Remember some of these label names that used to adorn video boxes in the 1970s and '80s? Magnetic Video Corporation Allied Artists Video Corporation (Bankrupt in September 1979. Bought up by 'Lorimar', I believe). NILES Videocassette, Inc. Fotomat Drive-Thru Movies (the 'Mat!) VTN (Video Tape Network) All-Star Video MEDA/MEDIA Home Entertainment Time-Life Video (The really old 'Time-Life Video' releases were issued in thick, brown plastic cases; I have a couple of these and wish I had more. "Halloween" was released by Time-Life Video in one of these brown cases, but I don't have it. So was "Meatballs". I haven't got that one, either. → The two I do have are made-for-television movies: The War Between the Tates (1977-Tvm) and Breaking Up (1978-Tvm)). 'MCA Videocassette, Inc.' became 'MCA Home Video' which became 'MCA/Universal Home Video' which became 'Universal Home Video'. Whew! 20th Century Fox Video in 1982 became 'CBS/Fox Video' in 1983 which later morphed in to 'FOX Video'. Playhouse Video (a division of 'CBS/Fox Video'). The majority of these releases had Orange boxes. KEY Video (a division of 'CBS/Fox Video'). These boxes had a large 'KEY' on the them so you couldn't miss them sitting on a video store shelf! VCI Entertainment United Home Video Paramount Home Video (inc. 'Paramount/Gateway Video'). MGM/CBS MGM/UA Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment Warner Communications, Inc. soon became 'Warner Home Video'. VIDCREST New World Video U.S.A. Home Video Monterey Home Video Continental Home Video Paragon Video Productions (I think every Paragon tape that featured a 'Preview' contained the preview for the shot-on-videotape movie "Boardinghouse". Not surprisingly it's a truly awful film unworthy of your time). Wizard Video PRISM Entertainment Monarch Home Video (I'm still looking for "Love and the Midnight Auto Supply" on this label. Tough sledding!). UNICORN Video, Inc. SUPER Video [existed from 1984-86]. Catalina Home Video [existed from 1983/84. They intended to release at least 19 titles but only issued 11 before going under. Pity! I like this label). Trolley Car (early label from circa 1980/81). Electric Video, Inc. Imperial Video Corp. Best Film & Video (BFV) MOGUL Communications, Inc. All-American Video (a division of MOGUL) Embassy Home Entertainment CHARTER Home Entertainment (offshoot of 'Embassy'). Wood Knapp Video Kartes Video Communications, Inc. (KVC) VCL Communications, Inc. Vestron Video Lightning Video (a subsidiary of Vestron). Karl-Lorimar Home Video (The 'Karl' was the late 'Stuart Karl', who died in August 1991 at age 38 from melanoma). This company released some successful Jane Fonda Workout videos in the '80s, btw, and also one of my favorite TVMs: Where Have All the People Gone? (1974-Tvm). The 1986 movie "Maximum Overdrive" first materialized on video on 'Karl-Lorimar'). Thriller Video (with the smiling skull wearing the top hat!) Fusion Home Video (small label. SPEEDTRAP (1977) was released on Fusion). New Star Video VISTA Entertainment SONY Video Virgin Vision RKO Home Video Republic Pictures Home Video Video Treasures* Anchor Bay* (I can't remember if this label started in 1989 as 'Video Treasures' or not?) VIDMARK Entertainment (In the late 1990s I believe the name was changed to 'Trimark'). GoodTimes Video Program Hunters, Inc. Trend Video VCR Video Masterpiece Cinema (looks to have a been a 'Public Domain' label). Golden Video Classics (another '80s 'PD' label). VCX [Adult] / VCII [VCX's 'mainstream' label]. AVC [Adult Video Corporation]. GUMS (1976), the outrageous "Jaws" parody, was released on AVC. Quality X [Adult] Astronics/Tele-Cine, Inc. Select-A-Tape Essex Canadian labels ASTRAL VIDEO CIC Video Pan-Canadian Premiere Entertainment, Inc. Vogue Video National Film Board of Canada Interglobal MCA/Cineplex Odeon CVT (Cinema Video Theatre) All replies welcome -- even if you think I'm nuts for remembering all of these video labels that started long ago. I'm sure I've missed some old-time labels, but I did my best to recall as many as I could.
