This past Wednesday I went to the mailbox to retrieve the week’s DVDs. Along the bottom of their iconic red envelope, Netflix noted that they were celebrating 25 years in business.
I know what you’re thinking…Netflix is 25 years old?
I can’t believe it either.
Okay, okay, I know that’s not what you’re thinking, so let’s just take a little digression, shall we?
Yes, Netflix still sends physical DVDs through the mail in addition to their streaming business. And yes, I am a subscriber.
I don’t know for a fact that I’m not the only one, but I doubt Netflix is keeping the DVD warehouse open just for me.
Hear me out before you write me off as a luddite. Streaming is great. Within the past month between Hulu and Netflix I’ve streamed Big Little Lies, several choice Gilmore Girls episodes, The Dropout, and a good chunk of Parenthood.
In addition, friends have assured me that I absolutely-must-drop-everything-right-this-minute and watch Stranger Things, Virgin River, Firefly Lane, and Love Life.
I also happen to be behind on Outlander and The Crown.
There’s no better way to consume television shows than by streaming.
But….
If you love good movies, in particular ones made before 2000 (and definitely ones from the 1940s) your streaming selection is pitiful.
Seriously. Go on Netflix and try to find a film you love made before 2000. I’ll wait.
And wait.
And wait.
I think I’ve made my point. Let’s move on, shall we?
You know where you can find a great selection of old movies?
Netflix DVDs.
I can order classics like Citizen Kane (1941), The Godfather (1972), and All About Eve (1950). Film buff favorites like The Red Shoes (1948), and A Day in the Country (1936). And plenty of obscure films from the 1930s and 1940s.
I can get Hitchcock films, Julia Roberts films, Tom Hanks films, Cary Grant films….
And I can’t get theater releases immediately, but while you’re paying $19.99 to watch the latest blockbuster at home, I’m getting it as part of my regular subscription service 3 weeks later.
It’s a movie buff’s best kept secret.
So can we get back to the 25 year anniversary?
I still remember buying my family (and myself!) a gift subscription for Christmas in the late 1990s. At first it seemed silly—why did we need DVDs delivered to the house when we could just go down to Blockbuster and rent whatever we wanted?
Why bother dragging out the computer just to order up a film?
Order on the phone? Get real. Twenty-five years ago my phone was still attached to the wall.
But even back then, the selection was what set Netflix apart. You could get foreign films, documentaries, Oscar nominees, classics, and cult favorites that your local rental shop may or may not stock.
And it sure was nice to never have to worry about rental fees. Or zoom down to Blockbuster to return a film before midnight.
Netflix started streaming in 2007, but it wasn’t until 2013 that they dropped the entire season of House of Cards on the same day. I didn’t watch Cards, but I did watch their second offering, Orange is the New Black. The idea that you could watch an entire season at your own pace—which for many people turned out to be all at once—was revolutionary.
The binge was born.
For better and worse, it changed the way television is made and consumed.
The main problem with television shows is that no matter how promising they begin, they all go on too long and end with a fizzle instead of a bang (feel free to note exceptions in the comments.) It’s the nature of the beast—if you make a good season, people want another.
But a tight, well made film can reach perfection from beginning to end.
I’m not here to shill for Netflix and this isn’t a paid advertisement.
I just want to wish them a Happy 25th Birthday.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Thanks for the flicks.
I did not know they had that facility!
Ah, just found it’s not available in U.K.. 🤷🏼♀️
That’s a bummer. I didn’t realize it was a U.S. only thing! Even considering Film Authority’s well founded criticism, it really is a wonderful service!
Yup, we had Lovefilm instead in the UK. But like Netflix, it largely destroyed indie and low-budget film but only ordering a handful of copies of each film. In the days of VHS, you could sell a £60 cassette to every video shop and grocer in every street in every town in the UK. Netflix just bought five retail dvds for each film, essentially crushing cinematic freedom to make a cheap buck. They’re still trying their best to destroy cinema today.
Yes, I see what you mean. I don’t pretend to understand all the economics, I’m just a consumer. I’m not here to destroy the indies!
You know, we still had a locally owned (non Blockbuster) video store that survived right up through the pandemic. I did enjoy going down there to get the latest and talk to the clerks about what I should watch.
The end of the video store is not as bad as the prospect of the end of the bookstore, but I do still wish we had them (and Netflix too!)
I guess Netflix could have invested a little more money in having more than five copies of every film, and might have pleased their customers by doing so, but they are the self-proclaimed disruptor of cinema, and destroying things is generally easier than creating them. I’m on the side of those trying to build rather than smash things up…
It’s never been easier to get your hands on old films and never harder to watch brand new ones.
Really? It’s the opposite here. Most new films have a starting charge of over £16, ie over twenty bucks for a rental. There are practically no classic films in streaming services, and they are expensive to rent or buy, even if you can find them. And Netflix’s disk rental scheme is an antiquated remnant if a service that was never any good in the first place. Netflix may be convenient and cheap, but their role in film history is provide the death knell.
Netflix is this old? God, I feel old. That being said, they created a new way to consume entertainment and God bless them for that!
I know, I couldn’t believe it’s been 25 years since I got that first red envelope!
I, finally, broke down and dove into the local Redbox where I food shop . . . for the sole purpose of watching “Top Gun: Maverick.” Yes, Tom pushed me over the edge.
It’s so impersonal: Swipe the avatars. Insert Card into the refrigerator-sized monolith. Spit out DVD. Go home. Watch. Return to slot.
A “video store” the size of a fridge? You’re killing me, technology, for you’ve sucked out my joy.
How did you like Maverick? I thought it was dynamite.
Incredible! Mindblowing cinematography that’s Oscar-win deserving. The Val Kilmer role pulls the heart strings, as well. Good for Tom in sticking by Val and insisting “without Val, there’s no movie.” Miles Teller delivers, again, and makes you realize “The Fantastic Four” wasn’t his fault.
Agree on all counts. Tom Cruise understood the assignment:)