Being a new addition to the I Luv Video/Spiderhouse/Eco-Clean/United States Art Authority, I can't tell you the illustrious history of I Luv Video, but I can tell you a little about this website. It's set up to be entirely interactive & as soon as I fully understand how that works, you will as well. In the meantime, you can send any responses, reviews, thoughts of substance, thoughts of novelty, complaints, etc. to me, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   & if it contains an ounce of humor or vitriol, I'll probably get it up on the website. I promise not to make you look like an idiot. Or any more of an idiot than I am.

In the future this website will have a searchable database of the thousands of films available at both I Luv Video locations, huge lists of "mood" movies ("What to watch if a hurricane is approaching," "What to watch if you want to learn to conterfeit money," "Movies to watch on a rainy night," etc.) & lots of website-only events & store-specials that will save you money and, hopefully, keep you as obsessed with movies as we are.

This is our first week of operation & every Tuesday morning you can expect reviews of all our New Releases, cool new News stories from the Cinemasphere & whatever else strikes our fancy, or yours. It's interactive after all. We hope you'll enjoy this site & that it will increase your love of films, great & small.

Your friendly Web Host,

Charles Lieurance

Praise from YELP.COM:

I heart you, I Heart Video.

I practically lived at I Heart for the first five years I lived in Austin. It was right around the corner from my house, right next to Spiderhouse, and just a couple blocks away from Wheatsville. The movie selection is broad, and set up by genre, director, language, and even time period. I went through my 80's Cult Hit phase with the assistance of I Heart, and learned all about the genius of Robert Altman the same way. The ecstatic review on the front of the newly released Donnie Darko helped change my life forever. I loved the I Heart cat (I think her name was Stella) and the employees were always friendly and helpful. I went there back when Mike from Explosions in the Sky still worked at the counter. Dude deserves all his success - he's such a nice guy.

Why did I stop going to I Heart? I married the manager of Waterloo Video. (Well, he wasn't manager yet, but it happened within the year.) I never liked Waterloo as much as I loved I Heart, but my new husband was bringing home free movies, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings. What was I supposed to do? - Nika M.

*****

Great place, This past x-mas was my first time going there and I must admit I can't believe I went four years of college without going to this place. there is great selection and the price is great. I recommend this one or the one Airport Blvd. - Roberto F.

***** 

I Luv Video is a perfect place to rent a movie if you want to watch something very random  (and maybe rent a porn, too). I love to rent an absurd movie just for out of the curiosity and this is the place. It has so many movies that Blockbuster would NEVER EVER put on the shelves. Seriously. They usually have every hard-to-find movie you were looking for, but there was only one time that they failed to stock was the Black Christmas (1974 version). What the hell. I hope they will add it to their list after I requested it. Anyways, please try to wander into this place and find a most fucked-up movie and have fun watching it at home.

Oh p.s. I Luv Video is definitely not a Blockbuster, so don't expect the new movie releases at this place! The movies are mostly foreign, vintage, cult classic, and stoners. -Jennifer P.

***** 

Hands down the best video store in town.  Not only can you cheaply rent new, obscure, foreign, even dirty films, but you can order just about anything you want.  AND for people like me who obsessively collect DVD's you can get all kinds of great deals here for amazing prices.  WAY better than buying used DVD's at Half Price Books.  

Oh did I mention that it is right by Spider House which is a little slice of perfection itself?  Or that you can get free beer on Tuesdays to sip some cold brew while shopping?

Yes this place is in a great neighborhood surrounded by some of the coolest places in the city.  This IS AUSTIN.

Check it out....oh yeah they are open till 3am. - Ashen W.

***** 

I luv video has the best selection of foreign movies in Austin. They carry everything! It is kinda hard for an Asian girl to get her fix of Bi or Nicholas Tse in a town over run with Blockbusters, but by golly, I luv video has got it! - Tuyet N.

***** 

I love the location, love that it's local business, love that the prices are cheap, all in all, great...and who else carries such critically acclaimed films like "Turkish Star Wars" and "Filipino Wonderwoman"???
Also, getting a membership at I Luv Video made me incredibly sad I gave away my VHS.  They have lots of gold on VHS... - P.D.

