10 Surprisingly Hard to Find Movies: Keep Your DVDs of These Gems

Recently, I wrote an article about how Ron Howard's Cocoon was hard to find in any format. It came out on DVD many years ago but went out of print and has never been issued on Blu-ray. You also can't find it digitally on any platform. This is a perfect example of why you should always hang on to your physical media, as I'm lucky enough to own the now out-of-print DVD of that movie, and while it's far from an ideal copy, it's something.
But that got me thinking. What other movies are hard to find? I opened up the forum on Twitter, and I was shocked by how many prominent films aren't available digitally and have gone out of print on disc, making them all the more precious for collectors. At the same time, there are some happy endings, such as Martin Campbell's No Escape, which got a beautiful Blu-ray recently; too many of these films are caught up in legal limbo (or studio antipathy).
Here are 10 and make sure to let us know in the comments which ones we missed!
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#StrangeDays #Cocoon #physicalmedia

[@StoneyBrownTV]

Strange Days is such an underrated movie! The premise is something I'm sure would change our entire world. I'll be looking for it now. 😃

[@DrewTrox]

Strange Days is amazing, and has such a great high concept.

[@StoneyBrownTV]

@@DrewTrox there's so much that could be experienced for people that wouldn't otherwise get to. Endless possibilities

[@maujo2009]

Strange Days is what I refer to as a movie straight out of the Black Mirror universe together with perhaps “Her” and some other titles that follow the same tech horror that made Black Mirror such a great show.

[@DrewTrox]

@@maujo2009 1995 was a good year for that. Strange Days, Virtuosity, Johnny Mnemonic, and Ghost in the Shell! I've got a new movie marathon to watch.

[@davidm4566]

We've invented every flavor of chewing gum. What's left to do?

[@jules-yi8rn]

Kevin Smith's 'Dogma' disappeared after it's initial release. Unless you bought a copy around that time, it's become impossible to find due to Weinstein owning the rights and refusing to sell them and that's a shame - I'm glad I got my copy when I did, but I'd like to see it restored. Such a great movie!

[@sebastianshaw4031]

VHS

[@BishopWalters12]

I found a used DVD on Thiftbooks over the summer.

[@izi5150]

I got mine

[@paralytaatylarap9715]

Maybe in America, but not in Europe. Starting price on ebay: 1€

[@stevef68]

It's available on KZbin now. I bought my DVD copy from the Asia Pacific area and just changed all the settings to American English in the DVD settings.

[@llongone2]

It's insane that Diane Keaton was in "Goodbar" and "Annie Hall" in the same year. Completely different characters/stories and she could have won the Academy Award for EITHER role.

[@StuWright]

annie hall is great, but I hav`nt seen goodbar , i will watch it later tonight !

[@grannyweatherwax8005]

@@StuWrightWell he spoiled the ending

[@jeremiahalexander5513]

Strange Days was definitely an interesting noirish thriller with a cool backdrop of chaos for the protagonists to navigate and an even cooler soundtrack. Juliet Lewis was so cool! And Angela Bassett kicked ass. But I think the reason for Strange Days not being super loved was the bizarre, frightening and brutal nature of the crimes that were being investigated. I actually had it on DVD but was only able to watch it once.

[@Random_Blip]

#1 Cocoon (1985) #2 Strange Days (1995) #3 Showtime (2002) #4 Crossroads (2002) #5 Dawn of the Dead (1978) #6 Looking for Mr Goodbar (1977) #7 Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) #8 The Blood of Heroes (1989) #9 John Woo's Hong Kong Films #10 The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

[@Dan_d00d]

the older heartbreak kid movie ;) (not ben stiller version)

[@Random_Blip]

@@Dan_d00d Updated. Cheers 👍

[@SonnyGTA]

Is this for people that don’t know how to push play and watch the video?

[@Random_Blip]

@@SonnyGTA If you're one of those people then yes.

