'm going to look it up)
Heartbeeps: An electric love story (ummmm ADORABLE)
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun little book. I have seen literally none of the movies featured within, however, though I still enjoyed looking at the covers and reading the tag lines. The kids' movies section was all over the damn place. Hardly any of them seemed like something a kid would watch, but then I remembered my four-year-old was freakin' fascinated by Tremors (I'm not a terrible parent, I swear).
Some of my favorite movies shown in the book:
Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (sounds, erm, interesting)
Sour Grapes: Beer sales are rising, the drinking age is dropping and all America's DRUNK! (featuring a scantily woman holding a beer and a big ass gun, with a beer-drinking baby strapped on her back)
Aerobicide: This workout'll kill you! (death by aerobics. Nice)
Berserker (The Nordic Curse) (well this actually sounds amazing and I'm going to look it up)
Heartbeeps: An electric love story (ummmm ADORABLE)
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 20, 2015
Maravilloso recopilatorio de carátulas "ochenteras". Clásicos de serie b. Me retrotraen a una época en que disfrutaba paseando y buscando joyas por las estanterías de los videoclubs. Grandes y gratos recuerdos.
October 6, 2020
Yes, I actually read the front and back of every VHS tape in this collection. I kept this book on a dictionary stand and every few days flipped to a new page reading an entry or two. If I liked the covers, I might leave it, if I didn't, I read them and moved on to the next one. But it's not a book meant to be read and I know that, I just made it part of my personal mission. No, this is a coffee table book, something meant to be perused through at leisure and to admire the artwork. So let's talk about that art.
Some of it's great, some of it's not great, but it's really fun, some of it's okay, and then... some of it's awful. And there's really no reason to have awful art in a book celebrating the bombastic art of 80s VHS covers. Sure, maybe a few for one reason or another, but there are numerous covers that are just horrendous and I can't believe they couldn't have found better covers somewhere else.
The book is divided into genres: action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, thriller and as I paged through it I thought: No one is buying this book for the Comedy section. I think it safe to say that the majority of people buying it are exclusively interested in the horror/SF/F section though the action fits right in as well. I was surprised the Kids section was as fun as it was, but there's a lot of SF/F in there. But I was surprised that some of the worst art was in the thriller section. There were a slew of really amateurish covers that looked terrible. I only mention this because I want this book to be the best it can be and I can't believe they couldn't find better.
Despite these detriments, it's a beautifully designed book and one I've enjoyed flipping through for most of the year. I'll enjoy leaving it out for guests to peruse when the pandemic is over and I again have guests!
Some of it's great, some of it's not great, but it's really fun, some of it's okay, and then... some of it's awful. And there's really no reason to have awful art in a book celebrating the bombastic art of 80s VHS covers. Sure, maybe a few for one reason or another, but there are numerous covers that are just horrendous and I can't believe they couldn't have found better covers somewhere else.
The book is divided into genres: action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, thriller and as I paged through it I thought: No one is buying this book for the Comedy section. I think it safe to say that the majority of people buying it are exclusively interested in the horror/SF/F section though the action fits right in as well. I was surprised the Kids section was as fun as it was, but there's a lot of SF/F in there. But I was surprised that some of the worst art was in the thriller section. There were a slew of really amateurish covers that looked terrible. I only mention this because I want this book to be the best it can be and I can't believe they couldn't find better.
Despite these detriments, it's a beautifully designed book and one I've enjoyed flipping through for most of the year. I'll enjoy leaving it out for guests to peruse when the pandemic is over and I again have guests!
February 22, 2020
This book is a real blast from the past showing all this amazing video cover art that actually becomes more dynamic than the actual movie plots that they display. I didn't even know Jackie Chan had a movie out there called Fearless Hyena 2. Some standout known artists for me were Renato Casaro, Graham Humpherys, and Enzo Sciotti. I also found it very interesting that a lot of these films seem to follow certain trends of their time as I noticed a lot of Star Wars knock-off films like Gremloids, Space Wars, and StarCrash. Now I want to endeavor to find some of these videos with this amazing cover art like Cellar Dweller, The Evil Dead (green ghoul cover), Savage Streets, The Wailing, Troll, The Stuff, The Kiss, The Willies, The Garbage Pail Kids, The Go-Kids, The Dirt Bike Kid, Willy Milly, Starchaser, and more. Definitely a sucker for a lot of the horror genre ones. Also I would be stoked for a poster of that Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom. As a person that saw the cusp end of the video cover art age; and who walked the horror aisles of my aunt's Ace Video shop as a kid it's kind of a nice trip back into nostalgia.
