Admittedly, they'd been going down the tubes for a while, but they were one of the first sites that I started using when I got access to the Internet way back when, and lots of their older stuff was fun to look through. They don't appear to have even archived anything. I'll be off in the corner, crying softly.

You could share in the tears being shed here:

Defunct Technology or Websites You Miss?

Most of it's gonna go this way sooner or later.

I'll miss their crazy coupons from back in the day. If anything, they're the ones that started my addiction.

THey were still around? I thought they died long ago. I remember fondly the days of the crazy coupons and the little freebies that they and dvd express used to throw in the boxes with the dvds. Still ahve some post it notepads from reel and dvd express.

^ I just got to the last post-it on a DVDExpress pad the other day. Couldn't bear to use it for sentimental reasons, threw it in one of my exclusive boxes.

The bright orange ones?

They were the site I started buying from exclusively. I still have some that are kept around for just the same reason ..

Oh, yeah. I remember that, too. TOSHIBAFREEDVD, wasn't it?

I was barely out of college, had my first DVD player, and was getting about four DVDs from Reel.com a week back in '99 or '00.

40% off of pre-orders, free shipping, and a $5 off of $15 coupon meant getting a $30 MSRP DVD for $12.99. (Of course, with the price cuts these days, most of those DVDs I got for $13 can now be had for under $10. Which, I guess, is one of the main reasons I'm so bearish on Blu-ray.)

Yep! Think I have some reel.com magnets somewhere, but haven't seen them in years.

I thought they were dead years ago. Didn't IMDB buy them?

Yeah, they were dead as a retailer, but the site still worked for movie news or something. Someone else can clarify I'm sure.

I believe so. They began outsourcing a lot of their reviews to filmcritic.com at one point too, but some their old descriptions, "movie anatomy tabs," and old reviews were great (Tor Thorsen and Jim Hemphill in particular were favorities, where did you guys go?). I wish that they'd at least archive it all or something.

Yes, they stopped selling DVDs years ago, but remained in operation as an info site.

Give this a shot:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.reel.com

Thanks to Reel coupons I was able to obtain the first Stanley Kubrick (white box) set, and the Nightmare box (much more expensive when it first came out), back when my DVD collection was really taking shape. Hmmm, I think I "misplaced" my Reel promo freebies in my last move...

Good memories. Makes me nostalgic for that DVD-only rental/sales store that was around in the Pacific Northwest for about two years, Backlot DVD, I think? That was a shame when they closed as well.

never heard of them hehe

Yeah, the early days. I got Titanic 50% off plus The Shining as a throw-in. Those 40%-off-all-preorder days were deadly on my wallet.

+1

I actually started buying DVD's from them BEFORE I had a DVD player. Their coupons were insane!

Same here. They sold DVDs for half off retail, so I bought a lot of DVDs for $12.49 which I still have.

Hollywood Video bought Reel years ago. Amazon bought IMDB.

At first I thought you were referring to reelz.com

that would have been scary.


Didn't reel.com do a special promotion for the 2 VHS set for Titanic when it came out in 1998?


I remember there were commercials on TV promoting the home video release of Titanic back then and reel.com was involved in some promotion for the release.

Wish they would have kept their reviews archived online. That is a lot of work to just hit the delete button on.

I was also one who started my addiction thanks to Reel.com. I remember ordering a ton of items from them at insane prices.

Is this topic a joke.

Reel.com was bought out and was redirected to Hollywood .com
about 7-8 years ago.

Ah, the coupons, the trivia...and was it Reel that sent the popcorn too? Those were the days.

Man this takes me back-- I had just gotten my first player, and those coupons helped me build my DVD collection.
Not only did they have 40% off of pre-orders, free shipping, and a $5 off of $15 coupon, they also had a $10 off of $25 coupon.
Which leads me to--
the craziest deal I ever got at Reel: I had ordered 2 DVDs, both pre-orders at 40% off, and used the $10 off of $25 coupon. One of the DVDs was Metallica's SM with the San Francisco Symphony. Well, the street date for that DVD got pushed back to an unknown date, and Reel's system cancelled it from my order, yet they still sent me the other DVD at 40% off, free shipping, and still applied the $10 off $25 even though my order was no longer over $25!! And that actually happened to me a couple of times with DVD's who's street dates got pushed.
That ever happen to anyone else here?
Ah the memories (and the savings...)
And no, this topic is not a joke, it's absolutely true which is why Reel pretty much crashed and burned....