The Last Blockbuster (2020) Documentary - Page 3 - Blu-ray Forum

starman15317 · 01-27-2021, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junkmale

What are the special features like? How long do they run time wise? Is it worth buying the Blu-ray for the extras? The web site says it's loaded with extras. If you can givea run down on them and whether or not they're any good that would be cool. Thanks!

Sorry for just seeing this! The special features are the same ones that strumdogg posted. They're all under 10 minutes and are on both the Blu-ray and DVD. Nothing too exciting, but the extended interviews are neat to have.

DaBargainHunta · 01-27-2021, 06:28 PM

Part of me still wants to order this directly from Blockbuster, just to say I did.

But it's cheaper on Amazon and will eventually drop in price even more.

huskersports · 01-30-2021, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoelGoodsen

Is this documentary available to buy anywhere?

It's on iTunes/Vudu/Prime from $8.99-$9.99. No bonus features though (on iTunes or Vudu)

DaBargainHunta · 01-30-2021, 10:36 PM

I just used one of my free Roku rental credits to rent this on FandangoNOW in HD. (UHD is too expensive for the credit, and I don't have the setup for it anyway.) BTW, if you have any of those credits, they expire today - not tomorrow!

Probably not the best use of "funds" for something I can outright buy digitally for $10, but if I like the movie, I'm going to want the physical release with extras anyway.

Besides, free is free.

AJ Cook Fan · 01-30-2021, 10:55 PM

I watched this last month. I'm hoping to visit the store in Bend OR this spring or summer.

MadmanMark · 01-31-2021, 01:01 AM

Looks like the wide retail release is identical to the Blockbuster Bend edition. Saw a copy at my local retailer when I was in there grabbing my usual pre-release titles and it had the same Blockbuster Exclusive sticker the version I received from the Bend blockbuster a few months back. Decent little documentary, not the best disc tech spec wise.

meremortal · 01-31-2021, 02:58 AM

The town I grew up in didn't have a Blockbuster. It was mostly mom and pop stores and they seemed to be doing pretty well in the early to mid 90s; business appeared to take a huge dive during the later vhs era around the time of dvd and the larger corporate giants were buying out the independent stores. On release week during busier years, they might get as many as like a hundred tapes of a huge new release like Jurassic Park. They had a lot of personality both with the staff and the selection. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to chat with other renters and employees, and everyone seemed reasonably interested to speak with you. People who worked there tended to be at least reasonably familar with movies and games as well.

But fast forward to the 2000s in another town, and most of the video stores were long gone. There were several Blockbusters and it just seemed so much different. The employees didn't seem to want to be there and the selection wasn't that impressive. The only reason I'd go would be to look for used dvds during the 5 for $20 sales. Occasionally you could find some quirky dtv horror, etc. But even then, they might be really scratched and the best scenario was finding multiple copies and choosing the best one. Don't have much nostalgia for the chain but would watch the documentary.

beamish13 · 01-31-2021, 03:28 AM

My first retail job was at a Blockbuster in Santa Monica, CA from 2003-2005. I have no nostalgia for them at all, and despite getting free rentals, I continued to patronize the independent Cinefile Video in West L.A., which is STILL alive and thriving. I would often tell customers to go there because they have variety instead of bulk volumes of the same junk titles, and that’s why they continue to exist

My next job was at Borders Books. Moral of the story: hire me and your franchise will sink

AnamorphicWidescreen · 04-03-2021, 02:17 AM

I recently TLB doc. earlier this week, and it was interesting & compelling.

I admittedly wasn't much of a movie fan in the VHS days - so, was much more into renting after I got my first DVD player back in 2003; access to the plethora of movies & TV shows on DVD made me both a movie & big TV show fan - when I hadn't been much of one earlier. So, I rented the most between roughly 2003/2004 - 2010.

However - after a while, it didn't make sense to bother renting anymore due to streaming getting faster & more popular. Also, DVD prices got less expensive so it wasn't really that cost effective to rent - when you could pay a little more $ & own the Disk outright.

And, though I am huge physical media fan first & foremost - I will honestly say I do not miss renting from video rental stores whatsoever & have 0 good memories of the whole experience.

Re: BB specifically, I especially don't miss:

1) BB late fees. I hated having to deal with rushing to return the video by midnight of a specific day so I wouldn't get dinged with the late fees.

