Toronto’s Top Indie Video Stores, Part 2: Not The Usual ‘Suspect’
Posted February 19, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Note: Suspect Video is located on a block of Queen St. West where a six-alarm fire broke out Wednesday morning. Buildings have been completely gutted in the blaze and heavy smoke and flames tore through others, including the video store.
They stock the offbeat, the obscure, the seminal, and everything in between – and movie fans can’t get enough. In Part Two of CityNews.ca‘s five-part series profiling Toronto’s top indie video rental shops, we visit Suspect Video & Culture, where sometimes you can judge a film by its cover.
Of the thousands of films in Suspect Video‘s collection, Daniel Hanna estimates he’s seen about 75 per cent.
“And I’m probably low-balling it,” Hanna, the manager at Suspect’s Queen St. West location, notes. The self-proclaimed “lifer” has been running the shop for a decade and it’s obvious he’s loved every minute of it.
“The phrase ‘dream job’ comes to mind,” he enthuses. “For someone like me – I’m in heaven.”
The first Suspect Video location in Toronto opened on Markham St. 17 years ago, in 1991. The business thrived and in 1996 owners set up shop on Queen St. as well. Between the two stores it’s estimated Suspect has more than 32,000 titles in its vault.
Visitors to the Queen location will notice many of the DVD covers bear hand-scrawled notes recommending films for various reasons, or comparing them to other, more mainstream releases.
“It’s the staff, collectively (writing the notes),” Hanna explains. “Everyone gets to weigh in. Customers seem to appreciate it. We manage to bring attention to a lot of movies that would otherwise go completely unnoticed.”
Suspect doesn’t just rent and sell videos and DVDs – it also peddles pop culture magazines, books, and collectibles. But the main stock in trade is undoubtedly film.
“I love movies, whether they’re subtitled kung fu movies from the early ’60s or brand new, independent, made with tiny robot toys for $10, shot on Super-8 (film). I love that too. And everything in between,” says Hanna.
If there’s one thing he’s noticed over the years is that not as many younger movie fans come into the store anymore.
“I miss the kids. They’re all sitting at home in front of their computers – YouTube, downloading, short attention spans,” Hanna muses. “(However) the kids we do get are very enthusiastic about film. They come here as a resource to find things they just can’t get anywhere else. They’re the ones who are exceptional – they’re thirsty for knowledge outside of what’s being spoon-fed to them via the Internet or TV. We’re here for them.”
Daniel Hanna’s Top 5 Essential Viewing:
Meatball Machine
Red Road
Isolation
Sicko
We’d share the fifth title, but it’s X-rated – to find out you’ll have to visit the store and ask Hanna.
The Test
CityNews.ca picked ten hard-to-find films and asked each store if they stocked them. Here’s how Suspect Video & Culture measured up:
Harold and Maude – yes
Dog Day Afternoon – yes
The Doom Generation – yes
Big Night – yes
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys – yes
The House of Yes – yes
Cinema Paradiso – yes
Brazil – yes (standard and Criterion Collection version)
Five Easy Pieces – yes
City of God – yes
Suspect Video & Culture (two locations)
605 Markham St. (416) 588-6674
Monday-Saturday 12:03pm – 10:58pm
Sunday 12:06pm – 9:57pm
619 Queen St. W. (416) 504-7135
Monday-Saturday 12:03pm – 10:58pm
Sunday 1:04pm – 9:56pm
http://www.suspectvideo.com/nav.html
Rental cost
7-day $3.50 (most films)
2-day $4.50 (new releases)
Photos and video by Brian McKechnie
Toronto’s Top Video Stores
