The First Movie I ever Rented on VHS was....

The first movie I ever rented on VHS was John Carpenter's first feature film, Dark Star . It was 1983 and I didn't even own a VCR, but my best friend Dave did. It was one of those early top-loading Panasonic machines. This thing was built like a tank and it lasted for over 15 years. They really new how to make them back then. It wasn't too long after that when the market was flooded with cheaply made machines lasting no more than 5 years.
Made in 1974 on a shoestring budget, Dark Star told the story of a ship of hippie astronauts roaming the galaxy for unstable planets to destroy. Dan O'Bannon who would later write the 1979 sci-fi classic, Alien wrote the script along with director, Carpenter. Intended as a spoof on modern sci-fi films, it owes much to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. A talking bomb with an ability to rationalize finds its inspiration in Odyssey's HAL-9000 computer with hilarious results. O'Bannon appears on-screen as the films reluctant hero, Sgt. Pinback a stowaway in another man's uniform. O'Bannon's battle with an obviously painted beach ball filling in as an alien pet is a classic in 1970s cult film lore. The effects are low-budget but executed with a wink towards the camera, allowing the viewer to accept them even in today's world of digital perfection. Carpenter, who just four years later would hit-it-big with his horror classic, Halloween shows much promise in this early work that was expanded from a short he and O'Bannon created together in college. Carpenter even provides the music for the film, a contribution he would make throughout his career as a director. The DVD available for this film includes two versions. What started out as a 68 minute college film, was expanded with 15 minutes of additional footage and released theatrically by producer, Jack Harris. When it was re-issued on VHS in 1983 as a "Special Edition", much of the extra footage was cut by O'Bannon and Carpenter. The DVD gives you both versions to enjoy. I recommend the original longer cut for any first-time viewer to this film. You can find this and thousands of other titles by following the link to my former employer, Movies Unlimited on the links portion on this page or by clicking the titles below.
Dark Star [VHS](1974) VHS
This quirky tale of "Californians in Space" was the senior project for film students John Carpenter ("Halloween") and Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"). A ship equipped to blow up unstable planets with talking bombs is nearing the end of its mission, but the crew's nerves have been stretched to the limit. Stars O'Bannon, Dre Pahich. 91 min.

Dark Star [DVD](1974) DVD
This quirky tale of "Californians in Space" was the senior project for film students John Carpenter ("Halloween") and Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"). A ship equipped to blow up unstable planets with talking bombs is nearing the end of its mission, but the crew's nerves have been stretched to the limit. Stars O'Bannon, Dre Pahich. Includes the director's cut and original theatrical version. 91 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; biographies; interactive menus; scene access; theatrical trailer.