Are discs necessary?
Why physical media still matters. Plus: Five great movies not available on streaming.
Welcome to the first edition of TRACKING NOISE, a newsletter about film, culture and physical media in all its forms — from VHS tapes to 4K UHD Blu-rays and everything in between — a.k.a. the ancient tradition of Buying Movies to Own. A practice which, in the year 2025, is in such danger of being wiped off our cultural map that we decided to start a damn Substack.
Here are some chilling facts about the state of affairs we now find ourselves in:
Annual sales of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs have reached their lowest point ever.
Just last year, Best Buy and Target decided to stop stocking discs entirely.
Electronics manufacturers like LG have straight up ceased making Blu-ray players altogether.
So what does this mean and why should you care?
Well, the fact that you’re reading this means you love movies. But if you’re only watching movies on streaming, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of cinema history. As of right now, the oldest film currently available on Netflix is from 1960 (Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho) and there are only 25 films available that were released prior to 1980. Imagine if bookstores operated this way. Catcher in the Rye? Doesn’t exist. The Great Gatsby? Never heard of him. Jane Austen? FUCK YOU.
Even when classic movies are available to stream, there’s no guarantee the version you’re seeing hasn’t been tampered with. Someone on Twitter recently noticed the version of It’s a Wonderful Life currently streaming on Amazon Prime is missing a crucial scene. That may not seem like such a big deal, but it happens to be the scene where Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, sees how much damage the town’s Scrooge-esque villain, Mr. Potter, has wrought in his absence, having turned George’s working class neighborhood into a slum. Is it possible this stone-cold masterpiece was chopped-and-screwed by one of Jeff B*zos’s corporate lackeys in some desperate attempt to portray rich dudes like him and Mr. Potter in a more positive light? And if so, are these really the people we want safeguarding our cultural heritage?
If you think buying digital copies of your favorite movies will protect you, think again. Those “digital copies” you’re “purchasing” are merely licenses that can be “revoked at any time without warning.” Some unfortunate digital movie collectors learned this the hard way a few years ago when they fired up their PlayStation Store film and TV library only to find out it had vanished into thin air.
Which is all to say: it’s bad out there, folks. Real bad. All signs are pointing to physical media being on its way out. But we won’t go down without a fight. This is the real “streaming war”: Discheads vs. Streamers…
Frankly, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Not only are 4K discs and Blu-rays superior products with better picture and sound, but our streaming overlords would rather us own nothing and be dependent on them for all eternity. In their perfect world, anytime we want to watch something, we’d kneel before them with Amazon Fire TV remotes in hand, offer up our monthly tithing, turn on the content spigot, and guzzle whatever slop happens to be on tap that month.
Despite these dark tidings, all is not lost. As the number of major studio disc releases have declined sharply, more boutique labels are putting out must-own discs than ever before. These indie labels — like Vinegar Syndrome, Radiance Films, Arrow Video and Second Sight, to name a few — have dedicated themselves to lovingly restoring obscure and forgotten classics, many of which aren’t available on streaming.
The people running these boutique labels and their customers, who continue to support physical media, are what give us hope for the future. Buying honest-to-God discs in the Age of Streaming feels like a revolutionary act. To quote Martin Liebman of Blu-ray.com, “Every dollar you spend on tangible product is a vote against the cloud, against studios furthering their goal to wholly monetize art.”
And we’re not the only ones who feel this way. Despite the ubiquity of Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl sales are booming. Young people seem to be gravitating towards physical releases, either for their exceptional sound quality, as aesthetic keepsakes or as a way of supporting their favorite artists. Whatever the reason, it’s impossible to deny that there’s a certain magic to holding a brand-new LP in your hand, removing the shrink wrap and gazing at the cover art, reading the liner notes as you listen.
If the Zen janitor of Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days taught us anything, it’s that there are certain itches only a well-worn piece of physical media can scratch. How different would that film have been if, instead of popping in his Patti Smith cassette, Wim cut to a shot of Hirayama firing up an Indie Chillout playlist on Spotify? In other words, collecting physical media isn’t about accumulating more stuff. It’s about preserving a way of life and experiencing the world.
We’re not saying we should all cancel our streaming subscriptions and exclusively watch Blu-rays from now on. Feel free to half-watch the Pharrell Lego Movie on Peacock or binge-watch the Meghan Markle cooking show on Netflix until your heart’s content. There’s plenty of room in this world for Discheads and Streamers alike, but only one of them is on the endangered species list.