September 14, 2021
Whilst there isnt too much to read in this book there is so much to see. For fans of the films of the 80s and if you loved spending time in video stores, You will feast your eyes with this huge collection of some of the coolest video art of that era.
A great coffee book table and whilst my copy of the book doesnt sit on a table, it does sit next to me on my desk and is a great trip down memory lane.
A great coffee book table and whilst my copy of the book doesnt sit on a table, it does sit next to me on my desk and is a great trip down memory lane.
January 2, 2022
Excellent visual treat for the eyes, a bygone era an era I miss dearly. I still own and collect along with newer physical media, although the book is focused on British/European releases there are alot of these that were released in the US albeit under different covers, nonetheless I Love this book I only wish someone does an American /North American Version of this book. So many neat covers, so much color. a must own and must read, glad it's in my collection.
February 12, 2025
Interesting coffee table book of the lost advertising art of making VHS covers to appeal to video renters.
There was rather more nudity / women in peril type covers than I was bargaining on, making the whole compendium a bit more tawdry than I'd prefer.
There was rather more nudity / women in peril type covers than I was bargaining on, making the whole compendium a bit more tawdry than I'd prefer.
September 26, 2017
Well, I’m proud to say that I haven’t seen any of the movies in this book. It was semi-interesting, semi-repulsive. I don’t think it accurately represented the time period.
January 7, 2020
No info about the movies really but so much great art that takes you back to the VHS days. Can’t recommend it enough to fans. Awesome coffee table book.
August 18, 2022
Beautiful and stunning collection.
May 18, 2015
I’m not the biggest fan of Tom ‘The Dude Designs’ Hodge‘s work on posters – the bubbly, neon ’80s stuff has always felt far too busy to me. He’s basically the antithesis to Drew Struzan. Struzan’s work is clean, uncluttered, and offers up just enough to stir your interest, whereas I’ve always felt that Hodge’s art tries to fit the entire plot to the movie within a one-sheet’s 27×40 dimensions.
That said: the work from which Hodge draws his inspiration shows that the artist has deep taste. His new book for Schiffer Publishing, VHS Video Cover Art, is a treasure trove of astounding and astonishing VHS cover art from the ’80s and early ’90s. These painted covers are what drew so many of us into the stranger sections of the video store as kids. As so many documentarians have pointed out, VHS covers needed something to make them stand out, and those covers were a prime way of maximizing their appeal on the video store shelf.
What makes this book interesting is that it’s a collection of VHS art from UK releases, meaning that while some of the titles might be familiar to Americans, the covers are totally different. There’s a lot of work by the likes of Graham Humphreys, whose work is bonkers in terms of quality and detail, and only stands to be the stick by which all of the other art is measured.
Given that so many of these VHS cassettes had artwork with bad perspective, strange homages to movies to which they weren’t at all related, and just perplexing choices overall (for instance, I cannot believe that so many sex comedies featured nudity on the covers), this is the sort of book over which you can repeatedly pore.
Given that these aren’t just the covers, but the entire VHS box, in addition to admiring the art, you can admire the way some copywriter sums up a film in just a short paragraph. Some are dead on the money, while others are out-and-out lies – a lesson many of us learned the hard way. It’s great that all this text is included, because otherwise, you’d just be staring at images with little to no context for them, aside from Justin Ishmael’s introduction and Hodge’s opening reminisces.
A big hand must go to Hodge for the way in which the book is organized. While the titles are arranged alphabetically, it’s done so under a series of categories, making VHS Video Cover Art the coffee table equivalent of a trip back in time. You want to wander the horror section? Let’s try and choose between The Evil Dead and Annihilator.
Also, you start to notice certain trends. There are quite a few images which look an awful lot like other films. I know that Enforcer II isn’t related to Cobra at all – nor does the star look anything like Sly Stallone – but damned if you wouldn’t have rented the film if you liked Cobra. Similar things occur when you have facing pages showing the career trajectory of stars. Linda Blair in both Savage Streets and Savage Island? Obviously, she’s found a trend.
In the end, this is a wonderful collection, showcasing these VHS boxes just as one would have found them in the UK video shops during their heyday. For the connoisseur, there’s a lot into which you can delve, recollecting over your youth. For the novice, there are quite a few films of which you’ve likely never heard, and a definite starting point for obscurities over which to obsess and search.
