If heaven exists, I’d prefer to assume it seems like Kim’s Video.
The legendary New York Metropolis video retailer, based by businessman Yongman Kim, operated quite a few areas round Manhattan from the late Eighties to the 2010s, however the perfect and largest was the one on St. Mark’s Place, also called “Mondo Kim’s,” which was three flooring of pop-culture nirvana. The bottom degree was a report store; the second flooring offered films and TV reveals. The highest degree was the mom lode: A large video retailer with tens of 1000’s of titles — a few of which had been extremely uncommon.
In addition to the snobbiness of its clerks (which I do know from first-hand expertise, as each a Kim’s buyer and an worker for a couple of 12 months within the mid-2000s), Kim’s was finest identified for its mind-blowing rental choice — and for the hyper-specific means it categorized its films, which had been divided up into a whole lot of sections. Most video shops had areas dedicated to horror, however what number of had 18 completely different horror sections, together with cabinets devoted to Frankenstein, Mummies, Stephen King films, and “Little Bastards” (i.e. scary films that includes creepy children)?
Whereas all of the Kim’s retailers went stomach up by 2014, the huge assortment from Mondo Kim’s was not too long ago rescued (from a tiny city in Italy … it’s a protracted story) by the Alamo Drafthouse, which now affords free leases from the Kim’s library at its Decrease Manhattan theater. On the grand opening of the brand new Kim’s final 12 months, friends got a goodie bag packaged inside an outdated VHS clamshell field. The again of the case lists all 461 of Kim’s style classes in alphabetical order.
I not too long ago got here throughout my Kim’s clamshell, and I spotted: For video retailer and bodily media aficionados, that is form of a priceless doc. I’ve tried trying up Kim’s genres earlier than, however there isn’t a complete listing on-line, at the least that I can discover. So I’m reprinting it right here. Take word that whereas the field claims it accommodates “461 lurid genres!” I solely depend 454; the itemizing mistakenly contains a number of entries twice. However who am I to argue with the best video retailer in historical past?
Kim’s Video Genres
’80s Teen Classics
Motion-Asia
Actionne Rigatoni (Italian Motion)
Motion
Motion-Comedian Books
Motion-Italy
Motion-Spy
Journey
Journey-Catastrophe
Journey-Tarzan
Animation
Animation-Grownup
Animation-Pixar
Anime
Artwork
Arts
Australia/Ozploitation
Blaxploitation
Comedy
Comedy-Abbott and Costello
Comedy-Traditional
Comedy-Early Cinema/Silent
Comedy-European
READ MORE: What Occurred to the Final Blockbuster Video on Earth
Comedy-Indie
Comedy-Japan
Comedy-Keaton, Buster
Comedy-Laurel and Hardy
Comedy-Lloyd, Harold
Comedy-Marx Brothers
Comedy-Rom-Com
Comedy-Shirley Temple
Comedy-Slobs vs. Snobs
Comedy-Stand-Up
Comedy-Three Stooges
Crime
Crime-Giallo
Crime-Worldwide
Cult
Demonic Infants
Dir: Adamson, Al
Dir: Aldrich, Robert
Dir: Allen, Woody
Dir: Almodovar, Pedro
Dir: Altman, Robert
Dir: Anderson, Lindsay
Dir: Anderson, P.T.
