It’s easy to forget just how important the VHS revolution was not only to the way we watch movies, but how it brought (largely American) culture to places around the world in a new and contemporary way. Suddenly, storytelling boldly crossed borders, truly turning film into a global cinematic experience that wasn’t just relegated to the movie theater. It’s with those themes that "Chuck Norris Vs. Communism" unfolds, and with a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival around the corner, we have an exclusive clip.
Produced by Brett Ratner and Mara Adina and executive-produced by John Battsek, and directed by Ilinca Calugareanu, the film chronicles how the age of VHS brought the outside world into 1980s Romania. The story centers on Irina Nistor, who dubbed thousands of blockbusters, provided by a mysterious source, while keeping her activities hidden from the secret police. It’s thanks to her secret screenings that Romanians got a taste of what freedom was like. But as you’ll see in this clip, sometimes those glimpses of the outside world could be shocking, particularly when it’s through a movie like "Last Tango In Paris."
"Chuck Norris Vs. Communism" has its first screening at Sundance on Friday, January 23rd at 8:30pm at Prospector Square Theatre. Watch below.