Mass Market DVDs Are Dead: Long Live Heritage Physical Media

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Physical media has had a resurgence in recent years, helped by the curating and marketing of 4K heritage titles in attractive packaging for a keen, if niche, market of collectors. That was the consensus of the Heritage Roundtable discussion held as part of the Locarno Pro section of the Locarno Film Festival.

Having seen a drastic collapse in the mass market, the panelists agreed that the one area of growth was the curation of heritage titles, restored to 4 or 2K and presented with an abundance of extras.

Vincent Paul-Boncour from Carlotta Films used examples of his companies recent and future releases including a box set of Dario Argento films and a new edition of Luchino Visconti’s “Bellissima” as models of successful products.

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“Our first mission is to release movies on the big screen as a distributor,” Paul-Boncour said. “In France, we have this good market for classic editions. We have to make the best object possible. You have to be 4K; you have to have a lot of originally produced extras. And the quality of the film is very important. We have the chance to have a good catalog already. Now, in France, in England, in the United States, there is a market. People like to have the object, like library, they want to collect.”

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One of the major obstacles to releases is the issue of rights, specifically when held by American studios. Ronald Chammah of Les film du Camélia argued: “We have the feeling that American studios are less interested to have a movie release, either by themselves or by somebody else, on physical media, because their main goal is VOD, and for them, maybe physical media is the enemy of the video platform.”

Manlio Gomarasca of Plaion and Severin noted, “In Italy, the situation is not shiny. The mass market of DVDs is dead. People are going straight to platforms.”

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There is limited availability of Italian films, even from major Italian filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni and Luchino Visconti, with many of the best releases coming from abroad. Gomarasca sees a possible solution in a more consolidated approach between companies, “We are competing for a very small market, so I’d like to see more collaboration and less competition between companies.”   

Director of Cinémathèque Suisse, Frédéric Maire, agreed, arguing that with the new release of “La Paloma,” “We discussed the fact that it would be nice if we can put on the Blu-ray a lot of other language subtitles, because even if the main market and the rights we are for France and French-speaking areas, we have the chance to handle the rights for the film worldwide. So, we really can think that the Blu-ray might go around the world and there will be one unique Blu-ray existing of ‘Paloma,’ which would be this one… I think if the right situation permits it, we also have to try to find cooperation to think globally and not just locally.”

Speaking as a consumer and collector herself, K.J. Relth-Miller of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures said: “I’m seeing similar trajectories in that those of us who are collectors and appreciate the aspects of physical media – the booklet essays and the special features – this is something that is on par with what vinyl collecting became10 years ago for my generation.”

She continued, “We’re seeing that with Gen Z, and also with millennials, this real desire to have physical objects because the ephemeral nature of streaming means that something that you want to watch and you put on your watch list, and then you go to revisit it a week later, and it’s gone. It’s ephemeral. It’s never permanent. So, if you’re really invested in learning more about the history of this art form that we all love, I think that investing in physical media is one way to do that.”

Relth-Miller also noted that VHS collecting is growing in Los Angeles and cited the example of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Avery’s Video Archives in Los Angeles, a microcinema that specializes in VHS and 16mm projections.

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The general sense was one of cautious optimism in nurturing a sustainable market and culture with an eye on changing technology – “How many people still have players?” Frederic Maire posed. Overall, there was a shared sense of responsibility for the preservation of the art form and the products it produces.

Manlio Gomarasca stated, “We talk about the market because we are selling stuff. But for me, Blu-rays are also cultural objects. Think about how many directors were interviewed for the bonus features that have passed away: the witness of their life is there because of the Blu-ray. So, for me, the Blu-ray is a cultural object that has to be supported.”

This support should also come from governments, Gomarasco argued, as it does in France.

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