Coming To America VHS
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Paramount Home Video's release of "Coming To America" on VHS is one of those tapes that crossed every demographic line the moment it hit retail shelves. Eddie Murphy, 1988, Paramount Pictures, peak output from a performer who had already owned the decade with "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." Without the photo in front of us, the exact release year on this cassette is provisional, so verify before the era claim sticks, but the tape itself speaks to one of the biggest comedy titles Paramount carried into the home video market.
The film released theatrically in June 1988 and moved into home video within the year. By that point Murphy was arguably the most bankable name in Hollywood comedy. The barbershop scenes alone, with Arsenio Hall pulling triple duty as Saul, Morris, and Reverend Brown, became quoted material almost immediately. Louie Anderson as Maurice. James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffe. John Amos as Cleo McDowell, running a fast food operation that had absolutely nothing to do with McDonald's. Sexual Chocolate. The film was directed by John Landis, who had already made "Trading Places" with Murphy in 1983, so this was a known collaboration delivering on a proven formula. Paramount's home video arm distributed widely, and "Coming To America" was a reliable renter and seller through the late 1980s and into the 1990s. A cassette in genuine condition from that first release run is harder to find than casual collectors expect.
The kind of tape that stayed in rotation because every scene held a rhythm.
This copy needs a closer look at the cassette shell and the tape before condition can be confirmed. Clamshell versus slipcase format, label printing, and the Paramount Home Video logo variant on the spine will help place the release year more precisely. Play copies from peak rental stock show wear on the shell corners and occasional ribbon slack at the tape opening. If this is a sealed or near-sealed copy, that changes the picture entirely. Check the tape window directly: ribbon should sit flat with no visible slack or creasing against the guides.
OWNER VERIFY: Era and release year of this cassette (first-run 1988-89 home video release versus later reprint run).
OWNER VERIFY: Cassette format (clamshell vs. slipcase), Paramount Home Video logo variant on spine label, and copyright text on reverse for production date confirmation.
OWNER VERIFY: Shell corner wear, ribbon condition at the tape opening, and seal status (sealed, near-mint unplayed, or play copy).
The kind of tape that stayed in rotation because every scene held a rhythm.
The Rental Counter
Before streaming flattened the difference between movies, VHS was a physical act. Rentals, buybacks, Blockbuster sleeves, promo tapes, ex-rentals with security stickers still on the side. 90s tapes outlived the stores they came from. We keep them in their original cases where possible and note every sticker, sun-fade, and sleeve crease in the photography.
INSPECTED IN STORE / 707 E FREMONT, LAS VEGAS
Inspected in Las Vegas on June 2026. Each piece is a single unit, sold as inspected.
KEEP IT CLASSIC
This coming to america vhs originates from the 90s era[01], represents Paramount[02]'s output, . Each piece in the shop is a single unit, inspected by hand in Las Vegas before listing. The data manifest to the right records the fields on file for this lot; where a field is empty it has been omitted rather than guessed.
INSPECTED IN STORE / 707 E FREMONT, LAS VEGAS
- VENDOR
- Paramount
- ERA
- 90s
Great night. Thank you for the hospitality while it was pouring down raining and the game was on pause.
14 days from delivery. Buyer pays return shipping. In-store purchases are exchange or credit only.
Every piece in the shop is a single unit. Once it is gone, it is gone.
707 E Fremont Street, Suite 1170, ground floor, east side of Downtown Container Park.
