MovieChat Forums > Rewind This! (2013) Discussion > Overemphasis on nostalgia

Overemphasis on nostalgia


The movie is an interesting exploration of history, but the nostalgia in it is overdone. They talk about "all those movies" that are only available on VHS. Let's face it, the direct-to-VHS movies were junk, even if some people did and do enjoy them for what they are. It's true that there are some theatrical movies that are available only on VHS, but I don't think there are that many.

As far as I'm concerned, we're in a golden age of movies on video that's better than the VHS era by far. Far, FAR higher visual and audio quality, aspect ratios intact, making of features, ability to watch via Internet distribution, Blu Ray, computers, etc. There's just no comparison.

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Back in the days of tapes I would have shared your opinion that the direct-to-VHS movies were junk, but I've since started to take a look at some of them again...

And ya know what's amazing? Compared to the current junk that gets released these days direct-to-dvd (i'm talking about the kind of crap that is 3/4ths of the selections from a Redbox machine), the old direct-to-VHS films hold up pretty damn well.



Well then, I guess you're just not up-to-date if your cell phone doesn't make toast!

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I'm not saying today's direct to video stuff is good, just that the old stuff wasn't good, with some "so bad it's good" exceptions.

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I'm also partial to the older stuff, most of which was made by filmmakers whose intentions were sincere – though, in hindsight, perhaps a bit naive. This era of CGI and irony has hindered my appreciation of recent films.

As for this film, I don't mind the emphasis on nostalgia because video collecting is very much a nostalgic act these days, but I think it overemphasizes the personalities of the people interviewed at the expense of the subject. Still, it's downright entertaining and informative, and for that I give it 8/10 stars.

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They're not just referring to direct-to-VHS -- there are lots of classic and/or sleeper titles (originally made on film) never released to DVD, or at least not yet. It's definitely not time yet to get rid of your VCR, for that reason alone.

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One guy in the doc said it best, "Everything is out there (on the internet) but some people don't want to admit it". This includes movies that only have VHS releases.

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