Kim's Video

Save me from Kim's Video. I appreciate their broad selection, but finding anything there is utterly maddening. Yes, it's ostensibly organized by director, but it is also organized by genre and country -- sometimes these things overlap; sometimes they don't. Is Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet under Shakespeare, Australia or L? Is American Beauty a comedy or a drama? And how gay does a movie have to be to wind up in the queer category as opposed to one of the other categories? It drives me CRAZY, and in the age of Netflix, I see no reason to deal with it. Also the staff there is really uneven -- some of the greatest most helpful people ever, and some of the snootiest hipsters I've come across. It's a good resource if you need something immediately, I guess, but yuk! more

Can't find a particular movie in your local video store? Kim's is the place to go. They have an extensive collection and will tell you over the phone if they stock your movie. The only bad thing is that they now have a policy where they place a temporary $150 charge on your credit card and charges for rentals are a bit steep - maybe $10/rental but you will find that hard to find video here. If you must see that movie, this is the place for you. more

There was a time I thought I just had to have every one of David Lynch's films and some of his older works is really difficult to locate. Kim's video was the only place that I could purchase Eraserhead...I thought that was quite an accomplishment. I also found a copy of a non-dubbed original language of Fellini's Casanova...that was really surprising. Additionally, the staff is really knowledgeable about movies and yes at times I am the annoying customer who comes in to ask a really generalized stupid question like " uh...do you know that movie where the girl was wearing a dress and was murdered with a knife?" Surprisingly enough, with enough effort ( from the kind sales people) I always find my movie. Cheers to you Kim! more

I used to not like Kim's because I thought it was expensive and pretentious, but the last time I was there I realized that they have a good selection of underground stuff at decent prices, plus a whole wall of used CDs (which I had somehow never noticed before). I have heard some complaints about the staff, but other people have said they were helpful. I recommend checking this place out if you are looking for underground music. more

The store carries all of your alternative and punk rock stuff. They have some truely random CDs and even records there. In addition, they have all of the rarest videos I've seen. Definitely a lot of B-films. The staff wasn't too helpful, so you will have to look through the store to find what you're looking for youself. more

I frequent Mondo Kim's for both rentals and purchases and definitely consider it the best rental store in the city. The selection is varied and interesting, though could be better organized (as put by another reviewer). The staff can be kind of cold, but there are some pretty nice people there too (the rental people are much nicer than the sales staff). Kim's large selection and decent prices in general offset the staff problems. Some titles are oddly overpriced in sales sometimes though. All in all, I love Mondo Kim's, I think it's the best of the Kim's stores. more

There's tons of used and new music to be had here, but it's pretty confusingly laid out so you have to search through 4 different sections to find what you want. And don't try to ask the staff cause they are too busy buying more CD's to sell off of people. The prices are kind of high too. more

What can I say about this place, it’s got anything and everything that has ever been produced onto film. They’ve got the biggest import section I’ve ever seen but that’s no knock on their domestic section. Kim’s video puts blockbuster to shame, especially their employees. I’m astonished by how knowledgeable they are. Don’t know the title? Don’t know the actors? That’s ok, their staff on hand can tell you exactly what movie you seem to be thinking of. They’re like a walking database of movies. It’s scary. They also have a music section but I’ve got nothing good to say to about it. more

i have been coming since high school to sort through some of the greatest selections in music - signed and unsigned alike... love it. now, i've moved further uptown (unfortunately) but it's still worth the pilgrimage for hard-to-find music and bizarre videos. more importantly though, it is a friendly, unpretentious spot for indie and avant-garde music.... only new york. more

Kim's Video is known for its huge selection of video and dvd rentals. It's not your typical movie rental store. It contains rare and independent movies that you may not find in mainstream video rental stores. If you are looking for something different to watch on a Friday night Kim's Video has the answer for you. It has several floors for you to navigate. Kim's Video also have a pretty huge selection of anime and other new releases. Located near NYU and in the Village area after a dinner go visit Kim's to complete your day. more

Take the train to Astor Place and within a few blocks you will be at Kim's. This is a large video music store in the Village with two or three floors of CDs and a wide variety of hard to find videos (VHS/DVD) - when you can't find it in stock at Blockbuster, this is the place to go. My husband loves to rent movies and has rented Mean Streets. The staff are helpful, efficient and very knowledgeable. more

If you need to find something in the video or music realms, you go here. There's so much good stuff going through there that the bargain bins are always full of stuff that goes for much more at other stores. Looking for rare movie or album, most likely the staff can help you -- they're very knowledgeable, but also very stuck up sometimes. Regardless, it goes with the territory, and if you are looking for the category of goods found at Kim's, you probably won't mind the snobbery of the staff. more

Kim’s Video Underground is an institution in NY. It is the perfect place to wander into when you don’t know what you want to watch, and the only place (other than the web) to find the things the chains won’t carry, like, say, Freaks or any other indie or international flick. The organization of the store is unique (region or director, etc) can be great if you don't know what you want to watch or a real pain if you're looking for something new or specific. Still, you can't beat Kim's for non-web video renting. more

For savvy New Yorkers Mr. Kim's mini empire is an entertaining spectacle unto itself. The St. Marks location is 4 stories of CDs, DVDs, Video Tapes and other pop culture items. The selection is huge although at least with the video tapes some of what they sell is second or third generation homemade material that is barely watchable. Many of the staff members give the appearance of being one sandwich short of a picnic. Finding a film can be difficult when dealing with some of the odd filing systems the staff has developed. All that being said many years ago I saw a piece of footage of a Russian director from the 1910 - 1930 period who would develop whole movies where the characters were dead beetles and grasshoppers with articulated legs. I kid you not. Of course I could remember nothing of the films except the description in the proceeding sentence. I asked a few friends who were film buffs and they looked at me blankly. I went to Kims and asked for help. The staff of assorted film kooks had a meeting that lasted about ten minutes and then proceeded to produce a fairly good copy in Video of this directors assorted works. The video was from the mid 80's and in good shape. I took it home and watched about 45 minutes of insects on bicycles, driving cars etc. It was wonderful and that in a nutshell (pardon the pun) is what Kim's is all about. more