Here's how you can rent those thousands of titles from the collection of Kim's Video

The massive collection of DVDs and videos from East Village legend Kim's Video is now available to rent from the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan. (Background on all this here.)

Alamo released details late last week about how people can watch these films. For starters, you need to visit the Alamo, which opened last fall, at 28 Liberty St. This is in the space formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza between Nassau, Liberty, William and Pine Streets.

To the Alamo press release!

The white whale of movie collections has landed at Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan and we're making it available to you fine folks for free. That's right — Kim’s Video is back! Starting now, an ever-growing selection of over 15K titles are available for rent, for free, from our Lower Manhattan location.

There are thousands of deep cuts, hard-to-find titles, and rarities spanning genres such as "Roller Skating Classics," "Monkey Business" and "Nunsploitation." You know, the essentials. We'll have DVD players and VCRs available for rent, just in case you don't keep functionally obsolete technology lying around your house. You can even see some of these rare finds on the big screen as a part of our monthly Kim's Video Presents series, curated by Nick Prueher of the Found Footage Festival (and longtime Kim's Video member!).

Rentals — up to three at a time — are free for five days before a late fee kicks in. Alamo requires a credit card on file for rentals.

The Kim's empire had a modest start in Yongman Kim's dry-cleaning business at 99 Avenue A in 1986 ... the last Kim's Video closed in 2014.   

And Kim was at Alamo Drafthouse last Thursday for the media preview ... this photo is via the Alamo Instagram account...

Massive film collection from the former Mondo Kim's is heading to Alamo Drafthouse downtown

After the multi-level Mondo Kim's closed at 6 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in December 2008, the shop's massive collection of 50,000-plus tapes and DVDs were shipped off to a town in Sicily, as Jeremiah Moss first noted. 

The plans called for "a Never-ending Festival — a 24-hour projection of up to 10 films at once for the foreseeable future ... and, eventually, the conversion of all Kim's VHS films to DVDs to ensure their preservation." 

And eventually, the plan was for Kim's members to have access to digitized versions of all these films, an assortment of cult classics and hard-to-find treasures. (Didn't go so well in Italy.) 

Anyway! This collection is returning to NYC. 

According to published reports and press releases, Alamo Drafthouse has said its working with founder Yongman Kim to bring his collection to the recently opened Lower Manhattan location (28 Liberty St.). 

Here's part of the press release:

After a twelve year and 9,000 mile odyssey that included a trip to Italy and back, the Kim’s Video collection is now back where it belongs — in New York City. It will be permanently housed and available for rental at Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan.

Alamo is expected to reveal more about the rental system later next week. 

The last Kim's, at 124 First Ave., closed in the summer of 2014.

Pic via Dangerous Minds!