Watching Movies in GP: Photoplay

In an age of Netflix, who needs a video store? Online movie rentals are easy, fast, and affordable. The websites can look at your movie choices and make recommendations—they’ll even remember your name and password. With convenience like that, it’s hard to see the reason for a middle man. And yet, thousands of customers continue to go to one, in the form of Michael Sayers, owner of Photoplay, a movie rental store on Manhattan Ave and Kent Street.

What sites like Netflix can’t offer—and what Sayers does—is the perfect atmosphere to browse movies, discuss films, and feel at home. At Photoplay, a small cozy shop with exposed brick and pleasant blue walls, there’s always a fan blowing, something interesting playing on the television, and a wealth of expertise behind the counter.

Sayers, a twelve year Greenpoint resident and lifetime movie buff who used to work at Film Forum doing programming, opened Photoplay eight years ago at its first location, just across the street from where it is now. Patrons have grown to love the store’s welcoming environment and amazing selection—over 16,000 DVD and 2,000 VHS titles, from new releases to more obscure films from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, as well as international films and cult classics. Most of all, it’s the knowledgeable and unpretentious staff that generate loyal customers and excellent Yelp reviews.

“I never liked the kind of attitude that sometimes you get in video stores or record stores in Manhattan,” Sayers said. “I’ve found there’s kind of a snobby ‘we know more than you attitude’ which I think is no fun. It’s a lot more fun when people who work in a place are really interested in movies, have recommendations, and don’t feel like they’re superior to the people coming in. I never liked being treated badly. I think that everyone that works here kind of feels the same. They enjoy that interaction with people.”

Sayers is able to more titles than most larger video stores because of his efficient display and storage system. Much like at a record store, movies are displayed by a thin, laminated sheet with the DVD front and back cover on each side of it, rather than with empty boxes. This might make finding a movie hard, except that they’re so well organized—by genre, country, decade, and director. And if patrons still have a hard time finding something, they can ask the friendly staff, most of whom have been working at Photoplay for over five years, and are incredibly helpful in finding customers what they want, or even films they didn’t know they wanted.

If you’re in a rush, the staff at Photoplay will help you find what you need. But the store is designed so that people stay awhile—it’s a pleasant atmosphere to sift, browse, chat, and meet like-minded people. One Yelp review even said it was a great pick up spot.

Sayers was pleased with the comment. “It’s a place where people who have similar interests come, so that’s not so surprising. If that happens it’s great.”

The customer-base—Sayers estimates around two or three thousand active members and about a thousand regular, weekly customers, is varied. There is a Polish language section for the many Polish customers. Many young artists and film buffs come in looking for more obscure and artistic titles, while older customers know they can get hard-to-find movies from the past. Whatever people are looking for, Sayers probably has it, and if not, he’ll go out of his way to find it.

“I want to be here and see what people are looking for and what they want and what they’re into,” Sayers said. “We’re constantly expanding and getting new films. A lot of it is based on where people’s interests lie. Everybody likes new movies and new releases, but there are a lot of people who are really looking for really odd kind of obscure films. We’ve been able to keep those sections growing too.”

By catering to the community’s tastes and needs, Sayers has been able to keep expanding, even in a recession. At a time when no one wants to break their budget at a movie theater, Photoplay is a place where people can find inexpensive entertainment—and maybe even a date.
And if you do want to impress your next date, you might want to use this fun fact: the word “photoplay” was a word that early film studio tried to apply to films—they thought the word was classier than “movie.” In 1911, Photoplay became the name of a film magazine which became influential in the industry in the 20’s and 30’s, and remained in publication until 1980.

Photoplay is open from 12pm-11:30pm and is located at 933 Manhattan Avenue. Rentals are $3.25.