The Video Rental Store Experience Of The ‘80s & ‘90s
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- It’s a certainty that we had an abundance of things to choose from when deciding what to do on a weekend in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Roller skating, visiting the mall, the local arcade… endless possibilities. One major option, which really came into its own during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s… video rental stores!
In this week’s journey into nostalgia, we rediscover the excitement and wonder of a visit to the video rental store! So grab your membership card and that stack of late returns on the counter, and let’s get renting!
If you enjoy the video, please consider liking it, commenting on it, and even subscribing to the channel. We'd love to have you join in on the fun!
RetroDaze Website: www.retro-daze.org
RetroDaze is a nostalgia related channel that celebrates EVERYTHING from our childhoods, mostly from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This includes movies, TV shows, video games, toys and action figures, comics and magazines, music, and much more!
Celebrating Yesteryear - In this series of videos, we explore a variety of nostalgic subjects with an emphasis on being both informative and entertaining. We take inspiration from some of our favorite nostalgic channels here on UA-cam, including Recollection Road and Rhetty for History.
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Written By: Anthony J. Rapino
Hosted and Narrated By: Jon Reddick
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Produced By: Anthony D. Grate
Your team that makes these nostalgia trips is absolutely incredible, thank you. Video stores were a sacred place in the 80s early 90s, for kids especially, full of magic and mystery, mom and pops were the best, shout outs to Showtime, Carousel and Vics Video Americain, the south east PA legends. I love that you mentioned the horror covers and the arcade games and candy, also those vending machines that sold gumballs and little plastic eggs of slime, a bug component of 80s kiddom thanks to You Cant Do That on Television and Double Dare
@@christrojak9951 Thank YOU for being a part of each of these journeys with us. It means a great deal.
Video stores absolutely were sacred! And to receive that membership card and see it’s effects benefit us… made us feel soooo cool. Thank you mentioning the vending machines and games. We always loved those, no matter the business they were located in!
Thanks so much! Ah, yes, the sticker machines and 25 cent machines. We may have to do a standalone video on that topic. 🙂
I lived in the 13:01 the only "local" place to walk was mom and pop place. $1.50 for two old movies (i.e., Grease, etc- no hits) but it was still fun to also ride bikes there
@@staceyl.thienel1499 Killer deal though!
growing up in the 80's and 90's ROCKED!
@@mattm1686 It absolutely did!!!
My grandfather always had a Betamax since 70’s but I remember it from 80’s since I was born in 1981 but we had a VCR since like 1985 so we always had some type of movies to watch. Mostly horror. But I remember watching Die Hard, Robo Cop, Predator and Lethal Weapon as new releases. I trained renting Blu Rays and DVDs from 2009-2015 but it wasn’t the same. Most times I’d return movies without watching any. I miss the moms and pops video store on the corner of my grandparents street. Every weekend was a treat in late 80’s to early 90’s. Now I have a Firestick and get most movies free but still rarely watch anything new. I love the older movies because it brings back memories and nostalgia
@@MalcolmLittle-pw9dz Well said. Thanks for sharing those memories. The fact is, back then when we forked over the hard earned cash for a movie or game, you better believe it was getting watched or played! No matter how awful it turned out to be! 😆
I loved our local independent video store. We also had a guy who drove around with a boot load of "Backup" VHS Movies. He used to come to the door on a Thursday night with a list of the films he had available, for example ET when it was still on at the cinema ;-) You could rent 3 films for £5 and he'd pick them back up on the Monday or Tuesday. If he didn't have anything we wanted, we'd go to the Rental Store on the Friday night and usually ended up getting Attack of the Killer Tomatoes because everything else was already gone. I'd hate to think how many times I've watched that movie :-) Keep up the awesome work!
@@jayme69 Thank you Jayme!
What a great service that would have been! Home video delivery! We missed out on that here.
It was nice to have one or two movies you always knew would be available at the rental store if nothing else tickled your fancy.
