New VHS Rental store in Liverpool

pixelburp

To be reductionist, the simple question I ask myself would be: is this format how the director wanted or meant the film to be seen? Now it could be yes, given how even in the digital age a film might use artificial grain or texture for aesthetic effect, but by and large I just don't see VHS as anything other than much less than what was intended, doing the film a disservice even. Same as watching Dunkirk on a mobile phone; oh sure it's viable and maybe even preferred for a particlar person's context, but it ain't how Nolan would want his film to be seen

WhiteMemento9

pixelburp wrote: »

To be reductionist, the simple question I ask myself would be: is this format how the director wanted or meant the film to be seen? Now it could be yes, given how even in the digital age a film might use artificial grain or texture for aesthetic effect, but by and large I just don't see VHS as anything other than much less than what was intended, doing the film a disservice even. Same as watching Dunkirk on a mobile phone; oh sure it's viable and maybe even preferred for a particlar person's context, but it ain't how Nolan would want his film to be seen

An artist may have their own vision of how they want something to be seen but most good ones will tell you, art is what people want to make of it.

WhiteMemento9

Deleted User wrote: »

Its very easy to dismiss anothers opinion as hipster because its not to your taste but its pretty lame if you ask me when you can make any number of arguments as to why VHS is not a good format without resorting to the cheap insult, which calling someone a Hipster essentially is. If theres a few lads who are Hipsters doing Hipster ****, let them at it, otherwise you are gonna have lobby groups for hipsters, and referendums for hipsters before too long.

I will stick by my guns that some films are more appealing to me in the VHS tone. I have an extensive collection of hundreds of VHS tapes collected from the age of about 10. (My copy of Wrong Bet is black and white for some reason, and I would not watch it in any other format) Original cases with the first cover print and stuff like that. I would dig out stuff like Shivers or Eraserhead or the original Omen and much prefer to immerse myself into that older grainier version of those films then on a crystal clear format. Maybe its easier to believe, especially when you have special effects instead of CGI. Special effects can get by a hell of a lot easier.

As someone who used to record a lot of music for film in my college years, I often found my production mistakes could often turn out to enhance what I was trying to do. Might sound weird but, but I feel like theres ways flaws and imperfections can increase the experience. Thats what is happening with analog vinyl. The imperfections improve the experience, it feels more raw, it doesn't feel manicured. Maybe thats just a personal thing, but there is no way anyone can convince me that there is not some films out there where the experience is more enjoyable on a VHS then a cleaner digital picture.
But then again I hate people like Neymar with a vengeance, and all the kids love him despite his ultra manicured personality and antics. So I am pretty dated.

You are who you are and you seem like you have a pretty good grasp on things. Never apologise for being yourself unless your actions are harmful to those around you. That can sometimes be extremely hard for people to see. People who are living a lie of what they like just to look cool aren't really themselves anyway which takes a toll on people personally. I think our lack of free will, pressures of the world and tonne of other factors especially in the world we have created make it extremely hard for people to figure out who they are as a person so they latch onto any identity to help them fit in. That includes being snide and hurtful to those around them that don't deserve it.

WhiteMemento9

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

You are who you are and you seem like you have a pretty good grasp on things. Never apologise for being yourself unless your actions are harmful to those around you. That can sometimes be extremely hard for people to see. People who are living a lie of what they like just to look cool aren't really themselves anyway which takes a toll on people personally. I think our lack of free will, pressures of the world and tonne of other factors especially in the world we have created make it extremely hard for people to figure out who they are as a person so they latch onto any identity to help them fit in. That includes being snide and hurtful to those around them that don't deserve it.

Incisive wisdom

pixelburp

pixelburp wrote: »

To be reductionist, the simple question I ask myself would be: is this format how the director wanted or meant the film to be seen? Now it could be yes, given how even in the digital age a film might use artificial grain or texture for aesthetic effect, but by and large I just don't see VHS as anything other than much less than what was intended, doing the film a disservice even. Same as watching Dunkirk on a mobile phone; oh sure it's viable and maybe even preferred for a particlar person's context, but it ain't how Nolan would want his film to be seen

Yeah but your asking that question today when the films put on VHS were made at the time VHS was the format outside of the cinema to watch stuff. So who knows what was inside the filmmakers mind in terms of how they are thinking people are going to watch the films...

