The FIRST Video You Ever Rented?

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:)...(:

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Ok, this thread is for those of us of *ahem* a certain age :D
Those of us who remember the days before you could record tv shows and rent out movies. Then suddenly Video Recorders appeared and the rest is history! But what was the first video you rented after joining that spanking brand new concept called the local "Video Shop"?
My folks bought our first video at the tail end of 1982 and on the first Saturday to come around we rented two movies which were relatively "new" then (God I suddenly feel old) -
1. First Blood
2. The Deer Hunter

I remember being amazed that I could watch great movies at my leisure in my living room without adverts or worrying if I needed to take a leak mid-movie :D
Ah, halcyon days! KiRAB today, they don't know when they're born etc etc.... ;)
 
Ah who can forget the old pirate copies, mostly in black & white. I remember the E.T. pirate being treated like the Holy Grail :D Anybody used to have a "Video Van" come around the streets, renting out movies with always the "Pirate copy under the dashboard if you're interested" option? :D
 
Got me thinking of Peter Kay's skit on ET and toploading VCRs now.

Can't remember but we had a Betamax to start with having badgered my Dad to get it. He must have picked a horror first because that's what we wanted. It's probably The Evil Dead as it was one of the few decent films on the format at the time. Either that or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which my Mum genuinely loved!
 
When my dad first got a VCR it was Flight of Dragons I think. When I was old enough to join a video club myself, it was Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 
I can't remember the first ever video I got out from a rental shop... it was probably some crap Hulk Hogan action movie. I did rent out Hocus Pocus a lot though. Can remember that.
 
pirate video of ET, lots of dodgy dealings and money changing hanRAB.(not me, a mate) Then when we watched it, it was full of muffled sound and people walking across the screen and was very dark!
 
I cant really remember what our 1st video rental was(probably something like Neverending story or Goonies), but I do remember having to wait ages to see a new film so you had to put your name on a list at the video store to reserve the film for some point in the future.(no such thing as Blockbuster Video in those days with loaRAB of copies on the shelf)
I can also remember when Crocodile Dundee got released and everyone wanted to see it and had to wait for weeks before it was our turn to be able to rent it.
On the box it had a sticker saying you could rent it or buy it now for
 
It was my Dad who chose 'Flash Gordon'. Though I liked it anyway. We were one of the first houses to have a VHS in the street and all my mates used to come around to watch films. 80's horror were our faves, I think I'm talking 1983, when videos were the new item and very expensive. At least we never had a Beta Max lol
 
Well we got a VCR in about 1988/89.

Not sure the first video exactly,but I think it was either An American Werewolf In London,Conan The Barbarian,A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2 or a video of Fireman Sam!

(What a strange combination).
 
I got my VCR in 1981 and recorded ITV's first showing of Death Wish that week.

I cant recall the precise title of my first rented tape but I know I enjoyed 81-84 renting out all the video nasties when they were still legal to do so- things like I Spit on Your Grave (still cut) and many others

Those of you who rented The Exorcist may not have rented pirate copies as it was released by Warner Home Video and was legally available to rent until about 1987 when the last of the films to be certified by the BBFC came about.

Good old James Ferman (may he rot in hell) banned a lot of films for no good reason and not until he got kicked out of office did many of the banned classic return.

When I started renting videos the big film companies were still unsure about it so many of the major films were licenced by small video companies.

Warner and Disney were the only company that forced video shops to lease the tapes and would not allow them to be bought which is why Warner and Disney films were hard to find and may possibly be a reason that your Exorcist was pirated - officially no shops could buy it and when it was banned they were supposed to return all copies to Warner
 
I can never quite grasp why the BBFC banned the Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
These were not violence/depravity for the sake of it movies like Salo or Cannibal Holocust,they were highly acclaimed movies.

Seems Ferman seriously objected towarRAB realistic heavy violence (even if it was only implied) and was more lenient towarRAB anything involving sex (he did allow Crash uncut).

I think Whitehouse found Ferman to be way too lenient!

Shows how far things have come,even if there is a bit too much censorship around to this day.
 
Pretty sure it was "My Beautiful Launderette". I even had to rent the player for the evening as I did not have a vcr at first. This must have been 1988 and the vcr player was this gigantic thing..
 
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