December 25, 2018

KRULL & Company: Retro VHS Packaging

https://www.millcreekent.com/
AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM
MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT

Review by Mr. Paws😸

In an era when vinyl records can make a comeback, I suppose it was inevitable that nostalgia for the days of VHS tapes would rear its ugly head.

Unlike the physical charm and warmer sound offered by an LP, however, I don't think anyone actually misses the VHS format itself. Comparatively speaking, the picture quality was never that great and they wore out pretty fast, especially rental copies. And on occasion, your RV-sized VCR would decide that the Chuck Norris chopfest you planned your weekend around was good enough to eat.

But the ritual is what we miss...venturing to the nearest mom & pop video store and perusing shelf after shelf of battered boxes covered in stickers reminding us not to leave the tapes in the sun. Speaking of which, it was usually only a matter of weeks before a new release looked more like an artifact from an archaeological dig.

https://www.millcreekent.com/It was in this ancient time that movies like Krull, Silent Rage and Last Action Hero were king. Ignored in theaters but given new leases on life on the burgeoning home video market, they are three of many titles from Mill Creek Entertainment repackaged with slipcovers harkening back to the video store days, right down to the image of a beat-up old VHS sliding from the box. Of the three aforementioned titles, Krull is the real keeper. Not because it's a better movie or anything, but Columbia Pictures' VHS boxes were kind-of iconic. With bright red borders and the same bold white font of the spine of every title, their boxes were as instantly recognizable to frequent renters as Warner and Disney's old clamshell cases.

In terms of actual content, these are bare-bones Blu-rays, but I suppose you could look at it this way: None of the old VHS copies had bonus features, either. The purpose of these re-releases is purely aesthetic, meant for collectors of a certain age who didn't grow up on Netflix and its generic title descriptions. And at a dirt cheap price, they're a fun way to retro-fit your video shelves.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

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