[@samanthab1923]

I was just thinking of Blood of Hero’s. Knew someone that stayed in the same hotel with Rutger in Australia when he was shooting this ⭐️

[@FrederickZabala3000]

Strange Days is one of the most underrated Sci Fi of the 90s alongside Dark City, Event Horizons, Gattaca, Existenz, Thirteenth Floor, etc

[@lee_rock_films]

All of these deserve a criterion release

[@scottmune4484]

I love all of those movies you mentioned, came out in my teenage years and they all hold a special place for me. ExistenZ especially just blew me away.

[@bayfactor9384]

Thirteenth floor is the second most expensive bkuray i bought

[@toro5280]

Strange days is one of my favorite movies. The concept, the dialogues, the production design, the cast and the acting! Lenny bringing his legless buddy at the club a recording of a guy jogging at the beach is heartbreaking. Many more, sure, but this is the most memorable.

[@jjpenney7354]

Lucky enough to have both Strange Days and Dark City on DVD. Both so under rated

[@Roddrummer]

THANK YOU for putting 'Strange Days' in your list, it is magnificent, one of my favourite movies of all time. I watch it every 12-18 months and it blows my mind (as it does to people in the movie) every single time. I coinsider it the most underrated movie EVER. (oh, and I have it on DVD).

[@johng6565]

Ken Russell's The Devils comes to mind first. Awesome film if you've never seen it, with great performances by Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. Also, Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures and Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark are hard to find unless you're willing to pay $40-$50 plus for a Blu-ray. Which you should because both of those movies are fantastic.

[@stratobungle]

I loved Near Dark - stars 2 of my favorite actors, Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein - both showed up multiple times in hugely popular films of the era...

[@johng6565]

@@stratobungle Definitely. And a big reason for them being in it, and Bill Paxton, was because Bigelow was dating James Cameron at the time. You can actually see a marquee showing Aliens in the background of a scene in Near Dark

[@JHazard1000]

@@johng6565 Near Dark is a amazing Vampire Movie. Only thing that kept it from making a ton of money it came out the same time The Lost Boys did.

[@phil051991]

Sadly enough, I found The Devils on a prominent porno streaming site, lol. Interestingly enough, it looked great and was, as far as I know, completely uncut.

[@seanaguilar2057]

Heavenly Creatures was great and weird. It used to come on cable all the time when I was a teen. I remember that and The Dirty Girl (about a German girl who looks into her town's past, nothing sexual), making me think I'd get in trouble if my parents saw the title and nothing else.

[@MikinessAnalog]

I can't understand how "Strange Days" didn't go over better than it did. Phenomenal film.

[@BishopWalters12]

Bad marketing with really bad trailers but the movie is awesome.

[@LordRae]

As someone who saw it in the theaters it came out so close to the time frame it was depicting it made it hard to imagine how technology would change much in just a few years. But we all enjoyed it from the group that went and saw it. If the time gap was bigger it wouldn't have been as hard a sell. But I'm glad I have it on dvd and watch it every few years just to fall in love with Juliette Lewis again.

[@MikinessAnalog]

@@LordRae that pesky fourth dimension

[@MrRobarino]

Look up the other movies that were in Theaters around the same time Strange Days was released. It was up against some significantly better known and better marketed movies that were still playing in theaters; include Se7en, Now and Then, Dangerous Minds, To Wong Foo, Batman Forever, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Pocahontas. Heck, even Showgirls was doing better in the Theaters just because of its negative notoriety.

[@coreyg3228]

It was probably ahead of it's time. I bet it would go over really well if made today.

[@TheRocco96]

Ruthles People. That dark comedy with Danny De Vito, Bette Midler, Judge Reynhold and Helen Slater. Down and out in Beverly Hills. Richard Dreyfuss and Nick Nolte.

[@claudiamiller7730]

Got it!💕

[@brandonpage7087]

@TheRocco96, i remember seeing Ruthless People, on vhs, at our local video rental store, all the time, as a kid.

[@martinmoore7279]

Year of the dragon, remember watching this on DVD years ago. Such a great movie

[@filmpositive6601]

Watcher in the Woods is another legitimately creepy live-action Disney horror film from the 80's that I have wanted to own for years. It only ever received one DVD release in the mid 2000's. I don't have Disney + (or any streaming services), but I would assume it is also not available on the service just like Something Wicked This Way Comes, of which I do own the DVD and will never sell.

