Pre-order this sleazy cult throwback to the 80's and beyond here!

Come with us now on a journey back through time and space…to the world of the format wars!

There’s not long left until the release of  Shameless Screen Entertainment’s Pop Erotica Fest box set (containing such sleaze-tastic films as Venus In Furs, The Frightened Woman and Baba Yaga) which is designed as a throwback to the ‘good’ (?) old days of home video. So, what better time than now to take a look at the story behind the obsolete format that hinders on the edges of fading memories in a fleeting moment of time, never to be relived again; the V2000.

Back in a time not too long ago, when shoulder pads and big hair ruled the earth, there was a furious battle taking place across the land. A vicious combat that pited several teams against one another, fighting to the death. Very much like the recent DVD vs. Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD, a bloody battleground was fought, placing such formats as the VHS, Videodisc, BETA, VCR and the V2000 head to head.  It was a very crowded scene!

Ad from the Daily Mirror, July 13, 1981

Back in early 1980, two leaders of home entertainment, Phillips and Grundig joined together to create the ultimate movie recording machine…or so they thought. Also known as the Video 2000, VCC and, to give it it’s full name, Video Compact Cassette, the V2000 blew the other formats clean out of the water with its impressive recording space. Very much like an audio cassette, the V2000 boasted the ability of recording up to 4 hours on each side! Over the following years, this increased to a whopping 8 hours per side . This was a huge advantage over the (much more attractive) videodisc which could only hold up to an hour, meaning you’d have to manually turn it over half way through the film!  Unfortunately, the V2000′s power quickly disappeared after being pummeled into the ground of no return by the popular VHS and Betamax which ruled the roost of 80s entertainment.

Although these are now a forgotten casualty of the great format wars of the 1980s, they are still fondly remembered off… in a rose-tinted and rather nerdy sort of way.

Check out this great advertisement for the V2000 below for a flashback in time -

“The time has come for a company to create a more sophisticated system. The time is now” Or maybe not….

Celebrate the nostalgic with the super trashy and oh so sleazy, Pop Erotica Fest Box Set by pre-ordering your copy today. Head here for the DVD’s specs.

 

Following on from the last blog entry, here’s the second part of our Top Ninja Film countdown. All of these suggestions are from Cult Labs members, so if you have your own thoughts be sure to post them and you’ll be included in the next part!

CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE.

4. The Ninja Mission  - (Mats Helge, 1984)

Asia and America are not the only places to create some top-notch ninja-tainment. Sweden’s entry into the genre, The Ninja Mission, may not be an obvious choice, but it’s nevertheless is loved by cult fans around the world. One of the highest grossing films this country has ever created, the film is hugely popular in Asia. The film contains countless slow-motion battles and tones and tones of splatterific blood.

5. Norwegian Ninja – (Thomas Cappelen Malling, 2010)

From Sweden to Norway comes this crazy and totally bizarre Ninja film from the producers of the classic Nazi Zombie film, Dead Snow. Norwegian Ninja is a quirky, offbeat homage to everything from James Bond’s improbable spy shenanigans to B-movie Ninja flicks and post-modern Grindhouse culture to political conspiracy theory. Described as “quite possibly the most inventive and peculiar Norwegian film ever” (Tord Olander Pedersen, iTromsø.no) and “a refreshing Norwegian film in all its twisted boyhood fantasies” (Terje Eidsvåg, Adresseavisen) that “delivers plenty laughs and excitement” (Twitch), Malling’s film is a true original, a potent mix of fact, fiction and fantasy that is impossible to pigeonhole.

6. Ninja Terminator

In case you haven’t guessed yet, this list of the ‘top’ ninja films are not necessarily the best made, most socially relevant or enlightening works of art. On the contrary, most are poorly made, unintentionally hilarious slices of trash cinema. And they don’t come much better (or worse!) than this. Directed by Ninja legend, Godfrey Ho (one of the most prominent names in ninja cinema with such trash titles as Ninja Protector, Ninja Destroyer and Rage Of Ninja) this film is full of crazy action, cheesy dialogue, a ludicrous plot and laugh out loud terrible dubbing. A must see for cult connoisseurs.

If you have any suggestions for Ninja Films you’d like listed, either leave a comment here, on our Facebook group or the Ninja Thread on our forum.

Don’t forget the king of all Ninja Films, Chuck Norris’ excellent The Octagon is out on DVD and, for the first time ever, Blu-ray on the 30th July. You can pre-order your copy from Amazon.

 
 
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