Final Days to Rent These Bestsellers!
It’s probably happened to you already. You see a film you want to rent and make a mental note to watch it when you have more time. You go back a week later and it’s no longer for rent! What happened?
We license our films from many different distributors, and each distributor determines the dates within which a film will be available for rental (known as Video-On-Demand or VOD) and sale (referred to as Electronic-Sell-Through or EST). New films come out every Tuesday, and at first, they are usually available for both rental and sale. Sometimes, distributors will close the rental window a few months later, which, for example, is the case with both A DANGEROUS METHOD and ALBERT NOBBS, neither of which will be available for rental after June 30. By opening and closing the rental "window," distributors try to balance scarcity and demand for their products.
These content windows work both ways. On July 1, a large number of great films -- previously available for sale only -- will be made available for rental. One of my favorite films of all times is DR. STRANGELOVE (1964), a crazy, smart farce of the military industrial complex by director Stanley Kubrick; coming into rental window is the ever-popular SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995) starring Emma Thompson (who adapted the screenplay) and Kate Winslet. There's a long list, below, of films you'll be able to rent (or buy) in July.
For now, check for the films going OUT of window and that will not be available for rental after June 30. Remember, once you rent a film from us, you have 30 days to watch the film before the rental expires, so you can rent these movies today and watch them in July!
Rental Windows Closing June 30 (the films will still be available for sale)
Rental Windows Opening July 1 -- re-watch a favorite film for $2.99*
Dr. Strangelove -- if you've never seen director Stanley Kubrick's anti-Cold War parody, then this is a must! Smart & hysterical
La Femme Nikita (1990) -- the first and best of female action thrillers is from France
The Big Chill -- the heartfelt comedy of 1983 when old friends gather for a weekend; terrific ensemble cast!
Tommy (1975) -- The Who's rock opera, great music, Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%
Fat City (1972) -- director John Huston's masterpiece about a boxer from Stockton, CA, has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100!
Fly Away Home (1996) -- Jeff Daniel's back in the headlines for Aaron Sorkin's new series, but we love him in this touching children's story as the father who flies with the geese with his daughter (Anna Paquin)
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) -- my favorite of the go-back-in-time films directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring a young Nicolas Cage & Kathleen Turner
Sense and Sensibility (1995) -- the number of fans addicted to this movie would surprise most people, but it's a fantastic film with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98 and a fabulous ensemble cast!
Brian's Song (1971) -- the tear jerker film based on the true story of NFL players Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo; Rotten Tomatoes score is 92%
All About My Mother -- Spain's leading auteur, Pedro Almodovar, directed this unusual and touching film in 1999; Rotten Tomatoes score is 98%
La Bamba (1987) -- great music in this bio-pic of Chicano's original rocker, Richie Valens, with a well-deserved Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%
The Age of Innocence (1993) -- a doomed romance set in New York's Victorian society by master filmmaker Martin Scorsese
The Prince of Tides -- Barbara Streisand directed this vulnerable story in 1991 from a best-selling novel, starring Nick Nolte
The Professionals -- Here's a Western from 1966 starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%
Soul Power -- too many people know nothing of the 2008 documentary about the musical tour accompanying the famed "Rumble in the Juingle" fight between Muhammed Ali & George Foreman; with music by James Brown, B.B. King, Celia Cruz, and many others
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) -- nothing beats the dry, slapstick British humor of the Monty Python comedy collective; Rotten Tomatoes 89%
The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962) -- if you know the comedy team of Curly, Moe, and Larry, then you know why you should rent this movie; if you don't know who these goofballs are, then you'd better rent this right now!
Kramer vs. Kramer -- the divorce and single-dad film that changed the way America looked at families in 1979; stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep
Peter Sellars stars in DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
*most library titles rent for $2.99; again, a distributor can decide to charge a higher price
