The three remaining video stores in Montgomery announced Tuesday they were closing permanently. One of them announced a week ago it was going out of business while the other two would remain open, but that changed Monday when Blockbuster cut the computer systems for all three stores. Now, the capitol city of one of these 50 United States will no longer have a video rental store.
My wife and I learned of this yesterday when we decided to rent The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton. We’d seen it before, it came up in conversation over lunch, so we went across the street when we finished eating only to learn the store was selling everything (cash only). Has Netflix and Redbox put such a stranglehold on the video market as to close physical stores and become the only game in town? On the surface, it would seem so. One of my friends who was a manager at one of the local Blockbusters said he had six paychecks to bounce. The local stores had not ordered any “new” releases in weeks, despite emails and ads announcing they had these movies 28 days before Netflix or Redbox.
I currently subscribe to Netflix, and have rented from Redbox, but neither compare with an off-the-cuff decision to rent a movie for the night. Our Netflix plan allows two movies at one time with many available to watch on computer (which doesn’t work for a family). So if we really wanted to watch The Incredible Hulk badly enough, I can put it in my Netflix queue and wait two days after we send one of our current DVDs back. Not a bad deal, except there are movies lined up that we haven’t seen before that we’d rather see instead; if the choice was between either waiting for Hulk or paying $2 for a few days, we’d go with the latter.
But that is not a choice now. No longer can we go down the street, see what’s available, and come home with a movie for the night. Instead we have to either plan ahead accordingly (my stepdaughter is out of town every two weeks so some movie time finagling is required) or find a Redbox, which specializes in only new releases with a few exceptions. Is this the future of movie rental stores across the country?
It’s amazing how availability and price (Netflix’s queues and price plans, and Redbox’s $1 per night) triumph over immediate satisfaction with a knowledgeable staff. For example, at this writing, two movies, The Tourist and Black Swan, were released on DVD this week. I received an email from Blockbuster today (a perk from joining their Rewards program that I will no longer be able to enjoy although we paid the yearly fee) proudly declaring “We’ve Got It 28 days before Netflix or Redbox!” This time two weeks ago, or even last week, I could go into the store and come home with one of several new releases, and see why these movies were as good (or not as good) as some say they are. Now, we’ll have to wait 28 days, and I can imagine the line will be long. How convenient…
But isn’t technology supposed to allow for progress and convenience? Aren’t these options supposed to make things easier? Am I just too spoiled, a product modern American conveniences already in place? I don’t think so. What is the purpose of releasing a movie unless it’s not meant to be seen? Why do you think video stores order so many copies of one title? Because they are aware of the concept of supply and demand. Can a little Redbox do that? There are only so many discs that will fit inside that vending machine. And apparently Netflix struggles with it as well since so many new releases are accompanied by the notice “Very Long Wait.” Ho-hum. Then I guess that’s what we’ll do: wait.
However, I for one do not believe everything is worth waiting for. For example, let’s go back to The Tourist and Black Swan. I saw Black Swan in the theater, enjoyed it, and would like to see it again. I heard The Tourist was terrible, but Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie are great actors, so can the movie be that bad? I could rent it and find out… but not today. Not for at least 28 days. Will I want to see it again in about a month? Probably not. I’m not that curious about it. Maybe if it shows up in Redbox’s list, I may spend a buck on it. And there are too many movies in my Netflix queue that I haven’t seen that have priority right now.
So if my family would like to unwind with a movie tonight, what’s it going to be? Nothing from Netflix that hasn’t been preordered and sent to my home. Nothing from Redbox unless it’s a new release that seems mildly interesting, but according to their promotional emails, nothing does; and, I won’t be standing outside to see if they happen to have an older release from their slim selection. And I won’t be talking to any store-management friends with any new recommendations or any classic or obscure titles I may have missed. Unfortunately, that is no longer an option.
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