Finally, we did; and when we did, we switched to Hollywood Video. Hollywood Video had at least as many titles—most available in both VHS and DVD—and their rental periods hearkened back to Blockbuster's good old days.
And then we moved to Allen, a town with no Hollywood Video. Worse still, the local Blockbuster was small, so when the 'no late fees' business came around it meant that we usually had to wait for a couple months after a movie was released in order to find a copy in stock.
After several months of Sweetie's prompting, I signed up for Netflix. After a few weeks of almost having at least one movie waiting to be viewed, Sweetie and I agreed that Blockbuster's business model was in big, big trouble.
Apparently, Edward Jay Epstein agrees. In his interesting analysis at Slate, he expands on what Sweetie and I were sensing:
The other shoe dropped with the emergence of Netflix as a major online competitor for what remained of the rental market. (Blockbuster turned down the opportunity to buy Netflix for a mere $50 million, instead entering a disastrous home-delivery deal with Enron.) Netflix signed up over 3 million subscribers by 2005 by offering DVDs that could be kept as long as renters liked for a monthly fee. To compete, Blockbuster had to do away with its single biggest profit-earner: charging late fees to customers who kept videos past the due date. It also had to invest millions of dollars in a copycat online plan.Thanks to the way Blockbuster gave VHS the bum's rush, we now have DVD capability in both rooms where we watch movies. Netflix' DVD-only format is no longer any sort of barrier and, as Epstein points out, Blockbuster will not be missed.
And speaking of movies...
...we just watched Star Wars, Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith earlier this week.George Lucas has taken a lot of flak over the dumbing down of the three prequel movies, and I think a lot of that is justified. Fortunately, I'm able to mostly suspend my disbelief and just wallow in the rich CGI world he has created.
You won't hear me ranting about Jar-Jar Binks (not much more offensive than the bloody Ewoks, really) or the fact that when a spacecraft is shot down and starts listing, people and droids wouldn't really start sliding all over the decks (it's artificial gravity). I won't even rail against the criminally bad dialogue.
Well, not much.
There was one thing that struck me during the movie—okay, two things, if you count the errant piece of popcorn. After his encounter with Master Windu, Palpatine's appearance left me feeling like I'd seen him somewhere before. Finally, I figured out where:
Simon Bar Sinister lives!
Now playing: Cry of Love, Brother
5 comments:
The Hubbs and I have been thinking of joining Netflix but have been hesitant - it's about the money (we don't even have cable or satellite). He’s not allowed to do anything that requires a monthly fee until I get a cell phone.
We only rent movies maybe once per month anyway. We don't even have Blockbuster here - I think it's called Movie Warehouse. Whatever it’s called, they still charge late fees. The kids get free movies from the library.
Well, I guess I don't need to watch the Star Wars movie now.
Anne: I understand about the money. If it's not in the budget, it's just not. However, Netflix does have a deal—or did—where you can sign up and try it for a month without charge. You can then cancel, but we didn't.
I'm very surprised to hear you say that you don't have a Blockbuster, though. I know they're in your state, because there are a couple in the town where my parents live. And it's significantly smaller than where you told me you are.
As far as not needing to watch the movie, I think that would be a mistake. I don't think I gave away anything critical to the plot, especially in light of the fact that we all know what has to happen in preparation for the first Star Wars movie.
The fun bit is seeing how it's all explained!
Susie: The "no late fees" thing was a sham from the beginning, obviously. Sure, it gets people back in the store and takes off some of the pressure to race home, whip out the movie, and throw it in the player before you've even taken off your coat. The problem is that, as the Slate article points out, Blockbuster's business model needs those late fees to survive.
Which is why Blockbuster has reneged and is now allowing stores to go back to charging late fees on a location-by-location basis. <sarcasm>I'm stunned, of course.</sarcasm>
If your local store is like the one where we used to live, you're lucky to have Hollywood Video. The employees got to where they knew us by sight (if not by name) and were always very friendly and helpful. That meant a lot to us.
I kind of want to expand on the conversation about the Star Wars, Episode 3 movie, but I'll be good and wait until after Anne gives me the high sign that the Hubba Doos have had a chance to view it!
I know: I'm just too swell for words. [winking]
Just kidding about Star Wars you guys!
Foo - The Louisville area has Blockbuster. I'm east of Louisville in LaGrange - we don't have one. We got WalMart though!
Blockbuster just had to play out a bunch of money in this area because of the late fee thing. COnsumers were getting basically the cost of a rental back, and Blockbuster I think is now sufficiently chagrined about their policy. But I do agree, they ARE in decline.
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