Rewind This!

'Rewind This!' is not just a bunch of 30-40 something white males waxing nostalgic--though there's certainly some of that--it's a surprisingly thoughtful and enlightening look at the history of the format, its many quirks and the people who are caretakers of a very unglamorous bit of cultural preservation.

Even if you've never owned a VCR or watched a movie on video tape I believe that you'll find some genuine value in this bit of pop cultural archeology.

Oh, and I fully understand the irony of the fact that I watched this on DVD.

REWIND THIS! takes us on a journey back to those days of yesteryear, when the video cassette was king. We join the experts as they relive the 1980's video rental craze. Interviews with luminaries like grindhouse Director Frank Henenlotter are intercut with VHS mega-collectors and their vast video tape and memorabilia collections.

The evolution of the video phenomenon is tracked from its humble origins to the first piano-sized VCRs, and "mom and pop" video rental stores.

This documentary also covers video trading, and the huge impact of the internet on physical video media. Thrill to interviews with Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, Lloyd "Mr. Troma" Kaufman, Charles "Full Moon" Band, and others! Everything is chronicled, from horror to adult films, and beyond. Informative, nostalgic, and very entertaining...

It's been a long time since I've been as mesmerized as I was while viewing the world premiere of Rewind This! at this years SXSW Film Festival. I was clinging to every word uttered from everyone interviewed in this, dare I say...instant cult documentary. As a consumer who was there at it's inception, I ate up all things VHS. To be able to record a show not only to watch at your convenience, but to keep as your own was the ultimate in entertainment fandom as far as I was concerned. To be able to buy or record a movie that you already saw in the theater was just how life was meant to be. I was the ideal consumer because I bought anything and everything it took to enjoy the VHS experience. This documentary delves into every aspect of that and so much more with the love and devotion you'd expect from such ardent fans as Josh Johnson, Carolee Mitchell, and Christopher Palmer...my friends. So do yourself and your well-being a favor and treat yourself to what is cinema gold...Rewind This!

A documentary about VHS tapes is a must. Our generation lived that moment, and we know what we are talking about. My dad had a two piece set VCR, and a fantastic remote controller...with a cable!! I still remember the tracking system and some other features from those happy days. It is a bad, fragile format but it had something, and in a way we miss it somehow. Relive the moment and learn a couple of things about the good old format we grew up with.

The testimony of some distributors, filmmakers and VHS freaks will bring us back to that universe, the format that ruled the last stage of 20th century. We will find out why VHS was the victor in that format battle against BETAMAX, what it meant to some filmmakers and much more.

I confess I expected a nostalgic journey alongside some VHS geeks, but it turned out to be more than that. VHS, just like vinyl in civilized countries (Spain not one of them) is still alive and kicking, and in these days of fleeting formats, is nice to remember how a format popped up, established itself in the market and became the standard for so long. So buckle up, enjoy the ride and recall those days of white noise, crappy image and b-movies. Call it nostalgia, vintage or whatever, but remember to be kind and rewind!

Oh the good ol' days of VHS. Yes, I wore my Disney videos down til they were just a fuzzy haze of grainy musical colours like everyone else, but my real relationship with cassettes comes from recorded movies from the TV guides. When I was first getting into film, I began my catchup with a big list of modern essentials such as Fight Club, Goodfellas, Full Metal Jacket, American Beauty, Pulp Fiction, all of which I watched and rewatched on video tape until I knew exactly where the advert breaks would come. That's essentially why I do what I do today. I never collected VHS like the subjects of this documentary, but ever since I got into DVD collecting, I've been manic. Blu-rays, books, vinyls, I collect 'em all. Although VHS is more or less useless these days (I remember the moment my player just decided to stop working, it was very irritating), I can definitely relate to the people in the film who scourer car boot sales obsessively for rarities.

Rewind This! is a nostalgic reminder of why VHS deserved to be the best of their kind at the time. It's the same reason I like vinyl. They have a 'lived-in' quality we can't get from the polish of blu-ray. Little imperfections that are part of its unique identity where they've been over- paused and subsequently scarred with snowy lines of distortion. Although there's an almost Not Quite Hollywood focus on horror and porn as far as the 'hidden gems' go, it's a very interesting documentary. The film itself is well done, but admittedly, the industry professionals are far more interesting than the caricature hipsters who just really like videos. Definitely some colourful characters there on both sides. It does lack structure and its 8-bit music gives it an unwarranted sense of urgency that can be distracting, but it makes great use of cutaway footage from the video footage the subjects talk about. There's a great charm about its flaws and that kind of reflects its points about the authenticity and naivety on VHS. Worth watching.

7/10