That said: the work from which Hodge draws his inspiration shows that the artist has deep taste. His new book for Schiffer Publishing, VHS Video Cover Art, is a treasure trove of astounding and astonishing VHS cover art from the ’80s and early ’90s. These painted covers are what drew so many of us into the stranger sections of the video store as kids. As so many documentarians have pointed out, VHS covers needed something to make them stand out, and those covers were a prime way of maximizing their appeal on the video store shelf.
What makes this book interesting is that it’s a collection of VHS art from UK releases, meaning that while some of the titles might be familiar to Americans, the covers are totally different. There’s a lot of work by the likes of Graham Humphreys, whose work is bonkers in terms of quality and detail, and only stands to be the stick by which all of the other art is measured.
Given that so many of these VHS cassettes had artwork with bad perspective, strange homages to movies to which they weren’t at all related, and just perplexing choices overall (for instance, I cannot believe that so many sex comedies featured nudity on the covers), this is the sort of book over which you can repeatedly pore.
Given that these aren’t just the covers, but the entire VHS box, in addition to admiring the art, you can admire the way some copywriter sums up a film in just a short paragraph. Some are dead on the money, while others are out-and-out lies – a lesson many of us learned the hard way. It’s great that all this text is included, because otherwise, you’d just be staring at images with little to no context for them, aside from Justin Ishmael’s introduction and Hodge’s opening reminisces.
A big hand must go to Hodge for the way in which the book is organized. While the titles are arranged alphabetically, it’s done so under a series of categories, making VHS Video Cover Art the coffee table equivalent of a trip back in time. You want to wander the horror section? Let’s try and choose between The Evil Dead and Annihilator.
Also, you start to notice certain trends. There are quite a few images which look an awful lot like other films. I know that Enforcer II isn’t related to Cobra at all – nor does the star look anything like Sly Stallone – but damned if you wouldn’t have rented the film if you liked Cobra. Similar things occur when you have facing pages showing the career trajectory of stars. Linda Blair in both Savage Streets and Savage Island? Obviously, she’s found a trend.
In the end, this is a wonderful collection, showcasing these VHS boxes just as one would have found them in the UK video shops during their heyday. For the connoisseur, there’s a lot into which you can delve, recollecting over your youth. For the novice, there are quite a few films of which you’ve likely never heard, and a definite starting point for obscurities over which to obsess and search.
May 28, 2015
Film hounds in their 30's on up fondly remember a time when we could casual walk the halls of various video stores and grab an armload of flicks to watch over a long weekend or a vacation. The basis for those grabs were often based on the absolutely lurid and fantastic cover art. The lower the budget the more extreme the cover in many cases. I believe this nostalgia is what has largely fueled the VHS collecting craze. Many of us want to own and see those flicks that we were never allowed to rent by our frowning parents or the films we always wanted to see but never got around to renting. Thomas "The Dude Designs" Hodge has given us wonderful posters and box art for recent films but creating lovingly like they used to be in the 80's; painted with lots of blood, badasses, and babes. He's the go-to guy if you need a rad poster that will hook viewers. This guy knows his stuff and when he releases a book about box art, you have to check it out.
VHS Video Cover Art is a wonderful hard cover, full color book that reprints nearly 250 (!) covers from front side and back of his absolute favorite tapes. He combed through massive vhs collections in the UK to bring us the best, worst, and funkiest covers he could unearth. This is as close as we are ever going to get to walking through the vintage halls of an old mom & pop video store aside from buying the whole damn store itself. The book contains the artist if it's known and that's about it. There is no commentary or reviews or anything else to clutter it up. You just open it up and rub your eyeballs all over the funky covers and wonder if the movies deliver what the posters offer, just like in the good old days. Sure we grabbed bon-i-fide stinkers but there was gold sprinkled through those shelves too. Now you can have the fun of looking at the covers whenever you want without actually having to sit through the stinkers.
The pictures are high resolution, full color, and damn near actual size. There's no weird "arty" filters put on them, no special lighting or text. You get pure raw vhs cover art the way it was intended to be seen. This could have been a wank fest of the curator putting his own stamp on every piece but instead he treats each cover like the piece of art that it is. Living in the states there are several covers that I've never seen before for films that I have actually checked out so that's pretty neat too. There's no way I would ever get to see these specific versions of the covers unless I hopped on a plane and broke into his house. It's interesting to note that the highly regulated video laws (hello video nasties!) in the UK still allowed a load of nudity to be on normal covers. That would never fly in the free-est nation in the world. Nipples are a big no-no here. I would love to see future editions based on country of origin. U.S.A., Japan, and Italy would all be very awesome to own.
