Rewind This! (2013) User Reviews

Quirky reminder of a lost art.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 7/10 · 26 October 2013]

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

An Entertaining Nostalgic Look at the History of the VHS

[JustCuriosity · 8/10 · 11 March 2013]

Rewind This was well-received in its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. The film was particularly welcomed, because the filmmakers and many of the interviewees and video stores were local products. It is an extremely entertaining film that takes the audience through the history of how the VHS tape really transformed society. The clips of old VHS films are incredibly entertaining. There are many funny observations and stories about this world that seems to be fast disappearing. Thematically, the film shows us how the ability to watch movies on our own schedules in our own homes transformed the relationship of individuals to the entertainment world. For the first time, anyone could watch almost any movie in the comfort of their own home. We forget the social implications today of bringing movies (and, yes, porn) from the theater into the home. The film also explores the world of the nostalgic collectors who maintain large collections of VHS films that haven't been re-released on DVD and blu-ray. (They seem particularly obsessed with low grade horror movies.) There is a heavy element of nostalgia as they defend their beloved medium and its virtues. The film might seem strange to the younger generation, but it brings back a lot of memories for those of us who grew up during the VHS revolution.

The History of Videotapes, Entertainingly Told

[alisonc-1 · 8/10 · 3 August 2013]

"Rewind This!" is a documentary about VCRs, VHS tapes and the people who collect them. The story begins with the war between the Betamax and VCR formats, which of course the latter won despite the fact that Betamax was a far superior technology – but it could only play tapes of an hour or less, so any movie would need to be on more than one tape, a design flaw that killed it fairly quickly. Once VCR had won, people started discovering the joys of being able to watch movies at home, at the time of one's choosing – or at least they did once the price of the machine and the tapes (originally priced at $99!) came down. The film interviews a plethora of modern-day fans of the format (my personal favourite was a woman who organizes her tapes by the dominant colour of the box) as they describe falling in love with video, making home movies themselves and searching for old tapes at flea markets and the like – some collectors have over 100,000 of the clunky boxes! And, of course, the film includes a variety of scenes from videotapes, especially that genre of straight-to-video creations, which are a hoot to see. Definitely made me want to hunt up our old VHS tapes that are slowly rotting somewhere in the basement!

Great Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 24 March 2014]

Rewind This! (2013)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely entertaining documentary takes a look at the VHS boom of the 1980s and how VCRs and video stores really changed how movies were made and especially how they were marketed. REWIND THIS! has already become a favorite among horror fans and it's easy to see why. If you grew up in the 80s then you obviously remember walking those video store shelves looking for new and strange movies. Many of these have never been released since their VHS days and this documentary touches upon that subject but also the creation of VCRs, the way the major studios didn't believe in the format and of course we get into things like the important of artwork and nudity. The film works for those who remember those video store days but it also works because even if you're young and don't remember those days then the film manages to be a great educator. We get some wonderful commercials of the early days of VCRs as well as the "hot" item of remote controls. Even better is that we're given all sorts of great interviews with the likes of Charles Band, Frank Henenlotter, David Gregory, Don May, Jr., Roy Frumkes, Lloyd Kaufman, Cassandra Peterson and Something Weird Video's Mike Vraney who talks about how he started off as a bootlegger and how this started his career. The art of bootlegs are also discussed including those wonderful ads in various horror magazines. REWIND THIS! is really a wonderful throwback to the days where the video box was every bit as important as the movie itself. Fans of the 80s horror and exploitation pictures are really going to have a good time here.

Not just nostalgia

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 5 May 2015]

'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.

Driven by nostalgia, but the good vibes don't last

[Mr-Fusion · 6/10 · 23 February 2016]

"Rewind This!" is all about the warm and fuzzy memories of VHS' reign over the home video market. And while I don't share those feelings to any great extent, this makes for a well-packaged and entertaining movie. For a while, at least. I was absorbed when it was about the early days of the format and when VHS was responsible for the video store boom and demand for variety. Not to mention the nostalgia for great home video box art. But it started to lose me during the tape-trading segment and the eventual mass complaints about digital vs. physical media. Everyone has an opinion on this, it's all doom-and-gloom and the tone shifted from amusing to awkward. Sadly, the fun never came back, and I missed that tone from the first half.

6/10

Good Old Days...

[victuki · 7/10 · 14 September 2014]

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!

Important. Quintessential.

[rockhaggis911 · 10/10 · 20 April 2013]

Simply put, I loved this documentary! Josh Johnson's ode to the VHS age, Rewind This! (2013) opens with a film enthusiast combing a flea market for VHS tapes, overflowing with the sort of passion any and all global VHS hunters (and film lovers) will immediately recognize. This image sets the tone. Like Not Quite Hollywood (2008) and Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) before it, Rewind This! will whet your appetite for rare films to add to your collection, but with the added bonus of causing you to scour the earth hunting for a VHS player the second you finish watching it. Powerful stuff, and a must see for film nuts everywhere! (my favorite moment is director Frank Henenlotter explaining the unique feature on his sublime horror comedy Frankenhooker's VHS box: press a button and hear a reanimated prostitute ask you "Wanna date?" This prompts a montage of several other VHS junkies explaining the same feature, and results in the sort of rush of recognition shared by enthusiasts across the world: I personally hit that damn button a million times with every visit to the video store!)

