Indie and Proud: The Art of Boutique Blu-ray Releases
How Passionate Companies Revive Forgotten Films and Outshine Major Studios
by Ryan Verrill
Greetings to the Mighty Chroma audience! My name is Ryan Verrill and I am a film fan just like you. One of my passions is seeing an indie succeed. This passion started in the music industry, where I volunteered for radio stations and hosted shows in my living room, and is now manifesting in me shining a light on boutique Blu-ray companies that are finding success in an industry that has been struggling for years
Companies like Deaf Crocodile, Powerhouse Indicator, Umbrella Entertainment, Mondo Macabro, and Severin Films are able to consistently release the highest quality packages of films ranging from forgotten or lost media to big name studio fare. Even a company like Terror Vision has been able to release two films in Walmarts across the United States - something that most of these boutique Blu-ray companies only dream of doing.
I love these companies for a myriad of reasons: they display an utmost amount of respect towards these films that they release, they fill their discs with contextual extras that provide education surrounding these films and the times they are from. They are genuinely interested in sharing their love of cinema with other physical media fans, and they are providing a much more stellar product than we can count on getting from the major studios.
That is where I will be spending much of my time discussing items for this column - the disparity in releases between big studio and boutique Blu-ray label physical media: The difference between Paramount, Universal, and Disney measured against Vinegar Syndrome, Altered Innocence, and Arrow Video.
Reviving Barbarella with Arrow Video
How a Boutique Label Transformed a Classic into a Must-Have Blu-ray Experience
For example, take a look at the Mighty Chroma review for Arrow Video’s Barbarella. This release is one that I was extremely excited to receive. The video looks great. The audio is good. But the disc truly shines in the bonus features.
Without Arrow Video putting love and attention into Barbarella, we would be stuck with a studio HD restoration and no special features besides a trailer. Now you have hours upon hours of contextual bonus features, allowing you to not only get more value for your money but also appreciate the majesty that is Barbarella.
For example, take a look at the Mighty Chroma review for Arrow Video’s Barbarella. This release is one that I was extremely excited to receive. The video looks great. The audio is good. But the disc truly shines in the bonus features.
Without Arrow Video putting love and attention into Barbarella, we would be stuck with a studio HD restoration and no special features besides a trailer. Now you have hours upon hours of contextual bonus features, allowing you to not only get more value for your money but also appreciate the majesty that is Barbarella.
Before I come back to write for Mighty Chroma, genuinely take a good ten minutes to hold a studio release in one hand and a boutique release in the other. Feel the difference in product quality. Look at the extras and take note of who provides not only more, but higher quality. Pay close attention to the art and how much thought went into unifying the package as a whole.
As time goes on, the studios will see less and less value in releasing items in physical media, but that is already showing in the products they release in 2024. Imagine how different the studio physical media landscape may look in just 1-3 years.
Keep physical media alive.
My name is Ryan Verrill and I am a film fan just like you. My love for film and physical media has been intertwined since I was watching VHS tapes of my parents’ favorite movies. Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to start a YouTube channel dedicated to educating others on physical media. I had seen many other channels giving out grossly misleading information and I felt there was a hole in the market that someone willing to speak with integrity and intelligence could fill. Now that it is nearly four years later, my channel has led to me meeting some of my heroes, starting my own production company, publishing a magazine, and contributing to many physical media releases myself.
This desire for accurate information is also what led me to Mighty Chroma. A shared passion for aggregated accurate information about physical media means that Mighty Chroma and I are perfectly fated for each other!