Physical media is the best. Maybe it’s the fact that the internet has taken over our lives and is now swiftly being enshittified. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor. Maybe it’s the fact that streaming offers reduced quality and no actual ownership. Maybe it’s the fun and the community that comes with collecting. Or, maybe it’s just nice to have a beautifully packaged product sitting on your shelf. Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure: Whether you’re into Blu-rays, vinyl records, VHS tapes, or a cartridge of your favorite ‘90s video game, physical media is just plain fun.
The physical media market is at an interesting juncture right now. For years, intense but concentrated interest has consistently driven sales for a slew of boutique media labels that specialize in resurrecting old music and movies. At the same time, mass consumption of physical media has plummeted in recent decades and the opportunity to buy at big box stores is swiftly declining. Yet while the convenience of digital delivery has been enough for most consumers to ditch their physical players, a resurgent interest in physical products also appears to be in the works. So, is physical media doing well or not? It’s hard to say. One thing is certain: For the people who do appreciate a hard copy, there can be intense loyalty to a brand or a medium—enough to convince them to shell out exorbitant sums of cash. And remember if you own it on digital, you don’t really own it.
In that spirit, here are some of the coolest physical media releases we’ve seen lately, some of which are recent while others are coming soon.
The home video releases mentioned are:
- Slaughter in San Francisco from Eureka Entertainment
- Trainspotting on 4K from Criterion
- Saul Bass’s Phase IV from Vinegar Syndrome
- New VHS from Terror Vision Records
- Arrow Video is Releasing Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on 4K
- Body Double Soundtrack on Vinyl by Waxwork Records
- Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room is Coming to 4K
- Stanley Kubrick’s Fear and Desire Is Out on 4K from Kino Lorber
- Necropolis: A Troma Film Soundtrack Compilation from Mystic Vault Records
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
The British boutique Blu-ray label has just released Slaughter in San Francisco, a low-budget 1974 kung-fu movie that features a young Norris as a drug kingpin.
Whether it’s a dead baby crawling on a ceiling or Ewan McGregor getting sucked into a toilet, Boyle’s movie is one wild visual ride, with tons of memorable imagery, hilarious dialogue, and compelling performances.
Saul Bass was one of Hollywood’s most influential graphic designers, helping to create memorable title sequences and movie posters for the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese.
Don Siegel’s 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake is a fun movie and a great watch and now its gotten a beautiful new Limited Edition 4K re-release from Arrow Video.
The movie features stellar performances from Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, and Jeff Goldblum, and adequately captures America’s Cold War-era political paranoia via the glory of 1970s celluloid grain.
The new release features a 4K UHD Blu-ray presentation of the film in Dolby Vision with original uncompressed stereo 2.0 and 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio sound.
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