The Last Blockbuster (2020) Documentary

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by SethRex

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

Making a comeback in the middle of a pandemic could be extra challenging

[Britbuffguy]

Originally Posted by oubukibun

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!

LIving my teen years in McFarland, WI, I had to drive a good 15-20 minutes to the Monona, WI Blockbuster. We had two great mom and pa stores in McFarland at first, one part of a liquor store, then a Hollywood Video moved in and they went belly up...and Hollywood Video was meh.

The Monona Blockbuster was great. Employees were movie nerds, and during High School while 90% of my class was out drinking, I'd usually be working a Friday shift at Dairy Queen, then I'd take the drive to Blockbuster, pic up 2-3 movies and then hit some Taco Bell across the street.

It's sad cause both stores are now long gone. Blockbuster is not a mini gym, and Taco Bell moved farther down the street and the old building is just an empty rubble now. Hell, my DQ is now a sit down restaurant. Everything dies apparently.

But using your finger/mouse to go through movies and find something to watch streaming doesn't get close to raiding the movie aisles in Blockbuster on a Friday night, trying to find some gem to watch.

[Talyn]

the Hollywood Video that was on University, near Hilldale the west side wasn't too bad. My aunt and my grandpa would take me there back in those days when I visited Madison. Eventually when I moved for college to Madison, Blockbuster was the nearest to campus and on the west towne mall I'd check out.

I was always partial to local places, but Blockbuster wasn't too bad they usually staffed movie fans. Always a fun time!

[Rzzzz]

My memory of Blockbuster is that they sucked. I miss the Mom and Pop video shops, where they would set movies aside for me and my kids that they thought we would like...

[oubukibun]

Originally Posted by Britbuffguy

LIving my teen years in McFarland, WI, I had to drive a good 15-20 minutes to the Monona, WI Blockbuster. We had two great mom and pa stores in McFarland at first, one part of a liquor store, then a Hollywood Video moved in and they went belly up...and Hollywood Video was meh.

The Monona Blockbuster was great. Employees were movie nerds, and during High School while 90% of my class was out drinking, I'd usually be working a Friday shift at Dairy Queen, then I'd take the drive to Blockbuster, pic up 2-3 movies and then hit some Taco Bell across the street.

It's sad cause both stores are now long gone. Blockbuster is not a mini gym, and Taco Bell moved farther down the street and the old building is just an empty rubble now. Hell, my DQ is now a sit down restaurant. Everything dies apparently.

But using your finger/mouse to go through movies and find something to watch streaming doesn't get close to raiding the movie aisles in Blockbuster on a Friday night, trying to find some gem to watch.

An infinity of yes. Exactly.

Part of loving films is also the sensory exploration of a case, or a store, or even the silent camaraderie of being in the same place as others like you. This forum gets the last bit, but there's just nothing like walking into a Blockbuster and getting that burst of A/C air mixing with popcorn, sweat, a carpet that's either been newly vacuumed or slowly but surely needing to be vacuumed, and that distinct smell of the Blockbuster cases in the New Releases section.

I know I just made it sound incredibly gross, but I trust most of us here know what that smell meant, and why someone could miss it so.

[crutzulee]

I enjoyed this doc as a trip down memory lane. Here in Toronto, Blockbuster's major competitor was a local chain called Jumbo Video and in high school the ritual of walking the isles separately from my girlfriend and then meeting at the register with our respective treasures was a weekly thing. Jumbo video was a 24 hour affair and so I have memories of being there in the wee hours as I often worked late hours.
In university, my apartment walked out to a strip mall with a blockbuster less than 30 steps from my door. I never set foot in there. By that time I was into Laserdiscs and had my first JVC pro logic mini system. I would wait an average of 3 months for new releases to come out and travel to deepest darkest Scarborough to get them..
The advent of DVD meant that Blockbuster was a big part of my life in it's final years. With babies at home, and no chance of getting out to the cinema, the weekend ritual of bringing home 3 titles over the weekend began anew..I can't say that I spent much time browsing the aisles as by then, the internet was giving us more info than we could ever use, including reviews of the transfer and specs of an individual title.