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Vintage Television and Video Vintage television and video equipment, programmes, VCRs etc. |
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3rd Feb 2020, 8:51 pm | #1 |
Diode
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Posts: 3
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VCR featured in "Joker"
Hello everyone ! I read the rules and I hope the section I posted this in is appropriate.
A bit of a peculiar request: not sure how many of you have seen the multiple award winning movie "Joker", but I am quite curious about a specific bit of trivia. The movie is set in 1981. Arthur (the main character) has a VCR at home. I attach to this post some screenshots I took. I tried some rudimentary searches, but I could not identify the device - of course I have zero knowledge about vintage equipment so I just googled and ebay'd it some with guesswork, but alas, nothing. Is any of you able to help me identify the model of VCR used? Thank you very much! |
3rd Feb 2020, 10:44 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 3,273
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Hi Katrina,
Looks a bit like this one. https://www.curtis-mathes.com/curtismathesvcr.htm https://curtismathes.webs.com/topload7.JPG Peter |
3rd Feb 2020, 11:46 pm | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
Posts: 7,484
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Parts of that look a bit Hitachi/Toshiba-ish.
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Regards, Ben. |
4th Feb 2020, 12:30 am | #4 |
Moderator
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Location: Oxford, UK
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
1981 is very early for a domestic VHS VCR, though not impossible. Maybe a bit of artistic license was used in the movie.
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4th Feb 2020, 12:43 am | #5 |
Diode
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Posts: 3
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Haha, yes, it is quite early especially considering that he is living in poverty and that thing must have costed a fortune back then.
I am blown away by the first answer, that looks super-close! The one used in the movie does not have that little 'square' on the top left which should be the remote control sensor, so perhaps it's an earlier model? The rest seems rather spot-on but of course I don't know anything about the subject and it is based on similar components, I just look at the photos. Thank you so much to everyone who answered so far, and of course if anyone else can contribute and would be able to locate the precise model (I doubt they'd customize one with such minor alterations, but i have seen stranger things happen!), I'd be grateful, but meanwhile again big props for the responses! |
4th Feb 2020, 8:17 am | #6 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK
Posts: 5,185
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Quote:
It would most likely have a wired remote, IR remote was to come later. Mark |
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4th Feb 2020, 8:50 am | #7 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Quote:
We seemed to be one of the last families in my state primary school to get a video, and my parents finally bought a Hitachi VT-11E in late 1982 / early 1983. Last edited by Nickthedentist; 4th Feb 2020 at 8:57 am. |
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4th Feb 2020, 9:01 am | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
I would say Panasonic (National). The controls reminded me of the NV7000 which I used to have: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/panaso...r_nv_7000.html
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4th Feb 2020, 9:06 am | #9 |
Dekatron
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
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4th Feb 2020, 10:15 am | #10 |
Hexode
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Royal Berkshire, UK.
Posts: 470
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
It does have a Nat-Pan look about it, but signs of perhaps NEC or Fisher?
Mark
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Slowly turning the 'to-do', into 'ta-dah' |
4th Feb 2020, 11:35 am | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Quite. The 3v23 front loader and some of those silver top load Hitachis being just two cases. I also have a Grundig Vs180 with a clumsy IR module stuck on the back, with a power cable that disappears into the machine on the bottom!
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4th Feb 2020, 11:42 am | #12 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Carshalton, Surrey, UK.
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Hi,
the Colour Television looks rather nice as well !
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Regards Peter B |
4th Feb 2020, 1:25 pm | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
The linked Curtis-Mathes model looks a bit Sanyo to me, in which case Fisher would apply as well.
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4th Feb 2020, 2:15 pm | #14 |
Pentode
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 163
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
It's basically this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vtg-1982-...-/283284785788 (sorry for the eBay link but it has good clear images). But probably the PV-1480 with more buttons! I'm surprised nobody could read the words 'Panasonic' on the top left corner. |
4th Feb 2020, 2:16 pm | #15 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
NEC/Sanyo?Fisher? Just look at this and the Panasonic NV-7000 side-by-side. Get rid of the faux wood and they're twins!
[Panasonic pic borrowed from the excellent Radiomuseum site, for the avoidance of doubt.] EDIT: Crossed posts. Well done Dountty! I knew it was a Pansonic. Obviously, the Yanks had different styling and model numbers to us, but it looks like it's very similar to the NV-7000 we knew and loved in the UK. |
4th Feb 2020, 3:21 pm | #16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Ah yes, that's quite clear.
Maybe I was confused by the US styling. |
4th Feb 2020, 3:25 pm | #17 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Yes, it really makes a difference, and disguises an otherwise familiar machine.
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4th Feb 2020, 11:39 pm | #18 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
The Americans really seemed to go in for that faux-woodgrain styling that made even cutting edge technology in the mid 80s look like something from 1963! I have one such Sanyo betamax with the woodgrain sides. Has a certain charm - unmistakably vintage! I don't think I'd have been seen dead with it when it was new though.
That and huge sideboard-style radiogams with TVs in them seemingly stayed popular long after such things had been dropped in the UK market as too fuddy-duddy.
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Regards, Ben. |
5th Feb 2020, 12:00 am | #19 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK.
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
The first VHS machines appeared in UK shops late 1978. They were the Ferguson/JVC piano key models and cost around £480, equivalent to £2700 in today's money.
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Regards Martin Last edited by martin.m; 5th Feb 2020 at 12:01 am. Reason: grammar |
5th Feb 2020, 10:44 am | #20 |
Dekatron
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Re: VCR featured in "Joker"
Of course you need to remember that this was filmed in Gotham City where they would have had slightly different styling to the usual American domestic product.
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