As some of you may be aware, I am of the fickle nature and fraternize with multiple blogs. An opportune topic has given me the chance to write a cross-blog post, uniting my love of travel and movies (and spending money).
Copied below is an entry I posted in my travel blog last week about where to purchase movies in Manhattan, hope you find it useful, or at least an interesting read.
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Manhattan Movie Mania
For those who know me personally, you'll know that most of my paycheques are spent on one of 2 things - travel or movies. And every once in a while the two come together.
The obvious is when I attend different film festivals during my travels, but I also like to do a little movie shopping where ever I go and have much to say on the topic. For those who are not avid collectors (or travelers), one of the first things is to make sure you'll be able to play what you buy overseas at home. I have a region-free DVD player for this purpose, though most DVDs will play on a computer, blu-rays are much trickier (though all-region blu-ray players seem to be getting cheaper). If you're still unsure, then your safest bet is to buy all your movies within North America. Foreign films are usually easiest to find in the country from which they originate, just make sure they have English subtitles or you understand the original language. Also if you're an anti-fullscreen fanatic like me, it's worthwhile to learn the word for "widescreen" (if you don't know what the terms "full screen" and "widescreen" mean, we cannot continue to be friends until you've read this ) and keep in mind anything from the early 50's or older will not be widescreen, so they're safe to buy indiscriminately. Many countries impose fines or penalties if you are caught with bootleg movies, therefore I don't encourage purchasing unlicensed discs.
While I was in New York last month, I made an effort to check out a few stores, where I came across some bargains and rare finds. Note: These are not your slick large chain stores with the shiny displays of the lastest Fast & Furious movie, expect a little grim, have some patience, and be prepared to be surrounded by collector geeks.
The DVD Funhouse is a cramped store on Broadway near Union Square, I found it one night last year on my way to The Strand bookstore (which is almost kiddie corner from this place). They feature a good - but incomplete - selection of steeply discounted movies. Most discs are new, they stock mostly DVDs with a little Blu-ray, and the majority of the titles are all under $10. If I had to guess, I would say these are excess stock of blockbusters from years past that never sold at larger retailers. I've amused at the horrible reviews this place gets on google, it's a discount store for bargain movie hunters, not an HMV. As a frequenter of Union Square, I intend to stop by here every visit, I think it's a good spot for deals.
Also nearby is an Entertainment Outlet, with a wider selection than DVD Funhouse including more obscure & classic titles. This place requires a LOT of patience though, be prepared to crouch and flip through bins. There are walls of new regular-prices movies, discounted $5.99 (average) titles in the middle aisles, and steeply discounted $3.99 DVDs in bins sitting on the floor (the latter two in no particular order). They sell a mix of new and used movies, again mostly DVD, but they do have some blu-rays and even a Criterion section. I would recommend this place for avid collectors, bring some hand sanitizer though as the cases are dusty.
Academy Records is another collector's haven, though they advertise a movie selection this place is more of a music collector's dream, especially if you buy records and/or are a fan of classical/jazz/older music. I only glanced at the classical section and found it not only separated by composer but also by musical period (ie. mideval, pre-classical, etc. which blew my mind). Video-wise there are a lot of DVDs of classical music performances, but when it comes to actual movies, the DVD/Blu-ray selection is a bit slim.
All of the above are good spots, but be prepared to leave your heart and life savings behind at Kim's Video in the East Village. Odds are, if you've ever searched for it fruitlessly, it'll be here. For those who frequented Suspected Video on Queen Street before it burned down :( Kim's is just like Suspect except everything is for purchase! It's roughly the same size, building in a similar state of disrepair (haha) with titles organized by country, then director with special sections for new releases, blu-rays, eras, and other special collections. For North American titles they are separated by decade. There are collections here I never knew existed, things I would never have thought to search for even on-line! If you're into old hollywood there are complete studio collections from the Hollywood Code era, silent era, etc. Everything is full price but you'll want to buy it anyway, this is one of my new favourite places in NYC.
