The Complicated History of Renting Movies

[@kenzfrenz]

An additional piece of movie rental history is that my parents owned an independent video store. They had it for several years. And then a blockbuster opened up across the street and killed their business. My parents threw an actual party when Blockbuster went out of business.

[@TheZeroNeonix]

So this is how democracy ends, with thunderous applause. Nah, but seriously. Blockbuster choking out small businesses was a crappy thing for them to do, but their death as a company signaled the death of movie rentals entirely. It was one more step towards a few corrupt companies holding all the power of production and distribution. This pattern won't stop until ALL have become Disney+. Or until the government finally steps back in and starts breaking up monopolies again.

[@bjornelkuf9306]

Y'all should make that a tradition

[@DudeNamedDude1776]

Did you celebrate by watch a movie that was sent to from Netflix? Fuck blockbuster

[@peachings42069]

Holy shit. My family also owned an indie video rental store in the late 1990s and we went out of business when a Hollywood Video opened up down the street. (': My parents still have a sizeable VHS collection.

[@kinocorner976]

And just like that, blockbuster survives in spite.

[@redvelvetdoll]

GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!!!! YOU CAN LOOK THRU SHELVES AS IF YOU WERE STILL AT FAMILY VIDEO!!!!!!!

[@bradleyh7582]

I want to do this with my kids, but I will have to be intentional because streaming is too darn convenient even if I have to pay the three bucks for renting it.

[@EE-sw3uh]

stop yelling im gonna cry 🥺

[@babayaga20000]

that is a weird way of spelling "pirate it"

[@redvelvetdoll]

@@babayaga20000 dont get me wrong i do love pirating but part of this video was talking about helping support movies/TV that you want to see and a great way to do that is checking out the dvd/bluray at your local library! Checking it out means that your library/county system knows its popular and will buy more copies to keep up with demand/therefore supporting what you love💕

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

Not a lot of things even play those anymore though. Many things don’t include disc drives anymore. I guess if you have a disc drive version of a console, but that’s it.

[@bbrake]

There was this sweet spot in the early 2010's, where almost everything was on Netflix and rental stores still existed but could tell they were on their last breaths so movies were really cheap to rent.

[@sammiekino]

that was the best era fr

[@johnindigo5477]

Kinda. I remember netflix being like tubi. A weird mix of everything but nothing you specifically searched for

[@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper]

In 2012 I got Avatar there

[@SneakyG59]

The sweet spot was right when Netflix was transitioning to streaming/still doing movies delivered to your house via DVDs. Redbox hung around for awhile after that as well. (Pretty sure Redbox exists still?) But not near me anymore

[@joetheoriginalclark]

​@@SneakyG59Redbox is basically dead, expect to see the kiosks disappear in the next year or so. I semi frequently check Redbox and the newest movie for a long time now has been the Barbie movie and from what I've seen online that seems to be the case everywhere. Also a lot of the movies at Redbox can be purchased for really cheap ($4 for a Blu-ray) which is cool but it's a sign they are just trying to get rid of their stock before they shut down.

[@adamwendt8972]

I spent three hours tonight watching random KZbin videos instead of watching a movie. That’s another huge cultural shift you didn’t talk about.

[@funlilguy]

wasnt what the video was about

[@jeebs1298]

Same, more often than not actuallly.

[@HECKATE]

​@@funlilguythere's still plenty of mentions of TV and how that shaped the landscape of movie rentals. Independent videos on the internet has similar shaped things as well.

[@LydiAtheistLady]

I like only watch KZbin. Occasionally some tv.

[@caleblucas3206]

I do this basically everynight lol 😅

[@Haunted_Plush]

My dad does this thing where he rents dvds from the library, redbox, anywhere he can. Then he copies them onto a hard drive so we can watch them any time we want, we don't even need an internet connection. Plus you can copy from one hard drive to another so you can give your movie collection to your friends and family. It's helped him a ton when he's been deployed on submarines with nothing to do. He's been doing this for years and now we have THOUSANDS of movies and shows. It's a great system

[@fmg_draws]

My dad used to do this, too! We still have multiple hard drives with movies and whenever I can’t find what I want to watch on a streaming service, I look there and find it most of the time. Especially with older movies and stuff that only came out here in Germany it’s probably the only way to still easily watch it. We’ve also lent out hard drives to friends, it’s so convenient. Unfortunately, he stopped doing it since streaming services became more popular and we stopped going to the library so often. I should probably start that tradition up again, it’s really great

[@carlamoss89]

lol we used to do this to EVERYTHING back in the day. just stacks and folders full of CD roms.

[@unknownwriter2114]

I like his system.

[@SketchingPandaRen]

You probably shouldn't put that out there as that is literately what the FBI warning at the beginning of movies is about lol.

[@Haunted_Plush]

@SketchingPandaRen he doesn't sell them or make hundreds of hard drives to give out, there's less than a dozen at this point. Don't think it's that much of a big deal tbh

[@max10dler]

Never been a more relevant video. Just tried to rent a movie on KZbin to show for an end-of-year party to my students. When I tried projecting it, KZbin automatically *turned the screen white* until I stopped sharing it. I paid for the movie and couldn’t even play it for the class.

[@Mythikal13]

Lots of sites have dumb DRM blocking like that. A fix you could try is turning off hardware acceleration in your browser. I know at least for chrome that can work, at least fixes screensharing Disney, Netflix, etc on discord. I know that's not a projector, but it could work? The kids deserve a movie lol

[@BLET_55artem55]

Sorry, but "Buying a movie on YT" is the most awfully lawful looser thing I've heard

[@TM-tl6do]

@@BLET_55artem55. Really? I thought it was kinda tighter

[@toamastar]

"umm actually you rented that movie for personal use and not to screen to a room full of children soooo...."

