Movie buffs who are frustrated that their only option for movie rentals are mainstream venues like Blockbuster or Hollywood Video need look no further than Mondo Video.
"We have all the movies Blockbuster doesn't carry. We're basically the anti-Blockbuster," said owner M. Faust.
Faust opened Mondo in 1994. From 1982-1985 he was the editor of the "Prodigal Sun," formerly the Friday arts section of The Spectrum. He is currently a movie critic for Artvoice.
This year, Mondo Video will be celebrating their 11th anniversary. The rental store was just voted Best Video Store in Buffalo by Artvoice's annual Best of Buffalo issue.
"No top hits, no video games and no CDs here," Faust said.
It all started when Video Factory was going out of business and getting rid of a lot of old videos. Faust bought their videos, which gave him a good opening inventory to start his own "movie buff store" as he likes to call it.
The inventory ranges from silent films to 60's soft porn. Mondo mainly specializes in video rentals, but VHS tapes and DVDs are also for sale. If there is a rare film that no other store carries, Mondo is likely to have it.
"There is a lot of stuff you can't find anywhere else," said Katie Sexton, a Canisius junior English and French major.
The store contains a disproportionate number of VHS tapes in comparison to Hollywood Video or Blockbuster's large DVD collection because many of the rare and foreign films have not been converted to a digital medium.
"To release something on DVD you really need to digitally clean it up and it's not possible to do with every movie," Faust said.
To become a member, Mondo requires a debit or credit card, which they test-run for $20, without charging it, to make sure the card isn't maxed out. Some movies are very rare and the store may only have one copy so the credit card is used simply to ensure rental return.
"I have lost enough over the years that I am forced to require a credit card," Faust said.
Rentals are available for the low cost of just $3.69 for VHS tapes and $4.15 for DVDs. Blockbuster rentals are $4.64, DVD or VHS.
You can also find NC-17 films at Mondo that are banned at Blockbuster. Most of the R-rated films at Blockbuster may have been NC-17, but have been cut and modified to fit "R" standards. Mondo always carries the complete version.
Foreign films are also abundant. Hong Kong (Jet Li and the Shaw Brothers), Great Britain (Bill Forsythe and Peter Greenaway) and American independent filmmakers such as Spike Lee, Woody Allen and Orson Welles, are all featured on Mondo's shelves.
Faust and two part-time employees man the operation of the store. Wheez, a Jamestown native, has worked at Mondo for ten years.
"I love working here, it's the best job I've ever had. It's a free film education I never had to go to school for," Wheez said. "Besides, there are a lot of movies here that they wouldn't show in a film class."
Mondo Video is open daily from noon until 10 p.m. The store is located at 1109 Elmwood Ave., across the street from Mr. Goodbar and nextdoor to Home of the Hits. For more information and an extensive video list visit the store website at mondofausto.com
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
