For some of us, the digital age can be a total drag. I might be a simple fellow, but clicking a button to buy your latest favorite movie just isn’t the same as the small adventure of heading to your local Walmart, Target, or Best Buy to pick up a Blu-ray, bring it home, peel off the plastic seal, and smell the wondrous new-plastic smell of a fresh disc inside. Just over a decade ago, Blu-rays lined more store shelves than they do today. As a result, stores would often strike packaging deals with distributors to lure movie collectors through their front doors. Best Buy would offer limited steelbook editions, while Walmart might offer potential customers a movie bundled with a Funko Pop, lithograph art, or an exclusive slipcover.
Buying a Blu-ray was more than just acquiring a new movie. It was also a piece of memorabilia. Tangibly, the packages would excite collectors and hardened enthusiasts. They offer buyers something that they can’t get from just hitting “play” on Netflix or Prime Video. And movies didn’t have to be relegated to the shelf and hidden away. If you get creative, these collected editions could shape your movie space. Limited figures or bundled trinkets that evoke some element of the film could decorate your entertainment center. Lithographs could be framed or displayed. You can even hang Steelbooks on walls as art using magnetic strips. However, there is one particular Blu-ray edition that I truly miss from this creative era in promotion and collectors’ packaging of new release films: the book-style Blu-ray.
The best Blu-rays were miniature books
They were a true enthusiast’s delight
No, I’m not talking about steelbooks. I’m referring to actual books. The Blu-ray cases would open with pages inside along with the discs for your movie. Anything could populate these pages. Some of the best book editions came with behind-the-scenes stills or concept artwork. Others would include actual text about the making of the film and offer insight from some of the film’s creators. There were book editions that would actually include a comic or brief storybook within these pages. The fun of book editions was opening up the film and flipping through its content to see what juicy tidbits you could find.
Some of you Disney fanatics may remember that just a decade ago, the media giant would release book editions for every one of its big animated films and re-released classics like The Lion King. The pages inside contained a brief story from the film. I collected many of these including movies like The Lion King, Aladdin, The Incredibles 2, and more. I could buy a physical movie for our family’s collection and have an actual short picture book inside to read to my then toddler-age children at bedtime. It was a delightfully simple, yet sweet concept that is no longer put into practice.
Anniversary editions were the best
Re-releases would often take advantage of this creative packaging
These book editions weren’t limited to new releases over a decade ago. Re-releases that would take advantage of anniversary milestones would often be packaged with collectors-style book editions. Sure, some might see it as a gimmick to feed on the nostalgia of millennials and older generations. But these are excellent collectibles that I’m still thrilled to have in my collection to this day. Some of these anniversary book editions included Ghostbusters I & II, The Goonies, Poltergeist, and 300 (during the movie’s 10-year anniversary). There were countless others that received this treatment, as well. And it was always fun to pop in the disc, flop down on the couch, and peruse the book as the movie began. You could even rotate your favorites as coffee table books for easy display or conversation starters.
These editions would also give the legendary directors and producers of the movie an opportunity to reminisce and contribute their memories to paper. Book editions featuring behind-the-scenes production details would often be led by a foreword from the filmmakers sharing their reflections on making the film and what it meant to them at the time. It’s a packaging concept that may seem small, simple, or gimmicky to the skeptic. But book editions could truly be seen as a meaningful piece of cinema history or memento in the right hands.
Today, steelbooks rule the day
Creative limited editions should make a return
As physical media consumption has shifted over the years, many elements of Blu-ray commerce have changed. For starters, some retailers like Best Buy have dropped the medium altogether. On the other side of the coin, however, boutique Blu-ray companies have risen to meet the demand from physical media enthusiasts. With these shifts and digital media’s more significant prominence, the collaborative efforts of distributors and retailers aren’t what they once were. The majority of special editions are relegated to steelbooks. Don’t get me wrong, steelbooks are great and pretty to look at. But they don’t offer the fandom-oriented sentiment that came with unique and interesting book editions. With any luck, book editions may return some day.
