Scarecrow Video

Everything and anything. I’ve looked for the original exorcist all over and we’ll they had a few for rent/​buy any and all genres. They’re also fundraising for a screening room which is über cool! Definitely a place to stop by at least. Tons of films.
So many genres!
Definitely a spot to visit!
Staff is cool.
Computer with full library of films for easy finding. Even shown on a map!

Do you love movies? Do you have obscure tastes? Do you like to feel lost? If you said Yes to any of these than Scarecrow Video is for you. They have TV shows and movies for everyone’s tastes. I picked up a volume of Dark Shadows. The hardest part about going here is finding the section you want because every category has many subcategories.
They also do free movie showings everyday of the week which is really cool.
They make it so easy to get a movie. Why download a movie when you can rent like any movie every made.

This is a phenomenal place with an amazing selection. Hands down, one of the coolest places in Seattle.

I absolutely love this store. I don’t have Internet or cable at home (cause I’m crazy, according to my friends), so I definitely watch a lot of DVDs. I love movies in general and this place is a movie buff’s wet dream!
They’ve got pretty much any movie you can think of, and if they don’t, they can special order it for you. I’ve definitely found some obscure and random movie titles here, i.e. Miami connection, 120 days of Sodom, Cannibal Holocaust, etc… It’s easy to kill a few hours just perusing through the hundreds of titles. They’ve got the store organized by new releases, sale items, directors, foreign, drama, horror, comedy, you get the gist.
It’s definitely not cheap to rent or buy from them, but we all need to do what we can to keep this place open! The nice thing is that older releases are usually 5 day rentals and tv shows can be up to 7 days. Just don’t be delinquent on your returns cause the late fees can get expensive!

Scarecrow Video is more like a library. It’s one of the best repositories of physical media in North America. Seriously. They have some extremely rare stuff that can be found no place else.
The staff and volunteers are passionate about film; each one a walking encyclopaedia for their specific niches of interest. Super friendly and willing to share information they’ve culled only after years of watching and studying film. I love them all!
Tip #1: Be a member and support this noble institution.
Tip #2: they have seriously good candy, snacks and soda behind the counter!
5 Platinum Stars!

Scarecrow Video is one of the last great bastions of Seattle culture. In the midst of so much change, gentrification, and outside influences it stands as a testament and a portrait of the soul of this place. It is a hodgepodge, and not the most trendy, but totally honest, and ultimately far cooler than any large money-​grubbing company could aspire to be. In this entertainment climate of status, power and wealth, where mediocrity is championed and intelligence loses its value, thank you for being here Scarecrow. A true library and record of film storytelling history. Go there, lose yourself, ask for a recommendation, stay to watch a film, explore the endless catalogs and find something to take home that you never knew could have existed. There’s a lot of that there ;-)

This is an amazing video store with a huge selection and helpful staff.
If you want a great throw-​back experience, are not into downloading movies, or are having trouble finding certain selections online, come here instead and browse to your heart’s content!

Scarecrow is the best video store in the land. You MUST come here. 2 for 1 rentals on Wednesdays!!!
Every movie made by man is in this store. No exaggeration. From the latest blu-​ray release to the PBS special in 1979 on VHS, this store has it available to rent. Or buy. The two-​story building is wall to ceiling, back-​to-​back, segmented by genre, of DVD’s, blu-​rays and VHS movies.
I love to go to the Free bookshelf which also has the weirdo items. I’ve watched bizarre things like 1950’s sex ed videos they actually showed kids in school to local comedy troupes trying to make it big like Black Daisy to Andy Warhol’s odd junk to a film made for SIFF that was surprisingly well-​made to really horrible things that had to be turned off in 5 seconds. I enjoy the adventure and surprise.
Everyone that works here is a film buff in their own right and if they haven’t heard of what you’re looking for, one of their co-​workers has and/​or their computer will find it for them in 5 seconds.
The rarity of the movie makes its rental cost go up. Some that are super rare will cost you a couple hundred for the deposit to ensure you return it. They have VHS players you can rent if you want to get some of those old tapes home and don’t have the machine.
No club card required. They take your drivers license to sign you up and you present it each time when renting. Returning is just like it was at Blockbuster — dump the cases into the return slot.
Small free parking lot on the side of the building and street parking available too.
Check out the flyers near the register or on top of the shelves near the front. You’ll find info on film festivals, summer movies, free movie screenings and other local entertainment.

