The Complicated History of Renting Movies 

GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY!!!! YOU CAN LOOK THRU SHELVES AS IF YOU WERE STILL AT FAMILY VIDEO!!!!!!!

An additional piece of movie rental history is that my parents owned an independent video store. They had it for several years. And then a blockbuster opened up across the street and killed their business. My parents threw an actual party when Blockbuster went out of business.

I spent three hours tonight watching random RU-vid videos instead of watching a movie. That’s another huge cultural shift you didn’t talk about.

There was this sweet spot in the early 2010's, where almost everything was on Netflix and rental stores still existed but could tell they were on their last breaths so movies were really cheap to rent.

This is why people pirate. You don’t own your content unless it’s on your hard drive. If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing!

save me burback brothers…

that clip of the Disney vault commercial just unlocked a DEEP childhood memory of watching some Disney VHS and seeing that commercial on the video before the actual movie and begging my parents to buy whatever movie was sentenced to the vault because the concept of the vault hurt my little 8-year-old brain. So that’s neat that Disney did that to countless kids and parents!

That Netflix for Wii commercial gave me INTENSE whiplash, holy shit

Never been a more relevant video. Just tried to rent a movie on RU-vid to show for an end-of-year party to my students. When I tried projecting it, RU-vid automatically *turned the screen white* until I stopped sharing it. I paid for the movie and couldn’t even play it for the class.

I still appreciate that most movies come to theaters first before hitting streaming services, but that might be the last pillar left. Once theaters are gone, there's no more community to film enjoyment, and I fear that's where we're heading. Which is too bad because Movie Theater popcorn smacks.

we had a movie store by my house and we would go so often that we knew the owner, and he would give us the movie posters when they became outdated. we would go in and just say "I want....." and he would have a recommendation every time that was always so perfect. we ended up having like an account, and us kids would go in and he would let us rent movies without paying and when our parents went in they would just pay the tab. It was honestly the best part of my childhood. when movies went out of "style" I guess, he always told my dad first so we could buy them off him, and our movie collection got huge. honestly the freaking best. I really miss our video store.

I remember reading the novel "Less Than Zero" which is about rich teenagers in LA in the early 80s. They talk about getting Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS like they just bought a new car. But I guess if VCRs were over $10,000 and a single tape cost $100 I can see why this was something only insanely wealthy kids had access to

I remember that whole "Disney Vault" scam, every person I was friends with had all the movies on tape, there was never any sense of rarity or exclusivity. I've seen Aladdin so many times, I want to puke when I see parachute pants.

I can't wait for Amazon prime to air drop me rainsinets and a tube of goo whenever I rent a movie

as someone who works at a movie theatre, it's honestly depressing how big of a percentage of our customers are seniors. it worries me that soon enough, theatres aren't going to be profitable at all and will mostly close down

Oh lord the arguments in the rental stores that would break out because your parents were only renting ONE movie so everyone had to agree!

god i miss life when you would see a wii / netflix ad on tv

Please talk about how the ads on RU-vid have gotten much worse! They tripled the length of unskipable ads, going from a 5-10 second ad to 30 second unskipable ads almost every time. Plus the skipable ads are always over 90 seconds now, so I always have to have my remote nearby/charged, (I watch on PlayStation) so I can't just eat and watch or fall asleep to the vids because I have to skip an ad every few minutes. Compared to before where I could just wait out some of the 30 second skipable ads so that I could just leave my controller off. The worst part is they likely did not increase the ad revenue for creators even though viewers are seeing more and longer ads.

Why do I find the Burback Boys’ videos so soothing, it just feels like going into your favorite Professor’s class teaching you about something they love

I unironically miss blockbuster so much. Half the fun was sneaking to the horror movie section and reading the back of the VHS case and imagining what the movie was like. That's such a huge reason i'm into horror and the fear of the unknown today.

