Cinefile

Cinefile deserves its own post here because Cinefile has beaten the odds. Located at 11280 Santa Monica Blvd, Cinefile is known by all film lovers in LA has the place to go for obscure titles and a great atmosphere. The owner, Philip Anderson, has done a great job keeping cinefile's reputation strong despite the decline in video rentals nowadays. Rentals are super cheap (around $4) and the store specializes in the "rarest of the rare in foreign, documentary, sci-fi, independent, horror, and just about every other aberrant genre you could possibly imagine, all sorted the only way films ever should be, by director". They have the typical "art films" but also obscure titles that aren't even recognizable on google. When I went in the staff were welcoming and very knowledgeable. After chatting about John Whitney's work, they showed me a special digital animation section filled with DVDs (a little surprising to me) but I appreciated the vast collection and witty banter with the staff. 

The store's atmosphere is also what makes it so 'cool'. It reminds me of Amoeba, a giant warehouse space filled with the most interesting collection of art. The only difficult part of the store is the way it is sorted because the genres are super obscure and random (not the typical "horror" and "comedy" type place by far!). Before leaving, I rented some Godard and then bought a t-shirt (they have the coolest t-shirts ever) and then reflected on my experience. I highly suggest people go visit this store before video stores become a thing of the past.