Monday, October 29, 2012

old movies


Remember these old Video Cassette recorders?   Now they are passe' being replaced by DVD discs.   But at one time they were "cutting edge" technology.   Now you can see piles of them in the second-hand stores for a few dollars.   No one wants them anymore.   Discarded like an old pair of shoes.   And what about the VCR cassettes?
I use to purchase blank tapes at $20 each.   And the tapes with the prerecorded movies on them ranged in price from $49 to $79 depending on popularity.   I didn't want to spend that much money 30 years ago so I got my rented my movies from the movie stores.    Now look at these expensive cassettes.   They range from 50 cents to 69 cents at flea markets, yard sales, and second hand stores.   When I like a movie I like to view it again from time to time.   So I buy them and play them in my VCR.    I have built up an extensive collection of these old movies.   I started to list the movies that I have but the list is much too long.
I have my favorites though like War of the Worlds
and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  
I also like Broken Arrow.
I have got a lot of them (92 at last count) at those ridiculously low prices.   Let me pose a question.   Have you ever been asked at the holidays that if you had to take all of your presents back except one, which one would you keep?   Sometimes you get some surprising answers, but it ells what the person really liked best.   Of these 92 movies which one would I keep if I could only keep one?   It is the earliest movie that I can remember seeing and I just loved it.   So which one is it?   It is the Enchanted Forest starring Harry Davenport.
Why this particular film?   It brings back so many very pleasant memories for me.   I watch the film from time to time and I still love the film.   It is a very idealistic film of simpler times.   I am just glad that I have a copy.
But let me tell you of a big advantage of VCR is that when you stop it in the middle of a movie, it will pick up right where I left off, even if it is the next day.   Having to start at the beginning is an annoyance that I find of DVD's.   Think about the possibility of starting your own collection of past movies with ridiculously cheap tapes.   Rewatching an old movie like Hoffa starring Jack Nicholson and Danny Devito is something that I just don't seem to tire of.   Jack Nicholson's performance was fantastic.  
I could just go on and on rattling off the names of the great movies of the past. but I won't.   I have already started rambling in the blog too much.   Take care and let me know which recorded movie (either VHS or DVD) is your favorite in the comments section below.   Also which movie would you like to have that you don't have already.   Take care and don't forget to vote.    Lew

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