A Wave Of Nostalgia (And Some Great History)

zkonedog

I happened to "come of movie watching age" during the era of VHS tapes, so this wonderful documentary had some poignant nostalgia for me. What I really liked, however, was that "Rewind This!" was able to do two things at once:

1. First and foremost, it played on all the nostalgia from people like myself. For those who experienced it, it truly was a magical time. Not technologically-quality speaking, of course, but just the whole concept of time-shifting viewing. I spent hours recording shows and watching them at my leisure, as well as made countless trips to the local video store to rent tape after tape (being careful, of course, to Be Kind & Rewind!). This documentary feeds into that, as it gathers together a group of people who had similar experiences and just lets them tell their stories. There's something fun in hearing that others had the exact same experience with VHS and video stores as myself. "Right in the childhood", as the phrase now goes!

2. Even if a youngster were to stumble across "Rewind This!" (one who doesn't have those life experiences), I think he/she could still enjoy the doc. The reason being, it is also part history lesson. It talks about topics like VHS vs Betamax, the business model of the mom-and-pop video store, the confusing war on aspect ratios, and just the overall significance that home record-able media brought to technology as a whole. For those who've only watched films on discs or through streaming, and have an interest in history, it would be fascinating to see the past timeline of such movie-watching experiences.

Overall, "Rewind This!" captured my full attention and held it all the way through. The filmmakers do a great job of covering many different areas without going too over-the-top, while also providing some history/background so the whole thing wasn't just interviews of VHS enthusiasts and collectors. If you are at all interested in this general topic, you'll find something to like here.

score 10/10

zkonedog 26 February 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3648737/