I’ve recently been talking about my DVD pick-ups, and how I’ve managed to grab a few bargains from charity shops (ridiculously good bargains). But it’s not just DVDs that I am after, I always keep my eye out for VHS tapes.

In the UK, finding VHS tapes out in the wild is becoming harder and harder to do. There was once a time where you could walk into any charity shop, or go to any comic book convention and you’d find a wealth of tapes, but sadly those days are long gone.

So, if I am out and about, and I spot someone selling VHS tapes, then I always make an effort to take a look at what is on offer. This doesn’t mean I automatically buy them, but if the tapes are in good condition, they are titles I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection, or the price is right, then I dive right in.

Below are a set of tapes I recently added to my collection. All of these came from a couple of charity shops.

__

101 Dalmatians (1996) – VHS

Live-action remake of the Walt Disney Animated Classic about a large collection of dogs under threat from the wicked Cruella de Vil. Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, and Mark Williams star, with Stephen Herek on director duties.

The blurb reads: “Opening to packed cinemas and rave reviews worldwide, Disney’s live action smash hit 101 Dalmatians brings the floppy-eared fun, and fiendish exploits of the world’s most vampy villainess home to your family! Glenn Close, in a perfectly wicked performance, stars as Cruella de Vil, the fur-loving fashion guru who is obsessed with obtaining Dalmatian pelts for her new line.

“Cruella’s fashion designer Anita and her husband Roger are delighted when their Dalmatians Pongo and Perdita become proud parents of a litter of adorable puppies. But after Cruella conspires with her two bumbling henchmen to kidnap the pups, the fur begins to fly, building to one of the greatest rescue adventure stories ever told!

“Based on Disney’s beloved animated Classic and produced by Home Alone‘s John Hughes, 101 Dalmatians unleashes movie magic the whole family will love time after time!”

Condition: Excellent, the case just needed a quick clean to remove dust.

Cost: £1.50

Likelihood of finding this in a UK charity shop: Slim. It is quite difficult to come across VHS tapes in a charity shop these days, however, children’s/Disney movies do occasionally pop up, so it is not out of the realms of possibility to find this title.

__

Ghost (1990) – VHS

Award-winning supernatural romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Jerry Zucker directs.

The blurb reads: “Think of the most touching love story you ever saw. Think, too, of the brightest comedy, the most astonishing supernatural tale and a sleek mystery-thriller. Did you come up with four separate films? Or are you among the millions of fans and critics who discovered Ghost, the #1 film of 1990?

“Ghost will surprise you, delight you, make you believe. Patrick Swayze plays a ghost who teams with a psychic (Whoopi Goldberg) to uncover the truth behind his murder – and to rescue his sweetheart (Demi Moore) from a similar fate. ‘The word of mouth is that Ghost is a ‘must-see’ romance,’ says Entertainment Weekly. Ditto to that!”

Condition: Excellent! The cassette tape was still sealed inside!

Cost: 50p

Likelihood of finding this in a UK charity shop: Slim. Ghost was a very popular VHS title in the 1990s, so again it is possible to find this particular title, if you can find a charity shop that still carries VHS tapes.

__

American Psycho (2000) – VHS

Horror black-comedy from director Mary Harron. Christian Bale, Jared Leto, and Willem Dafoe star.

The blurb reads: “Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated and intelligent. He is twenty-six and living his own American Dream. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to compliment the one he was born with. At night he descends into madness, as he experiments with fear and violence.”

Condition: Excellent.

Cost: £1.00

Likelihood of finding this in a UK charity shop: Very slim. Finding VHS in a UK charity shop is difficult, but finding something like American Psycho is even more difficult. Around the early 2000s (when this film was released), people were moving away from VHS tapes and were buying DVD instead, so titles from this era are harder to come by in general.

__

Total cost for the three tapes from two charity shops is £3, which is not bad at all. In the UK, the best place to source VHS tends to be eBay, and individual tapes cost more on that platform (especially when you factor in postage/packaging etc), so picking up three VHS tapes in the wild, without the need for eBay is always a great thing!

On top of this, all three tapes were in great condition – especially Ghost! The cassette tape remains sealed from when it was manufactured in the ’90s, so it has been preserved for decades!

__

Thank you for taking the time to read this post on HOME VIDEO HAVEN. For more posts, please check out the recommended reads below.