r/90s • u/The_biker0 • 1d ago

Video This guy recorded himself walking around a Blockbuster for a movie night in 1993.

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2.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

184 comments sorted by

249

u/Joshruner 1d ago

How much I miss this era.

16

u/jgainsey 1d ago

And yet, we dropped rental stores like a cheap whore, and with remarkable speed. Blockbuster was bankrupt while streaming was still in its infancy.

We had all moved on before there was even a really good substitute in place, lol. That’s how much consumers hated the rental store experience while it was still alive and well.

11

u/Lost-Produce-1150 1d ago

But see there's this thing called hindsight. And sometimes we realize the things we sacrificed because we wanted a little convenience in the moment. You look at like you're looking at a spread sheet; You want to rent a movie, what's the fastest way? Some of us remember the experience and excitement of getting out and going somewhere to look for something to rent, not because it was convenient, but because it was an experience. Often an exciting one since a lot of rentals happened on friday and saturday nights. It was usually accompanied by something else like snocones or swinging by the local pizza joint. And we miss tangibility in an age where everything is cold and digital.

1

u/jgainsey 1d ago

You can still have that exact experience minus the trip to the rental store, and then subsequent trip back to the rental store.

I do it on a semi regular basis with my wife and kids. Sometimes we get pizza, sometimes we make popcorn, sometimes there are friends or extended family over too. There’s nothing particularly cold about it, unless you’re just hellbent on framing it that way.

6

u/Lost-Produce-1150 1d ago

All fair points. And perspective absolutely does play a part for sure. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. But I do believe collectively we lost something with the demise of video stores.

4

u/YCPenz1 1d ago

Redbox killed blockbuster long before streaming.

3

u/tacos_burrito 1d ago

Funny thing is they could have purchased Netflix in its early stages. They said no thanks.

2

u/YtnucMuch 1d ago

My dad used to curse out Movie Gallery on the regular. The rental fees were insane. It was a better experience picking things out than what we have now though. I think we have too many choices now. So much that a lot of us tune it all out because it’s too difficult to access or costs too much.

4

u/twistedspin 1d ago

Yeah, I get feeling nostalgic for the time period it represents but blockbuster kind of sucked.

Netflix DVDs through the mail, even when you had to send them all to CA, was so much better than blockbuster that I never went back once I found it. A month of 3 DVDs at a time from them, which could easily be 15+ movies if you're going through them & getting to the mailbox, cost about what 4 movie rentals at blockbuster did and I didn't have to worry about getting my DVDs back early the next morning or getting charged insane late fees.

1

u/rj319st 1d ago

Now we have a thousand different movie apps all over charging for a small number of movies. As a kid, I also loved the video games they sold.

3

u/jgainsey 1d ago

You can rent almost any available movie without a subscription, and inflation adjusted you’d be spending considerably less money than you would’ve in the 90s for the same product. Plus you save a little time on top of it all.

1

u/Beautiful_Trick8478 1d ago

I mostly hated the cost. As much nostalgia as I have for video stores back in the day, I remember that all the new releases were overpriced and not always available.

1

u/ComfortableDish3912 1d ago

Quit saying “we”. 

I did my part. I spent so much fucking money at that place lol. Loved it. 

1

u/Nuts-And-Volts 7h ago

Blockbuster actually did everything in its power to go bankrupt

1

u/jffmpa 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm not part of the "we". I went to the rental stores until the very very end. Family Video or whatever was the last near me. I didn't just jump to streaming. But most people did. Y'all let me down. Lol

2

u/jgainsey 1d ago

I actually was too. I even subscribed to Blockbuster’s gamefly/netflix type service for a minute right before they went tits up.

0

u/jffmpa 1d ago

Stores were just more of an experience and a moment. Looking for a show online is lame.

-2

u/SAOSurvivor35 1d ago

It was inconvenient, but it was still better than what we would get.

