Netflix vs. Blockbuster

Does anyone have an opinion on which online rental service is better. Does Netflix have the system Blockbuster does where some movies are availible now but many require a short or a long wait to recieve them?

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I order from Netflix And I would imagine since Netflix is entirley Online based that there movies arrive faster.

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i just go to my public library. tons of movies and you get to take out up to 9 movies for free

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i work for blockbuster, but don't use the online thing, since i get free in-store rentals. i used to use netflix though, and loved it. im guessing netflix is probably the better of the two. when i used it, it was 19.99 a month for a two at time, but they might have lowered their prices since then.

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letterboxd

I've used both and my recomendation would depend on a variety of factors, though the two primary ones would be 1.) where are you located and 2.) what kind of movies do you watch?

The reason I ask is b/c I believe Netflix has more distribution centers so you often get your movies faster, which means you can return them faster, therefore renting more movies in a month. If you are closer to a Blockbuster warehouse their service would be faster.

Lately I've been renting quite a few strange Asian movies and have noticed it takes several days for them to arrive as opposed to the typical 1 day turn around. I assume this is b/c they have a limited supply of these movies and are often shipping them from warehouses other than my local one.

Regardless, both offer a good service but I have found I enjoy the Blockbuster in store Movie Pass (2 out at a time, $25 per month) combined with the Netflix (3 out at a time)... This allows me to get some of the more 'unique' movies I love from Netflix without having to wait to rent the new releases (thanks to Blockbuster).

Just my two cents

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I haven't yet tried Blockbuster online, but since I've never had any problems with Netflix, I probably won't be signing up anytime soon.

i can't speak for all blockbusters, but the one i work at doesn't carry a very wide selection of the older movies. we take them off the shelf if they don't get rented enough. which is why i think a person that is a real movie fan would probably appreciate netflix, or even blockbuster online, opposed to signing up for the Movie Pass. but then again, you might just happen to live near a decent blockbuster, bigger than mine. mine just very well may suck!

I do that too but they don't get any new movies. plus they are all on VHS which is a pain because usually at night the downstairs t.v. isnt free for 2 hours so I can watch a movie.

That's a good point Ash... My Blockbuster has a decent selection of movies from the last 15 years or so, and surprisingly they are almost all on DVD. If I want anything older or foreign I traditionally use Netflix... that's why I love the combination.

BLOCKBUSTER EDITS THEIR FILMS

Never go there. Ever.

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We don't have many options here and I can't argue with the price... $25 per month for about 40 movies whereas the other option (Movie Gallery) charges $3 for OLD releases... It would cost me well over $100 if I rented from them.

i loved my blockbuster until one day i went to get Hard Target (Van Damme) and they didnt have it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
other than that they got a great selection of movies so i can complain and its so close to my house...



i tried Netflix but since the no late fee in Blockbuster i guess they're back in the game

How do they do that?

yup, the man is correct! I went and saw Mulholland Drive in the theaters. When I started working for Blockbuster, I rented it one day. There is a scene in the movie where Naomi Watts is stepping out of the shower and you catch a glimpse of her bush. When I rented it at Blockbuster, I had to rewind it because I realized they blurred it out in their version. This really frosted my poptart!

Not that I'm a lesbian or anything. You don't have to be, to want to see a peice of that gal.

Have you ever seen editing on one that really altered the movie? Because I might have to suffer with some blurred nudity if it saves me money (blockbuster.com is cheaper). The editing done on T.V. where the remove whole scenes is very annoying and if there is anything like that I think I will be switching to Netflix. While we are on this topic... what are some of everyone's pet peeves with the editing done to movies on T.V. I'm bothered by the editing done to High Fidelity on Comedy Central, They take out the Evil Dead scene ( a very funny one ) and the scene where Todd Louiso's character has a date with Anna Moss ( the Green Day fan). An essential scene because we finally get to see the poor guy get a lucky break and find someone who appreciates him.

I'm not to sure, to be honest with you...but I've heard people mention a few titles to me in the past. I'm sure Sedai knows.

In regards to the pet peeves, I saw Stand By Me when I was very little. We had taped it off TV and I only knew the edited version. I have always loved this movie, but just a few months ago I bought the DVD and it was the first time I had ever seen the movie as a whole, and I was shocked at how much they had cut out...I didn't even have any idea it was rated R, hah.

I totally agree. I'm no homo, I'm a freakin' pimp of da' ladies for cryin' out loud, but when I saw a bunch of guys that had their junk blurred out in The Last Temptation of Christ, I was like "What's up sucka' biatches? I got one of those things my self!" I'm not sure if Blockbuster did it or the Criterion Collection, but it pissed me off mainly because it reminded me that it was a movie and there where a bunch of sound guys and such. DANG!

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I dont like the sounds of this whole editing thing. I'm still on the free trial and I havent gotten any DVDs yet but I have a feeling I might be switching to Netflix

well ive done my "job"...with my experience for working for an Evil Company, I can drive away customers willing to listen! i should get a gold star for this.

Is it really Blockbuster that edits the films?

I might be wrong, but I think the case is more like this. Since Blockbuster refuses to deal with films rated NC17 (and perhaps unrated films too?) films with "strong sexual content" are having a hard time getting distribution. So my guess is that Lynch allowed some "touch-up" of Mullholland Drive to make it possible to sell it. Another crazy example is when Todd Solondz, furious over the censorship climate, refused to blur anything out in one of the sex scenes in Storytelling (2001). Instead he used big red triangles to cover certain areas. This to make people aware of the absurdity of it all.

Today it's very hard for a filmmaker to get a movie out that doesn't appeal to the company executives. Because they own the market and therefore set the rules on what people can and can not watch. In other words, the market is not free.

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.