The Death of Video Rental Stores

Are people renting them on VHS??

I'd say the proliferation of the internet leads to more access to rare films than in anytime in prior history. Not always legal situations, but available.

The widespread adoption of streaming and on-demand removes virtually all barriers to enjoying a movie of interest. No driving to the store to find the only copy rented out, no fretting over late fees, etc. DVDs are just 1's and 0's. Billions of 1's and 0's already stream into your house everyday, might as well send a movie along with it to enjoy.

Just last night, I read an article that the documentary Senna was finally available via Netflix HD Instant streaming. My wife agreed to sit down for a couple of hours to watch, so within 60 seconds we were watching the movie. It's not on DVD, it only came to the theaters for a few days, and who knows how long I'd have to wait for it when Netflix/Blockbuster gets an actual physical disc. It was a great movie that we both enjoyed, and we didn't need a video store to help facilitate the experience.

R.I.P. video store.....

 

DVDs, CDs, and books are all priced too high for the average person on a budget, especially these days. Thank goodness for public libraries. It's no wonder the physical media companies are in trouble. There are lots of movies I'd buy for $5, but at $15-$20 each I won't buy any.

 

All of my local stores closed as well. The same thing with record stores is now happening to video thanks to the shift to digital. It seems to me there is a market for a Netflix style online service that rents obscure and hard to find movies through the mail.

 

Maybe the removal of special features from rental discs is also adding to the death of videos stores. May as well just wait for the streaming version of the movie if the disc version has had all the bonuses deleted.

 

At the store I cite, about 20% of their inventory is VHS. Mostly foreign, genre, or obscure films that don't have a distributor. Who knows if the rights holders even know they own the film... or care.

 

I watch a mix of streaming from Amazon/Netflix and store rentals. I'm still wondering why I spent so much money on DVDs I'm likely to only watch once.

 

Er...what the hell show was that!? I remember Stern having a show on the E! network back in the late '90s, but that certainly wouldn't have ever flown there...

 

Not a staff member per se. This was High-Pitch Eric, a "wack pack" fan, participating in an execratory stunt in late 2005, recorded as a documentary (and a contest). Not one of the high points in the history of the show. And I think it was preserved on video for the Howard TV video-on-demand channel.

 

I'm more worried about the ones that haven't seen "Ace in the Hole". Which sadly I'll bet is most of them.

 

Back in 1998, I went to Eddie Brants' in the Valley in Los Angeles to get some Laurel and Hardy videos. I asked the women behind the counter when she was going to have a website.
She replied, "Over my dead body"
Looked today and looks like she's still alive..
http://www.ebsmvideo.com/

 

Man, Billy Wilder's films are way high on the list of films I think young movie makers should watch. It's sad how many of those films still aren't out on home video...

 

Had to pay a monthly/annual subscription...they videotaped during broadcasts. Under those circumstances, there was full nudity, and boundaries were obviously stretched.

 

Yes it was a staff member. The goof ball with the beard...that was always putting his foot in his mouth. You're talking about a completely different scenario than what I saw.

 

Catch Warner Archives when they run thier sales. They just had a sale last week - Titles were $10 a pop and free shipping - I bought 13 of them!

 

Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies. The profs should use TCM for homework assignments.

 

This reminds me of a recent quote from Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO:

"There's this idea of, 'It's the Internet, it's everything!'" Hastings said. "Because when you go to Amazon, you get to choose among all the books. When you go to Expedia, you get to choose all the travel."

But the problem for Netflix, he said, "is that in streaming, we're a cable network from a rights standpoint."

His point was that we shouldn't expect to be able to find "everything" on Netflix. In fact, their title count seems to be going down. At least the quality titles. Sadly, Vidiot, this reinforces your point.

If Netflix has given up being in the "everything" business and the deep catalog / obscure film shops close, there may be many titles that simply will not be available.

 

TCM is such a great channel -- one of the handful of reasons why I still pay for cable TV.

 

At the end of this month the last remaining video store in walking distance to my apartment will now also close down. Very sad. I usually rented two BDs over the weekend for just 3€. As I moved to Nuernberg there where still five video stores all around my place. But almost each year one of them closed down and now the last one will be gone very soon. What a shame...

 

Come on down to the Dinosaur Dracula Video Store!

http://dinosaurdracula.com/blog/video-store/

 

Video Paradiso in Claremont, CA (next door to Rhino Records) has a great selection of film, TV shows, etc. I hope they both stay open. They're the closest thing to Vidiots and Aron's Records the area has.

 

We're down to Redboxes where I live.

 

Redbox and DVDExpress machines here. However, there is Video Droid, which stocks lots of foreign, obscure, anime as well as latest releases, and Joe Video which is a major chain (2 stores) here in town.

 

Last minute save for another iconic video store:

After 30 Years, Beloved Video Store Vidiots Is Saying Goodbye

http://laist.com/2015/01/26/vidiots_closing.php

Megan Ellison Saves Santa Monica's Vidiots From Closure

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/megan-ellison-saves-santa-monicas-768735

 

I used to love video stores back in the 80s. They had great cheezy low budget horror movies and party movies. Remember Hardbodies?

 

I was driving past what used to be a Blockbuster video store recently and felt kind of sad. I used to love to peruse through this store to pick out a movie, just another thing we can thank the advent of the internet for...