Scarecrow Video, a video store here in Seattle.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Film History and Meaning
lukejbarnett — 1 year ago(November 26, 2024 04:33 AM)
Scarecrow Video, a video store here in Seattle.
i discovered this movie video rental store way back in 2006. it opened up my world to so many obscure movies that no other store had. i remember looking at the information about it in the yellow pages on my dining room table at my apartment where i live now.
i knew about this store by it's name and that it was in downtown seattle back when i was a little kid.
i was looking for a video store to rent obscure movies from so i don't have to buy them before i watch them.
maybe the first movie i rented from them was eraserhead(1977).
Scarecrow Video is basically a library for movies for rent.
it is historic. it's the biggest selection movie rental store in the world. it has more movies for rent in one store than any other store. back then it was at 60,000 movies for rent in one store. now it is at 120,000 movies to rent in one store.
i used to go there every week. i would rent 3 movies usually on vhs tape. at first i had to go there every 4 days bc they used to only give you 4 days but quickly it went to 1 week. i was really happy when it went to 1 week bc i had to take 2 buses down there and that took 1 and half hours to get there so that's 3 hours bus time back and forth. also their movies were expensive. it costed me 4 dollars to rent each movie so that's 12 dollars a week.
so i'd always go to their computer with their inventory and search for movies that are out of print or rare and obscure. movies you can't rent from through the mail netflix which is what i had.
they had so many of these movies that usually they had the movies i wanted to rent from them. but there were very rare instances where they didn't have a movie so i would ask them to buy it for me to rent.
also with my account, if i rented an out of print movie from them they would put a hold on my bank account to secure it with them so in case i didn't give the movie back to them they would take my money of whatever it was worth to pay them for the movie. sometimes they would put up to 400 dollars hold on my bank account for this.
they were the best movie people i've ever met. very knowledgeable and very helpful and kind. they were movie buffs like me and i felt so at home with them being there.
they had staff picks in the sections. so i went there so many times i got to know them, i'd know their names and then see their names in the movie sections for their staff picks.
i even saw one of them at a movie premiere just a few blocks from scarecrow video. i went to a local, homegrown, regional theater called the grand illusion and watched cafe flesh(1982) for the first time. it is a fantastic, amazing, epic achievement film.
it a hardcore porn film with the most artisticness i've ever seen in any kind of film. it is the best art film i've ever watched.
it is a mixture of hardcore porn and art, but it has a lot more art in it than hardcore porn. it was made at the very end of the filmed on film art/porn movement. right after it was made; by 1984 porn became shot on video and without art and without a plot.
the plot of this film is in the dystopian future almost everyone can't have sex. if they try to they become ill. so there is a club called cafe flesh which has theater productions, shows that have real sex on stage. everyone watching it in the audience gets off on it mentally.
it's a very high concept film with a very intriguing plot. it has the most elaborate, and the most original, creative, and the most artistic set pieces; in the stage performances that i've ever experienced in film. amazing visuals and visual ideas.
i rented it from Scarecrow Video after this and burned it to a dvd. so i now own this classic masterpiece film.
everytime i am at Scarecrow Video i feel the most comforting feeling i've ever felt besides being in a church, or reading a Bible, or praying.
this is the best place i've ever been to. it is Heaven to me and like what Catholics would say is the Vatican to them.
lukejbarnett -
-Anu- — 1 year ago(December 03, 2024 11:56 PM)
I have never heard of it but I looked it up and it has its own Wikipedia page. Do a lot of people go there?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow_Video -
lukejbarnett — 1 year ago(December 04, 2024 09:22 AM)
yes. more at night, around 8 than around 12 noon.
the most important thing to me recently after covid happened that i thought about is preserving scarecrow video; making sure it stays in business but if they God forbid ever go out of business i would need to buy as many of their movies as i can.
the thing is actually covid made their business even better bc if you think about it people were staying home more than going out to theaters to watch movies so if they were ever going to rent from them it would have been during covid except for the people too afraid to leave their house to go there bc they were afraid of getting covid.
