Physical Media for Beginners: Part Two
Our "Dischead Starter Pack" continues with a rundown of our favorite indie disc labels.
As promised, we’re back with Part Two of Physical Media for Beginners. This week, we’ll answer the burning question that’s on everyone’s lips: What boutique indie disc label best represents me as a person? Are you a Vinegar Syndrome Girlie or more of a Criterion Lad? If your name happens to be Ted Sarandos… it might be the latter?
That’s right. In an interview he did with Variety last week, we discovered that Ted Sarandos, CEO of the biggest streamer on earth, is a Certified Dischead. Makes sense, considering DVDs were once the backbone of Netflix’s entire business model, but still. The fact that the biggest name in streaming still owns 300 discs (and gave a shout-out to one of Robert Altman’s greatest films) feels like a positive sign o’ the times and a reminder that physical media will never truly die. Maybe someday we can interview him for this publication and find out what else is in that cabinet of his.
Short Cuts is not currently on streaming, so a disc is your best (and only) option. The Criterion edition is available for purchase here.
And now, without further ado…
THE LABELS
The boutique indie label landscape in 2025 may seem overwhelming to those who aren’t in the know. Once upon a time, the Criterion Collection was the only name that mattered, but as we mentioned in our inaugural issue, those days are long gone. Thankfully, as major studio releases have dwindled, an encouraging crop of newcomers has emerged to fill the void, and a handful of once-fringe labels have achieved new levels of popularity and now compete with the big disc dogs. So we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the major players in this niche space that you may not be aware of, as well as some recent releases you might want to check out.
The mother of all boutique indie labels. Even if you’re new to physical media collecting, you’ve probably at least heard of the fabled Criterion Closet. And though they’ve been around since the Laserdisc era, they’re still considered the gold standard for home video releases — and for good reasons. Their transfers are impeccable and the bonus features are extensive and handsomely produced, sometimes even including full-length feature films and documentaries. Their releases run the gamut from old classics like Citizen Kane and Bringing Up Baby to modern-day bangers like Uncut Gems and No Country for Old Men. They’re also responsible for one of the best streaming services available — The Criterion Channel — which will give you a taste of what they have to offer if you’re curious but not willing to commit just yet. If you want to learn more about the history of this storied brand, The New York Times Magazine did a great profile on them back in 2024 that’s worth a read.
Founded in 2022 by Francesco “Fran” Simeoni, this UK-based label has quickly become a force to be reckoned with and one of our personal favorites. Tracy Letts — esteemed playwright, actor, and husband of Carrie Coon — is also an avowed fan. Their graphic design is unparalleled, as evidenced by these gorgeous Häxan and Luis Bunuel box sets, with removable OBI strips to keep their cover art free of unsightly UK ratings symbols. And because their focus is mainly on obscure world cinema, a lot of their films aren’t available on streaming and haven’t received a proper home video release. One caveat worth noting: while many of their releases are Region Free, some of their earlier releases (like Miami Blues, The Hot Spot, Welcome to the Dollhouse and The Landlord) are Region B only. Thankfully, they now offer U.S. versions for most of their newer releases and they also just announced their very first 4K UHD release — Todd Solondz’s Palindromes — that is hopefully the first of many more to come.
If you’ve been following Tracking Noise since day one, you may have noticed we talk about these guys a lot, but only because they really are that good. Who else would put together a lavish 4K UHD limited-edition box set of the Chuck Norris movie Sidekicks or create a “flesh-textured” slipcover for David Cronenberg’s Existenz? Started by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson out of a warehouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, what began as a company dedicated to restoring and releasing vintage porn eventually expanded into cult and exploitation films, like Tammy and the T-Rex and Hell Comes to Frogtown. While their focus is mainly genre fare, they have a handful of sub-labels that each specialize in a particular niche, like Vinegar Syndrome Archive (“oddities from the video store era”), Cinématographe (“auteur-driven studio films”), and Mélusine (“X-rated entertainment”). They also partner with indie studios like Yellow Veil Pictures (Riddle of Fire) and Utopia (Sick of Myself) to offer lower-budget indie films a proper physical release. If we could pick any indie label to release a limited edition Ingrid Goes West box set, this would be it.
Another UK-based company that expanded into North America, this genre-focused label is known for their stunning transfers, premium box sets, and deluxe editions of cult classics like Donnie Darko, Cruising and The Warriors, world cinema like Kinji Fukusaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity, as well as more traditional Hollywood fare like True Romance, American Gigolo and Demolition Man. They tend to be on the more expensive side, with some discs topping out at $50 for a 4K UHD, but their releases regularly top “best of the year” lists and in terms of quality, you can’t do much better. However, their limited editions sets often sell out abruptly and without warning, so if you see something you like, don’t hesitate to grab it, because once it’s gone, it’s usually gone for good.
