Here's a card that is part of a set of at least 31 cards inserted with the "Widescreen" VHS version of various movies released by Paramount Pictures. The card was inserted under the shrink-wrap on the back of the box rather than inside the box. It was a promotion that ran during 2000 and maybe part of the year before and after. They measure 4 x 6 inches featuring a scene on the fronts and background information on the backs.

One thing I learned is that it's better to find the singles rather than obtaining the cards by purchasing still-sealed videos. I bought a still-sealed copy of "The Saint" but the card was stuck to the box perhaps due to heat and/or a chemical bond created from a reaction of the glossy coating on the box acting like a glue. I've tried the "freeze/thaw" method (put it in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight and then take it out) to weaken the bond but have been only partly successful in separating the card from the box.

I've copied the PCE list below with the additional entry of "The Saint." As you can see, you can get cards for the first three "Jack Ryan" movies based on Tom Clancy novels (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) as well as the first nine Star Trek Movies from "The Motion Picture" through "Insurrection."

"Apocalypse Now"
"Braveheart"
"Breakdown"
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"
"Chinatown"
"Clear and Present Danger"
"Deep Impact"
"Face Off"
"Forrest Gump"
"Gallipoli"
"Ghost"
"The Ghosts and the Darkness"
"The Godfather"
"Grease"
"The Hunt for Red October"
"Patriot Games"
"The Saint"
"The Shootist"
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"
"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country"
"Star Trek: Generations"
"Star Trek: First Contact"
"Star Trek: Insurrection"
"The Ten Commandments"
"Top Gun"
"The Untouchables"
"Witness"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

Over the past couple of years, I've seen only a few of these cards for sale (Deep Impact, a couple of the Star Trek ones). I picked up one in a lot that included a few of the Warner Brothers mini lobby card reproductions that were inserted with Special Edition VHS and a couple of sets from DVD releases. Here's the one for "Braveheart."

I see videos (with these cards, although blue bordered) for "Forrest Gump" and "Ghost" currently on Ebay.

There's also a "Top Gun" with the card, the sealed version of which apparently recently sold for north of $400. It's not necessarily the card that drove that sale. Vintage sealed VHS copies of this film routinely sell for that or more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20363...rksid=p2047675.l2557


I remembered, vaguely, having a card for "Grease" from this set, but wasn't entirely certain until I looked it up, and yep, here it is.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13416...8:g:5N4AAOSwrnhhJke2
So that makes at least 31 in the set.

That's interesting. The sealed "Grease" video doesn't have the sticker noting that a card is included. It's weird that a sealed one would sell for $400 because that doesn't mean it will still play but I get that the collectible part of it is that it's sealed. I've heard of collectors scouring garage sales and flea markets for oddball VHS.

Thanks for the additions. I edited the original post.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
I see videos (with these cards, although blue bordered) for "Forrest Gump" and "Ghost" currently on Ebay.

There's also a "Top Gun" with the card, the sealed version of which apparently recently sold for north of $400. It's not necessarily the card that drove that sale. Vintage sealed VHS copies of this film routinely sell for that or more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20363...rksid=p2047675.l2557


I remembered, vaguely, having a card for "Grease" from this set, but wasn't entirely certain until I looked it up, and yep, here it is.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13416...8:g:5N4AAOSwrnhhJke2
So that makes at least 31 in the set.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

And another Star Trek card:

Some of the cards were...glued???? to the video tape boxes in two strips. I mean it wasn't a tight glueing but it does leave a mark. More like rubber glue if you remember it from kindergarden

I thought I had more Star Trek ones but could find just this Insurrection card. I see you show them all on your site and you note that some of the cards are glued there as well. That explains why the card for "The Saint" is hard to remove - not the gloss of the box acting like glue after all. The shrink-wrap already does a good job of keeping the card tight against the box so why add the glue?

Here's a card for perhaps the oldest movie in the set, "The Ten Commandments" from 1956.

Those are some beauties. They'd look even better with autographs, but those are some huge stars on many of them, so easier said than done, especially now that some of them have passed away. They were issued almost 25 years ago now, so a complete set must be very rare indeed.

Both these and those nifty lobby card repro miniatures that came from the Warner Brothers Special Edition videos (in another swell thread here) are in some part due to the rise of specialty video companies like Anchor Bay in the mid 90's. Shortly before the DVD format caught on later in the decade, and made "extras" the standard, Anchor Bay specialized in deluxe VHS presentations that included movie-snob preferred letterbox versions, original theatrical trailers, deleted scenes, making-of docs, and updated packaging, often with new illustrations. The popularity of these kinds of releases led the big boys like Paramount and Warner Brothers to search their own catalog for movies they could give this treatment, resulting in both of the lines that included these sharp looking cards.

I always liked these cards too and bought what I could at the time. I have the "Patriot Games" one somewhere.
Sometimes, you see a loose card for sale and someone had a lot of them for sale earlier this year or last year, but yeah, it's a tough set to assemble, especially now and especially if some of them are stuck to the box.

I have a mix of other cards that came with VHS and some that came with DVD's. I'll see what I can put together for those too.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
Those are some beauties. They'd look even better with autographs, but those are some huge stars on many of them, so easier said than done, especially now that some of them have passed away. They were issued almost 25 years ago now, so a complete set must be very rare indeed.

Both these and those nifty lobby card repro miniatures that came from the Warner Brothers Special Edition videos (in another swell thread here) are in some part due to the rise of specialty video companies like Anchor Bay in the mid 90's. Shortly before the DVD format caught on later in the decade, and made "extras" the standard, Anchor Bay specialized in deluxe VHS presentations that included movie-snob preferred letterbox versions, original theatrical trailers, deleted scenes, making-of docs, and updated packaging, often with new illustrations. The popularity of these kinds of releases led the big boys like Paramount and Warner Brothers to search their own catalog for movies they could give this treatment, resulting in both of the lines that included these sharp looking cards.

Here's the one for "The Saint." I was able to get it off the box but with some damage to the back and a little cardboard from the box.