Last revised: October, 1996.
This list is maintained at the University of Alabama's .
A2O ENTERTAINMENT Provides: Sales of laserdiscs. Address: 700 Sleater-Kinney Rd. SE, Suite B-286, Lacey, WA 98501 Phone: (800) 261-0150 (orders) or (360) 534-0150 (information) Fax: (360) 534-0139 E-mail: A2oent@halcyon.com [that's an OH, not a ZERO] Web: www.halcyon.com/a2oent/index.html Coverage: Laserdiscs, including used and imported. Orders: Hours are 11 am - 6 pm, Pacific time, Monday to Friday. Shipping is free by UPS, or priority mail, with a handling charge of $1.75 per shipment. Most preorders come with a 20% discount, and unopened titles (even if not defective) can be returned within 30 days for an 80% refund. Comments: Prompt and knowledgeable service. BEST VIDEO Provides: Sales and rentals of videotapes and discs, and audio books; search service; format conversions. Address: 1697 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517 Phone: (800) 727-3843 or (203) 287-9286 Fax: (203) 248-4910 E-mail: bestvid@aol.com Web: www.bestvideo.com Coverage: A wide variety of selected films and audio. Call for their catalog ($3.95, applied to first purchase or rental). Orders: By phone, 10 am - 9 pm Eastern time, seven days/week; by fax, any time; or order from the Web site. Check the catalog for their rental and purchase prices and options. Shipping is $4 for the first title, then $2/title. Comments: An interesting catalog, with films grouped into categories. This is useful for browsing; unfortunately, there's no combined title index. Try their Web site instead, which provides a search feature and many interesting reviews and comments. One caution: both in the printed catalog and on the Web site, film descriptions are brief, and it's sometimes hard to tell which version of a title is being offered. CINEMA CLASSICS Provides: Sales of VHS tapes and laserdics. Address: P.O. Box 174 Village Station, New York, NY 10014 Phone: (212) 675-6692 Fax: (212) 675-6594 E-mail: Cclassics@aol.com Coverage: A large, well-selected collection of videos of all sorts (except hard adult). Call for their catalog, which is grouped by category, with a good index. The current (1996) catalog is free, but they'll start to charge with the next edition. Orders: Fax (or leave a phone message) at any time, or speak with a representative from 11:30 am - 7:30 pm, Monday through Friday, or 1:00 pm to 7 pm Saturdays (all Eastern time). Shipping starts at $4 for one item, up to $7 for four or more; second-day air is $7.50 for the first film, $1.50 for each additional item. Overseas airmail is available, the cost dependent on quantity and destination, and Cinema Classics will provide PAL or SECAM conversions for overseas customers. Comments: An excellent collection, and prompt service. Cinema Classics has good versions of some problematic early classics, including conversions from PAL editions. CONTINENTAL SHOP Provides: Sales of VHS tapes. Address: 1619 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90403 Phone: (310) 453-8655 Fax: (310) 453-5093 Coverage: British and some Commonwealth films and television programs, both recent and retrospective. Call for free catalog, and ask about titles not listed. Orders: Hours are 8:30 am - 6 pm Pacific time, Monday to Saturday, and 10 am - 4 pm Sunday. Catalog prices include conversion to NTSC. Shipping is $5 for the first tape, $2 for each additional tape. Comments: An outstanding list of British films and TV, including many items not found in any other of the sources listed here. However, some of the PAL to NTSC conversions have video or audio distortions, so save your receipts. KEN CRANE'S LASERDISC Provides: On-site and remote sales of laserdiscs. Address: 15251 Beach Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683 Phone: (800) 624-3078 or (714) 892-2283 Fax: (714) 892-8369 E-mail: discs@kencranes.com Web: www.kencranes.com/laserdiscs Coverage: Keeps most laserdiscs in stock, including movies, children's, adult, music, many imports. Will take preorders for discs not yet released. Call for free catalog. Orders: Will take phone orders with credit card. Will keep customer info. on file, indexed by phone number; will also keep credit