I remember there was a Hollywood Video, my Mom would drive to. My brother and I did a lot of the things you mentioned in this video. Looking at VHS tapes and covers to decide on our movies, looking at the snacks, and etc. It was such a fun experience! Unfortunately, I dont have my VHS player or tapes but I'm rebuilding my collection via DVDs & Bluray.
This video is the first time I've heard of Inner Space, it looks like a fun movie to check out! My family and I still have our movie nights, with cool movies, snacks, and food. My brother and I was marathoning Miami Vice and had tacos!
@@tyneishalewis9917 That is awesome to hear you are rebuilding your physical media collection and still doing movie nights! It’s really becoming something of a lost activity these days.
I miss the video rental store, Blockbuster especially. There used to be a Blockbuster near where I lived. I loved going in there with my mom. Picking out my favorite movies and TV shows on VHS tapes, and later DVD, checking out the latest video game rentals at the time, even begging my mom for snacks. Those certainly were of the days. Two of my favorite things to rent from Blockbuster were Rugrats videos and National Geographic's Really Wild Animals. And when Blockbuster was closing its doors, I was there to buy as many DVDs as I could afford. Now there's a mattress store and a hair Care store where Blockbuster one stood.😢 Boy, do I wish Blockbuster would come back.
And since you brought up Hollywood Video, I do remember there being one near Tyrone square Mall they often pass by when I was younger. I've only been there once, and that was when they were closing their doors. I remember buying only two DVDs from there: a sports DVD and an anime DVD, the latter of which my mom forced me to return because it has a naked woman in it.
@@AutisticPhantomOtaku That’s awesome that this sparked so many great memories APO. It’s why we do this!
I've still never seen Innerspace, but Little Shop of Horrors has been my favorite movie since I was younger than I can remember, and I watched the VHS so much I wore it out, so the Innerspace TRAILER is burned into my mind.
@@theotakux5959 Maybe it’s time to wear out a new tape!
40 years ago, when i was 10, i got into a huge fight with my mom over "Little Shop of Horrors". she refused to let me see it. "i don't care what it's rated, you are not seeing it!" we argued and yelled. all day long. i threw the paper across the room. she picked it up, looked and said "OH. Little Shop of HOR_RORS Not WHORES. I thought you said "Whores". HOR_OR. Sure you can see that."
We both busted down laughing, apologizing.
I'm still haven see it.
It makes the story funnier.
Our mom and pop store was Roadrunner Video. Instead of a curtain they had saloon doors to a hallway leading to the adult section. I was too young to understand why my parents wouldn't let us back there but man did I want to walk through those doors like some cowboy.
@@jhicehouse3896 😆 Like that section is the Wild West of VHS rentals.
In HS, our Blockbuster was right next to a 7-11!! (88-). When candy was reasonable $$ (lollll!!!) and a Slurpee $1- it was perfect!!
My cousin rented Ghostbusters so much that I thought she should BUY it!!
I wanted to work at Blockbuster in HS: I loved their uniforms and didn't like working with food one bit (I'm OK with packaged snacks)
You have super content!!!
@@staceyl.thienel1499 Thank you Stacey! Those are fun memories. Thank you for sharing them.
Probably the biggest downside to working there would have been dealing with the people trying to get out of paying the late fees.
@@RetroDaze or weren't kind enough to rewind and arguing about that fee
@@staceyl.thienel1499 My girlfriend in college worked at the local mom and pop video rental shop, and she'd always bring the newest movies back to the dorm to watch the day before they were set to go on the shelf. A pretty cool perk, I thought. I do wish we'd taken more advantage of getting standees or posters from the place though.
never cared for video home video games,dont know just never found them appealing to me
What about the arcades?
@@RetroDaze yes i would go space invaders,pac-man, etc etc but before them ,ypu had pong the 2 paddle game with puck,drifting all over your screen.air hockey, real game,puck floted on thin layer of air,if you had a good working table your puck or plastic disk would just glide with very little push.i could go on and on and on,i hope the young really cherrish there days,cause i sure in the hell did,GOD BLESS THE 1970S AND 80'S
Your Shirt 👕 Hat & Background just took me bk to the Rad & Awesome 80's !! Thank you for these vids i totally relate hee hee :)
@@geylekinfraire8596 Thank YOU! We’re not sure yet where Jon gets his wonderful apparel. He is very secretive about his source. But we have his landline tapped, so we figure it’s just a matter of time. 😎
As a kid going to the local ma and pa video store with my best friend, Faces Of Death was SO taboo. So we would just end up renting A Nightmare On Elm Street to satisfy our horror addiction.
