Misleading DVD (and video) cases

[Perk]

After reading my post on the 36 crazy fists I came upon another "great" topic.  I had purchased Trick or Treat from WalMart a while back and I was a tad bit confused because when I had seen it earlier, about ten years ago, I did not know that Gene Simmons and Ozzy were the stars of the movie, like the DVD showed on the front.  Al I remembered was the guy from Family Ties.  So I was afraid that I had purchased the wrong movie.  So I went and sat down adn watched it and Lo and behold it was the right movie.  They had switched the DVD case to capitalize on the fame of Simmons and Ozzy.  And to make things worse the pictures on the case don't even match how the guys look in the movie.

I noticed a similar thing wth Action Jackson how the cover has starring Carl Weathers, Vanity and Sharon Stone and a huge picture of Stone in the background, yet she's gone almost half way through the movie.  

And 36 Crazy Fists, well my version, has a gigantic pic of Jackie Chan   on the front,  And a pic from what looks like Rumble in the Bronx on the back with a sumarai at the bottom.

So after writing that exceedingly long description I ask you guys to think of any DVD (or video) cases that lead you to believe something that wasn't true about the movie.

[jmc]

That's a scam that's been going on forever...I remember a lot of softcore porn videos that would have contemporary looking box photos--but when you rented the movie you found out that it was from the Sixties or early Seventies.  I've seen this happen with horror films too...retitlings, etc...I've rented some stuff that seemed fairly new only to find out that it was Seventies exploitation with a new title.

[Ash]

Wal Mart in particular seems to be guilty of this.

Just recently someone wrote a similar thread about those old "Hulk" episodes and Wal Mart changed the box art to fool people into thinking that it was the new film that's out in theaters.

[Dunners]

the prisoner "staring " Jackie chan. well jackie is in it, but hes not the main character.

"revenge of the street fighter" the synopsies in the back of the box is bull.

[jmc]

I doubt Wal-Mart designed that Hulk box art, but I guess I could be wrong.  

I don't see what the big deal is...all of it is just part of the bad movie game, as anyone who has been watching these movies for very long can attest.

[JohnL]

I don't know if they did this with the video or DVD, but when one of the networks played the movie Satisfaction a few years ago, the ad for it stated that it starred Julia Roberts. She plays a minor character.

[dean]

i seem to remember a couple of years back a film with steven seagal supposedly starring in the film [his name flashed all over the credits and such]

he was killed in the first half hour [not that i'm complaining though]

can't remember the name, but it was a plane-hijack film that i think may have had halle berry and perhaps even kurt russel in it [although i might be mixing my movies up]

but nevertheless it was damn satisying seeing stevo sucked from a plane.  


damn satisfying

[Deej]

Yeah Dean, Executive Decision I think. The one where Stevo fell of the plane. And everyone was thinking....nahhh he's gotta be holding on to a wing, or maybe he's wearing a bungee...he'll be back.

Also a few years ago there was a film called A Good Man In Africa that was advertised as a Sean Connery movie. He basically entered, said hello, then p**sed off out the back door.

The Jim Carrey video, Rubberface, which promises non stop hilarity. Carrey has a small role, but it's mostly an early 80's "I'm okay, you're okay" movie about a chick named Janet who wants to find self esteem through lame ass stand up comedy.

There is another Jim Carrey video floating around(I forget the video titile) that is described on the box as a touching family comedy. It's actually a depression festival called Doing Time On Maple Drive, that was a Fox channel tv movie when I was a teen. Jim Carrey has a small, decidedly non comedy role as the F-up brother whom nobody likes.

[dean]

thanks deej,

i hate it when you have the film on the tip of your tongue and you can't remember it.  that was going to bug me all night.

but on a similar thread of misleading viewers, don't you all hate it when producers think that by adding a big name at the start of the credits of a movie, despite their involvement being minimal, will mean more people go to see it?

although it doesn't change the film itself for me, it just annoys me that big names who barely appear in a film [such as julia roberts in oceans 11] are one of the first to appear in the credits and go on all the promo tours and such.  its just damn annoying and frustrating!

