Ten Amazing Classic Films To Watch On VHS

You may have strongly considered shops that convert vhs to dvd near me. Before you do however, we still can all look back fondly about our favourite film to view on tape. Those lovely rectangular plastic boxes you remember rewinding just as much as the fast forward. There was a comfortable and warm feeling when watching VHS tapes.  The tape always remembered where you last stopped watching and you could fast-forward whenever it suited you. There was simply never a need to dig deep into your sofa to find a vhs remote control. Maybe too you achieved the highest level of all? I.e: skipping past all of the adverts when fast-forwarding from the beginning of the film.

Here then is our  top ten list of classic films that here at Supaphoto that we fondly remember watching on VHS.  Just read on to find out if your favourite movie is on the list!:

1. Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources
Based upon the fantastic novel written by French writer Marcel Pagnol, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources (of the spring in english) are double-billed films which were distributed in the eighties with the notation of being Part One and Part Two respectively. Adapted by the great Claude Berri with Gerard Brach, these films became massive box-office successes globally and won over the hearts of filmgoers and critics throughout the world. This is a story well worth exploring for any individual with an emotional affection for great stories and quality filmmaking. For us, this two-part production is considered as one of the greatest achievements in the history of international cinema – full stop!. Watch the film on VHS if you can.

2. The Godfather
Did you perhaps watch this film originally released in 1972 on VHS?  We loved the opening line (“I believe in America”) which really set  the operatic Mario Puzo adaptation into motion. Then, bit by bit, Coppola’s epic slowly unpicks the American dream. The corruption based story follows this powerful immigrant family grappling with the understandable paradoxical values of reign and religion. These moral contradictions were crystallised in the legendary baptism sequence which was edited in parallel to the murdering of four rivalling dons. With countless mafia details—a horse’s severed head, Marlon Brando’s wheezy voice, Nino Rota’s catchy waltz, the Godfather’s quality lives on. Audio, screen ratios and even edits of the movies were lovingly mopped up by the adoring audience. Made in three parts, not many know that a fourth film was planned but cancelled.

3. Star Wars Original Trilogy 
Tell me are you really a Star Wars  fan if you didn’t watch any of the original versions on VHS?

George Lucas amply paved the way for capitalising on films through his home videos. So many people had their version of Star Wars on tape that they considered to be the really best way to watch the film! It was so easy! Each new release came with unique, stunning artwork on the the boxes and sometimes even collectable items if you invested in buying the whole trilogy. Disney+’s version will simply never compare to the original Star Wars releases on tape at the end of the day. So when you consider looking for vhs to memory stick service near me, think back to how different it all was when you’d walk to the hire shop to rent the star wars video. 

4. Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939) is well known legendary for bringing technicolour onto the big screen. What an amazing thing it must have been for first time viewers! Whilst it was not the first video to be watched on home televisions in glorious colour, the worldwide film was still an absolute marvel when considering that colour TV’s only became popular in England by say the 1980s.

It wasn’t just an opportunity for children to learn about the wonders of colour television but it also had creative special effects of monkeys tied to strings literally flying gracefully through the sky! Check out the poorly painted backdrops too. All of this made it ideal for watching on a standard definition tape. This is a far cry from the desperate need nowadays to watch everything in Ultra High Definition?

5. Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (1993) was groundbreaking and brilliantly innovative. Thousands of children hugged their parents that terrifying dinosaurs with massive teeth terrorised humans. It earnt an enviable place in everyone’s households for its high-quality production and truly epic storyline. In addition, the combination of the underlying science fiction with horror gave the film a cutting edge that other family-friendly films at the time simply didn’t have. In fact, the movie has ranked as the 5th most popular film ever bought on tape.

Jurassic Park responded to everyone’s questions about what would happen if dinosaurs were allowed to walk on Earth again. That’s the answer. The amazing special effects and thoroughly realistic T-Rex with beady eyes simply  saturated everyone’s need to visualise what it would look like to walk next to dinosaurs. It was a truly amazing piece of filmmaking that families greedily watched again and again.

6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Released in 1981. Raiders of the Lost Ark is justifiably held up by many as a groundbreaking family movie. It was joyous to watch and as you sat with your VHS tape case by your side on the sofa, you could fully appreciate that Steven Spielberg had made a masterpiece. It was a blockbuster that had it all – rolling boulders, a barroom brawl and a heroine (Karen Allen) that held her drink and really lost her temper! It also had a treacherous monkey, a champagne-drinking villain and nasty snakes . We loved the truck chase and a weirdly supernatural finale. It was a VHS release of high quality.

7. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial 
It probably goes without saying that E.T.( 1982 – also made by Spielberg ) would be on this list.  It had amazing special effects and made it so believable. E.T. very much touched many of our hearts as the film zoomed in on a dysfunctional family home where the siblings had to learn to work together to ensure that the alien made it home safely. It had higher quality effects that made it feel so real. They had arrived.  

8. Sound of Music
Made in 1965, the musical tracks composed by Robert Wise and so beautifully sung by the wonderful Julie Andrews made it perfect for families to watch together with their children. Nowadays, i feels a little dated I hear you say but the story itself is timeless. It’s such a comforting film. It has absolute belters  for songs. The Sound of Music is often considered to be the world’s most beloved musical. The original Broadway production starred Mary Martin as Maria and won five Tony Awards way back in 1959 including Best Musical. It then also went on to absolute cinematic history with Julie Andrews in the starring role. The show also features some delightful and really infectious songs by songwriters Rodgers and Hammerstein and Librettists Lindsay and Crouse. Watched on VHS – even without although with or with , it’s fantastic. It’s one that many of us remember enjoying and watching on tape.

Let’s not forget the controversial artwork on the original VHS release that banned the tape in shops and 

9. Ghostbusters 
This is a film (made in 1984) that is wedged in our minds for its ghostly but entertaining horror.  Bill Murray rightly earnt this tape’s place on our bookshelves as we fell so deeply for his role as Dr Peter Venkman. It also has an amazing catchy theme tune. Even the logo stood out. This having been said, we often  only remember the VHS edition for its poor aspect ratio that actually cropped Ernie Hudson out of so many of the key scenes!

10. The Snowman (1982)
Made in 1982, The snowman made so many positive comments surface to the top.  “What a film”, “ Amazing music”, “Lovely Story”! We remember so fondly that fantastic feeling of watching this VHS tape 

The children found it magical. The story was enchantingly simple to follow. Xmas somehow felt incomplete without watching this lovely film. The Snowman tape, for these reasons and more, plus the fact that it has a short duration, made it almost the perfect movie to watch while adorning your Christmas tree with unwrapped baubles. The tape will never be sold in our family. It evokes too many happy memories. No easy thirst quenching streaming services can overcome the pleasure of playing this vhs recording of a timeless christmas film.

So if your absolute favourite VHS tapes or cassettes are still sitting on your shelf and you are considering transferring vhs to dvd near me or vhs to mp4 service, maybe it’s time to safeguard it by using Supaphoto a film digitisation service . We can help.