Dir: Anderson, Wes
Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo
Dir: Apted, Michael
Dir: Argeno, Dario
Dir: Ashby, Hal
Dir: Assayas, Olivier
Dir: Bakshi, Ralph
Dir: Bava, Mario
Dir: Bergman, Ingmar
Dir: Berkeley, Busby
Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo,
Dir: Besson, Luc
Dir: Bigelow, Kathryn
Dir: Clean, Les
Dir: Blier, Bertrand
Dir: Boetticher, Budd
Dir: Bogdanovich, Peter
Dir: Boorman, John
Dir: Borowczyk, Walerian
Dir: Brass, Tinto
Dir: Breillat, Catherine
Dir: Bresson, Robert
Dir: Brooks, Mel
Dir: Broomfield, Nick
Dir: Browning, Tod
Dir: Buchanan, Larry
Dir: Bunuel, Luis
Dir: Burnett, Charles
Dir: Burns, Ken
Dir: Burton, Tim
Dir: Cameron, James
Dir: Campion, Jane
Dir: Capra, Frank
Dir: Carpenter, John
Dir: Cassavetes, John
Dir: Castellari, Enzo
Dir: Fortress, William
Dir: Chabrol, Claude
Dir: Chang Cheh
Dir: Chaplin, Charles
Dir: Chen Kaige
Dir: Clair, Rene
Dir: Clark, Bob
Dir: Clement, Rene
Dir: Clouzot, Henri-Georges
Dir: Coen Brothers
Dir: Cohen, Larry
Dir: Coppola, Francis Ford
Dir: Corbucci, Sergio
Dir: Corman, Roger
Dir: Cox, Alex
Dir: Craven, Wes
Dir: Cronenberg, David
Dir: Cukor, George
Dir: Curtiz, Michael
Dir: D’Amato, Joe
Dir: Dante, Joe
Dir: Dardennes Brothers
Dir: Dassin, Jules
Dir: De La Iglesia, Alex
Dir: De Ossorio, Amando
Dir: De Palma, Brian
Dir: De Sica, Vittorio
Dir: Del Toro, Guillermo
Dir: DeMille, Cecil B.
Dir: Demme, Jonathan
Dir: Demy, Jacques
Dir: Denis, Claire
Dir: Di Leo, Fernando
Dir: Dmytryk, Edward
Dir: Donen, Stanley
Dir: Dreyer, Carl Theodor
Dir: Eastwood, Clint
Dir: Edwards, Blake
Dir: Egoyan, Atom
Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei
Dir: Fassbender, Rainer
Dir: Fellini, Federico
Dir: Ferrara, Abel
Dir: Ferreri, Marco
Dir: The Findlays
Dir: Ford, John
Dir: Fosse, Bob
Dir: Franco, Jess
Dir: Frankenheimer, John
Dir: Frears, Stephen
Dir: Friedkin, William
Dir: Fukasaku, Kinji
Dir: Fulci, Lucio
Dir: Fuller, Samuel
Dir: Gance, Abel
Dir: Gilliam, Terry
Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc
Dir: Gordon, Stuart
Dir: Gosha, Hideo
Dir: Grey, F. Gary
Dir: Inexperienced, David Gordon
Dir: Greenaway, Peter
Dir: Griffith, D.W.
Dir: Haneke, Michael
Dir: Harrington, Curtis
Dir: Hartley, Hal
Dir: Hathaway, Henry
Dir: Hawks, Howard
Dir: Haynes, Todd
Dir: Hellman, Monte
Dir: Herzog, Werner
Dir: Hill, Jack
Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred
Dir: Hooper, Tobe
Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Dir: Hu, King
Dir: Hung, Sammo
Dir: Huston, John
Dir: Ichikawa, Kon
Dir: Jackson, Peter
Dir: Jaglom, Henry
Dir: Jarman, Derek
Dir: Jarmusch, Jim
Dir: Jeunet & Caro
Dir: Jewison, Norman
Dir: Jodorowsky, Alejandro
Dir: Kaurismaki, Aki
Dir: Kazan, Elia
Dir: KiaroStami, Abbas
Dir: Kieslowski, Krzysztof