So while it’s certainly possible that someday the physical media well may dry up completely, the least we can do is keep spreading the gospel far and wide, building a community of like-minded people who understand the joys of ownership and connecting with movies in the real world. Because as long as there’s an audience for it, people will keep making it.
Our goal with this newsletter is to not only cater to the already converted, but to welcome curious newcomers into the fold as well. With any luck, maybe we can reverse these downward trend lines and make physical discs the new vinyl LPs.
In that spirit, we’d like to highlight a few of our favorite releases from last year. Our “Disc Picks” if you will. None of these titles are currently available on streaming or for digital purchase in the U.S. The only way you can watch these bangers is to dust off your Blu-ray player and snag yourself a hard copy.
THE HITCHER Limited Edition Box Set (Second Sight) - $59.99
An underappreciated 80s horror gem featuring a terrifying performance by Rutger Hauer and gorgeous cinematography by Aussie legend John Seale (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD). UK-based label Second Sight — known for their hefty, brick-sized box sets and pristine film transfers — have lovingly restored this cult classic in eye-popping 4K with the participation of director Robert Harmon. This limited edition set also includes a copy of the original screenplay by Eric Red and a hardcover book filled with photos and essays. For the budget-conscious, there’s a bare bones version available featuring the exact same transfer without all the bells and whistles. Whichever version you decide to go with, it’s one of the best releases of last year and worth every penny.
RED ROCK WEST (Cinématographe) - $27.99
Featuring uncharacteristically restrained (yet still very fun) performances by Nicholas Cage and Dennis Hopper, this may be one of the best American neo-noirs of the 90s you’ve never seen. Directed and co-written by John Dahl — director of The Last Seduction, another criminally underrated masterpiece in desperate need of a physical release — the film manages to combine black comedy, thriller and Western elements in a unique, Coen Brothers-esque blend that is often attempted but rarely achieved. The limited edition is already sold out (here’s one available on eBay) but as of right now there are still a hundred copies of the standard edition left on Vinegar Syndrome’s website, so grab a copy fast before this film vanishes into the ether yet again for who knows how long.
LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (Vinegar Syndrome) - $44.99
This film — one of the great feel-bad movies of the 70s with an ending so bleak it must be seen to be believed — has been unavailable on home video for so long that many a Dischead has wondered if it would ever see the light of day again. But thanks to the tireless work of the folks at Vinegar Syndrome, we can now enjoy one of Diane Keaton’s most critically-acclaimed performances (alongside a pre-fame Richard Gere) in all its fully-restored 4K glory. The limited edition set also comes with a book of essays that help contextualize the film and its unique place in cinema history.
HAPPINESS (Criterion) - $39.96
On paper, this film sounds like an edgelord’s wet dream, with scenes of pedophilia, suicide and even a mass shooting. And while it’s probably true that director Todd Solondz wanted to shock 90s audiences at least a little bit, there’s an undercurrent of alienation, humanity and black humor beneath all the depravity that makes it clear he wasn’t just a pre-internet troll with an Arriflex. The film also features a murderer’s row of God-tier character actors — Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ben Gazzara, Jane Adams, Dylan Baker — which makes it feel like a fucked up companion piece to some other, more well-known 90s mosaics of modern loneliness like Paul Thomas Anderon’s Magnolia and Robert Altman’s Short Cuts.
PRIME CUT (Kino Lorber) - $26.57
This film has everything. Sweaty, evil Gene Hackman. Human cadavers being ground up into sausages. Nude women being auctioned off like cattle. A chase scene involving a combine harvester. Homoerotic undertones. In other words, a film that could only have been made in the 1970s. Like a lot of the movies on this list, it would not be considered uh, woke, by any modern standard — but like many exploitation flicks of the era, its critique of America and the moral rot lurking just beneath the surface still feels pretty relevant. This film was also brought to our attention by friend and fellow filmmaker Jeff Baena (1977-2025), so if you decide to give it a spin, please do so in his honor. We’ll miss you, Jeff.
Stay tuned for more cultural critiques, deep-dive disc reviews, in-depth conversations, curated watchlists, philosophical musings and whatever else we think might interest you. Share this post with a friend or leave a comment below with some of your favorite discs from last year. You can follow us on Instagram here and Letterboxd here and don’t forget to smash that ‘Subscribe’ button.
— Matt & Dave