2) Scratched Disks. There were numerous times the rental DVD's were scratched & either skip/froze during certain segments, or didn't work at all. I have bad memories of complaining to the store & trying to get a refund, but not being able to. I even offered to show the manager the place where the DVD skipped/froze, but they didn't care.

3) Extremely limited selection of older films/TV shows. Sure, they had hundreds of copies of newer films/shows, but their selection of older stuff was typically abysmal/poor.

4) Telling me I needed to return a movie & that it was overdue, when I was 100% certain I had returned said movie. It got to the point that I would return videos to them in-hand (instead of the drop box) so I could make sure they were checking them in directly in front of me.

5) Being more knowledgeable about the technical qualities/aspects of DVD's - and about movies in general - than the staff who worked in the store.

I strongly preferred Hollywood Video to BB due to their having a better selection of older films, as well the fact that their Disks were typically in much better shape than BB's (probably due to less people renting/viewing them).

However, the issue I had with all video rental stores was:

6) The hassle/time involved in going to the store & renting the disks, and then having to go back to return them.

And, re: this doc. - I fully appreciated the irony of watching a documentary about physical media & the Last standing Blockbuster video rental store....via a streaming service

That all being said, here's hoping the only Blockbuster left (Bend, Oregon) never closes. They obviously have a loyal customer base who will probably be renting for a many years to come.

FoulMouff · 04-04-2021, 12:15 PM

It was a pretty good documentary. Wish it had of went into more detail about the rise and fall, but it was still worth a watch. I worked for Blockbuster here in Ontario, Canada for many years and went down with the ship as assistant manager. Right up til the final day (September 2011) we were open and were awaiting news if the buyer who was in negotiations was going to buy us out. It was such a sad day when I was on that conference call and the news came in saying the buyer backed out.

At the end of the day, the Canadian business of Blockbuster was profitable every year, even in the first year that Netflix finally came to Canada (September 2010). But it was only a matter of time before it started to sink as well. Fond memories and truly miss the place.

indisposed · 04-04-2021, 12:22 PM

I bought the Prime Video version yesterday, but I gotta ask... how much is Kevin Smith in this? I'd probably appreciate it more, if he wasn't in it at all.

FoulMouff · 04-04-2021, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indisposed

I bought the Prime Video version yesterday, but I gotta ask... how much is Kevin Smith in this? I'd probably appreciate it more, if he wasn't in it at all.

Not a whole lot. Just a few quickie interviews. I used to enjoy listening to Kevin Smith talk, but it seems like he is on everything now lol

indisposed · 04-04-2021, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoulMouff

I used to enjoy listening to Kevin Smith talk, but it seems like he is on everything now

It's like he sees himself as some sort of iconic spokeman for geek/alternative culture, but he's become more and more apart of the establishment. I wish his now skinny ass, would just go away!

CrowKiller · 04-04-2021, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jobla

I owned a small "all cult" video store in Seattle throughout the 80's and 90's.

When Blockbuster finally opened a branch near my store, people thought it would drive me out of business. However, I had such a weird and eclectic collection of tapes that BB hardly made a dent in my business.

In fact, the manager of that BB became a customer of mine, because we had many tapes that Blockbuster wouldn't carry (and I don't mean porn).

That's pretty much the tactic to take on big businesses. I also heard story about someone who opened a small independent game shop in the same mall as Gamestop, which showed up after his store. His shop carried a lot of stuff Gamestop didn't. Mainly old school stuff. Eventually one of those two businesses got run out of the mall and put out of business in that location. It was Gamestop that vanished from that mall and went under. It just shows that the little guy can still take on big businesses and win, if they know what they're doing, but don't have the massive budget a large corporation does. Might be a little harder and take more effort at times, but it can be done. Most people aren't loyal to companies (stores). They're loyal to their wallets and self satisfaction most of all.

TwinCitiesBluFan · 04-04-2021, 04:10 PM

I caught this on Prime a week or so ago and really enjoyed it! I appreciated the fact that there was some good info on the rise and fall of Blockbuster as a company, but that the “story” really focused on the Bend store and the cool, family atmosphere that surrounds it. I had debated getting it on Blu-ray (buying this particular documentary on physical media seems ludicrously appropriate, doesn’t it??), but wanted to watch it first. I may still end up buying it, especially now that it’s more widely available.

chrisgould · 04-08-2021, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoulMouff

It was a pretty good documentary. Wish it had of went into more detail about the rise and fall, but it was still worth a watch. I worked for Blockbuster here in Ontario, Canada for many years and went down with the ship as assistant manager. Right up til the final day (September 2011) we were open and were awaiting news if the buyer who was in negotiations was going to buy us out. It was such a sad day when I was on that conference call and the news came in saying the buyer backed out.

