Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee and Odyssey Video

As many of you know I recently located to the Los Angeles area,  North Hollywood specifically. The other day we were walking around and we came across something that looked familiar.

Thats right.  This amazing place, as seen on TCM, is right around the corner from my apartment.  Oh Joy!! And, a block south of this, is another great rental place, Odyssey Video. Between the two of them, so far we've been able to find every title we've gone in for (got the Great Dictator, Night Tide, Keaton's The Camera Man,  just to name a few).  I'd like to see the Blockbuster across the street do that.

Blockbuster brings me to my point though.  These two shops, Eddie Brandts since 1969, and Odyssey since the 80s, have character.  They have great films on DVD and VHS. The people who own and work there know what you want when you say "its got that dude that was in that thing that one time", and can talk to you all day long about films, history, and give you pointers on your new neighborhood.  These two shops, amazing and wonderful as they are, aren't doing so hot financially.  Odyssey had to sell off alot of their inventory, and there's a "for lease" sign hanging over Eddie Brandts.

 

Inside Eddie Brandts

What can we do? Patronize your locally owned video stores.  10 to 1 odds says they're cheaper than Blockbuster, have a way more diverse selection, and actually know what they are talking about, instead of having to deal with the snot nosed teen army at corporate chains that don't know Valentino from a hole in the ground.

To me, the appeal of "200 copies of new releases" isnt all that appealing, because lets face it, most new movies are awful. Redbox's selection isn't very good (why is Kindergarten Cop a New Release??) And the folks at Blockbuster dont care, its a job and money to them. To the local shop, they opened that on their own because it's something they are passionate about and this particular breed has forgotten more film history than any of us will ever know.  Its like our own personal Robert Osbornes right there in our neighborhoods, just waiting for questions.

So wherever you are, look up your local shops, dust off the VCR if you gotta (theres still something comforting about blowing into the tape and adjusting tracking, i must say) and go.  Buy a poster,  a soda, just let em know we havent forgotten who's there for us when we can't find an out of print silent film or want a movie that didn't come out in the past 15 years.

Odyssey Video                                                                                                                                                                                             

4810 Vineland Ave
North Hollywood, CA 91601 34.1579 -118.3705

http://odysseyvideo.net/

Eddie Brandts Saturday Matinee

5006 Vineland Ave
North Hollywood, CA 91601
http://www.ebsmvideo.com/