I went here for my second time tonight when my mom informed me our internet was still out, I stopped by the night before with friends to check it out. The selection is amazing. I do wish there were more DVDs to buy (they have different obscure movies id love to own rather than rent) and the guy who helped me out was kind of a dick. Besides that I’ll probably continue stopping in here if there’s something I want to watch that I can’t find anywhere else.

Since their opening in 1988, Scarecrow Video is one of the largest independent video stores in the country. Scarecrow has been a Seattle (and national) institution for movie lovers! They recently became a non-​profit in October of 2014 as they are now under new management, but still have their membership program. They use to have VHSpresso, which I loved to get a cup of coffee while browsing the gigantic selection of movies. Since Scarecrow became non-​profit, that has since closed, which I was super sad about.
Anyway, they hold movie nights which they keep a calendar of what they will be showing at the front counter and on their blog (
). They show anything from cult classics to semi-​new releases. I have yet to attend a showing as I live pretty far away in a place called Puyallup.
My boyfriend is a HUGE movie buff, and wishes that we lived closer so we could have a membership. Problem is, returning the movie before it becomes over due. But, we try to stop by when we are in the area and purchase movies that they sell. If you cannot find a movie that you would like to purchase, they are willing to hunt it down for you, order it and have it ready for pick up. Talk about customer service! That’s probably why they have been open for so long. They even came out with a huge movie reference guide of all the movies they have on hand (it’s a pretty thick book) called: The SCARECROW Movie Guide. Purchase it through them so they get the money and not some giant third-​party company!
If you are in the U-​District and looking for some rare movies or want to browse a place where you get lost in all the genres of movies, then head on over to Scarecrow… I promise that you movie buffs will not leave disappointed except that you don’t live close enough to get a membership and rent all the movies!

First off, I get the nostalgia and why this place is so sought after. That being said, I don’t like that they charge your card without notifying you if you have a late fee.
Secondly, a $ 200 hold on your card if you rent a «rare» DVD. This boggles my mind and keeps me away.

I am giving this place five stars, partly like all Great Good Places, it is the last and best of hits kind.
So many video rental stores are gone, replaced by the vacuous Internet sources that have no character, no soul, and no copies of To Have or Have Not, or Whiskey Galore.
About 25 years ago, my erratic parents were visiting me, and wanted to see Whiskey Galore, a 1940’s film from Ealing Studios. I had to put down a $ 200 deposit back then, but my delighted parents got to see that old black and white ‘Scotts go wild on whiskey’ movie.
Nowadays, I can rent it for $ 5 or so for a week, as they have been able to get more old films at a better price. I think they have 120,000 films.
Here is more recent story. I walked in there, and described a few scenes from a movie I saw ONCE when I was 14.
After a few moments of me waving my hands and a few vague utterances, one guy there knew what movie it was, and they had it!
I took it home, and it was as good as I remembered (I think the title was a Crack in the Sky, 1965, but don’t quote me).
They have all sorts of cool documentaries, too. On everything from Ebola to John Kenneth Galbraith talking about economics for 10 hours.
Outstanding. I only wish I lived next door.
Go there, and support this ABSOLUTELY AMAZING place.

Terrible and rude customer service from one of the male employees. Gave attitude when simply asking for location of the item. Wouldn’t use them again and wouldn’t recommend to anybody.

This place is more than just a video store. With over 100,000 titles, it’s more of an archive. I usually look for pretty obscure movies when I go to Scarecrow, and I have yet to be disappointed. The staff is also very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.

While I don’t frequent the place, I do know my movie buff friends are big fans. If you’re in need of a niche present for your 13 year old nephew, then this is the place to find horror movies from the 80s that will be cheesy enough for your sibling to approve and classic enough for him to impress his teenibopper friends.