[@MovieShuvies]

@@BLET_55artem55 okay buddy

[@Tika_24]

we had a movie store by my house and we would go so often that we knew the owner, and he would give us the movie posters when they became outdated. we would go in and just say "I want....." and he would have a recommendation every time that was always so perfect. we ended up having like an account, and us kids would go in and he would let us rent movies without paying and when our parents went in they would just pay the tab. It was honestly the best part of my childhood. when movies went out of "style" I guess, he always told my dad first so we could buy them off him, and our movie collection got huge. honestly the freaking best. I really miss our video store.

[@shannonceleste5557]

Awh I hope movie store guy is thriving rn (as well as you and your fam!) 🤗

[@OsloTime]

This was so heartwarming to read! ☺️❤📼

[@arostwocents]

That's so awesome

[@mollyjasinski7525]

that clip of the Disney vault commercial just unlocked a DEEP childhood memory of watching some Disney VHS and seeing that commercial on the video before the actual movie and begging my parents to buy whatever movie was sentenced to the vault because the concept of the vault hurt my little 8-year-old brain. So that’s neat that Disney did that to countless kids and parents!

[@ellepalmer]

i was always so confused by the disney vault as a kid. i would be like “why do they say sleeping beauty is gone forever?” but i never cared because the movies i actually wanted were the ones we already had lol

[@bacla100]

Kids are an easy way to get in the parents' wallets.

[@expendableindigo9639]

Fun fact I think they were still doing this in like 2013.

[@JTYT0]

I remember seeing that and not caring about their stupid Disney vault

[@finnfin]

Not unlike current live service gmaes instilling fomo on kids at every conceivable turn.

[@crazywithak790]

Fun Fact: My mom bought 2 copies of every Disney VHS tape. One to watch and one to collect. So we've got 2 of every Disney vhs movie with half never opened, and yes we do have 2 copies of the Little Mermaid VHS with the "special" castle.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

That's forward thinking. I looked into a limited ed $300 Playboy 50th anniversary. Not to look at but save for as a investment. I looked into it & many Playboys even 2yr or 5yr old were worth $$$. Mainly the issues with celebs, well known models.

[@scj6693]

your mom’s a genius

[@andromedamnn]

@@DavidLLambertmobile sure it was an 'investment'

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

@andromedamnn The Playboys 1980s 1990s 2000s came pre wrap soooo You don't really see anything 🐰 . By the way- I had the first issue of the political magazine "George" with Cindy Crawford on the cover. That publication only ran 12-15yr.

[@Americanbadashh]

I never realized it until this video but we really did lose a community when movie rental places disappeared. Now I'm sad

[@expendableindigo9639]

Now think about theatres post-pandemic. Support them while you still can.

[@warmachine5835]

The systemic eradication of the Third Place.

[@askiadiepie8288]

Please talk about how the ads on KZbin have gotten much worse! They tripled the length of unskipable ads, going from a 5-10 second ad to 30 second unskipable ads almost every time. Plus the skipable ads are always over 90 seconds now, so I always have to have my remote nearby/charged, (I watch on PlayStation) so I can't just eat and watch or fall asleep to the vids because I have to skip an ad every few minutes. Compared to before where I could just wait out some of the 30 second skipable ads so that I could just leave my controller off. The worst part is they likely did not increase the ad revenue for creators even though viewers are seeing more and longer ads.

[@stretchmonster]

They want to make the ads so annoying that you'll get Premium.

[@rain2986]

I use my Xbox and I don't know if it's Xbox or YT that's doing it, but if the first commercial out of a batch ends at the same time the "skip ad in X seconds" counter goes to 0, the next ad auto-starts and the counter resets to make you wait at least 15 to 30 more seconds (sometimes without another chance to skip). It's like they're trying to trick you into watching more ads by pulling a bait-and-switch while you wait for the skip button to become clickable 😠

[@Oldass_Deadass_dumbass_channel]

You also get also significantly more on TV's or consoles. You can watch the same exact video on two different platforms and get different amounts of ads

[@askiadiepie8288]

@@rain2986Exactly and it's KZbin that happens on PlayStation and Roku TV too it's gotten to the point that I sometimes close the video and the open it over and over until they give me a 5 second ad or no ad. I can close and open the video 5 times and it would still be quicker than waiting out the 30 sec ads.

[@JoshuaStDenis]

It's funny because I used to be really annoyed when the old skippable 2 ads would come up and I'd miss the first skip and have to wait a couple seconds into the next one to skip it... How I wish to have that back 😂

[@Megasnoop]

I still appreciate that most movies come to theaters first before hitting streaming services, but that might be the last pillar left. Once theaters are gone, there's no more community to film enjoyment, and I fear that's where we're heading. Which is too bad because Movie Theater popcorn smacks.

[@WoodgemanX]

It's the artificial butter.

[@mystikbuttcrack4335]

I’m hopeful film fans will keep theaters open, and even optimistic with recent turnout for *good* movies bringing new life to the theaters. Maybe studios will see they can get a profit for good stories and movies that are well marketed. Then maybe they’ll stop churning out the same regurgitated stories, characters and settings.

