Awesome Movies You Can Still Find Only on VHS

Most major movies made the transition to DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services long ago. But some worthy classics remain available exclusively on VHS, trapped seemingly forever by licensing issues.

Here are the best movies you can get only on VHS…

‘Song of the South’

The most infamous movie to never get past the VHS era, “Song of the South” is one film Disney would rather you forget exists.

The movie was Walt Disney’s attempt to make a serious film akin to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and its central themes of racial tension in the American South are not handled with any degree of subtlety.

While the film is inadvertently really awkward and racist, it’s a fascinating relic that shows a side of Disney’s history that the company tries to keep hidden.

‘Let It Be’

“Let It Be” is a 1970 documentary about the Beatles. It was the band’s last gasp on film before their breakup. It even features the iconic rooftop concert that was their final public performance. But “Let It Be” has only ever been released on VHS, Betamax and laserdisc.

And fans have always complained about the quality of those prints. But there’s hope: Paul McCartney has suggested that 2020 might see a long-awaited HD rerelease.

‘Rad’

Simply entitled “Rad,” this 1986 cult classic is mostly about teenagers doing BMX bike tricks. The usual legal wranglings over the movie have kept it away from a DVD release, meaning its most ardent fans are still swapping VHS copies of the film (or simply watching pirated versions because, let’s face it, sometimes that’s easier).

‘The Godfather Saga’

Of course “The Godfather” made it to DVD and Blu-Ray and streaming. But “The Godfather Saga” is something different, an alternate cut of the first two “Godfather” films with an scenes presented in chronological order with deleted scenes added. This version was made specifically for TV.

While the theatrical cuts of all “Godfather” movies have been rereleased over and over, “The Godfather Saga” came to VHS but was promptly forgotten about by everyone who has ever been in a position to rerelease it, save for a second broadcast on AMC in 2012.