THE HOMEPAGE OF giant DVD rental service Netflix shows a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch-type models curled up with some red wine and popcorn, while a sleek coffee table and overstuffed pillows glow softly in the azure hue of Entertainment. The promise of unlimited cinema beckons – along with, apparently, true love and an Ikea display room.

Contrast this filmic dreamland with the Web site of San Francisco-based GreenCine and you'll find cinephilia trumps fashion and image, and hordes of obscure film titles leave no room for pinot noir cameos. And if you're looking for a good movie, whether a cult fave or proof of Jean-Luc Godard's influence on Dogma, there may be no better resource in all cyberspace.

GreenCine (pronounced "green scene") was founded in 2002 by Andrew Sullivan and Dennis Woo, a pair of techies with a passion for film and a quirky, sage business sense. To those familiar with Netflix, the business model is nothing new: pay a monthly fee, have DVDs mailed to your home, keep them as long as you want, mail them back when you're through, and wait a day or two for new DVDs to arrive.

But GreenCine sets itself apart from other services by emphasizing the fringe elements of the movie universe: documentaries, indie flicks, foreign films, anime, and other art-house fare. According to former Netflix and current GreenCine member Scott Mignola, "GreenCine had every single movie that Netflix had and even a few others that Netflix didn't carry." Plus, he says, "I liked that GreenCine had a more subversive tone."

For Woo, however, the key to the company's success goes beyond selection; equally important is the sense of community it fosters. "In the post-dot-com detritus, we've harked back to the pre-dot-com boom."

This sense of community is driven largely by the service's users. Chatty members keep themed online discussion boards lively, and, in a nod to the most enduring idiom of indie culture, generate lists upon lists of movies. With such subjects as "Adult Cult Films for the Extremely Jaded Viewer," "Mark Mothersbaugh Soundtracks," and even "Best Films GreenCine Doesn't Have," the lists are a particularly effective way of sparking interaction online. Jennifer Leen, a GreenCine member for almost two years, says, "I have several of my own film lists.... I would say that my Working-Class Heroes film list has sparked the most interest from other GreenCine members. A number of people have e-mailed me with film recommendations, which I always appreciate."

GreenCine editor Craig Phillips sees this type of digital confabulation as serving an important role in society. "Everyone's sort of alienated and isolated these days, and they want to reach out and connect," he says. "The idea is to get people connected to each other as much as they want."

But with Internet schmoozefests a dime a dozen, GreenCine has further set itself apart by bringing its community into the off-line world. The company hosts regular trivia nights at the Make-Out Room and sponsors movie screenings at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. In addition, it's donated a significant portion of its proceeds to such local cultural institutions as the San Francisco Film Arts Foundation and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.