[@twall91]

And the decades old layers of filth in the uncleaned popcorn machines! Not to mention the great new trend of having the option to get a special movie tie in popcorn bucket you can FFFFUUUCCCKKKK all the way until completion during the movie and get a refill and tell them, “oh! I don’t need the extra butter this time! I already put some of my own in there! 😉” 🤤

[@Megasnoop]

@@twall91That's the best part

[@harrisonlorens3585]

@@Megasnoop like did he really think we thought otherwise lmfao. we love butter flavored popcorn topping oil in this bitch.

[@nothingtoseehere93]

This is why people pirate. You don’t own your content unless it’s on your hard drive. If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing!

[@ivydowling75]

AYOOOO

[@junnybear957]

YESSS!!!!! it's these giant conglomerates who are the stealing profits from creators, not us

[@BlckSWANWhtRbbt]

You can also buy a physical copy, so all the people who worked on the movie can get paid.

[@The_JLav]

​@samanthanorton4538 Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to buy physical copies of new movies nowadays. But fortunately, by the time a movie actually comes out, basically all of the people who worked on it have already been paid! The money made from a movie goes into future movie budgets and into the pockets of executives. But even if the budget is limited for the next movie, the people who do the work will still be paid! There might just be fewer people working on it. But that's how the free market goes.

[@tenwholebees]

​@@The_JLavIf a company is loosing money due to piracy, then they should take a hard look as to why it's being pirated. Most people WANT to spend money and support things they like. Thing is, we don't like these services and companies because of how they try and do everything to squeeze as much money as possible rather than make things better for the audience or make good movies. Piracy is a statement more than anything, and if they're not going to hear the message that's loudly being told to them, I definitely don't feel bad. And if it gets to a point where they start to cut jobs and pay people less, then that company shouldn't be in business

[@DubsBrown]

Don’t forget with DVD came the extra content like commentary, deleted scenes, BTS, and shorts. That kinda stuff is few and far between on streaming.

[@MissMisnomer_]

God I miss DvDs. To this day my favorites in our collection, based entirely on how GOATED their extra content was, would be Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone, The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy), The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, and Jurassic Park 3. We would spend HOURS just watching all the behind the scenes and mini games they built into the disks.

[@joltjolt5060]

And games!

[@rachelbbq]

My college had its own movie theater that was free for students, played 3-5 movies per week, and all the movies were voted in by students. It was so much fun every week going to the movies with other people in my college community and meeting new friends! One of my favorite parts of college honestly and I miss the community so much. They had different movie slots, so they tried to play a good mix of indie, classic, blockbuster, etc. movies and they also did midnights which were always an event. I watched a lot of things I might have never picked out on my own, so it was a great way to find new movies!

[@WadeWilsonDP]

I remember that whole "Disney Vault" scam, every person I was friends with had all the movies on tape, there was never any sense of rarity or exclusivity. I've seen Aladdin so many times, I want to puke when I see parachute pants.

[@Yukosan13]

The one that had been rare was "the little mermaid," the original release had been pulled off shelves too soon.. and it took yrs to get another copy.. like the 2nd vhs release came out near the time of the dvd starting, so a whole new medium was replacing it.. but then it got several regular releases on dvd and bluray.. So it's alot easier to find them all now.. Only failed disney movies didn't get re-releases like "song of the south" basically stuff disney just wants you to forget.. thats the real rare stuff

[@WilliamLeeSims]

My local Blockbuster quick stocking Disney movies; if a title was in the vault, people just kept/stole the Blockbuster copy.

[@TheBronyBraeburn]

I came across 3 mint condition OG VHS tapes of Fantasia at a yard sale, complete with a sticker saying something along the lines of "will never be re-issued." The people running the sale looked embarrassed, like they thought the tapes would be worth a mint in the near future. I did not purchase.

[@opaljk4835]

@@Yukosan13 was it actually pulled off the shelves quickly? Everyone I knew growing up had that. I don’t think it’s actually rare, or they actually took it off the shelves. People didn’t really start talking about it en masse till they were already all sold, and we could all look at the penis cover like a family

[@angelinacamacho8575]

artificial scarcity has always been a practice when it comes to marketing anything. although now it may be hard to find a disney vhs tape that doesnt have a red tint to it due to over use.

[@ZavierG1]

I can't wait for Amazon prime to air drop me rainsinets and a tube of goo whenever I rent a movie

[@OneOfDisease]

raisinets I even googled it and it still looks misspelled.

[@missshai2005]

AMC Theatres just popped up on my UberEats today lol

[@austins.2495]

“rainsinets”

[@ecoKady]

Google piloted Wing, a drone delivery service partnered with Walgreens. It worked pretty well, though it was limited to 3 lbs and couldn't be used in inclement weather. But it was still really cool to have a candy bar and a 20 Oz Pepsi autonomously delivered to my backyard in 15 minutes.

[@emotonysoprano]

save me burback brothers…

[@damianporter942]

save me

[@damianporter942]

burback brothers save me

[@8orange]

i'm so drunk @ burbackbrothers........... burbacccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[@holapudrete]

literally...

[@harrylane4]

Save me white boys. White boys save me

[@kyoyameganebereznoff]

In-theater movie gimmicks are their own fascinating rabbit hole. The theater release of House on Haunted Hill (1959) included a gimmick called “Emergo” which featured a skeleton on strings flying across the theater.

[@eileenramirez476]

this is exactly why one of my main hobbies is physical media collection. Some of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was looking through a selection of DVDs and being able to look at the covers, the menus, the booklets and having an extensive DVD collection brings me back to that place. It's also so exciting to me when something has old ads, transports you to a different time

[@maxhalley4373]

Same. Even if you buy DVDs now a lot of them barely even have a menu. Most don't have special features. Older DVD releases are better but I have been starting my own personal collection of some of my favorites. My parents had and still have a large collection and I remember spending a lot of time reading the backs of ones I wasn't allowed to watch.

