Recently, it was announced that Best Buy was cutting out DVDs and Blu-rays from its physical stores. Gone are the days of wandering the aisles and searching for a cool movie to buy. The decline of physical film releases first began with the closing of video stores and the rise of streaming. But soon, it really does seem as if the idea of buying a Blu-ray will be looked at as if you’re buying some sort of novelty or collectible. But for folks like Guillermo del Toro, the people buying physical discs of films are doing an admirable thing, and they’re preserving films for generations who might miss out.
READ MORE: Guillermo Del Toro Says His Jabba The Hutt Film Would Have Been A ‘Scarface’-Style Crime Epic [Flashback]
This whole discussion recently started because Christopher Nolan (the filmmaker obsessed with using physical film and practical effects in a digital age) brought up the idea that streaming films aren’t actually your property. No, we’re not just talking about films available on streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+. But the truth is (and many people don’t actually know this), when you buy a film on a digital service—you know, when you pay the $19.99 or whatever to “own” your copy of “The Flash” on Apple, Amazon, or wherever—you actually aren’t paying for the film. You’re buying the right to watch the movie on the digital service. And if, for some reason, Amazon, Apple, or wherever loses that license to show the movie, then even though you paid money, you will effectively lose that movie, as well.
Basically, if DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery realizes “The Flash” is a dumpster fire and the film should be gone forever, it can make sure that it won’t be sold anymore and the people who “own” the film on a digital format could lose access to their film. Remember, you don’t “own” anything digital. So, if you’re worried about your precious “The Flash” disappearing and joining (way too many) other films which don’t have digital options and are out of print, you better buy the physical copy. At least, that’s what Guillermo del Toro wants you to do.
“Physical media is almost a Fahrenheit 451 (where people memorized entire books and thus became the book they loved) level of responsibility,” del Toro posted on X/Twitter. “If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love… you are the custodian of those films for generations to come.”
To put all of my cards on the table, this is actually something I believe in as well. I am fortunate enough to get some discs mailed to me from the studios, but I still buy my favorite films when they are released on the current format. Not only is it great to know that I have the copy for posterity, but also, there is a real difference in watching a 4K UHD disc than watching a version that is streaming. The picture quality, the sound, everything is just better. So, I get it.
That said, is the world going to collapse and Apple will no longer give you access to your library of digital films? Not anytime soon, probably. But just remember, what you “own” digitally isn’t actually yours. And if you want to make GDT happy, you’ll buy physical from now on.
