Oh Alphabet video- where would I be without you? It seems to me, that Edinburgh does not have a plethora of independent video stores- or ones that carry esoteric titles. Thank heavens for Alphabet. They love film. You can tell. In case it's not blatant by the amount of titles stocked (or the categorization method- my favourite for videos- listed by director) you could also tell by the fact that they wallpapered the place with film stills and glossies of actors. This is the place to go if you're jonesing for an old Bergman- or if you want to see exactly what happened in minute detail to Laura Palmer. If you're like me, and you get obsessed with directors and want to go through every last thing they've done, you'll be hard-pressed be able to do this in Edinburgh without visiting Alphabet. They even have Antonioni's Zabriskie Point! Stellar! There is a rather ample international section too which goes beyond the one rack at Blockbuster. And reasonable rates, I find, though with the economics of supply and demand they could easily jack them up and that'd be that. Thank goodness they don't. They want to spread their love of film to me and you. Good on them. FIVE STARS.

Visiting Alphabet Video is an experience in itself - the dvds are packed in downstairs, with movie magazine cut-outs plastering the walls above the shelves right up to the ceiling. They do all sorts of movies - from new popular stuff all the way through to silent movies from the twenties! Even the organisation is interesting - some are in genre, others under director. My favourite thing about Alphabet, though, is the balcony level, which is reached by a rickety little staircase, where the videos are kept. Yup, that's right, old VHS! This makes me happy. I think they're still organising the videos, as some are categorised, while others are piled haphazardly on the floor - a real little treasure trove for anyone with a bit of time on their hands! The guys who work there know their stuff, which is great, and the music is always good in an alternative sort of way. My friend also really liked their giant fish.