If you’re thinking of building up your DVD collection there is a must-stop spot online for movie lovers.

Netflix.com is quite possibly one of the best video stores on the planet, for serious-minded cinephiles.

The deal is this: for about $20 a month, renters can take out three films at a time, keep them for as long as they want, with no late fees and no return charges.

Renters keep a rental queue online, where they can store every film their little hearts desire. Whenever a member returns a film, their next choice from the queue is selected and shipped out to them (typically about four to five days).

Currently the site, which was launched in 1999, boasts about 20,000 titles from which to choose. There are countless genres, with multiple sub-categories for each one.

In the gay and lesbian section, the site contains the obvious selections—Boys Don’t Cry, Philadelphia, Longtime Companion—but it also contains a number of smaller films that are likely not to be found on the shelves of the local chain video store, so that they can make room for the 300th copy of Cheaper by the Dozen.

Titles include:

The Business of Fancydancing (2002)—Based on the poetry of the preeminent Native American writer Sherman Alexie (whose Smoke Signals was featured in the inaugural Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival), Fancydancing focuses on the bonds of friendship and the complexities on returning home. Seymour Polatkin (played by Evan Adams), is a gay writer and poet and a member of the Spokane tribe. In high school, Seymour and his friends Aristotle (played by Gene Tagaban) and Mouse (played by Swil Kanim), were drum-tight. But after graduation, they drifted apart, reunited only when Mouse dies, leaving a mountain of misery for those around him. Aside from a bittersweet tale of coping with truth, the film offers a rare glimpse into the way the Native American culture handles homosexuality, or being "two-spirited."

By Hook or by Crook (2002)—Proudly calling itself "A movie about butches, by butches," Crook tells the tale of Shy (played by Silas Howard), a small-town lesbian who heads for the streets of San Fran to start a life of crime (even though she doesn’t really have the cash to purchase a gun). On her way, she befriends Valentine (played by Harriet "Harry" Dodge), a refugee from a psychiatric institution. Echoing early Gus Van Sant, Crook is an unconventional, gritty and heartwarming debut which was also written and directed by its stars.

The Children’s Hour (1961)—This amazing little slice of Americana is a tough find, but an important one to witness how the subject of lesbianism was dealt with in the early 60s. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McLaine star as two women whose dreams of running an all-girls school are shattered when a vindictive little girl spread a vicious rumor of their sexuality. Their lives unravel in the wake, and the film demonstrates the issue of sexuality only decades ago, and, dependent on perspective, how far we’ve come, or how little we’ve changed, in the area of acceptance.

O Fantasma "Phantom" (2000)—By day, the dark and lonely Sergio (played by Ricardo Meneses) works as a garbageman in the streets of Lisbon. But at night, he picks up more than trashcans. He begins an odyssey of random and anonymous sexual encounters, including his boss, a co-worker, a wacko cop and various other sorts. He soon finds himself zeroing in on a hot, young stranger and blurs the lines of just what is fantasy and reality. Joao Pedro Rodrigues directs this Portuguese import.

There are hundreds more to choose from in the online library. The site provides you an opportunity to rate the films you’ve seen and will also make suggestions for rental based on your past rental ratings.

Netflix also posts feedback from some of its 2 million members, so you can peruse and get an idea of what specifically you have in mind.

From time to time, I will throw a few titles up here in this column for readers to check out on their own, so stay tuned.

There is one caveat I must include with the Netflix recommendation: once you’ve registered and hop online to browse, it can get rather addictive.