REDISCOVER THE JOY OF RENTING PHYSICAL MEDIA (FROM A HUMAN)…
Back in the day (which we’ll call the 80s and 90s), the video store was, like TV before it, seen as the greatest threat to cinema by way of inviting you to stay home. Now, thanks to Netflix and other streaming services all but killing the notion of leaving the house at all or interacting with human beings for your entertainment, the beloved Video Rental Store is all but endangered, and remembered fondly. Netflix has created a tunnel vision where algorithm’s push you to ‘more of the same’ from a highly limited amount of titles. Also the risk factor is gone. Don’t like it? Screw it, flick to something else. With streaming, gone too are tens and tens of thousands of movies that will never reach one of these platforms, forcing movie fans toward illegal downloading. Couple that with highly unimaginative ‘thumbnails’, and even the spectacular VHS cover art (itself diminished somewhat with the advent of DVD) is being lost.
Cinephiles are a devoted bunch, and are finding new creative ways to hold on, and introduce a new generation, to the simple joy of hunting down a movie, and making a choice based on cover art, and your gut. No algorithms, no intrusive privacy invasions to skew your viewing habits. Best of all, video stores allow you to engage with other movie fans, and you may end up with a film you’d never otherwise discovered.
Below is our partial list of favorite video stores we like, some that now incorporate cafes and screening rooms, plus a map too to find your way to several more around the world!