Renter’s Market

Want to rent “Air Force One”? The Blockbuster Video down the street probably carries 50 copies of the hit thriller. Even the mom-and-pop video shop around the corner undoubtedly has multiple copies.

Yet when the mood runs to something offbeat, the local video store may turn into a frustratingly homogeneous browsing experience.

Where does the exasperated Orange County video hunter go to find that elusive copy of, say, Buster Keaton’s “Go West” (1925) or John Sayles’ “City of Hope” (1991)?

For some video fanatics, the answer is Los Angeles County, where the presence of the film and television industries has helped spawn a number of maverick rental shops. Santa Monica’s Vidiots, with its stock of art and independent films, and Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee in North Hollywood, which offers an impressive collection of vintage TV series and films, are two specialty video stores that have no direct counterparts here in Orange County.

But a long drive may not be required to track down some of those hard-to-find videos. The two Broadway Video stores in Long Beach offer a better-than-usual selection of foreign and classic films, as well as a section devoted to gay- and lesbian-related works. Of the larger video chains, Tower Records, which has four O.C. locations, gets high marks for its relatively adventurous inventory for rent and sale.

“Tower is the best of the big stores,” says Larry Ward, a film professor at Cal State Fullerton.

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Renting esoteric videos can even be as easy as checking a mailbox. Mail rentals are available through the Internet or by phone. Public libraries also are an overlooked resource for interesting videos.

Orange County is quite diverse when it comes to ethnic video shops. Among others, there are stores that stock Indian, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Spanish-language videos. Alas, it’s rare to find videos at these types of ethnic shops that are subtitled or dubbed in English.

Local laserdisc and DVD fanatics have the privilege of living in the same county as Ken Crane’s Laserdisc in Westminster. Its owner boasts that the mega-store houses one of the largest laserdisc inventories in existence. A few other Orange County stores rent as well as sell laserdiscs and DVDs.

Here’s a look at where to go to rent or buy hard-to-find videos as well as laserdiscs and DVDs. This is not meant to be a complete list.

LIBRARIES

* Anaheim Public Library, 500 W. Broadway, (714) 765-1880.

Because it is one of two Disney repository libraries (the other one is in Florida), there’s a large stock of Disney films on tape here. But most of its videos are titles you won’t find at most video stores.

The basic intent of the library’s video collection is to mirror its print collection. For example, it carries all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays on video. A variety of language, instructional and educational titles are also available in the library’s 5,000-plus collection. The children’s video section includes everything from history and science tapes to selections that teach youngsters etiquette.

Most titles cost $1 to rent for two nights. Others are $2 or $3. Direct self-help videos, such as those that help teach English, are lent free of charge. You need an Anaheim Public Library card to rent videos, but any California resident who’s 18 or older and can show proof their of current address can get one free. The same applies at the other libraries cited below.

* Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., (714) 717-3800.

This library offers popular films on video, for $2 per night, that you might find at the local video store. What distinguishes it from most retail video outlets is its impressive selection of foreign movie titles: about 450 foreign films from more than 25 countries.

The collection includes lesser-known films in Vietnamese, Persian and Finnish as well as an abundant number of film school and art-house classics such as Bertolucci’s “The Conformist,” Fassbinder’s “The Marriage of Maria Braun” and Yasujiro Ozu’s “Tokyo Story.” The library houses no fewer than 10 Ingmar Bergman films as well as numerous independent films--including Sayles’ “City of Hope.”

Foreign movies and nonfiction tapes, such as travel and instructional videos, are available for seven days at no charge.

* Yorba Linda Public Library, 18181 Imperial Highway, (714) 777-2873.

As in Newport Beach, the Yorba Linda library carries video hits such as “Devil’s Advocate” and “In & Out.” These can be rented for two days at $1.50. The library also has an extensive stock of travel videos and documentaries, including multivolume series on Native Americans and Abraham Lincoln. Instructional videos explaining such matters as mutual funds, computers, ballroom dancing and house painting round out the collection.

