I Love VHS

Maybe it's because I'm a film junkie, but I have a soft spot for VHS tapes. DVD's certainly have their advantages. I'm not curmudgeonly enough to denounce optimum visual/audio quality and nifty special features. However, I'm fearful that the next generation will miss out on the simple charms of VHS. My purist heart grows heavy to see VHS become obsolete. The format offers favorable characteristics aside from the obvious pro, that being price.

Art

Distribution companies are getting unforgivably lazy in the graphic design department. Packaging is just that, but if I'm going to spend anywhere from $10 to $25 on a DVD, I want it to look good. Most new releases have pathetic cover art. You may notice that the majority of studio releases are adorned with the name stars who have been Photoshopped onto a bland background. In some cases, the distro folks won't even bother creating cover art, opting instead to stick with the film's original poster design.

Remember when cover art was actually art? Back in the day, VHS boxes sported splashy, detailed imagery. Sci-fi/horror movies were always given the best treatment when it came to cover art. At times, the cover was better than the film itself. And isn't that the point of advertising? Whatever happened to showmanship anyway? I once read an interview with a director who complained that the studio he was handcuffed to refused to give his film an illustrated cover because, according to these brilliant businessmen, consumers would assume that the film was animated.

Simplicity

Allow me to explain how to play a VHS tape. First, unwrap the box. Then, place the video into your VCR. Press play. Here is how to play a DVD. First, unwrap the DVD. Then, find a box cutter/razorblade/chainsaw to snip whatever security tape the case is swaddled in. Carefully pull out the disc without scratching it as it violently pops out of the case. Insert the DVD into your DVD player. Sit through the FBI warning. Sit through the screen that informs you of the fact that the views expressed during the special features do not represent those of the studio responsible for your DVD. Now, sit through the same screen in Spanish.

Next, you will need to navigate through the menu if you want subtitles, a certain aspect ratio, or a specific audio track. You can bypass this step, although movies are sometimes displayed with subtitles for no apparent reason. If this happens and you don't want subtitles, you will need to stop the movie and return to the main menu.

I think I've made my point.

Fragility

VHS tapes do wear with age. For the most part, this shouldn't be a big deal. There is no sense in griping about the grainy print on your 20-year-old copy of "Short Circuit." Videos are hard to damage compared to DVD's. If you leave a bare DVD on a table for five seconds, you are risking ruining the disc. I can't be the only one who gets irritated by having to repair a defective DVD halfway through the movie because someone's thumb grazed the disc. I might be nitpicking here, but this is MY article, bucko!

Availability

More and more older films are being released on DVD every Tuesday. Thanks to the digital medium, obscure movies are continually being reissued. Still, you can only find certain films on VHS. This may not be a problem for someone whose film collection consists of box office hits from the past five years. Serious cinephiles need VHS. There may never be a point in time when every film in existence is on DVD. Since the advent of the Internet, people like me have been able to track down rare titles on videotape. For us, no movie is unattainable.

If you liked this article, watch a movie on VHS tonight. It's not so bad, is it?