Dir: Kim Ki-duk
Dir: Kitano, Takeshi
Dir: Kopple, Barbara
Dir: Korine, Concord
Dir: Kramer, Stanley
Dir: Kubrick, Stanley
Dir: Kurosawa, Akira
Dir: Kurosawa, Kiyoshi
Dir: Lang, Fritz
Dir: Larraz, Jose Ramon
Dir: Lean, David
Dir: Leconte, Patrice
Dir: Lee, Ang
Dir: Lee, Spike
Dir: Leigh, Mike
Dir: Lelouch, Claude
Dir: Lenzi, Umberto
Dir: Leone, Sergio
Dir: Lester, Richard
Dir: Levinson, Barry
Dir: Lewis, Herschell Gordon
Dir: Linklater, Richard
Dir: Loach, Ken
Dir: Losey, Joseph
Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst
Dir: Lumet, Sidney
Dir: Lynch, David
Dir: Maddin, Man
Dir: Malle, Louis
Dir: Mamet, David
Dir: Mann, Anthony
Dir: Margheriti, Antonio
Dir: Martino, Sergio
Dir: Maysles Brothers
Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre
Dir: Service provider & Ivory
Dir: Metzger, Radley
Dir: Meyer, Russ
Dir: Miike, Takashi
Dir: Milestone, Lewis
Dir: Miller, George
Dir: Milligan, Andy
Dir: Minnelli, Vicente
Dir: Misumi, Kenji
Dir: Miyazaki, Hayao
Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji
Dir: Moore, Michael
Dir: Morris, Errol
Dir: Murnau, F.W.
Dir: Nair, Mira
Dir: Nichols, Mike
Dir: Nolan, Christopher
Dir: Ozon, Francois
Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro
Dir: Pal, George
Dir: Park Chan-Wook
Dir: Parker, Alan
Dir: Parks, Gordon
Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo
Dir: Peckinpah, Sam
Dir: Penn, Arthur
Dir: Perry, Tyler
Dir: Plympton, Invoice
Dir: Polanski, Roman
Dir: Pollack, Sydney
Dir: Powell, Michael
Dir: Raimi, Sam
Dir: Rankin & Bass
Dir: Ray, Nicholas
Dir: Ray, Satyajit
Dir: Reed, Carol
Dir: Resnais, Alain
Dir: Richardson, Tony
Dir: Riefenstahl, Leni
Dir: Rivette, Jacques
Dir: Roeg, Nicolas
Dir: Rohmer, Eric
Dir: Rollin, Jean
Dir: Romero, George
Dir: Rossellini, Roberto
Dir: Rozema, Patricia
Dir: Rudolph, Alan
Dir: Russell, Ken
Dir: Sarno, Joe
Dir: Saura, Carlos
Dir: Sayles, John
Dir: Schlesinger, John
Dir: Schlondorff, Volker
Dir: Scorsese, Martin
Dir: Scott, Ridley
Dir: Scott, Tony
Dir: Shinoda, Masahiro
Dir: Sidaris, Andy
Dir: Siegel, Don
Dir: Silver, Joan Micklin
Dir: Singleton, John
Dir: Sirk, Douglas
Dir: Soavi, Michele
Dir: Soderbergh, Steven
Dir: Sokurov, Aleksandr
Dir: Solondz, Todd
Dir: Spielberg, Steven
Dir: Steckler, Ray Dennis
Dir: Stevens, George
Dir: Stone, Oliver
Dir: Sturges, John
Dir: Sturges, Preston
Dir: Suzuki, Seijun
Dir: Szabo, Istvan
Dir: Tarantino, Quentin
Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei
Dir: Tarr, Bela
Dir: Tati, Jacques
Dir: Tavernier, Bertrand
Dir: Taviani Brothers
Dir: Techine, Andre
Dir: Teshigahara, Hiroshi
Dir: To, Johnnie
Dir: Tornatore, Giuseppe
Dir: Truffaut, Francois
Dir: Tsai Ming-liang
Dir: Tsui Hark
Dir: Tsukamoto, Shinya
Dir: Vadim, Roger