[@fearlessfreep]

Watcher in the Woods has a strange story behind the ending. Go look it up.

[@ClockworkWyrm]

About 15 years ago we found a 2 pack of Watcher in the Woods (with the unedited ending) and Something Wicked This Way Comes and I count ourselves blessed for having bought them. Now I just need a copy of Lady in White and the Devil and Max Devlin.

[@peterd788]

As I pointed out in your Cocoon video rights issues can be extraordinarily complex for media not conceived at the time of the original release. I used to work for Sony and sometimes it's impossible to re-release a film while meeting a budget that fits in with the likely revenue. Much of it is down to music clearance but in other cases it's down to rights retention where the originator never sold the rights beyond theatrical release. In non-English markets some voice actors never signed away their voice performance for new media and the cost of recasting is too much. In other cases the distribution rights belong to companies that no longer exist but there was no reversionary clause so companies are afraid to release in case there is legal action if a release is successful. In other cases actors, writers or directors retain reserved rights. It's a minefield.

[@DanielS2001]

Rights issue is definitely a pain in the ass when it comes to films. To go along with your "media not conceived at the time" mention, another film I can think of is the movie Rad (1986). At the time it was released, VHS and then shortly Laserdisc were the only media formats that were out, to which Rad was released onto. However, when it came to DVD release, there was none. It was held up mostly due to rights issues, as they never took into account DVD and Blu-Ray coming to be, so for years, the only way to have a physical release on a modern format was a bootleg DVD made using a rip of the Laserdisc. Eventually, it found it's way onto streaming for a couple of years before it finally got a Blu-Ray. Mill Creek Entertainment also released a Blu-Ray steelbook of the movie in March 2021 and serves as #46 Mondo X steelbook collaboration with some totally rad artwork. And, there is currently a 4K Blu-Ray soon to be released of it also.

[@my3dviews]

It is like the TV series WKRP: In Cincinnati. The rights for much of the real music played on the show ran out in a few years, so they couldn't even show it in re-runs on TV. At least until they edited out the music or replaced it with soundalike songs. I recall an episode with a Pink Floyd song and heard that it would have cost them way to much to get the rights to put it on DVD. They did have a DVD release, but with a fair bit of the original music edited out.

[@g.sferrazza10-13]

Yeah I still remember that was the reason Shout Cancelled the Werewolf TV series on DVD.

[@FireMrshlBill]

I hope they are working this out in modern contracts and license agreements. Too many movies and video games get stuck in limbo because of this lack of foresight. It is frustrating. They need to work on perpetuity licensing agreements with built in pay structures for however the current rights holder is. If that cannot be determined, then it gets set in an account until it is found or a reasonable time passes. If you don’t uphold your rights and let them lapse between owners to the point that many years pass, your loss. Don’t want to sign off on your song being in this movie from this point on? Your song isn’t in the movie to begin with. Same with actors. You are giving this performance in this movie, no matter the medium or restoration/upscale, from this point forward, or find another movie. Same with video games.

[@hugthemonkey]

Thank you for your easily digestible explanation. I’m not a true movie nerd so I’ve often wondered how the boilerplate “legal rights” company line works. Cheers Mate!

[@seanbrazell7095]

That Strange Days soundtrack will blow your mind. Juliette Lewis turns out to be an AMAZING rock singer. The whole finale and its score is powerfull.

[@ca9968]

Her band, Juliet & The Licks have put out some great music...

[@diredier]

I can hardly wait... ;) amazing soundtrack overall, so many great artists

[@LennyNero2019]

Score uses Deep Forest tracks, but it's an overall excellent and eclectic mix, including Skunk Anansie, Diatribe, Tricky, and Lords of Acid!

[@JnEricsonx]

Terrific film, saw it back in 1995 in theaters and loved it.

