18. 18 of these Blu-Ray Hauls. That seems pretty crazy. That’s a LOT of physical media that I’ve bought since I started doing this series. There’s been a lot of speculation about the future of physical media. With the amount of streaming services that we have now, a lot of industry professionals had predicted the end of physical media. A lot of this had to do with Disney and their streaming service, Disney Plus. However, over the past couple of weeks, Disney might be pivoting back to physical media. Why? The home video market was incredibly lucrative for Disney, but prioritizing the streaming releases of theatrical films over physical media has undercut licensing and retail businesses. So, Bob Iger says that Disney is going to be looking at physical media again in the future. The prediction for the death of physical media was estimated in about 8 years with the release of the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X gaming systems. But it seems that streaming services are NOT seeing the financial results that they were expecting.
It makes sense. There are only so many homes on the planet that you can get your streaming service into, and if that happens, your revenue stream hits a plateau. What many services are now doing is adding a limited-ad tier to their services and raising the subscription prices. With the amount of streaming services out there, those numbers are not entirely sustainable. So, is this good news for us physical media collectors? It very well could be. I certainly hope so. Collecting physical media is starting to become a bit of niche hobby for a lot of us. We’ve got great boutique labels like Criterion, Shout! Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, Blue Underground, and several other labels that are filling the void. It’s not cheap, but it’s generally worth it, because we get to keep these movies forever. With streaming services, it’s not so clear. But enough of that. You’re here to find out what I’ve been buying recently. So, let’s get crackin’!
Battlestar Galactica(1978)Complete Series – Universal Pictures
Now THIS is a blast from the past. I know a lot of folks out there think that this show from 1978 is incredibly cheesy. While it’s true that some of the effects don’t hold up as well, I found this show to be far more charming and compelling than the newer one with Edward James Olmos. The 1978 film stars Richard Hatch as Apollo, Dirk Benedict as Starbuck, and Lorne Greene as Adama. This show came out and was canceled before I was born, but my parents, my brother and I would sit in our living room every week and watch the show via syndication. Along with Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica helped form my love for science fiction and fantasy. The 3-part pilot episode was edited into a two-and-a-half hour movie and it holds up incredibly well story-wise. In fact, in a post-9/11 world, holds up better than it used to. The follow-up two-parter episode is incredibly exciting but also a hefty emotional impact. These are characters that are interesting and that you ultimately care for. I mean no disrespect to the newer Galactica, but THIS is what I grew up on and it means a lot more to me. The set includes all the episodes from the show’s 1978-1978 run. Thankfully, the 1980 series Battlestar Galactica 1980 isn’t a part of this. That was an awful show.
The Great Dictator – Criterion Collection
This is the first Charlie Chaplin movie that I have in my collection, and it’s one of his more controversial ones. Chaplin plays two roles. The first, a Jewish barber that happens to bear a striking resemblance to the dictator of the fiction country of Tomainia. Chaplin also plays the aforementioned dictator in a role that clearly makes fun of Adolf Hitler. In fact, this movie was banned in most of occupied Europe during World War II. This is an outstanding film, because it’s not just a comedy, but it’s a commentary about cruelty and “machine minds” as Chaplin so adequately put. The centerpiece of the film is the incredible speech that Chaplin gives at the end of the film. It’s an iconic film from one of the greatest on-screen comic actors in cinema history. Definitely recommended.
Logan’s Run – Warner Bros.
I’ll be honest. The first time I attempted to watch Logan’s Run was nearly 20 years ago. I couldn’t make it past the goofy visual style. It’s about a futuristic society where automated systems provide endless comfort to the residents. The only catch is that people can only live to be 30 years old before they partake in a Carousel that’s supposed to lead them to some kind of “re-birth.” Michael York plays Logan-5, a “Sandman” who is tasked with hunting down and eliminating Runners, people who try to escape the Carousel. Logan ends up being tasked by the city’s main computer to find a so-called “Sanctuary” outside of the city walls, so he enlists the help of a woman, Jessica-6, to help him. It’s definitely goofy in a lot of parts, but the visuals are really striking. The designs of the city and outside world are incredible. In fact, this movie won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects. Of course, this film was released in 1976. The following year would give us Star Wars and change film-making forever. Logan’s Run is the last of an era of science fiction before everything changed. I got a kick out of it, and Michael York is always entertaining. There’s a vintage featurette and audio commentary. Nothing really note-worthy, aside from the film itself.
Phenomena – Synapse
Dario Argento is one of the most celebrated Italian film-makers of the 70s and 80s. He’s made some incredibly iconic horror and thriller pictures like Susperia, Tenebrae, Deep Red, Inferno, and Opera. While his newer movies have not been good, Argento’s older stuff is striking. It’s visually interesting, even if it doesn’t always make sense. Take Phenomena, a movie that stars in her first lead role as Jennifer, a young woman sent to a Swiss boarding school. She has this unique connection to insects that allows her to psychically influence them. There have been a number of girls that have been murdered or reported missing, so it’s up to Jennifer and scientist John McGregor to solve this mystery before the killer takes another victim. Dario Argento has a unique flair for the bizarre in his movies, and Phenomena is no exception. It’s definitely one the weirdest movies I’ve seen. Not only is it visually striking, but the soundtrack is something else. Not only does it employ Goblin, but Iron Maiden’s a part of the soundtrack too. I can’t say that the soundtrack fits, but it really adds to the weirdness of the picture.
Last Hurrah for Chivalry – Criterion Collection
Another Criterion film on this list. When most people think of John Woo, they think of movies like Face/Off, Hard Target, or 1996’s Broken Arrow. Rightly so, but he made his break in Hong Kong, where one of his earliest action flics was an old-school wuxia movie called Last Hurrah for Chivalry. Released in 1979, the film followed two swordsmen who had nothing in common with each other, as they help a local lord take revenge on a rival that attacked during a wedding. It’s a simple narrative, but the twists and turns that it takes during the film are wild. One of the biggest problems with modern action cinema is the over-reliance on hyper-editing during fight scenes. Gone are the days of fight scenes that last 5-7 minutes long. Last Hurrah for Chivalry is one of the last where the fight scenes, as well as the rest of the film, were operatic in nature. Each fight scene told a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The choreography for these fights was really good, despite the tempo being more in line with the other Kung-Fu movies during the 70s. Instead of guns, we’ve got swords, and it’s spectacular. The whole movie is basically a giant fight scene. It’s really interesting to see where John Woo came from and where he ended up. You see a lot of his signature film-work in this movie, minus the doves. That comes later. It’s a really good movie that I recommend to anyone who has a passing interest in wuxia/Kung-fu movies, and I definitely recommend it to John Woo fans.
That’s going to do it for this installment of Recent Blu-Ray Hauls. As a physical media collector, I enjoy documenting the stuff that I buy, and I hope that you folks get something out of these.