STM and S2 on videotape in 80s

[atp]

Was it just where I lived, or was STM much much harder to find on videotape in the 80s?

I renember most rental shops had S2 to rent, but it was almost impossible finding a copy of STM.

I recall waiting until 1983 to find a shop that had STM.

[dejan]

Here in the UK , STM came out on VHS in 1981.

SII followed in 1982.

In the US , my understanding is that STM came out in late 79' early 1980.
SII came out in 82'.
They then re-released STM on VHS in 83' to coincide with the laserdisc releases.
And that may jive with your experience of finding STM in 83' on VHS.

I have acquired all of them on ebay

Here in Cambridge, in the early 80s,  we used to have a video shop which had TVs hooked up to VHS players positioned strategically at the front window, to allow people from the outside to look in.

One of my fondest memories(circa early 1982) is recalling the  crowds that would form outside the video shop to watch STM on one TV and SII(simultaneously on the other)!.

Getting crowds  like that that would never happen now!

But back then, to even get a glimpse of prestigious movies like STM & SII was like gold dust.......because you had to wait until they were shown on TV broadcasts.....which could place take several years after the theatrical release.
 

[atp]

May 10, 2021 15:51:49 GMT -5 dejan said:

Here in the UK , STM came out on VHS in 1981.

SII followed in 1982.

In the US , my understanding is that STM came out in late 79' early 1980.
SII came out in 82'.
They then re-released STM on VHS in 83' to coincide with the laserdisc releases.
And that may jive with your experience of finding STM in 83' on VHS.

I have acquired all of them on ebay

Here in Cambridge, in the early 80s,  we used to have a video shop which had TVs hooked up to VHS players positioned strategically at the front window, to allow people from the outside to look in.

One of my fondest memories(circa early 1982) is recalling the  crowds that would form outside the video shop to watch STM on one TV and SII(simultaneously on the other)!.

Getting crowds  like that that would never happen now!

But back then, to even get a glimpse of prestigious movies like STM & SII was like gold dust.......because you had to wait until they were shown on TV broadcasts.....which could place take several years after the theatrical release.
 

I also saw STM and S2 in cinemas on original release.

I was about 5 when I saw STM. My first ever cinema experience!

I was 8 when I saw S2. It was in a drive-in. I recall everyone started hooting and cheering when Superman flew to the windiw and said General, would you care to step outside!

[crazy_asian_man]

I remember spending a pretty penny getting the STM videotape (that got played to death on my family's vcr) when it came out.... but I also remember having a "WTF?" moment on the first viewing when I already noticed frames chopped out of the dam burst/Supes flying sequence and 99 percent of the end credits being lopped off!!!

SII I vaguely (If I recall right) being a 'rental only' for awhile as a vhs tape... but then was able to purchase it later.... and then later on being educated on why 'letterbox' was so cool versus 'pan and scan'.

The more exciting thing I recall, though, was the shocking (in a great way) STM tv cut that ran over two nights- to eventually be able to have that on blu ray letterbox was something I never dreamed would happen.

Would be nice, but sadly I doubt we'll have the same happen with the SII tv cut.... but it's interesting to look back at the VHS days and realize how lucky we are/were to even get what we got, I suppose...

[atp]

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldnt have been better to just see STM and S2 once in cinemas and never again.

[crazy_asian_man]

May 11, 2021 7:53:12 GMT -5 atp said:

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldnt have been better to just see STM and S2 once in cinemas and never again.

Mmmm.... I feel that way at times with Star Wars and the bazillion spinoffs that I feel water down the experience, but I feel like Donner's version of Superman never had a chance to reach its full potential on the big screen beyond the 1 1/2 movies.... that's why I was so disappointed that Singer's rebooting never got a chance to spawn a series of Donneresque films but just the one.

As is--- Reeve's Superman is standing the test of time. Cavill I don't dislike, but the movies he was part of didn't really serve anyone well.