The OOP-Video Gap is Narrowing!

A little background: OOP, for the uninitiated, means "Out-Of-Print", and in terms of videos, means a movie that was put on video (mainly VHS) once, and never again. Finding copies of such movies is a rarity indeed and, for true movie lovers such as I, a treat when you find one.

Many of the movies I have in my collection are OOPs and I am always overjoyed when I can happen across one. If you happen to be with me when I come across a previously-viewed, worn copy of a film the likes of MegaForce, Blood Beach, Killdozer or Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, you'll no doubt see me freeze, let out a tiny yelp of joy and make a beeline right to the tape in question, clutch it to my breast and head straight for the checkout line, money ready.

Yes, it's a happy moment for me but...and this is shocking...OOPs are getting a little harder to come by anymore.

Why, I was walking through my local Wally World a couple of months back, absent-mindedly looking through the CDs (in spite of the fact that most modern-day music outright sucks) and came across the newest compilation/collection from KISS ("Kissology Vol. 2 1978-1991"). I saw it and noticed that it said on the front that there were also DVD portions in this collection, making me joke to myself, "yeah, everything but KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park" - a movie I have and enjoy for its cheese, music and cornball spectacle.

Then...I saw it. right on the back of the packaging:

"...Also included is an unedited full-length movie from 1978, titled KISS IN ATTACK OF THE PHANTOM."

...

I was utterly in shock.

The unthinkable had happened.

I went through my mind: the year was right, Attack of the Phantom was one of the alternate titles...they were in no other movies (except Detroit Rock City - ergh). But...it was impossible. Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons themselves said that this was one of their projects that would never ever EVER see the light of day if they had anything to say about it!

And yet there it was: right on the first disc!!

Ah, but that's only the tip of the iceberg, dear reader.

A month or so later, I'm back in the same Wally World (maybe I shouldn't go in there anymore...), looking through the new DVDs at what was just out. Still smarting from the Kissology debacle...never dreaming that my soul could be even more scarred than it already had been. Then I looked in the middle of the left-side section, third and fourth rows down.

It might as well have been named "The 'Let's Smash The Ego Of Some Movie-Collecting Nerds' Section".

Right there were even MORE titles that I thought would never be on DVD. At least in North America. It was astounding.

The Hand - it was there.

Cruising - that, too.

Eyes Of A Stranger - shocking, but true.

Eaten Alive - that one really stunned me.

Night Of The Comet - Wow.

Alligator - total surprise to me.

And yes, every single one of these were, heretofore, on the "official" OOP list that I live, eat, drink and breathe by. This, of course, is a list that is going to be pared away from day by day, I'm sure.

Now I know there are a lot of you who may be glad, nay, overjoyed to see these titles on DVD, ready to pluck up and place ever-so-gingerly into your waiting DVD player at home. But for me, it is a dark, sad day.

Why?

It's the thrill of the hunt, the sense of purpose you get walking into your local video store with that ratty old list in your hands, checking for the same titles over and over, knowing that they'll never have them on DVD, but maybe they'll have come across that old tape of Nukie you've been dying to get or someone's returned a long-overdue rental of Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn or they bought out another rental place who sold them all their copies of Night Of Horror or The Green Slime.

Then you take your precious prize home, record it on DVD for archival purposes, then put your beautiful VHS tape on a nice display shelf for your present and future viewing pleasure. Your search is over; and you've emerged victorious.

...now you're off to hunt for a tape of Cast A Deadly Spell.

Seeking the unattainable, watching movies you've only heard about and that no other Joe Schmoe down the road has seen umpteen times. That's what the OOP game is all about.

Sure, every bonehead and their brother jabbers about renting the last Adam Sandler movie and boring you to tears about every moment from it, even though it's on TV every single night of the year and you walk by it for sale at every store you go to. But wouldn't it be more interesting to talk with someone about a film that only you (and maybe a couple of other people in the immediate area) have seen?

It's not every day that you can put something into your DVD player (or VCR) that is an altogether different experience from anything you've seen. After hearing about a movie for years and then discovering that it hasn't been out for sale for years - decades, even - wouldn't you feel thrilled about seeing it again, right there in arm's reach, just waiting to be grabbed up? And also knowing that it's something that few others have even heard of? Good feeling isn't it?

I guess that's what breaks my heart about so many more of these movies being rediscovered on DVD - sure, it's good news that now it's being made available for all those thrill-seekers to lay claim on...but the thrill of the hunt is gone.

Oh well, that's modern technology for you. Gotta love it.

That's all I had to say about the subject; guess this qualifies as a rant - but it's allowed. See the small-print under my title up there? It's included.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch my copy of Second Sight.

And if you need reminding of that beauty, just click here. Then go find it for your own collection...if you dare.

The hunt continues.

Dope out.

-TGWD