Renting Videos at a Blockbuster store in 1989

Footage of people browsing various VHS tapes at a Blockbuster store.

[@fiveoclockdock]

That was weirdly relaxing. No one screaming or yelling for attention at the camera, no phones, just people making a decision on a movie to watch. We lost something here by gaining too much.

[@notabot2928]

Same thing in record stores, kmart woolworths, no loud rap banging cuss words in the parking lots, no school shootings, no people staring into phones on the bus or walking down the street, teens gathered in malls, at arcades, pizza places, everything was different

[@franksandoval6046]

@@notabot2928 do not use streaming service media TV please !

[@DeadHandX]

We living in dystopia baby...

[@Quakeinc14]

These flashback videos made me realize society is collapsing.

[@moochman4151]

A lot of people cared about their appearance actually dressed up not wearing pajamas out in public. These was the best of times and I’m for one glad I was there.

[@its_davidserret]

I try to be a modern day example of that the best I can!

[@IceManLikeGervin]

There's only one Blockbuster video store left in America located in Bend, Oregon...wow

[@vampirerobot]

Interesting. I did not know that.

[@StoneyKramer]

@@vampirerobotthey did a documentary on it, it’s dope. You should check it out, when you get the chance.

[@tyhairston5397]

Miss when times you can rent movies and enjoy them 😢😢😢😢miss this era

[@larentaestamuyalta6132]

I miss conversations with people. nobody talk too nobody this days

[@tessa7778]

Exactly

[@Sammydx1]

I worked at a family owned video store in 1995/96 I was 15. Loved it. I walked there after school, right down the block from my house. I got to take a movie home nightly. And the pizza joint next to us gave us free pizza in exchange for movies. Great memories. I miss Chicago

[@Anarchist86ed]

Oh boy. Police Academy 6 now available for rental. I'll rush right on out and get it...... 🤣

[@bluesky5384]

I was born in 1989 but have fond memories of renting Paper Mario and printing my Pokémon Snap pictures at Blockbuster.

[@stephenwyatt88]

I was born in 1988. Those were good times.

[@3Cr15w311]

I'm amazed at how sparse the shelves look. There aren't nearly as many movies there as you first think, especially counting duplicate boxes of popular movies.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Movies did not come out as often back then. Now they shit out 100+ terrible movies a month.

[@tynao2029]

It was a decent selection that contained many of the campy B movies, in addition to classics and highly rated movies. I'm not sure exactly how it was decided, the manager likely got a layout sheet with movie listings to go by. In a way, the shelves would be designed like how modern internet algorithms are, based upon likelihood that somebody would be interested in a film based on the movie next to it on the shelf.

[@newsbender]

@@tynao2029ex-Store Manager here (96 - 00). It was always alphabetical in categories. New Releases (these had entire walls devoted to them sometimes), then the "classics" genres, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, etc.

[@jwgreek8606]

That is blockbuster for you. They would buy multiple copies of one movie and have no room for anything else

[@hdna12]

Even though I was born in 1991 I’m glad I got to live in these times where VHS was popular and no smart phones were around technology was more simple. Watching movies on Vudu, iTunes, or any other Digital format isn’t the same as going to a video store like Blockbuster. Physical format will always be my choice to watch movies.

[@davidslife989]

HERE! HERE! Born in 89 and understand COMPLETLY!

[@azariacba]

Man oh man I loved video stores. I used to go to a mom 'n pop video shop, then to Blockbuster after moving to a new area. It was such a treat, roaming through the shelves full of titles and box art, picking a movie or two or three for the night, maybe a box of overpriced candy to replicate that movie theater experience... Driving to the video store made those Friday movie nights special. It was an experience. Heck, it was even fun dropping the movies off in the return slot 3 days later.

[@user-ik4kh9lt6d]

Thank you for posting these! Your channel is theraputic!!

[@teresapflaumer5717]

1989, age 17. My neighborhood didn't get Blockbuster until the 1990s (Lumberton Plaza, Lumberton NJ). But we had a mom and pop video store T&S Video. They were located in one of the smaller stores in this same plaza. They moved to a much larger store down Route 38 East in the new Evergreen Plaza in the early 90s. But when Blockbuster moved here, it killed T&S. I didn't like Blockbuster because it was more expensive and the workers were rude. T&S had more movies, better poocorn, cheaper rentals, and friendly service. And there was a mom and pop pizza parlor next door where I got my large pizza and Pepsi with my boyfriend. Nothing beats mom and pop stores!

[@jwgreek8606]

Amen and I always believe in supporting local business over chains.

