Fed up with Blockbuster or Hollywood Video’s limited selection? Their overpriced rentals? With over 20,000 videos, Kensington Video is the solution. From UCSD, take 8 East to 15 South, exit Adams Ave., turn right and you will find yourself at Ken Video (4067 Adams Ave.) and its goldmine of new and classic films.
The first wall you see after walking into the store is the “”classics”” rack, where I was instantly bombarded with titles of which I had never heard. If you like authenticity and originality in films, are obsessed with classic films, or just get a kick out of cheesy overacting, then this is the place for you. Sadly, we are a generation that is witnessing the remake of nearly every one of these classics — it might be impressive during party conversations to reveal your knowledge about the original version of which the remake of the remake was made.
Ken Video is where this remedial education of film ought to take place: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn and Steve McQueen each practically have their own mini-libraries, with nothing left out.
In the “”popular,”” “”comedy”” and “”children”” sections, I found the same cumulative selection: newer classics surrounded by older ones that had disappeared from the shelves of the local video stores of my childhood, which all went under when Blockbuster and Hollywood set up camp. It is comforting to know that someone still holds the torch.
Walking into yet another room, I found the “”foreign”” section. It was like walking into the Independent Film Channel’s archive. At this point, I thought to myself, “”I could come in here every night of my life and rent one movie until the day I die and still probably not see them all.””
Browsing the “”animated”” and “”sports”” shelf, I overheard some guy using the term “”cult classic”” about a Japanese animated flick called “”Ghost in the Shell.”” I stood there fascinated by how much Ken Video screamed “”cult-classic”” while Max Headroom seemed to laugh at me.
The “”Twilight Zone”” library stood in between the sci-fi and horror sections, which were also quite extensive. I have grown accustomed to the piling of these sections into “”action”” the way they do at Blockbuster, and this is often a confusing misnomer.
The last row consisted of documentary-style videos. It was like the Sci-Fi Channel, Discovery Channel and History Channel’s archives combined. There were OG “”Nova”” series, “”National Geographic””, old-school surf, skate and ski (Warren Miller’s galore), and OG porn for boys or girls who like either boys or girls, or both.
The rules of rental are a little more strict than the corporate video stores, since Ken Video has something worth protecting. Renters are responsible for loss, damages and late fees, which are automatically taken from your deposit. Despite this tough love, the rental charge for one video for a member is typically $2.50. I was treated with a professionalism that the stoned teenage clerks at the corporate stores had made me forget; even the old lady reshelving the videos, Winnie, wanted to discuss films with me. Also surprising was the “”suggestion list”” of films. Dare I say, it seemed as if they actually care about their customers. Many rare videos can also be found for sale within the store.
The only drawback to Ken Video is that its DVD selection is quite limited, although it does exist. Pam, the clerk who helped me, said that the “”foreign”” section inventory could be found online at http://members.cox.net/kenvideo/. Ken Video is slowly making the jump into modern technology, but I hope that through this process they can preserve their authenticity, since their corporate counterparts have lost that which Ken Video maintains.
