My Movie Quest: Re-discovering Vulcan Video

Since the summer of 2024, I have regularly rented physical media (DVDs) from the famed Vulcan Video collection, now housed in the lobby of Alamo Drafthouse Village as part of a partnership with Video Vortex. In that timespan, I have rented nearly 500 movies, more often watching films that I have never seen before. This pastime returns a feeling of nostalgia, reminding me how I researched film history prior to this current era of streaming platforms. The character of Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) in Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World (2021) offers a soliloquy that matches this sentiment, “I grew up in a time when culture was passed along through objects. They were interesting because we could live among them. We could pick them up. Hold them in our hands. Compare them.” Thus, the preservation of physical media is important for both its rare holdings and its sentimental value.

Vulcan Video was a famous independent movie store in Austin, Texas. At its peak, it had multiple locations within the city. It closed its doors in 2020 after 35 years in operation due to rising rents and the shift to streaming. It was famous for holding rare titles and organizing its collection in a way that benefitted movie lovers’ explorations (the “Directors’ Wall” a particular feature). Upon its closing, Austin Film Society’s Lead Film Programmer Lars Nilsen curated a series Vulcan Video: The Exit Interviews featuring the thoughts of many former VV employees.

As a native Austinite, I had my own era of renting from Vulcan Video, specifically from 2006-2009 when there was a location in Northwest Austin at Lake Creek. I still have a memory of renting Ladyhawke (1985) for the first time. I then transitioned to receive DVDs in the mail from Netflix from 2009-2020, due to its convenience. Even with the closing of Vulcan Video and concluding my DVD Netflix subscription, I have never stopped checking out physical media as I’m also an active user of Austin Public Library, which stores vast amounts of titles in its holdings as well. The reason for this is quite simple: I love movies and I want to watch as many as possible before I physically close as well. 

To rent titles from the Video Vortex, an individual provides their name and a credit card, even though the collection is free rental. This is designed to prevent customers from failing to return the rare DVDS. Customers are allowed to check out three titles at a time, renting them over a period of five days. There is a proprietary computer system that tracks the DVDs one rents (EZRentOut), providing a reminder email to when they are due the next day.

As the staff of Drafthouse Village’s Box Office is often busy with checking in guests, answering phone calls, and handling drink orders, I recommend looking up showtimes that day to figure out a moment to arrive that will not interrupt their usual tasks. After all, they make no money from the free rental system (though they do accept tips). As I have rented so many titles over the past year-and-a-half, the employees who run the box office know me by name and sight.

The Vulcan Video collection is nearly 30,000 movies – more than enough titles to entertain oneself for a lifetime. When I first began renting its collection, I began by looking up films that I had once seen before, but knew they were rare titles not to be found on any streaming platform. This included movies like Emperor of the North (1973) and The Twilight Samurai (2002). Next, I began systematically looking for titles that I have not seen, oftentimes finding films that I had not even heard of before, like Steven Soderbergh’s King of the Hill (1993). By this I mean, I began looking alphabetically through each section of the VV collection – first the “Directors’ Wall” then to “Action,” “Comedy,” Drama,” etc. By scouring for titles in this manner, I am able to state with confidence that I have laid eyes on every DVD sleeve in its collection – an achievement that has taken me 1.5 years to do. 

Before checking out any titles, I take the additional step to see if a particular title is streaming on any platform that I am subscribed to or available on any free platform like Tubi (which has a considerable amount of titles). I also look to see if I could check out a certain title through APL, so that I don’t waste a trip. Colloquially, I refer to these outings to friends and family members as going on a “Vulcan Run” as I do drive a 15-minute commute to arrive at Drafthouse Village. 

My love of older films is how I first separated myself from childhood friends, as we all had similar passions growing up like playing sports. By high school, I began watching more international films, as I lived nearby the original Arbor movie theatre (now a Cheesecake Factory for more than twenty years in the Arboretum) and its successor Regal Arbor (now demolished), both of which specialized in independent and foreign films. Even after a lifetime of actively watching movies, I recognize only too well, there is always another movie to see.

When I ended my DVD Netflix subscription in 2020, I had rated over 6,000 movies and television shows combined. Over the past year, I have been more active with my Letterboxd account, attempting to track the sheer amount of movies that I have seen in my lifetime (if only to clear up brain space so that I don’t have to remember them all anymore). Currently, I’m up to 4,301 titles. Truthfully, I have no idea how many movies I’ve seen – but I’m guessing that figure could be anywhere from 7,500 to 9,000 titles. While that number sounds immense, consider this – from a quick internet search, it is estimated that over 500,000 movies have been made since the beginning of cinema. There is indeed always another film to watch, as the quest for movies never concludes.

I have created a list of personal favorites from Vulcan Video rentals. It has been a joy to discover films like Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955), The Nickel Ride (1974), Shame 1968), and others. There are other institutions/collections to investigate locally in Austin like the former I Luv Video collection, now operated by the noble nonprofit We Luv Video. 

This article is written to encourage others to endeavor upon their own movie quests via physical media, for there are adventures to be had and treasure to be discovered. 

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