Rewind This!

Documentary Spotlight, World Premiere
D: Josh Johnson

Do you categorize your VHS collection by color, by genre, or alphabetically by title? What are your fondest memories of watching VHS videos? Collectors and sellers provide thoughtful, candid answers to these questions, solicited or not, in this brilliant exploration of the rise and fall of the VHS industry and the people who continue to honor this medium. Through interviews with film critics, industry experts, and aficionados, Austin-based filmmaker Josh Johnson pays sweet homage to a video format that shook up the film world and changed the way people watched movies – with total control. Johnson offers up plenty of humor while delving into the VHS phenomenon, its history, the profiteers, and the artists who created the box cover images. The film is made richer through the anecdotal tales from the likes of horror-movie hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (Cassandra Peterson) and Austin favorites Lars Nilsen, Zack Carlson, and Brian Kelley. You can’t watch this film without wanting to rummage through a box of dusty VHS videos, just for old time’s sake.

Saturday, March 16, 1:30pm, Topfer

This article appears in March 15 • 2013.

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Amy Smith has been writing about Austin policy and politics for over 20 years. She joined The Austin Chronicle in 1996.