Does anybody else miss renting?

[Bushma]

What I miss is being able to goto the store physically inspect the videos I'm looking at. There was something about the cover art, the descriptions, and that moment when you've picked something out and are leaving when you see something else on the way out. I've seen some fun videos just because I happened to walk by and the cover art caught my eye.

[Lyedecker]

I discovered such bombs as 'Time Runner' through renting.

[Robot Ears]

I remember being a little kid in the 90s obsessed with horror, going to the video store with intent to rent a horror film that my parents would rent for me once I'd pick one out. I always marveled at the illustrated cover art of the vhs tapes, and wondering how the artwork matched the film itself. This was the 90s so a lot of 80s films were still laying around everywhere. I always saw these films as being so mature, and the cover art as being so mysterious and creepy. I made a few bad choices and rented some snooze-fests. But I also rented some awesome films too. I loved renting films in the 90s. Do I *miss* it in actuality? Not...really. Because finding old films these days streaming online or buying offline is more straightforward and so much easier. Nowadays I love to find and sift through old films with the help of the internet, rather than taking a shot in the dark. So I guess I miss the intrigue I had as a kid, but I enjoy the more straightforward investigative method that the internet allows of us today. 

[Trevor]

South Africa doesn't have anything like Netflix as yet so I either rent or take the plunge and buy. If I rent the movie and like it enough, I will buy it. Otherwise - as in the case of The Last Stand - it is a shot in the dark I take to buy but the film was worth it.

Sadly a lot of the once flourishing home video stores here in Pretoria have shut their doors. 

[Lyedecker]

Sadly a lot of the once flourishing home video stores here in Pretoria have shut their doors. 

that is a shame.

[Kooshmeister]

Yeah, I do. I miss going into Blockbuster.

[Mofo Rising]

What I miss is the Mom & Pop stores. I used to go to a place that had a two-for-Tuesday deal, and the stuff they had was bonkers. VHS still has many, many films that are not available on DVD or streaming to this day. The Mom & Pop shops had the weird stuff.

Then Blockbuster came along and killed all of that. f**k that company, I'm glad they're dead.

Now, I vastly prefer being able to find the stuff I'm looking for, but I would not be the person I am today if I hadn't spent hours at my local rental place looking for oddities. I did the same thing with comic stores.

I don't miss renting, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my hours of searching for good movies didn't shape my personality.

[zombie no.one]

my old flat where I lived for most of my 20's actually backed on to a blockbuster store. sounds good, but they always had the worst selection ever. I'm not that picky, but they never had anything remotely interesting, just piles and piles of lame rom-coms and boring action flicks. the number of times I'd go in there out of sheer boredom looking for anything and coming out empty handed...lame.  

I haven't converted to the digital age at all in that respect. I've never downloaded a movie, and I don't even know what Netflix really is. I mainly watch movies on youtube now. it's surprising how many completely random/obscure ones are on there in full. occasionally I'll take a punt on a cheap DVD on amazon.

[claws]

my old flat where I lived for most of my 20's actually backed on to a blockbuster store. sounds good, but they always had the worst selection ever. I'm not that picky, but they never had anything remotely interesting, just piles and piles of lame rom-coms and boring action flicks. the number of times I'd go in there out of sheer boredom looking for anything and coming out empty handed...lame.  

Wow. I don't think I ever left a video rental store empty handed. But then again, I've never been to a Blockbuster store either.

[zombie no.one]

you didn't miss much tbh...some had better selections than others but you'd never find for example a 70s giallo or anything even approaching 'arthouse'  - from my experience of browsing in them anyway.

guess there was a clue in the name 'blockbuster' really... mainstream all the way. I think coen bros or david lynch was about as obscure as they got

[Umaril Has Returned]

Do I miss renting? Yes.  Do I miss the late fees? NO..

[Couchtr26]

you didn't miss much tbh...some had better selections than others but you'd never find for example a 70s giallo or anything even approaching 'arthouse'  - from my experience of browsing in them anyway.

guess there was a clue in the name 'blockbuster' really... mainstream all the way. I think coen bros or david lynch was about as obscure as they got

That was one of the things I disliked about Blockbuster.  You had an easier time getting the latest thing but not much in old selection.  I used to rent quite a bit from Hollywood for that reason.  I mean I couldn't find all the movies I wanted but at least things were available enough to an extent you could find it.  For instance, got into the Clint Eastwood westerns later in life couldn't find them in Blockbuster but could at Hollywood.  That isn't a huge stretch but I could at least find it there when Blockbuster didn't have it. 

[Umaril Has Returned]

you didn't miss much tbh...some had better selections than others but you'd never find for example a 70s giallo or anything even approaching 'arthouse'  - from my experience of browsing in them anyway.

guess there was a clue in the name 'blockbuster' really... mainstream all the way. I think coen bros or david lynch was about as obscure as they got

That was one of the things I disliked about Blockbuster.  You had an easier time getting the latest thing but not much in old selection.  I used to rent quite a bit from Hollywood for that reason.  I mean I couldn't find all the movies I wanted but at least things were available enough to an extent you could find it.  For instance, got into the Clint Eastwood westerns later in life couldn't find them in Blockbuster but could at Hollywood.  That isn't a huge stretch but I could at least find it there when Blockbuster didn't have it. 

The Blockbuster in my area had real a***oles working behind the counter, and a district manager that covered for their abusive treatment of customers.  And get this...they had Fulci's Zombie without a youth-restricted sticker on it. I got that changed after enough complaints, (seeing the movie and knowing it's NOT kid-friendly) and one of their employees took a real attitude with me after that. So as far as Blockbuster goes, I have no use for them.

[Josso]

One of the shops in my town used to be a video store since it's just sold pointless consumables for the middle class (under different owners)

[Lyedecker]

I think coen bros or david lynch was about as obscure as they got

haha true. I love the Coen Bros but I always think of them as a name drop for people who know nothing about indie film but want to show off some street cred.