Phoenix DVD Blog

Streaming may have made movies easier to access, but convenience is not the same as ownership. A film can appear on a streaming platform one month and disappear the next. Different versions may be offered, extras are often missing and the picture or sound quality can depend on your internet connection and the service you are using. When I buy a DVD, Blu-ray or 4K disc, I know the film is there whenever I want to watch it. That does not mean I buy everything. Space is limited, prices have increased and there is little point filling shelves with films I am unlikely to watch again. Collecting physical media has gradually become less about owning as much as possible and more about deciding which films genuinely deserve a permanent place in my collection. This hub brings together my thoughts on collecting, upgrading, choosing formats and deciding which films are worth owning. For the practical side of collecting — including values, selling old discs and buying second-hand — see Buying and S...

The Resident Evil films are a strange franchise for me because, while I own and have watched the complete series, there is really only one film that has always stood out clearly in my memory. The first one. Released in 2002, Resident Evil felt like a proper video game brought to life. It had confined spaces, locked doors, underground laboratories, strange creatures appearing from nowhere and the constant feeling that something was waiting around the next corner to kill you. You could almost imagine holding the controller while watching it. The films that followed gradually moved further away from that feeling and became bigger, louder and much more action-orientated, but Milla Jovovich remained the constant throughout the entire series. She was very well cast as Alice and, whatever you think of the direction the franchise eventually took, it is difficult to imagine these films without her. If you enjoy darker franchises built around monsters, survival, ruined worlds and characters wh...

Anyone who regularly buys DVDs or Blu-rays online will eventually come across terms such as Region 1, Region 2, Region A, Region B or Region Free . For a casual buyer, these labels are easy to overlook. A disc looks like any other disc, the price seems reasonable and the film or television series is exactly what you were searching for. Then it arrives and your player refuses to play it. Amazon UK comment sections are full of US and Canadian buyers complaining that the disc arrived but wouldn't work. Did they not check the region coding before ordering? As a collector based in Ireland, I am normally looking for Region 2 DVDs and Region B Blu-rays . Whenever I consider buying a disc from Amazon, eBay or an overseas retailer, checking the region code is one of the first things I have to do. This is especially important when an attractive American box set appears at a good price. The release might look perfect, include better packaging or contain extras unavailable here, but none of t...

Some movie franchises begin with a huge budget, an established name and plans for several sequels. Riddick did almost the opposite. It began with a relatively small science-fiction horror film built around a hostile planet, a group of survivors and something extremely dangerous waiting for the darkness. That film was Pitch Black , and for me it remains one of the most distinctive science-fiction movies of its era.

Almost every movie collection reaches a point where difficult decisions need to be made. Shelves fill up. Tastes change. Some films have not been watched in years, while others have been replaced by better Blu-ray or 4K editions. That can lead collectors to wonder whether it is time to sell. The problem is that DVDs and Blu-rays rarely have the straightforward value people expect. A large collection may have taken years and a considerable amount of money to build, but that does not mean another buyer will pay anything close to the original cost. Some discs are valuable. Many are not. Selling can still make sense, but it needs to be approached realistically. It is also worth remembering that rebuilding a collection later may cost far more than the amount received for selling it today. This hub brings together my thoughts on valuing, selling and buying second-hand physical media from the viewpoint of someone who still believes a good movie collection is worth keeping. For the wider colle...

Some films simply feel bigger than others. I do not mean bigger budgets, longer running times or more computer-generated armies filling the screen. A true epic needs scale, sweeping landscapes, powerful music, historical conflict and a central character caught between different people, loyalties or causes. The best epics lift me before the story has even fully begun. Their musical scores alone can create a swell of emotion in my chest that is difficult to describe. Add an excellent surround-sound system and suddenly the entire house knows that something important is happening on screen. These are not films I watch once and forget. Every few months, I feel the need to put one of them on again, especially now, when Hollywood seems to be producing fewer and fewer films that feel genuinely worth watching. This is only one side of my film collection. For more recommendations built around different genres, occasions and moods, visit Movie Picks for Every Mood – 5-Film Lists from a Lifelong C...