Technocentral

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

I
However, when you see some lad huffing and puffing up a hill on a fixie that he paid a fortune for, in a Ronnie Drew beard and a top knot...more than likely, he thinks he looks "cool".

Rather him than the identikit types in there Man Utd and Rugby shirts. Someone doing something less mainstream always gets my thumbs up.

pixelburp

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Yeah but your asking that question today when the films put on VHS were made at the time VHS was the format outside of the cinema to watch stuff. So who knows what was inside the filmmakers mind in terms of how they are thinking people are going to watch the films...

Given how 4:3 was the standard ratio on TVs, and more often than not, the cropped broadcast versions of fillms, I'd be confident in saying filmmakers didn't factor in home releases at all. Why would you? Your canvas was 16:9 or other widescreen formats - especially with the David Leans or Kubricks of this world, folks who pained with a wide brush - and adding to the stress of anticipating a reduced format with lesser fidelity would have been madness. To stick to the art analogy, it'd be like a painter trying to second guess their work on a A3 canvas being reproduced on a postage stamp.

I totally get the emotional attachment someone might have to VHS, I really do, and as I said it can be a deliberate creative decision to add lofi grain, but I don't think it's how most fimakers would want their work shown. It kinda goes against the grandeur of the cinematic.

Conservatory

I always think these hipster shops are a money laundering venture but I’ve no idea if they are or not.

WhiteMemento9

Technocentral wrote: »

Rather him than the identikit types in there Man Utd and Rugby shirts. Someone doing something less mainstream always gets my thumbs up.

This thread has gone off the ****ing rails

I agree but I have no problem with the guys in shirts. As I said I don't proport to know what makes someone happy. I can make judgments from my own opinion but I don't judge the person. I will get all high and mighty here but this is something I stole from Hitchens who stole it from Socrates so it isn't really any insight from myself.

I don't know that we all have it but I have it and Socrates believed we all have it. It is something like an internal witness that when we don't do something that we fully believe in we know it as a person. We can ignore it but we are aware. It might bubble in our subconscious but we understand on some level that we are either not being true to ourselves or doing the wrong thing.

The world we have created though makes it very hard for people to live in this world and listen to that voice. That eventually damages people though, bitterness etc flows out to other people and you can see if you are alive enough that they aren't really home. I think Hitchens gave the example of saying something clever to someone to get a laugh that you don't truly believe, an inner voice tells you, that was funny but it wasn't something you should have said.

WhiteMemento9

Conservatory wrote: »

I always think these hipster shops are a money laundering venture but I’ve no idea if they are or not.

What is a hipster shop?

Wedwood

Videotape is one format that should stay in the past. If you ever watch those vintage music channels, the 70s tracks shot on film look far better than the 80s videos shot on tape.

The idea of browsing the video store could be done just as well with Blu rays and DVDs. I suppose this is a riff on the resurgence of vinyl. (BTW, I reckon the premium subscription Spotify tracks and albums sounds much better than vinyl, plus you don't have to flip the disc over every 20 minutes !)

johnny_ultimate

TBH, I do miss genuine label holograms and demanding a genuine cassette from my video store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSu5_qxfunk

WhiteMemento9

It is incredible to me that a poster has made this hugely passionate posts about his love of VHS much of which is intangible and emotional which are far better ways I think to enjoy things than many of the more logical arguments put forward in this thread. Still, we have people trying to apply their own logic to why others should see things the way they do instead of understanding and seeing the other person point of view and just accepting it. It isn't like he is a guy who clearly hasn't thought about this quite alot.

wonski

I am surprised people comparing vinyl to the VHS instead of cassette tape which is a direct equivalent in music. Poor quality and reliability.

Vinyl, film cameras etc have their place even these days.

Magnetic tape was a badly executed step into digital quality and should be forgiven and forgotten.

Wedwood

Each to their own I suppose. It's a harmless enough venture, it'll be interesting to see if it takes off (again!)

nix

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

TBH, I do miss genuine label holograms and demanding a genuine cassette from my video store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSu5_qxfunk

Got a receipt? Got a receipt?!

Look you said!

Nah, saids no good mate, oooooral contract! Not worth the paper its printed on..

:pac::pac::pac:

EDIT: HAHA i found it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QI9haisZWo

Tony EH

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

I personally think video quality is awful but I also haven't lived inside another person so I can only make that judgment from my understanding, experience, brain etc. I know it is entirely possible that a person gets a complete different experience from VHS. How is that defensive?

