I go to the library at least 3 times a week to return watched movies and keep my 10 dvds per week list fresh. 2 at a time plan on Netflix. Occasionally I watch a movie on YouTube, if you would qualify that as downloading.
Here in the Philadelphia area we are quite lucky to have TLA Video as an option.
They have been a Philly staple for many years – I rented the VHS tapes of Berlin Alexanderplatz at one of their stores years ago.
They started as Theatre Of The Living Arts where I saw my fist Herzog film [Aguirre] in the 70s and are now an amazing video store with more depth than any 10 other brick and mortars in the region [and they will transfer films from their other locations for you!].
If they don’t have it then Netflix does, so I do both of them.
I still drive 35 miles out of my way once or twice a week to support TLA video, and many of the employees are VERY knowledgable and helpful and have turned me onto many an interesting film, as each has their own area of preference/expertise.
It’s a real gist to have a store like this, and I would miss it dearly if I had to move away, or if they went under.
[they did close their New York location, along with one Philly store in the last 2 yeas, but seem to be doing okay for now]
There’s a legendary video store in Vancouver, Videomatica, which also has a mail order service which is available throughout Canada, videomatica.ca. I find it to be quite fabulous. Although zip.ca probably has more titles (certainly from the silent era) I find the videomatica website really much more usable. The owners of Videomatica are legendary in the Greater Vancouver film community, supporting the film festival, the Pacific Cinematheque, and local filmmakers. I’m a subscriber, that’s the extent of my connection.
I use TLA here in town with their unlimited plan where I get 2 movies at a time and then can return them to get 2 more. I usually watch 3 movies per day and go in there constantly.
I don’t rent movies, or, if I do, I do it very, very rarely, and often from the videostore (Blockbuster). I would go to the library more often, but the one here just doesn’t seem to meet my standards like the one I used to go to did. Usually, I skip renting altogether and just buy movies outright, hoping that I’ve made a wise choice (the VAST majority of films I own I had never seen before I’d purchased them, including all of my criterions except Dazed and Confused). I like to think I have good taste when it comes to films, and that I can tell when a movie will be good or not.
Frankly, when it comes down to it, there are only three movies that I own that I hate (and I don’t know why I still have them), and so it’s not too bad.
Savvy
my kinda store, Brian. I worked at a place that’s similar in Madison WI about 20 years ago called Four Star Video. What a joy it was hanging out with the staff and the wonderful customers. I went in there on my days off just to be around the films and the atmosphere. I really miss it….
Oh Heather, my dear … look at all these people posting about getting their films from netflix, and torrent sites! Well … I don’t think you need to worry too much about it. Alt Vid has a loyal following, as do the other smaller stores in the city. There will always be people that want to support their local businesses … like you and me. That being said … and you know I am a firm believer in small local businesses, and have a serious hate-on for the lack of human contact these days, and Blockbuster (!!!!) … I have rented movies from Zip.ca in the past, the things I might not be able to get locally that I really want to see, and I am thankful that I can download torrents and watch films on the internet, because sometimes I just don’t want to go anywhere, or leave the house, and sometimes you just can’t get those things anywhere else (thanks in no small part to this stupid region coding, which we know is all about profit over the real distribution of art) But… there are a lot of people that just don’t care or, for the love of all things holy and I wish this wasn’t the case, don’t even realize that anything besides blockbuster, or for that matter, roger’s exists. Which is sad, really. Unfortunately that is the way the world is turning. The days when most of the businesses in a city were locally owned and operated are gone and dead. We are now in an age of insane massive-profit capitalism, which I could and would bitch about endlessly if I thought anyone would listen, or it would make a difference. I completely agree with you about the way you rate neighbourhoods, by the way… and, like you, I wish that all development was geared towards those aspects you pointed out, just one of the reasons why I’m itching to get the hell out of this city. Let’s start our own city ;-)
If it’s optimism you’re looking for, and maybe this will cheer you up… I have noticed recently an increasing sentiment among people in our general age group against corporate greed, and towards a more sustainable, local, capitalist model. A lot of people are starting to look at the world, and think … “This is bull****!!” Those people are your base, and that base is growing. I’m sure you’ve noticed it too … just think of all those people that were calling about that Zeitgeist movie, which was annoying, but I think points towards a general awakening. Not that the awakening will be overnight, but it certainly is taking place, and who knows… maybe things will change ;-)
Also, I think with you at its helm, the good ol’ Alternative Vid will keep motoring on, and increasing it’s business. I know you’ve been thinking of doing some radio stuff, and you should consider trying to get a show together that would discuss these kinds of issues, or do some writing for the paper… and not just SEE and Vue, but, say … the Journal, where you would reach a different group of people, than you could with the independents. I think that the issues you raise, and not just in terms of film rental activity, are important, and I know that a lot of people would be interested in beginning a serious discussion about them. As the saying goes… “be the change” lady!!
hmm … and just a random thought here… maybe you would want to consider doing some kind of promotion in the store where when someone rents a new release they can take a foreign film for free. Some people might actually take you up on it, enjoy the free film, and start renting them on their own volition. lol … or something that makes more business sense .. hope you’re enjoying your vacation!
And … I think the real thing you need to be questioning (and not that you aren’t) is why these films aren’t available, and why people feel they have to go through netflix… this isn’t just about local stores not getting the traffic they need to bring in these films. And one of the posters is right… you really can’t afford, as a small business to bring in ALL the films that people want to see, and a business like Netflix will always have the advantage there… what this really is about is things like region coding… restrictions that make it next to impossible for people to see certain films, making them turn to things like torrents. Copyright issues. The total saturation of American products worldwide that make local products less appealing to the masses for some reason. I believe that France has some kind of tax system at the movie theatres, where American films are taxed, and that tax goes towards supporting the local film industry. I’ve always wished that Canada would implement a system like that (although, English Canadian filmmakers certainly have a disadvantage to French Canadian filmmakers just based on language). There need to be fundamental changes in not only laws, but acceptable levels of profit and people’s views on local products (art being the major one.) Those changes are not easy to come by, but I think they are possible… it just requires a fundamental change in the way we model our society, and I think it begins with making art more accessable to the masses, and finding a way to make it more acceptable (or, perhaps cheaper) to go see a foreign film (or god-forbid) a Canadian film over some Hollywood commercial vehicle. When I lived in St.Albert, I really had no idea that anything besides Hollywood existed… but this was before the real explosion of the internet… and as much as I find abhorrent about the internet, I also think that as a tool, it has its value, and it is spreading awareness among young people of films, that perhaps, ten years ago, if they weren’t living in a big city, they would have no knowledge of. And that is a good thing… for local video stores as well.
I live in a shitty redneck small town with one video rental store that’s been in and out of business that smells bad and has one copy of A Clockwork Orange and 20 copies of The Hills Have Eyes. Our library has few films outside of pre-60s musicals/classics and kid’s movies — no criterion collection either. Only film I was interested in that I ever found there was Blue Velvet but it was checked out.
That’s why I use Netflix. Cheaper than a rental store and always has the movies I want.
PolarisDiB
Yeah, there’s a video store up in the mountains that is like that, it’s still in business, in fact it put Blockbuster out of business when Blockbuster moved in across the street from them, and I’d go there often if I still lived up there, but now that it’s about 40 min. away, it doesn’t really behoove me to do that. Tis sad.
—PolarisDiB