If you love VHS Cover Art, you'll love this book. It's a simple as that. It's fun to look at and show your friends. It makes for a great coffee table book and conversation starter. Get your nostalgic fix and give the covers a re-appraisal. Some of them are actually very good. Others are truly terrible. You be the judge.
VHS Video Cover Art is a wonderful hard cover, full color book that reprints nearly 250 (!) covers from front side and back of his absolute favorite tapes. He combed through massive vhs collections in the UK to bring us the best, worst, and funkiest covers he could unearth. This is as close as we are ever going to get to walking through the vintage halls of an old mom & pop video store aside from buying the whole damn store itself. The book contains the artist if it's known and that's about it. There is no commentary or reviews or anything else to clutter it up. You just open it up and rub your eyeballs all over the funky covers and wonder if the movies deliver what the posters offer, just like in the good old days. Sure we grabbed bon-i-fide stinkers but there was gold sprinkled through those shelves too. Now you can have the fun of looking at the covers whenever you want without actually having to sit through the stinkers.
The pictures are high resolution, full color, and damn near actual size. There's no weird "arty" filters put on them, no special lighting or text. You get pure raw vhs cover art the way it was intended to be seen. This could have been a wank fest of the curator putting his own stamp on every piece but instead he treats each cover like the piece of art that it is. Living in the states there are several covers that I've never seen before for films that I have actually checked out so that's pretty neat too. There's no way I would ever get to see these specific versions of the covers unless I hopped on a plane and broke into his house. It's interesting to note that the highly regulated video laws (hello video nasties!) in the UK still allowed a load of nudity to be on normal covers. That would never fly in the free-est nation in the world. Nipples are a big no-no here. I would love to see future editions based on country of origin. U.S.A., Japan, and Italy would all be very awesome to own.
If you love VHS Cover Art, you'll love this book. It's a simple as that. It's fun to look at and show your friends. It makes for a great coffee table book and conversation starter. Get your nostalgic fix and give the covers a re-appraisal. Some of them are actually very good. Others are truly terrible. You be the judge.
July 7, 2015
For those of us born in the 70's, the VHS tape was the go-to method for watching movies throughout the last part of the 70's and all of the 80's and 90's. In fact, even after the release of the DVD, there were many die-hard fans of the VHS tape that took longer to convert - I may or may not have been one of those people...considering I have a VHS player and a tote full of VHS tapes that I just can't part with packed away with the collectibles that make up the story of my life.
VHS: Video Cover Art is available in a hardcover format in full color. For vintage art lovers (did I really just identify the VHS tape as vintage??!!), this hardcover novel is very much appropriate as a coffee table book. However, as I went along through the e-book I was provided for review, I couldn't help but notice the risque covers that were very much reminiscent of the 80's/90's movies.
The book contains separate genres including action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller. I was born in the mid-1970's, the first year the VHS was available from JVC (according to Wikipedia, anyway). As such, many of the movies offered up in this collection were not ones that I recognized, watched, or had ever even heard of before. I've only seen a handful of the movies listed and probably only recognized the titles of about half of them. This is why MY rating would only be 3 stars. What was provided within the covers wasn't really anything that engaged me or entertained me. Yes, the walk down memory lane was nostalgic in that you just don't see VHS tapes that often anymore, but I would need to feel more than nostalgia to purchase a book of this type. Maybe if I related to more of the movies presented inside my opinion would be different.
In terms of quality, quantity, and entertainment value for the die-hard movie collectible fan, this book is an amazing piece of work. The ability to have pulled all of these covers together into one novel is superb and extraordinary. As such, I give this book 5 stars. For the right folks, this will be a must-have addition to their library, movie memorabilia, or other collection(s).
Review copy, in ebook form, provided by the publisher via NetGalley, at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
VHS: Video Cover Art is available in a hardcover format in full color. For vintage art lovers (did I really just identify the VHS tape as vintage??!!), this hardcover novel is very much appropriate as a coffee table book. However, as I went along through the e-book I was provided for review, I couldn't help but notice the risque covers that were very much reminiscent of the 80's/90's movies.
The book contains separate genres including action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller. I was born in the mid-1970's, the first year the VHS was available from JVC (according to Wikipedia, anyway). As such, many of the movies offered up in this collection were not ones that I recognized, watched, or had ever even heard of before. I've only seen a handful of the movies listed and probably only recognized the titles of about half of them. This is why MY rating would only be 3 stars. What was provided within the covers wasn't really anything that engaged me or entertained me. Yes, the walk down memory lane was nostalgic in that you just don't see VHS tapes that often anymore, but I would need to feel more than nostalgia to purchase a book of this type. Maybe if I related to more of the movies presented inside my opinion would be different.
