Foreword
When I first started writing this essay it was intended as a personal dig into the home entertainment industry that, through technological progress, rendered my humble DVD collection worthless and made consumers either re-purchase or abandon their home movie collection. As it turns out, that’s not quite the case: this tirade ultimately turned out to be a logical sequel to Modern Movie Consumption, written ten years ago — back when Netflix still mailed out DVDs and 4k/UHD discs weren’t on the market yet.
The Rise of DVD
The blurry photo below shows the very first DVD my wife ever owned, next to the last one I ever bought for her. They weigh 92 grams and 78 grams, respectively.
Similarly, here’s a photo of the very first DVD I ever bought, next to the last one I bought.
They weigh 119 grams and 75 grams, respectively.
Jaws was the first DVD I ever owned; I purchased this “Special 25th Anniversary Edition” for DM 39.99 from a since-closed HMV store in Frankfurt on 3 February 2001. It was the very movie that kick-started my DVD collection.
Launched in this part of the world in 1998, DVD-Video was said to be the format of the future. At the time I didn’t even have a player, but when I finally got one a few months later and viewed this great, classic movie on my tube TV in proper widescreen form, there was no doubt that my VHS collection’s end was nearing. Although it’s a single-disc edition in a standard Amaray case with a basic four-page booklet, the design and bonus features suggested that Universal were proud of this product and wanted you, the discerning movie lover, to have it and to cherish it.
Yes, this disc is definitely a keeper.
As I’ve said before, I’m very particular about the movies which I buy to “keep”.
There are but 74 movies in my personal, definitive physical movie collection right now (excluding TV series, documentaries and music videos). Not only am I a miserly bastard, but a movie has to have a certain something — a message, a meaning or a memory — before it is bestowed the honour of a slot on my shelf, knowing that I could grab any random movie and be certain that I would enjoy watching it for the umpteenth time.
Naturally, in the early days, my focus was on replacing my pirated VHS versions with nice ‘n crisp legal copies — availability permitting, because in Germany you’ll obviously find the German versions of a DVD but they’d typically be censored and/or retitled to some silly German name and occasionally don’t even feature the original English-language audio (caveat: I had Lola Rennt but not Run Lola Run). These ersatz versions will not do.
Amazon UK became the primary source, and all was well with the world.
Each DVD purchased (typically around Xmas time) was a small treasure — box sets especially so: I remember the fanfare when the Back to the Future trilogy was announced as being “finally available on DVD” in 2002, and I happily laid down 56.99€ for it.
Today the same (three-disc) set can be had for 25.26€ (or used for 4.10€).
Hell, even the four-disc “Collector’s Edition” is cheaper. I feel conned.
The same goes for the “Robocop Trilogy Box Set”, 2003’s “The Adventures of Indiana Jones Four-Disc Box Set” and the elaborate 9-disc “Alien Quadrilogy” box sets, or with 2004’s 10-disc “Ultimate Matrix Collection Box Set”: those sets were expensive and, to naive old me, the definitive and final version you’d ever want to own.
I was wrong.
The Blu-ray Betrayal
Technological advancements, of course, didn’t stand still either and it would only be a few years later that a superior format was on the market.
Although Sony’s Blu-Ray disc emerged as the victor from this particular format war, it wasn’t the HD-DVD who lost: it was, ultimately, the consumers. Many held out.
I, too, felt betrayed because not only would I have had to replace/upgrade the DVDs I had just bought recently (and probably just watched once or twice), the prospect of having to upgrade the hardware would’ve been another costly insult. So I simply ignored Blu-Ray completely — especially once I noticed the small print which stated that those very Blu-Rays and DVDs had been re-mastered at 4K. Oh? Really?
Well, where is that 4K media then? When can we have that?
BD seemed like a mere stopgap until something better comes along, so I waited it out and merrily ticked items off an old paper list of movies that I wanted on DVD. Since other consumers offloaded their DVDs in lieu of Blu-Ray (and later streaming), this paid off for me because I could now finally get that horribly overpriced six-disc “Die Hard Trilogy Collector’s Edition” for a bargain. Ironically, I’ve since watched it all of… once!
Then, one day in early 2019, I was through my old list: I got all the DVDs I originally wanted (as well as a few more recent releases) as shown in the graph below.
Of course I’m aware of the fact that those DVD purchases were obsolete consumables the moment I ordered them. It’s evidenced by their very packaging: the older releases were heavier due to thicker and more generous material usage. Bonus features sometimes came on an extra disc, and they would typically include a small booklet – even if it was no more than egregious advertising for more movies that you “must own”.
