Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

Sasabe Kiyoshi’s debut Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS, tells the story of JVC’s journey to create an affordable home video system in the 1970s, emphasising the dignity, decency, and the ordinariness of the engineers behind VHS, making it a heartfelt tribute to the medium’s impact. A rare gem!

JVC (Japan Victor Company) had been a powerhouse in the development of consumer electronics since the mid-1950s. In the early 1970s, though, JVC fell behind Sony in the development of home video equipment. A team of engineers took on the challenge to create a reliable and affordable home video system. While Sasabe Kiyoshi’s debut feature Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS is based on a finely researched piece of journalism about the birth of VHS, the film does take liberties with history – names and chronologies are changed, which is fine, as Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS is not so much about technological advances, but about dignity and decency as exemplified by an elderly engineer only a few years away from retirement – the most ordinary of workers. This man knows what the masses want and need, for he’s one of them. Which is to say that Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS is not so much a history lesson but a paean to VHS as a people’s medium. A small treasure!

– Olaf Möller

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