There Were Always Dogs, Never Kids (2012)

• 75%
• 2012
• Documentary
• Max Tannone
• Alessandro Magania

As strange and stubborn as New York itself, Alan's Alley is a video store that has managed to keep up with changing times paradoxically by not changing much at all. Flickering its neon proudly since 1988 on a block of Manhattan's West Chelsea, this madcap cluster of bizarrely arranged movies, falling down tags and candy machines is equal part archive, conversation salon, and cabinet of wonders. But behind every great store is a great owner, and behind this owner is a great cat. There Were Always Dogs, Never Kids is a 23 minute profile of Alan's Alley and its charismatic owner, human movie database Alan Sklar. Nothing pleases Alan more than supplying cinephile, industry professional or local women's prison inmate alike, just the right entertainment for the evening. Along the way we discuss with Sklar and his devoted clientele the history of the business, the threat of new media and his staggering collection of 40,000+ titles (many rare or never-released-to-DVD)... all under the scrutiny of its sovereign mascot, DJ the cat.