Your sentiment wasn't defensive, it's perfectly fine. But the tone sounded as such.

If not, then it's all grand.

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

I don't really care what he thinks or how he looks or what he doing. I hope he is happy and doing things he enjoys is all.

I do care now if he hurting others as I said, otherwise let him at it.

Which, again, is perfectly fine. It has nothing to do with "hurting" anyone.

Tony EH

Deleted User wrote: »

I will stick by my guns that some films are more appealing to me in the VHS tone. I have an extensive collection of hundreds of VHS tapes collected from the age of about 10. (My copy of Wrong Bet is black and white for some reason, and I would not watch it in any other format) Original cases with the first cover print and stuff like that. I would dig out stuff like Shivers or Eraserhead or the original Omen and much prefer to immerse myself into that older grainier version of those films then on a crystal clear format. Maybe its easier to believe, especially when you have special effects instead of CGI. Special effects can get by a hell of a lot easier.

Sure, there's something to this. The likes of 'Zombie Flesh Eaters' loses a bit in a 1080p blu-ray, ironically, and there are certain films I haven't enjoyed in subsequent viewings in hi-def as I did when I saw them on VHS in the 80's. But, as a general viewing experience, video loses all the time.


But, I can certainly understand its dubious appeal.

pixelburp

pixelburp wrote: »

To be reductionist, the simple question I ask myself would be: is this format how the director wanted or meant the film to be seen? Now it could be yes, given how even in the digital age a film might use artificial grain or texture for aesthetic effect, but by and large I just don't see VHS as anything other than much less than what was intended, doing the film a disservice even. Same as watching Dunkirk on a mobile phone; oh sure it's viable and maybe even preferred for a particlar person's context, but it ain't how Nolan would want his film to be seen

I would never watch a film on a phone but when watching a Nolan film that last thing I care about is how Nolan wants us to watch it, I always find him a little irritating in all his talk of how it needs to be seen on a big screen. Notice that he has no issue with Oscar voters getting sent out screeners though this year they did sent out Blu-Ray screeners to them.

It's very easy for someone like Nolan to say "if you do not see it in the cinema projected from an actual print then you have not seen the film" but I missed Dunkirk in the cinema and watched it on Blu-Ray over Christmas and still enjoyed it.

A more valid argument can be made in regards to is VHS the best format accessible to me to watch this film or TV show. In many cases it shockingly is, Rolling Thunder skipped DVD entirely and for years was only available on VHS. Up until the advent of Blu-Ray if you wanted to watch one of the most underappreciate revenge thrillers of all time you had to track down a degrading VHS. There are plenty of great films which still have not gotten a proper release, I've on more than one occasion in recent memory watched a lost Japanese film that I ripped from VHS and added fansubs to as otherwise there is no way to watch said film. Same way that from time to time I have watched a VCD of a film as it does not exist on DVD or Blu or streaming.

The Keep, Grim Prairie Tales, The Last Movie, Black Moon, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Great Gatsby, Fedora, The Naked Runner, Song of the South, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Traveling Executioner and The Glass Menagerie are just a couple of examples of films that if you want to watch then the best way to do so is tracking down a VHS. There are thousands of others just like those which for some reason or another have never made the leap to either DVD or Blu and it's why I love companies like Vinegar Syndrome. Yes a lot of their output is trashy, sleazy exploitation pictures but they are saving and restoring films that would otherwise be lost.

Technocentral

Deleted User wrote: »

I would never watch a film on a phone but when watching a Nolan film that last thing I care about is how Nolan wants us to watch it, I always find him a little irritating in all his talk of how it needs to be seen on a big screen. Notice that he has no issue with Oscar voters getting sent out screeners though this year they did sent out Blu-Ray screeners to them.

It's very easy for someone like Nolan to say "if you do not see it in the cinema projected from an actual print then you have not seen the film" but I missed Dunkirk in the cinema and watched it on Blu-Ray over Christmas and still enjoyed it.

A more valid argument can be made in regards to is VHS the best format accessible to me to watch this film or TV show. In many cases it shockingly is, Rolling Thunder skipped DVD entirely and for years was only available on VHS. Up until the advent of Blu-Ray if you wanted to watch one of the most underappreciate revenge thrillers of all time you had to track down a degrading VHS. There are plenty of great films which still have not gotten a proper release, I've on more than one occasion in recent memory watched a lost Japanese film that I ripped from VHS and added fansubs to as otherwise there is no way to watch said film. Same way that from time to time I have watched a VCD of a film as it does not exist on DVD or Blu or streaming.

