Confessions of a Teenage Movie Geek

Okay, time for a personal, self-indulgent post - one that'll probably portray me as a kid who didn't have much of a childhood other than watching movies 24-7. But surely some of you out there did this too, right? RIGHT??

I was clearing out my closet last night and stumbled onto my old film log book which I kept when I was 15-16. I'd been looking for it for a long time now, and I thought I threw it out years ago so was pretty stoked to have found it. It's utterly embarrassing and cringey stuff of course but an indispensable find for the nostalgist in me. I get a weird thrill from knowing that on Saturday November 26 1995 1:35pm I went to see The Specialist. And in the same year I snuck into see the very-R18 Color of Night in which you get see Bruce Willis' willy!!

I'm amused by the fact that I was obsessive/anal enough - at that age - to denote the format I watched the film on, whether it was on VHS, Laser Disc or SKY (!), and more bizarrely, religiously wrote down the Top 10 Films of the week after watching Box Office America. Who knows what I was thinking really. Anyway here are a few pages from the scrapbook for the world to gawk at. I know, I know, shut up.

Sort of Like Netflix, But with VHS Tapes

Now here's a gloriously nutty idea! Some guy in the States has fully embraced the primitive charms of the VHS and is offering a somewhat legally questionable service where he'll send you a copy of any movie you want on VHS for FREE! And he'll include a drawing on the label too. The FAQ assures us it's not some "sick joke", though a sticky on the homepage says that he's recently been bombarded by requests and may not be able to meet demand. Ha! Though I'm not convinced this novelty will around for too long, I like the idea that nearly a whole generation of movies have not been released on VHS and that people out there would want to watch them on that format.

Remembering the Laserdisc

This clip made me laugh and a little nostalgic for that dinosaur of a format, the LASERDISC! I recall way back when I watched things like Star Wars and Reservoir Dogs first on LD at my cousin's thinking it was the greatest invention ever. Looking at it now, it's easier to laugh (in fondness of course). Is it just me or do they look way more primitive than VHS? The size of the disc looks positively prehistoric, like some short-lived artifact that time forgot. When the commentator of this clip initially pulls out the disc it's enough to make you gasp in awe. And you gotta flip the damn thing! But he also makes some interesting points on the differences between LD and DVD (exclusive extra features, the cool vinyl-like gate-fold packaging etc) that acknowledges its collectibility and advantages. (warning: contains offensive language)



After watching that I recommend checking out this article about the Art of the Japanese Laserdisc Jacket. Very cool. Man that Crash cover design is awesome. So anyone out there used to own an LD player? (or still own one?)