Attentive observers may have also noticed that the Star Wars: Episode IX box is still sealed. It’s the last DVD I ever bought, and I did so only for the sake of completing the nine-movie Skywalker saga. The disc coincidentally also bookends this part of the essay because I no longer have a DVD player hooked up to the main TV. Despite having bought the movie over two years ago I’m in no particular rush to re-watch this disappointing finale and I presume that, like Episodes VII and VIII, it will have no special features or even a booklet in its light and flimsy Amaray case. Compared to Jaws, this piece of media seems a purely commercial and disposable commodity: cheap (in both senses of the word), loveless, and a betrayal of the care and pride once associated with DVD releases.
Still, DVD’s picture quality is a vast improvement over their VHS counterparts. They’re also in the “intended” cinematic aspect ratios instead of pan and scan or open matte where, in the comparison below, you can clearly see Carl Weathers’ real arm tucked away under his shirt after the Predator shot off Dillon’s fake arm.
This excellent video illustrates what TV and VHS viewers have been missing out because of the 4:3 aspect ratio of old tube TV screens. No, I did not digitise my old Alien video tape.
As it stands now, I finally have the movies I wanted (up to a certain point in time) in a format that is no longer contemporary (read: substandard) and a medium that is no longer practical (no player connected). Although my collection represents a minor personal achievement, it’s monetarily worthless and practically obsolete.
The Streaming Takeover
It’s frustrating to witness how, in the space of less than two decades, technology has progressed through several digital formats so that consumers have been forced to purchase, repurchase, and ultimately abandon their movie collections in favour of streaming services that offer little more than the film itself – no bonus features, no tangible connection, no control.
But, despite all this, I’m quite fine with the status quo.
Let me elaborate with a simple, relatable example: The Top Gun movies.
In December 2023, the original Top Gun from 1986 popped up on Netflix. I had actually never seen it, and it turned out to be exactly as [insert unflattering adjective] as expected. Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited and hyped sequel from 2022, duly turned up on Netflix in December 2024. The movie was immensely popular, had critics raving, and cleaned up at the box office. Ultimately, I found it to be merely “meh”. A popcorn movie.
Since I had never bothered to see either at the cinema, never bothered to rent them from a video store, and certainly wouldn’t have spent a dime purchasing them on home media in any form, I still wouldn’t have seen either were it not for the happenstance convenience and low cost of Netflix. I viewed them merely to learn what the hype was about and fill a gap in pop culture knowledge. Neither Top Gun movie is worthy of a slot in my personal movie collection; to a collector or a movie buff, however, they are essential pieces in the art and history of film — and I wholeheartedly endorse their completism.
My only issue is when collectors try to conflate collecting with being a cinephile, which are not the same thing. – California8180
In fact, we’re quite spoilt for choice. We’ve almost reached a point where it’s possible to casually view a movie via streaming services, pay for it on video-on-demand, borrow it from a library, hunt down copies on physical media (new or used), and, for die hard fans and collectors, pre-order and invest in elaborate box set or steelbook editions by boutique labels. Everyone’s catered for.
Or are we really?
Splice, Zardoz, The Mangler, High Fidelity (yes, that John Cusack one), Coherence, JCVD, Hardcore Henry, and Threads are just some of the movies listed on scraps of paper which I’m eager to see at some point because I simply missed them or, over time, they’ve piqued my interest for one of a number of reasons: the movie’s since become something of a cult classic, the actor/writer/director’s work demands closer investigation, the plot warns of or pre-empts technology or political scenarios that have or have not come to pass, or it’s since become infamous due to changing morals in a woke world.
Along those lines, I’m furious that last year’s Alien: Romulus is the first Alien movie that I missed seeing on initial release at the cinema (not counting the original one because I was only 10 at the time).
The list furthermore includes Earth Girls Are Easy, Freeze Frame, Freeway, Dark City, Gattaca, The Lawnmower Man, The Naked Lunch, The Thirteenth Floor, and eXistenZ for the same reasons or because I didn’t fully appreciate (or understand) them on first viewing. People age differently to movies.
I’m optimistic that they’ll turn up on Netflix, as Groundhog Day and Galaxy Quest did.
But will I buy them on physical media? No. If I do get to see them (again), that’d be great. If I never see them (again), then bummer. Either way, the planet will continue to spin.
The Collector’s Conundrum
Unlike some people who seem to have oodles of disposable cash and time, blind buying goes against my personal grain although, I must confess, there’s also the FOMO factor: I did buy the Breaking Bad and Firefly series based purely on their reputations and out of personal curiosity. I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed.
Both series now occupy precious real estate on my shelf although things could’ve turned out differently: Breaking Bad is currently on Netflix. Had I watched it there first I wouldn’t have bothered buying the DVD box set. Its follow-up, Better Call Saul, is equally great. I watched it on Netflix but have little desire to buy it in a physical format, nor am I in any rush to re-watch either because there’s simply so much other new as well as catalogue content. Randomness and discovery are also important to me.
