Ann Arbor Video Rentals.

Sep 23 09:44 UTC 1991

  I thought it might be interesting to have an item to discuss video
rental stores so - voila!  What's your favorite in the Ann Arbor area
(and why?)

  I can't say enough good things about the selection at Liberty Street
Video.  It's perhaps the only video store I've ever been in that I feel
I'd have a relatively decent chance of getting a good movie if I walked
in blindfolded and just picked something off the racks.  They don't have
a really huge selection, though they do have a decent number of movies
considering the size of the store, but they certainly know how to pick
them.  They're also the place to go in Ann Arbor if you're looking for
a film that's a little older, a little "artier", or is foreign.  Even if
no other place in town has heard of it, there's a decent chance that
Liberty Street will have it.  Their staff, for the most part, seems to
be made up of people who really like film, are reasonably knowledgeable
about the subject and will honestly tell you what they think of a movie,
rather than minimum-wage droids who can only comment on the latest new
releases.  About the biggest problem with Liberty Street is that it's
downtown and has no parking lot.  You either find a parking spot on one of
the streets nearby or walk a few blocks from a public lot (such as the
one near the library..)
 
  The big local chain seems to be Video Watch, which I don't like very
much.  Though some of their stores have a better selection, the one 
nearest me (on Plymouth Road) seems to be mostly devoted to collecting 
the world's largest collection of bad T&A comedies and car-chase action
films.  Since they've started renting (some) films for two days and two 
days, I've been a little more forgiving, but I'm still never impressed.
The Video Watches on Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. and at Liberty and Stadium are
considerably better, though still not all that great.  Alarming sight
at AA-S Rd. store last week:  wall with 40+ copies of "Home Alone" for
rent.

  Blockbuster seems to be a very successful chain but I've never figured
out why.  Their selection seems to be the best of the big chains (and 
the most comprehensive overall) but their staff seems to not be terribly
helpful and their prices are the highest of any of the stores (even Liberty
St., which charges $3.00 for a rental just like Blockbuster, has two 2 for 1
nights per week..)  My biggest gripe with them, though, is the amount of
hassle they subject you to before you can even rent from them.  Not only
do they demand a credit card, multiple I.D.s, and that you complete a 
reasonably long form before they'll grant you a card, you have to go through
this procedure at every Blockbuster you want to rent movies at.  Liberty
Street lets you rent with nothing more than a driver's license.  Even Video 
Watch and Meijers let you use the same card for different stores (though 
they do have to enter them in their computers the first time you use them..)
Also, petty though it may be, I resent the fact that they promise you "3
evening" rentals and only let you keep the movie for two days.  I also
resent their policy of not stocking films that are sufficiently controversial.
They're well within their rights to make it a company policy to refuse to
stock "The Last Temptation of Christ" or "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and
Her Lover" but I'm equally within my rights to resist renting from them 
because of such policies.

response 2 of 36:

Sep 23 12:45 UTC 1991

The Video Watch on Huron Parkway and Washtenaw has a decent selection.

response 4 of 36:

Sep 23 23:31 UTC 1991

So far, we've only rented videos at Meijer's, since we haven't had all that
much time to watch movies, but I have been pleasantly surprised at both their
selection and their prices.  Of course, it's not like going to a *real*
video store, but for fifty cents I'll take it.

response 6 of 36:

Sep 24 05:44 UTC 1991

The convenience store on Dexter just west of Maple has an impressive
collection of Chinese-language videos.  Liberty St. Video is the
only place I've been able to find those two cult classics "Shack Out
on 101" and "Carnival of Souls".  Video Watch on Liberty near
Stadium has a good Henry Jaglom collection, including the hard-to-find
"Sitting Ducks" and "New Year's Day".  Why just the other day I rented
Kurasawa's 1949 crime drama "Stray Dog" there.  And the Blockbuster
near Briarwood has a nice collection of 1940s movie serials, including
"Zombies of the Stratosphere" in which Leonard Nimoy had a modest part,
and a small but tasteful silent collection including Victor Seastrom's
"The Wind" and King Vidor's "The Crowd".  But I'd like to put in a
special good word for a video store on Packard whose name I can't
remember near the Big Ten Party Store; it's the only place where
I've been able to find "Plan Nine from Outer Space".

response 8 of 36:

Sep 24 08:03 UTC 1991

 re #4:  I actually like renting movies at Meijer.  If I don't know what I
want to watch I'll often go there and get a couple of movies in the hopes
that one of them will turn out to be good.  The price still clocks in at
less than most places charge for one.  They have another advantage, too, as
far as I'm concerned.  Most of the video departments in Meijers are open until
2:00 AM, making them the place to go for late night rentals.  Plus, if you 
rent after midnight, you essentially get the movie for another day.  

response 10 of 36:

Sep 25 04:13 UTC 1991

  I believe that's the "Video Master" store they're talking about above..

response 12 of 36:

Sep 25 07:18 UTC 1991

btw, if you ever go into Video Master, ask them if they know who I am.

response 14 of 36:

Sep 25 12:42 UTC 1991

I figured you just held them up to the light and looked at them frame-by-
frame with a mag-no-scope.

response 16 of 36:

Oct 1 00:01 UTC 1991

It's got the "non-offensive" foreign films, yes.

response 18 of 36:

Oct 1 12:07 UTC 1991

Ha, ha.
"Oh, no, can't have those Bergman films! Some child might see them and 
think too much about death! How about 'the Red Balloon'?"

response 20 of 36:

Jan 22 23:49 UTC 1992

Do any of these places rent xxx tapes?

response 22 of 36:

Jan 23 10:51 UTC 1992

offer you fries?

response 24 of 36:

Jan 24 00:04 UTC 1992

but then again, i don't care one way or the other if you want to watch
porn videos. i'm really very neutral about all of this.