The Keep, Grim Prairie Tales, The Last Movie, Black Moon, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Great Gatsby, Fedora, The Naked Runner, Song of the South, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Traveling Executioner and The Glass Menagerie are just a couple of examples of films that if you want to watch then the best way to do so is tracking down a VHS. There are thousands of others just like those which for some reason or another have never made the leap to either DVD or Blu and it's why I love companies like Vinegar Syndrome. Yes a lot of their output is trashy, sleazy exploitation pictures but they are saving and restoring films that would otherwise be lost.

Good post, anyway I dont think anyone here is saying that watching films otr TV shows on VHS is the BEST way of all formats, just that its a fun alternative.

Technocentral

Technocentral wrote: »

Good post, anyway I dont think anyone here is saying that watching films otr TV shows on VHS is the BEST way of all formats, just that its a fun alternative.

My point was that for many films and shows it sadly is currently the best way to view them.

Technocentral

Deleted User wrote: »

Technocentral wrote: »

Good post, anyway I dont think anyone here is saying that watching films otr TV shows on VHS is the BEST way of all formats, just that its a fun alternative.

My point was that for many films and shows it sadly is currently the best way to view them.

Yeah I understand that, just making an overall point.

pixelburp

Deleted User wrote: »

I would never watch a film on a phone but when watching a Nolan film that last thing I care about is how Nolan wants us to watch it, I always find him a little irritating in all his talk of how it needs to be seen on a big screen. Notice that he has no issue with Oscar voters getting sent out screeners though this year they did sent out Blu-Ray screeners to them.

It's very easy for someone like Nolan to say "if you do not see it in the cinema projected from an actual print then you have not seen the film" but I missed Dunkirk in the cinema and watched it on Blu-Ray over Christmas and still enjoyed it.

I didn't say anything about needing to see any film in the cinema; in fact chances are these days many of us will have a perfectly 'cinematic' experience that's better than the local flickhouse, given how prevalent 45+ inch screens are; hell 45 is probably quaint by now. Certainly as a teenager my local cinema in Monaghan was garbage - my living room today is a better cinema that the official one growing up. Equally, it's a far cry from the 20 inch 4:3 CRTs that would have been the partner to the typical VHS system of the 80s. So yes, no more than the mobile phone, peering at a widescreen presentation on a 20inch CRT TV, via a VHS tape is hardly the ideal experience a mainstream director would have intended IMO.

Perhaps Chris Nolan is a poor choice, so what of all the many films from directors who predate the era of the home video release? For them there was no 'other' experience, they're work was under the knowledge that all those images would be projected up onto a large, literal canvas.

Just to get personal again - but then this thread is clearly more about personal preference than most discussions - one of my earliest memories of being... I dunno, switched on to the sweeping granduer cinema could present, was David Lean's 'A Passage to India' of all things lol Honestly I barely recall the film & think it was a bit dull and achingly English (Alec Guinness blacking up probably didn't help there), but lordy it looked stunning. I sat closer to the TV to take in the compositions and obvious epic scope our home television clearly couldn't manage.

Again, to reiterate, I'm not being binary here - VHS has its place.

As you spoke of yourself, VHS kickstarted a lot of directorial talent in the 1980s so it's not like it hasn't got its place; thanks to the whole 'video nasties' moral panic of the 80s, directors such as Sam Raimi effectively got a launchpad into a very successful, artistic career that probably has VHS tapes of Evil Dead to thank. All these gonzo movies made for buttons and got distribution thanks to magnetic tape, launching a bunch of careers.

Same thing happened again in the era of the DVD - how often would the Tescos of this world have buckets of €5 straight-to-DVD films - and the cycle is kicking in again, perhaps to a lesser extent, with the era of digital distribution and the relative ease with which lower budget features can get some form of global distribution (Netflix etc. aren't perfect and IMO have problems with renumeration for the creatives, but that's another story).

Point being is that homemade cinema, so to speak, is a cycle that occurs and continues to exist, and should be celebrated, but the actual technology used in facilitating that revolution was inherently retrograde - ask any adherent to Betamax!