These guys are the indie label equivalent of a “big box” megastore like Target. Their selection is vast and covers pretty much every genre you can imagine. The downside is it can feel a little random at times — recent releases include John Hughes’ Uncle Buck and Luis Buñuel’s Diary of a Chambermaid — but the quantity and quality of their releases more than makes up for their lack of brand identity.
This retro-focused label first made a name for themselves by releasing classic TV shows on DVD back when that was a thing. They’ve since broadened their reach with Scream! Factory — a horror-focused sub-label offering titles like The Stepfather and the 80s remake of The Blob — and Shout Select — their more high-brow and/or Big-H Hollywood off-shoot, with titles like Fargo and Midnight Run. Unfortunately, these guys are on probation with us right now because they’ve been accused of using generative AI tools on some of their recent remasters (like this 4K Wallace & Gromit box set) which tends to look like sh*t, so do your research first and buy with caution.
This UK-based label is known for two things — their reference-quality, high-bitrate film transfers and their brick-sized box sets that come loaded with premium extras, art cards and hardbound books. Their (now sadly out-of-print) limited edition copy of Drive even included a copy of the original novel on which the film was based. We previously wrote about their limited edition box set of The Hitcher, which was one of our favorite releases of last year and is still available for purchase here.
Even more proof that the Brits are doing it on a whole other level. Like Radiance, many (but not all) of their older releases were Region B-only. However, they’ve since started offering U.S. versions of some newer releases, like this upcoming Carnal Knowledge 4K UHD limited edition we’ve been coveting ever since it was announced. They’ve also become known for their beautifully designed and individually-numbered box sets, like this Tod Slaughter horror film compilation from last year, or this box set assembled by Nicholas Winding Refn that tells the story of the Ormond Family, a family of amateur filmmakers from Nashville who produced “a series of shocking, surreal religious pictures” that never received a formal release.
This animation-focused label, founded by Dennis Bartok and Craig Rogers, is a relatively new discovery for us, but so far we’re liking what we’re seeing. Their recent 4K UHD release of Felidae — a 90s German, Don Bluth-style animated film about a cat trying to solve a series of gruesome cat murders in his neighborhood (with an original title song by Boy George!) — was the thing that initially caught our eye, and their upcoming releases of Gwen and the Book of Sand and Bill Plympton’s I Married a Strange Person look equally fascinating.
We didn’t include these next few names above because they’re not technically “indies” — as in, not tied to any one studio — but we figured they were worth mentioning anyway because they’re doing some interesting stuff.
Unlike their CEO who loves posting up courtside at Knicks games and palling around with A-list celebs, this Warner Bros. sub-label is content to fly just under the radar, churning out unflashy yet high-quality transfers of popular and obscure library titles at a steady clip. In fact, as of right now, the only way to watch the original Looney Tunes shorts is to buy one of their Collector’s Choice sets. Until recently, they’ve only released films on DVD and Blu-ray, but late last year, they dropped a 4K UHD remaster of John Ford’s The Searchers and it was instantly heralded as one of the best releases of 2024, so hopefully there’s more where that came from. Unfortunately, their official website doesn’t have the same patina of quality as their home video releases and is borderline useless, so you’re better off doing your shopping elsewhere.
Lionsgate quietly launched this direct-to-consumer website at the end of last year, clearly hoping to capitalize on the “specialty collector” market (read: us) by releasing exclusive Steelbook editions of classic library titles. Results have been… mixed. Some of the original artwork is not exactly hitting for us taste-wise and the price point is a little high considering many of these films have been widely available for years. That said, their 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation is absolutely stunning and even comes with a cassette tape featuring the original score. More like this, please.
Arguably, no other studio in Hollywood — indie or otherwise — has committed as hard to the film-related objet d’art, which thankfully also includes physical media. That said, we do have a few notes. Is their Stop Making Sense: Deluxe Collector’s Edition wildly overpriced and too big to fit on a normal shelf? Yes. Did we buy it anyway? Also yes. But whatever minor criticisms we may have, only a brand as popular as A24 could convince a company like Wal-Mart to stock premium 4K UHD copies of Midsommar: Director’s Cut, so we’re here for it.
That’s all for now. We just passed 200 subscribers last week so thanks to everyone who’s read and pledged their support thus far. We’d love to hear from you, so if you have any physical media-related questions for us or there’s anything you’d like to see in a future post, shoot us an email at info@trackingnoise.com.
See you next time.
— Matt & Dave
Tracking Noise is unmatched in guiding the digital native to tangible-curious.