A guide to Boutique Blu-rays: The champions of physical media
For over a year, streaming services like Max, Disney Plus, Netflix, and Paramount Plus have unceremoniously removed films and television shows from their library, leaving many of them as lost media. In this era of fleeting media availability, physical media is paramount to the preservation of millions of people’s hard work and creativity. The individuals at the forefront of this effort are those behind Boutique Blu-ray companies.
These companies take films that don’t already have a high-quality release and distribute what many would consider the definitive edition of that particular film or television series, with high-quality media scans and numerous add-ons to the film itself. In addition, sometimes, a studio’s home video definition will lease the distribution rights to a Boutique Blu-ray company, meaning they’ll have all rights to their entire catalog. There are numerous Boutique Blu-ray companies, each focusing on a different film niche, and this piece will introduce you to the big two: The Criterion Collection and Arrow Video.
The Criterion Collection is debatably the most popular of all the Boutique Blu-ray companies. Criterion was founded in 1984 and released Laserdisc editions of films before eventually moving to DVD Format in the late 1990s, then to Blu-Ray in 2008, and now to 4K Ultra-High Definition beginning in 2021. Each film in the DVD-4K UHD era is within what is considered the collection today, each with a unique spine number from 1 to 1,205—as of today. There is only one criterion (so to speak) for a film to be released by the Criterion Collection: it must be an “important” film, which essentially means that the film has some impact or importance in the cinema landscape.
The releases from the Criterion Collection are relatively expensive for a home media version of the film, with one film typically costing about $40. This is why it is important to take advantage of the many sales Criterion holds. There are two main types of sales for Criterion films: one is the Barnes and Noble sale, which sells Criterions with a 50% discount twice yearly throughout July and November. The second kind is the 50% off flash sale on Criterion’s website, which happens twice a year for only 24 hours, in October and March or February, depending on the year; the dates are announced only hours before the sales begin. If you couldn’t tell by the scarcity of sales like these, the Criterion Collection stands for the importance of the most creative and essential films in the cinema landscape that don’t already have high-quality releases, leading many to flock to these chances at more affordable pricing.
Next, Arrow Video, a distributor that aims to release more cult classic films, leaning into the action, science fiction, and horror genres, with some exceptions. Established in 1991, Arrow Video is based in the United Kingdom and will occasionally distribute films that Criterion does not have the localized distribution rights to. For example, in the United States, Criterion has released David Cronenberg’s film Naked Lunch. However, that film is unavailable in the UK since Criterion only holds US distribution rights. So, Arrow picked up the UK distribution rights and released Naked Lunch as a UK exclusive.
Being a UK-based company, Arrow is mostly focused on distributing its films to that market. Even so, they have many films available for the US market, such as An American Werewolf In London (1981), RoboCop (1987), Re-Animator (1985), and Django (1966). Arrow tends to release box sets with a specific sub-genre or feeling. For example, the Giallo Essentials box set includes three lesser-known but still important films to the Italian horror film known as the Giallo. Arrow supports the belief that cult films are much more than just a niche genre—they are films that most people don’t know exist and yet have merit in their own ways.
Boutique Blu-rays aim to work very closely with the creatives behind any film they distribute if able, with many of their releases labeled as a “Director-Approved Special Edition[s].” This usually means that the film’s director was present and involved in the scanning and restoration of the film. Some directors with deep ties to Boutique Blu-rays include David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Wes Anderson, Brian De Palma, Dario Argento, Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, and Martin Scorsese.
There are many reasons why Boutique Blu-ray releases are considered the definitive editions of a certain film due to their numerous supplements, which are perks within themselves. Your average Boutique distribution will include one or more commentary tracks—with a film historian, a critic, or people who worked on the film—behind-the-scenes content, documentaries related to the film, video essays, print essays, or interviews with cast and crew. In an era where any media can be lost forever, physical media is more important than ever. That said, there is no better place to ensure films can be studied, enjoyed, and viewed by film lovers than Boutique Blu-rays!