I grew up in the 80s and 90s and it seems things were actually EASIER when it came to entertainment

for example- when I was overseas this past summer I saw Emanuelle Chriqui on a podcast and wanted to see some of her earlier movies when I got back home.

I go to Amazon Prime last night and they list several of her movies- but you can't actually order or watch them!

you can see the trailers and the cast billing but that's it.

so I go to Netflix- and nada..

I go to Youtube, nothing.

growing up I could walk into the local Blockbuster and just walk through the aisle and find what I wanted to see even from years before.

jus****ch.com

Haha. Censored site is just watch.com

I thought this thread would be about having less choices for movies back then and being able to "watch more" because of it. "More" as in a larger percentage of the entertainment that was produced because there was less total available.

MGS said:

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In the 1990s, it was difficult to find movies if Blockbuster didn't carry them. Then came Netflix and you could get a DVD of an obscure movie in a couple of days.

Before IMDB, how would you find a list of movies an actor had appeared in?

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that's my point- I could always BUY a DVD of any movie I wanted about a decade ago

now no one has DVD or VHS players so how can you buy a movie from 2007?

and it's not Zohan (Great movie by the way!)

but Three Night Stand

and Taking Chances (Justin Long and Rob Cordrry and Nick Offerman)

When I was younger, it was also easier to see a movie because you could go to the movie theater and see a movie that you didn't have to show an ID proving you were at least 17. At our local theater, there are 17 films showing today: Seven are PG-13, two are PG, and seven are rated R.I miss movies that the whole family could watch and enjoy together.

But yes, I think the heyday of Netflix where you could get any movie or TV show in the mail was the best time for watching movies. Blockbuster had the ability to really own that market when they allowed you to drop off your videos you received in the mail at their stores or mail them back in. I feel like they could have kept this model and added streaming for certain films and shows. Maybe not. Either way, I do miss those times.

Agreed, have ran into this problem as well recently looking (hoping) to be able to find certain movies. It's trade-off, that time offered a a large available catalog, the other the ability to watch within seconds of whatever it is you want to watch (no car rides or having to submit Friday's movie order in on Wednesday).

Furlock Bones said:

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a lot of words to say you were hoping to see Emanuelle Chriqui naked.

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Madmarttigan said:

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Can't you just google where to watch "movie name" and it literally gives you every place it is available?

It's never been easier to track stuff down, some things just aren't available free.

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I tried that. I wanted to watch some movies I loved growing up. I'll go to the suggested site and get " This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location". So yeah, that doesn't always work.

Yes, it was so much easier to watch movies in the 1980, 1990s, and early 2000s.

I'm paying for so many GD streaming services, that if the movie isn't on one of the ones i have, i ain't paying more.

jus****ch.com/us

That site will tell you where you can watch pretty much anything, or if it is not available for streaming (i.e., The Abyss)

As for the 90s, my memory is that if a video store (Blockbuster, Hollywood Video) didn't have it, then you wouldn't likely be able to watch it. If you're talking an old movie in the 90s, then the video store probably did have it, or perhaps you could catch it on some station airing it. Back then, I was fresh out of A&M and just went to the theater to see what I wanted to see; I didn't rent too many movies at the video stores.

But back in the early 80s and prior, before the video stores came on scene, you either had to go to the theater when the movie came out, or watch it on the one channel that might air a movie once. Repeat viewings weren't a frequent thing, and often if you missed something, you'd wait a long time before it might air again. There were some exceptions. In Houston, there was a "monster movie" week in the mid-70s on Channel 13. They typically started at 3 in the afternoon. I know that I saw King Kong vs Godzilla on at least two separate Monster Movie weeks when I was in elementary school (raced home from school and got home only missing maybe half an hour). But when a movie released to a theater in the late 70s, for instance (say, Alien), it was not going to be on TV for quite some time. I think in the case of Alien it didn't air on cable TV until maybe 1981 or so. Different world then. Now you can literally rent a movie on some streaming service while the movie is still playing theatrically.


edit - the web site is justw a t c h.com/us. Can't figure what is offensive about watch.

Wow, never had used it. This is fantastic.

In the 90s, it may have been easier to find movies that were actually made in the 90s, but you were probably going to strike out finding some movie that was 30-40 years old besides the major ones that stood the test of time. It's actually way easier to watch older movies than ever before.

100 Girls was a great movie.

If I want to watch older movies on DVD/BluRay, I request from the public library. Sure it takes a few days but it's free

If E has a solid alibi.

Apple TV also has a lot of movies available to rent. Looks like three night stand is available for free on Starz.

But the post makes it seem like you could walk into blockbuster and they are basically guaranteed to have any single move you want from 10ish years prior…..don't think that was necessarily the case.

DallasTeleAg said:

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I definitely miss aisle browsing at blockbuster.

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Same

I agree with OP. Even well-known, more modern movies I've struggled to find a streaming service where I can actually watch it. And I have Prime, Apple, Netflix, Epix, HBO, Disney. And sometimes there still isn't a way to stream a particular movie. I don't get it. I guess they all just cycle movies and if you miss it when they had it on their platform, you're SOL.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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Jus****ch.com/us

edit - the web site is justw a t c h.com/us. Can't figure what is offensive about watch.

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It's not watch. Look at the letters that were censored.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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100 Girls was a great movie.

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Agreed. Very underrated.