Beyond big stores lies an ocean of smaller, locally owned video and DVD stores, many of which have been around since the 1980’s and have kept a back stock of many forgotten videos. The unheard of gem lies a lot of times within the aisles of the older movies within those stores.
Look closely, reading the back rather than simply trusting the cover. Many lesser known movies are repackaged to resemble existing, more successful movies. While many turkeys might be discovered, a good movie gem is worth wading through the garbage.
Before looking randomly, determine what genre of movie you are looking for. Search that genre thoroughly. Some video stores put the more popular movies at the top, so check the bottom rows. Don’t let a bad title scare you off. Like a book cannot be judged by its cover, a movie shouldn’t be judged because it has a bad title.
A great place to find wonderful but forgotten titles is the foreign section, with great films produced around the world. In order to sell them, they will a lot of times reference more popular movies. A film that claims to be from the “makers of” might only have an editor or stunt choreographer in common.
There are websites devoted to certain types of movies. Search them and other online video sites for trailers using the genre, add words like “obscure“ or “unknown“ to add flavor your search. Most films, regardless of budget and backing, make some kind of trailer.