***** 

So here's the story about how I came to love I Heart Video.

For months, I'd heard a surprising number of people talking about Veronica Mars. Who is this person and why is everyone talking about her?! Come to find out, Veronica Mars is a UPN-turned-WB-turned-CW hit about a wise-cracking, incredibly attractive 17-year-old private investigator who solves crimes alongside her equally smart-ass father in the imaginary, but all-too-real Neptune, California. The show is amazing and has a cult-like following. Wait...what am I reviewing again?

Anyway, I'm a Netflix girl, so I went ahead and ordered Season 1, Disc 1 to see what all the fuss was about. Well, my friends, if you're a true Veronica addict, you know the pilot episode is simply fantastic. Most pilots are horrible, but we generously give the benefit of the doubt so shows like Friends and SATC can go on for many, many seasons. (C'mon...did you SEE the Friends' pilot? Whoa.)

The pilot episode led to what can only be described as borderline seclusion. We (being me and Corinne, who luckily became a bit of an addict herself) proceeded to watch every episode on the disc. At this point, Netflix was not working for me, but AGAINST me. I NEEDED to see more Veronica Mars. C'mon! We want to know who killed Lilly!

So I go to my neighborhood Hollywood Video, WHICH I happen to enjoy for their proximity to my home and decent selection. No Veronica. Then I move on to the The Movie Store. No Veronica. But here's the creepy thing.....someone had rented it TWO HOURS before I came running in. So I came to the rather irrational and somewhat paranoid conclusion that someone else in Hyde Park had also holed themselves up with Veronica and had been thinking more quickly than I (ironically enough, this was all happening during the great "Ice Storm 2007").

So in the back of my head, I hear a tiny voice. It's my friend Ryan, coaxing me to drive down the street to I Heart Video. Of course! The place where they cut up old Blockbuster cards! Yes!

Sure enough, not ten minutes later, I had successfully rented the remainder of Season 1 and ALL of Season 2 (yes, I'm an asshole, but I knew that other Hyde Parker was gonna need his/her fix soon and I felt threatened).

So I am a member and frequenter of I Heart Video and I would highly recommend it to anyone. And not because they have a great selection (they do), a ton of television on DVD (they do), or decent prices and a nice staff (of course they do). Solely because they share my love for Veronica Mars.

Best of Austin. - Sarah M. 

***** 

Whenever I am looking for a specific movie that cannot be found anywhere in Austin, ten bucks says I can find it at I Love Video. Once I had to perform a scene in acting class based on a movie of an obscure 80's woman and a blind man. I searched every blockbuster and Hollywood video and came up empty handed, until I called I love Video. They had it . In stock. It made my acting teachers and my day. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable. I have a feeling if I were to call and say, I'm looking for a movie involving this random actor in this random situation that they would not know exactly what movie I was looking for, but have it in stock.

With a video store, thats a good feeling to have. - Susie G.

***** 

Looking for that banned copy of "Battle Royale"?  Perhaps you want to familiarize yourself with the little-known documentaries of Todd Phillips, from before his "Old School" directing days.  Maybe you even want to get your hands on one of the only remaining VHS copies of "The Song Of The South."  (If you're already lost and have no idea what I'm talking about, read no further.)

In a word, I Luv Video (because it is Luv, not Love) is awesome.  If you can't find it on NetFlix, you'll find it here.  The only thing better than I Luv on The Drag (which is Guadalupe for you non-locals) is the Airport location.  If this store makes you crap your pants in excitement, then the Airport one will make your brain melt.  They have a copy of "The Monster Squad" there.

The organization of the movies is all over the place, but why wouldn't you want to spend a couple hours going through this place?  One of the last, truly great independent video stores around. - C.T.

***** 

The ONLY place to go for videos in Austin.  How cool is it that they have Free Beer Tuesdays and Wino Wednesdays?  On Third Thursdays they also have a special to let you pay off your late charges - for Half Price.