[@pacificrules]

I remember getting my first Blockbuster membership card back in 1989, I thought "OMG, Im one of the coolest people to have a BB card!!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was 15yrs old when I saved money to pay for my first ever Membership Card of any sort. I remember when I showed it to my friends in High School, they all went crazy and wondering the impossibility. I became the coolest kid then.

[@toosense]

Hey, you’re still cool. 😎

[@chrismckinney5110]

Those were the days!

[@imjustasbadasu]

And ya knew who ya were then Goils were goils and men were men

[@franksandoval6046]

@@imjustasbadasu are you black or white and are you a girl or a boy ???

[@imjustasbadasu]

@franksandoval6046 how curious.. why do you ask?

[@jay21281]

It’s crazy that my collection of Blu-ray’s and 4k’s are more than what’s in this store. Still, streaming was the end of it all. I miss these days. It still seemed more like a privilege to enjoy the renting experience.

[@chocolatecoveredgummybears]

have a feeling this vid is gonna get popular. oh man, good times wow

[@eriksgc]

Loved it every Friday night!!!!!!

[@MiketheratguyMultimedia]

It's weird to me how much this resembled Blockbuster near the end. I don't know if my Blockbuster (Kenosha, WI) was different or what but my memory is of long, LONG (like 30 feet) uninterrupted shelves filled with movies less than an inch apart, literally every movie you could think of. Update the outfits in this video though, and plaster the store with more promotional and upsell crap, and it really doesn't look much different from its final incarnation. I wonder if my memory of how massive that first store was is playing tricks on me.

[@shanshan0878]

I'm from racine wi lol

[@MiketheratguyMultimedia]

@@shanshan0878 I'm sorry to hear that. :P

[@Mayrita1111]

I remember the long lines on Saturday nights!

[@TNewsh]

I'll be renting Gorillas in the Mystic Pizza.

[@Spiderblaze-pw7bz]

Cool everything looks so stylish in classic😮

[@ChrisEsper]

I'm loving the footage you're uploading. By any chance, do you sell your footage at all to be used in documentaries? I'm working on a piece about video stores and would love to have pieces like this to show an authentic example of video stores at the time.

[@MrPillowStudios]

Ohhh I wish I was alive back then.

[@davidslife989]

I've got two or three shorts on my channel regarding store that have closed. One is Bed, Bath, and Beyond the other is Christmas Tree Shop if you are interested.

[@HistoricalConflict]

Imagine having to wear a shirt and a tie to work in a blockbuster

[@hectorlopez1069]

Back then when people would rent movies and watch them at home with a popcorn to go with it.

[@Mayrita1111]

Who would thought this would end one day 😢

[@tonymontana4284]

I would go to Blockbuster on Tuesday and get the new releases and copy them on VHS.

[@SaintVic2287]

I feel in my lifetime the movie theater will also go extinct! I'm glad my kids will at least get to experience that!

[@o.g.5584]

If I can time travel and come back to this time I would! I would say I’m from the future year 2024 and everything has gone to shit! 😢

[@Sonicfalcon16]

maybe in 89 they were smart putting anime in foreign films

[@MacGuffinExMachina]

We didn't have one until 1994 or 1995, but it looked the same. I'm not that nostalgic for Blockbuster. I miss the smaller shops. I wish there were videos or images of the local ones. That specific, rare nostalgia is great when you cna tap into it.

[@eyesofnight]

I like how they advertise FREE MEMBERSHIP. Did any video store ever charge you to be a member?

[@user-ec7md9vk3o]

January 1, 1980

[@museonfilm8919]

Strange - many guys in their mid twenties onwards would go to a store wearing a shirt, tie and slacks! Today's society is MUCH more casual, and people just mooch around in pyjamas or baggy vests and short pants...............okay, in 'certain' stores - you get me?

[@jamie-gy6bd]

Back when America had Morals

[@perry_carrey8327]

Haha yeah no immorality in 1989... 🙄

[@neilfeinberg7825]

Hmm............Rain Man or Big? Decisions, decisions

[@mopenstein]

At minimum the quality should be 480p but these look they were shot on betacam and the quality should be way better. What's up with that? I'm not hating I would just love to see these in better quality

[@MrWolfSnack]

The uploader doesn't know how to properly deinterlace, interpolate, and re-encode analog footage to a digital file is my guess. Just leaves everything on default and goes to town with low tier phishing software. This was likely on Betacam if the guy was in the broadcasting business, this all looks like B-roll footage. It has definitely been heavily compressed and put into the wrong format. Should be in a lot better quality and look closer to Laserdisc quality.

[@perry_carrey8327]

God Blockbuster was the worst! Over priced with ridiculous fees. They killed the far superior independent stores.