[@slippinndippin1421]

This i why Ive started collecting vinyl. It supports the artists and it’s just so fun to hold the album art in your hands and be physically involved in the listening experience

[@knofear8859]

That Netflix for Wii commercial gave me INTENSE whiplash, holy shit

[@sydney229]

I didn't recognize it at all until she went "seriously, what is it?" And then I had extremely vivid memories of walking around imitating her in her accent, to the point that I was told to stop😂

[@JuriAmari]

I still have the Netflix disc for my Wii on my shelf! That was a huge throwback

[@OsloTime]

I used to do that accent after seeing the commercial and imitate it so poorly! 😂😂😂​@@sydney229

[@ynkas5579]

god i miss life when you would see a wii / netflix ad on tv

[@ArsonEndurance]

My family watched Netflix on wii long after the wii was dead. We actually killed a wii or two only using it for Netflix

[@lylelylecrocodile2538]

One of my uncles has a Wii and it's basically just a Netflix machine

[@WeirdWimp]

@@lylelylecrocodile2538 but i thought netflix on wii was cancelled

[@hughphardid]

Great math Eddy! Awesome job 👍 Also want to remind everyone that your local library more than likely has hundreds of movies on DVD and Blu-Ray you can rent for free, and many libraries have gone fine free if youre a few days late. As long as you bring the movies back before maybe a month, youre fine. So if you miss the good ol days of Blockbuster, it's like that, but free.

[@SparklRebel]

I remember when I was little, my mum would take my little brother and me to the library to pick out a veggietales movie

[@repet-]

​@@SparklRebelI loved renting movies from the library and then going on Poptropica on the library computers that was awesome

[@evilandmaliciouswarwick]

a library was how i had finally been able to start watching the twilight zone (a show i love very much). we moved a lot and didn't have much money so it was hard to have a dvd collection, especially television shows. libraries are so nice for accessing media.

[@cesarionoexisto2848]

i think the problem with that is people just dont really have a way to watch dvds anymore.

[@annabelcunningham2848]

Also my library has streaming as well

[@rubberlover666]

Oh lord the arguments in the rental stores that would break out because your parents were only renting ONE movie so everyone had to agree!

[@AntGSuxatYoutube]

I'm so nostalgic for video rental stores. I was only with my dad on weekends and we would almost always go to blockbuster to rent movies and/or games. When I was a kid I always imagined taking my own kids to blockbuster cuz it was such a valuable bonding experience with my dad. My dad passed away almost two years ago now and while my brother and I were cleaning out his stuff I found his old blockbuster membership card... I've kept it in my wallet ever since.

[@WarGamerGirl]

Wow, what a great memory =)

[@leocoyote6579]

SQUEEBI is a kneeslapper enough on its own merit but goddamn the tagline of “sh!t you like in one spot” is absolutely bonkers

[@Dirt_McGirt_Osirus]

The one that only had Good Will Hunting was hilarious

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@Dirt_McGirt_Osirus Well, that's the sh!t I like.

[@TheAbbyNormal]

My wife and I periodically go to Goodwill and pick a movie out like its a rental night lol My mom managed a video store in a Kroger when i was little, and when i had to go in with her, she'd just park me in a corner and put on whatever i picked... Usually Kiki's Delivery Service or a Mary Kate and Ashley

[@ernie39]

that's such a fun idea!

[@lowlowseesee]

pizza!!! P I Z Z A

[@flacht_6]

Why do I find the Burback Boys’ videos so soothing, it just feels like going into your favorite Professor’s class teaching you about something they love

[@lowlowseesee]

they are fantastic and close. its a family business and its genuine. this is my firs one and i subbed at the point where they made the walmart family business joke. these guys are incredible lol

[@sunnypupbarks]

understanding what the disney vault ACTUALLY is now, a part of me understands why my grandmother nearly went into debt collecting VHS tapes...i get that this vault specifically is nonsense, but the threat of lost media is extremely real lol

[@punkrckr6889]

Part of me kinda misses my parents taking us to the video store on a friday night and getting a pizza to take home and eat while watching some random movie we picked out based exclusively on the box art. My sister and I would sometimes watch a movie over and over and over because we knew we only had a couple of days with it, which is the reason I still have almost the entirety of Treasure Planet word-for-word memorized to this day

[@TheyCallMeJelly]

If his moustache grows any more it's going to become sentient 🤣

[@sillysillylittl3rascal]

He's so kind for letting that caterpillar move onto his face

[@beastebeat4956]

I remember as a kid when Netflix was just getting going online and essentially every show or movieyou wanted would be there but now it is split between a bunch of different streaming services that now have ads or shitty interface and you have to go through a bunch of streaming services to find where the movie is on.

[@SaltedRain]

y i k e shes g o n e 💔

[@AliveisKip]

Protip: Google the name of the show or movie. The little blurb about it at the top of the page usually shows which streaming services you can find it on! Saves me a ton of time waiting for different apps to load

[@jeebs1298]

Same

[@KetsubanSolo]

We may potentially return to those days. Lots of companies that jumped on the streaming hype train are finding that it's really expensive to produce and host their own content when the only way to profit off of it is by ads and hoping people pay for subscriptions, and the alternative is licensing it out to Netflix which would essentially just print money for them.

