With the likes of Netflix and Amazon now our main forms of entertainment viewing, you may think all films are accessible in some way. However, the truth behind the timeline of film is that many movies aren’t available at the touch of a button or a flick of a switch. There are some titles that have been left behind, and believe it or not, have never seen a DVD in their life. At the end of the Blockbuster era, times were tough for film lovers, and VHS slowly died a death.
There are still places around the world dedicated to VHS tapes, such as ‘Seattle’s Scarecrow Video’- Home to the world’s largest collection of VHS tapes. Here are just a few of the lonely films that have been left behind in the progression of technology.
Killer Shark
This extremely hard to find Adventure/Thriller film explores a college student and his voyage to sea with his father, who is the caption of a shark hunting boat. Sound interesting? When the young boy’s inexperience in shark hunting/ boating creates problems and accidents, his father and crew are injured. The student tries to make up for his actions, but things don’t turn out as wanted.
I mean, you’d think this story would sell itself, but as of its release in the 1950s, the shoe-string budget movie was and still is difficult to source, as it was only ever released as a VHS. You can, with great difficulty, find the film on DVD, although probably not in the correct format.
Rating: 4.4/10
Penelope Spheeris Documentaries
Penelope Spheeris has made some legendary films (nothing as good as Wayne’s World though) even though some have stayed slightly under the radar. These documentaries include “The Decline of Western Civilisation” and the second part “The Metal Years” starring idols such as Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and Poison. This duo of films covers the LA punk scene and focuses on heavy metal, and the music business. Again, these are both only available on VHS, and can’t be purchased on DVD.
Rating: Part 1: 7.7/10, Part 2: 7.2/10
Let It Be
The 1970 documentary by Michael Lindsay-Hogg shows footage of the famous Liverpudlian group… The Beatles. It shows the four musicians final public performance as well as secret info into why the group broke up. The reason this film is so difficult to track down is due to the members themselves blocking the release on DVD. Due to the dark information on the band’s history, they do not approve of some aspects; meaning copies only survive on VHS.
Rating: 7.8
Sound of the South
Apart from the occasional singing of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” Disney has basically wiped all traces off this film. The musical has had huge splashbacks of racial connotations, and much controversy came from the live action/animation combo. The film did originally get two releases; on laserdisc and VHS; however, it is now pretty much just not available. If you are lucky you could grab one of the few VHS tapes left.
Rating: 7.4
The Big Crime Wave/ Crime Wave
The plot of this unique movie marvel, consists of a young director on making ‘the greatest colour crime movie ever’, but he just can’t seem to finish his script. The daughter of the writer’s landlord is excited to have a real-life movie person in the living quarters, so tries to help him by getting him in touch with a collaborative script writer, who is the strange ‘Dr Jolly. ‘All is not as it seems…
The black comedy is a beloved treasure to those who have seen it, but sadly our modern film lovers can only get this on VHS. The director, writer and producer also is the main star of the film.
Rating: 7.2
Getting your VHS to DVD can sometimes be a difficulty, especially when your favourite films are only available on VHS. Some movie masterpieces have been forgotten about in the new world of progressing technology- but this doesn’t mean they are not works of art; as proved by the IMDB rating.
At Video2DVD, we pride ourselves in keeping film alive; whether from the 50’s or this day and age. If you would like to know any more about our services, you can get in touch with our team on 0800 592 433, and we would be happy to help you bring your VHS to life again.