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Home Movies That Take Your Breath Away

An old friend, one I have not seen nor spoken with in 17 years, just sent me an email. I am not one who enjoys small talk or catching up with people’s lives through direct questioning (So, what have you been up to?), so I was pleased to find he was only indulging me in a bit of nostalgia.

Quite simply, and as informally as if we had just spoken some days before, he asked, “remember Hamenhoff’s List? :) I hope so”

At first, my thought was no, but upon reflection, I had vague recollections of a movie we made using his parents’ VHS camcorder. Only two parts of filming came to mind, but the general WWII theme involved a Rambo-Jew inflicting vengeance against the Nazis.

Violence was of course the main attraction for us boys. 9-year olds tend to not pander to those of high-brow wit, but we were certainly creative with our craft. Blood was obviously a necessary prop, so we used a combination of food coloring and a bit of Hersey’s syrup to capture the effect.

Playing the part of the Rambo-Jew, I laid upon the bathroom floor, camera angled upward from next to me. Within the shot, one could see the shower head as to mimic a gas chamber. Stepping into frame was my friend, playing every other part in the movie. His role in this scene was that of a Nazi soldier, standing over my body to laugh at my demise. He was unaware that I had survived, and I kicked my leg up and into his groin before escaping out the door.

Following the filming process, we dubbed over the action with dialogue and sound effects. My friend held the microphone in one hand while I clapped mine together at the exact moment of impact during this pivotal scene. At the last minute, he thought to open and slam the cabinet door of the entertainment center. The timing on the loud CRACK! could not have been more perfect, and the replay result left us gasping for air after a long bout of laughter.