Sure, I like my Netflix. It’s the only “TV channel” in my home and does exactly what I need it to do right now. It’s allowed me to scratch a few items off the list and gave me chance to see others I didn’t know about or would have never bothered watching otherwise. It has enough decent original content like Wednesday or Sandman worth binging on. I have no experience with other services because I simply don’t need them and aren’t willing to shell out more money on things I don’t have the time for. Of course I’m keen to watch Westworld and The Mandalorian but geez, there are only so many hours in a day!
On the other hand, Ex_Machina and The Grand Budapest Hotel would be two examples of movies that I discovered there and would happily acquire on 4K (or whatever the shiny new format of the future will be).
Naturally, Reddit, YouTube and other forums are full of naysayers of streaming and fanboys of physical. While some of their points are valid, it’s always the same old tired arguments. Allow me to pick some apart:
- “I like the fact that once I buy a movie on DVD/Bluray/4k, its mine. As in, something I can hold and actually possess. I also like having a well-organised display on my media shelf. It looks nice in my sitting room!”
- “For me it is the ownership, the artwork, the nostalgia of browsing a physical library of movies.”
Agreed. I wholeheartedly understand and can appreciate a well-presented shelf of movies as much as a complete series of definitive postage stamps, a fine wine cellar, a library of rare books, a large record collection, or display cabinets full of Happy Meal toys.
“We work jobs we hate, to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.” – not Tyler Durden
Understand also that some people don’t have the real estate, want to downsize, or suddenly find themselves with the house full of destructive children and other priorities in life. Let’s talk about this again in ten years’ time, shall we?
Movies are also a bitch to pack and transport when you move house. Even shuffling them about if you rearrange the room is a nuisance. These things can get cumbersome.
I wonder how many precious collections have been lost to natural disasters, alien invasions or murderous spouses because they’re not exactly something you can quickly throw in the car if you need to evacuate in a hurry (or the first thing you’d grab if you have children, pets, documents, photo albums, cash and electronics to get to safety too).
And just wait until you find out what happens to your precious stuff after you’ve died!
Then, lest we forget, there’s that other subgroup of collectors: those who keep their digitised/ripped/downloaded stash on HTPC/NAS setups and watch movies via Plex or Jellyfin. It’s like Netflix without Netflix where you hoard movies to watch exactly once.
Pirates are the unsung heroes of media preservation.
- “The thrill of the hunt, trying to get the best deals I can on the last few things I want for my collection.”
Spoken like a true collector, hunter and gatherer! Holy grail finds make for lovely trophies.
Social media is full of braggards showing off their latest hauls and finds. I laud their enthusiasm. I’m also jealous because Goodwill, charity shops, thrift stores and the like aren’t really a thing here in Germany. I can’t score those $1 bargains. It seems that Germans would rather throw out their stuff instead of hosting a garage sale and, as said before, that which you would find are the German versions of movies. I wouldn’t want them if you gave them to me for free.
- “Bonus features! I love a good commentary!”
- “Captions”
Absolutely yes! Bonus features add value to the total package and provide extra insight for a cinephile – more than what the casual viewer wants.
There has been no shortage of articles extolling the virtues of physical media over the past couple of years, yet the major focus tends to be on the films themselves. We live in an exceedingly precarious digital landscape where content reigns supreme and methods of access and available programs are nebulous, but having a home video library isn’t solely about the feature films for many collectors. Though physical media is a great means, arguably the best, of taking preservation and curation into one’s own hands, a major deciding factor in what to collect and, more specifically, which edition and/or format comes down to the bonus materials.
[…] This brings up an important point regarding physical media, especially this many generations into its lifespan: when a film makes the transition from LaserDisc to DVD or Blu-ray to UHD, the editions don’t necessarily continue to snowball, taking all of the pieces with them as they go. Rather, due to licensing issues and/or factors related to technology or costs, extras often disappear in favor of newly produced materials or, in some cases, nothing at all. — Justin LaLiberty
- “Aside from the obvious more direct actual ownership of the item, mostly I just want to be able to watch the thing whenever I want to without having to worry about whether or not it’s still even on any given streaming platform.”
- “That I have at my fingertips my favorite movies for my collection, that I don’t have to spend time searching on streaming sites to see if its on one.”
You’re a spoilt brat. How many services do you (or your parents) subscribe to so that you can bitch about not having enough choice?
It never ceases to amaze me that some people consider streaming their personal forever library. You’re paying for access to whatever the content of a commercial entity’s library happens to be at the time. Physical libraries rotate their collections too. Even you, yourself, cannot be relied upon by your own friends if they ever wanted to borrow something after you decided to get rid of a movie that you don’t like anymore.
Millennials are accustomed to instant gratification; they fail to realise that it’s an outright luxury to be able to “consume” anything as and when your fancy strikes. It’s not like every album ever recorded is on Spotify either. Try exploring a film outside your usual genre. Expand your view and your mind. Stop watching the same old movies!
