The Case for Physical Media

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Today I want to talk about something near and dear to our hearts here at OM: good old-fashioned physical media. I’m talking about VHS, DVDs, Blu-rays; the tangible things you can adorn a shelf with; the things you can hold in your hands. Hell, we love it so much that it inspired our company name! And if you’re not still buying physical in the year of our Lord 2024, I’m here to convince you otherwise. Though I’ll be focusing on film-related media in this post, it is just as relevant to music, video games, etc.

Buckle up, buttercup. Here we go.

Bill Hader revisiting the Criterion Closet

Once revered as the cultural lens through which we made sense of our world, movies are increasingly being devalued as mere content to fill our time. But movies are so much more than just a way to kill a few hours. Being packaged and sold in a physical format, as opposed to occupying another option in a streaming catalog, reinforces the belief that films are inherently valuable. And not just valuable in a monetary way, but in the cultural, historic, and meaningful sense.

As mentioned in our previous post on the importance of video stores, some films only exist in a physical format. Therefore, it’s up to all of us collectively to preserve them. The films that only exist digitally can be withdrawn by the studios and streaming platforms per their discretion. Guava Island, the 2019 Amazon original starring Donald Glover and Rihanna- yeah, you can’t watch it anymore. Was it good? Don’t know. Never had a chance to see it.

Beginning in the 70s, the widespread commercial adoption of the VCR democratized film ownership and thereby archiving for the first time. Prior to that, studios released a film theatrically, it ran for several months, and then it would go back into the vault until it was re-released years later. Some films would show up periodically on cable, but it wasn’t until the introduction of home media via Betamax and the VHS tape (and then rentals through a video store) where films were made more readily available. In the last decade, as film libraries have migrated to the cloud via streaming platforms, film ownership and availability has reverted back to the “walled garden” model. Last year, Guillermo Del Toro had this to say about the matter:

GDT is the realest of the real.

When a film occupies a spot on your shelf, it signifies a level of importance. It says, this film means something to me. And the packaging itself can be its own work of art. Several of the releases from the smaller, boutique distributors are gorgeous. You can really tell the respect they have for the medium in the effort they’re putting forth with these releases. God bless ‘em.

Criterion was the pioneer in the boutique space, but several others have emerged doing equally impressive work. Every detail of the presentation is pored over including, but not limited to: high-quality scans of the original negatives, color grading, and sound mixing.  Most filmmakers will argue that the best quality and presentation of their films (outside of the cinema) are these Blu-ray and 4K releases. These transfers are usually overseen by the filmmakers themselves, getting as close to their intended vision as possible. *This isn’t always the case, however. We won’t talk about the recent 4K releases of some of James Cameron’s films. Christopher Nolan, for instance, has gone on the record several times, waxing poetic about the tenets of physical media:

Here’s a less-talked-about aspect of presentation that is a huge pet peeve of mine: the wrong aspect ratio. Sure, we of the generation that grew up with tube televisions are all too familiar with “pan and scan” and watching a cropped version of a movie. It was a problem on VHS and it’s a problem today with streaming- but in reverse!

Several of the full-screen, 4:3 aspect ratio, made-for-tv movies and shows are “blown up” to fit widescreen tvs. I suppose streamers think modern audiences won’t abide black bars on the sides. For instance, on Disney+, you will find an inconsistency in applying this reformatting across their back catalog. They did a beautiful transfer of Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, but they blew it up from the original 4:3 to 16:9. As an audience, we’re losing vital bits of the frame.

Another one that some of my fellow millennials hold a fondness for, Halloweentown, was blown up to a degree where it feels like watching it through a keyhole. The director and cinematographer were intentional in their compositions, and their original framing should be respected and left unaltered.

A film you love is worth sharing. Have you tried recommending a show or film to a friend lately? It’s like pulling teeth to get them to watch it. They add it to their never-ending queue of great stuff they must watch. But back in the day, you brought them a physical copy and said, “You need to see this.” That’s how I saw The Warriors for the first time. It was my buddy’s favorite film and he lent it to me. I lost it and bought him another copy, only to find the original months later. Letting someone borrow a movie from your collection is powerful. Just make sure you get it back!

Not to belabor the point, but you’re more actively engaged with physical media. There’s the ritual of retrieving the movie from the shelf, taking the disc out, putting it in the player, and pushing play. It’s intentionality. Sure, you might still have your phone nearby as a distraction (put it away!), but I believe you’re more likely to finish a film on disc in one sitting than you would on a streamer.

Physical media lends itself to a slower pace of life that I feel we’ve lost and could desperately use more of. It used to take effort to go out and rent a movie. It takes effort to retrieve a movie from your own collection and put it in the player. It forces us to slow down, if even the smallest amount. And that’s a good thing.

Not all films are created equal, but the medium itself deserves respect and reverence. Each film represents countless hours of work from dozens, if not hundreds, of artists and craftspeople. Films are miracles- even the shitty ones. They’re not just content to be mindlessly consumed. And being packaged in a physical form that you can hold in your hand and admire on a shelf lends credence to the respect of the medium.

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Some great articles related to physical media:

Scarecrow Video SOS Campaign Update

Beware Hollywood’s digital demolition: it’s as if your favourite films and TV shows never existed

The “C” Word - Differentiating Content From Films

Unpacking Vinyl’s Remarkable Revival: A Statistical Analysis