Awesome look at VHS history

[rigovega · 7/10 · 13 May 2019]

Great interviews of directors, writers, collectors, etc.. who are all VHS enthusiast. There is definitely nostalgic elements and also lots to learn from the past and present VHS culture. Watching this took me back to the movie rental days of my childhood and also got me thinking of the future of digital media.

If you grew up in the 80's or 90's, it's hard to not relate. Rewind this is an excellent documentary

Hard to call the medium dead

[StevePulaski · 9/10 · 19 January 2014]

I've always had a fondness for home media, the variety of formats that once existed, the obscure oddities one can find on VHS, and venturing through video stores and flea markets to make new discoveries. Because of this, I'm part of the obvious audience for Rewind This!, a delightful homage to the brilliant and once-ubiquitous home media that was VHS, and how its impact on the movie industry and the public is still prevalent today.

Here's a film that will leave the devoted fans of VHS (like me) just wanting more. For the reason that I'm a huge supporter of the VHS-resurgence movement and continue to buy and collect the media, I'm going to try to make this review not sound like simple- minded fandom constructed into an essay. The film makes a bold attempt at trying to tackle everything VHS, from its meteoric rise, its unfathomable effect on the film industry as a whole, its fan, and its differences from its contemporaries. The documentary allows several people to make statements, some directors, some preservationists, some distributors (including the late Mike Vraney of Something Weird Video) but many the fans and supporters of the medium who rekindle their love for its simplicity and its immensity.

VHS, to me, is such a unique way to watch film, mainly because of the primitiveness and sensitiveness of the device. With tape, there were many more issues that could arouse, with the worse case scenario it getting stuck in your player. But then there are the imperfections of the picture, such as the glitches, the occasional sloppiness of its appearance, the degradation of the tape when certain scenes are played too much, etc. Then there is the box art, which is a work of art in itself. A section of the film devotes itself to showing how unique and inventive the artwork to the VHS covers were, with them often being handpainted and meticulously put together rather than the depressing, effortless, digitized movie-covers/posters we're so used to today.

Furthermore, the film shows how daring and unique home video really was at the time of its inception. Had it not been for an optimistic soul like Andre Ray, who worked for a video engineering company in the seventies, perhaps home video wouldn't have come around so quickly. Ray, who helped manufacturer videotapes at the time, wondered if you could put a full length movie on a certain size tape. When he discovered it was possible, he contacted several movie studios, hoping to get them to buy into the idea of consumers having their films to cherish and watch at their leisure. Few bought in, but one of them happened to be Fox (pre-Star Wars fame), who allowed them to put several of their classic titles on tape at roughly $80 - $90 a pop.

Ray didn't even foresee the explosion of the rental industry, which simply came along because numerous people wanted a try-it-before-you-buy-it kind of system, simplifying the process of discovering a film for consumers even more. Oddly enough, that became the defining industry set forth by the home video boom. Nobody could foresee the industry taking off let the industry where people wander around a store swarmed with movies picking out whichever ones they wanted for a Friday night viewing.

The film does a good job at articulating a question I had for a while and that is why were so many film distribution companies around during the inception of VHS that have since went on to disappear or go defunct in recent times. This is because of experimentation. When rental stores started popping up, they needed films to line their shelves. And thus, numerous distributors began popping up, inquiring quirky, often weird, experimental slashers or just asinine little gems to produce and help keep stores lined with inventory. Eventually, the studios took over and it became the big five or six companies calling all the shots.

One subject that could've been explored much more in depth was the idea of cheap VHS bootlegging, which was done through magazine, handmade flyers, and communication via mail. People would make list of films they had that were either banned, rare, or out of print and would transfer them to blank tapes then smuggle them through the mail. However, due to some strict federal regulations, often times people would tape part of a TV show to play before the actual film to fool potential inspectors. Vraney talks about his experience as a bootlegger, as well as several others, but the revealing and now extinct process is a bit shortchanged and given maybe three to four minutes of attention.

Rewind This! beautifully articulates obsession, impact, and legacy, and never drags or becomes boring, mainly because its subjects have so much insight and observations to offer. It's a must see for the obvious fans of the medium, but due to its commentary on an industry most all of us indulge in, it should almost be mandatory viewing.

Directed by: Josh Johnson.

Step into the 80s

[bdn-23937 · 6/10 · 23 December 2018]

A film that chronicles the early life of home video entertainment. Rewind This is journey through nostalgia. I watched this on Amazon Prime and unfortunately there wasn't subtitles for the Japanese interviews.

Get schooled in everything VHS

[ThrowItMyWay · 9/10 · 12 March 2013]

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 trip down memory lane in SP mode

[take2docs · 7/10 · 15 January 2020]

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?

