I was indulging in my usual weekend pursuit of books, movies, and music at local thrift shops, and I happened upon a DVD of Steve Minor's House. I always liked the movie. It's a silly little ditty, but an enjoyable one, and a real treat for horror lovers.
I noticed that the House DVD was an Anchor Bay release, and my heart surged a little. Anchor Bay...
Anchor Bay was the genre collector's best friend. The company was born out of a cheesy little VHS distributor called Video Treasures. VT did some interesting stuff, but the movies were recorded in SLP mode. You could fit a lot more on a tape that way, but the quality suffered. Badly. Most of us didn't really care. It was enough to have a tape for our shelves.
Like a butterfly emerging from a grubby cocoon, Anchor Bay rose from the ashes of Video Treasures and another line called Starmaker. AB put out some really cool tapes. A lot of different types of releases, but they soon specialized in genre materials. The company did slasher pictures, Hammer movies, gore, action. I bought videocassettes of The Car, Dawn of the Dead, The Night Stalker, The Exterminator.
Anchor Bay knew horror fans liked supplementary materials, so they often featured extra content on the tapes. They had hard, clamshell cases for certain titles. Often the videotapes would be like a gatefold record album.
Anchor Bay really came into their own, and into the hearts of collectors, when DVD hit the scene. They were one of the first to truly understand what we were looking for. Beautiful prints, the movies we craved, and they always had a card with additional art and information enclosed with the movie.
I blew way too much money on AB discs, and I am unhappy to report that they are now gone from my life. I hit some hard times over the years, and sold everything that would bring in a few bucks.
But the ones I bought? Oh man. Dario Argento movies, uncut at last, in vivid, dripping color. An early favorite was The Boogeyman/The Devonsville Horror. Nosferatu the Vampire. Heathers. The Johnsons. Mountaintop Motel Massacre. Fitzcarraldo. Movies from Lucio Fulci, Larry Cohen, George Romero. Italian and Spanish gore movies.
People complained that Anchor Bay kept re-releasing Halloween and Evil Dead movies with additional materials, but no one had to buy them, did they? I can't blame Anchor Bay for getting money where they could. How many editions did you buy?
Looking back, it was almost too good to be true. All our hopes and dreams come to pass. The movies we dreamed of owning, in the best packaging and transfers ever done. Obscure titles, fan favorites with ever-new materials to savor, commentaries, documentaries, alternative poster art, the sky was the limit.
Like all good things, it had to end. In 2007 Anchor Bay changed its name to Starz. It was a bad omen. The company plugged along, even producing original movies. None of them seemed to be particularly successful.
in 2016 Lion's Gate acquired Anchor Bay/Starz, and that was the end.
I think back to the heyday of Anchor Bay with infinite fondness. I know I'm not the only one. The old DVDs have become difficult to find. Horror is more popular than ever before, and serious horror fans want to own the movies. They want the old VHS tapes, and they want the DVDs.
Who can blame them? I don't trust the streaming companies. I don't want any company having control over the content of previously-made movies. Sure, we'll stream the new stuff, but for the classics we desire the real thing.
There are companies out now putting out great Blu-rays. You have Arrow, Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, Synapse, Kino, Mondo Macabro. There are others, and thank God for them. All of them, each and every one, owes Anchor Bay a huge debt for blazing the trail.
Written by Mark Sieber
I noticed that the House DVD was an Anchor Bay release, and my heart surged a little. Anchor Bay...
Anchor Bay was the genre collector's best friend. The company was born out of a cheesy little VHS distributor called Video Treasures. VT did some interesting stuff, but the movies were recorded in SLP mode. You could fit a lot more on a tape that way, but the quality suffered. Badly. Most of us didn't really care. It was enough to have a tape for our shelves.
Like a butterfly emerging from a grubby cocoon, Anchor Bay rose from the ashes of Video Treasures and another line called Starmaker. AB put out some really cool tapes. A lot of different types of releases, but they soon specialized in genre materials. The company did slasher pictures, Hammer movies, gore, action. I bought videocassettes of The Car, Dawn of the Dead, The Night Stalker, The Exterminator.
Anchor Bay knew horror fans liked supplementary materials, so they often featured extra content on the tapes. They had hard, clamshell cases for certain titles. Often the videotapes would be like a gatefold record album.
Anchor Bay really came into their own, and into the hearts of collectors, when DVD hit the scene. They were one of the first to truly understand what we were looking for. Beautiful prints, the movies we craved, and they always had a card with additional art and information enclosed with the movie.
I blew way too much money on AB discs, and I am unhappy to report that they are now gone from my life. I hit some hard times over the years, and sold everything that would bring in a few bucks.
But the ones I bought? Oh man. Dario Argento movies, uncut at last, in vivid, dripping color. An early favorite was The Boogeyman/The Devonsville Horror. Nosferatu the Vampire. Heathers. The Johnsons. Mountaintop Motel Massacre. Fitzcarraldo. Movies from Lucio Fulci, Larry Cohen, George Romero. Italian and Spanish gore movies.
People complained that Anchor Bay kept re-releasing Halloween and Evil Dead movies with additional materials, but no one had to buy them, did they? I can't blame Anchor Bay for getting money where they could. How many editions did you buy?
Looking back, it was almost too good to be true. All our hopes and dreams come to pass. The movies we dreamed of owning, in the best packaging and transfers ever done. Obscure titles, fan favorites with ever-new materials to savor, commentaries, documentaries, alternative poster art, the sky was the limit.
Like all good things, it had to end. In 2007 Anchor Bay changed its name to Starz. It was a bad omen. The company plugged along, even producing original movies. None of them seemed to be particularly successful.
in 2016 Lion's Gate acquired Anchor Bay/Starz, and that was the end.
I think back to the heyday of Anchor Bay with infinite fondness. I know I'm not the only one. The old DVDs have become difficult to find. Horror is more popular than ever before, and serious horror fans want to own the movies. They want the old VHS tapes, and they want the DVDs.
Who can blame them? I don't trust the streaming companies. I don't want any company having control over the content of previously-made movies. Sure, we'll stream the new stuff, but for the classics we desire the real thing.
There are companies out now putting out great Blu-rays. You have Arrow, Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, Synapse, Kino, Mondo Macabro. There are others, and thank God for them. All of them, each and every one, owes Anchor Bay a huge debt for blazing the trail.
Written by Mark Sieber
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