[@chrislee8343]

I remember reading the novel "Less Than Zero" which is about rich teenagers in LA in the early 80s. They talk about getting Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS like they just bought a new car. But I guess if VCRs were over $10,000 and a single tape cost $100 I can see why this was something only insanely wealthy kids had access to

[@shannonceleste5557]

Fun fact, that same author wrote American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction (I assume you've seen the first movie, highly recommend the second! if you liked LTZ)

[@rickjames8317]

Yeah, before the VCR became more affordable, you had to rent them at the video store. They came in a big, padded suitcase. If you didn't reserve one, they would most likely all be rented. We would rent them for special occasions like birthdays or friends staying over. Ahh, the 80s. Good times.

[@wheezywaiter]

I’m only 7 minutes into this video (yes I’m commenting during the sponsor, which happens to be a sponsor that sponsored me once. I don’t even care! I’m out of control!) and I just have to tell you that I love this video. I think about film history and how it has lead to today all the time and this nails it. Jeezus. You guys are doing the world a service. (By world I mean my living room as I drink a beer before bed).

[@my-spinning-wheel]

Funny seeing you here

[@CircusFoxxo]

It's wild to see scentbird sponsors and comments after the CEO's comments about the funny mustache man being a good guy

[@andreheizer]

Its like, every step of "progress" we make gets us further and further away from people around us. And the more isolated we feel, the less mobilized we are able to get. And then the more we have to accept against our will. Its not a surprise the ending is so depressing. Love you guys thanks for a great video!

[@BernStoogin]

I unironically miss blockbuster so much. Half the fun was sneaking to the horror movie section and reading the back of the VHS case and imagining what the movie was like. That's such a huge reason i'm into horror and the fear of the unknown today.

[@andybaldman]

Kids don’t have to imagine anything today. Some machine does it for them. Sad.

[@BernStoogin]

@@andybaldman damn that's crazy but nobody asked

[@andybaldman]

@@BernStoogin Nobody asked, but you got gold anyway.

[@KetsubanSolo]

I remember my blockbuster just having anime and hentai in the same section, so something like Kiki's Delivery Service would be next to something like LA BLUE GIRL. Being an anime fan in the early 00's was a trip.

[@BernStoogin]

@@KetsubanSolo blockbuster had a blanket no pron policy, you must be thinking of another video store.

[@galactic85]

There is a reason I've been using my local library again to rent movies that I want to see. :) Thanks for doing a video about renting and the problems with streaming!

[@ellarieee]

god bless physical media. if they never put fleabag on dvd i’ll be so pissed oh my god

[@Sylviawebs]

fleabag is on dvd! i just got my blueray in the mail :)

[@Chubby_Bub]

I miss going to Hollywood Video with my family and being excited to see what they had, instead of opening each streaming service and scrolling through their proprietary slop until no one wants to even have a movie night anymore

[@JayColor]

"You see that reflection?" Jokes on you, I got an anti-glare screen.

[@lpnp9477]

Matte screen means you're an alpha

[@tee-py3zx]

as someone who works at a movie theatre, it's honestly depressing how big of a percentage of our customers are seniors. it worries me that soon enough, theatres aren't going to be profitable at all and will mostly close down

[@andybaldman]

Good. Then this generation can have their Blockbuster. These things die because people stop using them.

[@xipalips]

​@not_applicable Most of that money doesn't go to the theater, goes to the movie studio in exchange for the privilege of being allowed to screen the movie. Don't agree and they cut you off from all their stuff. When there's only a handful of players, this kills the theater.

[@WoolyCow]

im pretty sure cinema isnt profitable these days...not from ticket sales anyways. thats why its $11 for a bucket of popcorn :>

[@lpnp9477]

Too expensive and feels like you're being gutted for literally everything. I liked seeing movies in the theater as a kid but now not only is barely anything compelling but it feels dirty dealing with them. That said we do go to the drive in still. 20 bucks a car, bring your dog, bring your own food, comfy seats, temperature control, no idiots yelling or clapping as far as you can hear. It's great.

[@xenos_n.]

I'm 40, used to see movies all the time, now I haven't been to the movies for like a decade. I also rarely watch movies or shows anymore, almost entirely KZbin. Times change, tastes change.

[@Rebeccaac]

Gen Xer here, my dad was a boomer-I learned from him how important radio was, lots of tv shows were previously on radio. He explained to me this is why Ed Bergen (father of Candace) was a bad ventriloquist, he started on the radio. Also the movies had cartoons, shorts, double features and could be an all day thing. In my era “pan and scan” was an issue, how VHS was compromising film aspect ratio. It’s interesting to reflect on what is content in its true form. This got into my awareness growing up with different edits of movies on premium bs regular cable. We’d actually watch the regular cable version of Weird Science when it aired in spite of owning the VHS because the way they overdubbed the swearing or R rated stuff was hilarious. I remember being appalled at the 20th anniversary viewing of Star Wars seeing George Lucas alter the effects and scenes of what for me was a cherished movie. Media is just so ethereal now. I’ve started buying DVDs for what I can’t find anywhere due to things like music rights issues.

[@makslargu5799]

I think I could have a great career as a ventriloquist too if I were on the radio

[@tomboy2980]

I would recommend you the video "the power of VHS" by hbomberguy here on youtube. I'm Gen Z but grew up with (and still have a lot of) a big VHS collection, and that video was still the first time I've ever heard of "pan and scan". It's a whole analysis of how adapting art for the VHS format (and then to later formats) changes its substance, it reminded me a lot of your comment. If you like that one, his video "weighing the value of director's cuts" is also good, and also maligns the star wars special editions haha.

