Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102080011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: New York Times News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
In a weekly survey called Videoflash, the consulting firm Alexander & Associates tracks the tape renting and buying preferences of 2,000 households across the country.
At the outset of the war, with viewers locked into TV news reports, rentals fell, only to rebound several days later.
"Actually, rentals went somewhat higher than in weeks before the crisis," says Amy Innerfield, the general manager of Videoflash.
Though the survey doesn't show why, Innerfield says that the increased activity might reflect a need to escape.
Of particular interest is the country's choice of war films before and during the conflict.
From August through January, Videoflash tracked 10 titles and found that some older war movies like "Patton" (1970), with George C. Scott in his larger-than-life role as the World War II general, and "The Green Berets" (1968), with John Wayne laying waste to the Vietcong, rented more frequently than more recent films that depicted warfare less gloriously: "Platoon," "Casualties of War" and "Hamburger Hill" among them.
"Maybe people don't want the down side and are looking for the inspirational," Innerfield says.
by CNB