Also, a time later on at that same local video store they had a Pulp Fiction cardboard stand up (about 4' tall). I ended up asking them if I could have it when they were done with it and they actually gave it to me. I still have it.... somewhere. They would also sell the movie promo posters too when they were done with the promotions. Usually for like a dollar.... AWESOME times.
@@NITE_SHIFTING Yes! That is a facet of video stores we didn’t get to cover much, but the promotional signage, posters, and standees were soooo fun! After a while, it became a race to be the first to ask for the latest promo stuff when the store was done with it!
i would go from movie theater to movie theater buying there movie posters, back in the early 7o's very Early 70's, they are worth big big big cash today.all in mint condition
Sometimes when I would go to rent a movie, I would see a classmate from school there. It was a time to get to know that classmate better since we didn't really talk with each other much at school (it's kind of hard to talk if we sat on opposite sides of the same classroom).
Also, if we didn't see the movie at the theater, we could always wait a short while and rent it from the video rental store. (lol) At least that way, I would know if the movie was good enough to watch.
And when I was dating, talk about getting to know someone by the types of movies they wanted to see.
"Please be kind, and REWIND!"
@@danielkaiser8971 We tend to forget the social aspect of the video store. It was conducive to socializing in so many ways!
That first guy with the Kriss Kross Bugs and Taz. That's the 90s. Troll, House, ghoulies, all made me take the wide way around. Chopping mall too.
Chopping Mall! That's another one I used to stare at all the time, but forgot to mention it in the script. That was also another one I didn't actually see until I was much older.
@@JohnPaulC27 Noticed there was no mention of Troll 2 there. 😂
@@RetroDaze that was my holy grail and I went to (for me as a 12 year old) extreme lengths to finally see it once i discovered its existence in TV guide….
My mom and pop shop was Moon Video. Great selection and it being only two blocks away was awesome. Spend plenty of quarters playing TMNT Arcade game.
Awesome memories! Thanks for sharing those Rob.
Nice! Yeah, my video place was right across the street, with two others in walking distance (Brooklyn, so yeah).
Direct to Video movies at the store introduced me to so many crappy films that are so good to watch. My favorites were from Full Moon video like the Puppet Master series. So bad they were good
@@ctbinary42 Yes! The Puppet Master series, and Full Moon films in general, are a product of rental stores. We may NEVER have had them, or thousands of other lower budget flicks, without video stores!
When is the video on choose your own adventure books going to be done?
I miss Blockbuster & Hollywood Video
@@roygarcia4200 We miss them all.
If you know about the "Video Rental Store" then you know! My childhood Video Store was "The House Of Video" family owned. Geat Content Retro Daze!🤘🏻👍🏻🇺🇲
Thank you as always Z Man!
“The House of Video” is a stellar name for a video store! Always fun to learn of the myriad of fun video store names.
That was delightful!!
Thanks Jon and Team
Great memories
@@tedadamgreen It is our pleasure Ted! Thank you!
My sister and I rented a lot of movies and video games from the video section of Delchamp’s Supermarket. I avoided going to Blockbuster for as long as possible because they were more expensive. But eventually Blockbuster won out, at least until Netflix took off.
@@talir71 Boy that was a missed opportunity Blockbuster would have loved to have a redo of. 😆
In Chicago we still have the VIDEO STRIP. They have so many films as they have a larger selection than any streaming site. In fact many of the videos are not available on any site and they offer uncut versions of them. So why would someone go to one? Better selection, uncut, special features, true HD and 4k quality are just a few reasons.
Yes! A large physical media library will always be a better option. The Video Strip sounds amazing!