Scarecrow is one of the last video rental stores left out there. Period. And really, they should be seen more as curators for all things film instead of a place to rent a couple videos for the weekend.
Granted, I DO come here for the videos — they have everything imaginable. Every awful movie I happened to see on the SciFi channel growing up, foreign films that you only see in college, musicals, westerns, documentaries, you name it! (They even have an adult room, whoo boy).
They run on a Non-​Profit model now, and if weekend evening lines amount to anything these guys look to still have the business to be around for a while longer yet.

I really like this place. It’s got all the movies I could ever want, the staff is helpful and I love their system of organization. And if you go on Wednesday (2 for 1 rentals) it’s not that expensive. Plus they have awesome screenings.
The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because of their return policy. Rentals are due back in a week. They close at 10 every night. One would assume as long as it’s back by closing you should be good. Not so fast! Their policy is to charge a late fee if you return a movie after 9PM on the day it’s due.
There is no sign anywhere to let you know about the 9 PM thing. You’d think it would be near the return slot, but it’s not. Apparently it’s in the paperwork when you sign up for an account, but I was under someone else’s account and never saw it. I got an $ 18 late fee because I returned some movies after 9 on the day they were due.
I made some noise, and they didn’t refund the $ 18 but they did give me some rental credits to make up for it so that’s something. I really do think there should be signs up letting last-​minute people like me know about the policy.
Seriously, though. Everything else about this place is amazing. I wish there were more video rental places like this.

Absolutely awesome. They have every tv show and movie I watched as a kid.

Scarecrow video has it all. I decided to go into this place on a whim today after seeing this place on Unilocal.Let me tell you, I was in movie heaven!
Any movie you can imagine is at this store! Their organization is amazing. There is a section organized by directors, which is super helpful if you are in a film class like myself. They have new and used DVD and VHS’s to buy and they keep up with all of the new releases as well.
This store is two stories along with an espresso bar, and the movies are organized by genre in different sections of the building. It’s like a maze of movies. The staff is really knowledgable and helpful into finding a movie, and if you really can’t find what you are looking for they have a computer to look it up. The rental prices are really good, and you can even rent series of television shows. What I also enjoyed was along the shelves the workers would post little notes about their favorite films, fun facts, and their opinions of movies!
I will definitely be returning to rent some movies and recommend people stopping into Scarecrow video A.S.A.P.

We Seattleites have always been fortunate to have a store like Scarecrow in our city, but nowadays, with the rise of Netflix, we are even more fortunate that Scarecrow has survived. I’ve been a customer for over twenty years. Scarecrow almost always has what I’m searching for, and when I find it, I look on the shelves nearby and find many other titles I didn’t know about. Great place!

It’s not easy to find an old style independent video store in the year 2014.
It had been at least a decade since we last watched the 1978 original Star Wars and now it was time to indoctrinate our nine year old. While that was what originally brought us in here, I almost wanted to kiss the ground because the idea of a video store that has not gone out of business is so novel 2014, let alone one this great.
Scarecrow has two stories and a great selection from all the digitally remastered Star Wars movies to British drama, to all of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli animated films. It also has the same frayed, tattered dusty rose colored carpet of your favorite video store in the 90s along with the yellowing masking taped signs and the same exorbitant late fees (oh yeah, remember those, ugh) so don’t be late in returning your movies.
The last four years have seen the last of the megastore video stores in Seattle shutter, and every so often, when listening to our local NPR station, I hear the owner of Scarecrow talking about the challenges of staying in business. While I also stream video, there is much here at Scarecrow that you simply can’t stream without buying outright. With limited titles from the greatest-​movies-​ever-​made pantheon simply not available viewing, unless you purchase them outright, there are many dollars-​and-​sense reasons for movie fans to support Scarecrow.
Scarecrow, please, please hang in there. Its practically a community service at this point, and the perfect place to educate the next generation of film buffs.
Postscript: Scarecrow is transitioning to a nonprofit at the end of September, closing briefly and then supposedly reopening. Wow, I hope this is true and they are not going anywhere. Scarecrow is a community service of the coolest kind –be sure to support it.

yay!!! This is the place to go if you are looking for a crazy awesome selection of movies! I mean like the best selection of movies that you will find in any one location in seattle.
They have DVDs, VHS tapes and you can rent VHS players as well. if you are looking for something in particular then walk on over tho one of the computer directories and search away.
One of the best movie places in existence, in my personal opinion.

