In a week filled with Blue-ray and HD DVD talk, VHS has sneaked into the news reels through the back door with the release of Be Kind Rewind – a film that honors the memory of our beloved VHS cassette tapes and good ol’ fashion creativity.
While VHS may receive the honour, YouTube’s reaping all the greenback glory. Be Kind Rewind’s YouTube mini-site has already become the 36th all time most subscribed sponsor channel. Why is that a big deal? Be Kind Rewind just debuted today.
This new Michael Gondry directed flick stars Jack Black as a temporarily magnetized lost soul who manages to erase an entire movie store’s worth of VHS vids. Black and Mos Def (The store’s care taker) go into production mode to re-film, (or “swede”) the movies one by one, but sans the big budget and resources of most big biz movies.
Not familiar with the oh so hip concept of “Sweding”? Here’s the definition from the official website: Re-making something from scratch using whatever you can get your hands on. While the name is new, the concept isn’t. From acting out Star Wars scenes in the sandbox to whipping up a couch-cushion version of Karate Kid, pop culture lovers have been unknowingly sweding since childhood. Now that the concept’s got a name and a kewl movie to back it, it’s become a phenomenon.
We’re no movie critics, but if you’re looking for some creative inspiration or you’ve got a basement fulla crap waiting to be transformed into props, then catch this movie. If you’re even more motivated, get out your rock hammer to pull a Shawshank Redemption-style remake with your buds and your 90’s video camera. Just don’t tell your Blue-ray player what you’re up to – it may become blue with jealous over the VHS throw-back.
