VHS is the BEST!!!

Started by Reel, November 29, 2013, 02:57:58 PM

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Reel

Sometime around 2005 everyone here stopped giving a shit about each other's dvd collections, especially after we all saw Mac's/Silias'. I am truly interested to see what VHS tapes have been important enough for you to hold on to through the years, though. I am still an avid collector, and my enthusiasm has recently vamped up due to seeing Rewind This! which confirmed that I'm not the only person who still finds these plastic thingies valuable, and there are people who have dedicated their lives to amassing embarrassingly larger collections than mine as well. So I figured it was time to catch up, and in the past few months I have been scouring thrift stores and starting to put a collection together that I can say I'm very proud of.  Here it is.


Faves




These are my favorite tapes. Besides Popcorn, STEEL, and Dolly Dearest,  all of these were much sought after movies to have in my possession. 'That Was Then, This Is Now' takes me back. I read the S.E. Hinton novel in 6th grade, really affected me in a profound way. On the cover of the book was the movie poster, and I had to see it. Kept my eyes peeled at every videostore until I finally learned that you could order shit from the library, and it must have taken a couples month until I got it. I was obsessed with seeing it. To this day, I can't even say whether it's a good or bad movie because it's been awhile. I just know that it pales in comparison to the book. Emilio Estevez wrote it, but it has a cool young Morgan Freeman as the bartender.

Shy People is my very favorite tape because it doesn't exist on any other format to my knowledge. It was one that caught my eye at the library a lot, such an emo title. It seems like whatever it could possibly be about would be lame, but I'm a shy person in general so I had to rent it and find out. Turns out the definition of 'Shy' in that movie is bit different than mine, as in people who shy away from society, live off the grid and don't want to be seen by outsiders. This movie really is up there with Magnolia and the rest of 'em as one of the most riveting cinematic experiences ever when I first saw it. I had no idea what to anticipate, and it exceeded my expectations in ways I couldn't imagine. I had been on a quest to own it a few years after wanting to rewatch it and see if it still held up but the library didn't carry it anymore. There were no torrents of it and the only available copy was a VHS tape on amazon, so I broke down and bought it for about $10. It was a ratty old copy from a library in Indiana. I'm so happy I have it to this day because I guarantee none of you have seen it besides Regular Karate and if you wanted to, it'd have to be on VHS.

The others, I can talk about if you ask.

Best Covers




That's Demi Moore in her second role on PARASITE. Blood Salvage was a fucking disturbing movie on levels I can't even begin to comprehend. Needed a shower after that one.


Blind buys that should be a delight





Fucking. Weird.




I want nothing to do with YOUNG EINSTEIN or that jerkoff Yahoo Serious. According to Pubrick it's something like "The Best piece of cinema to come out of Australia in the past 25 years." Fuck that guy...


My one and only big box title





the craziest thing about it is the way they put this image on the spine to advertise it. People could REALLY get the wrong idea about this movie, such a racist scene...NSFW!







...Unfortunately, I can't go anywhere near these because this is the current state of my VCR:







Okay, now yours!!!

03


Lottery

This reminds me of the old video store from when I was young. The cover art is just so weird.
I think the art for Squirm looks fucking awesome.

Reel

Quote from: 03 on November 29, 2013, 04:07:09 PM
i just came in my pants.

from the picture on 'The Mercenaries' spine? me too

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Jeremy Blackman

Really? It's showing up for me.

In any case, I will attach it for posterity.

N

That's an awesome collection you've got there. Your post from the horror thread was the main factor that sparked my interest in starting my own collection, and this only vamps it up tenfold.

Blood Salvage looks great btw, kinda like Wolf Creek meets Merle Dixon.

Reel

Quote from: N on November 30, 2013, 02:03:24 PM
Your post from the horror thread was the main factor that sparked my interest in starting my own collection, and this only vamps it up tenfold.