[@Rebeccaac]

@@tomboy2980 thanks I will check that out! And the other content too, just subscribed

[@sarawilliams5990]

I'm realizing that I'm going to have to start buying DVDs for older anime that I like, and even that's kind of difficult and expensive. It's just that something will be my favorite that I find on Hulu or Crunchy or wherever one day, and then the next, it's completely gone. Those anime used to at least be something I could track down on YT before they started getting taken down. It worries me that my favorite anime are going the way of lost media. I want to "own" them before they become something that would get talked about like an archeology dig in a Kenny Lauderdale video.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

A radio ventriloquist? Might as well be a pilot who only goes on land.

[@thomascuerden9421]

That Matt Damon Hote Ones clip is pretty much legendary at this point . And for good reason.

[@ihatemickiegee]

people still barely believe me when i tell them netflix was just a virtual dvd rental service in the beginning i use my sister’s acct & she forgot that that even existed meanwhile, half the DVDs my mom ended up with later in life were all those red hard plastic cases of no-late-fee (unless ya don’t pay!) netflix cds. and you’re exactly right. she was renting seasons of Mad Men, and The Sopranos. she knew those shows BY HEART. i don’t think they ever stopped playing in the house when i was a teen. i moved to vegas and moved back to chicago and there were still netflix cases in random crevices of the house

[@c-5921]

Go to your local library. You can get pretty much any DVD or Blu-Ray through your county's system. You might even have free media streaming for audiobooks or free e-book rentals.

[@alenor210]

I miss Blockbuster. My local one closed down when I was in like 5th grade, but I remember my mom taking my sisters and I there every now and then. At the time I was super into Star Wars, so most of my memories are just me begging my mom to let me rent Revenge of the Sith even though it was PG-13

[@Coffeeisnecessarynowpepper]

It was 2001 in the 5th grade

[@heyzeus7258]

Thank you for continuing to make video essays about topics I've never thought about before until you've neatly condensed them into 30 minute videos. You're doing the right kind of work here.

[@dillona1001]

Blockbuster❌ Burbackster✅

[@blzt3206]

Eddyflix

[@dillona1001]

⁠@@blzt3206Tony+

[@bbypinkcherry]

why does ‘burbackster’ sound like it could be a slur haha

[@redvelvetdoll]

we have never been more burbackster

[@JaegerDreadful]

Burback+

[@JimMilton-ej6zi]

When i could pay $8 a month without ads to have all that cable offered without having to pay $40 a month i was happy, but i recently found out that my family collectively paid $80 a month for subscription plans and that is still giving us less than what cable offered with commercials back. I then found out i would've had to add $14 more a month just to be able to watch a single show. That was when i realized that i wanted nothing to do with that anymore.

[@loganl3746]

My mom was a Netflix pirate 😂 She would rent the DVDs, rip them onto her computer, then return them the next day. We ended up with soooo many movies that way, until DCRM protections got added to DVDs and the software to outwit it didn't exist yet

[@starlight8554]

It’s so weird to see things I literally lived through rehashed in KZbin videos. Makes me feel old. Im Irish so I distinctly remember going to xtravision to rent movies every weekend. I also distinctly remember Netflix dvds lol.

[@expendableindigo9639]

Shame Netflix DVD closed down last year in the US. Not sure for Ireland.

[@ericray5914]

There's another part of the business model that some people weren't aware of. VHS tapes were not available until about a year after the film was released. They were only available for sale to the rental companies and car about $100 each (before inflation). Starting in the late 80s, the tapes would become available for the public to buy for about $30 about two years after the film was released. Rental companies would often buy a lot of copies to rent out in the first year and then, as demand dropped, they would sell the used tapes too.

[@mikian]

ooh the feeling as a child when your parents say you can pick a movie to rent on a friday, the excitement is unmatched (though I only remember it with dvds, but we did have vhs tapes at home) or renting a computer game at the library. simple, yet complicated times. i definitely prefer now but the nostalgia is nice 😂

[@anyroad5455]

Every Friday when I was growing up, we’d go to Blockbuster, rent a movie and a game then invite my grandparents over for dinner. I loved watching movies with them and then showing the game I was playing to my grandma and grandpa. It was amazing.

[@DeLorean4]

VCRs were so expensive that they were also offered as rentals. I don't think my father purchased his first VCR until the late '80s. Before that, he'd rent the tapes AND the machine.

[@lpnp9477]

I remember renting a ps2 as a wee lad along with some games for a week and on the last day I dropped my skateboard on it and my parents had to pay for it. Needless to say, my parents never rented for me again and I'm pretty sure that store stopped renting hardware.

[@samcarbonneau9302]

This is genuinely one of my favorite videos you two have ever made. This is so wonderful, would love to see more content in this vein

[@alexjohnson9768]

Just wanted to say I love these videos. Such a fun mix of nostalgia, humor and thought out discussion. Hope you boys can keep up these vids for a long while ❤

[@taylifts]

I JUST walked past a Redbox booth yesterday and started reminiscing. I love the lil cape they give you to wear that definitely doesnt serve any other purpose other than looking cool

[@cbassuarez]

Something I learned about archiving in school is that if you want to archive something on the internet, print it out. I have professors who have printed out webpages they want to archive because its the only medium that preserves an actual snapshot of what they saw at the time. If you like something, make it available offline (i.e. pirate that shit as soon as it comes out).

[@anglaismoyen]

PDFs could work too.

[@twistedlittlepuppy]

As someone who studied television in undergrad, I feel like this video should be required viewing for students. It's a pretty well done, condensed history!

