News / Bristol
‘Renting movies is not a mainstream habit anymore’
20th Century Flicks co-owner Dave Taylor says that he has had “lots of wake-up calls” since he began working in the video and DVD rental business.
“The first bad sign was when they stopped making laptops with DVD drives,” he laughs. “Renting movies is not a mainstream habit anymore.”
The latest wake-up call is the closure of LoveFilm by their owners Amazon, who cite a decreasing demand for Blu-ray and DVD rental as customers increasingly move to streaming for their decision, which Dave admits he was unsurprised by.
Dave says that 20th Century Flicks can offer a service which online companies are incapable of offering. While they may not have the convenience of online streaming, they can offer human interaction.
Online streaming and downloading can’t provide the same experience, Dave thinks: “There’s an element to streaming or downloading something for free that gives an inherent valueless-ness to it. If you’re in your lounge, there’s this weird stasis.
“With a DVD, you’ve spent those two hours watching that movie, had thoughts and feelings about it. And instead of just keeping them to yourself, forgetting about them, you have a chance to talk about it.
“Just that act makes the experience more real, more valuable.”
The Twin Peaks themed mini-cinema in 20th Century Flicks
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