SQUEEBI is a kneeslapper enough on its own merit but goddamn the tagline of “sh!t you like in one spot” is absolutely bonkers

Great math Eddy! Awesome job 👍 Also want to remind everyone that your local library more than likely has hundreds of movies on DVD and Blu-Ray you can rent for free, and many libraries have gone fine free if youre a few days late. As long as you bring the movies back before maybe a month, youre fine. So if you miss the good ol days of Blockbuster, it's like that, but free.

My wife and I periodically go to Goodwill and pick a movie out like its a rental night lol My mom managed a video store in a Kroger when i was little, and when i had to go in with her, she'd just park me in a corner and put on whatever i picked... Usually Kiki's Delivery Service or a Mary Kate and Ashley

Gen Xer here, my dad was a boomer-I learned from him how important radio was, lots of tv shows were previously on radio. He explained to me this is why Ed Bergen (father of Candace) was a bad ventriloquist, he started on the radio. Also the movies had cartoons, shorts, double features and could be an all day thing. In my era “pan and scan” was an issue, how VHS was compromising film aspect ratio. It’s interesting to reflect on what is content in its true form. This got into my awareness growing up with different edits of movies on premium bs regular cable. We’d actually watch the regular cable version of Weird Science when it aired in spite of owning the VHS because the way they overdubbed the swearing or R rated stuff was hilarious. I remember being appalled at the 20th anniversary viewing of Star Wars seeing George Lucas alter the effects and scenes of what for me was a cherished movie. Media is just so ethereal now. I’ve started buying DVDs for what I can’t find anywhere due to things like music rights issues.

god bless physical media. if they never put fleabag on dvd i’ll be so pissed oh my god

Blockbuster❌ Burbackster✅

In-theater movie gimmicks are their own fascinating rabbit hole. The theater release of House on Haunted Hill (1959) included a gimmick called “Emergo” which featured a skeleton on strings flying across the theater.

Fun Fact: My mom bought 2 copies of every Disney VHS tape. One to watch and one to collect. So we've got 2 of every Disney vhs movie with half never opened, and yes we do have 2 copies of the Little Mermaid VHS with the "special" castle.

If his moustache grows any more it's going to become sentient 🤣

That Matt Damon Hote Ones clip is pretty much legendary at this point . And for good reason.

My dad does this thing where he rents dvds from the library, redbox, anywhere he can. Then he copies them onto a hard drive so we can watch them any time we want, we don't even need an internet collection. Plus you can copy from one hard drive to another so you can give your movie collection to your friends and family. It's helped him a ton when he's been deployed on submarines with nothing to do. He's been doing this for years and now we have THOUSANDS of movies and shows. It's a great system

I never realized it until this video but we really did lose a community when movie rental places disappeared. Now I'm sad

I remember as a kid when Netflix was just getting going online and essentially every show or movieyou wanted would be there but now it is split between a bunch of different streaming services that now have ads or shitty interface and you have to go through a bunch of streaming services to find where the movie is on.

I miss Blockbuster. My local one closed down when I was in like 5th grade, but I remember my mom taking my sisters and I there every now and then. At the time I was super into Star Wars, so most of my memories are just me begging my mom to let me rent Revenge of the Sith even though it was PG-13

There's another part of the business model that some people weren't aware of. VHS tapes were not available until about a year after the film was released. They were only available for sale to the rental companies and car about $100 each (before inflation). Starting in the late 80s, the tapes would become available for the public to buy for about $30 about two years after the film was released. Rental companies would often buy a lot of copies to rent out in the first year and then, as demand dropped, they would sell the used tapes too.

I’m only 7 minutes into this video (yes I’m commenting during the sponsor, which happens to be a sponsor that sponsored me once. I don’t even care! I’m out of control!) and I just have to tell you that I love this video. I think about film history and how it has lead to today all the time and this nails it. Jeezus. You guys are doing the world a service. (By world I mean my living room as I drink a beer before bed).

