The Videodrome

I visited The Videodrome for the first time today — and my last. Due to the popularity of watching movies through online platforms like Netflix and iTunes, brick and mortar stores like The Videodrome simply cannot keep up. That is such a shame, because the selection here was incredible — lots of foreign, cult, and independent films, especially from here in Canada. I picked up six DVDs as part of their closing out sale for only $ 20. Good luck to the staff, and thanks for providing such a unique video and game store to Edmonton. I only wish I came here sooner.

In an age where the movie rental establishment seems to be a dying breed, this hidden gem stands it’s ground. You know those times when your sitting having a conversation with someone, and a random movie that you haven’t seen in 20 years pops into your head and you have to see it now; or when you go to grab one of your fave Disney movies only to find you forgot your special edition copy at your mentally unstable ex bf‘s place never to be seen again (that Disney vault crap is BS!!)? Then the hunt begins and after 2 Zellers, 4 Walmarts, and 6 HMVs you return home defeated… ok, well maybe I am being a bit dramatic…
Videodrome has yet to let me down — come up with the most random movie you can think of and I bet you can find it here. Movies are organized by genre, which took a bit for me to get used to but it’s all good. They have a great slection of DVDs, Blue ray, VHS (yes…lol), TV on DVD, video games, snacks, and much, much more. Staff are always friendly and the location is convenient. Definitely worth checking out!

For such a small store it seems impossible to have so much choice. Yet, each time I’m at The Videodrome there are too many movies and TV shows to choose from. I guess I’ll have to keep going back.
They’ve got newer movies, but the real key to this store is their selection of older, interesting movies. Plus, I could spend a year watching TV shows everyone keeps telling me about thanks to the great television DVDs.
Yes, I have Netflix. Yes, I PVR shows. Yes, I think media’s going digital. But until the time we’re downloading content directly into our brain I’m glad the Old Strathcona neighbourhood has Videodrome. It’s outlived Blockbuster and Rogers Video because it’s original and unique.

The Videodrome is dying breed. One of the few DVD and VHS stores left around town (the only other one I know is the Movie Studio).
The Videodrome is located off of Whyte, in a little corner of a building complex. It is rather small compared to the Blockbuster’s of old yet it is filled to the brim with interesting and hard to find movies. It has a great collection of recent releases and older favorites. I always find the staff quite knowledgeable — they seem to have seen a case load of movies and are always apt to suggest a few movies. They also never judge should you rent out an embarrassing title. They’ve got a really old school system for renting out movies — they print out a a large piece of paper with an 80s font that you have to sign.
Some of my friends complain that it smells like an old dingy house with moldy carpets but honestly — I’ve never ever noticed the smell of the place. I must be too enthralled by the choice of obscure Cannes Festival Winners and vintage silent movies.

Comprehensive selection of titles combined with knowledgeable staff make this the only movie rental store I need.
I love browsing as I always find an unexpected gem of a movie.
I recently discovered and highly recommend their podcast «DVD Afternoon».

So, I decided to give Videodrome another chance (after being insulted by David).
We went in again, this time on a weekend, and it was much busier.
We ended up buying 4 previously viewed movies for $ 15 which was a great deal! It was buy 3, get 1 free.
The staff wasn’t really any different than the first time I went into Videodrome. When we went to pay for our movies, they were all busy laughing and talking with each other. They didn’t seem to mind keeping me waiting for a few minutes. When someone did help me, she was pretty nice.
I took the time to go through their movies a lot more thoroughly this time and they do have a lot of older ones. In fact, if I’m ever looking for an old movie in the future, this is where I will go.
They don’t have a lot of new releases though. So if you’re looking for a selection of popular, new movies, this probably isn’t the place for you. They do have your typical new releases, just not a lot of them. But they do have some unique foreign films and, like I said, a lot of older, classic movies.
They sell kettle corn here (and it’s cheap) so I was really excited to get home, eat some delicious kettle corn while we watched one of our new movies. Unfortunately the kettle corn was not good. Our movies were though! We didn’t have any problems with any of them — which is rare when you buy previously viewed movies.
Again, Videodrome is a local place so I like it. It’s not my favorite place, I’ll be honest, but it’s a pretty good little store.