Product Details

• Actors: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Sigourney Weaver
• Directors: Michel Gondry
• Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 17, 2008
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0017RFY56
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,822 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Be Kind Rewind" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Experience the antics of two outcasts, Jack Black and Mos Def, as they attempt to save the local video store in Be Kind Rewind, an outrageous and offbeat comedy from Academy Award-winning writer/director Michel Gondry. Amateur film director Mike must find a way to save the business after his magnetized friend, Jerry, erases every movie in the store. Using an outdated video camera and their own special effects, the two embark on an adventure to remake all of the movies, from Ghostbusters to Driving Miss Daisy, turning the two town misfits into local celebrities.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Sweded April 15, 2008

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

VHS is pretty much dead now, but it has one characteristic that "Be Kind Rewind" revolves around: expose it to magnetism, and it dies.

So you can probably guess what happens in Michel Gondry's fourth movie, and his first foray into all-out comedy. It has some plot holes and a rather bizarre premise, but there's a warm, funny little heart buried in the kooky antics and wild remakes of every movie from "Ghostbusters" to "Lord of the Rings."

Be Kind Rewind is an ancient video store, and supposedly the birthplace of unknown jazz legend Fats Waller. It's also due to be razed for a new block of condos -- so store owner Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) goes on a scouting trip for a week, leaving his conscientious clerk Mike (Mos Def) in charge.

Unfortunately local weirdo Jerry (Jack Black) tries to destroy a local power plant, because he believes it's controlling his brain. Instead he gets fried, and his body becomes a walking electromagnet -- which they only discover after he's wandered through the store, erasing all the old tapes. Even worse, a regular customer (Mia Farrow) wants "Ghostbusters" by that evening.

So Mike and Jerry hurriedly shoot their OWN version of the movie, with the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz) and soon they find that their "Sweded" movies have a growing fanbase, and they are statewide celebrities. But the demolition deadline is approaching, and Hollywood lawyers are threatening them for copyright infringement -- will the town's new devotion to these quirky "Sweding" moviemakers help them stay?

Michel Gondry's movies are always set in "real life," but with a few drops of the unreal -- memory erasure, waking surrealist dreams, that kind of thing.... And even though "Be Kind Rewind" is set in a grimy, shabby New Jersey town, it has the same delightfully unreal quality -- it's a genial buddy comedy where literally anything can happen.

I'll admit, there are some moments that don't entirely work. Note the awkward "this town is a swamp" exchange, and we're expected to allow the plot holes to slide (where did the infringement lawyers go?). And that whole magnetized body fluids thing was just gross.

But despite its flaws, it's somehow a very lovable movie. It's crammed with physical and verbal comedy ("Iloveyou Iloveyou we'relovers kissme!"), ranging from amateur train hijacks to an inept break-in at a DVD rental store. And a merely entertaining movie becomes sidesplitting when our heroes start shooting a ghastly no-budget "Ghostbusters" with fishing rods, tinsel, and bags of goo. This is followed by "Robocop," "2001," "Rush Hour 2," "Driving Miss Daisy" and several others -- all with no budget, borrowed costumes, cardboard sets, and a cast of rank amateurs.

Gondry is obviously having a roaring good time lampooning Hollywood blockbusters. But he also injects some deeper currents into what could have been a one-joke movie -- there's a bittersweet subplot about the possibility of losing the store that has brought a community together. Yeah, it's supposed to tug at the heartstrings, but it really does work -- particularly since the movie rental industry is going belly-up.

One particularly nice touch is that the movie ends -- and is punctuated by -- scenes of a very low-budget, old-looking biopic of Fats Waller. Initially it just seems like another conceit, but it turns out to be very important to the plot.

Black is a delight as the insane Jerry, brimming with manic energy -- in one scene, he encases himself in aluminum foil. Mos Def's Mike is more pleasant and low-key as the responsible boy-next-door type, and Danny Glover is outstanding as the paternal, gravel-voiced Mr. Fletcher. Diaz is also quite solid as a vague love interest/codirector/costar; and keep an eye out for Sigourney Weaver in a small cameo.

Michel Gondry's fourth full-length film is a big-hearted, mildly bittersweet little comedy, with the slightly unreal quality you expect from his films. I want the Sweded "Be Kind Rewind!" Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep Jerry Out August 8, 2008

By David A. Smith

Format:DVD

This movie was funny & Heartwarming at the same time. Jack Black & Mos Deff Make a great team in this hilarious movie about a video store own trying to save his shop. i recomend this movie to everyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It!!! January 24, 2012

By zombie phreak

Format:DVD

So I saw this sitting in a bargain bin at my local used book store. I had to pick this up when I saw it had Jack Black in it! I love Jack Black and he is one funny guy!

So the concept of him at an old school video store that only rents VHS tapes was something I HAD to check out! The idea that he had to reshoot all these movies as fast as possible was just too hilarious to pass up!

