Second Hand Dreams of the Past

I'm not a nostalgic person. I never look back and say "Oh, those were the days". No, never. Maybe when I was younger, more naive. Less experienced in life. 

There's new movies I love almost everyday, and experiencing them is as fun as watching an oldie I haven't seen for twenty years. There's always something new to discover.

Except the dreams.

I never dream about movies nowdays.
Never. Not once.

Instead I dream about work, job, love, friendship, a stressful nightmare here and there. But no movies.

"What you mean about movies, Fred?" someone asks.
I will tell you.

When I started to collect movies there was only VHS tapes. Everything was a bit hard and more expensive to get (and believe me, I don't want to go back there) and that silly hunt was a part of my life.

So when I wasn't awake and could look at my collection I dreamed about finding new tapes to buy. Second hand stores was a big part of my consciousness. I remember once - in one of hundreds of dreams - how I came to a big field. Green grass, the horizon far, far away.

Everywhere there was ditches. I walked down in one of those. Suddenly a door appeared. I could see a huge basement, packed with tapes - rare tapes, titles I never heard of. Everything was for sale.

That's usually how the dreams ended. I never got a chance to buy any tapes, but it reminded me that there was always something to hunt down, to discover. To experience.

I don't miss that time.

But I sure miss those dreams.

Comments

[Megatron]

"I'm not a nostalgic person. I never look back and say "Oh, those were the days". No, never. Maybe when I was younger, more naive. Less experienced in life."

I don´t know....at times I found myself being nostalgic.....especially about film.

But then I start to use google,etc, only to realize that I was wrong as always.....there were no good old days.

Most of my favorites was disliked by critics, or didn´t make any money back in the day.

"There's new movies I love almost everyday, and experiencing them is as fun as watching an oldie I haven't seen for twenty years. There's always something new to discover."

I noticed this myself.....I always try to rewatch old films, you do discover new stuff all the time, tracking shots you never saw before, body language, speech, the performances in some of your favorite scenes in the films you like.

Of course, new films that speak to you is wonderful to find.

"When I started to collect movies there was only VHS tapes. Everything was a bit hard and more expensive to get (and believe me, I don't want to go back there)"

The only thing I miss about VHS is the fact that the format could take a rough treatment pretty good.

DVDs are more sensitive......a little dust and the whole disc becomes unwatchable.

"Everywhere there was ditches. I walked down in one of those. Suddenly a door appeared. I could see a huge basement, packed with tapes - rare tapes, titles I never heard of. Everything was for sale."

Like a wetdream for filmnerds.....

"That's usually how the dreams ended. I never got a chance to buy any tapes, but it reminded me that there was always something to hunt down, to discover. To experience.

I don't miss that time.

But I sure miss those dreams."

Nice essay, and thanks Fred.

[J M Cozzoli]

The most fun for me was seeing how crazy the VHS box art could get. I had fun more with the mom/pop stores because they carried the more daring stuff. There was something kind of adventurous, waiting for the title you wanted to see, or maybe finding something you didn't expect to see. I tend to be nostalgic. It's a curse.