Product Description

Music-video-director-turned-auteur Michel Gondry continues to charm with his low-tech offering BE KIND REWIND. Set in dreary Passaic New Jersey the comedy centers on two of the town's residents: trouble-making Jerry (Jack Black) and well-meaning Mike (Mos Def). Mike works in a video store in an age where the VHS is long dead but the store's owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) doesn't seem to be in any hurry to change. When Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a trip he entrusts his store to Mike with one piece of advice: don't let Jerry in the store. But after some mischief Jerry returns to the store in a strange state. Not only is he weirder than usual but he's also magnetized which causes the entire store's stock to be erased. In order to keep the struggling business afloat Mike and Jerry begin remaking the films in the store one by one. Their hilariously low-budget versions of films such as GHOSTBUSTERS and RUSH HOUR 2 soon begin to draw attention and business to the store but that creates a whole new set of problems for the pair. Though Gondry's three previous fiction films--HUMAN NATURE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP--were all essentially love stories BE KIND REWIND captures another kind of romance. Both the writer-director and his characters are in love with the cinematic medium itself and their devotion shows. BE KIND REWIND doesn't reach the heights of ETERNAL SUNSHINE but it doesn't seem to be aiming for that genius. This is simply a hilarious comedy fun for film fans of all stripes which celebrates the sheer joy of watching and making films.System Requirements:Running Time: 101 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/BUDDY FILMS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 794043121470 Manufacturer No: 1000038873

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2400 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-06-17
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.com
A daffy, adorable, and very funny celebration of DIY spirit, Be Kind Rewind stars Mos Def (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) as Mike, a clerk at a failing video store in a rundown New Jersey neighborhood. When his friend Jerry (Jack Black), who's been magnetized in a power station accident, wipes all of the videotapes blank, the two of them decide to recreate the movies themselves rather than face the store's owner (Danny Glover). The pure charm of Be Kind Rewind can't be captured in that spare plot synopsis. The blend of the movie's great cast (which also includes Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz of American Son, and Sigourney Weaver) and pitch-perfect writing and direction from writer-director Michel Gondry (director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, writer-director of The Science of Sleep) culminates in a truly delightful movie--sweet without being saccharine, richly comic without irony or sarcasm (which, given the presence of Black, is surprising), sentimental without losing sight of the hard edges of life. Mos Def turns in a standout performance, deeply sympathetic without a moment of grandstanding. An absolutely winning film. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

different from what i thought it would be
the trailer makes this movie look like a jake black free for all comedy. i am not a big fan of j. black but i was looking for a stupid movie to enjoy while a little drunk. i really enjoy mos def's character in 16 blocks so i was happy to see him in something different. my problem with this movie is that its actually a warm felt movie with a different plot and very moving performances. it was a good movie just different from what the trailer looks like

A nice homage to filmmaking.
I got this film on Blu-ray and decided to review it. Be Kind Rewind was an unusual film directed by Michael Gondry, the French director who made a couple of music videos for artists like Bjork so he has a certain style and visual flair which he also uses in his films, he is very creative and talented and definitely has an eye for a great setup or a memorable scene. The film was about these workers in the local VHS rental store called Be Kind Rewind, one day the local weirdo Jerry played by Jack Black tries to sabotage the small electric company relay station across the way and gets himself magnetised, he manages to wipe all the VHS tapes in the store. This off course causes alot of problems since all the rental tapes are now blank and the store can't operate. The store owner Mr. Flatcher (Danny Glover) went away for a while on a recon mission so it's up to Mike (Mos Def) and Jerry to make a plan so they don't lose their customers. Then Jerry comes up with the ridiculous idea of remaking shorter versions of the flicks with them as the leads, since Mike is desperate to not lose his job or his promise to the store owner he goes along with Jerry's idea. The store is located in a rundown part of the city in Passaic, NJ suggested as the birthplace of "Fats" a legendary jazz musician, the employees also have to save the building and this is where the community joins in and a lot of the locals become extras in the film and it takes off to point the movie lawyers put a stop to proceedings.

During the story the shop itself is under threat of demolition to make way for new apartment blocks. The film had a couple of daft and goofy characters that were engaging and interesting to watch, the film also had a bit of charm while not a laugh riot like some of Jack Black's other films like School of Rock (Widescreen Edition), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny or Shallow Hal it still is a good film with an original storyline and some great moments the funniest part is probably when they were trying to recreate Driving Mrs. Daisy and no one even remembers that film, I have to admit though the ending was a bit too sappy. The films that both characters were making ended up looking pretty good (O.K. not all of them, some were abit lame) and shows that even average normal people can make something creative with filmmaking techniques and no budgets, I also felt abit nostalgic it reminded me of the time when I use to rent at the video store and it seems like VHS nowadays is the thing of the past and there aren't alot of people who buy or rent VHS anymore not only that but I'm watching this film on Blu-ray which is kind of ironic. The 1080p picture quality on this Blu-ray dvd looks stunning and I found it to be excellent throughout, while being subtle and detailed. The 7.1 DTS HD soundtrack was both subtle and refined and not in your face or loud. It matched the on screen action just as subtly as you would want. Overall the film was great while not the best Jack Black film I've seen it was pretty close and it had a good cast of characters, if you're a big Jack Black fan like myself then you'll definitely enjoy this.

Sophomoric silliness
There's a time for improbable plots, dressing up in wild costumes, bad boy (but not too bad) pranks, and feel-good endings. This amusing flick suits those times.

Plot elements work together nicely. Although goofiness takes center stage through nearly the whole movie, a more serious plot provides background and contrast. It's the little guy up against the big bad system, under attack from every direction - including a hard-edged incursion by Sigourney Weaver, recycling her heartless Katharine Parker role.

I saw this as an in-flight movie on ten-hour trip. It suited the more sleep-deprived moments of that flight quite nicely and, since the flight's entertainment was free, it was worth every penny to see it.

-- wiredweird