This is wayyy off topic, and granted I didn't spend any time researching the OT rules so if this is too far OT well then, enjoy it while it lasts..

We were really shortsighted when we stopped spending money at video rental stores. Online streaming has failed us.

I could pretty much find almost anything I wanted at our local Blockbuster, even the weird stuff. In the past two weeks I have now counted ten (10) popular, well-known classic films that are completely unavailable to stream anywhere due to whatever licensing agreements have fallen through or whatever. Yeah, you had to get in your car or grab a bus to hit the Blockbuster, but you could find what you wanted.

Libraries do carry some of these, but they're not Scarecrow, or Rain City, or Ave B, or Blockbuster. And purchasing each item gets to be a bit much



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-10-07 04:44 by snoopy2.

The most difficult problem is keeping the VCR running.

Those bastards charged me a few times for not rewinding!!

Ah, you guys are thinking old-old school.. Think dvds.. But if your shops were really that old I could put you in touch with my friends dad who has a garage full of unboxed VCRs just in case they were to ever stop making 'em he says

Yeah nearly everything on Netflix
is morbid .... It was a full on struggle
to even get thru the trailer of that Ratched thingo ....



ROCKMAN

Yeah, I really miss the local video store ...

Sometimes I just grab a few things at the thrift store for like $2 each and then donate back when I am done.

I agree that I just wish they existed. I get why they went out, but I cherish my days with my brother as a kid going to Blockbuster. Its something I tell my friends our kids will never have. Each week, if we were good, my dad would take my brother to Blockbuster to rent a new video game. It was great because video games are damn expensive so its great to be able to try them out before committing. It was also fun to get to do something different each week, same with trying out new movies. Walking around the perimeter of the store and finding what was new. Sometimes one movie would get a whole wall with like 40 copies. Then the aisles which, as you say, had everything in between. Then the other local video store we had which had the Batman Animated Series videos that we used to rent, or off the wall shit like Plan 9 From Outer Space. I definitely think something is missed from those stores. Redbox and the streaming services aren't the same. Honestly, its why I still have iTunes too. Streaming is too unreliable. Shit can disappear whenever. I prefer to actually own something or have a file or whatever. And the car rides to Blockbuster were fun. What we'd do to get out of the house now!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-10-08 19:51 by RollingFreak.

Yeah.. miss the old brick and mortars.

Streaming, whether it be movies or now even reg. tele programing does seem to be here to stay.
Loved some of the stores you mention (Scarecrow, Rain City) and found classics there you couldn't find anywhere.
Ever catch what I believe was Pacino's first role, Panic In Needle Park? Worth seeking out, and Scarecrow had it.

I still watch dvd's -- I can get a fair lot from the Brooklyn Public Library system and occasionally buy some off eBay for a couple of bucks. Have digital rabbit ears on my TV -- right now watching a PBS special on Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" LP. Quite good. I don't have the time to have all that streaming dumped into my apartment.