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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

hard to find videos

21:56 / 07.03.02

quote:
>Dear Customer,
>
>We are very sorry to report that the >following item is in fact NOT
>AVAILABLE at present:
>
> Sonic Youth (Actor) "1991 The Year That >Punk Broke"
>
>This unavailable item has been cancelled >from your order.
>
>Your card has NOT BEEN CHARGED for this >item.
>
>We aim to keep our catalogue as accurate as >possible, but
>unfortunately there are occasions on which >the information we receive
>from our suppliers may not be up to date.
>
>We apologise for any inconvenience such >inaccuracies may have caused
>you.

darn.

anyone know where I can get a copy?

10:49 / 08.03.02

Um, here?

The sundance kid

10:52 / 08.03.02

fuck, i was just about to suggest it. went to log in an BAM! there it is. have a good weekend folks.

12:01 / 08.03.02

Rizla, they're rereleasing that on DVD with extra footage relatively soon, so you might want to save your money til then. See Sonicyouth.com for more info.

08:43 / 09.03.02

I no have a DVD player* and I'm scared of ebay. What a swizz.

There's a bunch of other weird videos I wouldn't mind getting some time, so basically I think what I'm after is a large-scale online 'video warehouse' style operation .. anyone know of one?

*I'm considering becoming a militant lo-tec VHS purist .. [slogan: "fuck the extras, I want the movie!"], probably with about as much success as someone insisting cassettes are the only true music format.

(editted to say: gee, sy.com's kind of neat, isn't it?)

[ 09-03-2002: Message edited by: Rizla Year Zero ]

08:43 / 09.03.02

Get a DVD player.

Five minutes and you'll wonder why you held out for so long. You can get a good one for $150 and put your CD player and VCR both out to pasture.

Hell, even my folks like theirs.

08:43 / 09.03.02

but DVDs cost 3 times as much as videos!

And they're full of irritating shit I don't want!

And I already have several hundred videos which I'd rather like to keep watching!

And hooking up a DVD to my TV would be like trying to fly to the moon on a lawnmower..

11:24 / 09.03.02

Rizla, that's kind of like someone in 1980 saying how much they love their 8mm projector and rack of film reels.

Bottom line - for new issues of strange films that you'll never find anywhere, it's going to be DVD. Very few companies will bother releasing a lot of obscure stuff on video at this point, because 99% of film collectors have moved to DVD.

And you know, you really don't have to watch all the irritating shit you don't want...

11:49 / 09.03.02

quote:Originally posted by videodrome:
Rizla, that's kind of like someone in 1980 saying how much they love their 8mm projector and rack of film reels.

Bottom line - for new issues of strange films that you'll never find anywhere, it's going to be DVD. Very few companies will bother releasing a lot of obscure stuff on video at this point, because 99% of film collectors have moved to DVD.

Actually i disagree with this

VHS video is far more like the Yet to be vanquished audio cassete - sure there are other formats out there which offer higher quality sound reproduction - but you can easilt record on it and most cars still have a tape player as standard.

Sop, while DVD players are becoming increasingly more common they still have a long way to go in terms of usability and just plane numbers of users before they eclipse vhs.

Having said that there is probably a greater proportion of DVD vs VHS users in the states than there is in the uk- they are also probably cheaper per unit.

12:51 / 09.03.02

I think you've missed my point, sn. I have no doubt that video will be around for a long time - it's too entrenched, and recordability is definitely an issue. But esoteric films that would once have been released on VHS are now beginning to appear only on DVD and that trend is likey to continue; many of the publishers are small houses and marketing for one format is simply easier, and as I said, a large segmet of the collector's market has gone to DVD. I don't think there will be much of a legacy market for VHS (unlike the CD/vinyl relationship) because unlike vinyl VHS, as a publishing medium, is just shite.

But this is thread rot anyway.

Warrington Minge

09:09 / 10.03.02

Rizla

These guys are pretty good.

http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk/

Managed to get hold of Fobidden Planet in Widescreen ( vhs/pal ) recently. Even though I work in Video/DVD retail and know its been deleted for ages.

WM

The Return Of Rothkoid

09:09 / 10.03.02

quote:Originally posted by sleazenation:

they still have a long way to go in terms of usability and just plane numbers of users before they eclipse vhs.Usability? I think I'm missing something here. We're not talkin' rocket-science; you put the disc in, it plays...

VHS will be around for ages, yeah. But it deteriorates at a terrifying rate...

And Riz; depending on where you get them, you can get DVDs for a tenner. Requiem For A Dream cost me a tenner, Blue Velvet a fiver. It's not that huge an investment if you consider the quality of viewing you'll get out of it - that and the fact that it'll last a lot longer...

18:00 / 11.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Return Of Rothkoid:
And Riz; depending on where you get them, you can get DVDs for a tenner. Requiem For A Dream cost me a tenner, Blue Velvet a fiver. It's not that huge an investment if you consider the quality of viewing you'll get out of it - that and the fact that it'll last a lot longer...

And, as of April 9th, 2002 in the US, "The Clash: Westway To The World" DVD for $15!! It comes with these goodies:

- 'Westway To The World' (Director's Cut)
- Exclusive unseen interview footage from 'Westway To The World'
- 'Clash on Broadway' film
plus
- Photo Gallery
- Discography

Anyways, back on-topic, VHS won't go away for awhile, but I agree that finding rare stuff on VHS is going to be increasingly hard to do. And for the record, everyone I know that saw "1991: The Year Punk Broke" thought it was shit.

