A visitor's guide to movie shopping in Hong Kong

With tiny VCD and DVD shops spread all over town, Hong Kong can appear to be a movie shopper's paradise. But actually locating what you want on video is another matter. Here's a list of the city's better video stores for finding a healthy range of Hong Kong movies, and films from other places, too.

Buying local DVDs and VCDs

Original Video is a terrific chain in Kowloon and has well-stocked shops for local DVDs, VCDs and music. The store at 36 Mong Kok Road (between Mongkok and Prince Edward) is the largest and has their most comprehensive range. A mid-size shop is at 64 Argyle Road and a smaller shop at 71 Sai Yee Street (both in Mongkok) also have extensive selections. Original includes sections of videos organised by company - Universe, Mei Ah, Deltamac, Celestial/IVL, Winson, Pearl City, China Art FE and more - and prices are among the best available in Hong Kong. A near-complete range of Shaw Brothers DVDs is presented on shelves and in catalogues hanging from the racks. The range of Cathay film selections is less extensive. Staff are helpful and won't push customers to buy more discs. Posters for recent films, labeled in Chinese, are kept near the doors. Other Original branches, at Kowloon City and Sham Shui Po, are generally out of the way for tourists.

WideSight is another DVD, VCD and CD chain like Original, with a large shop in Mongkok (corner of Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Shantung Street), another in Tsim Sha Tsui (near 20 Carnarvon Road) and another in Causeway Bay (behind the Sogo department store). These no-nonsense shops generally offer good prices and most staff will leave customers alone. This is the same WideSight that distributes DVDs and VCDs. Very few Shaw or Cathay films are stocked.

UFO on Yun Ping Road in Causeway Bay is one of the better video shops on Hong Kong Island. It's pricier than others but the range of movies is good and the shop layout is sensible with room to move. Includes Cathay and Shaw Brothers sections. Other video shops nearby (less range, loud, poor layout) are mainly on Lockhart Road behind the Sogo department store.

Among the major chains, Hong Kong Records is a very good place to shop for Hong Kong movies. The Cathay movies sections at Harbour City shopping centre (Tsim Sha Tsui) and Festival Walk shopping centre (Kowloon Tong) are usually well stocked, and the selections for Shaw movies, RTHK TV series, pre-1970s local movies and modern films are good too. This shop also sells soundtracks.

HMV has megastores at convenient locations in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central and Causeway Bay. Higher prices keep many local shoppers away from extensive racks of VCDs and DVDs, which in turn leads to more space to move around in and out-of-print titles remaining unsold on the shelves for years - nice for those seeking discs elusive elsewhere. Import old-school kung-fu discs (including Hong Kong Legends titles) are sold. HMV usually has a good range of Hong Kong soundtracks on CD too.

Cheapy Movie Platform is another chain. In Tsim Sha Tsui they're opposite Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station Exit B2 on Cameron Road, near KFC, and they have other brances around town. The shopping environment is harsh with very loud music or video but the staff can helpful when they're not harassing you to buy more discs. Prices are fine though the range of both DVDs and VCDs is lacking. Displays are haphazard with discs piled all over the shop, so budget time to browse. A branch on Argyle Road in Mongkok is open 24 hours.

At a glance: Buying old Hong Kong films on DVD and VCD

Shoppers hunting old Cantonese movies and opera, as well as Cathay and Shaw Brothers films should head into Hong Kong Records' stores in the Harbour City shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Festival Walk shopping centre at Kowloon Tong. Hong Kong Records has a well stocked, easy-to-browse selection of the DVDs and VCDs - one of the few places with large, or even full, ranges of '50s, '60s and '70s Cantonese and Mandarin films currently available from local distributors.

Original on Mong Kok Road and the Fai Wong Company (at about 251 Hennessy Road, Wanchai) also stock many '50s and '60s Cantonese movies and operas on VCD and DVD. The Original shops in Mong Kok are very good for finding Shaw films on DVD, and decent for 50s and 60s Cantonese fare.

