DALLAS, TX.- One of the earliest known VHS copies of the Back to the Future trilogy, a pristine set owned by one of the stars of the films, will grab its share of the spotlight in Heritage Auctions’ inaugural VHS and Home Entertainment Signature® Auction June 9.

The event includes 262 lots of some of the most popular films over the last several decades, and celebrates the dawn of the ability for viewers to watch films over and over, in the comfort of their own homes.

“Everyone has a favorite movie, and so many of them were discovered by people because of VHS,” Heritage Auctions VHS and Home Entertainment Consignment Director Jay Carlson says. “They are artifacts, a piece of our history with these beautiful covers that transport us back to the first time we could own a movie and watch it as much as we wanted. The advent of VHS tapes forever changed the way people watched movies, and many of the films that were part of that wave can be found in this auction.

“It is truly amazing to have something this special to offer as the centerpiece of our first auction, but it’s a lot deeper than these Back to the Future tapes. This inaugural auction is packed with many key early releases of iconic films like Ghostbusters, Jaws, Gremlins, Goonies, Star Wars, Friday the 13th, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Karate Kid – titles that are sure to evoke memories of that magical time when movies became accessible to everyone in a way they never had been before. It was a time when our local video store was the center of the universe on Friday and Saturday nights – a place where you would bump into your friends and neighbors, all looking for that perfect film to bring home.”

Carlson said that the mere survival of these VHS tapes for decades is remarkable, so finding any in the condition that is evident on many lots in their auction represents an exceptional opportunity for collectors.

“You have to realize these tapes were made to be opened and watched,” Carlson said. “The shrink wrap got thrown away, the box got compromised. Finding these still-sealed tapes that have survived for 30 or 40 years or more is incredible, and to find them in such exceptional condition is incredibly rare.”

Among the films on the marquee for this historic event will be the Back to the Future set owned by Tom Wilson, whose portrayal as the films’ antagonist, Biff Tannen, made Wilson a legitimate co-star in the films that also featured Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd. The original Back to the Future was 1985’s highest-grossing film and launched a trilogy that remains hugely popular to this day, with spin-off projects that included an animated television series and motion-simulation rides at the Universal Studios theme parks in California, Florida and Japan, as well as a video game and a stage musical.

Back To The Future VHS 1986 – VGA 80+ NM, Horizontal Overlap/White MCA Home Video Watermark, MCA Home Video, with its wraparound MCA Home Video watermarks and double stamped MCATM tape, comes to this historic event from Wilson, who has owned it since he received it directly from the studio. He resisted the temptation to open it over the years, meaning it remains in the same pristine condition in which it arrived.

“This is the first box set sent out from the studio of the Back to the Future trilogy,” Wilson says. “The urge to open this, to open the shrink wrap, to me, was nearly unbearable, because not only does it include Back to the Future I and II and III – mint – but also the documentary: Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy.”




Now, more than three decades after the original film was released, Wilson says he realizes that the legacy of early films on VHS extends beyond those who made them. Ultimately, he says, they changed the movie-watching experience for viewers everywhere.

“We didn’t know the effect it was going to have on the world … in so many ways – it’s incredible,” Wilson says. “Back to the Future … actually did affect the future, because this is such an early VHS. This is just the beginning of the time when you could watch a movie as many times as you wanted to. You would get this VHS, put it in your VCR, and watch it over and over and over and over again … and I’ve heard from many thousands of people around the world who did exactly that. When your friends came over, and Dad put this in the VCR … when you were (home) sick from school, and there was Back to the Future, like an old friend – it’s been an amazing thing.”

“Not only are they the original copies of their first release on VHS, which are so very difficult to find new in their original factory shrink wrap, but they come to us from the collection of Tom Wilson, whose work as Biff gave us one of cinemas most iconic villains,” Carlson says. “The copy of the first Back to the Future film has early wraparound MCA Home Video watermarks on the front and back of the tape, as well as a double stamped MCATM on the tape itself, which I don’t think anybody had ever seen before.

“Then the copies of the second and third film each had a note from Tom Pollack, who at that time was the Executive Vice President of MCA and Chairman of Universal Pictures, to Tom Wilson. Those latter two films have been beautifully encased by VGA to include those notes. And then we also have Tom Wilson’s copy of the Back to the Future trilogy, which was the first time all three films were collected and released as a set. VGA pedigreed each of the tapes when they were graded with a special gold label. If this wasn’t enough to make fans excited, Tom has also supplied a handwritten note for each one of the lots that perfectly relays his hilarious and offbeat sense of humor.”

Among the other highlights in the auction:

Jaws VHS 1983 - IGS Box 8.5 MINT and Seal 8.5 MINT, Wraparound MCA HV Watermarks, MCA Home Video includes the classic film that went so far over budget and included so many technical hurdles that it was suggested the film could have ended Steven Spielberg’s directorial career before it ever really started. Instead, it became a mega-hit, becoming the first film to break $100 million at the box office. The offered copy comes with highly sought-after wraparound MCA Home Video watermarks and has received a Box grade of 8.5 MINT and a Seal grade of 8.5 MINT by IGS.

From arguably the most popular movie franchise of all time comes Star Wars (A New Hope) VHS 1984 - VGA 85 NM+, Vertical Overlap / White CBS FOX Video Watermark, CBS FOX Video. The film originally was marketed as “the story of a boy, a girl and a universe. It's an epic of heroes and villains and aliens of a thousand worlds... Star Wars! A billion years in the making!” It seems silly to think imagine it today, but director George Lucas didn't think Star Wars would be a success; on the contrary, he was so convinced it would fail that he did not even attend the premiere of his movie – opting, instead, to go on vacation with his good friend, Steven Spielberg. Star Wars became an empire with films, multiple TV series, books and comics, it's become one of the biggest movie franchises globally. This original 1984 copy of Star Wars has unique early vertical CBS FOX Video watermarks on the rear and has received an overall grade of 85 NM+ by VGA, with matching box and seal subgrades of 85.

First Blood VHS - IGS Box 10 EPIC and Seal 9 MINT, Thorn / HBO Back Cover Promo Rambo: First Blood Part II, Thorn EMI Video was so popular it spawned a saga that lasted 27 years, until 2019's Rambo: Last Blood. This exceptional copy of First Blood has received a Box grade of 10 EPIC and a Seal grade of 9 MINT by IGS.

Friday the 13th VHS 1980 – VGA 80+ NM, Vert. Overlap / White Paramount HV Watermark, Slipcase, Paramount Home Video was a box office hit that birthed a string of sequels, a remake and a crossover with Freddy Krueger. The offered VHS copy with strong rear Paramount Home Video watermarks has received an overall grade of 80+ NM by VGA, with a box subgrade of 80 and a seal subgrade of 85.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• The Goonies 1986 BETA - VGA 85 NM+, Horiz. Overlap / White Wraparound Warner HV Watermark, Silver Security Sticker, Warner Home Video
• Ghostbusters VHS 1985 VGA 85+ NM+, Vertical Overlap/White RCA-CP Home Video Watermark/Raised Logo, RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure VHS 1989 - VGA 90 NM+/MT, Vert Overlap / White Nelson Ent Watermark, Nelson Entertainment