There is a reason I've been using my local library again to rent movies that I want to see. :) Thanks for doing a video about renting and the problems with streaming!

ooh the feeling as a child when your parents say you can pick a movie to rent on a friday, the excitement is unmatched (though I only remember it with dvds, but we did have vhs tapes at home) or renting a computer game at the library. simple, yet complicated times. i definitely prefer now but the nostalgia is nice 😂

This is genuinely one of my favorite videos you two have ever made. This is so wonderful, would love to see more content in this vein

this is exactly why one of my main hobbies is physical media collection. Some of my all-time favorite memories as a kid was looking through a selection of DVDs and being able to look at the covers, the menus, the booklets and having an extensive DVD collection brings me back to that place. It's also so exciting to me when something has old ads, transports you to a different time

Thank you for continuing to make video essays about topics I've never thought about before until you've neatly condensed them into 30 minute videos. You're doing the right kind of work here.

It’s so weird to see things I literally lived through rehashed in RU-vid videos. Makes me feel old. Im Irish so I distinctly remember going to xtravision to rent movies every weekend. I also distinctly remember Netflix dvds lol.

My college had its own movie theater that was free for students, played 3-5 movies per week, and all the movies were voted in by students. It was so much fun every week going to the movies with other people in my college community and meeting new friends! One of my favorite parts of college honestly and I miss the community so much. They had different movie slots, so they tried to play a good mix of indie, classic, blockbuster, etc. movies and they also did midnights which were always an event. I watched a lot of things I might have never picked out on my own, so it was a great way to find new movies!

Buy dvds. You can find so many under $5 at Goodwill, pawn shops, book stores, etc

As a horror fan I got very giddy when The Tingler was brought up

I JUST walked past a Redbox booth yesterday and started reminiscing. I love the lil cape they give you to wear that definitely doesnt serve any other purpose other than looking cool

This is an incredible video essay! The discussion of consumers wanting everything at home and killing the community that stores like Blockbuster reminds me of Putnam’s book Bowling Alone.

Great video on the history of everything video related! I will say that youtube has had a large amount of amazing content lately that's often way more interesting than what is on the big streaming services.

William Castle was a king. All his most famous movies had those Tingler-esque gimmicks. He had one where he made the audience vote for the ending with placards, although there was never an alternative ending filmed or available regardless of how the audience actually voted.

Just wanted to say I love these videos. Such a fun mix of nostalgia, humor and thought out discussion. Hope you boys can keep up these vids for a long while ❤

VCRs were so expensive that they were also offered as rentals. I don't think my father purchased his first VCR until the late '80s. Before that, he'd rent the tapes AND the machine.

Go to your local library. You can get pretty much any DVD or Blu-Ray through your county's system. You might even have free media streaming for audiobooks or free e-book rentals.

The exact moment you said to watch out for 'that Ripley guy' my cat started meowing and scratching at the door Her name is Ripley

i just need to say it. i am 17. i’m in gen Z and blockbuster WAS my childhood. and when netflix was first on wii my neighbor had to set it up. we were there too.

The amount of effort you guys put into your videos does not go unnoticed. This is really well thought out.

Legitimately one of the best RU-vid videos I’ve seen in a long time. Great work boys!

Thank you for the video Edward Birdback

You guys always have great takes on pop culture. When eddy said made for tv movies are like made for Netflix movies, great comparison!

As someone who studied television in undergrad, I feel like this video should be required viewing for students. It's a pretty well done, condensed history!

another banger from two Chicago twins ive been thinking of buying a DVD player and investing in physical media (and the library's DVD set) and this video has pushed me to do so, thanks besties

As an Oddity Archive fan, seeing that Magnetic Video intro on any other channel gave me whiplash

Excellent content as always! Something I learned in college (I took an Intro to Film class for a gen credit I needed) was that when people started trying to watch movies on TVs at home, movie companies kept the screen picture wide so it would be cut off on a TV screen. But people didn't care lol some then movies changed to a square frame to suite home TVs. On top of B&W vs color, it's another way to estimate the year/date of a movie!