I first heard about Scarecrow Video through a friend all the way back in Colorado. Her brother worked here at one point. She gave it her highest praise so when I first moved out here I had to go here right away. It is a film buff’s heaven!
I have been holding off writing a review about Scarecrow Video because I was saving it for a landmark numbered review. A review for a place that is near and dear to my heart. I was thinking of saving it for my 3,000^th review.
The problem with that is if I don’t write about it now it may be too late. A couple of months ago I picked up a Seattle Weekly and read in an article that the store was in trouble. Rentals were way down and like all video rental stores it is buckling under competition from the digital revolution. I Googled Scarecrow Video and it alarmed me that the first things to come up were four different articles about the struggles the store is going through and if it going to stay open. These were the first results to come up before the companies website even pulled up. Sad.
Scarecrow Video is the kind of store, the prodigy as to what video stores should aspire to be. The video store has well over 100,000 titles and it shows! Some of my favorite directors like David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Peter Jackson and SO many more have their own sections on a shelf! Scarecrow also breaks down their films by genre as well. Not only that but I am told if you put down a sizable deposit you can rent out film spools of films as well. Some of Andy Warhol’s films are available in this format. These are films that would otherwise be incredibly hard to find!
Perhaps I am a part of Scarecrow Video’s problems. I don’t rent movies there either. I live in Tacoma and while I am in Seattle often enough to rent movies from here it seems like too much of a chore. In fact I don’t really rent movies anywhere anymore!
However despite my abstinence from renting movies from Scarecrow I still feel like I am doing my part to keep them in business. I am a huge film buff and any film buff knows there is the Criterion Collection. I have to have all of the entries to this collection as well as any spin off collections from the main collection like the Eclipse series for example. Each month new releases are announced and like any good video store should they have these new Criterion releases here on sale.
So while Scarecrow is mostly known for their movie rentals they have a considerable amount of movies on sale both new and previously viewed.
So once a month I go up here and get my Criterion fix. So I do feel like I am doing my part. But is it enough?
Part of the reason why Scarecrow Video has made it this far is because they are a Seattle institution and one of the few movie rental stores out there that «got it right». But even that may not be enough to compete with the internet. The other reason they are still around is perhaps that the owner of the video store also works for Microsoft so he more than likely is pulling a pretty penny from that.
Many people are not even aware that Scarecrow Video is even in trouble. Their advertisements are still shown weekly in The Stranger announcing new releases or some special event. But as I was told we are not seeing these advertisements because they are doing well. We are seeing these advertisements because they want to draw more people in! According to the Seattle Weekly article the company would more than likely to be around up to Christmas but after that? Who knows?
So my review is more of a «call to action» to keep a great movie rental store in business. If you are looking for a DVD gift for a certain someone then try and keep it local and to a business that deserves it. Black Friday is approaching and for so many nervous retailers it is make or break time for a whole other year.
I plan on doing my part! Come towards the end of the month I plan on shelling out some heavy duty green for my monthly Criterion fix. This month a 25 film box set of Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman is coming to Criterion and I know I can count on Scarecrow Video on having it.
P. S. Anyone else who is a collector of the Criterion Collection should come here! The prices on most Criterion titles are often cheaper and often on sale!

I once worked at a place in Chicago called Uncle Fun. One of our frequent shoppers referred to us as one of the pillars that holds up the universe. I think Scarecrow is one of those places.
one thing: Check your DVDs before you leave the store. I rented a movie and it was scratched and they refunded me the money and lent me another copy so I could watch the scratched part again.
a cool tip: Call ahead and they will hold your movie at the counter.
This place is a great place to take out-​of-​town guests during a rainy afternoon. It would probably be a fun date place– bring someone and walk around and get a real sense of what films they are into or genres…
With the addition of VHSpresso you can now get coffee and treats, too!