| Film is a medium frequently propelled by novelty. On occasions when audience interest begins to wane, ingenious hucksters may try to lure viewers back to the theatre with weird gimmicks like 3-D, vomit bag giveaways, or joy buzzers under the seats. Some gimmicks, such as colour film and sound, caught on and became the norm. Others, such as "Smell-O-Vision" – an ill-fated gimmick that added piped-in aromas to the film Scent of Mystery (1960) – were quickly forgotten. Then home video came along, and soon all movies were presented in unremarkable, identical little boxes, with no distinguishing gimmicks to make them stand out from the crowd. Well, for a little while, anyway.
It wasn’t long before fun-loving video distributors clued in to the possibility of including funny little gimmicks in the packaging of VHS tapes, laserdiscs and DVDs. After all, if they can put prizes in cereal and Cracker Jack boxes, why not shrink-wrap a tiny rubber anteater onto every cassette of Pink Panther cartoons? The practice has become surprisingly widespread, with many new DVD releases packaged with talking cases, holographic cover art, frames of actual film stock, playing cards, or tiny figurines. Here are a few memorable examples of gimmicky video and DVD packaging:
· Black Roses (1988) –This demonic headbanger flick appeared on video store shelves in an eye-catching box sporting a molded plastic face plate that gave texture to the cover illustration of a guitar amidst a cluster of black flowers. The illustration was standard heavy metal side-of-the-van wank, but the bumply shape of the box gave it a cool 3-D effect. Nevertheless, most video renters were content to let Black Roses remain on the rental shelf undisturbed.
· The Dead Pit (1989) – Cheap direct-to-video zombie flicks were 10 a penny when this one came out, but The Dead Pit had something the others lacked; a gimmicky box. Press the button and the eyes of the zombie on the cover light up and strobe for a few seconds, accompanied by an irritating electronic noise. Pretty lame, but many viewers agree that the little green LED lights were a lot more entertaining than the movie itself.
· Frankenhooker (1990) – Cult auteur Frank Henenlotter appreciated the showmanship of the gimmick films of Frank Castle, and emulated them by giving away free surgical masks to attendees of midnight screenings of his debut feature, Basket Case (1982). Later, he equipped the initial VHS release of Frankenhooker with one of the funniest gimmick boxes ever – a talking box that shrieked "Wanna date?" when you squeezed it.
· Orgazmo (1997) – South Park co-creator Trey Parker’s comedy about a Mormon-turned-porn star-turned-superhero strives for naughty laughs and mostly gets them. The video sleeve contains a rude surprise if you run your hand over it – Orgazmo’s superhero codpiece is textured and projects slightly outward from the rest of the cover. Ick!
· Ed Wood Deluxe Angora Box (1996) – The films of legendary "Worst Director in the World" Edward D. Wood Jr. are given due reverence with this VHS box set, lined with pink fluffy faux-fur. If he were alive today, the cross-dressing auteur would beam with pride.
· Bruce Campbell vs Army of Darkness: Official Bootleg Edition (2001) –This re-release of the 1992 film (the third in the Evil Dead trilogy) is an extended director’s cut, with several deleted scenes reinstated, including an alternate ending that finds our wisecracking hero trapped in the distant future. The packaging is particularly weird, as it is made to look like an actual bootleg disc, rather than the legitimate release it is. The cover shows no illustration at all – just a reproduction of a plain paper bag. The disc itself is made to look like a generic CD-R, with the title scribbled on with a felt-tip pen.
· Reservoir Dogs: Special Edition (1992) – For its 10th anniversary, Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature was re-released in four different colour-coded boxes. You could choose from covers featuring Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) or Mr. Orange (Tim Roth). There was no difference between the discs other than the cover art and prevailing colour and subsequent editions did away with the gimmick altogether. I wonder how many suckers actually bought the box set containing all four discs?
· The Ultimate Ninja Collection Box Set, Volume 1 (2005) –This collection may be far from ultimate (it contains only Ninja: The Final Duel and all three installments of the Venom of the Ninja series), but it does include a free foam rubber ninja throwing star. "Free ninja star with ultimate ninja action inside!" shouts the cover. Sadly, the spongy little shuriken is about as aerodynamic as a cornflake.
· Planet of the Apes: The Ultimate DVD Collection - with ape head packaging (2006) – This weighty recent release includes the original and still potent 1968 classic. Hooray! Unfortunately, it also includes all of the sequels. And the craptacular 2001 remake, starring Marky Mark. And the TV series, and the Saturday morning cartoon. Dude, that’s just way too much Planet of the Apes for me. Still, the huge set does include a life-size ape head sculpture of Roddy McDowall’s "Caesar" character. Huzzah!
· Showgirls VIP Edition: Limited Edition Boxset (2004) – The 1995 nudity-filled camp extravaganza now has a DVD release as over-produced and ridiculous as the film itself. There’s so much stuff in here, the disc itself seems like an afterthought. Shot Glasses! Nudie playing cards! There’s even a giant poster, with stick-on pasties and a blindfold, so you can play "pin the pasties on the Showgirl™" (rules included)! |
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