Lets see.. what can you find here?
- new Hollywood releases - check
- Hong Kong action movies - check
- bollywood movies - check
- 70s sexploitation films - check
- criterion collection stuff - check
- anime - check
- pr0n - check
- weirdo Japanese TV shows - check

I Luv Video == Solid. Best Video Store(s) EVAR. - Steven N.

***** 

The sign to this place always confused me.  There's a crack in the middle of the heart which always led me to ask myself "Is it I Love Video, or I Don't Love Video?"  No matter.  I'm just confused.  Believe me, there are many other confusions that need more of my attention.

I Love Video is the place to check out for films that you're not going to find anywhere else.  A great local video store, the rentals are reasonably priced and you'll find just about whatever you need here.

Forget Blockbuster.  Make it an I Love Video night. - Jackson R.

***** 

Amazing selection, knowledgable staff, great "employee notes" on movie shelves (sarcasm and raves about certain movies), and the atmosphere is the very essence of Austin.

...oh.. and they have lots of MST3Ks not available in stores as well ;) - Jacob T.

***** 

I Love Video is one my my two favorite video rental places -- ever! I haven't been to a Blockbuster or Hollywood Video in about two years, because between Vulcan and I Love Video I have everything I need.

I Love Video has a HUGE selection of movies. You can find something more recent and popular, or really old and really obscure. The sections are labeled clearly, and there are a lot more options than at other stores. I've found classic comedy, anime, zombie films, cult classics, and foreign films here that many other places just don't have.

The employee comments are a great idea; they're funny, and they've kept me away from several movies that would have been a waste of time and directed me to others that were a nice surprise.

If you have the choice between a store like Blockbuster and I Love Video, it's worth your time to give I Love Video a try. - Niki Z.

***** 

There was time in my life when I went to I Luv Video at least twice a week, each time renting three or more movies. I especially love their extensive selection of old TV shows like The Prisoner and UFO (pronounced oo-foe). Now that I've moved south I no longer have that pleasure. Thank you I Luv Video, for supporting my horrifying addiction. - Margaret H.

***** 

My BF is a movie addict. Watches at least one a day, if not more. Owns well over 600 DVDs (almost all special edition of course). God I hate it. I'm just not a big movie person...

Anyways, he S's I Luv Video's D all day long. I mean he practically lives here. But you know what, out of all the movie shit- all the opening day midnight showings, all the Fantastic Fest madness, all the Tuesday Best Buy runs, I Luv Video is my favorite part about his movie hobby. I never get bored in here, I just look around and find all sorts of movies just for me... I love the music wall. And the free beer. Finally, I get to watch the ones that I wanna watch- 4 Bjork DVDs straight. - Jackie A.

***** 

Hands down the best video store of which I've been a member.  Seriously.  

At first it's overwhelming: it's two stories, chock full of all the categories of things you'll want to watch, some organized by director or subject (old school Hong Kong or nunsploitation, anyone?).  

Also: Free Beer Tuesday and Amnesty Day, where your late fees are knocked down to half off.  'Nuff said. - Rachelle R.

***** 

From the recondite to the absurd, I Luv Video is truly a glorious treasure trove of cinematic esoterica.

Try this.  Roll through the aisles grabbing movies at random.  Witness the weird delights!  What have you grabbed?  

The new Takashi Miike perhaps?  An excellent choice!  (Just don't eat anything first).  

Ahhhh, volume 14 of the Power Rangers DVD back catalog.  A true classic!

And what's this?  Why it's that bracing new docudrama on the underground world of 1970s Yugoslavian mime porn.  A definite Sundance contender!
 
Yes, I guarantee you'll find every movie you never knew you wanted.  And then some. - Mr. Doctor X

***** 

This place is the bomb. And I mean the one on airport blvd. especially on a Tues. night when they give out free local draft beer while you peruse every movie you never knew existed.  It's a dream- totally relaxing to just go up and down the aisles, and up and down the titles listed by director to find something good.

You'll never go there and be turning to your friend and saying, "I don't know, which one do you want to get, I don't really see anything..." - Kelly A.