card number on file; will backorder. Usually gives 10% discount; shipping (UPS Ground) is free at present. Extra charges for COD and expedited shipping. Phone hours: 7 am - 9 pm, Pacific time, Monday to Friday; 10 - 6 Saturday; 12 - 5 Sunday. Comments: Excellent stock, very fast handling. Not all of the people taking phone orders know the stock (or films in general) well, so you may need to spell out the titles, or call back. If you live in the area, you can sometimes find videos in the store that the phone people don't know they have. CRITICS' CHOICE VIDEO Provides: Sales of tapes and laserdiscs; search service. Address: P.O. Box 749, Itasca, IL 60143-0749 Phone: (800) 367-7765; (800) 544-9852 for inquiries (9 am - 5 pm, Central time) TDD: (800) 272-2900, Monday - Friday, 7 am - 7 pm Central time Fax: (708) 437-7298 E-mail: vcatalog@ccvideo.com Searches: (900) 370-6500 ($1.95 first minute, then $.95/minute) Coverage: Excellent list of videos of all types except hard adult. Limited selection of laserdiscs and 8mm. Will order films not stocked. Call for free catalog (which says "$2.00" on the cover). Orders: Call 24 hours/day, or write or fax. Shipping: $5.50/order. FedEx shipping options: 2-day air, $5 extra (HI, AK: $15); overnight, $8, if you call before 2 pm, Central time ("some exceptions apply"). Comments: Outstanding selective, general-purpose list, titles almost always in stock, fast handling. The catalog is reissued every month or so, with both new and reduced-price titles flagged, which is handy. FACETS MULTIMEDIA Provides: On-site and remote tape rentals and sales; sales of discs. Address: 1517 West Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: (800) 331-6197 (ask for "rental" or "personal sales"); (312) 281-9075 for customer service Fax: (312) 929-5437 Coverage: Comprehensive VHS coverage (English or with English sub- titles), except adult; and a large selection of laserdiscs. Call for their enormous catalog ($11.95, including shipping), which is supplemented free every other month. Facets' foreign coverage is superior to that of Movies Unlimited. Orders: Membership fee is $25/year, which includes two free rentals; after that rentals are $10 each, or a block of 12 can be purchased in advance for $100. Rental fee includes postage to you, and return carton & label. Rental period is very brief (see "due back" date on packing slip), but can be safely stretched a bit. Shipping for purchases is $4 for the first tape, $1.25 for each added tape. Tapes can be purchased by phone or mail; phone hours are 9 am - 8 pm, Central time, Monday to Friday (until 9:30 pm for rentals), 10 am - 6 pm Saturday. You'll be given separate customer numbers for rentals and sales. Comments: The Facets staff knows their stock well. Catalog info. on availability for purchase may be out of date. Note that laserdiscs may be available even when Facets' catalog cites only a VHS version; try any of the laser sources mentioned, e.g. Ken Crane's. Will backorder. Some films are rental only. For rentals, prefer Home Film Festival when it also has the film (see note under that entry). FUSION VIDEO Provides: Sales of selected tapes. Address: 17311 Fusion Way, Country Club Hills, IL 60478 Phone: (800) 959-0061 (including Canada) Coverage: Selected titles announced through thematic catalogs issued from time to time (e.g. British, science fiction, PBS programs). Call to get on their mailing list; ask for recent catalogs. Orders: Call 24 hours/day, or write. The shipping charge is $3.95 - $6.95, depending on amount of order (more to Canada). Comments: Fusion sometimes has some hard-to-find items, including NTSC versions of British releases not listed by Movies Unlimited or Facets. GRAPEVINE VIDEO Provides: Sales of VHS tapes. Address: P.O. Box 46161, Phoenix, AZ 85063 Phone: (602) 973-3661 Fax: (602) 973-2973 Coverage: Silent and early talking movies, including many rare films, and many not listed by (e.g.) Movies Unlimited. Call for free catalog, but ask about other titles not listed, of which they have a lot in stock. Order: By phone during business hours, or by mail; no fax. Shipping: $3 USPS, $4 UPS for first tape; $ .50/tape thereafter. $4 charge for COD. Comments: An excellent list of high-quality transfers, though some of them are from significantly deteriorated originals. 