Amid today鈥檚 streaming world, Bay Street Video has kept a loyal community of film fans by providing everything from classic films to international cinema to box sets of TV classics.
Amid today鈥檚 streaming world, Bay Street Video has kept a loyal community of film fans by providing everything from classic films to international cinema to box sets of TV classics.
鈥淭his place is still open?鈥 is a question Bay Street Video employees are used to fielding from customers delighted to have stumbled across the store, which has occupied an unassuming space on the fringe of the Yorkville neighbourhood since 1993.
鈥淧re-pandemic, people would wander in off the street and say 鈥業 thought that sign was for an old store that doesn鈥檛 exist anymore,鈥欌 says product manager Mark Hanson, a Bay Street Video staffer of 12 years who is responsible for overseeing its massive inventory of 31,000 titles 鈥 with new additions added weekly 鈥 available to rent and buy.
鈥淐ustomers that haven鈥檛 visited in a long time would say, 鈥業鈥檓 so happy to see that you鈥檙e still here!鈥欌 adds Sylvia Nowak, a former customer turned employee.
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While passersby may be surprised to find a store selling physical copies of films in today鈥檚 streaming world, Bay Street Video has long been top of mind for its loyal community of film fans looking for, well, just about everything, from classic films to international cinema to box sets of TV classics to the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
The collection includes recently re-released titles like 鈥淪谩t谩ntang贸,鈥 a 7.5-hour-long Hungarian drama that Hanson calls 鈥渉ypnotic鈥 with 鈥渁 lot of humour to it,鈥 and 鈥淭he Grey Fox,鈥 a legendary Canadian Western based on the true story of a bandit at the turn of the century, alongside rare, notoriously out-of-print films like 鈥淭ruly, Madly, Deeply鈥 and Ken Russell鈥檚 鈥淭he Devils.鈥
It鈥檚 one reason longtime customer Buddha Poitras, an avid collector with 2,500 films in his personal collection, keeps coming back. 鈥淭here have been titles that I haven鈥檛 found for years, and I鈥檒l go into the store and, lo and behold, there it is on the shelf,鈥 he says.
During the pandemic, TV series 鈥 particularly European and British crime dramas 鈥 have been a hit with customers looking to fill their days, along with some of the store鈥檚 most enduringly popular rentals like 鈥淒etective Montalbano,鈥 鈥渁n Italian crime show people cannot get enough of,鈥 says Hanson, and 鈥淏ig Night,鈥 a foodie comedy from the 鈥90s starring Stanley Tucci. (The store is currently offering curbside pickup and shipping, both of which require navigating its website, a charming time capsule of early-aughts web design.)
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a community here,鈥 says Nowak, who dedicated an entire issue of her 鈥檢ine, Pickle Juice, to the store. 鈥淵ou can lose yourself just flipping through all the titles.鈥
There are also the endlessly entertaining Post-it notes with commentary from staff, both past and present, dotting the covers of films throughout the store. On a copy of 鈥淭he Royal Tenenbaums,鈥 one note declares the film is 鈥渨ithout a doubt Wes Anderson鈥檚 best [...] even if it鈥檚 only his third.鈥 Another says it 鈥渒inda makes me want to give 鈥楩ranny and Zooey鈥 another read-through.鈥 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry about the film snob notes,鈥 adds a third commenter. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also really f—-ing funny.鈥
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Back when Yorkville was home to the 色色啦 International Film Festival, Bay Street Video was a prime spot for celeb run-ins. According to staff lore, Robin Williams would drop by to purchase anim茅 films, and an appearance by Cher ended with the star being escorted out the back to escape eager paparazzi waiting outside.
These days (that is, pre-pandemic), store sightings are more likely to include longtime customers like Poitras. When in-store shopping was an option, says Poitras, who is in a power wheelchair, staff would start a 鈥淏uddha pile鈥 of DVDs at the front of the store to hold for him while he browsed. It鈥檚 a level of care they鈥檝e kept up during the pandemic, he says.
鈥淥ne of the things that has kept me sane while staying at home due to the shutdown is Bay Street Video,鈥 he says, noting that staff have 鈥済one the extra mile鈥 to help customers. 鈥淲ithout movies to watch, I would have gone crazy by now.鈥
鈥淰ideo stores are just so rare now, it鈥檚 like an archive at this point,鈥 adds Hanson. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 something to be cherished; it鈥檚 really important to the city, the community and the arts culture at large.鈥
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