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In Memoriam: We Salute Our Favorite VHS Tapes

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A piece in today’s LA Times alerted us to the fact that the VHS era is officially winding down — which is sad news if you’re like us and decided to buy all six seasons of Sex and the City on tape just because it was a few bucks cheaper.

According to the article “the last major Hollywood movie to be released on VHS was A History of Violence in 2006. By that point major retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart were already well on their way to evicting all the VHS tapes from their shelves so the valuable real estate could go to the sleeker and smaller DVDs and, in more recent seasons, the latest upstart, Blu-ray discs.” Is it weird that reading that makes us sad? Is this how our parents felt about the death of the 8-track?

In honor of the nearly three decades of joy that these plastic beauties have brought into our lives (Except for that one hellish summer when we worked at a Blockbuster Video… Worst. Job. Ever.), after the jump Flavorpill staffers reveal the most prized tapes in our stashes. Judge us, but then be sure to leave your favorites in the comments area.

“Growing up I would watch Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood — Recorded from the TV! Bonus points! — over and over, along with Fantasia. These days, I keep my H.S. graduation present around (a 13-inch TV/VCR combo) so I can watch El Sexo y Lucia and, sometimes, The Client.” – Leah Taylor
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.” – Jonathan Rahmani
Without You I’m Nothing; The Incredible Shrinking Woman; Baby Boom; Big Business; Old Habits Die Hard.” – Adda Birnir
Anne of Green Gables.” Jane McCarthy
Three Amigos.” – Doug Levy
Straight to Hell.” – Shana Nys Dambrot
Spaceballs.” – Brett O’Bourke
“Mine was the original The Parent Trap with Haley Mills.” – Angie Venezia
Angel Heart.” – Joseph Mangan
“Ooh, it’s a toss-up between Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Desperately Seeking Susan.” – Tanja Laden
The Sting.” – Brent Van Dyke

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Comments (5)

I second Jane and Adda: I watched Anne of Green Gables on VHS every day I was home sick from school as a kid. And Baby Boom…hello sexy veterinarian Sam Shepherd.

Sandra Bernhard's Without You I'm Nothing and Lily Tomlin's The Incredible Shrinking Woman have never been re-released on DVD. And they are two of the most amazing works of feminist comedy ever made. Which is to say, that I still watch them on VHS, regularly.

Also, what about movies inspired by the VHS tape or movies that feature it prominently? Clerks, Be Kind Rewind…

I thought Be Kind Rewind was pretty lame. It seemed like Michel Gondry came up with this brilliant idea ("sweding") and then decided to create a mediocre plot surrounding it to make the story feature-length. Clerks just came on the other night and I was kind of shocked by how scandalous it was. I'd totally forgotten that scene with the dead guy…

Desperately Seeking Susan. Tanja, you rule.

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