1/2" HEAVEN Provides: Rentals and sales of selected, generally older films and homemade compilations of many sorts; also free video search service for films not stocked. Address: 4590 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029 Phone: (800) 788-7858 Fax: (213) 660-5571 Coverage: "Features, shorts, cartoons, musicals, westerns, comedies and other special stuff from the archives of Budget Films, the largest privately held film archive in the U.S.A." Send a check for $3.50 for their fascinating catalog. Orders: Phone hours are 9 am - 5 pm Pacific time, Monday - Friday. For $50, you can get a lifetime membership, which allows you to rent films by mail (return postage prepaid by them); members also receive a 10% discount on purchases. Most of the membership fee is refundable if you quit in good standing. One-week rentals are $10, $15, or $24 for 1, 2, or 3 tapes; the first two tapes rented are free for members. Postage on purchases is free within the U.S. Comments: Intriguing collection of mainly older films, both main- stream and bizarre, with a staff that knows and loves the stock. HOME FILM FESTIVAL Provides: Rentals and sales of tapes. Address: P.O. Box 2032, Scranton, PA 18501 Phone: (800) 258-3456 Fax: (717) 344-3810 E-mail: homefilm@lydian.scranton.com Web: www.homefilmfestival.com Coverage: Feature films in VHS, concentrating on foreign and art titles. Call for free info. packet with list of films; you must join to get the full catalog. They will special-order tapes not listed. Orders: Hours: 8 am - 7 pm, Eastern time, Monday to Friday, noon to 6 pm Saturday. Membership is $15 for the first year, then $10/year, which gets you a catalog and a free rental. Rentals are $6, $11, $16 for 1, 2, or 3 tapes shipped at the same time. Rental period: 3 nights from receipt, with an added fee of $1.50/tape/night if late. Shipping both ways is added to the charge, and varies according to your location and choice of shipping method. HFF also sells any commercially available tapes, with a 10% discount for orders of $50 or more. Comments: An excellent selection of over 2,700 high-quality films, with a very useful catalog. Returns are easy: each film comes in a one-use return box with peel-off sealing tapes and an address label with prepaid postage printed on it, so you can drop the film in any mailbox instead of waiting in line at the Post Office. For this reason, and also the lower rental price, HFF is preferable to Facets for rentals when both stock the desired film. LASER CRAZE Provides: On-site and remote sales of laserdiscs. Address: 329 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02115 Phone: (800) 828-3472 Fax: (617) 867-7820 Coverage: Large stock of laserdiscs, including Japanese imports and adult; will pre- or backorder items not in stock. They also give credit for used discs. Call to get on mailing list for their free occasional magazine, Picture Plus. Orders: By phone (9 am - 7 pm, Eastern time), fax, or GEnie online. Shipping is by UPS 2-Day @ $2.95 per shipment (but $5.95 if the shipment contains a boxed set). Will keep customer info. and credit card number on file. Comments: Prompt and reliable service from a knowledgeable and helpful staff. Unfortunately, Laser Craze has recently implemented a truly obnoxious voice-mail system; you can try to get around it by pressing zero when the recording begins, but this may just lead to another recording telling you to try again later. LASERLAND Provides: Sales of laserdiscs and CDs. Address: 1685 S. Colorado Blvd., #L, Denver, CO 80222 Phone: (800) 783-3472 Fax: (303) 757-4338 Coverage: Claims for stock 5,000 titles of all types, including adult. Call to get on mailing list for quarterly announcements. Adult catalog is separate, and costs $4. Orders: By phone, 9 am - 6 pm Mountain time, Monday -Friday; or fax at any time. 10% discount on most laserdiscs, 15% on CDs. Free shipping (UPS Ground); 2nd day air is available for $5 for the 1st disc, $1/disc thereafter. $1.50 handling fee on each order. Comments: Fast service, and the order-takers usually know the