The rise and fall of Blockbuster

It dominated the movie-rental business for decades — and then came Netflix.  This is the rise and fall of Blockbuster.

Transcript

00:00I'll watch these baths and have them back tomorrow, I promise.

00:02More movies, more night, more fun!

00:04Blah, blah, blah video!

00:06Wow! What a difference!

00:30At the press of a button, we can get hold of a pretty recent film and watch it.

00:40It's not an event so much, it is just normal life.

00:43And so, you know, any company that didn't really accommodate that, I think has found themselves in trouble.

01:01I think Blockbuster, like, in general, like, coming in here is like being a kid again.

01:06And, like, the smell when you walk in here, too, it's like...

01:09It's all movies.

01:31Think of all the mature, responsible things you could be doing.

01:34Hanging with your folks!

01:36But get real, you'd rather be playing video games.

01:39Hi! I think that the fact that tonight the people came through and asked for me to win the award was just incredible.

02:05I feel really fortunate about it.

02:10Netflix wants recommendations and is dangling a million-dollar reward as an incentive.

02:29The prize is part of Netflix's effort to sharpen its competitive edge as it battles for sales with Blockbuster.

02:39No more late fees! No more late fees! No more late fees!

03:09They come in and they all say the same thing.

03:20Wow, this looks just like a Blockbuster.

03:22Wow, I can't believe it.

03:23It looks like it did when I was a kid.

03:24And it's like, of course it did.

03:25We still have popcorn ceilings.

03:27We have yellow and blue everywhere.

03:28We still have the same movies everywhere.

03:30It just feels like you're stepping back in time.

03:40If this store ever does close, and I'm sure everything will come to an end at some point, I will be very sad.

03:46I think it will be the loss of something really special.

03:51And I think a lot of people will mourn the loss of Blockbuster as much as I will.