Deleted User wrote: »

The Keep, [...], Song of the South, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Traveling Executioner and The Glass Menagerie are just a couple of examples of films that if you want to watch then the best way to do so is tracking down a VHS. There are thousands of others just like those which for some reason or another have never made the leap to either DVD or Blu and it's why I love companies like Vinegar Syndrome. Yes a lot of their output is trashy, sleazy exploitation pictures but they are saving and restoring films that would otherwise be lost.

But I think that's less about the benefits of VHS, and more about the gatekeeping of studios, or the perceived popularity of the presentation. The above highlighted: that's Michael Mann's first movie, right? I myself watched via a laserdisc rip, precisely because Mann hates the film and wants history to forget it; whereas I'd say the same applies for Disney & Song of the South, wanting us to forget the uncomfortable Uncle Tom framing device. It's great they can be tracked down at all, but that there isn't a BluRay speaks more of Michael Mann and Disney's protectionism than anything (hell, it's hard to get more popular Disney movies on home release as they routinely 'vault' films)

Again, it branches the discussion elsewhere, given how digital distribution means that once copyrights, distribution contracts, directors' preferences or whatever kick in, films are more likely to disappear forever given the lack of a physical version to persist in the 2nd hand market.

Sad Professor

Looking at pics of the shop, it seems like he's mostly stocking VHS tapes of popular films that are easy to get on better formats without the hassle of messing around with ancient VHS players. That's my problem with this - it's not about offering films that were never released on DVD etc, it's just pure nostalgia. And he thinks he can make money off it.

Anyway, I don't blame hipsters for being nostalgic for old consumer stuff. The whole of western culture is gripped by nostalgia/revivalism. It's been growing since the 70s and is most evident in music. It has been described as the slow cancellation of the future. You see it in the obsession with apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. We can't imagine the future anymore, or at least an alternative to how the world is currently run.

pixelburp

pixelburp wrote: »

I didn't say anything about needing to see any film in the cinema; in fact chances are these days many of us will have a perfectly 'cinematic' experience that's better than the local flickhouse, given how prevalent 45+ inch screens are; hell 45 is probably quaint by now. Certainly as a teenager my local cinema in Monaghan was garbage - my living room today is a better cinema that the official one growing up. Equally, it's a far cry from the 20 inch 4:3 CRTs that would have been the partner to the typical VHS system of the 80s. So yes, no more than the mobile phone, peering at a widescreen presentation on a 20inch CRT TV, via a VHS tape is hardly the ideal experience a mainstream director would have intended IMO.

Perhaps Chris Nolan is a poor choice, so what of all the many films from directors who predate the era of the home video release? For them there was no 'other' experience, they're work was under the knowledge that all those images would be projected up onto a large, literal canvas.

Just to get personal again - but then this thread is clearly more about personal preference than most discussions - one of my earliest memories of being... I dunno, switched on to the sweeping granduer cinema could present, was David Lean's 'A Passage to India' of all things lol Honestly I barely recall the film & think it was a bit dull and achingly English (Alec Guinness blacking up probably didn't help there), but lordy it looked stunning. I sat closer to the TV to take in the compositions and obvious epic scope our home television clearly couldn't manage.

Again, to reiterate, I'm not being binary here - VHS has its place.

As you spoke of yourself, VHS kickstarted a lot of directorial talent in the 1980s so it's not like it hasn't got its place; thanks to the whole 'video nasties' moral panic of the 80s, directors such as Sam Raimi effectively got a launchpad into a very successful, artistic career that probably has VHS tapes of Evil Dead to thank. All these gonzo movies made for buttons and got distribution thanks to magnetic tape, launching a bunch of careers.

Same thing happened again in the era of the DVD - how often would the Tescos of this world have buckets of €5 straight-to-DVD films - and the cycle is kicking in again, perhaps to a lesser extent, with the era of digital distribution and the relative ease with which lower budget features can get some form of global distribution (Netflix etc. aren't perfect and IMO have problems with renumeration for the creatives, but that's another story).

Point being is that homemade cinema, so to speak, is a cycle that occurs and continues to exist, and should be celebrated, but the actual technology used in facilitating that revolution was inherently retrograde - ask any adherent to Betamax!

My point was that Nolan is constantly crying about how his films need to be seen projected on film in a cinema but then come awards season has no such qualms when the voters need to see his film. I find his constant belittling of the home experience rather irritating as for many, myself included that only way I can experience a lot of cinema is at home.