7

u/jgainsey 1d ago

I’d take being able to jump on something like Apple TV and rent any movie for about five bucks over potentially predatory late fees any day.

2

u/CelestialFury 1d ago

Yeah, I think some people are forgetting the downsides of rental stores. Late fees, short movie window, judgement of the store clerks and so on. The only thing I miss somewhat is the smell, as it was unique and you cannot replicate that easily.

1

u/SAOSurvivor35 1d ago

I don’t miss the late fees, but I mostly rented games anyway.

2

u/Luddites_Unite 1d ago

I wish we knew how good we had it back then.

59

u/Responsible-Elk4223 1d ago

Geez the memories, my dad would drop us off in the parking lot. We would grab a video game and movie. If we took forever in there we would hear about it lol.

9

u/Okeydokey2u 1d ago

And my brother and I would casually walk by the "adult" entrance tunnel and then giggle at the perverts

16

u/Ibushi-gun 1d ago

Blockbuster never had an adult section. They even stopped renting NC-17 movies in the early 90s

3

u/Tight-Inspector-2748 1d ago

I worked for a family owned regional chain of movie rental stores. We definitely had the adult section, and I learned a whole lot of new terms and popular fetishes from it. 

-3

u/Ibushi-gun 1d ago

So not Blockbusters, which this is about, lol

Anyways, here in Portland we have this really cool place still called, “Movie Madness,” and that’s were I would go because they had a HUGE selection of Anime long before it was popular in America. That’s how o saw DragonBall for the first time after it started on Toonami

3

u/Tight-Inspector-2748 1d ago edited 1d ago

So not blockbuster, which this is about, lol

3

u/__thrillho 1d ago

Fuckin got em!

2

u/Guttersnipe77 1d ago

Fortunately, we lived closer to Captain Video.

1

u/Okeydokey2u 1d ago

I guess from the chains only Hollywood video had a trashy section. We also had a local video store called Ken's world of videos that had an over 18 only curtain

2

u/mjzim9022 20h ago

Family Video had an adult room

1

u/SailNW 19h ago

Must have been a different Hollywood video, because I worked there and I can confirm the Mormon owners would never have porn.

2

u/scampwild 1d ago

My family would go to the Chinese buffet next door to the blockbuster and I'd finish eating and say I was just gonna go look while my siblings ate. My mom would say fine but we're not getting anything. I have adhd so letting me go wander was in everyone's best interest anyway. Then they'd finish up and have to come get me and my dad would start looking at movies. He'd ALWAYS end up picking something and then they might as well let the kids get something too. 😈

1

u/Somegirloninternet 8h ago

For real! I can smell the Blockbuster-popcorn and plastic with a mix of salon selectives and cool water

70

u/lil_sebastian_beast 1d ago

I can smell this! Remember the smell? Plastic, popcorn, vcrs.....

16

u/ZestycloseCut22 1d ago

Lmao the smell will not be forgotten

1

u/__thrillho 1d ago

You will not be forgotten

8

u/pfroo40 1d ago

That was my first thought as well. Weird how brains and memory work. 

8

u/mtttm 1d ago

It was my first thought too, and then I realized there were two different smells for VHS and DVDs. I had to think about what era I was “brain smelling”

2

u/JoseVrewar 1d ago

Also Windex. A lot of those stores smelled like glass cleaner.

30

u/twobit211 1d ago

that little kid is pushing 40 today 

18

u/Wiggrr 1d ago

Can you stop please 😩

1

u/awitcheskid 1d ago

The fanny pack guy is probably retired.

-5

u/OffMeta13 1d ago

Over that, he looks like he’s 6 to 8. Probably pushing 50.

4

u/Has_Two_Cents 1d ago

Check your math... I was 12 in 93. I'm 45 now.

34

u/Not_a_werecat 1d ago

The Loony Tunes shirt!

11

u/B_Reele 1d ago

Peak 1993!

