I’m pretty bad at this whole nostalgia thing. Sure, I like shows I watched when I was a kid more than most kid shows that are on now, but I’m pretty sure that it’s only because I was a kid at the time. With most things, like movies, TV shows, and toys, I can at least see the merit in holding on to those fond feelings. The phenomenon that really confuses me is feeling nostalgic for old technology. Yes, there were a lot of older things that were really cool, but there’s a reason they phased out.
Apparently, a lot of people loved VHS so much that they want to bring it back to the mainstream. REWIND THIS! tells the tale of the rise and fall of video stores and the VHS tape itself, with interviews with awesome people like Lloyd Kaufman of Troma (who we’ve also had the pleasure of talking to). VHS was really cool in its ability to bring movies to tons of homes, and when a lot of Friday night movie decisions were based on cool covers, indie movies had a fair chance against the big guys. The problem is that VHS tapes don’t hold up terribly well. Even on immaculate tapes, the quality is very poor in comparison to even DVD, not to mention Blu-Ray, and most tapes just don’t stand the test of time.
I doubt VHS will make much of a comeback, but the prospect of seeing its history is really neat. If you’re interested in helping the movie come into being, you can visit the Kickstarter page. In fact, if you have $5K laying around, it looks like they’ll make you a custom music video! It will probably be on VHS, though, so hopefully you’ll be able to find a functioning VCR.
[Via /Film]
