When it comes to movies, physical media’s back. Kind of. Like, okay, barely. It’s back for a certain, specific kind of person—movie fans willing to search out Blu-ray reissues or limited edition 4Ks and pay anywhere from $15 to $50 (or more) for a single movie. If you’re interested in the history of movies, don’t live near one of the very few video stores that still exist, and don’t want to be limited to whatever small selection of “classics” are on the major streamers at any given moment, you’ll want to consider building your own physical movie collection like it’s the damn 20th century again. Fortunately it’s not that hard to do that today, if you’re willing to shop online and know where to look.
It’s been clear for years that we can’t trust streaming services. We can’t trust them with their own originals—they cancel their shows quickly, with large gaps between seasons, and will then straight-up remove them for a tax write-off if they aren’t a big hit—and we definitely can’t trust them to have any sense of history when it comes to movies. Other than Max, which has the benefit of being owned by the same company as Turner Movie Classics and a deal to carry Criterion Collection selections, and Disney+, which has all but one of Disney’s animated features and a solid selection of its live action stuff dating back to the studio’s first live action feature Treasure Island, the major streamers almost exclusively feature recent releases and evergreen favorites from the last few decades. Netflix, the biggest streaming service, is notorious for basically ignoring all movies made before the ’80s; it looks like An Affair to Remember and The Sting are the only movies that came out before 1980 currently on Netflix, and with only the biggest blockbusters from the ’80s and ’90s representing those two decades. Film fans can’t trust streaming services, and so they have to turn back to something that streaming has done its best to kill: physical media.
If you want to watch a legal copy of a movie from the 20th century, odds are you’ll have to track down an actual physical release, whether it’s a disc or a VHS tape. Despite streaming’s dominance over the last 15 years, and the death of video stores, Blu-rays and DVDs never really went away, and over the last decade the higher resolution 4K Ultra High Def format has become the standard for serious collectors and AV purists. Major studios and boutique labels alike pump out new 4K releases every week, with the highest quality video and audio, from the home video debuts of recent theatrical releases, to 4K scans of enduring favorites and cult classics. You’ll often have to order these things online, as few major retailers carry physical media anymore; Best Buy, a major player in the 4K market for several years, dumped all non-videogame media in 2023, and Target has greatly scaled back its movie selection, leaving the small sections at Walmart and Barnes & Noble as your best corporate bets for finding 4Ks or Blu-rays offline. And many of the most interesting and most elaborate releases are exclusively available direct from the publisher. So if you’re interested in diving back into physical media, get used to labels like Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, and Shout Factory—boutique labels devoted to preserving cinematic history through physical releases.
We’ve dabbled in covering this stuff at Paste in the past. I hardly ever write about movies here, but you can find my byline on a scattering of 4K-related pieces from the last decade. I’ve gotten the bug hard again lately, and it seems like more people are getting back into physical media every year, so it seems like a great time to make this a more regular thing. Let’s start by looking at a handful of great 4K releases from the last three months, from this week’s home debut of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, to Shout Factory’s excellent edition of one of Werner Herzog’s greatest films. And at the bottom you’ll find a calendar of notable releases scheduled for the next month.
Robert Eggers’ latest time traveling terror puts us in Wisburg, Germany, in the 1830s, an ideal site for some good old-fashioned vampire business. A remake of F.W. Murnau’s silent classic from 1922 (it hardly feels like it’s been 103 years, now, does it?), Nosferatu sticks closely to the main beats of Stoker’s Dracula, but with a German accent. Despite its deep debt to German Expressionism, Eggers’ vampire tale isn’t quite as beholden to the stark design and visual contortions that style is known for as his 2019 movie The Lighthouse was, but its influence is still unmistakable, particularly in its focus on the madness Bill Skarsgård’s vampire stirs up within everybody he encounters. It’s the goriest Nosferatu yet, and Skarsgård’s shambling, decaying husk of a man is genuinely repellant; the sound of his labored breathing and slow, deep blood-guzzling stuck in my head long after the movie was over. Lily-Rose Depp is the movie’s heart and soul as the target of Count Orlok’s passions and the only person who can end his terror. It’s another lush, deeply observed period recreation from Eggers, who absolutely has the visual side of storytelling down pat, sometimes at the expense of his movies’ emotional richness. That’s not a problem with Nosferatu, though, which is his most broadly pleasing work since The Witch. It’s as glorious as you’d expect in 4K and Dolby Atmos, although the extra four minutes added in this “extended cut” aren’t even noticeable. (I literally have no idea what’s different from the theatrical version I watched less than a month ago.) Whether you’re an Eggers fan returning for another viewing or a first-timer, this is how you need to watch Nosferatu.