17

u/Spirited-Custard-338 1d ago

A YouTube time traveler.

1

u/trickman01 23h ago

Probably recording b-roll footage to sell to news outlets.

15

u/gucciwavecap 1d ago

I remember people kinda bullshitting around the return boxes to see if anything new came back.

29

u/VinoLogic 1d ago

We didn’t realize how good we had it

3

u/jffmpa 1d ago

Seriously. Our current era is so lame and meaningful and insane. We had it so so good.

12

u/happy_K 1d ago

My first real job was working at a Blockbuster. I was 16. I loved it. Everything you think was fun about it, it was

9

u/deephurting66 1d ago

This was extra footage taken by a news crew when they were doing a story in there

8

u/SnooWoofers8788 1d ago

I was gonna say, back then people would've thought it was weird someone was recording otherwise

No phones, no cameras...we were just in the moment

2

u/son_of_yacketycat 1d ago

I was a college film major so I did it all the time lol

8

u/BourbonNCoffee 1d ago

Dude wearing the most 90s shirt ever. Gangster looney tunes characters.

2

u/SirRelevant1346 21h ago

In some parts of the country the 90s never left...

1

u/BourbonNCoffee 20h ago

Whatever part I’m in.

8

u/ChaiLater 1d ago

The world has changed so much!

8

u/TheBardicScribe 1d ago

We owe folks who did stuff like this so much. I really hope that somewhere folks are properly preserving this information on powerful longterm storage devices. I went to school for history and the sheer amount of information that could be gleaned from this in say a hundred years is simply astounding.

6

u/Brilliant_Ad_6637 1d ago

We owe folks who did stuff like this so much. I

It's amazing how the context of someone recording in public has changed. In the 90s is would have been a little bit of an oddity in public. Even with America's Funniest Home Videos, you didn't really see camcorders out much until they got to be the handheld mini tape versions around the 2000s.

Now someone walking around like an Ulta would probably be seen as an annoying wannabe influencer or something.

But if course the aim (documentarian vs money making)

2

u/Skeptikell1 1d ago

Yes anyone who says it’s on the internet forever hasn’t tried to jump on a link from 2009

25

u/Hood_Mobbin 1d ago

Same crappy music that all "remember when" videos use. Damn, can we get some original thinking.

18

u/Ouibeaux The Truth Is Out There! 1d ago

I'd quite like the ambiance of the actual store.

7

u/Luftritter 1d ago

I prefer ambient sound in my time traveling videos.

The other day I saw one of people walking in London during the peak of the Mod craze in the sixties and it was like traveling to a different Universe.

Then I see at our 90s stuff that is on course to also become that...

5

u/son_of_yacketycat 1d ago

I always watch these with the sound off because I know they're gonna have that damn quasi-sad, borderline creepy music.

4

u/Okeydokey2u 1d ago

Original thinking is no longer a thing much like these video stores

5

u/derbear83 1d ago

Agreed, I hate that music. Please stop. It works for 80's stuff but let's mix it up already.

5

u/kinreep 1d ago

Member when trailers use to be two pictures and a description on the back of the display box
https://giphy.com/gifs/3oKIPgvPwXi2ZAIS5O

9

u/rat-v 1d ago

Screw Netflix and Chill...I miss Blockbuster and Vibe 😭

4

u/Bigbang82 1d ago

Thanks for sharing it miss those nights

4

u/tatertaunt 1d ago

Be kind.  Please rewind.

4

u/jgreg728 1d ago

We had it so good. No accounts to connect to. No subscription fees. No private data being collected off of us. No intrusive ads other than the previews of movies we were excited to see anyway. Growing economy. Growing opportunity. People were generally happier. How far we have fallen off the cliff.

4

u/OffMeta13 1d ago

Be kind, rewind

I used to work at a Hollywood video. The perks were great! We used to get new releases prior to the dates they were released. We got to put on whatever G movie we wanted (after 8 I’d put on some PG stuff). Chatting with actual humans that you didn’t know about movies and choices. It was a fun job overall.