21:11 / 15.10.03

I'm looking for any of the following films, all by director Jia Zhangke, in any format, any condition. If anybody has any leads or suggestions, they'll be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Xiao Shan Goes Home (1995) short film. Available on pirated video in China.

Du Du (1995) short film

Xiao Wu (1997) Undistributed. Available on pirated video in China.

Platform (Zhantai) (2000) Distributed by Ad vitam (France) and Primer Plano (Argentina). Available on DVD through Artificial Eye and on pirated video in China.

In Public (2001) short documentary.

Unknown Pleasures (Ren Xiao Yao) (2002) Distributed by e-pictures (France), Bitters End and Office Kitano (Japan) and New Yorker Films (USA). Available on pirated video in China.

04:14 / 16.10.03

Adding to the threadrot. I work part-time at a video store. They've decided to phase out VHS in less than four years, probably three. The only local store that I know of which I could see holding out has just put every one of its VHS tapes on sale for $2 a pop. The only VHS that still gets ordered into the store for sale are children's videos, because when most families get the DVD, they give the kids the VCR for their room. DVDs are cheaper to make, and since they're smaller and lighter, cheaper to ship. Every month, the amount of mainstream movies for rent that come to the store in DVD only increases.

Just to warn you. And please don't complain to your local video store cleark about the situation. It's out of our hands.

05:43 / 16.10.03

Yet more rot:

CD players are standard on most US cars now. A cassette player is considered an option and costs extra.

23:44 / 16.10.03

Hard to find movies: Try Video Search of Miami. I believe the websight is www.vsom.com. They put the movies on vhs or dvd.

Vhs vs. dvd: Hold on to your vhs for a while. Some movies still aren't on dvd and sometimes it's cool to find a movie for sale for 0.99$ (U.S) until you can afford the dvd.

Of course: "You can take my Betamax from my cold, dead hand"
-Me-

10:33 / 17.10.03

I saw a combined VHS and DVD player on sale recently.

I have a feeling that might be the (grudgingly purchased) way forward..

11:30 / 17.10.03

when dvds glitch its more annoying than when vhs does

some players just won't play some discs

and it's all a stop gap before they release discs with access codes, so they can stop you from watching them more than once or coyinfg them or anything. much easier corporate controlability from a dvd. y'know THEY!!

11:39 / 17.10.03

18 months late thanks to Warrington Mingus for posting that Bensons World link..

There's some OK stuff on there, although they still don't have any of the deleted titles from my most wanted list (1991, Wax, El Topo, Miyazaki films.. that kind of thing)

Spending a leisurely morning browsing through their selection of horror movies is pretty educational.. not meaning to derail this into another "weird-ass films" thread, but has anyone ever come across;

'Black Roses' (1988), in which "A sleazy band of hard rockers invade the sleepy hamlet of Mill Basin, to be greeted by the self-righteous townspeople who try to stop their concert series. Are they really something else, something unexpected, something evil?.... " (sadly that one's out of stock)

or how about 'Birds of Prey' (production year unknown) - "A reporter looking into the strange story of a farmer being attacked by his own chickens hears of another story. Travelling to Spain she re-discovers a town, whose inhabitants were wiped out by a bird attack many years ago.... "

Actually, can anybody recommend any 'must-see' off-beat horror films?, They seem to have thousands of them in stock and since I'm off work with a broken hand right now I could do with some good movies..

(oh, crap! 'Carnival of Souls' is 'not available'..)

Also, does anybody know where I could find a copy of the Rolling Stones Atlamont movie "Gimme Shelter"? I'd really like to see that..

hanabius yamamura

11:48 / 17.10.03

(oh, crap! 'Carnival of Souls' is 'not available'..)

... re above ... i saw this as part of a compilation dvd in my local 'fopp' a few weeks ago - probably still got some i'd imagine ...

... try contacting your local 'fopp'

best of luck

12:18 / 17.10.03

Glitching aside - not usually a problem if you look after your dvds - I'm with Rothkoid, vhs deteriorates at a hideous, unacceptable rate. I find the idea that anyone could get nostaglic for video almost offensive.

Sorry Rizla, luv ya, but video can fuck right off.

Also dvd extras, when good, really are very good, esp commentaries and such.

Now then, where to find old shiteos, I've always found the library a good resource.

23:50 / 17.10.03

Seen "Black Roses". I worked at a video store in the mid 80's. Not a very good movie but was notes for having a raised cover to get a 3D look.

Try William Girder horror movies for something fun.

06:09 / 18.10.03

I can send you a VHS boot of El Topo if you want. I've got it around here somewhere.

13:28 / 18.10.03

Does anyone know where I could get a Region 2 edition of 'The Saragossa Manuscript', perhaps?

15:19 / 18.10.03

Re: BLACK ROSES!

Ha! That movie was filmed in my home town! Woo! Dundas, Ontario! If you weren't in the UK, I could make you a copy. (I grabbed it when the local video store went under)

It does rock like nothing else though. The rock band turns out to be a bunch of demons who turn all the good kids into bad-ass 80s rockers who then kill their parents. Classic, and fond childhood memories of watching them film it behind my house...

15:21 / 18.10.03

...and for a great off-beat horror movie, try either 'Redneck Zombies' (which can be expensive, $80 last I saw it), or 'Hard Rock Zombies' which has the greatest plot twist EVER.

Warrington Minge

15:17 / 19.10.03

Rizla

If you like "El Topo" you would adore "The Holy Mountain"
also directed by Alexandro Jodorowsky. Truly the strangest
and most captivating film I have ever seen.

18:28 / 19.10.03

Have you seen Elias Mehridge's "The Begotten"? Definitely in that same vein.