[@R0ADK1LLVODS]

As a horror fan I got very giddy when The Tingler was brought up

[@NatsumiMovies]

This was scarier than most horror movies. As a lifelong fan of cinema it is horrifying to see how much the industry has degraded back into an era where studios have complete control over their distribution of content which literally became illegal once the antitrust laws were settled in. Not to mention more movies are tanking at the box office more than ever, and more slop gets made over original content in theaters. As cliche as it is to say the world has turned into an episode of Black Mirror and we're all living in it.

[@kiricappuchin]

I feel like, somehow, history will find another way to repeat itself, and we'll see rentals come back in a new form. Maybe Netflix brings back some of those shows they've taken off the platform and sells them back to you, but only for a limited time, like the Disney Vault or something. Idk. Idk

[@hrmnzdmatryoshka]

Great video!!!! Local libraries can fill this role and more!!! Many now have 3D printers, computers, sound studios, sewing machines, comfortable lounge areas, and more to help anyone access creativity and community. Think about it, the more you go and support your library, the more they can argue for more resources on your behalf!

[@JohnnyVent]

Man I can't wait until a video like this comes out for smartphones. At a time when smartphones will be analogous to the way we view VCR's today. On a day when I can look at my kids and remind them that back in my day we had to actually type the words out and interface with a screen, then they'll ask me what a text message is and I'll fall asleep rambling about being "ghosted".

[@flamingturkey654]

This is an incredible video essay! The discussion of consumers wanting everything at home and killing the community that stores like Blockbuster reminds me of Putnam’s book Bowling Alone.

[@Colyde25]

I remember my mind was blown when my dad got Netflix and we got our first dvd in the mail. I don’t have too many memories from blockbuster cause I was in the movie theaters seeing them on the big screen sneaking in full dinners in my Nana’s purse.

[@EightBitRivals]

As someone that worked in a video rental store when DVDs were new, you will never know the hell that was someone coming in complaining about "black bars cutting off the top and bottom of the movie" and trying to explain aspect ratios.

[@MissMisnomer_]

One of my favorite things to do in the Hollywood Video was to wander off from the rest of my family while they picked the movie (we three kids have very similar taste so I trusted them), and I would make my way to the Horror and Sci-Fi section of the store. I would just walk down the aisles, pick up one with cover art that I thought was cool, read the synopsis on the back and check out all the little teaser images, and then put it back on the shelf. And that was it. We rarely rented any of them, but that didn't matter to me. I just enjoyed getting this little bite-sized piece of intriguing lore and plot. Nowadays, I get the same fix from reading Wikipedia pages or watching KZbin videos, but it doesn't quite hit the same. I miss rental stores.

[@hamster2u396]

Those Netflix envelopes are incredibly nostalgic. I remember being so excited to get them in the mail and see what movie we got.

[@Argonaut717]

Bro the Wii Netflix ad with the girl in the red hood unlocked a deep memory for me lmao. I grew up with that version of Netflix and "seriously, wot is it" became one of those things me and my brothers would just say at each other with no context lmao

[@tenworms]

I am very lucky to have a place called "Mike's Movie Madness" in my city with 80,000 plus movies to rent. 3 bucks a movie for 3 days of rental time, one dollar a day for late fees. Whenever they don't have something I wanna watch I just pirate it, but most of the things I want to watch they have. Weird shit, too, they've got Last Summer on VHS, they've got Love and Pop, they've got Trash Humpers. Really neat place, run I think mostly by volunteers and essentially kept afloat by a community that just likes having it around too much to let it die.

[@Blue-rw3di]

I can’t believe they’ve got Last Summer. That movie barely feels real, hard to imagine it on physical release

[@tenworms]

@@Blue-rw3di Yeah it was harrowing. Felt like a cursed artifact.

[@maddibgaming2929]

As someone studying antitrust law, it is cool to see another area of importance that I might have forgotten is heavily impacted by antitrust laws.

[@thiswolffbites]

i worked at family video between 2015-2018. the threat of netflix and streaming was always looming within the company. one of my favorite jobs to this day.

[@Kayworx]

I remember being a teen and wanting to watch the Lion King, so I went to the rental store and they told me about that whole Disney vault thing. That was the day I realised how important it is to pirate your favourite movies and tv shows.

[@parmesanglitter7150]

I love going to the movies. One of my favorite things about them is that my friend and I got really lucky sometimes, and we're the only ones in the movie theater, so we can make jokes and talk as much as we want.

[@giorap2625]

You guys always have great takes on pop culture. When eddy said made for tv movies are like made for Netflix movies, great comparison!

[@churblefurbles]

Always with the same flaws, "walkable" has no children, and his social agenda ensures a cultural desert.

[@wesleywyndam-pryce5305]

@@churblefurbles wtf are you talking about? I gather its some kind of right wing nonsense but this is jabberish.

[@amarui6129]

William Castle was a king. All his most famous movies had those Tingler-esque gimmicks. He had one where he made the audience vote for the ending with placards, although there was never an alternative ending filmed or available regardless of how the audience actually voted.