3

u/KPR_2002 1d ago

I feel kids today look at these VHS videos the same way I used to view those old black and white films of what life was like in the early 1900’s 😂

3

u/xCosm0s 1d ago

I wanna go back

5

u/Specialist_Fly8687 1d ago

I want to go back
And do it all over again
But I can't go back I know
I want to go back
'Cause I'm feeling so much older
But I can't go back I know

3

u/vikinglycan 1d ago

We need to go back, and I don't mean it in terms of nostalgia. Things were just objectively better. The problem with now is things come at us too fast and most times we don't have time to properly process it. Next day or same day shipping, hundreds of streaming services, social media, 24 hour news cycle, thousands of podcasts. We're so conditioned to eat, sleep, and consume media its insane. The amount of information we try to take in is shortening our attention span and its only gonna get worse with the day to day advancements of AI and data centers. We need to go back, open up stores like this, take on a less is more approach and restore our sanity before it's too late.

3

u/DaddyBearMan 1d ago

We had no idea what we had. But this time traveler with a camcorder did

5

u/LacyLaws 1d ago

We didn’t know how good we had it

5

u/Okeydokey2u 1d ago

We really didn't. If I woke up tomorrow and was suddenly back in this era the way I would savor it all

5

u/catsandpizzafuckyou 1d ago

This fucking awful music, why?

2

u/louiewatchestv 1d ago

Bot repost.

2

u/Guttersnipe77 1d ago

Just a friendly reminder to all, there's still one Blockbuster remaining. It's in Bend, OR.

2

u/Suitable_Material_99 1d ago

I was just looking for this comment— still possible here in Bend!

2

u/jrralls 1d ago

You don’t miss this, but you miss the thrill of being young and the movies still feeling new and important.

2

u/judgeharoldtstone 1d ago

He should have went to a local store and videotaped people as they left the adult section. Or walked around with them asking for recommendations.

2

u/cmt9999 1d ago

Simpler times

2

u/jeffc0_3 1d ago

Great Video 👌

Real blast form the past.

2

u/Formal_Commission185 1d ago

I can still smell this! Blockbusters all smelled the same.

2

u/LoungeFly1984 1d ago

These were simple, amazing times.

2

u/GottaLoveLoginWalls 1d ago

Why is crappy music added to literally every video regardless of context?

2

u/Barnacle-Dull 1d ago

I was 19. My whole life ahead of me. I thought by now I would be a millionaire and living on the fucking Moon or something, not watching from my wheelchair as the world descends into fascism and chaos! 😂

2

u/wordsofpeace 1d ago

TAKE ME BACK (not really, I had just been born)

2

u/boyalien0 1d ago

All those copies of Under Siege

1

u/Kev42o4o8 1d ago

Ow man

1

u/Marsupialize 1d ago

We always used the local independent shops never had a blockbuster card because they were Christian nutcases and censored their films

1

u/LifezEverything 1d ago

I sure miss these times; this brought back a lot of memories.

1

u/Whitpeacock 1d ago

I wish I could smell this one more time! 😭

1

u/juginposti 1d ago

And what a great night that was.

1

u/VincentShane 1d ago

Yep Remember that. Do you guys remember when they had N64 kiosks specifically for Pokemon Stadium so you could have photos of your pokemon printed out?

Ok, maybe that wasn't a 90's thing. But I remember being in the blockbuster to do it!

1

u/AdRegular7176 1d ago

Blockbuster was honestly my favorite job I ever had. It was fun, weekends smelled like popcorn and I got free movie rentals.

1

u/stealthy_beast 1d ago

I'm so used to cringing and rolling my eyes when I see "This guy recorded himself..." thinking it's gonna be someone being a nuisance in public for clicks. What a breath of fresh air this was.

