"Though I'm no particular fan of VHS, I find certain aspects of technological paths frightening, as studios seem to want to push media that can only be viewed with their "permission". Fifty years ago, if you bought a movie you could watch it whenever you wanted and, if you kept in a cool dry place, your descendents would be able to watch it 50 years later."
What format pray tell were you buying movies on 50 years ago?
Regular 8mm. Many short subject films were released in 8mm format, generally with intertitles added to make up for the lack of sound. I have some films from that era (from a friend--I'm not that old) and they still run more or less fine (they'd run better if my friend hadn't done some horribly bizarre efforts at splicing).