[@Paul_1971]

@@JnEricsonx Me too

[@thedoors1388]

One recent film that has gotten lost over the years is the 1996 movie Shine. It was the movie that put Geoffrey Rush on the map, at least in the US; he won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role, and the film received a whole slew of Oscar nominations. It did receive a DVD release in the 2000s but has never been released on Blu-ray in the US, nor is it available to stream (at least on Amazon or Netflix, it could be available somewhere else). It has been released on Blu-ray in Australia, including a very, very recent release earlier this year, but Australia is in a different region than we are, Region B instead of our Region A. I have a feeling that the music rights are behind this, as while the classical compositions used in the film (Chopin, Rachmaninoff, etc.) are in the public domain, David Helfgott's performances of those works are not.

[@samanthab1923]

I feel that way about Silkwood. Where is it?

[@chrisaballo]

Kevin Smith's Dogma is one of the better known examples of this. There were a bunch of Fox movies that were licensed to Anchor Bay for blu-ray release that have all gone extinct, like Airheads, Nine Months and Folks! Sometimes they show up on Hulu to stream but they're never available for digital purchase and out of print on disc. Two others that are out of print on DVD with no blu-ray or digital to speak of are Faithful with Cher, Chazz Palminteri and Ryan O'Neal, as well as The Distinguished Gentleman with Eddie Murphy.

[@Aragorn7884]

'Strange Days' is a hidden gem 😊

[@ca9968]

Strange Days is an absolute gem, another would be "The Doom Generation"...very very odd but great piece of 90`s movie making...

[@torque8899]

I have doom generation on dvd because I loved it so much as a kid. Underrated movie, apparently it’s part of a trilogy though.

[@thelordofhellaz]

Strand Releasing just put out a bluray and 4k of The Doom Generation remasted by Gregg Araki in 4k......and Nowhere is going to be coming out soon as well :-)

[@c0t0d0s7]

I love most of Gregg Araki’s films, especially Nowhere and The Doom Generation. I have Nowhere on Laserdisc and I’m glad to hear that it will finally be coming to DVD.

[@adamwood87]

@@thelordofhellaz that's awesome! i have TDG on DVD, and Nowhere on a bootleg DVD. i will totally snatch an official copy of Nowhere.

[@chancepaladin]

the uncut 'doom generation' is finally out, on streaming at least. sounds like it made it to bluray too? sweet.

[@JohnKryten]

The Chase staring Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson, with Henry Rollins as the cop chasing them. The part where Anthony Kiedis and Flea go vigilante and try to take them out is great!

[@Belfast-Biccy]

In the UK, all but one were available on Amazon, when I checked directly after watching this, didn't even bother checking eBay

[@nonono7465]

Near Dark is pretty hard to come across these days. For the longest time Apocalypto was too, but I think that finally got re-released.

[@jeffagain7516]

Studio Canal (Euro) finally put out a Blu and it's actually really good PQ & AQ, as did Anolis (Ger) with similar results. Also, yep, Apocolypto FINALL got a NA release.

[@samanthab1923]

Love Near Dark. ❤

[@intellectic9155]

I have Strange Days on DVD actually. Got it from a second hand DVD shop. Under rated film.

[@rolmodel12.]

I used to own a second-hand electronic store, in my area (Replay Entertainment). And I thought, "that's weird" when that title came up on this list, because of that store. At any given time, I had 5-10 copies of that movie on DVD. Of course, this was the late '00s, so it goes to show: things change.

[@michaelaurban4120]

I have it too

[@toro5280]

I have it on a hard drive, but I also have it on a dvd, which I think I had to get from the UK, because here in Germany the only version was overdubbed.

[@melamineflorentine8134]

@@rolmodel12. We're in the middle of a kind of mass extinction event in the intellectual property world. What should have been a golden age of access has become sort of like the end of Fahrenheit 451 where the people gather in the forest and keep the memories of the banned & burned books alive in their heads.. in this case those who can manage pirated copies on their home servers & store their physical media become repositories for content!

[@rolmodel12.]

@melamineflorentine8134 very well said, and an apt analogy! On the one hand, it is sad. It makes me long for those days in our past. But, on the other hand, we should be grateful for what we have experienced. Kind of like the "better to love and lost, than never loved at all."

