Videoheaven

Do you know those investigative, educational YouTube videos? This film is exactly like that, and its focus is the history of the video rental space, especially as portrayed in different movies.

The film is an endless narration that desperately tries to find metaphors and connective tissue inside the movies it discusses, but it made my eyes roll. I believe even the heaviest cinephiles would find it hard to sit through this endless academic-sentence audio-book readings. You might learn something about the history of video rental stores, but the lesson isn't very enjoyable.

It's also way too long, at three hours, requiring a tremendous amount of stamina. There are also some technical audio issues at times.

This documentary by Alex Ross Perry essentially ttys to recover the idea of the video store experience. This 2+ hour excursion weaves TV commercials with a film survey where the video store is depicted or use as a storyline. Its example sourced from film of the micro budgeted to Hollywood productions.

The film's information is from a 2014 book called "Videoland: Movie Culture at the American Video Store" by David Herbert. It is segmented into 6 parts with narration by Maya Hawke, the daughter of Ethan Hawkes whose film Hamlet is referenced throughout the doc, since its depicts the video store. It gingerly demonstrates factual information but relies on the idolization of the video store experience through cinematic work. How it changed societal depending on entertainment swaying from the cinema theater and the multiplex straight into private home viewing.

Many films are referenced from Clerks (1994) to Iam Legend (2012) and the downfall of Blockbuster video store franchise and their crushing of small storefront video stores. And the evolution of analog media from VHS to Blu-ray, and video rental via machines and mailing service though it lacks factual information but it's entertaining, making the video store as this mythical space, away from the actual depiction of Hollywood machine exploits of the movie go goer.