My Video Store experience

The Blockbuster location, in Bend, OR, is the final operating location and continues to operate successfully.

Before Netflix and other streaming services, there were really only three ways to watch films. 

1. Going to see them at a theater either as a new release or a re-screening.

2. Purchasing them on video or DVD.

3. Renting them at a video store.

Going to the video store was a special experience. I remember going to the Main Street Video Store in Farmer City, IL a few times a month and seeing all of the VHS tapes and DVDs on the shelves. You could even rent video games which was incredible considering that, even back then, video games were more expensive than films. The store was run by Mary Walker Kimble, who still lives in Farmer City, and it was a fun part of Main Street which helped shape my love of film. 

Main Street Video had a lot of franchise films and children’s films. In fact, I was introduced to “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” through rentals. It was a cool place to find many new releases while also looking at classics. 

I also remember seeing many cool looking horror films on VHS like “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Friday the 13th,” “Scream” and “Psycho.” I always wanted to check these out but my mother never caved on that for which I am thankful. If I saw “A Nightmare on Elm Street” at the age of six, I think it would have royally f@#ked me up. 

While we in Farmer City had Main Street Video, there were several other chains including Hollywood Video and Blockbuster which were incredibly popular throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Blockbuster even had locations in Normal, IL and Champaign, IL. Unfortunately, due to the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, these stores folded up with only one Blockbuster existing and operating in Bend, OR and Hollywood Video is completely gone. 

The only major chain of video stores that still exist, that I’m aware of, is Family Video which has over 500 locations primarily in the Midwest. Many of these locations have Marco's Pizza in the store, according to the chain’s website, so you could order a pizza while you look for films. They have a large assortment of video games and they also sell older films, not just rent them. Family Video frequently has rental deals such as “Rent one get one free.” This doesn’t happen on Amazon Prime Video.

The closest location of Family Video to me is in Clinton, IL so I don’t go there too often since it’s a bit out of my way. However, since I love going to the Clintonia Eagle Theater, I may go there once this quarantine is over. I genuinely miss video stores and would love to go to one again. 

This low-quality photo shows two-time Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino (center) working in Video Archives in Manhattan Beach, CA. Tarantino worked there from 1985 to 1990 and, during this time, he studied acting and wrote multiple screenplays. This included “Reservoir Dogs” which was filmed in 1991 and released the following year.

Now I don’t hate streaming services. Netflix has given me some of my favorite shows like “Stranger Things” and “Daredevil” as well as great films like “Marriage Story,” “The Irishman” and “Roma.” Amazon Prime Video created “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “The Big Sick.” We owe a great deal to streaming services for creating groundbreaking content. 

However, there’s nothing like going to a local video store and seeing what’s new on the shelves. They’re like record stores. I could just listen to “The Dark Side of the Moon” on Amazon Music, and I do, but I love having it in a physical mode and hearing the crackle as the needle touches the record before the album begins. 

Video stores are where people could meet and connect over films. Famed director Quentin Tarantino worked in a video store called Video Archive in Los Angeles where he spent years amassing a gigantic knowledge of film which contributed to his journey as a filmmaker. The store had an abundance of classic and foreign films and people would come to the store to see what Quentin would recommend. 

So, when this quarantine is over, go to a local rental store. Because if you’re going to rent a film on Amazon Prime, you could just go to a local store and buy it, probably cheaper, and contribute to local business. I plan on moving to California after I graduate from college and I plan on seeing the last Blockbuster in Oregon to pay my respects to this important establishment.

Going to the video store was a special experience just like going to the movie theater and I really miss it.

If I were to own a video store, here are some things that would be in it.

1. Some of the best looking posters of all time including “Pulp Fiction,” “The Thing,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “The Graduate,” “La La Land,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Halloween,” “Blade Runner,” “Drive,” “Goodfellas,” “Back to the Future,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” This would be to establish mood and create a positive atmosphere.

2. DVDs and Blu-Rays: These are the most common types of physical media. If 4K became more common, it might be possible to include 4K releases as well.

3. A concessions stand: Not only could you rent films but you can also get food and drinks to go with it including popcorn, soda (Coke products only), slushies, nachos, pretzels, pizza and candy of all kinds. I’m talking about Hershey's, Kit-Kats, M&Ms, Sour Patch Kids, Licorice and so much more.

4. A small screening room: A few times a month, I would screen classic films for free so that people could experience classic films as well as have a discussion so that people could talk about the film. I also would sell concessions because no one should go without popcorn.

5. A straight-forward “A to Z” shelving system:. A lot of stores, including Barnes and Noble, always have it by genre which always annoys me. Some films like “Jaws” could be classified as either horror or thriller and “Rocketman” is both a drama and a musical. This gets overwhelming and organizing them alphabetically just makes more sense.

6. A section for the new releases: This is pretty straightforward because no one wants to rummage through Blu-Rays for something that came out last week. Next to the section would be a list of upcoming Blu-Ray releases for customers to take note of.

7. A section of foreign films: Foreign films are important and they show what’s going on and what’s important outside of our borders. The plot of “Star Wars” was influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress,” “The Departed” is a remake of the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs” and “The Magnificent Seven” is a Western remake of “The Seven Samurai.” So I would have deals like if you rented a film, you could rent a foreign film for free.

8. A section of auteur filmmakers: This section would have the entire filmography of filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. Now this raises the question. Would “Taxi Driver,” a Scorsese film, be filed under the T section or the Scorsese section? The answer is both. I would buy double the amount of copies for both sections or else my OCD won’t let me sleep.

9. A VHS section: This is mainly for show because a video store needs videos. If someone wanted to rent these, they could for a ridiculously cheap price.

10. An AFI top 100 films section: In 2007, the American Film Institute made a list of the Top 100 films of All Time and this section would have all of them in order. The same rules of the auteur section apply here. So, there could be three places to look for the Francis Ford Coppola film “The Godfather:” the G section, the auteur section and AFI section. Barnes and Noble used to have a section like this and they don’t anymore and I’m more sad everyday because of it.

11. Specialities: The store would specialize in both entertaining franchises and films that you would probably watch in film studies classes. (As I have)