Cool! I guess this kind of thing is infectious because seeing the mammoth collections in Rewind This was what inspired me to go a lot deeper into my obsession. I have been collecting VHS for years and years and years, I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't. Yet, when the switch to DVD came the things seemed practically useless by comparison. The only reason for me to buy tapes at that point was because I couldn't afford the DVD. And really, that still remains the motive- to get more out of my dollar.  I'm no format snob, I'll take whatever I can get my hands on. Sometimes you haven't seen Jacob's Ladder yet and all you've heard are people saying great things about it so you keep your eyes peeled everywhere you go for the DVD and it never turns up. Then, you happen to be at a thrift shop and it's sitting on the shelf for 50 cents and you snatch that shit up like you just found a 20 dollar bill on the ground and that's a good day. I think the most fun part about it is the treasure hunting aspect, to feel like you actually got more than your money's worth is a beautiful thing. That's why I'm more interested in going into some geriatric's basement and rifling through a box of tapes that's been under a leaky pipe for 15 years than I am going on amazon and finding deals that I end up paying $5 on shipping for. Really, what I'm trying to say is that I'm in it for the movies more than the novelty factor, and VHS has simply been the most rewarding way to covet these films without putting a huge dent in my pocket.


Anyhow, here's some titles I love, but just don't happen to own on any other format, and I'm good with that:






lately I've been really looking forward to watching 'In The Bedroom' again. So good.











N

Yeah, I guess you're right with the treasure hunting aspect. At the moment I'm being a total format snob and buying VHS online with absurd shipping costs when I could probably pick up the DVDs from my local WAL-MART thing.
There's just something about that sound a VCR makes after you insert a tape, the clunky-ness and the cover, it reminds me of the way I used to enjoy movies as a kid.
The artwork on VHS covers has a nice 80s/90s feel for me too, even though I started watching VHS in the early 2000s.

That and my dvd player has no remote and the play button just pauses the menu on most discs for me.

I remember watching Rumble Fish a while back in english class, we did an essay on the book, I think watching VHS will also introduce me to a lot of movies that I otherwise wouldn't have watched.
I still need to watch "Rewind This!", I'm considering copying it with my VCR so I can watch it first time on tape (thus becoming the ultimate format snob).

You've got some great titles there either way, even if I can't find them on VHS I still plan to watch them.

Ravi

I only watch movies in their original aspect ratio (unless that is not possible), and DVD and HD have spoiled VHS quality for me, so I don't buy VHS of anything available on DVD or Blu-Ray. But every now and then I do buy a comedy special or documentary or esoteric title that probably won't ever be released in another format. I'm always hoping to find something strange that would be a great addition to the Found Footage Festival.

Reel

Quote from: Ravi on December 01, 2013, 03:46:21 AM
I'm always hoping to find something strange that would be a great addition to the Found Footage Festival.

I did yesterday:







actual clip from the video, you don't have to watch it all to get the gist



Reel

I just want to put up a disclaimer for the kids to be careful when practicing Bob Klein's techniques. Some of the poses if held too long can cut off oxygen to the brain. Speaking from experience...





So happy I found this. I've wanted to see it forever, thought I never would. SYDNEY!!!





..and another big box to add to the pile. Good day for movies about Running.



tpfkabi

There is a movie called Run (1991) with McDreamy and it is VHS only, I believe.
I saw it on cable and I have this scene in my head where a car goes off a several story parking garage. Last I checked it was on YouTube, but I haven't gotten around to watching it.

Like said above, the main detractor of the format is the hideous Pan & Scan practice. Then there is the degradability factor with each play.

There was a local used media store that was one of the last places to buy used VHS and I would get some that didnt have DVDs yet. Then a year or two later that movie would get a DVD release - happened with Howard the Duck (people thought Lucas hated it so much he would never let it come out on DVD) and The Wizard.

I have tons of VHS that I recorded stuff off of TV with. I had one that I recorded Nirvana Unplugged and an In Utero era concert, and that concert was only recently released on DVD. I was going through all of them and trying to figure out what I had, burning stuff I wanted to keep to DVD, but I stopped.

Now with DvD to Blu the same is happening. I buy The Burning on DVd, couple months later Shout puts it out. Buy Repo Man DVD, then Criterion puts out a new version.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

chimbo

Quote from: Reelist on November 29, 2013, 02:57:58 PM


Blind buys that should be a delight






Avenging Angel, my god that brought back some memories. I remember loving the first movie which is just called Angel. This is the sequel to that but didn't live up to it, although most ppl would consider the first one a bad movie to begin with. They made another one after this (in the 90s?) which I never got a chance to see.
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Lottery

"The movie is a sequel to 1984's Angel and was followed by the 1988 film Angel III: The Final Chapter and Angel 4: Undercover."

Ha, that must be embarrassing. I mean besides making them to begin with and so on. Though I feel naming sequels maybe wasn't a concern for them.