I'd love to be able to say that I was going to see The Burmese Harp projected from film in a cinema but as I live on the West coast of Ireland the chances of that happening are non-existant so I will experience it on Blu-Ray as it arrived this morning.

If you want to look at the cicular nature of film then we do see the same movements occur each new generation of tech. Shot on film led to 8 and 16mm, VHS led to cheapie action and horrors, DVD lead to shot on DV and now we have an age of digital film making which like all that came before has been going through the motions.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood is watching the first episode of the X-Files with my dad in our sitting room on a tiny TV as the rest of my family was watching something on the big TV. After the X-Files ended and my youthful mind was blown my Dad handed me the VHS of the director's cut of Aliens which I had been wanting to watch for years. I was 9 at the time and I can describe that night in detail to you but I would never watch Aliens on VHS ever again. A lot of people don't seem to understand nostalgia don't realise that it's better to recall that memory than it is to try and recapture it. But then again this type of hipster shop is less about recaptruing youth of memories than it is about trying to look cool to your neck beard friends when you ask them around to watch Kill Bill on a dead format for no reason other than you'd like some attention.

VHS has a place and that is nostalgia but unlike Vinyl it sadly offers nothing beyond that and the ability to watch some films which are available otherwise.

pixelburp wrote: »

But I think that's less about the benefits of VHS, and more about the gatekeeping of studios, or the perceived popularity of the presentation. The above highlighted: that's Michael Mann's first movie, right? I myself watched via a laserdisc rip, precisely because Mann hates the film and wants history to forget it; whereas I'd say the same applies for Disney & Song of the South, wanting us to forget the uncomfortable Uncle Tom framing device. It's great they can be tracked down at all, but that there isn't a BluRay speaks more of Michael Mann and Disney's protectionism than anything (hell, it's hard to get more popular Disney movies on home release as they routinely 'vault' films)

Again, it branches the discussion elsewhere, given how digital distribution means that once copyrights, distribution contracts, directors' preferences or whatever kick in, films are more likely to disappear forever given the lack of a physical version to persist in the 2nd hand market.

I'm not saying that VHS has any benefits, it's an awful format but for many films it is simply the only way to experience them. Mann's issues with The Keep are many, he was coming off the success of earlier efforts and thought he was shit hot only for the studio to say not a hope. There actually exists a pretty decent looking version that pops up on Netflix and Prime from time to time but it disappears as soon as it appears.

I don't think films released mainly on streaming services will ever disappear as someone somewhere is going to rip them and share it and as such there's more of a chance of it being found in years to come than lost forever. In the days of VHS it was much easier for a film to be lost given the disposable nature of the format, how many people had VHS tapes of some low budgt gem bu then stuck some tape ove the bottom and used it to record TV.

Del.Monte

Here are two classics that I was responsible for via Midland Publishing in the UK - neither made it to DVD and probably never will - fortunately!




I just took a peep into some of my tape storage boxes and came across a few more Irish movies that never made it to DVD - as far as I know.

"A Further Gesture" 1997
"Fools of Fortune" 1990
"Titanic Town" 1998
"High Boot Benny" 1993

The tapes self destruct for all sorts of reasons especially if not stored in bone dry conditions. Not sorry to see the back of them if for no other reason that they took up so much space. I can't see the Liverpool venture lasting long.

briany

Sad Professor wrote: »

Anyway, I don't blame hipsters for being nostalgic for old consumer stuff. The whole of western culture is gripped by nostalgia/revivalism. It's been growing since the 70s and is most evident in music. It has been described as the slow cancellation of the future. You see it in the obsession with apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. We can't imagine the future anymore, or at least an alternative to how the world is currently run.

I suspect this has always been around in some form, the difference being that what we would now call nostalgia was formerly framed as tradition, e.g. musicians playing folk or classical and deviating little from the established style.

I don't think it's that we can't imagine the future, but that we're examining new ideas through the prism of the past and finding similarities. However, looking at ideas of the past, few of them were truly new when you look at ideas even older again. They were more widely accepted as new, though, because people had not the tools of cross reference we can access today.

neirbloom

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah though I usually watched them again. Some of the trailers were really good and it became part of the experience of certain movies. I must have seen the Braveheart and Shawshank trailers a thousand times.