Magnetic Video Corporation was bought by CBS/Fox to enter the home video market. They had been licensing Fox films for home video among their other fare. They were based in Farmington Hills then Livonia after the buyout. Their history starts as Magnetic Tape Corporation, a small tape duplication service, then they produced "mechanical royalty" 8 tracks and cassettes until federal copyright was tightened up. These were under either MTC or Pieces Of Eight,
Couple more labels I could not think of for the opening post: WORLD VIDEO (I have some clamshell releases on this label). --------------------------------------- WORLDVISION HOME VIDEO (released movies in clamshells and small-boxes throughout the '80s). LOTS of 'made-for-television' movies were issued on this label. Can't even keep track of them all there were so many. --------------------------------------- AXON VIDEO. Looks to have started in NYC in 1987. Mail-orders were taken for various titles; if not all of them. Axon released mor, non-exploitation movies although the company did release two Joan Collins horror/suspense movies of the '70s which was deffo out-of-the-ordinary when you see Axon's other releases: THE DEVIL WITHIN HER (1975-UK) and REVENGE (1971-UK). Axon even printed a poster (which I have) of spending an evening with Joan! But otherwise Axon's releases were titles like Z, SWEPT AWAY, CARRY ON . . . AT YOUR CONVENIENCE, PROVIDENCE (1977), IPHIGENIA (1977), VOGUES OF 1938, BATTLE OF ALGIERS (this is a very good movie, I must say), QUARTET (1948-UK), TRIO (1950-UK), among others. Something else about Axon: They did not use printed paper labels. All titles were directly printed or lasered (or whatever they used) whatever they used directly on the top of the videocassette in white lettering. Best I could tell AXON was around from 1987-90. → Some of the old-time video labels listed above I have only 1 title on. For instance, "All-American Video" (a division of MOGUL Communications, Inc.) I have one movie on the label. It's in a clamshell case. The obscure 1975 suspense movie HAVE A NICE WEEKEND. Looks to have been transferred from a PAL-format 'master' to NTSC. Rather intriguing release. I've watched the movie thrice. One thing to remember from "Have A Nice Weekend": "Sandwiches...kind of a one-man job". GOT IT! I won't ever, ever, ever forget!
I own the series of the original 'Planet of the Apes' films put out on that label. The original 1968 'Planet' being the first one I bought-Purchased at a flea market for $10.00. $10.00 sounds steep to me now for a used video-tape, but this was at the time when prerecorded movies were still fairly expensive in the stores. Never having seen 'Planet' for sale in any stores I shopped (and *none* of the video rental stores we went to had it available to rent), and with it being my favorite movie, it was worth the purchase. I ended up buying the other four 'Apes' films on Playhouse Video on eBay several years later.
Do you still have 'em all? I bet they look rather cool all grouped ((together)). Those 'PLAYHOUSE' boxes really stood out in a crowd of other video boxes -- much more so than the utterly ordinary grey 'CBS/Fox Video' boxes from the same time period.
Good that you still have the set of 'APES' movies. Cheers. I've got a sea of 'PLAYHOUSE' releases upstairs. Without actually going up and checking I reckon I've got these Playhouse releases -- most of which have orange boxes . . . . . . but ALL THE KIND STRANGERS (1974) is in a red box. Others: CALAMITY JANE (1984-Tvm), THE PRIDE OF JESSE HALLAM (1981-Tvm), QUARTERBACK PRINCESS (1983-Tvm), COMING OUT OF THE ICE (1982-Tvm), THE LAST SONG (1980-Tvm), A CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SNOW (1980-Tvm), THE BOUNTY MAN (1972-Tvm) w/Clint Walker, WILD WOMEN (1970-Tvm), YUMA (1971-Tvm) w/Clint Walker among others.
