There are plenty of reasons to have DVDs in today’s world. You might not be a fan of streaming anymore, and I don’t blame you for that. It’s no fun to track down your favorite shows and movies across a variety of services if you don’t have to. I got into physical media more partly for this reason. I remember snagging old Boy Meets World DVDs from Barnes and Noble, and I loved having a show I could watch without having to pay for a service.
Eventually, I upgraded to Blu-ray, and then I finally settled on 4K Blu-ray. 4K UHD is currently the highest quality format available today, and it’s tough to imagine going back to DVDs. DVDs definitely have their place in the market, mainly in terms of affordability, but there are certainly some movies that just don’t cut it anymore on DVD. We’re talking about a format that’s several decades old now, and while it was fine watching something at 480p on those small CRT TVs, I don’t think it cuts it anymore on a large 4K TV.
With that said, a lot of things are serviceable on DVD, but when it comes to those big spectacles at home, there’s no way I’d want to watch that on a DVD. Once you see the light, I imagine you’ll be the same. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about.
The Dune movies aren’t made for DVD
These shine in 4K UHD
You’ll find that a lot of modern movies just feel right on 4K UHD Blu-ray instead of DVD. Dune Part One and Part Two both look great in 4K, and that’s thanks the to high resolution Arri Alexa cameras they were filmed on. It might be shocking to know Denis Villeneuve filmed these movies digitally, but that’s the case. These are some of the best-looking movies around on the 4K UHD format, and it’s a disservice to watch them on a DVD.
What’s nice about these two Dune movies is that they are frequently on sale, so you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to upgrade to them. I paid $11 each for both copies of mine, albeit I waited until they frequently hit their sale price. There’s nothing wrong with doing this for movies to save money, and remember, you don’t need to pick up everything right as it comes out. There are some exceptions to this, like when there’s a limited edition steelbook, but that’s an outlier and not the norm.
Most Christopher Nolan movies, but especially Oppenheimer
Nolan has so many good movies, and Oppenheimer might be my favorite of the bunch, but it’s hard to choose. The thing that sets most of his movies apart from their DVD counterparts are the IMAX enhanced scenes. His Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray releases include these on the disc, so you’re always getting the best at-home experience that you can. The DVDs don’t have that, likely due to the small disc size, so you’re not only watching at a lower resolution, but you’re also getting a lesser experience since you don’t get all of the available screen space.
If I have the means to, I like to watch things in the best format available. For Nolan movies, that’s always 4K UHD, and I can’t fathom having to watch a recent release like Oppenheimer on DVD. I know people do it, but you’re leaving quite a bit on the table if you go this route.
Top Gun: Maverick begs for a 4K disc
Not only for the visuals
Top Gun: Maverick is a legacy sequel to a movie that I have on VHS, so I understand the nostalgic draw to a lesser quality format. I picked up Top Gun 2-pack that came with the original as well as its sequel, and since doing so, I haven’t looked back. Like Oppenheimer, Maverick has IMAX enhanced scenes included with the 4K disc that you won’t find on the DVD. That’s reason enough to grab the 4K, but I’d argue the audio is more important.
Something you see with many 4K Blu-ray discs is a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. I think that’s an excellent selling point of the format, but some movies shine more than others with Atmos, and Maverick is one of them. A movie like this has many overhead sound effects, and if you have a way of listening to Atmos, you should grab the Top Gun: Maverick 4K discs if you can. It’s one of my favorite movies to come back to for the sound alone. The original is no slouch with its Atmos soundtrack, but I’d give the edge to Maverick.
Lawrence of Arabia has a stellar 4K upgrade
Old movies look great in the format
Lawrence of Arabia is a classic that might have some parts of it that aged poorly — Alec Guiness playing an Arabian prince — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an absolutely phenomenal 4K upgrade. I love seeing older movies come to the format, especially ones shot on film, because those are the ones that benefit from a 4K upgrade the most. If a movie is shot on digital, it’s pretty much locked to that resolution with the only option being to upscale. Film reels don’t have that limitation, and it’s what allows Lawrence to look as good as it does today.
I was lucky enough to snag the rare 4K steelbook before the movie received a widespread 4K release, and I’d say this is one of the best discs in my collection. The movie is printed across two different discs, and it looks great. If you’re a fan of this movie, this is definitely the best way to watch it.