A separate children’s video section contains such popular titles as “Babe” and “The Lion King” as well as selections based on award-winning children’s literature. Documentaries and instructional videos are also available for kids.

LASERDISC AND DVD STORES

* Disc N’ Dat, 15062 Golden West St., Westminster, (714) 892-6670.

There are about 1,500 laserdisc and 100 DVD titles for rent at Disc N’ Dat. Most are popular titles. The store, however, makes up for its more limited selection with competitive rental prices. Discs can be rented Monday-Wednesday for just 99 cents a night. Thursday-Sunday, the price goes up to $1.99. Laserdiscs and DVDs are also available for purchase.

* Ken Crane’s Laserdisc, 15251 Beach Blvd., Westminster, (800) 626-1768.

With its $2-million inventory, this is probably the best place to start if you’re looking to buy a hard-to-find laserdisc or DVD title. In terms of titles on laserdisc, the spacious Westminster store carries everything from “Forrest Gump” at $24.99 and the “Hellraiser” special-edition box set at $65 to the 1993 comedy “Coneheads,” which has been marked down to $4.99.

Ken Crane’s also offers huge selections of classical, opera and pop music titles in this visual format. There are far fewer available DVD titles, partly because the technology--which offers a smaller and cheaper disc than laser--was made available to the public only last spring. A similar digital format, called Divx, is expected to arrive later this year.

Crane sells most of his inventory at 20% below manufacturers’ list prices. Laserdiscs and DVDs can also be purchased by mail. There is a $1.50 handling charge per order, regardless of size.

* Laser Co., 32585 Golden Lantern, Suite G, Dana Point, (714) 248-8887.

Laser Co. is also split between sales and rentals of laserdiscs and DVDs. Discs can be checked out for two nights for $3.50. Owner David Goldenberg says his store carries a wide selection of titles, from horror and action movies to popular dramas and moody art films such as Krzysztof Kieslowski’s European trilogy, “Blue,” “White” and “Red.”

* Laser D Entertainment, 18432 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda, (714) 693-2882.

Laserdiscs and DVDs are available for both rent and purchase at this well-stocked shop near the corner of Imperial Highway and Yorba Linda Boulevard. More than 11,000 laserdisc and 350 DVD titles rent for $2.99 for the first night and $1.99 for each additional night. Besides popular titles, the store rents a healthy number of foreign and classic films and Japanese animation on laserdisc. Laser D Entertainment also sells used laserdiscs.

ETHNIC VIDEO STORES

* Fantasy Japan, 688 Baker St., Costa Mesa, (714) 435-1580.

This video store for Japanese expatriates and Japan-ophiles specializes in feature films and television programs from the Land of the Rising Sun. It also offers Japanese animation titles and Japanese-subtitled American movies, including “Patriot Games” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

* Filipino Video General Merchandise, 9522 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove, (714) 539-1158.

A Filipino market that just happens to rent several hundred videos. Don’t let the English descriptions on the video boxes fool you. These films were all made in the Philippines and feature actors speaking Tagalog. Numerous film genres make up this store’s video lineup. “Vampira” is about a female blood sucker; “Duwelo” finds two hit men out to kill each other; and “Gloria” is a comedy featuring a sexy laundrywoman who is hired to work for a rich young couple.

* Hai Yen Video Rental, 9890 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, (714) 775-8218.

This tiny shop is just one of a handful of Vietnamese video stores in or near Little Saigon. Most of the feature films for rent at Hai Yen Video were made in China and dubbed into Vietnamese.

* India Sweets & Spices, 14441 Newport Ave., Tustin, (714) 731-2910.

This Indian market rents some 4,000 mostly new movies from India and Pakistan for just $1 a day. Action, romantic, religious and political films are some of the genres represented in this collection. Don’t expect any of these movies to be subtitled or dubbed into English.

