Magnificent Home Video Artwork Through The Years!

As I've bitched before, the journey from theatrical (and now streaming) release to physical media leaves a few casualties in its wake. In the olden days those victims would include sound quality, picture clarity, and aspect ratio. Understandable losses, the technology lived and died in my lifetime and now I can see the edge of the frame from my couch. But something that rarely made it into my living room was the theatrical poster: those glossy pieces of art that sometimes found their way onto billboards, into magazines and comic books, and maybe the wall art selection at your local Kmart. But mostly you saw them when you went out to the movies and they became tied to their respective features as an identifiable logo. Then they'd come out on videocassette wrapped in some alien image of shapes and text (usually an uncomfortably extreme closeup of the lead actor) and you'd think "what the fuck is this shit?" You know it, you share my gripe. It got even dumber with DVD, worse with Blu-ray, I don't know what the hell is going on with the 4Ks, and I'm not even gonna mention the stupid ass Netflix thumbnails. Content personified by celebrity mugs, surgically enhanced and digitally smoothed. Garbage in, garbage out. 

Apparently the canvas of a video cover is too small to convey panache or mood, so at some point somebody's gotta rethink the approach and redesign their art. And wouldn't you know it, sometimes it worked out okay, or even better than okay. Short of when the original poster art actually made it to the cover (though sometimes both sucked) there have been several standouts in my mind of 'alternate art': old videocassettes that became personally (or even culturally) iconic, all the way up to more recent 'special edition' digital video discs that either improved upon or utilized the original graphics. These are several that immediately come to mind.

- Paul

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (VHS)

It's unfortunate, though understandable, that Matthew Peak's original (but convoluted) Freddy's Revenge artwork didn't make it to video stores. No matter. As jumbled together as this cover is, it is perhaps the best interpretation of what this or any Elm Street movie is about: a horrifying melted face engulfed in flames clawing at a shadowy suburban home. I always thought his Part 2 makeup was the scariest, and when you consider that all other depictions of him - whether on video covers or posters or physically in the movies - are dimly lit or entirely abstract, so for me (and maybe for most) this became the most explicit and pronounced image of Freddy Krueger. It haunted my nightmares. 

Rock 'n' Roll High School (VHS)

Was never a fan of the clamshell cases for videocassettes (or as I just called them "big puffy covers"). It was probably on my short list of why I hated Disney movies. But, I absolutely loved the Warner Home Video covers - they often employed original poster art on their boxes, overlaid on their immediately recognizable color-appropriate gradient backdrop. But when they didn't use the posters, they'd assign some obscure publicity still as the centerpiece, creating the vibe only ever utilized by The Criterion Collection. I adore the original Rock 'n' Roll High School poster by William Stout (I have it in my home) but the perfection on this VHS is so esoterically spot-on that it feels like skilled fan art. 

Enemy (Blu-ray)

One of the deciding factors for me to make the jump from DVD to Blu-ray was to have a shot at putting this piece of art on my shelf. I was sorta prepared to buy the movie anyway but I held off when I became aware of this aesthetic upgrade; nothing against a stylized glamour shot of Jake Gyllenhaal, that has its own elegant beauty, but this grim Magritte style against a solid mustard yellow is a much better indication as to what the movie is really like. 

The Blob (VHS)

The theatrical poster wasn't too dissimilar: a silhouetted figure ensconced in pink slime. But the slime looked like raspberry ginger ale and "The Blob" font was better suited to a computer hacking movie; it definitely nailed down the Science Fiction side of the story. But video store shelves were reserved for the Horror Show and so instead we got this ghoulish emaciated victim that incidentally gives a face to the monster, complete with outreaching arms. That and the typeface in fatter, Blobby letters made for a memorable and exciting design. 

Heat (Blu-ray)

This is the most refreshing upgrade and it only took a quarter of a century. I hate floating heads - either that or they never seemed to perfect a composition that made it pleasing, and the Heat heads were some of the most agitating. (Also, I like Val Kilmer but he ruined that Godfather Mt. Rushmore.) This sparse, moody L.A. scenescape best defines the movie while also being more visually captivating than anything in the movie. 

Mitchell (VHS)

I unironically love video art that misrepresents the content of the movie. This doesn't promise any monsters or nudity that isn't actually in the film, and these actors and a helicopter are all part of the plot, but never together and not in this capacity. Also Mitchell came out in 1975, and this particular video release came out in 1989 - note the updated clothing and hairstyles on Joe Don and Linda Evans, probably to capitalize on the peripheral popularity of Hunter or Spencer: For Hire or some other bubbly detective show from that particular moment. Mostly I just like the cartoon bad guy falling to his death like Wile E. Coyote. 

Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films (Blu-ray)

Of all the Criterion covers, which would you choose? Me, I picked one I don't even own or intend on ever buying - but goddammit this artwork will always give me pause in regards to "Hmm, maybe I can learn to like Godzilla." I mean the movies are fine I guess but they certainly don't warrant the eye-catching vibrancy of this Pop Art box set - I'll just get a poster and be done with it.

The Burning (VHS)

It is what it says it is. It certainly takes the mystique out of its stupid ass title, but what it doesn't do is make use of the best and most stylish scene of the movie when Cropsy massacres a boatful of campers with some gardening shears - that's a great image and does look good on a poster but it's such a damn giveaway. This one hour photo print of a stuntman on fire feels a whole lot scarier and more mysterious than anything the movie has to offer. 

A Fish Called Wanda (Blu-ray)

Typically I don't like these busy modern-day Drew Struzan-ripoff murals that have graced the covers of every special edition release of everyone from Shout! to Vinegar to Arrow. But the symmetry of this lineup against the clean white background pops brighter than any of the dreary, muddled Horror stuff. And the details of every prop they've included to even the facial expression are direct, recognizable references that would cause even a casual fan to laugh.