[@zombiebassman]

Freaked (1993) starring Alex Winter, Randy Quaid, Bobcat Goldthwait, Mr. T, and even Keanu Reeves in an uncredited role as Ortiz the Dog Boy. Impossible to find or stream (legally) unless you want to pay for the original DVD or vhs release. It's a hoot though. The best way to describe it is take the movie Freaks (1932) and put it in a blender with Basket Case 2, The Naked Gun, and South Park.

[@anthonyhoffmann]

As of this moment, there's 3 brand new copies on Australia's eBay. 9 sold, it says. I'm tempted.

[@stazoola3616]

I still have the 2005 2-disc Anchor Bay DVD edition of Freaked, with Criterion-level extras. Definitely a from-my-cold-dead-hands situation.

[@zombiebassman]

@anthonyhoffmann get it! If you like weird 90s immature humor it's a must see.

[@MLJ7956]

One movie that is so rare to find (at least in the US) is Disney's 'Song Of The South' (made by Walt Disney himself)...

[@waakca]

I think that's now considered racist so not likely to find it.

[@sixtee5cuda98]

A low-quality copy of this film has been available at Certain Online Sources for a while. Somewhere, someone has a better copy of this film. I hope they get around to making it available.

[@melamineflorentine8134]

Kind of sad... same with the "Our Gang" comedies or so I heard. One thing to be against racist portrayals but they ARE part of history and they were the attitudes being promoted then.. that is true of ALL content in some sense... to obliterate the memory and the other creativity in these products is wrong. The truth is the truth and there are ways to cut against the harmful stuff.. but don't wipe the history clean and leave out the actors, singers and storytellers too.

[@lilMissmAlice]

Something Wicked This Way Comes is pretty much the perfect intro to horror for kids. The book is wonderful, and I'm really glad to say I've got my DVD! (I think it's older than that copy, iirc it's in a gold box, totally different art.) Along these lines - I thought I lost my DVD of Urban Legend and spent six months swinging from pissed to sulking that it would cost $50 on eBay to replace. Lucky for me, I kept the box and found the DVD bunking with another horror movie 😅

[@gorsching]

When I saw the Disney logo I was thinking Songs of the South. Baskett won an honorary Oscar for his role. Id LOVE a restored copy ov this film, and Black Cauldron directors cut, before I die.

[@The_Lunatic_Fringe89]

I actually went through this with Strange Days recently. I wanted to watch it, but at the time, it wasn't available to stream anywhere. I had to buy an old DVD off of Amazon. Glad to know that it's now on Max.

[@JessicaDwyer]

It still breaks my heart. Thanks for the shout out Chris. At least they finally did one for Dragonslayer.

[@TheMoneyMaker05]

I can definitely respect this list. Strange Days I wanted in my collection for years. The only way I can do it is to have it on a hard drive and watch it like that and put it on a CD. I would love a Blu-Ray Version of it. Also Dogma and the series millennium is hard to find.

[@albundy774]

There is a German 20th Anniversary edition uncut blu-ray, there was also a UK blu-ray but don't bother with that as it is the cut version.

[@artred3206]

i have Strange Days in dvd, also toys, colors and more oop movies if u wanna exchange

[@necrosunderground]

I lucked out on my copy of Strange Days, found it in the dollar bin at the local used books/CD's/DVD's store. That sucker came home with me sooooooo fast. Definitely an underappreciated movie

[@lee_rock_films]

If you live in the UK there is a blu-ray version of it I have it.

[@SirReptitious]

I bought Millenium not too long after it came out on DVD. I bought it the first time I saw it on sale because I refuse to pay launch price on 99% of titles. I bought other TV series that were shitcanned, usually after only one season: Space Above And Beyond, Invasion, Surface, American Gothic, Jericho, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me. I was pissed when I found out Dead Like Me had been released in 1080p for streaming, but there was no Blu-Ray release. So I just have my DVD copy. But at least I have a copy. There was a series on the WB network called Jack & Jill that ran for two seasons before getting shitcanned. Because it used music it would cost too much to release it on disc(and I assume streaming too?). I would love to have it on Blu-Ray but would happily settle for a DVD copy....