***** 

I love this store. My husband and I are movie junkies and between I Luv and Netflix we are happily and thoroughly satisfied. What I love is that the staff are also cinematic addicts and I often find myself discussing this or that movie or actor or director with them. More times than I can count I've become aware of some new gem through a staff member or the member's pick wall. - Vanessa G.

***** 

The best of the old-school video store.

In a day and age where netflix and blockbuster online are killing the old brick and mortar video stores, there is a void developing.  I am not sad at the passing of the crappy hollywood video and the standard blockbuster, but the place where you can go and see a sticker with the word :"turd" emblazoned across Terry Gilliam's "Tideland" (which is probably the best description for that movie by a director that I love).

This is the kinda place to go when you dont know explicitly what you want to see, because it will inspire you to find something new.

I love their layout, especially with the director wall.  I would have given them 5 stars if they had a John Waters shelf, but in the giant maze of all good and some bad directors, they somehow overlook Mr. Waters.  I will give some credit for the Hal Hartley section tho.

So next time you have forgotten to send back your netflix movies and want to see something new, something you wouldn't find without the right suggestions and atmosphere, take yourself over to I Luv Video and you will not be disappointed, maybe it will help to convince you to drop down your subscription from 3 to 2 DVD's at a time so you can support this local gem. - Eric S.

***** 

Not long ago I went in the store looking for a movie that I couldn't remember the name of. I gave the employees the absolute worst description ever trying to see if they could help with the title.   In about 3 seconds they recognized what the crap I was trying to describe, gave me the name, told me that it was in the store and where to look.  Old Boy wasn't as good as I remembered it being when Barfly's was playing it on their tellie.  Maybe you need a couple beers in ya to really feel that movie.  I luv is great though. - AJ  C.

***** 

I. Love. Video.

This is the most amazing video store I've ever been into.  You can find absolutely anything that your little heart desires.  I've been catching a lot of crap from some of my friends because I haven't seen many of the random 80s movies that everyone and their mother has...so I hit up I Love Video.  They had all of the movies that I needed to see (some of them on VHS only, though...I didn't have a VCR at the time).

On the wall upstairs, the movies are organized by director...I also went through a Coen brothers kick...making movies pretty easy to find.  The staff is always incredibly helpful and are incredibly knowledgable about their selection.  They are also willing to recommend movies that they think you will enjoy.

I'm endlessly amused by the commentary on the boxes as well as by the cut up Blockbuster cards behind the counter.  Also, read the articles and pictures on the counter while you're paying...another one of the little things that amuse me to no end.  

Don't forget, either, free beer on Tuesdays!!! - Quani C. 

***** 

Somebody else already said it, but I'll say it again: I love I Luv Video.

It's a bit out of my way, but when the alternative is Hollywood Video or Blockbuster's, I'll happily make the drive. It's definitely worth it. One of the most expansive and diverse selections I've ever run across, but with that cool, funky charm so lacking in corporate places, like the little magazine pics and photos taped everywhere, the irreverent employee reviews, and the ever-changing staff picks or seasonal-themed displays.

It's easy to spend an hour or two prowling the aisles (trust me, I've done it), but it's nice to know that even if you come away empty-handed, one of the employees can usually recommend something good to tide you over. Of course, they don't have the vast selection of new movies like Blockbuster or Hollywood, so it can get frustrating if you just HAVE to watch something new THAT NIGHT, but at least on Tuesdays they offer free beer -- probably for that very reason, since that's when they get their new releases.

I also appreciate that they have a director's wall, and a nice big Classics section, not to mention the whole upstairs Foreign area. I thought I was a pretty big movie buff, but looking out over that sea of videos, heck, there's a lot I haven't even heard of. Netflix might have its uses, but I'll take I Luv Video any day. - Astra P.

***** 

You WILL find anything your heart desires here. I have tried to avoid using this movie store because I had a bad experience at the one on the drag involving really lame employees that were dumb as eff. That's why I go to this one on airport, they are always open when you need them, not pretentious, have a cool store layout and FREE BEER ON TUESDAYS. Not my thing, but go for it, I'm sure many people would enjoy this. - Alex L.