At the end of the day, the Canadian business of Blockbuster was profitable every year, even in the first year that Netflix finally came to Canada (September 2010). But it was only a matter of time before it started to sink as well. Fond memories and truly miss the place.

i believe its this documentary talks a lot about blockbuster.

https://www.amazon.com/Netflix-vs-Wo...7895863&sr=8-4

SethRex · 04-08-2021, 06:06 PM

Blockbuster should attempt a comeback. If Toys R Us can do it, so can they.

oubukibun · 04-08-2021, 06:18 PM

I have nothing but fond memories of all the Blockbusters I went to. Service was never less than serviceable, and often helpful.

I admit, it seems now that I just lucked out in all regards concerning my customer service history there. Friday nights at Blockbuster or Sunday evenings before a holiday break were always tradition in my family: 3 films per visit, with a bucket of popcorn, and a stop at KFC or Domino's right after. BUT, despite nostalgia clearly a a player, I've got to say, I don't need to rose-tint my memories to acknowledge how awesome every visit there was.

I can still smell the popcorn and feel the clamshell cases in my hands right now... Right down to the smallest details or the layout of each building, or how excited I was when we got our DVD player in 2000 and I was FINALLY able to rent the Director's Expanded Edition of The Last of the Mohicans!

MassiveMovieBuff · 04-08-2021, 07:03 PM

I never had a bad experience at Blockbuster either. In a strange way something got kind of lost with the fun experience of video stores for me once they all transitioned to dvd/blu ray. I can't put my finger on why but possibly it just had to do with the nostalgia of VHS. The artworks on VHS were so much better than the often crappy generic updating of the dvd/blu ray artworks. I drive by stores everyday that used to be my favorite video spots and it's sad seeing that they are not there anymore. There were other video stores that were just as fun to go to as Blockbuster. Hollywood Video comes to mind. There was another small mom and pops video store near me that would give me the posters that they would put up for the new releases once they took them down which I loved.

I really enjoyed this documentary. Brought back a lot of great memories. I like how they go into depth about what it was like regarding the entire experience of going to a video store. It was all a part of your night. The driving up there, the looking around, the picking out, the renting, picking up a bite to eat then getting home to watch them. I loved it all. It also made for great dates as they mention as well. There were also times we would just go to a video store just to look around without renting anything just to kill some time. Ahhh the good ol' days.

OneWayFilms · 04-09-2021, 01:58 AM

As an ex-manager of a Blockbuster Video, I have so many fond memories of our regular customers that came in and felt like a family. I knew what different people liked, made so many suggestions which they ended up LOVING, and loved having my movie knowledge challenged and being considered an EXPERT in that field (ahhh, those were the days).

This documentary really brought back the feels. Immediately after viewing this film, I went to their online web site and ordered my very own Blockbuster Membership Card for $2.00. I feel SO GOOD having this card back in my wallet, even if I can't USE it.

01-31-2021, 02:58 AM	#47
meremortal Blu-ray Champion Member since:Jan 2012 Location:Bedford Falls Trading Score:258	The town I grew up in didn't have a Blockbuster. It was mostly mom and pop stores and they seemed to be doing pretty well in the early to mid 90s; business appeared to take a huge dive during the later vhs era around the time of dvd and the larger corporate giants were buying out the independent stores. On release week during busier years, they might get as many as like a hundred tapes of a huge new release like Jurassic Park. They had a lot of personality both with the staff and the selection. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to chat with other renters and employees, and everyone seemed reasonably interested to speak with you. People who worked there tended to be at least reasonably familar with movies and games as well. But fast forward to the 2000s in another town, and most of the video stores were long gone. There were several Blockbusters and it just seemed so much different. The employees didn't seem to want to be there and the selection wasn't that impressive. The only reason I'd go would be to look for used dvds during the 5 for $20 sales. Occasionally you could find some quirky dtv horror, etc. But even then, they might be really scratched and the best scenario was finding multiple copies and choosing the best one. Don't have much nostalgia for the chain but would watch the documentary. Last edited by meremortal; 01-31-2021 at 04:46 AM.

