If heaven exists, I’d like to think it looks like Kim’s Video.
The legendary New York City video store, founded by businessman Yongman Kim, operated numerous locations around Manhattan from the late 1980s to the 2010s, but the best and biggest was the one on St. Mark’s Place, also known as “Mondo Kim’s,” which was three floors of pop-culture nirvana. The ground level was a record shop; the second floor sold movies and TV shows. The top level was the mother lode: A huge video store with tens of thousands of titles — some of which were incredibly rare.
Besides the snobbiness of its clerks (which I know from first-hand experience, as both a Kim’s customer and an employee for about a year in the mid-2000s), Kim’s was best known for its mind-blowing rental selection — and for the hyper-specific way it categorized its movies, which were divided up into hundreds of sections. Most video stores had areas devoted to horror, but how many had 18 different horror sections, including shelves dedicated to Frankenstein, Mummies, Stephen King movies, and “Little Bastards” (ie scary movies featuring creepy kids)?
While all the Kim’s outlets went belly up by 2014, the massive collection from Mondo Kim’s was recently rescued (from a tiny town in Italy … it’s a long story) by the Alamo Drafthouse, which now offers free rentals from the Kim’s library at its Lower Manhattan theater. At the grand opening of the new Kim’s last year, guests were given a goodie bag packaged inside an old VHS clamshell box. The back of the case lists all 461 of Kim’s gender categories in alphabetical order.
I recently came across my Kim’s clamshell, and I realized: For video store and physical media aficionados, this is kind of a valuable document. I’ve tried looking up Kim’s genres before, but there isn’t a comprehensive list online, at least that I can find. So I’m reprinting it here. Take note that while the box claims it contains “461 lurid genres!” I only count 454; the listing mistakenly includes several entries twice. But who am I to argue with the greatest video store in history?
Kim’s Video Genres
’80s Teen Classics
Action-Asia
Action Rigatoni (Italian Action)
Stock
Action-Comic Books
Action Italy
Action Spy
Adventure
Adventure Disaster
Adventure-Tarzan
Animation
Animation-Adult
Animation-Pixar
Anime
Art
Arts
Australia/Ozploitation
Blaxploitation
comedy
Comedy – Abbott and Costello
Comedy-Classic
Comedy-Early Cinema/Silent
Comedy-European
READ MORE: What Happened to the Last 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 International
Cult
Demonic Babies
Dir: Adamson, Al
Director: Aldrich, Robert
Dir: Allen, Woody
Dir: Almodóvar, Pedro
Director: Altman, Robert
Dir: Anderson, Lindsay
Dir: Anderson, PT
Dir: Anderson, Wes
Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo
Director: Apted, Michael
Dir: Argeno, Dario
Dir: Ashby, Hal
Dir: Assayas, Olivier
Dir: Bakshi, Ralph
Director: Bava, Mario
Dir: Bergman, Ingmar
Dir: Berkeley, Busby
Director: Bertolucci, Bernardo,
Director: Besson, Luc
Dir: Bigelow, Kathryn
Dir: Blank, The
Director: Blier, Bertrand
Dir: Boetticher, Budd
Dir: Bogdanovich, Peter
Dir: Boorman, John
Dir: Borowczyk, Walerian
Director: Brass, Tinto
Director: Breillat, Catherine
Director: Bresson, Robert
Dir: Brooks, Mel
Dir: Broomfield, Nick
Dir: Browning, Tod
Dir: Buchanan, Larry
Director: Bunuel, Luis
Director: Burnett, Charles
Dir: Burns, Ken
Dir: Burton, Tim
Dir: Cameron, James
Dir: Campion, Jane
Director: Capra, Frank
Director: Carpenter, John
Director: Cassavetes, John
Dir: Castellari, Enzo
Director: Castle, William
Director: Chabrol, Claude
Director: Chang Cheh
Director: Chaplin, Charles
Director: Chen Kaige
Dir: Clair, Rene
Dir: Clark, Bob
Director: Clement, Rene
Director: Clouzot, Henri-Georges
Director: Coen Brothers
Dir: Cohen, Larry
Directors: Coppola, Francis Ford
Dir: Corbucci, Sergio
Dir: Corman, Roger
Dir: Cox, Alex
Dir: Craven, Wes
Dir: Cronenberg, David
Director: Cukor, George
Dir: Curtiz, Michael
Dir: D’Amato, Joe
Dir: Dante, Joe
Director: 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
Editors: DeMille, Cecil B.