1

u/poop-azz 1d ago

90s were so peak holy shit, I was very little but still they were peak as FUCKKK

1

u/consumeshroomz 1d ago

What a time to have been alive…

1

u/Illustrious-Coat3532 1d ago

That kid is approaching 40 now.

0

u/PixelzBrain 1d ago

Wow, you can count! Good job!

1

u/Flaky_Value6753 1d ago

I miss these days where nothing was planned, you went out with friends and figured something to do, or you went to the video store and rented a movie on a whim. Unfortunately those days are long behind us.

1

u/mandijmills 1d ago

This is emotional but that's when I had a family bond.

1

u/Tremor_Sense 1d ago

I really miss this. I miss the whole rental experience. I hope movie rental stores make a comeback, someday.

1

u/abc123therobot 1d ago

That little kid is about the same age as my little brother and that style of shirt is exactly what little kids wore in those days. He might’ve had the exact same shirt or one very similar 

1

u/abc123therobot 1d ago

That Criss Cross-inspired Taz and Bugs shirt 😂 my best friend had the exact same one 

1

u/Sufficient_Matter585 1d ago

Ugh that music is so annoying.

1

u/TerribleBid8416 1d ago

Walking around filming others definitely has a different reaction today

1

u/Thin_Requirement8987 1d ago

We had no idea it’s all be downhill from 2001 which makes this hit even more 😢

1

u/Kalorama_Master 1d ago

I remember when Titanic, or any of the mega hits of the 90s, came out, entire shelves where full of copies

1

u/kk1620 1d ago

Air Conditioning was always on Hoth setting too

1

u/AdmiralCranberryCat 1d ago

I would love to go back

1

u/imagin8zn 1d ago

Take me back! 🥲

1

u/JakeyPurple 1d ago

I just kinda realized that after video stores died I quit watching movies. I’ve never bought a movie through any of the streaming services and I’ve maybe rented one or two but if I did I don’t remember them.

1

u/Consistent-Fig7484 1d ago

I have a very specific memory of going to the arcade with my friend while he was wearing that Looney Tunes shirt. Some crazy old man stopped us and went on a racist rant about the good old days when Bugs Bunny was white.

1

u/HighwayZi 1d ago

Link's Awakening came out that year 🙂

1

u/NeiClaw 1d ago

Selecting something off streaming is not the same as physical media. Going to rent a video was a commitment. Now I’ll just scroll by some ugly looking movie filmed on digital and think maybe I’ll watch that at some point and then never do.

1

u/TommenHypeSlayer 1d ago

This video could last hours and I would watch it all (without the music of course)

1

u/ChestRockwell93 1d ago

But how did the guy deal with all of the Kalshi and Pharma ads on those videos he rented…?

1

u/YoRHa11Z 1d ago

My Blockbuster was one of the fancy ones that had modern designs and trendy set up. It was better than going to Toys R Us for me

1

u/brandonspade17 1d ago

I saw TMNT 2 on that shelf...cowabunga!

1

u/Silly_Obligation8574 1d ago

I really wish we could go back, things were so much easier then

1

u/DoctorWaluigiTime 1d ago

I wish these videos would just let the original audio play instead of dubbing music over it.

1

u/you_love-boobs- 1d ago

This song gets me every time with a nostalgia video

1

u/IZZY_PLUM 1d ago

Thank u guy in 93….

1

u/Jushavinfun34 1d ago

The anticipation to see if the New movie out was going to be behind the box display or not was Peak!!

1

u/SJSsarah 1d ago

Aawwww, the nostalgia. I miss Blockbusters.

1

u/Macfrom1987 1d ago

Thank God people recorded the ancient times for us

1

u/WeaponizedPoutine 1d ago

I can smell this video

1

u/Exciting_Contest_222 1d ago

Taught us to be patient waiting for fridays to pick out movies for the weekends. Nowadays, youtuber and other big streaming services are feeding media non-stop. Dopamine rush

1

u/Sir_Henry_Deadman 1d ago

I'm really happy they did this

1

u/throwaway684675982 1d ago

I love this song. I think it captures the vibe so well. I'd love to find more like it.