CATALINA HOME VIDEO. They were in business from 1983/84 as best as I can tell and only released 11 titles despite their intentions of releasing at least 19 titles and " . . . and many, many more". CATALINA had a connection to "Group 1 International Distributors". If one were to look on the IMDb you'll see several 'Group 1' titles were issued on Catalina. It's a shame this lil' company ended so soon. Each CATALINA box had a flap on the side and admittedly these boxes were very flimsy. It didn't take much to add 'wear' to them; the boxes were easily ripped or torn by accident they were so /thin/. When one opens the flap and then opens the box there is a list of nineteen titles printed inside with a Boldface Header that says: "Upcoming releases from Catalina Home Video". CATALINA, however, did not release their titles in the order in which they were printed inside the box. Here is the list of what they intended to issue: CHV 01 ALLIGATOR (1980) → The company released the TV print of "Alligator" instead of the theatrical version. The Tv print runs 8 minutes longer than the theatrical cut. Whether the company knew it was a TV print they got hold of is unknown to me, but the 'write-up' on the back of the box references a scene found only in the Tv print. * CHV 02 CINDERELLA (1977) → This is the [R]-rated edition of the musical version of "Cinderella" starring Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith. This is a parody of sorts of the "Cinderella" story. → The 'Fairy Godmother' is portrayed by black actor Sy Richardson and he camps it up. Plus, instead of having pumpkins turn in to the 'Magic Carriage' to carry Cinderella to the Ball the 'Fairy Godmother' hauls out the watermelons and turns them into the 'Magic Carriage'. Yes, folks, it's that kind of movie. And it *is* a musical. Full of risqué stuff. (There was also an Unrated version released on homevideo by another label, Lightning Video, that had even more dirty stuff!). * CHV 03 PSYCHIC, The (1978-Italian) Starring Jennifer O'Neill. * CHV 04 PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR (1978) * CHV 05 MAN FROM S*E*X, The (1979-UK) A British 'James Bond' spoof movie. * CHV 06 GEMINI STRAIN, The (1978-Canadian) ** Unreleased ** CHV 07 MEATCLEAVER MASSACRE (1977) * CHV 08 LAST 4 DAYS, The (1974-Italian) ** Unreleased ** CHV 09 REDNECK COUNTY (1974) ** Unreleased ** CHV 10 DR. TARR's TORTURE DUNGEON (1973-Mexican) * CHV 11 MANSION OF THE DOOMED (1976) * CHV 12 DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN, The (1979-Australian) * CHV 13 GIANT SPIDER INVASION, The (1975) * Filmed in Wisconsin. Directed by Bill Rebane, who made a spate of low-budget movies in Wisconsin. CHV 14 LIVING NIGHTMARE (1983) I think this is the 1983 movie they intended to release, but I'm not 100% sure. Either way: ** Unreleased ** CHV 15 AMUCK! (1972-Italian) * CHV 16 LAST DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, The (No idea what movie this is). ** Unreleased ** CHV 17 TAKE ALL OF ME (1976-Italian) ** Unreleased ** CHV 18 SHORT EYES (1977) ** Unreleased ** CHV 19 CRASH! (1977) ** Unreleased ** "and many, many more" so it says underneath "Crash". But it didn't happen. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been able to pick up 9 of the 11 known releases; the two I don't have are "Cinderella" and "Amuck!". (Methinks if I did find "Amuck!" on Catalina it would be $$$).
It appears I failed to list 'MAGNUM Entertainment' in the opening post so I will do so now. I have a few movies on these labels: DIRECT Video ABACUS Video
After reading through the new 'Thread' about not understanding why people part with their "physical media" collection I thought I'd resurrect this thread from late 2022. I think it's fun to recall old video labels; the vast majority of which are long since out of business. But some of the tapes remain extant in playable condition.
Here are some old-tyme British video labels; the UK offered up lots of labels at the dawn of the homevideo era and I thought to list some of these labels below: MAGICAL VIDEO MOVIES [MVM] MEVC [Motion Epics Video Company] MERCURY Video PRECISION Video (The earlier Precision releases were in glass-boxes as they were called; these boxes looked like giant audio cassette holders) TEMPLE Video INTERVISION and 'Alpha-Intervision'. It really was 'The Wild West' in Great Britain in the early days of homevideo from 1978-85; there were a number of dodgy labels that popped up such that if the 'company' -- I use the term loosely -- had a film print they'd run it off and put it out on tape regardless of any legalities involved. Dimension Films (only 4 releases; hard to tell if this label was 'legal' or not). Films Of The 80s (highly unlikely to be a legal label, but that didn't stop the people behind this outfit from issuing tapes! If they had a print of a movie they'd run it off and put out videos!). Condor Films (Iffy whether it was a legal outfit or not . . . a big fat 'Maybe'). MILLS Video (deffo a 'bootleg' label. No chance this bunch had the rights to put out the material they did).
This was the era when the BBFC didn't have the authority to regulate home video (they would with the Video Recordings Act of 1984) which is how the video nasty panic happened.