Buying Korean DVDs

The Broadway Cinematheque (a popular cinema for arthouse fare, Asian imports and retrospectives) has a DVD shop with a large Korean movie section next to the lobby. The cinema's at Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei. (Map) This shop also stocks many discs from China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, the US and Europe.

In Mongkok, a basement mall at 6 Nelson Street that has a healthy selection of Korean DVDs. To find this place, walk along Nelson Street from MTR Mongkok station Exit E2. On the right hand side of the street, in the stretch between Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Tung Choi Street, you will find a steep staircase leading down into a basement shopping arcade. Head on down (mind the slippery steps if it's raining) and try the DVD shops on the left hand side of the corridor.

In Wanchai on Hong Kong Island, Rock Gallery and another shop in the basement of the Emperor Centre (enter from the corner of Wan Chai Road and Mallory Street) can be quite good for Korean discs, but don't expect Mongkok prices.

Buying Japanese DVDs

The Broadway Cinematheque DVD shop sells Japanese movies on import editions and local releases, and has the city's widest range. Many of the discs in this shop are helpfully organised by director.

Hong Kong Records carries a wide range of Japanese films released by local distributors. Both modern films and classics are sold, many of them under the Panorama label. Rock Gallery in the Emperor Centre basement might be worth a look for its slim collection of Japanese DVDs at close to Japan's cover prices.

Buying Chinese DVDs

Hong Kong Records in the Harbour City shopping centre (Tsim Sha Tsui) and the Festival Walk shopping centre (Kowloon Tong) has a decent Chinese film section with local and import discs from the mainland, including new releases and silent films.

In Kowloon, the Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium on the corner of Nathan Road and Jordan Road has a selection of mainland DVDs and VCDs at an upstairs floor. The video shop at 517 Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei appears to be increasing its range as well.

There are several shops selling mainland DVDs in North Point, especially along King's Road. Forever Video at the ground floor inside the Metropole Building 416-438 King's Road is a good starting point for that particular North Point chain.

Buying Indian DVDs

The ground and first floors of the shopping mall at Chungking Mansions on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui have quite a few stores to browse, including both dedicated video stores and grocery shops which stock movies too.

Buying French, Spanish, Italian and Russian DVDs

A good place to visit is Disc Order in the basement of the Emperor Centre in Wanchai. The staff are knowledgeable on the films they offer and are willing to take orders for specific titles. The Broadway Cinematheque DVD shop is also worth visiting.

[ Updated 21 December 2006. ]

Suggestions and comments are appreciated - Please e-mail me at tim@kowloonside.com

Shopping tips

Buy a proper 2006 guidebook or street directory in a bookstore. These are usually about HK$60, make a shopping guide like this easier to use and are even handy for finding cinemas. Needless to say, the free tourist maps are useless for visiting shopping hotspots like Mongkok.

Shop owners in Hong Kong don't always know the English titles for local films. It's a good idea to prepare a shopping list and print out the Chinese titles for the films in advance. Presenting this to shopkeepers when in difficulty will relieve frustration not only for you but for the staff, too.

If you find yourself in a shop that stacks its DVDs in piles, instead of laid out in racks, look for easier-to-find VCDs in the shop and then ask a staff member to help you to find the DVDs.

A trend in areas like Tsim Sha Tsui is for retailers to set up shops with piles of products, minimal (if any) interior decoration, a looped recording of loud sales pitches playing and signs promising low prices. Note that these shops are actually no cheaper than places like Original and WideSight, which offer sensible layouts, a wider range and better shopping environments.

Beware of fake discounts. Some shops try to trick customers with signs suggesting extreme "discounts" (worded along the lines of "DVDs: Were $69, now $18"). The lower prices are actually standard for those DVDs and VCDs, and are what you'd pay anyway in places like Original or WideSight.

Some mainland VCDs and DVDs have incorrect subtitles info on boxes, so it helps to check online and prepare a shopping list.

Shops in Hong Kong normally stay open far later than those in Western countries - especially the small video stores in Mongkok that close at midnight or later. There's no need to cut short your day's sightseeing before heading to these shops.