The story was so funny! Seeing him shoot these movies on a shoe-string budget was awesome! I was reminded of Kevin Smith shooting Clerks and I loved it! Then Signori Weaver shows up! What a great bonus! Anyone who likes movies, Jack Black, or who has ever worked at a video rental store will enjoy this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Heartwarming April 24, 2010

By Michael J. Cregge

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is just a fun movie to watch. Jack Black puts on another hilarious performance. Mos Def and Danny Glover are also great as are so many others in the cast.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Kind Rewind December 30, 2009

By Jason C. Wilkerson

Format:DVD

When Elroy Fletcher(Danny Glover), owner of Be Kind Rewind video rental store, goes out of town he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge with one rule: Keep Jerry (Jack Black) Out! But when Jerry becomes magnetized trying to sabotage the local electric plant he makes his way into the video store and erases all the video tapes in the store. Finding that none of the local video stores carry video tapes having switched to the more popular DVD, and with customers threatening to call Elroy, Mike and Jerry take matters into their own hands and start recording their own versions of popular movies. Claiming that the versions are imported versions of films from Sweden, their "Sweded" films become popular amongst the citizens of Passaic, New Jersey.

French director Michel Gondry is a very unique director, taking a look at his 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and you can see that this isn't your average director. Having amassed a body of work that doesn't just stop at film (he played the drums on Kanye West's Diamonds From Sierra Leone) Michel Gondry has become something of an underground sensation. He created effects that would eventually be used in high profile films such as The Matrix, and was the first to use morphing technics in a video clip. Put him together with rap phenom, as well as Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Mos Def and rock star/ comedian Jack Black and what do you get?...

A great and heartfelt movie that's a love letter to film, an ode to the classic DIY spirit, and a reminder of the importance of history and the ability to change it and make it our own.... Written by Michel Gondry based on an idea he got from directing Dave Chappelle's Bloc Party, Be Kind Rewind is a movie that mixes heart with comedy in a fashion that never seems schmaltzy and is very original. And the atmosphere of the movie is infectious, as the duo begin inviting others to help in making the "Sweded" videos you feel drawn in as if you're part of the process. This movie has also sparked something of a revolution, look up Sweded on Youtube and you can find other people Sweded versions of movie and movie trailers.

With actors like Danny Glover and Jack Black you expect a mixture of good acting and well played out comedy in this movie, and in casting Mos Def and Jack Black the casting directors definitely made the right choice. Jack Black is of course Jack Black, which doesn't always work in every role he plays, but here he understates slightly, dialing down his tendencies to overact on occasion. Mos Def, as always, proves masterful playing the straight man to Jack Black's crazy, perfectly filling out the bromance. Of course, you can never count out Danny Glover who is the most tortured soul in the movie as a man set in his ways realizing that he has to change with the times if he wants to keep his business, and he greatly excels at making you feel and understand the emotions of the character.

If the movie fails in one thing, it's at the very beginning. The set up for the grand scheme of the plot is not very well thought out, and a little awkwardly executed. While on paper the idea of Jack Black's character becoming magnetized and demagnetizing every movie in a video store looks great on paper (and does make for a few hilariously great slapstick moments), the execution of him becoming magnetized is even a little too quirky for this quirky comedy and throws off the pacing for a few moments near the early parts of the movie. Gondry quickly gets back on track though, but at the same time the movie feels a little cramped with everything he's trying to throw at you. The movie is filled with a lot of great ideas, and at times it can feel a little cramped with everything that's been put in there.

All in all, I would highly recommend the movie, and this is definitely a movie that takes more than one viewing to fully appreciate it. At a time when everything being cranked out of Hollywood is either a remake, adaptation, or a sequel this ode to originality is definitely a breath of fresh air.

4/5 Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Come on... June 7, 2009

By Kinich Gatsky

Format:DVD

I've never seen a movie where the reviewers don't realise they are talking about themselves as much as the movie... Watch it and see which group you fit into, ie whether you have any affection for the world around you, or whether you evince your misanthropy with prolonged gurgling criticisms on websites. At risk of sounding pugnacious, what's not to like about this film? When younger, I'd get together with some mates and make crap short movies. There was rarely a plot, never a script and it was the most fun I've ever had... especially the moments when by pure accident you'd stumble on some cheap but brilliant 'special' effect. And sometimes, the final product would surprise everyone. 'Be Kind Rewind' is about that fun and that surprise, which I think is unique to film as a collaborative medium. This film actually tries to show you something important... Contrast this to the majority of Hollywood's output, which boils down to narrative cliches in support of a marketable gimmick.

This may not be Gondry's best film whatever that means, but his integrity as a film maker is well intact and I don't think I've experienced such visual flair since Jacques Tati's Playtime.