Ladies and Gentlemen... BLACK FORCE! Or is it BLACK FORCE 2?
...well actually, none of the above. It's BROTHER ON THE RUN!
Here at The Tape Hunters, we've introduced you to much of the spectrum of VHS ephemera... from box lots to exercise videos; from dated propaganda to bad kiddie flicks. Well, the tape of which I speak is an artifact of "VHS as Snake Oil Sales". In other words, what's on the cover isn't necessarily what's in the box.
Down the street from me, there is a store that is blowing out their VHS tapes for 50 cents to a buck each, and for the past few months I've been systemically cleaning them out. (And judging from how their stock has depleted from six shelves to one, I guess I'm not the only one.) This is actually a strange place, because in addition to their DVD rentals, they also sell really loud table ornaments, and... water purification systems?!? (talk about multi-market specialization)
ANYway, this interesting title called BLACK FORCE caught my eye a couple of weeks ago. (I'd love to show you the box art, but the tape was without a box.) The sticker on the cassette read BLACK FORCE, and had a 1990 copyright date. And since I looked the title up on the IMDB, I was led to believe it was an obscure blaxploitation film from 1975. (...and copyright dates on VHS stickers are about as accurate as a Florida ballot) And since I am interested in obscure blaxploitation films, I sauntered back there last weekend to pick it up.
Civic Holiday Monday I pop it in the VCR, and there is a cheap Chryon title at the head of the movie called "BLACK FORCE 2!" "Oh, boy..." I mutter to myself. Terry Carter from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is walking down the street, looking like he did in the 1970's, so right away I'm wondering "how new are they pretending this film to be?"
Then the credits start rolling, and the actual title BROTHER ON THE RUN is still intact! They were passing this flick off as a sequel to an original that was made two years later!! Well sometimes, surprises like this work out wonderfully, as BROTHER ON THE RUN was a flick I actually was more curious to see... (especially since IMDB always recommends it as a pick for "If you like this title, we also recommend....") That said, it's an agreeable little time-killer by Herbert "schlock" Strock (he who gave us THE CRAWLING HAND and other delights), and of course the music is BOSS!
Ah, the cultural wonders of a 50 cent purchase....
Here at The Tape Hunters, we've introduced you to much of the spectrum of VHS ephemera... from box lots to exercise videos; from dated propaganda to bad kiddie flicks. Well, the tape of which I speak is an artifact of "VHS as Snake Oil Sales". In other words, what's on the cover isn't necessarily what's in the box.
Down the street from me, there is a store that is blowing out their VHS tapes for 50 cents to a buck each, and for the past few months I've been systemically cleaning them out. (And judging from how their stock has depleted from six shelves to one, I guess I'm not the only one.) This is actually a strange place, because in addition to their DVD rentals, they also sell really loud table ornaments, and... water purification systems?!? (talk about multi-market specialization)
ANYway, this interesting title called BLACK FORCE caught my eye a couple of weeks ago. (I'd love to show you the box art, but the tape was without a box.) The sticker on the cassette read BLACK FORCE, and had a 1990 copyright date. And since I looked the title up on the IMDB, I was led to believe it was an obscure blaxploitation film from 1975. (...and copyright dates on VHS stickers are about as accurate as a Florida ballot) And since I am interested in obscure blaxploitation films, I sauntered back there last weekend to pick it up.
Civic Holiday Monday I pop it in the VCR, and there is a cheap Chryon title at the head of the movie called "BLACK FORCE 2!" "Oh, boy..." I mutter to myself. Terry Carter from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is walking down the street, looking like he did in the 1970's, so right away I'm wondering "how new are they pretending this film to be?"
Then the credits start rolling, and the actual title BROTHER ON THE RUN is still intact! They were passing this flick off as a sequel to an original that was made two years later!! Well sometimes, surprises like this work out wonderfully, as BROTHER ON THE RUN was a flick I actually was more curious to see... (especially since IMDB always recommends it as a pick for "If you like this title, we also recommend....") That said, it's an agreeable little time-killer by Herbert "schlock" Strock (he who gave us THE CRAWLING HAND and other delights), and of course the music is BOSS!
Ah, the cultural wonders of a 50 cent purchase....