stock well (though not always). LOONIC VIDEO Provides: Sales of selected tapes. Address: 2022 Taraval St., Suite 6427, San Francisco, CA 94116 Phone: (510) 526-5681 Coverage: Modest-sized list of cult films and TV shows. Send $1 for catalog. Orders: Hours: 9 am - 5 pm, Pacific time, Monday to Friday; but this is somewhat irregular -- the earlier you call after 9 am, the more likely you are to get through. Most films are $15.95; shipping is $3.25 for the first film, then $1/film. Comments: Some weird but good stuff. MOVIES UNLIMITED Provides: On-site and remote mail and phone sales of tapes and laserdiscs. Address: 6736 Castor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19149 Phone: (800) 523-0823 for orders; (215) 722-8398 for inquiries (9 am -5 pm, Eastern time) Fax: (215) 725-3683 Coverage: Comprehensive coverage of English and subtitled VHS, including "soft" adult, and a good selection of laserdiscs. Lots of foreign (though not as extensive a list as Facets). Call for huge catalog ($10.95, including shipping; $2.00 extra for laser catalog; free supplements quarterly). Orders: Call 24 hours/day to order; give customer number (assigned at time of first order) and credit card info. They have a bewildering variety of shipment and payment methods and charges; regular UPS is $4.00 base charge + $.50/item to a $9.00 maximum total. Comments: Catalog generally accurate, service excellent. Will backorder. PICTURE PALACE Provides: Web-based sales of a wide variety of tapes and discs. Address: P.O. Box 1051, Kearny, NJ 07032 Fax: (201) 955-9109 E-mail: picpal@ids.net Web:www.ids.net/picpal/index.html Coverage: Picture Palace can supply any in-print tape, and most laserdiscs. Their Web pages feature topical lists of recommended films, and catalogs for several sources (e.g. SinisterCinema). Orders: Use the Web site to order, or fax them; correspond about orders via the Web site, or c/o their e-mail address as given above. Shipping if $4.95 for one item, $5.95 for two, then $ .50/item. Comments: A recent addition, serving individuals and libraries via the World Wide Web. This is an interesting approach, still being developed and worth following. Their page would be greatly improved by the addition of a cumulative title index, or a title search capability. [PUBLIC AND BRITISH TELEVISION] In addition to the other sources listed here (of which The Continental Shop and Fusion Video are the strongest for these programs), the following often have PBS or BBC (or other British) films of various kinds, many of which are not available from regular outlets; call for catalogs. PACIFIC ARTS (a.k.a. PBS Home Video) 11858 La Grange Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90025 (800) 538-5856 (310) 826-9351 (fax) PBS Online E-mail: video@pbs.org Web store: www.pbs.org/store-cgi/store THE VIDEO CATALOG (which sells the videos marketed by SIGNALS) P.O. Box 64267 Saint Paul, MN 55164-0267 (800) 733-2232 for orders, 24 hours (612) 659-4320 (fax) (800) 733-6656 for Customer Service (from outside US: 01-612-659-4312) (800) 718-4336 for title searches VIDEO COLLECTIBLES (a.k.a. BFS Limited) 350 Newkirk Road North Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada L4C 3G7 (800) 268-3891 (U.S.) (800) 387-5758 (Canada) (905) 884-1433 (local) (905) 884-8292 (fax) For a large catalog of British tapes available in the PAL format, which must be converted to NTSC before viewing on American equipment, contact: FAST FORWARD Units 9/10 Sutherland Court Moor Park Industrial Estate Tolpits Lane Watford, Herts. WD1 8SP England (0923) 897080 (0923) 896263 (fax) (For format conversion, see the Yellow Pages under "Video Production Services"; expect to pay around $20 - $35 to convert a feature-length tape.) SIGHT & SOUND Provides: Sales of U.S. and imported laserdiscs. Address: 27 Jones Road, Waltham, MA 02154 Phone: (617) 894-8633 Fax: (617) 894-9329 Coverage: Large list of U.S. and foreign laserdiscs, with a speciali- zation in Japanese imports. Call for free catalog (which says "$1.95" on the cover). Orders: Hours are 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday - Saturday. 