[@Gobear1]

The Heartbreak Kid, along with the 1975 version of The Stepford Wives and Sleuth, is being held hostage by Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, who retained the rights from their investment in the defunct studio that made them. It's unlikely that we will ever see any of those films on Blu-Ray. You can also forget about ever seeing Blu-Rays of vintage drive-in flicks like I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Susan Hart, the widow of AIP co-founder James Nicolson, owns the rights to those and a few other titles, and she wants a ridiculous amount of money for them.

[@samanthab1923]

OG Stepford Wives is on YT

[@rahkuaschount]

Finally saw "Something Wicked this way Comes" and you are right it is a very good movie. Kind of eerie in a way most movies of the genre would dream to be.

[@midknightgeek6629]

Thank you very much for this interesting and timely subject. Would love if this became the first of a series of discussions on more films that fall into this category! 😎

[@henrychinaski5223]

Good luck trying to find 'Barfly' with Micky Rourke and Faye Dunaway. An absolutely amazing film set in the gritty world of LA dive bars.

[@LennyNero2019]

There's a great Australian BD release from Imprint, and a German one in mediabook.

[@FranzSanchez-ky9up]

I bought the Australian Imprint version recently. It cost me quite a bit to import, but it was worth it.@@LennyNero2019

[@asifkhan4822]

Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast is another one of those rare hard to find movies along with the Denzel Washington and John Lithgow psychological 1991 thriller Riccochet, which I can't Find anywhere.😅

[@istvanvilmos8400]

The Mosquito Coast got an official German release on Blu-ray but that went out of print quite quickly.

[@thedys70]

Riccochet hasn't aged well IMO

[@alistaircampbell]

The Mosquito Coast is available to buy digitally here on You Tube, i just bought and watched it a few nights back, it's great film. 👍

[@thedys70]

@@alistaircampbell The Mosquito Coast is a solid film indeed; the cast were awesome. Arguably Ford's finest dramatic role, better than Witness?

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

​@@thedys70 It really hasn't. The opening park basketball game is its most competent sequence.

[@simonbrennan9806]

Looking For Mr Goodbar is currently streaming in HD on Paramount + in the UK. Watched it a few months ago and also have a copy saved to my TiVo box when was shown on TV a few years ago,

[@arthurcorassini]

You know one that always bugged me? The Love Bug from 1997 starring Bruce Campbell, it's not on Disney+ and it was never released on dvd or blu ray, only the original VHS, it's a shame too since it's fun and has the return of Dean Jones to the series

[@jeffagain7516]

And of course, the GREAT Buddy Hackett !!! :)

[@animalunae]

Strange days is one of my favorite movies ever, this should be available everywhere...

[@stable-shadow]

Salton Sea and Things to Do in Denver when your Dead are quite hard to find..... Strange Days so awesome..... 🕊️

[@Atmblack03]

Imprint just released Things to do in Denver not too long ago. Was an immediate buy.

[@stable-shadow]

@@Atmblack03 Thank you, 4k version full print?

[@richardvillafana8111]

Two excellent examples. Love them both, but especially Things to Do in Denver. It keeps my powder dry. Boat Drinks!!!

[@stable-shadow]

@@richardvillafana8111 Yeah, those were the days.... eff the head.... Critical Bill.... Salton Sea had poo bear, and bobby ocean.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioCUZ5lshKh2masfeature=shared kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmi6ZJmljd57d8kfeature=shared So wrong they were right.... 🕊️

[@stable-shadow]

@@richardvillafana8111 💯 my friend, I'm getting my replies blocked I sent ya some choice clips from the film, but alas they are blocked by the devil's at YT..... 🕊️

[@Animei9]

Thank you for this. People always wonder why I'm so obsessed with my video disc collection. Next time they ask me, I'll refer them to this

[@DR-xm9ck]

