There is a secret cinema room in the world’s oldest video shop - and it’s located in the heart of Bristol.
20th Century Flicks has been praised for its “quirky, retro and cool” atmosphere by a 2Chill user that stumbled across its private cinema room when renting a film.
With more than 20,000 films on offer - five times more than Netflix - and two secret cinema rooms out back, 20th Century Flicks is a “hidden gem” that stays “under the radar” in Bristol.
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Rating the video shop four out of five stars , 2Chill user Paul McAuley wrote: “I heard about this video shop through a friend, and it really impressed me! Quirky, retro and cool.
“They have so many films - you wouldn’t believe! I went in to rent a movie and discovered that you can hire out a private cinema room.
“So much better than a normal crowded cinema. I’ll definitely be back to give it a proper go!”
20th Century Flicks has been running since 1982, and the video shop was previously located in Clifton before they moved to the Christmas Steps.
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Co-owner David Taylor told 2Chill: “We are the longest running and oldest video rental shop in the world and have the biggest film collection in the UK.
“We have five times more films on offer than Netflix, with over 20,000 titles to choose from.”
Despite the shift in online streaming, 20th Century Flicks has managed to stay afloat, driven by passionate workers and dedicated film fans.
“We’ve been running for almost 40 years and are one of the few video shops to survive into the era of streaming,” David said.
“We’ve remained dedicated to keeping the widest selection of films available to the public. You can watch our films at home, or in one of our beautiful cinema rooms.
“They cost £60 to hire and currently seat groups of up to six people, though capacity will hopefully increase soon.”
David says the cinema rooms are favoured amongst film fanatics and karaoke enthusiasts.
“They’ve proved very popular with film groups who want to watch something a bit more obscure than those shown at ‘normal’ cinemas," said David.
“And they are for people who just want to watch a favourite classic with their friends on a big screen, or fancy a good singalong to their favourite musical.”
20th Century Flicks has two cinema rooms that you can hire.
He added: “The Kino is our Twin Peaks themed room and the Videodrome is our large room, which is lined with our thousands of old VHS tapes.”
While many Bristolians already know about 20th Century Flicks, others might have only just learned about the 'hidden gem'.
“We have always relied on word of mouth as a business,” David said.
“As we’ve been around for so long and have earned an excellent reputation, it’s rare you’ll find someone who lives in Bristol and hasn’t heard of us.
“That said, we like to stay under the radar and enjoy our status as a hidden gem!”
During lockdown, the video shop switched to posting movies, then installed an outdoor post box to lend films out.
“Now we are letting people back into the cinemas and tentatively opening our doors to browsers again!”
Head down to 19 Christmas Steps, Bristol, BS1 5BS if you fancy flicking through 20th Century Flicks' immense film collection, or hire one of their secret cinema rooms with your friends.
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