Video Archives

Video Archives
IndustryVideo rentals, retail
FounderLance Lawson
Richard Humbert
FateClosed
Headquarters
Manhattan Beach, California
,
United States
ProductsVHS tape rental, beta rental

Video Archives was a video rental store located in Manhattan Beach, California, and later moved to Hermosa Beach, California, owned and managed by Lance Lawson and Rick Humbert.[1] Filmmakers Quentin Tarantino,[2][3] Roger Avary[4] and Daniel Snyder[5] worked there before becoming successful in the film industry. The store was also frequented by screenwriters Josh Olson, Jeff Maguire, John Langley, and Danny Strong.

Video Archives closed in 1995, and Tarantino purchased its video inventory and rebuilt the store in his home.[6]

In a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, Tarantino called it "the best video store in the Los Angeles area", saying "Video Archives is like LA.’s answer to the Cahiers du Cinéma".[7] In 1992, Roger Avary described it as "less a video store than a film school [...] we'd have these intense, eight-hour-long arguments about cinema. Customers would walk in and they'd get into it. It became this big clubhouse of film making -- and probably the best film-making experience anyone could ever get."[8]

Video Archives is also the namesake of the Video Archives Cinema Club, the 20-seat micro-cinema at the Tarantino-owned Vista Theatre.

  1. ^ "COVER STORY : A Chat With Mr. Mayhem : Quentin Tarantino quickly acquired quite the reputation for violence. His 1992 film 'Reservoir Dogs' was a cult hit. Now comes 'Pulp Fiction.' Is he trying to outgun himself or all of Hollywood?". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 1994.
  2. ^ MacFarquhar, Larissa (13 October 2003). "The Movie Lover". The New Yorker.
  3. ^ "Movie Reviews". New York Times. July 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Roger Avary - The Quentin Tarantino Archives". tarantino.info. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  5. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (July 18, 2007). "Producers, writers face huge chasm". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Grow, Kory (2 June 2022). "Ex-Video Store Clerks Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary Launch Podcast to Talk VHS Tapes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  7. ^ Wild, David (1994-11-03). "Quentin Tarantino: The Madman of Movie Mayhem". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  8. ^ Mcalevey, BY Peter (1992-12-06). "All's Well That Ends Gruesomely". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-08.