***** 

I love how the clerks will chat with you about anything

I love the movie reviews taped on the boxes

I love free beer Tuesdays even though I don't drink beer

I love the cat

I love the spiral staircase

I love I love video. - S. G.

***** 

For some reason, around Austin, Vulcan video tends to be referenced as the best video store in town.  But really the selection at I love, or I heart, or I luv, or I -heart graphic- Video is better, and the staff is awesomer (that is, at the Airport location, the Guadalupe one is sort of on par with Vulcan).  And on Tuesdays they give you free beer. - Erica S.

***** 

Man, do I love this place.  In a world where video stores are disappearing thanks to the might of Netflix, places like I Luv Video need to have some personality to keep people coming out to rent movies.  This place has that, in spades.  Granted, part of writing this review is just so I can tell my favorite I Luv Video story, but I earnestly recommend any of their locations if you are a true movie nerd.  The selection is amazing,  the folks who work there are knowledgeable, if a little snobby, and the atmosphere absolutely makes the trip worth while.  A lot of the movies have stickers on the cases with mini-reviews or jokes supplied by the staff, you can seriously entertain yourself for days without actually watching anything.  One of my favorites appeared on the cover of Analyze This, that flick with DeNiro playing a mobster and Billy Crystal playing his therapist.  The Cover depicted DeNiro making his trademark gangster face, and the sticker on the box read, "here we see DeNiro making his trademark gangster face, which basically looks like he just ate a whole plate full of escargo, and then someone told him what it really was."   They also have movies categorized in ways that make you want to rent 20 at a time, like the directors wall, or selections of movies starring amazing actors.  The signs here are also hysterical.  In the old days, The actors wall has 3X5 white cards with the actors name printed on them.  The staff were at work here too, adding critiques and humorous sayings.  I wrote a whole scene into a movie script (that I long ago abandoned unfinished) about the Charlton Heston sign.  The writing on it, at one point, said "I'll bet you didn't know this but .......   CHARLTON HESTON ........ gives great head."  In the scene, Charlton Heston is browsing movies in a video store and comes upon the actors wall, and sees the sign.  He chuckles to himself and says, in his perfect voice, "heh heh heh, Yes I do."  Then he stops the kid working in the store putting away movies, asks him, "Did you write this?" and before the kid can answer, Heston starts beating the crap out of him.  So go to I Luv Video, you never know when this might happen for real. - Jefe R.

***** 

man this place is freaking amazing. i mean they have FREE BEER on tuesdays! and it's not the cheap beer like those college paries you might have gone to.

they have ALL sorts of movies. old stuff, foreign stuff, porn stuff, new stuff.... EVERYTHING.

FREE BEEREREREREREREERERER - James L.

***** 
this is the best video store ever.

it's gigantic and they have everything. a video store that can fill up two stories with movies should win some kind of prize. i have never gone in there and not found what i was looking for - even some of the really weird & obscure things i had to check out during school.

and their children's section under the stairs is awesome. they have a bunch of the Faerie Tale Theatre tapes, my favorite, totally bizarre live action fairy tales, all hosted by shelly duvall.

and i really like the people who work there. i'll admit, i'm terrified of the people at vulcan - i inevitably feel bad for wanting to rent silly stuff when i should be stocking up on truffaut. at i luv, they're very nice and have never once looked at me strangely for renting The Three Little Pigs (with jeff goldblum & billy crystal - seriously go check it out, it's hilarious) in combination with the newest hindi flick. - Laura K.

***** 

I've lived lots of places and been in even more video stores but nothing compares to the selection or staff at this location of I Love video. Vulcan is snooty and the clerks are always eating smelly food behind the counter(a personal pet peeve). I Love Video has a staff that is always cheerful,helpful and repectful of even the cheesiest requests. No one looked down their nose after I asked for such films as License To Drive and Super Fuzz. A true oasis in a town full of movie snobs. - Justin S.

