|
|
As I sat watching this, the question came to mind: Will we one day see a resurgence of movies released on old-fashioned videocassette, the way we are now witnessing the return of LPs? This would sure bring tremendous delight to all the neo-Luddites out there, and might even turn out to be a competitive option next to theatergoing and online streaming. Who knows.
As one interviewee in the movie makes the comment, home-viewing has its advantages, from the viewer not having to deal with cramped spaces nor with smelly seatmates. I would also add to this, the sparing of oneself having to listen to misplaced outbursts of laughter and screaming.
REWIND THIS! brought back memories of my own, not all pleasant ones. Disappointing it was for me in the heyday of the VHS, to buy an inexpensive video and thinking it to be a great deal, only to discover afterwards that it was one of those factory sealed movies that had been transferred onto tape in SLP mode, and hence the poor picture quality.
We learn when and how the video revolution began, about the format wars, and how it managed to reshape the film industry from the top down. Several fans of the videocassette are treated to some screen time, and it got me to thinking (as with the movie enthusiasts spotlighted in the documentary, "Cinemania"), as to where they are now and if they're into online viewing by now.
As this documentary brings out, the VHS revolution led to a quantitative jump in the production and distribution and sales of videos, with a side-effect of this being, a decline in the quality of the content. Many a schlockmeister was now able to direct and produce low-budget -- cheesy or sleazy or gory -- "masterpieces," via an inexpensive video-cam, with many an indiscriminate, omnivorous viewer eating this obscure and egregious stuff up.
From compressed images, to slip- and clamshell-cases, to the fun it was of just browsing the shelves of video outlets, it's all reminisced about here. A few comment on the love they had for the cover art and the artistic skill that went into a lot of it. Others liked how the VHS packaging satisfied the tactile sense in them as well.
Although erotic thrillers aren't mentioned in this, I do know from my film studies that it was in fact some of these well-made and critically overlooked direct-to-video releases that later inspired some of the mainstream ones, which went onto become big at the box office.
Astute viewers may also note that when some of these movies were released onto DVD, for whatever reason a notable scene or two would be missing from them (i.e. had been edited out), as if some of us wouldn't notice this.
Now, where can you direct me to where I might find a documentary on audiocassette buffs?
score 7/10
take2docs 15 January 2020
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5411248/ |
|
18-2-2021 18:06:07