[@KaijuFanatic-fq7dy]

This is why I always go for physical media. To bad they’re trying to phase that out now :/

[@LoversAnonymousMusic]

I mean my grandfather bought my parents our first VHS player it was like $1,500. Less than 10 years later VHS players were almost standard in every TV in the house and the TV's were half the price of the original VHS player. BUT the nostalgia of that ENORMOUS 32" wooden TV with an NES and VHS on top....god I want that in my living room now even if it didn't work

[@youbetyourwrasse]

My understanding was that Disney traditionally had released their Animated Classics to be shown in Theaters every seven years, in order to create Magic for each new generation of little kids. I remember being SO excited for Bambi to hit the theaters in 1976, as I loved the figurines in the shops at Disneyland. I was ahead of the times, for I SNUCK a cassette tape-recorder into the theater. I relived the audio for months, even learning to play the four songs on the Piano. Then a couple years later, it was Lady & The Tramp. The next year, The Aristocats. It made each Classic the Unique Piece of Magic that it is, worth waiting for, as opposed to a distraction thrown on the VCR to shush a whiny toddler, that is no more magical than Skibbidy Toilet. In my humble opinion.

[@chewbaccashairback]

Physical media is so important to have

[@OrdinaryDrummer]

I love how this channel is a pure trip down memory lane.

[@HeisenbergFam]

If every teacher was as handsome as Eddie, school attendance would be 100%

[@C4ll.Sign_F1Nn]

Real

[@gingerdog8203]

Both of them

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

i've been crushing for a while now. they're both SO HOT I can't. Like, what is the genre of men?

[@thesuperrangermudtruck]

More like 543%

[@JacksonMack3742]

Yea meh I wanna smoke meth. Eddie bareback does have a tight ass but it's my itch that needs to be scratched.

[@NickBread]

We live in an interesting time where we get to actually learn first-hand that faster and easier isn't always better, and that there is a limit to how much convenience actually pays off.

[@NickBread]

(Unfortunately actually living in this time fucking sucks)

[@daniellelewis9926]

I have so many friends who worked on coyote vs acme. Most of them talk crap about the things they work on, but every single one of them was so excited for this movie. People really put their all in it. It's still this weird ghost when working on film sets when people wear their wrap gifts crossing their fingers it eventually comes out

[@alfiealcorn]

The exact moment you said to watch out for 'that Ripley guy' my cat started meowing and scratching at the door Her name is Ripley

[@SaltedRain]

:0

[@Nerdtendo6366]

Holy shit, I actually grew up watching The Tingler. It scared the hell out of me ass a kid because I was a scared little baby. Yet last year I rewatched it with my grandpa and we had an absolute blast. There’s actually a scene in the film where the Tingler breaks into a movie theater so you know when it was coming to get you. Really fun B Movie for the curious

[@bellah.6707]

I genuinely started singing “like the 1950s but without all the racists” before you even said it💀

[@launaseiling8278]

My family still collects dvds and refuses to pay for streaming services. Honestly, it's way more fun looking thru the thrift store finding movies and popping them in your dvd player then clicking thru a streaming service

[@tomw1232]

this video still hits on a rewatch, and that is so much what I love the burbacks for!

[@loonypear]

As an Oddity Archive fan, seeing that Magnetic Video intro on any other channel gave me whiplash

[@defenderofmen11]

The announcer for the Bambi ad threw me straight back into being a kid, sitting through the commercials and previews before watching Pocahontas or Toy Story.

[@harleykay8829]

Babe wake up, new Burback video just dropped

[@poppyseeed_]

The best way to show people you’re interested in film in your city is not only to go to your local library and be able to rent movies. Is by supporting your local movie programmers and film commissions! I was able to watch Saltburn and Killers of the Flower Moon a month or two before it hit theaters, for free! Every major city has one! If your houston, there’s great screenings and film opportunities for cast crew work from the Houston Film Commission or the Houston Cinema Art Society!! Also, attend film festivals if your cities! You can still experience the joys of watching a new film, every week through local cinema programmer’s!

[@acefalone9407]

please never stop making videos together, i love this channel so much. every video you guys put out is a banger

[@TerryB2]

Thank you for the video Edward Birdback

[@gena3291]

all this evolution just for the modern entertainment “solution” being to rent most movies from amazon or youtube but without the social interaction and pizza

[@mae7504]

i just need to say it. i am 17. i’m in gen Z and blockbuster WAS my childhood. and when netflix was first on wii my neighbor had to set it up. we were there too.

[@BeersAndBeatsPDX]

I'm surprised Blockbuster was even still around for you to remember. I used to skateboard to the one in my town but this was something like 30 years ago.

[@Why_It]

Born in late '99. Blockbuster was only around in my area until I was about 8-9. Our best (and closest) theater was shut down because the mall it was located in closed due to lack of sizable crowds in 2019. I have fond memories of that very distinct Blockbuster smell. We ended up using Redbox more often for convenience. Walmart usually has one posted at the entrance. In 2015-ish weekly we'd BOGO or price-match snacks and groceries and rented a movie on the way out.

[@drsexycoolmeow8126]

@@BeersAndBeatsPDX I'm 19, I fondly remember the last time I went to blockbuster when I was probably 6? We rented Coraline. Most of us Gen Z very much still had blockbuster, ours lasted until probably 2010. Also a lot of used the redbox kiosks

[@OdiiFFA]

You were born the year the wii released and Netflix came out in wii when you were 3 or 4, what are you talking about??

[@jennifervasquez]

Thats so wild to me bc im 23 n i dont think ive ever stepped foot inside a video rental store in my life. If i wanted to watch a movie as a kid i had a choice between my aunts collection of old vhs tapes or buying pirated dvds from dudes set up on the ground outside of stores.

[@idahomike4254]

I remember back in the early 80s not only renting VHS movies, but a player as well because I couldn't afford one at the time. Ahh, such memories. Thanks, guys!

[@Wilderness-Will]

The tone of this video strikes a perfect balance between entertaining and informative and I hope y'all do many more like this!