Very disappointed

[melnar1 · 1/10 · 27 June 2014]

I may have enjoyed watching this documentary if just about all the interviewees had not had this positively infantile preoccupation with porn, schlock and low-quality Z-movie horror pictures.

I would have preferred to see people discussing their VHS nostalgia for some of the older movies, such as the original version of The Day The Earth Stood Still, Boris Karloff's Frankenstein, perhaps one or two of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's RKO movies, or even a Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis comedy. These were the kind of films I had in my VHS collection in the 1970s and 1980s – to me they were (and, of course, still are) classics - films that I have watched over and over again, and have never tired of them.

Having to sit through all this low-grade crap, which never interested me, I found to be quite a strain.

I could possibly have tolerated a little of it here and there, but this was somewhat over the top.

I won't be watching this documentary again.

Just Pop It In And Hit Play...

[azathothpwiggins · 11 August 2020]

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 is good in it own way

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 6/10 · 19 August 2021]

Good documentary that made me remeber the good old days. This a good movie to see. I used to collect VHS now collect DVD and blue ray. It this movie.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 22 March 2022]

Oh the age of VHS. My earliest movie memories are of dubbed movies on VHS. There was "Super Fuzz," "The Last Dragon," "The Incredible Shrinking Woman," and so many more. I got to know the movies intimately because I watched them over and over. And as fond as those memories are, I would never go back to VHS. Ever. It was a cumbersome process and the quality was terrible, and it only got worse the more you watched.

"Rewind This!" is both a history lesson and a trip down memory lane. There are interviews with collectors, retailers, and movie makers. You will learn something and be embarrassed for some of the movies at the same time (they were that bad).

"Rewind This!" isn't a great documentary, but it serves a great purpose.

A Wave Of Nostalgia (And Some Great History)

[zkonedog · 10/10 · 26 February 2017]

I happened to "come of movie watching age" during the era of VHS tapes, so this wonderful documentary had some poignant nostalgia for me. What I really liked, however, was that "Rewind This!" was able to do two things at once:

1. First and foremost, it played on all the nostalgia from people like myself. For those who experienced it, it truly was a magical time. Not technologically-quality speaking, of course, but just the whole concept of time-shifting viewing. I spent hours recording shows and watching them at my leisure, as well as made countless trips to the local video store to rent tape after tape (being careful, of course, to Be Kind & Rewind!). This documentary feeds into that, as it gathers together a group of people who had similar experiences and just lets them tell their stories. There's something fun in hearing that others had the exact same experience with VHS and video stores as myself. "Right in the childhood", as the phrase now goes!

2. Even if a youngster were to stumble across "Rewind This!" (one who doesn't have those life experiences), I think he/she could still enjoy the doc. The reason being, it is also part history lesson. It talks about topics like VHS vs Betamax, the business model of the mom-and-pop video store, the confusing war on aspect ratios, and just the overall significance that home record-able media brought to technology as a whole. For those who've only watched films on discs or through streaming, and have an interest in history, it would be fascinating to see the past timeline of such movie-watching experiences.

Overall, "Rewind This!" captured my full attention and held it all the way through. The filmmakers do a great job of covering many different areas without going too over-the-top, while also providing some history/background so the whole thing wasn't just interviews of VHS enthusiasts and collectors. If you are at all interested in this general topic, you'll find something to like here.

Nostalgia for all the money

[skeldal · 10/10 · 18 March 2014]

I saw this little pearl of documentary, which is about the revolution with VHS in the 80s and how it all changed the movie market completely. It's nostalgia for all the money, which is also the reason why the VHS format i still loved by fans around the world.

The documentary discusses both good and bad things about the format, as well as many can relate and have recognition, cover design - which was just better at that time than what it is today with all the photoshopped posters.

After I finished with the documentary, I totally got an desire to own old horror movies on VHS again.

Why aren't certain movies available for home viewing?

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 14 March 2014]

Josh Johnson's "Rewind This!" is a look at the rise of home video and the effect that it had on entertainment. As a member of the first generation that never knew a world without video cassettes, I could relate to some of the stuff that the interviewees say. I of course started out by watching Bugs Bunny cartoons on the newly released videos, and I always liked watching them over and over again.

Part of the pleasure in the documentary is watching the scenes from some of the movies that the featured video stores carry, such as disemboweled bodies. Sometimes my friends and I would watch scenes in slasher flicks over and over again (namely the tent scene in "Jason Goes to Hell"). Thanks to Movie Madness, I've seen some pretty obscure flicks.

"Rewind This!" prompts me to ask another question: why aren't certain movies available for home viewing? My mom often tells me about "The Gravy Train" (about some friends who hatch a robbery scheme to get rich) and Michael Apted's "Stardust" (about the rise and fall of a rock star; not to be confused with a 2007 movie with the same title). She saw both movies in the theater when they got released, but neither ever got released on VHS, and neither has gotten released on DVD. One would think that since the studios could make money by releasing them, so that would be enough of a motivation. Meanwhile, they release every stupid Tom Cruise movie.

Anyway, it's fun to watch the documentary and learn all this stuff about the medium. Truly fun stuff.