Director: Demme, Jonathan
Director: Demy, Jacques
Director: 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
Conductors: Fassbender, Rainer
Dir: Fellini, Federico
Dir: Ferrara, Abel
Dir: Ferreri, Marco
Dir: The Findlays
Director: Ford, John
Dir: Fosse, Bob
Dir: Franco, Jess
Director: Frankenheimer, John
Dir: Frears, Stephen
Director: Friedkin, William
Dir: Fukasaku, Kinji
Dir: Fulci, Lucio
Director: Fuller, Samuel
Dir: Gance, Abel
Dir: Gilliam, Terry
Director: Godard, Jean-Luc
Dir: Gordon, Stuart
Dir: Gosha, Hideo
Dir: Gray, F. Gary
Dir: Green, David Gordon
Dir: Greenaway, Peter
Director: Griffith, DW
Dir: Haneke, Michael
Dir: Harrington, Curtis
Dir: Hartley, Hal
Dir: Hathaway, Henry
Dir: Hawks, Howard
Dir: Haynes, Todd
Dir: Hellman, Monte
Conductor: Herzog, Werner
Dir: Hill, Jack
Director: Hitchcock, Alfred
Dir: Hooper, Tobe
Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Dir: Hu, King
Dir: Hung, Sammo
Director: Huston, John
Dir: Ichikawa, Kon
Conductor: Jackson, Peter
Dir: Jaglom, Henry
Dir: Jarman, Derek
Dir: Jarmusch, Jim
Director: Jeunet & Caro
Dir: Jewison, Norman
Dir: Jodorowsky, Alejandro
Dir: Kaurismaki, Aki
Dir: Kazan, Elia
Dir: Kiaro Stami, Abbas
Dir: Kieslowski, Krzysztof
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Dir: Kitano, Takeshi
Director: Kopple, Barbara
Dir: Korine, Harmony
Dir: Kramer, Stanley
Dir: Kubrick, Stanley
Dir: Kurosawa, Akira
Dir: Kurosawa, Kiyoshi
Conductor: Lang, Fritz
Dir: Larraz, Jose Ramon
Dir: Lean, David
Director: Leconte, Patrice
Dir: Lee, Ang
Dir: Lee, Spike
Dir: Leigh, Mike
Director: Lelouch, Claude
Dir: Lenzi, Umberto
Dir: Leone, Sergio
Conductor: Lester, Richard
Dir: Levinson, Barry
Dir: Lewis, Herschell Gordon
Director: Linklater, Richard
Dir: Loach, Ken
Dir: Losey, Joseph
Director: Lubitsch, Ernst
Dir: Lumet, Sidney
Dir: Lynch, David
Dir: Maddin, Guy
Director: Malle, Louis
Dir: Mamet, David
Dir: Mann, Anthony
Dir: Margheriti, Antonio
Dir: Martino, Sergio
Director: Maysles Brothers
Director: Melville, Jean-Pierre
Dir: Merchant & Ivory
Dir: Metzger, Radley
Dir: Meyer, Russ
Dir: Miike, Takashi
Dir: Milestone, Lewis
Conductor: 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, FW
Dir: Nair, Mira
Dir: Nichols, Mike
Dir: Nolan, Christopher
Director: Ozon, Francois
Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro
Director: Pal, George
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Dir: Parker, Alan
Dir: Parks, Gordon
Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo
Dir: Peckinpah, Sam
Dir: Penn, Arthur
Dir: Perry, Tyler
Conductor: Plympton, Bill
Dir: Polanski, Roman
Dir: Pollack, Sydney
Dir: Powell, Michael
Dir: Raimi, Sam
Director: Rankin & Bass
Dir: Ray, Nicholas
Dir: Ray, Satyajit
Dir: Reed, Carol
Director: Resnais, Alain
Dir: Richardson, Tony
Dir: Riefenstahl, Leni
Dir: Rivette, Jacques
Director: Roeg, Nicolas
Director: Rohmer, Eric
Director: Rollin, Jean
Dir: Romero, George
Dir: Rossellini, Roberto
Dir: Rozema, Patricia
Dir: Rudolph, Alan
Director: Russell, Ken
Dir: Sarno, Joe
Dir: Saura, Carlos
Director: Sayles, John
Director: Schlesinger, John
Conductors: Schlondorff, Volker
Dir: Scorsese, Martin
Dir: Scott, Ridley
Dir: Scott, Tony
Dir: Shinoda, Masahiro
Dir: Sidaris, Andy
Director: Siegel, Don