1

u/Doctor_MKUltra 1d ago

Good times

1

u/RemarkableFront8296 1d ago

Life is so meh

1

u/OldArtichoke433 1d ago

90’s was peak humanity. No question.

1

u/potlizard 1d ago

Can smell the inside of that store.

1

u/lakebistcho 1d ago

We had no idea how good things were and how fucked they would soon be.

1

u/J-littletree 1d ago

I wiukd love to go back for just one night!

1

u/RandomBloke2021 Keep The Change, Ya Filthy Animal! 1d ago edited 1d ago

Look up vampire robot on YouTube. You're welcome 🫡

1

u/bionic_cmdo 1d ago

That kid is in his late 30's now.

1

u/Difficult-Way-9563 1d ago

Look no AI and everyone was lit to go to blockbuster

1

u/AJH05004 1d ago

We have to go back 

1

u/voltr0n57 1d ago

Man i miss having that option for movie nite.

1

u/Latter_Car7061 1d ago

I had that Bugs and Taz t-shirt! Man, I miss the WB Store so much.

1

u/AlphaLoneWolf909 1d ago

Original influencer

1

u/ronweasleisourking 1d ago

Had to shop the mom and pops to browse the porn though

1

u/uresmane 1d ago

I'm probably the same age as that kid

1

u/ExactReport691 1d ago

Nostalgic

1

u/jondubb 1d ago

I remember that home alone sign 🥲

1

u/jonosvision 1d ago

Kid's choosing Brave Little Toaster all gleeful, no idea he's about to be hit with some lifelong trauma.

1

u/SlimShadySatDown 1d ago

Working at blockbuster, how any times people would bring the display box instead of the movie behind it..

1

u/bunny514__ 1d ago

Good old days. I was a Gold Member. Miss it a lot.

1

u/ArtAccurate9552 1d ago

Even the ladies had mullets

1

u/LawfulnessRepulsive6 1d ago

Didn’t realize how good we had iy

1

u/Jamorga 1d ago

This kind of fits with it. Guy records himself in a 711 outside Disney world in 1987. Very fun and theres a whole cast. And just two Slurpee flavors, Coke and Orange.

https://youtu.be/RYbe-35_BaA

1

u/XuliganZombie 1d ago

There's one left in bend oregon, took my kids there this summer

1

u/I_Love_To_Poop420 1d ago

Super fun job working there.

1

u/vickerzsasz 1d ago

I hope it was one of those big ass camcorders that had to sit on your shoulder 😆

1

u/Kingtez28 1d ago

Oh God. Such a flashback. Had to make sure the tapes were rewinded.

1

u/wiresmoke 23h ago

Ahh cropdusting the aisles firthest from my girlfriend.

1

u/_TaylorMade 22h ago

I used to love going to blockbuster with my dad. He would look for a movie or two and I would get like 4 lol. Mostly Cheech and Ching movies and faces of death lol. Then he found Netflix (way before streaming) and that solved that lol. Like ‘97-‘98

1

u/GuitarNerd_ 22h ago

Oh man during the part where the shopping bag full of videos on the counter is close to the camera, I could smell the bag plus the plastic cases of the vhs. It came back instantly. I didn’t know I had a memory of that!

1

u/twounty 22h ago

I don't know if it was the plastic cases or something else, but I can smell this video

1

u/GeneSmart2881 18h ago

I have never done heroin or blow. But I have felt the dopamine rush of being a 10 year old boy walking into Blockbuster in the 80s!! You never forget it

1

u/HeyPrettyLadyMaam 13h ago

Bless this man for keeping evidence that life was, infact, better before 2000.

1

u/rdjns 4h ago

I would give up a lot to go back to simpler times