Nosferatu: Extended Cut Original Release: 2024 Director: Robert Eggers Format: 4K UHD + Blu-ray Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Release Date: Feb. 18, 2025
The Keep
Michael Mann’s troubled second feature is a big case of “what could have been.” A critical and commercial failure in 1983, it developed a cult following, and it’s easy to see why: it’s an amazing-looking film, with brilliant lighting, copious amounts of fog, and bleak, imposing sets. The core concept is strong: a detachment of Nazis is tasked with garrisoning a remote pass in a small Romanian village in 1941, and wind up awakening an ancient supernatural evil. And the cast is sharp, with Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellen, Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Gabriel Byrne, and Robert Prosky all making an impression despite the movie’s many other issues. Hobbled by a difficult production and the unexpected death of its special effects lead, and then subject to excessive, careless editing from Paramount, the 90-minute version of The Keep released in theaters—and available on this new 4K edition—is a mess of a movie, lacking connective tissue and character development, and with large chunks of the story seemingly cut out at random. Mann’s original three-and-a-half hour edit has never been released and much of that footage is considered lost today, meaning this is probably all The Keep we’ll ever get to see. It’s a shame; Mann’s eye for visuals and Tangerine Dream’s kosmische score make this a narcotized, dreamlike mood piece that still transfixes despite its narrative incoherence. The new 4K edition presents the film in all its aesthetic glory, but it’s still hard to really appreciate a movie that feels so unfinished. Collectors and huge fans will be ecstatic to have a high-quality 4K edition of this rarity, but The Keep is one for the serious heads only.
The Keep Original Release: 1983 Director: Michael Mann Format: 4K UHD + Blu-ray Label: Vinegar Syndrome Release Date: Jan. 28, 2025
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
I don’t want to be that guy who makes everything about Trump, but watching Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God during Trump’s few few chaotic weeks back in office make the comparison unavoidable. An insane egomaniac with terrible hair self-destructively leading a group of followers too afraid to stand up to him in a mission that makes no fucking sense, all in hopes of adding to his own personal wealth and glory? Hell, Klaus Kinski’s Aguirre is even a weird creep about his own daughter, just like you-know-who. There’s a lot more to Herzog’s movie than just the mundane tale of followers doing whatever their cult-like leader tells them to, of course, and Kinski imbues his ambitious conquistador with a depth and intensity that Trump could never match. Aguirre isn’t a specific political allegory but a universal story about obsession, ambition, and the depths of cruelty they can drive us to, and Trump is just one of many different modern retellings currently happening around the world. And yeah, it looks great in 4K. Like, obviously.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God Original Release: 1972 Director: Werner Herzog Format: 4K UHD + Blu-ray Label: Shout Factory Release Date: Dec. 3, 2024
Notable Upcoming 4K Releases
Feb. 25, 2025 Amadeus, 1984, Warner Bros. Body Parts, 1991, Kino Lorber Cronos, 1993, Criterion Cruising, 1980, Arrow Deranged, 1974, Vinegar Syndrome Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift, 1990, Kino Lorber My Girl, 1991, Sony Performance, 1970, Criterion Thieves Like Us, 1974, Cinematographe Virtuosity, 1995, Vinegar Syndrome
March 4, 2025 Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, 2025, Lionsgate Endless Night / Picture Mommy Dead, 1966/1972, Kino Lorber Gladiator II, 2024, Paramount Kraven the Hunter, 2024, Sony Paddington 2, 2017, Warner Bros. Red One, 2024, Warner Bros. The Wages of Fear, 1953, Criterion
March 11, 2025 Daylight, 1996, Kino Lorber Thief, 1981, Criterion Trick or Treat, 1986, Synapse Films Weird Science, 1985, Arrow
March 18, 2025 Deep Blue Sea, 1999, Arrow Forbidden World, 1982, Shout Factory The General’s Daughter, 1999, Kino Lorber Godzilla vs. Biollante, 1989, Criterion Harlequin, 1980, Powerhouse Films Thirst, 1979, Powerhouse Films Tommy, 1975, Shout Factory Wolf Man, 2025, Universal Studios
March 25, 2025 Antiviral, 2012, Severin Babygirl, 2024, A24 Black Sheep, 1996, Kino Lorber Bring It On, 2000, Shout Factory The Brutalist, 2024, A24 Choose Me, 1981, Criterion Delicatessen, 1991, Severin Desperado, 1995, Arrow Don’t Torture a Duckling, 1972, Arrow Hookers on Davie, 1984, Canadian International Pictures Night Moves, 1975, Criterion Night of the Creeps, 1986, Shout Factory The Possession of Joel Delaney, 1972, Vinegar Syndrome Suddenly in the Dark, 1981, Terror Vision Venom, 1981, Blue Underground
Senior editor Garrett Martin writes about videogames, TV, travel, theme parks, wrestling, music, and more. You can also find him on Blue Sky.