Conductor: Silver, Joan Micklin
Conductor: Singleton, John
Dir: Sirk, Douglas
Dir: Soavi, Michele
Dir: Soderbergh, Steven
Dir: Sokurov, Aleksandr
Dir: Solondz, Todd
Dir: Spielberg, Steven
Directors: Steckler, Ray Dennis
Director: Stevens, George
Dir: Stone, Oliver
Director: Sturges, John
Dir: Sturges, Preston
Director: Suzuki, Seijun
Dir: Szabo, Istvan
Dir: Tarantino, Quentin
Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei
Dir: Tarr, Bela
Dir: Tati, Jacques
Director: Tavernier, Bertrand
Director: Taviani Brothers
Director: Techine, Andre
Dir: Teshigahara, Hiroshi
Dir: To, Johnnie
Dir: Tornatore, Giuseppe
Director: Truffaut, Francois
Director: 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
Director: Warhol & Morrissey
Director: Water, John
Dir: Watkins, Peter
Dir: Weir, Peter
Director: Welles, Orson
Dir: Wenders, Wim
Dir: Wilder, Billy
Dir: Winterbottom, Michael
Director: Wise, Robert
Dir: Wishman, Doris
Dir: Wong Kar-wai
Dir: Woo, John
Director: Wood, Ed
Director: Wyler, William
Dir: Zeffirelli, Franco
Dir: Zemeckis, Robert
Director: Zhang Yimou
Dir: Zulawski, Andrzej
disney
Documentary
Documentary-Biography
Documentary-Cinema
Documentary-esque
Documentary-Mondo
Documentary-Nature
Documentary-Science
Documentary-Sports
Documentary-War
Drafthouse Films
Drama
Drama-British
Drama-Classic
Drama-Indie
Drama-International
Drama-Romance
Early Cinema/Silent
Emanuellesploitation
Erotica
Experimental
Operation
Exploitation-Asia
Farm-Biker
Exploitation-Drugs
Exploitation-Tough Women
Family
Family-Muppets
fantasy
Fantasy-Harryhausen, Ray
Fantasy International
Fantasy-Jungle Thrills
Dark movie
Movie Shorts
Found Footage Party
Gender
Giant Bikini Lady Covers
Horror
Horror-Asia
Horror-British
Horror-Classic
Horror Frankenstein
Horror Hammer
Horror International
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
Independent
International
International Africa
International-Asia
International-Bollywood
International-Brazil
International-Canada
International-China
International-Czech
International-France
International-Germany
International-Greece
International-Iran
International-Israel
International-Italy
International-Japan
International-Korea
International-Mexico
International-Netherlands
International-New Zealand
International-Poland
International-Russia
International-Scandinavia
International-South America
International-Spain
International-Thailand
Just Dance!
Kaiju
Kids
LGBTQ+
Marital Arts
Martial Arts – Chan, Jackie
Martial Arts-Chow, Stephen
Martial Arts-Classic
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 Business
Music
Music-Elvis
Musical
mystery
Mystery – Sherlock Holmes
News
Nitty Gritty NYC
Nunsploitation
NYC
NYC Documentary
NYC-Troma
Performance
Porn
Rollin’ With the Homies
sci fi
Sci-Fi-International
Sci-Fi-Star Trek/Wars
exploitation
Shakespeare
sharksploitation
Special Interest
Sports-Wrestling/UFC/Fighting
Television
Television-Asia
Television-British
Television-Comedy
Television-Kids
Television-Krofft, Sid and Marty
Television-Reality
Thriller
Thriller International
War
Western
Western-Spaghetti
You can visit the Kim’s Video at the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan.
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