By Drew Dietsch
| Published
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is firmly entrenched in the annals of cult film history. The lavish production became beloved by cineastes over the years, even if its initial success was less than desired upon release. Recently, a new 4K restoration of the film was released along with a physical 4K Blu-ray home video.
And that sucker has sold out left and right. The demand for the Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is off the charts with the resale market charging as much as double the retail price.
Why the incredible desire for this movie besides its perceived quality? Because physical media is making the comeback anyone with a brain always knew it would.
Streaming Is A Failure If You Love Film
When the streaming wars really kicked off, it seemed like consumers and film fanatics like myself would stand to benefit the most. We would have endless libraries of movies and television shows at our fingertips, and these companies would see the value in maintaining robust libraries of movies.
The truth of today is that most streaming services don’t see the value in retaining a gigantic library of movies. Instead, they want to keep generating new exclusive content and selling off their rich libraries to the highest bidder. The perceived worth of a ton of movies from multiple decades is extremely low in the streaming marketplace, and that makes those of us who love movies and want to discover more of them left out in the cold.
Case in point: as of this writing, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is not available to stream on any available service. Maybe now you’re starting to see the appeal of returning to physical media and why this movie sold out so quickly.
Preservation Is Proliferation
Crafting a physical home video of release for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World has revealed that people are hungry to own their media again. And this isn’t just a phalanx of fogies making sure they can have all their favorite movies with them in their sarcophagus. It’s younger consumers that are showing up to purchase physical media in a welcome surprise.
By preserving these movies or any art on physical media, it allows for that art to proliferate throughout culture in a healthier way. When movies are nothing but data in an invisible stream, they lose their cultural power. They are technically more able to spread throughout civilization, but they get lost among all the other ones and zeroes out there.
Streaming isn’t going anywhere but it’s mutating into a familiar enough form that consumers are starting to look elsewhere. You can’t depend on Netflix to always have your favorite movie on hand anymore. So, it’s time to start investing in the movies you care about by purchasing them on disc again. As someone who has bought Jaws on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Blu-ray, I will always champion the physical ownership of the art you hold dear. Too bad if that art happens to be Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, though. You’re gonna have to go huntin’ for a deal.
