The upcoming documentary PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND: THE STORY OF THE ’80S HOME VIDEO BOOM ranks incredibly high on the list of exciting new flicks on the horizon, chronicling the rise of home video the the technologies and distribution practices that emerged from the video revolution. Directed by Mike Malloy, whose previous effort EUROCRIME! THE ITALIAN COP AND GANGSTER MOVIES THAT RULED THE ’70s is a fantastic exploration of the genre of crime flicks, the creators have just issued an eight-minute “Sizzle Reel” featuring interview footage to get you all in the mode for a history lesson that will blow you away.
From the press release:
The documentary project PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND: THE STORY OF THE ‘80s VIDEO BOOM put its 8-minute sizzle reel online today to increase awareness of the project, which is in the later stages of production.
Through interviews, dramatic re-enactments, film clips, and rare documents, PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND will stylishly (and era-appropriately) tell the story of how home video changed the way films were not only watched and sold … but also how they were made.
Although in development for years, the documentary got into production in January, 2012. And while it joins some recent projects that also cover similar territory, PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND will distinguish itself by serializing its story into six half-hour episodes so as to be the most comprehensive look at the cultural phenomenon.
The project’s writer-director, Mike Malloy, managed to make a well-loved festival hit out of his last documentary, EUROCRIME! THE ITALIAN COP AND GANGSTER FILMS THAT RULED THE ’70s, despite a running time of over two hours. Malloy says he looks forward to again finding that balance between well-paced entertainment and densely packed information.
This reel for PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND may distinguish itself another way: A conspicuous lack of celebrities.
“I was more interested in chasing great stories than great names,” Malloy says. “That said, we do have some marquee value attached that we hope to shoot soon.”
Continues Malloy: “Some of the interviewees may seem random – especially the way they’re credited in the reel – like ‘Store Owner Jim Olenski.’ But Jim is not just any video-store owner; he is the owner of Thomas Video in Detroit, considered by many to be the first-ever video store. Most of our interviewees have that level of noteworthiness.”
The director’s previous documentary, EUROCRIME!, also won praise in reviews for not offering a blanket glorification of its subject.
“And PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND shouldn’t be a puff piece either,” says Malloy. “For instance, the mom-and-pop era of video stores was amazing, and I have tremendous nostalgia for it. But we shouldn’t gloss over the fact that home video rental was a boom industry in the early ‘80s, and as such it attracted – as any boom industry would – plenty of shady characters.”
PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND has picked up a lot of goodwill and help from many in the pop-culture documentary field, such asTHE REP’s Morgan White and THE BOOKER’s Michael Perkins. Music is being handled by Matthew Miklos (formerly of The Lyres) and Sweden’s Thomas Nyholm.
The documentary intends to pick up a few more on-camera interviews and then move into the editing stage. When completed, Malloy hopes the project will be, ironically, available via streaming sites like Hulu. But naturally, great care will be taken in putting out a nice physical-media release too.
Be kind, re-watch!
PLASTIC MOVIES REWOUND sizzle reel from Mike Malloy on Vimeo.
The film is still in production and should be released later this year. For updates, be sure to “like” their Facebook page here!
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