The tone of this video strikes a perfect balance between entertaining and informative and I hope y'all do many more like this!

Babe wake up, new Burback video just dropped

If every teacher was as handsome as Eddie, school attendance would be 100%

I remember my mind was blown when my dad got Netflix and we got our first dvd in the mail. I don’t have too many memories from blockbuster cause I was in the movie theaters seeing them on the big screen sneaking in full dinners in my Nana’s purse.

this was so well done! also seeing two brothers make something together is sooo wholesome

fuck it, too many streaming services and too expensive. piracy is once again more convenient. if studios don't want piracy, make it as easy as it used to be.

This has to be the funniest burback movie yet. Jokes every 10 seconds and they all hit hard lol

love you eggy and toe-knee this video is absolute bananas. y’all killed it. might be my favorite video on this channel!!!

this is my favorite burback video and i will tell my friends to watch it (my friends dont listen to me and yet my favorite creators continue to grow)

my sweet boys have uploaded 😩

"You see that reflection?" Jokes on you, I got an anti-glare screen.

This is the kind of video I’ve been waiting for you guys to make.

i saw you two at the renaissance fair with your social circle !! i was like man those glasses and beard men are familiar-looking… Hope y’all had fun and keep up the great content

you guys HAVE to look more into william castle & his gimmicks, he was such a dope director

I feel like you just skipped right over redbox.

This is top notch content! Please keep doing more things like this 😊

This is really great content guys, informative, funny, worth my time, it just spearheads the best things about RU-vid content

i sail the seven seas. no way am i paying for a dozen streaming services.

Thank you for explaining in gaming terms, very inclusive of you, Misters Burback.

I genuinely get so excited when I see that there is a new Burback video

Couldn’t watch the video yesterday because I was stuck in the middle of skibidi, Ohio, so I had no service. It was well worth the wait. This one must have been interesting to research for. The technology of tv and movies have advanced so rapidly it’s insane

Boring adult stuff: acquisitions create debt and cause the bought company to need to make cut backs and run more efficiently. If the acquirer can't do their job better faster and stronger, huge losses will ensue, and consumers ALWAYS bear those losses.

Better like this video hard to enough to scare Tony the Tingler!

I need the eddy podcast back there been a hole in my heart for the past 2 years that just can’t be filled

God I love you boys. Such good wholesome fellas and you truly make deeply informative and thought provoking videos. Heres to you Burback Boys!

Woo we're bur-back baby!!!!

we are so back

this video calmed me down from an anxiety attack really well, thanks!

The best way to show people you’re interested in film in your city is not only to go to your local library and be able to rent movies. Is by supporting your local movie programmers and film commissions! I was able to watch Saltburn and Killers of the Flower Moon a month or two before it hit theaters, for free! Every major city has one! If your houston, there’s great screenings and film opportunities for cast crew work from the Houston Film Commission or the Houston Cinema Art Society!! Also, attend film festivals if your cities! You can still experience the joys of watching a new film, every week through local cinema programmer’s!

...I..I'm the beta??

so companys have always been scamming us and we just do nothing swag ima finish this vid and do nothing lol cant wait brothers for the next ep

I love how this channel is a pure trip down memory lane.

I'm so nostalgic for video rental stores. I was only with my dad on weekends and we would almost always go to blockbuster to rent movies and/or games. When I was a kid I always imagined taking my own kids to blockbuster cuz it was such a valuable bonding experience with my dad. My dad passed away almost two years ago now and while my brother and I were cleaning out his stuff I found his old blockbuster membership card... I've kept it in my wallet ever since.

another banger from eddy ninepins and the tingler

The Boys are back !

Great video as always BurBros. Keep up the great content!

No Movie Gallery shoutout?! Come onnnnnnnnnn! Loved the video guys! Lots of fun nostalgic memories are floating around in my head from that time!

eddy..... it was only 65 percent..... EDDY.... EDDDYYY