From the Austin 360: 

Cover Story: Beyond the blockbusters

Itching to see 'Ichi' or other obscure titles? Head to Austin's independent video stores

Not foul, but evocative -- sweet and mellow, like sandalwood, hippie-ish but wholesome. Wafting through a shared door with the Earth-friendly Eco-Wise store, it's a calming perfume that summons to mind a range of offbeat shopping experiences, from record and candle stores to herb and head shops.

Or why not a candy store? Because to enter either of the two Vulcan Video outlets in Austin -- as well as fellow independents I Luv Video, Waterloo Video, Pedazo Chunk, Tape Lenders, Encore Movies & Music or The Movie Store -- is, for the film buff, to be enveloped in a bedazzling, even mouth-watering plenitude of viewing opportunities.

Photo by Laura Skelding/AA-S Leo Noblitt-Atkins, 4, keeps himself entertained as his father shops at Vulcan Video, where you probably could find a film about a little boy and his guitar.

Austin's good that way. Every genus of geek -- meant in the best way -- gravitates to this cultural-intellectual magnet, Texas' mecca of minds. From the sweat of creative pursuit flows a natural backwash that shapes what the city offers in the way of film, music, art and theater. The most demanding curiosities must be fed. Lucky for us, Austin's a deep trough.

Local independent video stores -- those grungy warehouses of almost everything you'd ever want to watch -- are the byproduct of the city's vaunted film community. The relationship is richly symbiotic: Cinephiles and filmmakers seek the rare and the weird on video, which spurs video dealers to nourish their stock constantly. The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown screens an esoteric Asian picture such as "Ichi the Killer," sparking a quest for other titles in extreme Asian cinema, while director Richard Linklater expounds on Fassbinder at an Austin Film Society screening, creating a rush on movies from the German New Wave.

"There's no way you could have this many good video stores in one town unless there were that many cool people there wanting to see that much interesting stuff," says John Dorgan, co-owner of the absurdly replete I Luv Video stores in Central and North Austin.

And so indie video stores, of which there are about seven main ones locally, are jammed with interesting stuff, from the hottest foreign films to the sleaziest sexploitation; from avant-garde to animé.

"Stuff that's too weird or fringy for Blockbuster," Vulcan staffer Sam Dietert explains.

Photo by Laura Skelding/AA-S I Luv Video co-owners John Dorgan, left, and Conrad Bejarano have an expansive inventory that includes adult titles. 'We're not trying to filter or judge,' Dorgan says.

The next breakout Mexican film in the vein of "Amores Perros"? Go to shoebox-sized Pedazo Chunk on South First Street.

Lars von Trier's "Dogville," with Nicole Kidman, which won't reach Austin until March for the South by Southwest Film Festival? Try I Luv Video on Airport Boulevard.

The most exhaustive array of music and concert videos? That'd be Waterloo Video on West Sixth Street.

The most exhaustive array of gay and lesbian videos? Tape Lenders on West Fifth Street is your place.

The south Vulcan store may bear a whiff of incense, but all of these ambitious shops share the odor of the outré, the scent of the completist. They are the fumes of a full-on geek culture.

Nerdy Sherpas

Quentin Tarantino is pop culture's first anointed video-store geek. After the double-barrel assault of his "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction," the director and high-school dropout reminisced in the press how the bulk of his encyclopedic movie knowledge was gleaned from working in an indie video store in Los Angeles. Fellow independent filmmakers like Kevin Smith and Roger Avary, who worked with Tarantino at the store, also explained that ravenous video-watching was their film school.

Tarantino "was an avatar for a new wave of filmmakers raised on video, as opposed to the so-called movie brats of the 1970s, who went to film school and were weaned on the greats of world cinema," writes Peter Biskind in his new book "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film."

Photo by Laura Skelding/AA-S Pedazo Chunk owners Jose and Dannie Ramirez say they listen to their customers when deciding what titles to stock in their tiny South Austin shop.

It is the do-it-yourself ethos actualized, so very punk, and not dissimilar to musicians born in specialty record shops, where it's possible to feed ears and cultivate taste for free, 40 hours a week.