Anyone remember when Simon Bates turned up at the start of every movie with his minute long warning .

briany

neirbloom wrote: »

Anyone remember when Simon Bates turned up at the start of every movie with his minute long warning .

The 18 badge on a videotape was how you knew it was any good.

Age ratings weren't paid a blind bit of notice in my household. Think I got to watch Man Bites Dog when I was 7 or 8.

NewbridgeIR

Deleted User wrote: »

A more valid argument can be made in regards to is VHS the best format accessible to me to watch this film or TV show. In many cases it shockingly is, Rolling Thunder skipped DVD entirely and for years was only available on VHS. Up until the advent of Blu-Ray if you wanted to watch one of the most underappreciate revenge thrillers of all time you had to track down a degrading VHS. There are plenty of great films which still have not gotten a proper release, I've on more than one occasion in recent memory watched a lost Japanese film that I ripped from VHS and added fansubs to as otherwise there is no way to watch said film. Same way that from time to time I have watched a VCD of a film as it does not exist on DVD or Blu or streaming.

The Keep, Grim Prairie Tales, The Last Movie, Black Moon, Freddy’s Nightmares, The Great Gatsby, Fedora, The Naked Runner, Song of the South, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Traveling Executioner and The Glass Menagerie are just a couple of examples of films that if you want to watch then the best way to do so is tracking down a VHS. There are thousands of others just like those which for some reason or another have never made the leap to either DVD or Blu and it's why I love companies like Vinegar Syndrome. Yes a lot of their output is trashy, sleazy exploitation pictures but they are saving and restoring films that would otherwise be lost.

Good list. Yeah, track down on video or be lucky enough to tape off TV. I have 7 off the list on off-air VHS.

branie2

Quentin Tarantino, before he became famous, worked in a video store.

Jerichoholic

branie2 wrote: »

Quentin Tarantino, before he became famous, worked in a video store.

Good point, me too.

batgoat

briany wrote: »

Games are an apt comparison to illustrate how people will still opt to use and enjoy something that is completely inferior to modern offerings. Retro gaming is quite acceptable in mainstream culture, so why not the interest in other types of old media? Yes, VHS picture quality is objectively worse than a HD video from today, but some people enjoy the grainy, gooey picture quality for certain films. I'm not about to stick in a VHS cassette to watch the original Halloween, but I can see how the relative grunginess of that might be a curious enhancement to the atmosphere. Very much the same way as colour film should be better than black and white in every way, given the greater palette, but this is not always true. Black and white is sometimes just better to put you in a certain frame of mind.

The classics that were made in black and white, directors used darkness, shadows and tones in a creatively innovative way that has influenced directors throughout the ages. There wasn't a bad or grungy aspect to this, it was simply good cinema. Vhs on the other hand was the available format, it was severely limited and unpredictable. I don't think either games or black and white films which had creativity involved is an apt contrast.

Deleted User wrote: »

My point was that for many films and shows it sadly is currently the best way to view them.

This is one aspect I'd agree on, I'd hope more for archiving initiatives. While they remain on analog formats, they're not gonna survive in the long term. Also think there's a fair few things that do show up in old vhs tapes such as ads etc that are totally worth properly archiving.

Gary Gleeson

And the winner of the worst business idea this century goes too...

branie2

If you look at it this way, vinyl has been making a comeback for a good few years

Technocentral

branie2 wrote: »

If you look at it this way, vinyl has been making a comeback for a good few years

Vinyls a fantastic format though.

Jerichoholic

Vinyl sounds great (and smells great) still. VHS looks like dog****.

Atoms for Peace

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

Why would you want to go from a Crystal clear picture back to a ****e one.

Aesthetics

Fysh

....

It should have occurred to me sooner, but I've seen a bunch of fanedits of modern films that strive to recreate the look of VHS. Elysium and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are two that come to mind.

Now, fanedits are still effectively free downloads so not immediately comparable. But maybe it shows that theres an audience...or maybe not.

Skerries

does anyone remember one of the trailers on the rental tapes advertising a new format for VHS using a scene from the Jack Nicholson movie Wolf?
They basically just compared the video in split screen with one half being darker which I thought was funny as you are watching this on VHS

branie2

Remember the This is DVD promo on vhs?

Kolido

Here's a novel idea

ScrubsfanChris

branie2 wrote: »

Remember the This is DVD promo on vhs?

This is....... DVD.................... LOAD OF MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS!