Before we all had streaming platforms like Netflix at our instant disposal, in the late 90s, we had flat round discs for films called DVDs.
Side note, while you might think that DVD stands for digital video disc, it actually stands for Digital Versatile Disk.
Blockbuster shops were everywhere and the go-to place to rent a movie on a Friday night. Then came LoveFilm which was introduced by Amazon, a home delivery service for movie rentals.
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But, the best part about DVDs was the extras you'd get like the interactive main menu (who can forget Shrek 2's menu?), bloopers. behind the scenes and much more. You got a heck of a lot more than just the movie!
The first ever DVD launched in Japan in November 1996, but strangely enough, it was only intended for storing and watching music videos.
Four movies were then released in Japan on 20 December that year: Point of No Return (known as The Assassin outside the US) (1993), Blade Runner (1982), Eraser (1996) and The Fugitive (1993).
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When DVDs launched in the US three months later, in 1997, 32 titles were available on the first day of launch.
Classics like Batman, Casablanca, GoodFellas, Gone with the Wind, Rocky, The Bodyguard, The Exorcist, and Bonnie and Clyde were among them.
Other titles included:
JFK: Special Edition Director’s Cut
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Lethal Weapon
The Mask
Midnight Cowboy
Mortal Kombat
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The Road Warrior
Seven
Singin’ in the Rain
Space Jam
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Species
A Streetcar Named Desire: The Director’s Cut
A Time to Kill
Twister
Unforgiven
Woodstock: The Director’s Cut
However, with streaming being the most common way to watch movies now, DVDs are becoming more obsolete as time goes on.
But, at the same time, this has led to certain physical movie discs increasing in value, and die-hard fans are willing to pay good money for specific copies.
It's similar to retro gaming fans collecting PS1 or Dreamcast games - nostalgia is one heck of a drug!
Some people have even made a decent side income out of selling secondhand DVDs.
One Reddit user shared how they made a profit on eBay, selling a total of 876 items which totalled a profit of £3136. That was all within the space of a year, between 2021 and 2022.
Fun fact: Did you know that the first ever gaming console able to play DVDs was Sony's PlayStation 2?