It is with heavy heart that I come to you today. I am here to announce the end of an era, the final nail in the coffin in of one America's greatest institutions: the video store. Specifically, my second favorite video store of all time, Murfreesboro's Video Culture.*
For anyone who did time in Bucket City, you know that Video Culture was/is a cinephile's dream, crammed full of obscurities and oddities and staffed by some of the most knowledgeable film nerds this film nerd has ever met. It was the sort of place where — much to my wife's chagrin — you could “run in” and emerge hours later having thoroughly discussed the filmography of Ruggero Deodato, the sociopolitical ramifications of post-Magnum Force action cinema and the later works of Z-movie meister Al Adamson the way some people talk about the weather.
Needless to say, I logged a lot of hours at that store and watched a lot of awesome movies I might never have seen, all thanks to the great folks at VC. Which is why I got super, duper, extra bummed out when I found this message, pulled from Facebook, in my inbox this morning:
after 16 years of serving up the best of filmed entertainment, we are closing up shop. August 14th will be our last day of business. everything in our inventory is up for sale, so come in & get it while the getting's good! thanks to everyone for the love & support over all these years. we will miss you!!