04-03-2021, 02:17 AM	#49
AnamorphicWidescreen Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2014	I recently TLB doc. earlier this week, and it was interesting & compelling. I admittedly wasn't much of a movie fan in the VHS days - so, was much more into renting after I got my first DVD player back in 2003; access to the plethora of movies & TV shows on DVD made me both a movie & big TV show fan - when I hadn't been much of one earlier. So, I rented the most between roughly 2003/2004 - 2010. However - after a while, it didn't make sense to bother renting anymore due to streaming getting faster & more popular. Also, DVD prices got less expensive so it wasn't really that cost effective to rent - when you could pay a little more $ & own the Disk outright. And, though I am huge physical media fan first & foremost - I will honestly say I do not miss renting from video rental stores whatsoever & have 0 good memories of the whole experience. Re: BB specifically, I especially don't miss: 1) BB late fees. I hated having to deal with rushing to return the video by midnight of a specific day so I wouldn't get dinged with the late fees. 2) Scratched Disks. There were numerous times the rental DVD's were scratched & either skip/froze during certain segments, or didn't work at all. I have bad memories of complaining to the store & trying to get a refund, but not being able to. I even offered to show the manager the place where the DVD skipped/froze, but they didn't care. 3) Extremely limited selection of older films/TV shows. Sure, they had hundreds of copies of newer films/shows, but their selection of older stuff was typically abysmal/poor. 4) Telling me I needed to return a movie & that it was overdue, when I was 100% certain I had returned said movie. It got to the point that I would return videos to them in-hand (instead of the drop box) so I could make sure they were checking them in directly in front of me. 5) Being more knowledgeable about the technical qualities/aspects of DVD's - and about movies in general - than the staff who worked in the store. I strongly preferred Hollywood Video to BB due to their having a better selection of older films, as well the fact that their Disks were typically in much better shape than BB's (probably due to less people renting/viewing them). However, the issue I had with all video rental stores was: 6) The hassle/time involved in going to the store & renting the disks, and then having to go back to return them. And, re: this doc. - I fully appreciated the irony of watching a documentary about physical media & the Last standing Blockbuster video rental store....via a streaming service That all being said, here's hoping the only Blockbuster left (Bend, Oregon) never closes. They obviously have a loyal customer base who will probably be renting for a many years to come. Last edited by AnamorphicWidescreen; 04-03-2021 at 03:19 AM.

01-27-2021, 06:28 PM	#42
DaBargainHunta Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:May 2011 Location:Parts Unknown - because I blabbed about Mars! Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:30	Part of me still wants to order this directly from Blockbuster, just to say I did. But it's cheaper on Amazon and will eventually drop in price even more.

01-30-2021, 10:36 PM	#44
DaBargainHunta Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:May 2011 Location:Parts Unknown - because I blabbed about Mars! Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Trading Score:30	I just used one of my free Roku rental credits to rent this on FandangoNOW in HD. (UHD is too expensive for the credit, and I don't have the setup for it anyway.) BTW, if you have any of those credits, they expire today - not tomorrow! Probably not the best use of "funds" for something I can outright buy digitally for $10, but if I like the movie, I'm going to want the physical release with extras anyway. Besides, free is free.

01-30-2021, 10:55 PM	#45
AJ Cook Fan Active Member Member since:Oct 2020	I watched this last month. I'm hoping to visit the store in Bend OR this spring or summer.

01-31-2021, 01:01 AM	#46
MadmanMark Active Member Member since:Nov 2011 4K collection:1 Blu-ray collection:5	Looks like the wide retail release is identical to the Blockbuster Bend edition. Saw a copy at my local retailer when I was in there grabbing my usual pre-release titles and it had the same Blockbuster Exclusive sticker the version I received from the Bend blockbuster a few months back. Decent little documentary, not the best disc tech spec wise.

01-31-2021, 03:28 AM	#48
beamish13 Power Member Member since:May 2017	My first retail job was at a Blockbuster in Santa Monica, CA from 2003-2005. I have no nostalgia for them at all, and despite getting free rentals, I continued to patronize the independent Cinefile Video in West L.A., which is STILL alive and thriving. I would often tell customers to go there because they have variety instead of bulk volumes of the same junk titles, and that’s why they continue to exist My next job was at Borders Books. Moral of the story: hire me and your franchise will sink

04-04-2021, 12:15 PM	#50
FoulMouff Senior Member Member since:Feb 2013 Blu-ray collection:246 DVD collection:66 Trading Score:2	It was a pretty good documentary. Wish it had of went into more detail about the rise and fall, but it was still worth a watch. I worked for Blockbuster here in Ontario, Canada for many years and went down with the ship as assistant manager. Right up til the final day (September 2011) we were open and were awaiting news if the buyer who was in negotiations was going to buy us out. It was such a sad day when I was on that conference call and the news came in saying the buyer backed out. At the end of the day, the Canadian business of Blockbuster was profitable every year, even in the first year that Netflix finally came to Canada (September 2010). But it was only a matter of time before it started to sink as well. Fond memories and truly miss the place.

