Streaming Killed the VCR Star: The Last Blockbuster Video on Earth

I’m old enough to remember the dawn of home video entertainment. When cable boxes and VCRs (Video Cassette Recorder) were still new technology, and VHS (Video Home System) rental locations didn’t require an entire store, but just a small section of a local pharmacy, or an electronics store, and they only had one copy of each title. Maybe 2 copies for the bigger titles of the time like, “Jaws” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. “Jaws”, incidentally, was the first VHS I rented, even though I’d seen it 10 times on HBO by then. (Ok, my parents rented it, but I asked for it, and got it “on-demand”.)

In those days, “on-demand” meant calling your local video store, and IF they had the title you were looking for, you’d have to drive to the physical location, pick it up, then drive it back home, then load it into the VCR, then wait for it to roll through the “copyright warning”, then watch 3 to 5 trailers for upcoming films, and THEN you could watch your movie. Otherwise, if it had already been rented, you may have to wait a day or two for the previous renter to return it.

Hopefully they had the courtesy to rewind it. If not, you’d have to rewind the movie yourself before you could start the tape. “Non-Rewinders” were such a nuisance in the 80s & 90s, that the campaign slogan “Be kind; Rewind” was created, plastered on posters all over video stores, and the VHS tapes as well, as a PSA to the inconsiderate.

I’m sure I wore out my local Curtis Mathes Electronics employees, calling several times a day in 1983 to see if their single copy of “The Making Michael Jackson’s THRILLER” had been returned. Then when it was finally back on the shelf, having to ask a family member to drop everything they were doing (most likely, if memory serves well, it was my big sister with a license), and drive me the 5 minutes it took to get to the store to rent it before some other Thriller-era Jackson zealot got to it.The store soon had 5 copies available because “people kept calling and requesting it”. Now, I’m not saying that was all me, but when I said I called several times a day, I mean I called at least 10 times a day. No exaggeration. What? I was 7, it was summertime and I had nothing to do except play Atari, beat Pac-Man and Space Invaders again, and watch Mtv.

Lack of supply for the demand of copies for each title was a symptom of what was to come later in the 80s: video store chains with multiple copies of each title, even the low box office performers. A veritable smorgesbord that could rival the variety of candies in Willy Wonka’s factory. The chief among these stores was Blockbuster Video. In fact, having multiple copies guaranteeing you a near 100% chance your pick would be in stock was their entire business model.

It was, in a way, a brick and mortar “on-demand” service. And definitely the gateway drug for where we are now in expecting anything and everything to be available for consumption 24 hours a day, in huge, unfathomable quantities.

You’d walk in, see the lay of the land with each genre having its own section. Then you’d stroll down the aisles, scanning movies available. “Strolling” is the old-school “scrolling”. Then you’d pick one based on the movie poster, word of mouth, or visit the “Employee Picks” section rather than depend on a streaming app algorithm to make suggestions to you. Then you’d continue “strolling” while maybe talking to other patrons about a film either of you have in hand, or to an employee about a certain title or recommendation, instead of reading and posting in the comments section of a film review site. Back in those days, we actually socialized in person.

The closest thing we have to that experience today is standing outside a 7-11 at a Redbox kiosk, and scrolling through its digital menu while trying to avoid the previous patrons’ finger smears (or whatever that is always gooped across the screen), and another patron behind you, huffing impatiently, waiting for you to pick your selection and get out of their way.

So when I visited friends in Bend, OR recently, you can imagine my literal dramatic jaw-drop when I saw that Bend is home to the last Blockbuster on Earth.

A quick history of Blockbuster Video: It was founded in 1985, and by 2004, there were 9,000 stores. Each one slowly dwindled away because of the digital age. Then, in 2019, there was only one, and now I was standing right in front of it.

The building exterior is the exact same; a long warehouse-like structure with giant picture windows, with large bold signs bragging about the store having “The Best Selection”, and “New Releases” and the same yellow block letters outlined with Superman blue in simple bold font across the top spelling “BLOCKBUSTER”.

Though I have bought movies from Best Buy and Target recently, it has been years since I was in a rental place. I’m guessing the last time was over 10 years ago, but probably closer to 15.

We walked in, and I was smacked in the face by a barrage of nostalgia. The store was exactly the same inside, like it was preserved specially for everyone of that era who visited, to have this moment that I was having. It was kind of like walking into a living museum of home video-culture-past. The counters were the same. It had the same yellow walls and grey utility carpet. They’ve just replaced the VHS selection with DVDs.

It even smelled the same. Kind of like how all hospitals and airplanes smell the same. The video store has a scent. It had never occurred to me that Blockbuster had a specific smell, but found out it did the moment I walked through the doors and passed the waist high check-out counters. You can smell the cool air of the air conditioner, mixed with the plastic of the cases, and freshly vacuumed utility carpet. It’s not a bad odor in the least. It’s just a specific scent to video stores apparently.

We strolled the aisles, “scrolling” through the stores’ selections curious to see what they had. They have a great combination of older films and newer titles available for rent. Of course, there was the famed New Release wall filled from side to side of the newest films available for rent. Surprisingly, there were lesser known independent titles available as well.

I didn’t realize I had a soft spot for a video store until I walked into this Blockbuster, but I do. Basically, it is a functioning business and Gen X museum, complete with its own memory-triggering smell, and a gift shop to exit through, with souvenirs you can purchase and take the nostalgia home with you. Hats, t-shirts, sweatpants, and even classic movie poster puzzles that come in a retro Blockbuster video VHS case (also available at https://bendblockbuster.com/shop/ )

Having a limited selection in our past led us to binging; but years of binging has made us more appreciative of having a smaller, well focused variety. Especially the slower paced viewing of an entire TV series. The digital age has made us long for the days when we could hold the physical product of a movie or album in hand, instead of the cold feeling of only seeing a flat image of a film poster or album cover on your device screen, clicking “select”, and having it piped into your home from some sort of mysterious digital entertainment ether.

Kind of like the vinyl culture resurgence in recent years, people of a certain generation want to experience a familiar way of enjoying entertainment, giving them that feeling of their yesteryear’s less complex home video times, and savoring their Friday night movie selection. The last Blockbuster does not disappoint. It delivers that experience in “Blockbuster” quantities, but you gotta leave your home and go pick it up.

Yes, in case you were wondering, when you sign up to be a member, they give you their laminated rental card just like the old days.