Hiring active movie geeks is critical for Austin indie video shops to stay abreast of what's going on in local and world cinema and keep the stock up-to-the-minute. Their passion for whatever they deem cool or awesome can sometimes overheat and repel customers. (Like the Vulcan employee who sniffed at my request for "Coyote Ugly." Yeah, I deserved it.)

Yet generally staffers are sharp, informed guides, nerdy Sherpas leading the wide-eyed movie novice across vertiginous mountains of tapes and discs. Sharing their passion and knowledge, they steer customers to quality and, if necessary, away from chaff.

"A lot of times you need to be talked into a foreign film or an older horror movie," says Pedazo Chunk co-owner Dannie Ramirez, who happens to be the little sister of Harry Knowles, Austin's most famous film geek. "Otherwise people pick the same stuff they're used to renting."

Employees at Austin indie shops exude a casual hipsterism. Loud banter and collegiate spunk emanate from behind the counter, as they shove in whatever video they want to broadcast over the store's televisions. They watch videos all shift long, honing a connoisseurship that, in some cases, draws customers from as far as San Antonio.

"We've created an environment where we let everyone do their thing," says Dorgan at I Luv Video. "If a customer asks for something, we don't have some pre-agreed artistic standards. It's like, 'Cool. You're interested in it, we'll check it out.' And we've always let the employees run wild. Two guys can only give so much with their interests to a store. So there are these cycles when a new employee will come in and just infuse a ton of energy into the store."

Cinematic symbiosis

By some counts, there are more edgy, independent video stores in Austin than in such cosmopolitan havens as New York and San Francisco. It's easy to see why.

For decades, the University of Texas has been a hotbed of cinema fervor. The school's famous radio-television-film department churns out moviemakers and experts, while for years the defunct Varsity Theater and film program at the Texas Union Theatre showed a range of classic, foreign and fringe films.

Nowadays, the Austin Film Society produces a daring film series almost monthly, and events such as the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival and Cinematexas International Short Film Festival add diversity to the feast. That's not to mention eclectic venues like the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas and the Dobie, Paramount and Arbor theaters.

The relationship between this vibrant culture and local video shops couldn't be clearer.

"Cinematexas has been doing the independent video store version of video stores before video stores existed," says John Kunz, owner of Waterloo Video and Records. "Having good art house and foreign films in town helps us. That is marketing for us."

Such bounty can also make for demanding audiences, taxing even the most ardent video geeks.

"It's challenging," says Ramirez, who runs Pedazo Chunk -- "pedazo" means chunk in Spanish, creating a dada-esque nonsense name -- with husband Jose. "A lot of people have their own niches. There's the cannibal-movie fans and the Hong Kong fans and the zombie fans. And there's no way you can possibly know as much as all these people. With a store like ours, we can really talk to our customers and find out what they want. The public educates us."

Photo by Laura Skelding/AA-S Looking for concert videos? Waterloo Video's David Morley, buyer, Darlene Offer, manager, and John Kunz, owner, keep the store abundantly stocked.

For years I've been trying to locate Frederick Wiseman's long-banned documentary "Titicut Follies." A day after I told him this, Dorgan at I Luv Video found and purchased a copy on eBay for the store. ("It cost me an arm and a leg," he says.)

Once, video dealers had to tangle with middlemen, distributors and the like to obtain titles. Now it's largely done on the Internet, where a bottomless rabbit hole of occult outlets offers tapes and DVDs of any splintered speciality and subgenre from anywhere in the world. I Luv Video co-owner Conrad Bejarano says the shop orders up to 40 "off-the-radar" titles each week this way.

Off-the-radar can mean many things; some of it, like tapes of real death scenes and hardcore porn, being of debatable taste. But making it accessible is the shops' collective mission. Go to a chain superstore for obvious titles, your new Disney or David Spade pictures. Go to the indies for "El Topo," documentaries on Fidel Castro and, if you desire, pre-World War I pornography.

"We're kind of a library. You shouldn't have to go to Dreamers (a sex-specific store) if you want an X-rated movie. If that's what you're into, cool," Dorgan says. "We're not trying to filter or judge. We just want to make available to you everything, and let you figure out where you want to go. It may take some time to find out what really turns you on, but when you do, it's there."