In terms of quality, quantity, and entertainment value for the die-hard movie collectible fan, this book is an amazing piece of work. The ability to have pulled all of these covers together into one novel is superb and extraordinary. As such, I give this book 5 stars. For the right folks, this will be a must-have addition to their library, movie memorabilia, or other collection(s).
Review copy, in ebook form, provided by the publisher via NetGalley, at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
June 2, 2015
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
As someone who was born in 1982, I expected to recognize more titles than I did. I vividly remember walking the aisles of the local video stores (Video Village comes to mind immediately), and looking at the covers. My parents were 21 when they had me, so they were young enough to pick up some of the more insane looking titles, and weren't terribly vigilant about keeping me from seeing those movies.
Annoyingly, I can't remember the names of some of the more disturbing movies I saw back then, all B movies that were so odd and occasionally scary and sexual. Just weird, but always fun.
After looking at these titles, I wish to god I could get my hands on them. Because they're from the same ilk, and they all look so insane and so fun.
The art work is just fun. I would love to have this book on my hypothetical coffee table, for guests to do a double take, open, and stare in shock and awe.
The further I got in the book, the more disappointed I was not to recognize titles. The Invisible Kid. Troll. The Garbage Pail Kids. (whee!)
Then I turned a page, and there it was.
The Legend of Billie Jean.
Boom. Done.
Fantastic fun for anyone who grew up in the 80's.
(This title can be found at Schiffer Book's Website).
As someone who was born in 1982, I expected to recognize more titles than I did. I vividly remember walking the aisles of the local video stores (Video Village comes to mind immediately), and looking at the covers. My parents were 21 when they had me, so they were young enough to pick up some of the more insane looking titles, and weren't terribly vigilant about keeping me from seeing those movies.
Annoyingly, I can't remember the names of some of the more disturbing movies I saw back then, all B movies that were so odd and occasionally scary and sexual. Just weird, but always fun.
After looking at these titles, I wish to god I could get my hands on them. Because they're from the same ilk, and they all look so insane and so fun.
The art work is just fun. I would love to have this book on my hypothetical coffee table, for guests to do a double take, open, and stare in shock and awe.
The further I got in the book, the more disappointed I was not to recognize titles. The Invisible Kid. Troll. The Garbage Pail Kids. (whee!)
Then I turned a page, and there it was.
The Legend of Billie Jean.
Boom. Done.
Fantastic fun for anyone who grew up in the 80's.
(This title can be found at Schiffer Book's Website).
June 23, 2015
After *finally* scoring a copy of Hodge's Video Nasty poster for my store (Little Shop of Horror in Durham NC), I absolutely had to have this book!
Such a nostalgic kick in the feels!!
It was great to see a few of my faves mixed in with some that I had never heard of. Yes, the Friday night trip to the video store was always awesome and I still to this day continue to pick things up solely on their cover art; although, that often doesn't end well like it used to.
Very cool to see these UK covers as they vary from the ones I was used to here in the states. They certainly didn't shy away from some of the more risque artwork like the US does. Oh no, there's a boob! Heaven forbid!
This is definitely a must have for any video hounds.
*Digital review copy provided by NetGalley & the publisher.
Such a nostalgic kick in the feels!!
It was great to see a few of my faves mixed in with some that I had never heard of. Yes, the Friday night trip to the video store was always awesome and I still to this day continue to pick things up solely on their cover art; although, that often doesn't end well like it used to.
Very cool to see these UK covers as they vary from the ones I was used to here in the states. They certainly didn't shy away from some of the more risque artwork like the US does. Oh no, there's a boob! Heaven forbid!
This is definitely a must have for any video hounds.
*Digital review copy provided by NetGalley & the publisher.
March 19, 2015
This brought back so many memories of Saturday nights in our tiny local rental place, trying to agree on a film. Seen a few of these, and I reckon that although reminiscing over the covers is fun - actually having to sit down and watch any of the films would be slightly torturous! Will be trying to get my hands on a hard copy of this, as it'll make a great present for a film buff friend :-)
June 8, 2015
This is my favorite new book! It's jam packed with VHS covers that sold films before people had access to seeing trailer on YouTube etc. it's awesome!
October 27, 2015
I finally have to return my library copy and stop hoarding this. And then buy it. VHS covers give me life. 5/5 STARS FOREVER.
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