Now I wanna watch Innerspace. When I was in my late teens, me and my friends would go to a few local places for movies, since our town didn't have a Blockbuster, but for our games, we'd always go to the same grocery store, as they always had the best selection and prices on rentals. After moving out on my own, going to Blockbuster was my Friday night ritual. There was a convenience store right next to it and a Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King all just right there as well, so we'd grab drinks and snacks and food all in one trip. Good times, man.
@@Dorelaxen This is so familiar to me (Tony G.) as I too would rent games from a local grocer and eventually move down the road to a town with a Blockbuster that had a Burger King, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s nearby! 😆
Best line from Innerspace: "Play with it, pal, but don't talk to it ."
@@godofzombi 😆 There were some good ones for sure.
Believe it or not, I lived less than a block away from the original VCR store on Wilshire in the early 2000s...
@@Robalini1 Woah! That’s very cool!
I think the common thread between video stores, movie theaters, book stores, music stores, and similar places that are since dying or extinct, is the sense of community, the element of surprise, a touch of risk, and, as you mentioned, how special the event was. You went to these places with friends, or at least to connect with other customers or the cashiers and discuss and learn more about films. You took a risk on the movie often based on the cover. We couldn't read reviews and watch trailers as easily as we can now. If you liked the movie, great, if not, you were out a few bucks, and that's just how it was. As much as people love having the world and everything in it at their fingertips, I think this can actually be a detriment. While it's nice and convenient, when you put effort into something, or when the resource is scarce, you appreciate it more. Whether you had to drive to the store to pick up and return the movie, to get the perfect shot because you were limited to 24 shots in your camera and hoping you didn't blink... you appreciated the end product more. I loved the days before streaming because watching a movie doesn't feel as special. When I have everything with the click of a button, there's little left of a world of cinema to explore, compared to the old days when there was always something new to discover.
@@justinf9934 You nailed it with this: “…when you put effort into something, or the resource is scarce, you appreciate it more.”
As for TV, it’s just not an event anymore. It’s not the same feeling as when you HAD to tune in at the same time as millions of others, experiencing it simultaneously.
I always liked Hollywood Video! Just liked the atmosphere it had! I’m an 80’s kid and would love for that experience to come back! Your right, it was exactly that an “experience “ that made going to the video rental store and picking out your favorite movie for movie night special! This generation will never understand that! I still have a VHS! That works well! I will seek out the old 80’s VHS movies and m on The VHS player for that nostalgic feel! Great Video!
@@cowboydiecastracing Thank you CDR! Exactly! That whole rental experience made you certain that whatever you rented was a must watch!
@@RetroDaze You are welcome! Agreed!
'blockbuster was the wal-mart of video stores' yeah if that one doesn't hit the nail on the head! those mom and pop stores had kinda the same charm to me as the local non-chain restaurants, same kinda vibe as those, for sure. though I did rent a metric ton of games from the video stores BBV and otherwise... it's no wonder the game companies had to ratchet up the difficulty on most of those, don't want them finishing it in a weekend and not paying $60 bucks to own it! definitely some fun memories there, though.
@@darktetsuya It does make you wonder how the game rental model affected game developers. If they did indeed have to consider the practice of renting games when determining difficulty.
One thing I noticed about video stores was if it had an adult backroom, it always also had an amazing horror section.
That DID seem like there was a connection, didn’t it?
I loved Hollywood Video ❤🎬
This was my weekend
@@candacecherry2846 It was definitely one of the top choices for weekend activities!
soooo many arguments started from me begging my mom to take me to the video store, she dreaded it because she knew how long i was going take... I still see the building it was in and think about going in what it is now just to see if anything looked the same inside...
@@kronvlat It’s hard to pass by those old haunts. Always wondering if any semblance of what was still exists in there.
WOW HAVE times changed,my first vid rental was the blues brothers.1 day rental,with that c thomas howell, movie when the russians invade the u.s.a.80's mid i think.
Ahh yes! Was that other movie Red Dawn?
@@RetroDaze yes yes red dawn,had pals over,snacks of all sorts ,pop as was called in the days,like coke or pepsi etc etc ,double feature or sometimes triple,stayed up all nite,had a very COOL MOM AND DAD,WE WOULD SLEEP TO NOON OR sometimes later. ARE THE GOOD TIMES REALLY OVER FOR GOOD?
