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Wizard Video was a home video distribution company formed byB movie producerCharles Band in the early 1980s. It was well-known for its detailed (and often lurid) box art, especially during the time that it soldvideocassettes in larger individual boxes. ItsVHS releases includedZombi 2,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, andI Spit on Your Grave.
Wizard Video was a subsidiary ofEmpire International Pictures, a small film studio founded by Band after he leftMedia Home Entertainment. Wizard's videocassettes were originally duplicated by the company Sound/Video Unlimited.[1]
From 1982 to 1983, Wizard's releases were distributed byFamily Home Entertainment.[2] Empire also distributed films under the Force Video and Cult Video labels during this time.[3][4]
Subsequently, Spectrum Video became Wizard's distribution partner. In 1985, Empire revived the Force Video label, and Lightning Video, a subsidiary ofVestron Video, agreed to distribute Force Video's releases. The distribution agreement with Lightning would be extended to the Wizard label in 1986.[5]
In 1987, Empire formed a new division, Urban Classics, which distributed films both theatrically, and subsequently on video.[6]
Wizard also released twoAtari 2600 video games,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre andHalloween, under the labelWizard Video Games. These games were intended for adults, and had violent content. Many retailers refused to sell them. Those that did often kept them behind the counter and only made them available upon request. As a result, sales were poor, and Wizard released no further games apart from a single computer game,Movie Trivia Quiz.[7]
Empire and its video labels shuttered in 1988.[8] Band went on to foundFull Moon Productions, which would later resurrect the Wizard Video and Cult Video labels.[5][9]
On February 7, 2013, Wizard claimed that a large quantity of printed but unused "big box" packages, representing 36 titles, had been found in a warehouse. The company began selling these boxes, with newly manufactured videocassettes and inner packaging, as limited-edition collector's items. Wizard would reduce the number of titles that it would offer from 36 to 32, asserting that the boxes for the remaining titles had been damaged by water, and "were in unsalvageable condition".[10] There were allegations, however, that these boxes, sold as originals, were actually reproductions.[5] Supposedly found along with the videocassette packages were unused boxes for Wizard's two video game titles. The company planned to release these as well, at some later date.
In 2014, the Wizard Video brand was re-launched as Wizard Studios[11] "to spotlight rising independent filmmakers and their cutting-edge genre pictures".[12] The first set of films,Virginia Obscura,Vampie, andVillanelle, premiered on Full Moon's subscription-based streaming service.
Note: Films with an "FV" code are from the original 1982–83 era; the "FA" code is from the 1985–86 revival era.