[yaddo42]

Funny thing about "Executive Decision". I first saw it on St. Patrick's Day in Washington DC while half drunk after leaving a street party. When Segal's exit from the film came, it got gasps of surprise and cries of "He ain't dead!" from the audience. I remember thinking that if he did turn up alive I would lose all respect for the movie and walk out. He didn't, and I didn't. But you would still hear someone saying that he was coming back to save the day. Even once the credits rolled and people  were standing up to leave the theater, there were still a couple of true believers expecting him to turn up alive. Sheesh.

I think the best example would be the 15 minutes of footage of Eddie Murphy added to the 1980s Dudley Moore stinker "Best Defense". After Murphy hit big with "48 Hours" film executives wanted to get another movie out with him as soon as possible but couldn't wait on the projects he had lined up to be done. So they added him into a movie in production and gave him star billing along side Moore. He took up most of the clips in the trailers, which just happened to be the only good bits of the movie, so once you went to see the film, you had seen the best parts of Murphy's brief appearences in the movie.

[Neon Noodle]

Misleading? take "Laser Mission". Crappiest film, and they took Brandon Lee off the cover of "Rapid Fire" and spliced his picture onto Laser Mission. How cruel.

Then there's Leprechaun, which now has a prominent pic of Jennifer Aniston on the cover. Amazing what some folks'll do to sell old film....

[kriegerg69]

ASHTHECAT wrote:

> Wal Mart in particular seems to be guilty of this.
>
> Just recently someone wrote a similar thread about those old
> "Hulk" episodes and Wal Mart changed the box art to fool people
> into thinking that it was the new film that's out in theaters.

That's hardly Wal-Mart's fault....I've seen those dvds in other stores with the box art resembeling the new HULK movie. That's the video company's doing....not Wal-Mart....and I don't think they were trying deliberately "to fool people into thinking that it was the new film that's out in theaters". If people are too STUPID to read the dvd case to see what a film is instead of just grabbing it and running to the cashier, well....

There's several Bela Lugosi movies from Alpha dvd (mostly Bela's poverty row films, and a couple of name studio films), which feature HUGE images of Bela on the covers but also BELA LUGOSI in large print across the tops....and in virtually every instance in these films, Bela is relegated to a supporting role or even a minor one. They're obviously doing this sort of artwork to capitalize on Bela's name.....not that I mind that much, because these are all entertaining movies, but....as I said....Bela is really second banana in most of these, and is NOT the leading star.

Go figure.....



Post Edited (08-04-03 08:55)

[Fearless Freep]

Misleading? take "Laser Mission". Crappiest film, and they took Brandon Lee off the cover of "Rapid Fire" and spliced his picture onto Laser Mission. How cruel.

Well, at least he was the star of the movie....


"The Guyver" - based on the cover, Mark Hamill is the Guyver.

"American Vampire" - You'd think Carmen Electra is the star, but she just has an almost non-speaking side role.  Actually, the movie is a horror/comedy (I mean, you have Adam West playing a beach bum vampire hunter named "The Big Kahuna", how seriously can you take it?) so the cover misleads on the style as well.

"Alien Terminator" - one of the actresses (Maria Ford?) is on the cover in lingerie, from another movie, I guess.

[The Burgomaster]

Wal Mart did not change the HULK box art . . . the distributor did. I have seen the same boxes in many stores, including Best Buy and Circuit City.

[The Burgomaster]

I think it is hilarious when they take old movies and place recent pictures of famous stars on the box cover. Movies like THE SWAP and BORN TO LOSE (aka ADDICT) have been in circulation for years. Robert DeNiro was in both movies when he was much younger, but the box covers have pictures of him that were probably taken when he was in his 40s (or older).