The one horror/sci-fi cover that always stood out to me was "Creature". A bsd Alien rip-off, but the cover creeped me out so much, i was never brave enough to watch it until i was in my 40s. Lol
Ha! By then it probably seemed pretty tame.
Remember Movie Gallery? Started as as a Mom n Pop in my hometown. Became 2nd largest behind Blockbuster before it was all said and done
@@1977-NES-OG Indeed Matt! In fact, Movie Gallery was the last surviving video store in my (Tony G.) area during the final days of movie renting.
Definitely. When I moved a few minutes west from Albany to Leesburg in the mid-90s, they were one of the four big chains in the area (along with Blockbuster as expected, but also local chains Video's Unlimited and Video Warehouse). Got to first experience two of my favorite SNES games in "Kirby Super Star" and "Chrono Trigger".
My father took me to the movies bi-weekly to see something until he splurged on a vcr. Initially we only had a mom & pop shop by us for a long time. New release night was Tuesday & every Tuesday night I knew he was going to be late because he was getting movies. It was my only late (10pm) school night. He was such a movie buff and caused me to have a love for all types of movies. Movies were always one of our bonds. I really miss Pops. I’ve had so many great memories in a video store.
@@deejay2793 Our hearts go out to you. I lost my father in May (Producer Tony). So I understand. Thank you for sharing those memories of you and your father and your love of films.
@@RetroDaze I’m so sorry for the loss of your father. That’s so recent, just give yourself time. My condolences to the whole retro daze family.
Thank you Deejay.
What's funny was that Blockbuster didn't come around until maybe 1990 (as I remember it was the first video store in Albany that actually had a Genesis and games to rent). Mostly I would go to Videos Unlimited, since they were the big chain before BB and Video Warehouse. Hell, even PhaRX-Mor had a video section. Hell of a great Weekend deal in the 90s. Three movies or any three games (NES, GameBoy, or Genesis. Yes, you could rent GameBoy games there!) for $0.99/each for the entire weekend.
But I do have a lot of memories of going to Videos Unlimited, since they were the first in my hometown, and the only place I could rent those awesome Tengen NES ports. And speaking of arcade cabs, that was what the last Videos Unlimited store that opened by the corner of Jefferson St. and Philema Rd. had in the 90s. I remember they had that triple-hoop basketball cab (the kind that had the air pump to shoot basketball-shaped ping pong balls), an Area-51 cab, and Marvel Super Heroes. Also had the horror section upstairs. So yeah, I get ya in terms of why the locally-owned chains were a lot of times better than some of the national ones.
@@NightSprinter Yes! Precisely!
While it was great to have the selection of a Blockbuster, it was equally great to experience the charm and warmth of a mom and pop outfit, or even the local grocery store or pharmacy. It was really convenient (and fun) to purchase your groceries, meds, AND rent a movie all together.
@@RetroDaze Ah, that reminds me that I had a whole section I had to cut out for time about all the other places you could rent videos, as @NightSprinter mentions in the comments. Could possibly be it's own video eventually too.
@@AnthonyJRapino EASILY. I mean hell, I'm sure you both remember places such as "Putt-Putt Golf and Games", as just weekend activities would be a multi-part video series all by its own. Don't even GET me started on summer vacations..
I remember having to rent a stack of VHS tapes and a VCR packed in a suitcase when VHS machines were $1400 CDN...
@@canuckchuck8836 The renting of the VCR and the tapes is something not many people remember or mention anymore.
I look forward to Saturday for a few reasons, mostly sometimes no work. Retro Daze is one of the reasons also! Renting "Faces Of Death videos could be tricky to rent if you're a kid.👍🏻🇺🇲
@@ZMAN_420 Faces of Death was that video you heard about and saw on the shelf that felt like some cursed treasure that you really wanted but could never have. Then, 40 years later, you learn the treasure was just a cardboard box with some pogs in it. 😆
@@RetroDaze Exactly!😆😅🤣😂
Thanks, Zman!