Something wicked this was comes is a real gem. A true buried treasure, one of my all time favorites

[@adamtoronibyrne1086]

I never got to see the video about Cocoon, but I will say, I have that Blu-ray and am thankful for that. I got it way back in 2011… I also have Dogma (got it new in 2012 at a Fry’s electronics for 8.99) Looking for Mr. Goodbar is strangely available here on KZbin, and Something Wicked This Way Comes is available if you’re a Disney Movie Club member but that’s kinda niche these days… I completely agree that this to me is baffling that they can’t even license some of these titles out - it’s frustrating to no end that collectors often get the shaft and I hope that someday this just isn’t a thing anymore. Thanks for sharing!

[@LennyNero2019]

Strange Days has been my #1 favorite movie since 1999, when I discovered it first. I had a 4:3 projection TV then so didn't mind a non-anamorphic R1 DVD. Later upgraded it to anamorphic Australian DVD, and then bought over the years 3 different German Blu-ray releases with new transfers.

[@whssy]

Would be interested to know which of the German blu-rays is the best one.

[@LennyNero2019]

@@whssy the 2015 '20th anniversary', only it no longer comes in a slipcase with the original 'stacked 3 heads' poster art, and the image Amazon has is wrong.

[@RxYouth]

I dont know if Something Wicked This Way Comes is a movie I've completely never heard of or one of those movies I saw as a kid but completely forgot about and watching it will trigger a bunch of old memories. Either way it looks decent and dark and made during that weird live action era of disney that I loved so much as a kid so I'm definitely gonna check it out, thanks for tuning me on to it!

[@solracer66]

Surely you ran across the Ray Bradbury story at some point?

[@RxYouth]

@@solracer66 I've heard the title or that phrase before but never read it (that I remember at least)

[@quadders9198]

So I am a Brit and I have a Blu Ray of Strange Days. Not Sure if only Europe got a version but yeah it does exist. Excellent film, superb 90's soundtrack. One of those films that definitely captures the mood and sound of the times very well.

[@jimmyb2655]

With physical media on the way out, keep ALL your Blu-Rays and DVD's. It's just a matter of time until digital media purchased will be removed from your libraries. Physical media is yours, nobody can take it from you.

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

Zapping your digital -purchases- rentals is already happening. _And…it’s gone!_

[@melamineflorentine8134]

@@k.chriscaldwell4141 Really! Everyone has to be their own mastering house nowadays!

[@Diggy22]

Funny enough, I bought two different DVD editions of Dawn Of The Dead, and I bought the Dragon Dynasty prints of The Killer and Hard Boiled before the Harvey Weinstein trial. I never imagined they'd be rarities.

[@Tob1Kadach1]

I live in the UK and have Strange Days on Bluray, one of my fave films. Also have Day of the Dead on Bluray & Cocoon on DVD. The US is very lucky though because there are hundreds of films on Bluray in the US that have never been released on DVD or Bluray in the UK.

[@rickvince]

Gf and I absolutely adored this video and wished it went on for a solid hour. More of this!

[@grapeshot]

Yep I have a very large DVD collection I plan to hold on to them as long as I can.

[@brion0220]

Just for fun, here's my Top 10 for movies that I can't find in Australia (and I really want to watch or re-watch): 1. The Gift (2000) 2. The Skulls (2000) 3. Basketball Diaries (1995) 4. Silkwood (1983) 5. Manhunter (1986) 6. The Sure Thing (1985) 7. Bad Dreams (1988) 8. Less Than Zero (1987) 9. Rapid Fire (1992) 10. The Fall (2006)

[@rolmodel12.]

Nice list! The Gift, Basketball Diaries, and Manhunter are all great flicks that are out there, but not super-easy to hunt down in the States, either.

[@ricahrdb]

Silkwood is on my list too. It was released in the US once but it has since gone out of print. And the prices for it on Ebay are not great.

[@lagunagfx]

Cheers from Spain! I'm holding my copy of Skulls, purchased from some random video store retiring some of their catalog, maybe 15 years or so ago :)

[@MatthewSmith001]

You can't find a copy of Less Than Zero? I have a copy I got a $3 bin in Wal-Mart probably 20 years ago... Jesus, I'm old...

