Movies you literally wore out on VHS

[JMS1223]

Have you ever watched a movie (actual movie VHS bought at the store - NOT one recorded off TV) so much that the tape wore out?

If yes, what movies did you wear out on VHS and did you wear out one copy or multiple copies because you loved the movie so much?

As for me, I have never watched a VHS movie so much that it actually wore out but I once borrowed one (Rear Window) from a library that was already worn out.

[UltraMario9]

Jurassic Park

[Michael24]

Only one I can recall on VHS is Raiders of the Lost Ark. We had the original early-80s release and by the mid-90s that thing barely worked anymore, and we had to buy a new copy.

Prior to VHS, I wore out Star Wars on CED. I watched it so many times as a kid during such a short span (CED wasn't even around for a long time) that it started skipping around, freezing up and eventually just stopped playing entirely.

[Trace Buster Buster]

I don't know if this counts but my parents used to tape movies off of HBO. Each tape would hold 3 movies and I specifically remember wearing out the one that had Midnight Run and Stakeout (can't remember the 3rd movie).

[dgoswald]

Batman 89, T2, and Aladdin.

[shinobipopcorn]

My Fantasia VHS is the only one I've worn thin. I always fast forwarded through Rite of Spring as a kid so the tracking (there's a new word for ya, kids!) on that bit is terrible, even to the point where the VCR stops at that point on rewinding. (The tape is so thin, the machine thinks that's the clear bit at the beginning.)

I bought a replacement since it's the only way to hear the original narration.

[FrodoBagginz]

Jurassic Park. Every single day I got home from school I put in Jurassic Park.

[stvn1974]

Star Wars OT widescreen VHS. Wore out several copies of each film.

[Worship.my.wreck]

I was the type of kid who would watch the same vhs over and over at a time. But I don't remember ever wearing out or messing up any vhs'.

[bornthisway]

George of The Jungle, I’m not a proud man.

[Rixx]

Not any movies but I wore out 2 tapes of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes Q Who and The Best of Both Worlds part 1 and 2.

[CyberpunkCentral]

Showgirls.

[floridaswamprat]

Not a movie, but we recorded the Dick Van Dyke show off of Nickelodeon back in early 90's. Got every episode via a marathon showing. Wore out the tapes. Recorded it a second time on another marathon showing and wore those out, also. Finally it became available on DVD (which we bought) and then blu-ray (which we bought). To this day I think that it is the greatest sitcom ever done.

[shinobipopcorn]

Originally Posted by floridaswamprat

Not a movie, but we recorded the Dick Van Dyke show off of Nickelodeon back in early 90's. Got every episode via a marathon showing. Wore out the tapes. Recorded it a second time on another marathon showing and wore those out, also. Finally it became available on DVD (which we bought) and then blu-ray (which we bought). To this day I think that it is the greatest sitcom ever done.

That reminds me, I did have recordings of Muppet Babies, Pirates of Dark Water, and the first two Star Wars (we recorded the Sci-Fi channel's 93? marathon of the uncut movies and I somehow lost the tape with ROTJ). I watched SW so much I had them memorized. I was 5.

Nick was a great channel to record stuff from in the early days. I had a lot of cartoons and Snick shows.

[UFAlien]

Well this one wasn't really my fault but I was the straw the broke the camel's back...

I rented a VHS of Piranha Part Two: The Spawning from my local Movie Gallery which was evidently so worn out that the tape actually broke in my VCR.

[shinobipopcorn]

I've had crummy VCRs eat tapes before (funny enough the last one I remember having trouble with was a copy of IT), but I was sneaky enough to straighten out the tape and respool it before returning it.

[Juels Winnfield]

Originally Posted by shinobipopcorn

I've had crummy VCRs eat tapes before (funny enough the last one I remember having trouble with was a copy of IT), but I was sneaky enough to straighten out the tape and respool it before returning it.

I always had to that for my mom when I was a kid.... The tape would also rip and I figured out how to tape it back just right so it wasn't that noticeable.

Anyhow, I had to Google the CED format; never heard of it.

I wore out my Batman 89...

[Geoff D]

Die Hard. When I was a kid I wore out the one I taped off TV and THEN I wore out the proper store-bought one.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Raiders of the Lost Ark. I repeatedly replaced countless VHS tapes that I bought though due to my anal retentiveness with those annoying as f**k tracking lines during the movie that VHS was infamous for. The stores hated me lol.

[RCRochester]

The Living Daylights, and it happened when the VHS was OOP so I was jonesing until it was re-released so I could replace it. That played a huge factor in the anxiety I sometimes get when limited edition blurays of films I like get sold out.