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Oct 30, 2023 · In this guide, we‘ll take a trip down memory lane and explore some of the top video rental chains, regional stores, and indie shops that existed before online streaming took over the world. Get ready for a healthy dose of nostalgia!
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Many video rental stores also sell previously viewed movies and/or new, unopened movies. In the 1980s, video rental stores rented VHS and Betamax tapes of movies, although most stores dropped Betamax tapes when VHS won the format war late in the decade.
Video rental stores began popping up all over the globe in the early 1980s, fueled by the growing adoption of VCRs. Renting movies became a convenient and affordable alternative to buying tapes, which were initially quite expensive.
- Blockbuster Video
- Bridgeport Video
- Hollywood Video
- Showtime Video
- Hastings
- Spar Grocery
- Cross Town Video
- Odyssey Video
- Civic Video
Fort Worth, Texas
“One time I was with my brother, my uncle, and my two rowdy cousins. We were at one of the Dallas-Fort Worth locations in mid-cities, for god knows what reason. It had to have been spring of 1990 (so myself, my brother, and the cousins were all like ages 10 to 13), because the film Prancer had just come out on video recently. I know this because the film’s theatrical release was November of ‘89 and those movies took AT LEAST three to six months to make it to video, which sounds insane now. An...
Bridgeport, Pennsylvania
“I must’ve been 7 or 8 years old, an only child and a latchkey kid. We were pretty poor and the only apartment we could find in a small Pennsylvania town was above a video store, the small, mom-and-pop kind that were all too common in the mid-’80s. My mom worked nights and my dad, well, he was never really around. I’m not sure if it was part of the rental agreement or the owner being very kind, but we were allowed to rent two free videos every day (as long as they weren’t from the new release...
Lubbock, Texas
“Perusing the horror racks and staring in awe at the amazing cover work from ’80s & ’90s B–horror movies was by far the best version of sneaking a peek at something that I seemed too young for.” — Pam, Austin, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
“I was 11 years old. My mother brought me into the store, by my neck, videos in hand, raging. She threw the DVDs on the counter and started screaming at the clerk. I was so embarrassed. (I had rented Mondo Magic and Shocking Asia, some late-’70s/early-’80s documentaries about the occult and taboo in other countries. They were chock full of nudity and sex, which of course I knew about—that’s why I rented the f*cking things! My friend said nobody would know because ‘it’s about culture, dude!’ H...
Boise, Idaho
“I liked how I could go in and just browse, and no one pressured me to buy anything. It did feel like a community in a sense. The last time I was in Boise, my hometown, they were filling for bankruptcy protection. I hope they’re okay. It’s less one specific thing or time that I was there, and more the fact that they were there, period. They were the perfect escape for me growing up, and there really isn’t anything like it today.” — Nic Schweitzer, Boston, Massachusetts
Melbourn, United Kingdom
“My village had a couple of video stores, but by far the most useful was the selection in the local branch of the Spar grocery chain. For some reason, the video selection was packed with excellent horror films, from Prince of Darkness to Return of the Living Dead. I’m guessing someone at head office had left choosing the films to their teenage kid. Also, the shop assistants were entirely elderly ladies, who were clueless about VCR technology full-stop, let alone film certification. So as a yo...
Newton, New Jersey
“I worked there in high school, Clerks-style. There was a little room in the back where the owner used to let her baby nap, but I was famous (and popular) in high school because I let lots of the skater kids who hung out in the parking lot watch R-rated movies back there. Conveniently enough, there was also an exit to a back alley that was perfect for smoking weed.” — Terri Bennett, Brooklyn, New York
Marina Del Rey, California
“I loved the thrill of discovering some obscure film by chance and the smell of freshly made popcorn. I also enjoyed the excellent selection of B-movie horror films of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s that seem to have been lost somewhere in time like Ghoulies, Troll, The Gate, Terror Train, and many more.” — David Henry, Los Angeles, California
North Dunedin
“I worked as a video store clerk for several years during the early 2000s, when I was a university student. They were the most wonderful of times! I met the man who would end up being my partner of 12 years (and counting) there. I walked in on my first day, and there he was, wearing a Clockwork Oranget-shirt, curly hair, and his Scottish sense of humour! We worked the Saturday night shift together. We were both film students and on the screen behind the counter we’d play our favourite films....
- Eric Grundhauser
Nov 5, 2019 · In the late 1990s, DVDs began appearing in video rental stores. The widespread availability of video on demand (VOD) on cable TV systems and VHS-by-mail services offered consumers a way of watching movies without having to leave their home.
Dec 7, 2012 · Thankfully, Toronto still hosts a hive of reliable rental stores who managed to bottle some of that early rental store lightning: The Film Buff, Queen Street Video, Suspect, Bay Street...
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Sep 18, 2023 · The most popular video stores in the 90s were Blockbuster Video, Movie Gallery, and Hollywood Video. Other favorites included Family Video and West Coast Video, with Video Ezy (Australia), Xtra-vision (Ireland), and a number of independent stores with regional operations.
