Absurd

[Tolstoy]

I've recently found my old interest in video nasties reignited. I'm pleased to find out that a lot of old films have been rereleased uncut (like The Beyond, The Bogeyman, Tenebrae), though a lot haven't.

I went mooching around on ebay and found a
VHS copy of Absurd
(a.k.a. Anthropophogous 2). At the mo, it's got more than 3 hours left to go and is at £29.

I would have thought that all that kind of stuff would be doing the rounds in DVD and that the VHS wouldn't be worth anything. Is it just that people want an original, or are these kinds of films still hard to come by?

Ta,
Tol

[EXTR3MIST]

Is it just that people want an original, or are these kinds of films still hard to come by

Both, really.

The old battered big boxes (and I'm not talking about my wife's fanny here) look far more impressive on the shelf than a daft skinny little DVD.

And some of the "nasties" have yet to be re-released - including Absurd - on official DVD (some probably won't - where the hell is Cain's Cut Throats???)

[majorbludd]

i'll never forget that oversize cardboard box for 7 doors of death at my local video store growin up....all those old vhs tapes have been discarded or are on the shelves of creepy collectors like ourselves....they're all faded from the sun...i love them

[EXTR3MIST]

Strange But True: they smell good, too.

Sort of tobaccoey.

[filmmaker2]

Filmmaker2 proudly proclaims (and this is just my two cents):

"VHS is the new vinyl!"

And I really believe it, too. I don't have a lot of tapes, but I do keep a few, because not only have certain films not been released yet on DVD, but sometimes a trashy old VHS tape plays with a certain "character" that can't be duplicated by a digital source. Video noise, dropouts, fuzzy transfers, tape wrinkling, etc., are part of the VHS experience. It's nostalgia now, and feels very similar to putting an old rekkid album on the turntable, plunking that needle down, and dreaming of times past.

Sometimes also, that old tape you have, with its scratchy, faded print transfer, contains an atmosphere that was part of your original experience seeing that film--like "Dawn of the Dead" for example, I have fond memories of renting the murky, orangey tapes at the video store. Nothing compared to that.

When I saw the new digital versions of "Dawn of the Dead," I thought, "Wow--this looks and feels almost like a totally different movie!" It was almost too clear, too bright, too colorful. Now I'm used to it........

[EXTR3MIST]

You're the man, filmmaker 2.

Everyone I speak to seems so blown away by the whole DVD experience, those shiny shiny discs seem to have become more important that the feature films themselves.

Hear kids rave about DVD box-sets and ratios and extras and hidden easter eggs.

For starters, crisper pictures show up the glaring abnomalies in cheesecake 70s/80s exploiters; we don't want to see the shoddy effects exposed for what they really are - we want washed out, obscured visuals to really take us there and forget about the "realistic" characters and sets we've just been watching on television.

Secondly: when DVDs go wrong, boy do they go wrong - since when do films suddenly break up into surreal squares and the action freeze like time itself has just stopped? Give us dropouts, flicker from dirty heads and bad tracking - it's the way watching a movie at home is meant to be.

Finally: they're just so fucking skinny and delicate (contrary to popular belief, DVDs are easily scratched and ruined) - you slide
your little tray open, pop the disc in, listen to the wee grinding noise as it searches for the menu (and what a menu! Look - there's bits of the film going on in the background!!!)... it's all just far too computerised, isn't it?

Gimme videotape anyday - the hulking black plastic boxes are so much more personal, and that satisfying crunch as you bang one in the front loader is akin the the slapping noise my balls make against a woman's ass.

[urgeok]

i totally understand the sentiments above .. i'm old school myself
but i feel more strongly that way with vinyl over CD.
I love vinyl .. I'll always keep mine ..

but when it comes to tape ... I'll gladly replace my tapes with laserdisc or DVD as they come out.
I have 1000's of tapes and I've been collecting since the day they came on the market .. but i've watched them deteriorate in time ...
Unlike DVDs which should outlast our lifetime (barring any poorly made ones suffering from rot) tape is much more fragile.
Tape is prone to oxidization, stretching .. and comes in direct contact with the tape heads, unlike the DVDs where no physical contact is made. When something goes amiss in a VHS player .. your tape is often compromised. I haven't had any problems with DVDs.
DVDs also slimmer (which means a lot more to me that a lot of other people) and have the capacity to house special features ... commentaries being my favorite.

I will admit .. i'm not one of these insane 'everything has to be technologically perfect' guys but audio dropping in and out of stereo on a tape drives me insane ...

And chapter search ... if I'm watching a VHS and only get 1/2 way through it .. you're supposed to rewind it so the active part of the tape isnt exposed .. so you should rewind it. When you want to finish it you have to run back to the spot where you were .. scanning for the most part .. which is really tough on the heads and tape. DVD - you jump to the spot where you were immediately.

I loved seeing movies in my home .. I'll always have that nostalgic appreciation for tape ... but i welcome the changes - and convenience that comes with tape...

The downside ... i will totally agree - especially with horror - those oversized boxes with the lurid artwork was a major attraction. The same way album covers were so much better 12" X 12"

[EXTR3MIST]

I'll be transferring all my videos to DVD as soon as I can afford it (to buy a DVD writer that is) for preservation, but to hell with this culture of replacing already owned movies with DVDs!

It seems too much like living in the past to me - only if I am a huge fan of a particular film and have it in poor quality would I consider splashing out for a smart replacement. I'd rather spend the money on new films... on disc or tape.

Another thing: look at DVD labels pumping out "new/ultimate" editions of existing films - the lure, or course, being added new bits and extras you simply MUST have.

Greedy buggers!

[urgeok]

Originally posted by EXTR3MIST
I'll be transferring all my videos to DVD as soon as I can afford it (to buy a DVD writer that is) for preservation, but to hell with this culture of replacing already owned movies with DVDs!

It seems too much like living in the past to me - only if I am a huge fan of a particular film and have it in poor quality would I consider splashing out for a smart replacement. I'd rather spend the money on new films... on disc or tape.

Another thing: look at DVD labels pumping out "new/ultimate" editions of existing films - the lure, or course, being added new bits and extras you simply MUST have.

Greedy buggers!

ohhh greed is a nice word.
The trend is unbelievable ... the way these films are released bare bones ,, then several months later there is the collectors series, then a year after that - the ultimate platinum edition.
greed doesnt cover it.

in my case .. the vhs movies i own are breaking down .. it's not just a 'quality' issue - its physical. I've had a lot of them for over 20 years. (many still in Beta)
In another 20 years these tapes wont be playable ..

[massacre man]

Originally posted by urgeok
ohhh greed is a nice word.
The trend is unbelievable ... the way these films are released bare bones ,, then several months later there is the collectors series, then a year after that - the ultimate platinum edition.
greed doesnt cover it.

in my case .. the vhs movies i own are breaking down .. it's not just a 'quality' issue - its physical. I've had a lot of them for over 20 years. (many still in Beta)
In another 20 years these tapes wont be playable ..

Dawn Of The Dead Ultimate Edition was cool though with the extended edition and european edition