[@Old_Scot]

Wasn't The Gift released by Imprint in Australia? Which made it really expensive in the UK! I have a DVD which cost me £1.50 second hand, so I'll stick with that!

[@ertymexx]

"Blood and concrete - a love story" with Billy Zane. A bizarre little gem that I miss dearly. 🙂

[@into_play3226]

Dead or Alive, a 2006 action film based on a fighting video game is extremely hard to find in Blu-ray. The movie was widely panned, and low Blu-ray sales must have made it go OOP before many copies could end up in circulation.

[@stazoola3616]

I love DOA! Got the DVD and Blu-ray. Such a fun movie. Didn't know it was hard to find. Once I finally get a film on physical media I, naturally, stop looking for it.

[@JHazard1000]

I remember this movie and have it on DVD it came out at the same time as the Tekken and King of the Fighters movies.

[@into_play3226]

@@stazoola3616 Agreed. It’s just dumb, mindless fun IMO

[@BigFatCone]

The movie is pretty good for what it is.

[@sleepawaycamp83]

I would definitely love to see “Star 80” get a blu-ray release one day. I watched it back when it was on HBO Max earlier this year and it aired on TCM a few months ago but despite that, it has never been released on blu-ray. It’s only been released on DVD on one of those crappy paper cases. “Star 80” definitely deserves a blu-ray release.

[@CR41489]

Yeah, I also wish it would come out on Blu-ray and even better in 4K. I do have it in HD in my iTunes library but this great film deserves an HD physical release.

[@ricahrdb]

Would like to own that one too. It is one of the few Bob Fosse films that I haven't seen.

[@ksstoner]

Man am I happy I still have my DVD copy of Hard Boiled right now. What a masterpiece!

[@claywinn32]

Light Of Day with Michael J Fox and Joan Jett, needs a high def release. The only DVDs available are imports/bootlegs. Prime Video has it available on streaming but the transfer looks like a VHS copy.

[@jamesmacleod9382]

I'd like to see 11 Harrowhouse with Charles Grodin and Candace Bergen. It was good fun, a comedy heist movie from the early 70s. I never see it anywhere. This makes me feel my years I saw all these movies in the theatre with the exception of Crossroads.

[@personatodo]

Salute of the Jugger is definitely a hidden gem, I have the extended version but it's a more of a VHS rip. Some other movies I would like to see is America 3000, Panic Room and Hong Kong versions of Jackie Chan movies like Police Story 4: First Strike and Rumble in the Bronx which is hard to find. There are also series and miniseries gems that's never released in HD like Jack of All Trades, Xena: Warrior Princess, the miniseries Merlin starring Sam Neill, Arabian Nights and Odyssey starring Armand Asante.

[@thelordofhellaz]

There is an Australian BluRay of the full movie. Unfortunately in America we only have a crappy cut DVD of the movie :-(

[@samanthab1923]

Odyssey is on YT

[@personatodo]

@@samanthab1923 yeah but it's just an A.I upscaled version from the standard definition version. It's not from the actual film source.

[@samanthab1923]

@@personatodo Really? Had no idea. Thanks

[@TheBlues123]

Been hoping for an uncut blu ray release of Peter Jackson‘s „Braindead / Dead Alive“ for years and beginning to more and more loose all hope.

[@BigFatCone]

A box set with Bad Taste, Braindead and Meet The Feebles would be cool.

[@danielrickard5999]

Thank you for doing this and Merry Christmas

[@FreakyLynx]

I’ve recently wanted to rewatch Fright Night 2 and was surprised that… I cannot find it on physical. Another I’ve been trying to find for awhile is the Val Kilmer movie Real Genius. Friend of mine has been trying to get a copy of The Jerky Boys for years, we rewatched it on streaming a couple years ago but it’s impossible to find on physical which is a shame. Very surprised about all of these because excellent movies.

[@mg-ThisHandleIsSoStupid]

Realm Genius has a bunch of releases. