# You can't judge a \[video\] by the cover **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154 "2019-01-21T15:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/1 "2019-01-21T15:27:52Z")
The revival of brick & mortar video store thread brought back some memories. It wasn’t so long ago that I used to walk the aisles of video store shelves picking through dvd’s or VHS tapes, looking at the cover art or at the information on the back of the box and making judgements about whether or not to rent a video based on that scant information. While it may not have always been possible to pick out a good movie based on the cover, it wasn’t that difficult to identify what was most likely a _bad_ movie in this fashion. Things like garish art, movie titles with roman numerals, or one or two-word excerpts from reviews with no context (e.g. “riveting action”) all suggested inferiority. How did (do?) you select videos at brick & mortar stores if you weren’t walking in already looking for a specific title? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/2 "2019-01-21T16:17:13Z")
Maybe I’m just not remembering, but I don’t think I’ve ever rented a movie that I never even heard of before. Rather, I’d be browsing and see a movie that I’d heard somebody talking about or that I’d read about or that sounded interesting when it was new but I never got around to seeing it in a theater. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/3 "2019-01-21T18:28:07Z")
If the movie’s description had super long bios of the actors, it was probably a bad movie. You know, these kind: > [@](#): > > In a quaint town, Jack (BILL TOMSON, “When the Moon Sets”, “Dogs I Forgot”) and Sally (TINA MORGAN, “One More Race”, “The City to the South”) try to keep a crafty squirrel (FLUFFBALL, “Nuts! It’s You!”, “Hell’s Treehouse”) from finding a way into their attic Especially if I never heard of all the other movies they listed. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/4 "2019-01-21T18:39:38Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > How did (do?) you select videos at brick & mortar stores if you weren’t walking in already looking for a specific title? You ask the person working there, of course, who, even if he or she does not have encyclopedic knowledge, has presumably seen all the worthwhile videos. Even watching one movie a day adds up over a few years, and true movie fans certainly watch at least a few videos every week. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/5 "2019-01-21T19:02:12Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > If the movie’s description had super long bios of the actors, it was probably a bad movie. You know, these kind: > > > [@](#): > > > > In a quaint town, Jack (BILL TOMSON, “When the Moon Sets”, “Dogs I Forgot”) and Sally (TINA MORGAN, “One More Race”, “The City to the South”) try to keep a crafty squirrel (FLUFFBALL, “Nuts! It’s You!”, “Hell’s Treehouse”) from finding a way into their attic > > Especially if I never heard of all the other movies they listed. I only watch movies starring A-list squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/6 "2019-01-21T23:38:51Z")
I know this isn’t directly related to the OP’s question but there is actually a website that has scans of VHS video covers: VHS Collector [https://vhscollector.com/](https://vhscollector.com/) Here’s an example: [https://vhscollector.com/movie/metalstorm-destruction-jared-syn](https://vhscollector.com/movie/metalstorm-destruction-jared-syn) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/7 "2019-01-22T00:08:18Z")
Papyrus font is also a big red flag. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/8 "2019-01-22T00:36:07Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > How did (do?) you select videos at brick & mortar stores if you weren’t walking in already looking for a specific title? You could go by actors that you were already familiar with, or talk to the clerk. But for the most part we never rented movies that were completely unknown quantities. Renting a movie was a _treat_, and treats weren’t something to get risky about. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/9 "2019-01-22T17:07:38Z")
There are plenty of used DVD stores about, and I browse the same as I always have: I would look for titles or graphics on the cover that grab my attention, whether they sound like an interesting idea, or it’s “what the _fuck?_”. For example, my copy of _Invasion from Inner Earth_ has on the cover a man and woman in ski gear against a bad blue drapery backdrop, looking up at a pink Starship Enterprise. Neither person was in the movie, there was no skiing, and needless to say, the Starship Enterprise, pink or not, did not appear. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/10 "2019-01-23T04:48:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I only watch movies starring A-list squirrels. :mad: “Nuts! It’s You!” was a cinematic triumph. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/11 "2019-01-23T15:27:31Z")
The movie about the Algonquin Circle, and mainly Dorothy Parker, was titled [Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/mrs-parker-and-the-vicious-circle/8d6kgx0m54wm?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab). Cover was probably the least representative scene from the film–but probably the only one that would grab your attention. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/12 "2019-01-23T19:54:40Z")
If the cover (or back) showed an actress with feathered hair it was probably some bad 70s movie that I didn’t want to see. A lot of 70s movies also used animated pictures of the cast in some sort of group shot on the cover. Meatballs, Cannonball Run, etc. If it wasn’t a hit I heard of then I’d avoid the animated covers. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/13 "2019-01-23T20:34:05Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > :mad: “Nuts! It’s You!” was a cinematic triumph. Also, _Hell’s Treehouse_ was badly misunderstood. It’s an homage to _Tail Fluffers_, not a parody of it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/14 "2019-01-23T22:06:22Z")
Just imagine where Fluffball would be today if, after the success of _Acorns Away_, he didn’t meet Tom Sizemore and get into hookers and heroin. Kinda sad really. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/15 "2019-01-24T02:07:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Just imagine where Fluffball would be today if, after the success of _Acorns Away_, he didn’t meet Tom Sizemore and get into hookers and heroin. Kinda sad really. It was a J-M V situation, to be sure. When greatness elevates one so high, it sometimes takes them too close to the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/16 "2019-01-24T02:10:17Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Also, _Hell’s Treehouse_ was badly misunderstood. It’s an homage to _Tail Fluffers_, not a parody of it. Oh great, a _Tail Fluffers_ fan. You people come out of the woodwork in every one of these threads. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/17 "2019-01-24T03:13:45Z")
The last video store I went to my children were young. I never got a chance to pick. Disney movies always took priority. I never was so glad when my oldest became a sci-fi geek. And then the video stores were all gone. I still spent a few more years watching cartoons and princess movies with the lil’wrekker. I know all the songs. It’s a talent I keep under the bushel. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/18 "2019-01-24T07:52:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Just imagine where Fluffball would be today if, after the success of _Acorns Away_, he didn’t meet Tom Sizemore and get into hookers and heroin. Kinda sad really. > [@Isamu](#): > > It was a J-M V situation, to be sure. When greatness elevates one so high, it sometimes takes them too close to the sun. Ehh. I thought his career arc more closely resembled Val Kilmer’s. Either way, it was a testament to what awaits those who believe their own reviews. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/19 "2019-01-24T12:11:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Oh great, a _Tail Fluffers_ fan. You people come out of the woodwork in every one of these threads. “You people,” huh? I see how it is. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154/20 "2019-01-24T22:10:47Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > “You people,” huh? I see how it is. He didn’t see the version of _Tail Fluffers_ with Fluffball. I suspect he saw the version from the back room starring Anita Squirreljob and so naturally he thinks poorly of people he thinks saw it. The scene with Anita and the squirrel and the midget in the camel costume was very well lit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-judge-a-video-by-the-cover/828154.md?page=2)