A DC Comics Adaptation Was The Last Movie To Be Released On VHS

For all the youngsters who were born after VCRs (one of those ’80s gadgets we can’t help but love), the joys and pains of using VHS tapes remain an unknown experience. For the rest of us, video cassettes encapsulate a precious and priceless time replete with the kind of nostalgia that money can’t buy — even just the sounds they make bring back the glory days. Whether we’re talking original VHS releases, bootlegs, or the thousands of video rental stores worldwide that redefined the culture of movie watching, those times (starting in the mid-’70s and ending around the mid-aughts) were truly something to behold and cherish. If it weren’t for VHS and Blockbuster Video, many of us with a deep-seated love for films and TV shows probably wouldn’t be where we are today. 

But every good thing has to come to an end eventually, and that point for the VHS arrived in earnest in 2006. With DVDs taking over the market in rapid fashion, the last major Hollywood film to get a VHS release was David Cronenberg’s classic, “A History of Violence,” on March 14, 2006. The 2005 action-thriller was an adaptation of John Wagner and Vince Locke’s DC graphic novel of the same name, starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt. It’s a rather fitting film — being R-rated and uncompromisingly brutal — to close the curtain on the era of the VHS.

“A History of Violence” follows restaurant owner Tom Stall and his family in small-town Indiana. Tom quickly becomes the talk of the town when two would-be robbers walk into his diner and threaten to kill him and his employees. Tom tries to handle the situation calmly, but as things escalate, he has no choice but to act on instinct. In quick succession, he attacks the two men, grabs one of their pistols, and shoots them dead. As the news spreads, a mysterious man from his past soon visits Tom and his unsuspecting family. We learn that Tom’s real name is Joey Cusack and that he used to be a hitman for the Philadelphia mob. From then on, history catches up with the protagonist, and he needs to face the life he thought he left behind.

Although the film’s straightforward premise differs from Cronenberg’s unique body horrors (like “The Fly,” which is based on a mind-bending short story) that he became famous for, his trademark directing style remains intact. Explicit brutality and gore are very much present, with a precise focus on violence and its immediate implications on the lives of innocents. The performances from the terrific cast are sublime — particularly Ed Harris as a vile mobster and William Hurt as a Philly crime boss — and the unfolding of Tom’s past is captivating from the get-go.

So it’s no wonder that “A History of Violence” scored two Oscar nominations in 2006, in addition to being praised by critics and heralded as one of the stone-cold classics of the aughts. It was a box office success, making $61 million on a $32 million budget. It’s the kind of film that feels built to last, which makes it oddly fitting that it hit VHS right as the tape era was winding down.