The early days of the VHS tape and the ability to watch movies at home on a machine whenever you want was a cause for rejoice in my world. Mom was my co-conspirator for stopping in at any one of the local stores as the industry began to take off. So how about looking at some of those early packaging delights that had us reaching for the shelves to snag that title before the next hand reached out for it.
Remember those big clam shell style cases? Now when I see one on a shelf in some thrift store I automatically reach for it to see if it’s some forgotten title that was never released on DVD or blu ray. Titles like Inside Out remained just that until the Warner Archive put it out years later.
A trio of titles that may represent something you’ve been looking for but unable to find. Wouldn’t surprise me as these ones are pretty rare flicks that have found there way to me throughout my many years of collecting. Who wouldn’t want that Virginia Mayo title!
Every Christopher Lee fan needs that tape in the middle of this grab bag.
When it comes to Billy Jack, I kind of recall it playing on prime time TV during my early years and Tom Laughlin looked ultra cool dressed in black. When I finally saw it years later I thought to myself, “I guess you had to live through the times to get it.” Dare I say, much like Easy Rider. Sorry Dennis.
Then there was the evolution and I can’t recall which came first. The clam shell or the cardboard styled cases that were bigger then the tapes with the tape centered in the box.
How about the early days when you had to decide between the Beta or VHS format? I don’t think I had or knew a single person who had a Beta machine.
Switching gears a bit how about some hardcover books that were turned into film before yours truly walked the earth.
Wrapping it up, do you recall these items from the exploding marketing era of Hollywood? The novel adaptation and the story behind the making of a classic. Excuse me, the story behind the remaking of a classic.
The fotonovel was a great idea for the those not interested in the comic book adaptations.
That’s all folks………… for now.
Mike's Take On the Movies 
Love this post, lol! I used to (get this) collect not only the soundtrack LPs (and cassettes, some of which I still own) to movies I liked, but the novelizations, any comics and when they were released, the films themselves on tape, then DVD. No room for that stuff now, but I got a chuckle recalling being pissed that VHS case sizes were all over the map. Don’t get me started on those stupidly long DVD boxes made to discourage theft (and waste cardboard, lol)… 😀
No more cassettes. Maybe a half dozen LP soundtracks around here. When I was a kid I used to think that a LP soundtrack was the film’s language track with the actors voices. Now just a couple items of each for nostalgia I guess.
I should dive into the closet here and dig out those cassette tapes one of these days. I forgot what’s in those cases, but I’m sure it’s worth the trouble and a post on my site getting buried in an avalanche of clothes and such. I hope I moved that dumbbell bar out of there or it’ll be me and a bottle of aspirin with some bandages as a chaser… 😀