* Video Connection, 2940 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim, (714) 229-0144.

About 500 to 600 Spanish-language films are available on video at this mostly English-language video store.

SPECIALTY SHOPS

* Alt.Ant.Com, 210 B, UC Irvine Student Center, (714) 824-4930.

This video rental shop inside UC Irvine’s student center caters mostly to Japanese animation fans. It also sells videos, laserdiscs and soundtracks related to this form of animation. Many laserdiscs and soundtracks are imported from Japan.

Alt.Ant.Com, which also sells its merchandise through the Internet, carries other foreign film titles on video as well. These include Hong Kong action movies and European and Asian classics such as Francois Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa films.

* Broadway Video, 2130 E. Broadway, Long Beach, (562) 438-8919; and 3401 E. Broadway, Long Beach, (562) 433-1920.

Both Broadway Video stores carry relatively strong selections of foreign, classic and silent films. The shelves are also dotted with a number of long-out-of-print videos, such as the 1981 drama “Rich and Famous” and various discontinued Disney titles. Broadway Video also has a gay and lesbian section featuring new and old selections such as the 1979 film “Ernesto.”

* Learning Light Foundation, 1212 E. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim, (714) 533-2311.

This spiritual/metaphysical development organization offers about 75 mostly instructional videotapes for $1 a day. Numerology, astrology and Tarot card reading are some of the subjects explored by these videos. A few metaphysical Hollywood dramas like “Michael” and “Phenomenon” are also available.

* Super Collector, 16547 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, (714) 839-3693.

Japanese animation on video and laserdisc is a specialty of Super Collector. Godzilla titles, “Star Trek” episodes and cult films like Russ Meyer flicks can also be found on video at this store. Related toys and merchandise are other niche markets for Super Collector.

* Video Movie Wholesalers, 1512 E. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 550-0572.

This is a good place to go if you’re looking for a hard-to-find videos. Video Movie Wholesalers carries about 15,000 mostly used videotapes for sale, about 15% of which are discontinued titles. You’ll find out-of-print videos like Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School” here for as cheap as $5. Used copies of current video hits are often $10. But some rare tapes can cost hundreds of dollars.

MAIL ORDER

* Facets Video, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, (800) 331-6197.

Facets has an enormous catalog of hard-to-find videos for rent or sale. This is a particularly valuable resource if you love foreign, independent or cult films. For instance, this is probably one of the few places where you can rent or buy “26 Bathrooms,” an obscure Peter Greenaway documentary about lavatories. An annual $35 membership fee, which includes three rentals, is required to rent videos. Films are $10 each for three nights. Customers are also responsible for priority return shipping.

* Reel.Com, (510) 704-1775.

A variety of esoteric and non-mainstream videos can be bought or rented through the Internet at Reel.Com (https://www.reel.com) or ordered by phone. Like Facets, this Berkeley-based business exists to serve the needs of the die-hard movie buff. This a good place to turn to for that elusive copy of Robert Bresson’s “Diary of a Country Priest” or Luis Bunuel’s “Wuthering Heights.” Rental prices are $4.50 per week (plus shipping) for up to four videos, or $3.50 per week (plus shipping) when renting five or more. Reel.Com carries a whopping 35,000 video titles for rent and 80,000 for sale.

* Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee, 6310 Colfax Ave., North Hollywood, (818) 506-4242.

Classic films and television series are the domain of this video store. Mail rentals for one week are $7 per video plus shipping charges, with a minimum order of three videos. Give them a buzz if you’re in the mood for an old “Mod Squad” or “77 Sunset Strip” episode.

* Movies Unlimited, 3015 Darnell Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154, (800) 668-4344.

Movies Unlimited sells a variety of videos, from American and foreign film classics to instructional videos on gardening and fishing. A mammoth 750-page catalog (which contains two $5 coupons) is available for $11.95. Movie Unlimited also carries laserdiscs and DVDs.