The more we have, the more we have to complain about.
- “There’s never “leaving soon” like streaming services do have (I’m looking at you netflix)”
As a matter of fact, I use this reminder to help me chose my next viewing. When I’m undecided, I pick one of those. Urgency is a great motivator.
- “No buffering. Can watch during a storm with no issues.“
- “I don’t ever want to have a situation where my Internet goes to shit and I am stuck watching nothing”
Do you know how much strain movie streaming puts on your network? Change service provider and fix your internal network (hint: wired, not shared Wi-Fi). You knew you needed decent bandwidth the moment you signed up for film streaming. And should my internet go out for a while, there’s lots of other stuff to do.
What do you think people did before the internet? Try reading a book or listening to a record instead. Better still, go outside. Visit your friends. Build a Plex server.
- “Putting in a dvd and the trailer says the bee movie is coming soon to theaters is like looking into a window of time“
If I press “play”, I want to see the movie, not have to put up with a bunch of unskippable trailers, ads, or reminders that I wouldn’t steal a handbag or a car. I can delight in old trailers for nostalgic or historical reasons too – but as and when I want to.
- “No ads. Maybe some trailers, but you don’t have to worry about ads.”
- “Then additionally, there are no commercials or extra fees. Commercials are getting bad lately. Most of my streaming services litter movies with commercials. Ruins the experience for me.”
Sorry, what? My Netflix has zero adverts or interruptions. Ad breaks during a movie are as rude as regular television or the cunt who won’t put his phone away at the cinema. You get what you pay for. The moment they start pulling that shit they’ve lost this customer.
- “I own it. I’m not paying full price for a long term rental. I also hate censorship and seeing how these companies are going back and editing things out of movies in an attempt to stay PC just rubs me the wrong way.“
- “The single most important reason that I prefer to have the physical DVDs is because of the missing episodes with streaming.”
- “Being able to cultivate a library that is not subject to censorship.”
Censorship and pussyfication? There are few things I personally abhor more.
There have always been people who cannot handle the truth, sex, or violence.
Removing or editing existing scenes or dialogue that don’t correspond to modern sensitivities are akin to rewriting history and forgetting that these are the very things that lead us to where we are now. What I want to see is the unfiltered, damn-the-studio’s-meddling, original vision — “as the artist had intended” (to use this well-worn cliché).
Oh yes… those are known as the “Director’s Cut”. They exist.
I remember that night in the early nineties when the SABC (South African state TV) broadcast the original Robocop movie. Although I’d caught it at the cinema and had a well-worn VHS copy, I just had to see how they’d butcher it to fit into the conservative, no-cussing attitudes of the time. Oh, we had a good laugh. I seem to recall that most of the violence remained. I don’t remember all details about the profanities (surely censored) but I clearly recall that in the scene where Dick Jones tells Bob Morton “Once, I even called him asshole” the line was changed to “Once, I even called him idiot” so seamlessly that I’m sure it’s voiced by the original actors.
So yeah, movies and other omnipresent consumer products have always been modified for various audiences. It’s called commerce.
- “I want the option to see shit that streaming services will never have, those obscure movies and tv-shows.”
- “Rarity of some titles“
Fair enough. But the likelihood of finding those on any consumer media format has always, at any point in time, been quite the challenge. That’s what makes them obscure. I won’t be holding my breath for Cannibal Holocaust to show up on any streaming platform or finding a canonical collection of all Courage The Cowardly Dog episodes (which must include The Chicken From Outer Space pilot) on physical media any time soon.
Contraband rips and digitised VHS recordings regularly turn up (even if only for a short period) on YouTube, The Internet Archive, Dailymotion or a slew of questionable sites while it’s terrestrial television channels (remember those?) that occasionally unearth some truly weird and obscure old stuff.
Similarly, Ernie Smith’s mind was recently blown after Warner Bros. dumped a bunch of movies on YouTube because, I suppose, any further exploitation of the product is no longer economically viable.
And if you really, really, really MUST see a certain movie? Chances are you will find it available somewhere (Amazon, eBay, Vinted, Marktplaats, BitTorrent).
Buy it, watch it, copy it, resell it. People hoard/archive/digitise more stuff now than ever.
One must also wonder how many NAS boxes have been found in the wake of the recent California wildfires because owners couldn’t get them shut down and unplugged in time.
“Nevermind the kids, they have legs and can run… I gotta go back in to rescue my server!”
The more we have, the more we have to worry about.
At the end of the day, it’s not a battle between streaming vs. physical. They’re not competitors; they serve different needs. It’s casual consumption vs. careful curation where the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Both formats can — and should — coexist.
Now go away and enjoy the movie!
All photos and screengrabs by Herby Hönigsperger unless specified otherwise.