10% discount on most titles. Shipping is $3 for first disc, $1.50/disc thereafter, for UPS Ground; other options are available. Comments: No 800 number, but the first place to go for laserdisc phone orders. Sight & Sound continues to stock out-of- print and other hard-to-get titles which other sources can't supply. SINISTER CINEMA Provides: Sales of selected tapes. Address: P.O. Box 4369, Medford, OR 97501-0168 Phone: (503) 773-6860 Fax: (503) 779-8650 Coverage: Horror, science fiction, mystery, spaghetti westerns, exploitation, and schlock in VHS. Call or write for free catalog; send $2 if you want it mailed first class (stamps are OK). See The Picture Palace's listing of Sinister Cinema's films on the Web at www.ids.net/picpal/sinmastr. Orders: Hours: 9am - 5 pm, Pacific time, Monday to Friday, but irregular. Most tapes are $16.95, plus $2.05/title for shipping; $1 surcharge for credit card orders. Comments: Fairly large and good selection; has some hard-to-find older and British films, and a fascinating collection of trashy movies of all genres and periods. TLA VIDEO MGT., INC. Provides: Sales of VHS tapes, on-site rentals. Address: 332 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (800) 333-8521, 10 am - 6 pm, Monday - Friday Fax: (215) 922-1681 (same hours) Coverage: Large collection of U.S. and foreign videos in all cate- gories except adult. Call for catalog ($7.95 including shipping); or to subscribe to their bi-monthly newsletter, Rewind. Orders: Catalog implies they accept phone orders only from institutions, but this is not so; see phone information above. Shipping: $3 for the first title, then $2/title; discount for 10 or more. Overseas rates available. No shipping to P.O. boxes. Comments: Excellent list but less inclusive than those of Facets or Movies Unlimited. VIDEO YESTERYEAR Provides: Sales of tapes of older material. Address: Box C, Sandy Hook, CT 06482 Phone: (800) 243-0987 Fax: (203) 797-0819 Coverage: Large collection of old movies, TV shows, serials, propaganda, documentaries, and homemade compilations. Includes features, shorts, silents -- about 1200 in all, all in VHS, Beta, and 8mm. The silents are at the "correct" projection speed and many have new organ scores composed and performed by Rosa Rio. "Video Yesteryear" is one of several imprints sharing a corporate identity; others sell vintage audio recordings or adult videos. Call for a catalog ($2.95); adult catalog is separate and extra. Any purchase entitles you to receive one of their catalogs free (by returning a certificate which comes with the tape). Orders: Hours: "business hours in the Eastern time zone," or fax with credit card info. If you order ten or more films at once, deduct 10% Shipping is $3.95 per order (FedEx: $5.50/order). Comments: Catalog includes many items unique to this source. Some are of reduced quality, but the catalog usually warns of this (though not always). VIDEOFLICKS Provides: Sales of VHS tapes. Address: 1654 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5M 3Y1 Phone: (416) 782-4438 Fax: (416) 782-4430 E-mail: orders@videoflicks.com Web: www.videoflicks.com Coverage: A large collection of videos in NTSC format, with PAL and SECAM possibly in their future. Orders: By phone, Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm Eastern time; or by Web, e-mail, or fax. Shipping varies according to destination and size of order; the minimum is $3 to the US, $6 (Can.) to Ontario, $14 to other provinces. U.S. shipping is UPS for up to six tapes, parcel mail for more. Comments: A handy Web store, with a good selection. Videoflicks also operates a large group of retail stores, mainly in Ontario. VIEWFINDERS Provides: Sales of VHS tapes. Address: P.O. Box 1665, Evanston, IL 60204-1665 Phone: (800) 342-3342 Fax: (708) 847-1710 Coverage: Selected list of over 5500 VHS tapes in the arts, feature films, documentaries, mysteries, music, nature, etc. Call for free catalog; they will order titles they don't list. Orders: Hours are 8 am - 5 pm, Central time, Monday to Friday, though they will often answer the phone outside of those hours. Shipping: they prefer UPS, but this is negotiable; UPS is $5 minimum per order, $1 per tape over five tapes. Comments: An excellent collection of the best in arts and features.