Dir: Van Sant, Gus
Dir: Varda, Agnes
Dir: Verhoeven, Paul
Dir: Visconti, Luchino
Dir: Von Trier, Lars
Dir: Wajda, Andrzej
Dir: Walsh, Raoul
Dir: Warhol & Morrissey
Dir: Water, John
Dir: Watkins, Peter
Dir: Weir, Peter
Dir: Welles, Orson
Dir: Wenders, Wim
Dir: Wilder, Billy
Dir: Winterbottom, Michael
Dir: Clever, Robert
Dir: Wishman, Doris
Dir: Wong Kar-wai
Dir: Woo, John
Dir: Wooden, Ed
Dir: Wyler, William
Dir: Zeffirelli, Franco
Dir: Zemeckis, Robert
Dir: Zhang Yimou
Dir: Zulawski, Andrzej
Disney
Documentary
Documentary-Biography
Documentary-Cinema
Documentary-esque
Documentary-Mondo
Documentary-Nature
Documentary-Science
Documentary-Sports activities
Documentary-Conflict
Drafthouse Movies
Drama
Drama-British
Drama-Traditional
Drama-Indie
Drama-Worldwide
Drama-Romance
Early Cinema/Silent
Emanuellesploitation
Erotica
Experimental
Exploitation
Exploitation-Asia
Exploitation-Biker
Exploitation-Medication
Exploitation-Robust Ladies
Household
Household-Muppets
Fantasy
Fantasy-Harryhausen, Ray
Fantasy-Worldwide
Fantasy-Jungle Thrills
Movie Noir
Movie Shorts
Discovered Footage Social gathering
Style
Large Bikini Girl Covers
Horror
Horror-Asia
Horror-British
Horror-Traditional
Horror-Frankenstein
Horror-Hammer
Horror-Worldwide
Horror-Italy
Horror-King, Stephen
Horror-Little Bastards
Horror-Mummies
Horror-NYC
Horror-Slasher
Horror-Spain
Horror-Vampires
Horror-Video Nasties
Horror-Werewolves
Horror-Zombie
Impartial
Worldwide
Worldwide-Africa
Worldwide-Asia
Worldwide-Bollywood
Worldwide-Brazil
Worldwide-Canada
Worldwide-China
Worldwide-Czech
Worldwide-France
Worldwide-Germany
Worldwide-Greece
Worldwide-Iran
Worldwide-Israel
Worldwide-Italy
Worldwide-Japan
Worldwide-Korea
Worldwide-Mexico
Worldwide-Netherlands
Worldwide-New Zealand
Worldwide-Poland
Worldwide-Russia
Worldwide-Scandinavia
Worldwide-South America
Worldwide-Spain
Worldwide-Thailand
Simply Dance!
Kaiju
Youngsters
LGBTQ+
Marital Arts
Martial Arts-Chan, Jackie
Martial Arts-Chow, Stephen
Martial Arts-Traditional
Martial Arts-Hong Kong
Martial Arts-Japan
Martial Arts-Lee, Bruce
Martial Arts-Li, Jet
Martial Arts-Ninja
Martial Arts-Samurai
Martial Arts-Shaw Bros.
Martial Arts-Zatoichi
Mondo
Monkey Enterprise
Music
Music-Elvis
Musical
Thriller
Thriller-Sherlock Holmes
Information
Nitty Gritty NYC
Nunsploitation
NYC
NYC Documentary
NYC-Troma
Efficiency
Porn
Rollin’ With the Homies
Sci-Fi
Sci-Fi-Worldwide
Sci-Fi-Star Trek/Wars
Sexploitation
Shakespeare
Sharksploitation
Particular Curiosity
Sports activities-Wrestling/UFC/Preventing
Tv
Tv-Asia
Tv-British
Tv-Comedy
Tv-Youngsters
Tv-Krofft, Sid and Marty
Tv-Actuality
Thriller
Thriller-Worldwide
Conflict
Western
Western-Spaghetti
You possibly can go to the Kim’s Video on the Alamo Drafthouse Decrease Manhattan.
