Physical media is back, baby. It’s cool again. Groovy, even. And streaming services have no one to blame but themselves. Rolling Stone just dropped an article confirming what anyone with a shelf full of Blu-rays already knows: streaming is unreliable, ownership is better, and you can pry my discs out of my cold, dead hands.
Here’s the thing: when you “buy” a movie on Vudu, Amazon, or whatever digital storefront is trying to look like Netflix’s edgier cousin, you’re not really buying it. You’re buying a license to stream it until the studio decides they’d rather pretend it never existed. Then poof — your “purchase” becomes a little empty box in your library with the cheery message, This title is no longer available. With physical media, that doesn’t happen. Pop in the disc, it plays. No Wi-Fi, no app updates, no “title not available in your region.” Just you, your movie, and maybe a snack you didn’t pay a $12 concession markup for.
Even Tim Burton’s been talking about it — how there’s something tactile, something personal about owning a film. The box art. The feel of flipping through your collection and stumbling on something you forgot you had. It’s not just watching a movie, it’s curating a little museum of your taste. I get it. I’ve been there. Hell, I live there.
But let’s talk about the sales, because that’s where the addiction gets dangerous. The Barnes & Noble 50% off events are legendary, and right now the Arrow Video sale is running wild. This is when you start seeing stuff like Trick ’r Treat, The Warriors, and Pitch Black sitting there at $25 each, just daring you to resist. Arrow’s 4K restorations are often gorgeous, stuffed with extras you’ll never get on streaming, and packaged in those chunky cases that make your shelves look like a cinephile’s fortress.
The problem? You have to be disciplined — or willing to remortgage your house. Because the other side of this coin is FOMO-fueled collector hell. Studios know exactly how to squeeze the market: drop a “limited edition” steelbook, let the scalpers swoop in, and suddenly it’s triple the price on eBay. The Arrow sale is your best shot at sidestepping that nonsense. Half-off prices mean you can grab titles you’ve been circling for months without feeling like you’ve just donated a kidney.
Of course, it’s still a dangerous game. Go in for one title, walk out with six. That’s how you end up explaining to your credit card company why you thought Tremors 2: Aftershocks on 4K was a necessity. And honestly? It was.
VHS is having its own little nostalgia-fueled comeback, but for me, it’s about the high-def stuff — Blu-rays, 4K, the occasional DVD for something out-of-print. VHS has great box art, sure, but once you’ve seen a good Arrow 4K restoration, going back to fuzzy tracking lines feels like eating a TV dinner in 2025.
Streaming’s not going anywhere, and I’m fine with that. But it’s not a replacement for the real thing. Physical media doesn’t need an internet connection, a subscription, or the studio’s permission. It’s yours. Forever. And if you shop smart — especially during the Arrow sale — you can keep building your collection without selling your organs on the black market. Just… maybe hide the receipts.
Hollywood After Dark 