I know I had experiences in video rental stores just like you tell it, but nothing specific comes to mind. 3:25. I remember that commercial for Paradise Video Stores. The local commercials are sometimes the hardest to come across now. Thanks for including this one from WI.
@@shoked99 Regional and local ads could be sonic the most entertaining(and most unintentionally hilarious) of all. 😆
We’d rent Nintendo 64 consoles too ❤
My dad used to be a nut for gadgets and had one of the first VCRs in 1978-79. In addition to stuff taped off the television like Mork And Mindy and The Muppet Show, some of my earliest media-consumption memories were bootleg tapes of movies like Superman, Davy Crockett, The Rescuers and Snow White, the latter two we had years before their official release. Living in a rural mountain town in Appalachia, the only video stores around were mom and pop places so Blockbuster never figured into it for me. I remember vividly seeing Scream for the first time and it awakening a hunger for horror films that I sated by renting some of the classics and, of course, copying them so I wouldn't need to rent them again. When the local mom and pop places closed at the dawn of the DVD era, our local chain grocery store opened its own video rental department which I used frequently until it closed too a few years later in favor of a Redbox. I still have some of the exact VHS tapes I rented as a child that I bought when the mom and pop places sold off all their stock and they're some of my most prized possessions.
@@bartsimpson83 Thank you for sharing those memories with us!
That was like striking gold… picking up movies from closing rental stores. Sad seeing them go though.
Working for 24hr Video in early 90s, I had the pleasure of unpacking brand new unopened Nintendo, and Sega genesis cartridges for rental. The VHS tapes were cool too, but the game section, and adult corner complete with squeaky saloon doors were the money makers:
@@Bruce-r3h Imagine having those Nintendo games still packaged nowadays. Bank!
Ohhh I don't like gory and violent movies. Even if you did manage to get ahold of it and we went to your house in the 80s and you wanted me to watch it I would probably leave the room.
There's no appeal to it for me. My parents made some good decisions for me and parents that let their kids watch movies like this or didn't check to make sure what their kids were watching needed to have a few more classes.
My mother was strictly against me watching The Simpsons when I was a kid I was not allowed to watch it when it came on in the living room.
Of course I watched it and family Guy in South Park and everything when I was a teenager.
I don't think 14 or 15 is too bad but I'm going to agree with her strongly that she was right.
Sex and violence isn't something kids should be watching I don't care how"cool" it is.
@@lavenderflowersfall280 Agreed. Kids of certain ages are prone to repeat and focus on things. That and some elements in movies and TV don’t go well together.
My hometown of 5000 people had 2 mom n pop movie rental shops. Thats funny you mentioned it cuz I thought I was one of the few weirdos that obsessed over the horror section. I remember the Faces Of Death movies being ones I coveted most. I loved 80s horror!!
@@americanmade7997 It seems to have been a widespread appreciation of the horror box art.
i miss blockbuster video so much and i miss going to blockbuster and talking to people about what movies to watch or what they have watch laterly and stuff like that
The social aspect of the rental store experience is probably the part we miss most.
@@RetroDaze yes we do so much
I miss the store smell 😢
The ones I remember most were a cardboard standee of City of the living dead and a Child's play poster that gave me the creeps because the background looked like the upstairs hallway in my house.
@@godofzombi That would definitely do the trick.
I still have my Blockbuster card, too! Somewhere around the house. But my favorite place to rent movies was the local shop in my hometown. 😊
8:58 holy crap - you nailed the “I can’t stop looking at the horror section movie covers”
@@pragmaticoptimist46 😂 We all have a few that have us nightmares!
@@RetroDaze the stuff
Yes I do miss renting movies and going to the video store
As do we.
I actually pause the movie when I have to go tithe bathroom or get something. It is harder for me to watch a movie in a theater these days. I cannot sit still, and I also look at my phone and have to go to the bathroom
Could be a product of our shortened attention spans thanks to all our devices nowadays.
@@RetroDaze I know right that is why I do not watch regular commercial TV. I stream i do not even bother with cable for that very reason.