Thomas Video

I love this place and am very sad to hear it is closing. I will miss it very much!

I have a netflix account, and I find it hard to find some older movies (because they don’t have them)… so, alas, I called Thomas Video a few days ago, and they had the dvd I was looking for! (Maximum Overdrive). and I happily rented it for $ 3.
Granted I’ve only been to Thomas Video a hand full of times (even back when they were on Main St). And I have never been told or heard anyone say «No, we don’t have that movie». They have an extensive selection of movies, anything from Foreign Films to modern day movies. I have mostly seen Jim that works there, and he’s been able to give me his thoughts about movies that I’ve rented (it’s nice to hear someone’s opinion). I’m a very pleased customer and will keep going.
Just wish they had a drop box :(

I love walking into this store and smelling all the movies. It’s odd I know. But it just smells like the classics. It’s familiar and reminds me of childhood. They have a neurotically huge selection with a variety of interesting categories like Modern Classics and Cult. If you are archaic and use a VHS like me quite often, they have an enormous selection which is nice because a lot of VHS were never made into DVD. This is definitely the place for rare finds. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and will look anything up for you, even on items they don’t have. It’s nice to see that places like this are still around, I wish there were more.

Thomas Video is the only place I rent videos from (aside from the public library). Why? The staff at Thomas Video are hands-​down experts on cinema (not just mainstream «movies»)… they really know their stuff! If I’m stumped as to what I want to rent on any given evening, I simply ask someone behind the counter for a recommendation… and they rarely steer me wrong. Occasionally, a video that I really, really want to see is unavailable, but I’m nitpicking here. The selection is enormous… they have cult films, foreign films, classic films… virtually any movie you can think of. Still have only a VHS player? They have a fine selection in that format as well. This is the «go-​to» video rental place in all of metro Detroit!

I’ve been meaning to write a review for a while now. My experience is along the same vein as the other reviewers’ remarks. Friendly, EXPERT staff. Awesome selection. If it weren’t for Thomas Video, I would have never been exposed to such a wide array of movies that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I cannot imagine going anywhere else for my rentals.

Great place! Could spend hours in here looking around. Huge selection of rare, foreign & cult films. Love the staff there, always helpful and nice!

Want to rent a really rare foreign film that doesn’t don the catalogs of Blockbuster or Netflix? Where they aren’t trying to sell you candy and popcorn and college posters of James Dean?
Do you still use… cringe…VHS tapes? Well this is your store! They rent and sell VHS tapes and DVD’s. There’s a huge collection of every rare movie under the sun.
For a film lover, there’s nothing better than seeing the Criteron Collection along the walls of a video store or some old, random B horror flick for that matter. As others have said, genres include: Indie, Cult, Foreign, Classics, Horror, Rare… I haven’t seen such a huge collection of Animé in ages.
Every city should have a video store like this.
Plus, a local artist named Glenn Barr did a mural on their wall. Pretty cool…
Thomas Video, I heart you.

This is not Blockbuster. This is the place where real movie lovers dwell. Best selection of rare, indie, and cult video you will find in Detroit. Super staff that is very in tune with every genre that you could want. LOVE THIS PLACE!

My all-​time favorite place to go for movies! The prices are great, the selection encompasses literally EVERY genre (including those hard-​to-​find cult, independent and horror movies) and the staff is incredibly knowledgeable. Plus, they’re open until midnight! Skip the chains and rent/​buy independent! You will not be disappointed!

They have every cool movie you can imagine… my first time in I said «I’m looking for this creepy movie with this old lady that, etc.»…they found it. Yeah weird. They know everything about every movie worth watching.

Believe it, best video store in Michigan! Bought many a laserdisc there.

If it were not for Thomas Video, I would have never gotten to experience the greatness of the movie Killer Nerd. Need I say more?

This is the best video store in the metro Detroit area. I lived in Michigan for 22 years and unfortunately did not discover this place until a couple years before I moved to DC. I really miss it now. I found a place in the DC area that was on par, but they shut down. I’ll be back to Thomas on my next visit home to get my fix of cult classics. They have virtually everything here. All the independent, foreign, old, new, animated, music related, etc, films you are looking for can probably be found here. They carry all the great old stuff that the other stores took off the shelves decades ago. Along with all the old treasures, you can also find all the latest new releases here. The staff are great and very knowledgeable. If you don’t remember the title you are looking for, you can usually say to one of the staff members «What’s that movie where …» and they will probably know it. Five stars go to Thomas Video for being one of the few places I know of that stocks so many hard to find movies for rental.

I’m not going to lie, I have driven past here numerous times and have wondered why it remains to exist. This is until I saw all these rave reviews about it… and so I thought maybe I would stop in. Not bad… not bad at all. I’m not really a movie buff, nor do I flock to independent films. However, I was very impressed with how simple the videos were organized, and how attentive the staff was. I didn’t rent anything yesterday, but definitely called up my mom’s bff (who is an extreme movie buff) and told her she must make a trip out here. Of course, she already knew where I was talking about…

I’m a film nerd, it’s true and I get my geek fix at Thomas Video. This haven of foreign and independent film is the place to go if there’s a movie that Hollywood or Blockbuster won’t dare stock. They also carry some more mainstream movies, but most customers come because of the hard to find stuff that lines the shelves of this movie mecca. They have the best selection of Criterion Collection films for rent in Metro Detroit, an extensive documentary, martial arts, animé and foreign film selection as well.
The staff is champions of film knowledge and always eager to enlighten you on films you probably have never heard of. I’ve been exposed to some great kung-​fu films that I probably would have never had the opportunity to peep if it wasn’t for Clawson’s Thomas Video. This is the ultimate indie video store. I guarantee that you will fall in love with this local treasure on your debut trip to the store.

Thomas video has the best selection of movies in the Detroit area. Thomas specializes in all Genres of film. I even found a documentary on Jack Kerouac there. Movies are catagorized and simple to find, and the staff caters to your every whim. If they don’t have what you are looking for I’m sure it would surprise the hell out of them!
Major cool points that The Ghoul works there… i could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I know that face…

Thomas looks like a little crappy independent video store that has a poor selection of movies — the same kind of store that has a number in their name, like «Video 21» or «123 Movies»…
Don’t let the fact that Thomas is in a strip mall deceive you. This is a monster of a video store!
Without a doubt, Thomas is the best video store in Detroit. They have the absolute best selection of cult and indie films I’ve ever seen.
What’s more, for the those of you still hanging on to your laserdisc players, they rent those too! If you’re looking for one of those hard-​to-​find never released on DVD films… check here first.
It’s no surprise that Thomas may not be a place to look for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer boxed sets, or, in my case, the Invader Zim boxed sets. «We don’t carry stuff like that unfortunately» they say, and rightly so! Pedestrian cinema is best sought after at Blockbuster or Family Video.
However, Kitsch film, B-​movies, hack-​n-​slash, pulp, and all the other indie genres can be found here; even better, you can do the oh-​so annoying «you know that one film with that guy???» at Thomas video, and they will know the answer; they are like the jedi of video store clerks!

Thomas Video is the best indie movie store in all of Michigan. It has brought Divine, Brad Majors, Aguirre, and Frieda and Hans, to name a few, into my life. It carries DVDs, VHS, and Laser discs. Good selection of indie, cult, animé, and foreign films. Although they carry a lot of films, a few I like continue to elude them. The movies are organized in unique ways and the staff is knowledgeable and full of good suggestions.