The Wonder Cinema
Join hosts, filmmaker Brian Henry Martin and historian Dr. Sam Manning as they wonder about cinema in Northern Ireland. Series One reveals the remarkable story of the Ritz cinema in Belfast, while Series Two explores the rise and fall of videotape in Northern Ireland.
The Wonder Cinema
Say Yes To VHS, Ep 4: Pause - How Cinema and Television Fought Back Against Home Video
In the fourth episode of Say Yes to VHS, Brian and Sam press pause to discuss how cinema owners and television broadcasters responded to the rapid rise of home video in the 1980s.
Before the arrival of the VCR, film choices were limited to the three television channels or the ever dwindling number of cinemas in Northern Ireland. Video shops offered people a wider range of choice and there were no longer any restrictions on when you could watch a film. The blank video cassette meant that people could also now record content directly from television and watch at their own leisure. A VCR timer meant you could even leave the house and not miss your favourite programme or movie.
Home video forced television broadcasters to expand and diversify their content. When Channel 4 arrived in 1982, it aimed to reach new audiences and its series of 'red triangle' films reached millions of viewers. Programmes such as BBC's Moviedrome became curators of cult cinema. Cinemas were forced to up their game by splitting into several screens and offering more choice, paving the way for the arrival of the multiplex to Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
Links
The Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive, '80s Tech!' collection
Written and presented by Dr Sam Manning and Brian Henry Martin
Music by Score Draw Music
https://thewondercinema.buzzsprout.com
Welcome to the Wonder Cinema Podcast.
where we wonder about cinema.
I'm filmmaker and film critic Brian Henry Martin.
and I'm Cinema Historian and author Dr. Sam Manning.
Welcome to Series 2, where we'll be wondering about the remarkable story of home video in Northern Ireland.
The rise and fall of videotape, from format wars to video nasties, piracy, paramilitaries and the wonder of the video shop.
So we want you to...
SAY YES TO VHS.
