A History Of Bootleg VHS

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

Hi all,

We're strongly against any form of piracy here at Cult Labs but since this is from the past and an interesting little topic, it should be okay...

I came across this great article online called '10 Cult Films That Found Fame as VHS Bootlegs'

Lots of very obscure movies there, from snuff movies to a banned film with barbie dolls (from the maker of Carol no less!).

So, here's a thread to chat about your memories of Bootleg VHS, Films that found fame from being Bootleg VHS and so on.

And who doesn't LOVE Heavy Metal Parking Lot?!

Like I said in the other thread, I now have a bootleg Animal Farm in my Betamax collection after picking up a 'blank' tape at a boot fair Think I'll pass on watching that one...

[mr 420]

Singapore Sling, Polselli's Delirium (French edit) and Giallo A Venezia come to mind. Happy days.

[Justin101]

Interestingly I did have Nine Inch Nail's Broken on a bootleg VHS from one of those adverts in the back of Kerrang! where you sent them a tape and a postal order and they sent you some concert tapes etc and Broken was one of them along with some Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins concerts recorded on a camcorder

I also did the same with Nekromantic and the Guinea Pig films which surely must be among the most bootlegged of the bootlegs.

I have Broken on DVD now as well as a shiny BD of Nekro, I'm not interested in the Japanese films they weren't very good

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Didn't really deal in bootlegs.

However i did buy a bootleg Reservoir Dogs when it was initially withheld from cinemas over here. Picked it up from a shop in Manchester's Corn Exchange. It was from the US laser disc and looked great, so i never actually bothered buying it again until dvd.

[platostotal]

On the subject, I simply couldn't believe Amstrad brought this out at the height of the VHS boom, now what possible use could a consumer at home have for a double-deck 'dubbing' VHS recorder, it was cheap tat as well (no more than a single deck of reasonably quality), film companies were not happy.

[Paul@TheOverlook]

Bootlegging, in the sense that it was applied in the UK, was perfectly acceptable back in the days before the BBFC took a less stringent stance in 1997/1998 - the censorious, draconian rule of the Tories during the eighties drove legitimate collector's underground and the only way many of us could see stuff like THE EXORCIST, TCM, THE EVIL DEAD and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (not a state-sanctioned ban on the latter) was by trading copies with other folk who had stuff that you didn't have at home.

Had the films been legally available I'd have rented or purchased them. My discovery of film was just after the passing of the VRA (video recordings act of 1984), so I missed the boat on most of the titles (although we'd hired DEAD AND BURIED and either ZFE or ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH) when I was eight or nine(!) so I had no idea how to get hold of this stuff until I was in high school - it was there I found quite a buoyant exchange platform with my peers.

All said about the VRA and nasties scandal it did manage to lead to one thing that was quite special - by depriving us of them, the films developed great notoriety, so you really felt like you had achieved greatness when you got hold of something and sat down to see it - some of those viewings were anticlimactic but others were dizzying in their brilliance.

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

When most kids were watching Disney, you were going straight in for Italian zombie gorefest I like your style, Paul!


Interesting point about the underground community thing. With the internet now, you can't really get that experience. I suppose that's why I like looking out for VHS at boot fairs/charity shops as that's the closest you can get really.

Do you remember any other bootlegs you saw, Paul? I'm guessing they were just on plain 'blank' tapes.


Anyone ever owned a video mixtape that was floating around? Heard a bit about them and that sounds very exciting! Again with things like YouTube, that's kind of gone 'mainstream' too

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yep,before discovering CULT VIDEO in Amsterdam via mail order,I bought from Glasgow's infamous Barras;

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
STRAW DOGS
DRILLER KILLER
NEW YORK RIPPER
THE EXORCIST
TCM
LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
SS EXPERIMENT CAMP
BEAST IN HEAT
BLOODSUCKING FREAKS

I always made my own covers for them!

Here's to you 'Lenny' whatever jailcell you're sitting in!

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by The Reaper Man@Cult Labs

I always made my own covers for them!

What were your covers like, Reaps? Much of an artist?

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by iluvdvds@Cult Labs

Anyone ever owned a video mixtape that was floating around? Heard a bit about them and that sounds very exciting! Again with things like YouTube, that's kind of gone 'mainstream' too

You talking about a trailer compilation tape mate?