but i bet more people were renting from them during it who weren't before covid than people who were afraid to go there during covid who used to go there before covid.
where do you live?
lukejbarnett -
ZolotoyRetriever — 1 year ago(December 23, 2024 06:47 AM)
I've been there many, many times over the years. Fantastic store with gazillions of titles to choose from, and many rare and obscure ones too. Best deal though is to go on a Wednesday. On that day, their movie rentals are 2 for the price of one. But it's for in-store customers only, not on-line renting. I'd go there more often but the drive to and from there is getting more difficult with each passing year. Also very hard to park around there. I try to time my visits for those stretches when the UW campus is on break, because a lot of UW students who rent in those neighborhoods go home on break, freeing up the nearby streets and making it easier to park. Much easier in the summer, too.
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lukejbarnett — 1 year ago(December 24, 2024 10:41 PM)
do you agree it is movie mecca? and that it is movie church? i mean i've never felt the feeling i feel when i am there. not a movie theater, not a movie video rental store other than it, no other place makes me feel movie feeling i feel when i am there.
exactly wednesdays have a special deal. wow how do you know about that? i mean did you used to live in seattle?
what do you mean online renting? i've never heard of them renting to people online.
did you know that they used to have only 4 day rentals? then they changed it to 7 day rentals? that was such a relief bc that gave me so much more time to watch my 3 movies i would rent from them. also i didn't drive so i had to take long bus trips to and back from there so having it be once a week was a lot easier than once every 4 days.
lukejbarnett -
ZolotoyRetriever — 1 year ago(December 24, 2024 11:32 PM)
Yes, it is sort of like a mecca. It draws customers not just locally, but from far and wide.
I've known about the Wednesday deal for a long time. Must've first seen it mentioned on one of their informational flyers they give out at the store - that was years ago. It's also mentioned on their website on their "How to Rent from Scarecrow" page.
Yes, you can browse their titles on their website, and order them for rent, which will then be mailed to you. But the Wednesday 2-for-1 special does NOT apply if you go that route. It's only for people who come in the store on a Wednesday to rent in person.
Did you know that they used to have only 4 day rentals? then they changed it to 7 day rentals?
Yes… but not all rental times are automatically 7 days. It depends: for New Releases, you only have 2 days. For Family New Releases you have 4 days. For older films that aren't considered New Releases, it's 7 days. But they will remind you at the store during checkout what your rental due dates are. -
lukejbarnett — 1 year ago(December 24, 2024 11:44 PM)
That's not right and they wouldn't do renting by mail because if you ever rent from them you will notice they are very careful with their movies.
They make you put a hold like a deposit on your bank account when you sign up for an account with them so if you rent a movie that's out of print they put this hold on your bank account thus assuring them you'll pay them for the movie if they don't get it back from you.
Why would they have through the mail service if they are that careful with their out of print movies?
It just seems like that would be way too risky of a thing for them to do. I mean you would have to deal with the mistakes that can happen with the mail service. Also how could they possibly be fair with how long you rent the movies for when the mail service isn't a perfectly reliable science? Sometimes a mail shipment will take longer than 2 days or whatever. That's too risky when dealing with a due date.
I don't believe you. I'll have to ask them about this but I seriously doubt they would do this.
I always rent old movies from them so I always get 7 days.
You didn't answer my question which is do you live in Seattle?
lukejbarnett -
ZolotoyRetriever — 1 year ago(December 25, 2024 12:22 AM)
I don't believe you. I'll have to ask them about this but I seriously doubt they would do this.
Yes, they do rent by mail:
https://scarecrowvideo.org/rent-by-mail
If you still don't believe me, call them: 206-524-8554
No, I don't live in Seattle… not within city limits, anyway. But, fairly close. -
lukejbarnett — 1 year ago(December 26, 2024 06:27 PM)
so you live in western washington? do you plan on renting from scarecrow video soon?
do you understand what i mean by the risks with renting movies through the mail at a place which has due dates? and technical fault that comes with this for the company? who would pay scarecrow video if a mailman losses the movie in the mail and who would be liable if the movie didn't get to them on time?
lukejbarnett