04-04-2021, 12:22 PM	#51
indisposed Power Member Member since:Oct 2010 Location:South Wales, U.K	I bought the Prime Video version yesterday, but I gotta ask... how much is Kevin Smith in this? I'd probably appreciate it more, if he wasn't in it at all.

04-04-2021, 04:10 PM	#55
TwinCitiesBluFan Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Sep 2015 Location:Twin Cities, MN 4K collection:943 Blu-ray collection:4248 DVD collection:445 MA collection:133 Digital collection:456 iTunes collection:136 Trading Score:321	I caught this on Prime a week or so ago and really enjoyed it! I appreciated the fact that there was some good info on the rise and fall of Blockbuster as a company, but that the “story” really focused on the Bend store and the cool, family atmosphere that surrounds it. I had debated getting it on Blu-ray (buying this particular documentary on physical media seems ludicrously appropriate, doesn’t it??), but wanted to watch it first. I may still end up buying it, especially now that it’s more widely available.

04-08-2021, 06:06 PM	#57
SethRex Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jan 2009 4K collection:6 Blu-ray collection:7 Digital collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 6 Trading Score:127	Blockbuster should attempt a comeback. If Toys R Us can do it, so can they.

04-08-2021, 06:18 PM	#58
oubukibun Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Sep 2014 4K collection:123 Blu-ray collection:543 DVD collection:75 Trading Score:17	I have nothing but fond memories of all the Blockbusters I went to. Service was never less than serviceable, and often helpful. I admit, it seems now that I just lucked out in all regards concerning my customer service history there. Friday nights at Blockbuster or Sunday evenings before a holiday break were always tradition in my family: 3 films per visit, with a bucket of popcorn, and a stop at KFC or Domino's right after. BUT, despite nostalgia clearly a a player, I've got to say, I don't need to rose-tint my memories to acknowledge how awesome every visit there was. I can still smell the popcorn and feel the clamshell cases in my hands right now... Right down to the smallest details or the layout of each building, or how excited I was when we got our DVD player in 2000 and I was FINALLY able to rent the Director's Expanded Edition of The Last of the Mohicans!

04-08-2021, 07:03 PM	#59
MassiveMovieBuff Blu-ray Count Member since:Apr 2014 4K collection:414 Blu-ray collection:1627 DVD collection:97 Trading Score:3	I never had a bad experience at Blockbuster either. In a strange way something got kind of lost with the fun experience of video stores for me once they all transitioned to dvd/blu ray. I can't put my finger on why but possibly it just had to do with the nostalgia of VHS. The artworks on VHS were so much better than the often crappy generic updating of the dvd/blu ray artworks. I drive by stores everyday that used to be my favorite video spots and it's sad seeing that they are not there anymore. There were other video stores that were just as fun to go to as Blockbuster. Hollywood Video comes to mind. There was another small mom and pops video store near me that would give me the posters that they would put up for the new releases once they took them down which I loved. I really enjoyed this documentary. Brought back a lot of great memories. I like how they go into depth about what it was like regarding the entire experience of going to a video store. It was all a part of your night. The driving up there, the looking around, the picking out, the renting, picking up a bite to eat then getting home to watch them. I loved it all. It also made for great dates as they mention as well. There were also times we would just go to a video store just to look around without renting anything just to kill some time. Ahhh the good ol' days.

04-09-2021, 01:58 AM	#60
OneWayFilms Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Mar 2010 Location:Mississippi 4K collection:16 Blu-ray collection:971 DVD collection:759 Digital collection:457 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:5	As an ex-manager of a Blockbuster Video, I have so many fond memories of our regular customers that came in and felt like a family. I knew what different people liked, made so many suggestions which they ended up LOVING, and loved having my movie knowledge challenged and being considered an EXPERT in that field (ahhh, those were the days). This documentary really brought back the feels. Immediately after viewing this film, I went to their online web site and ordered my very own Blockbuster Membership Card for $2.00. I feel SO GOOD having this card back in my wallet, even if I can't USE it.

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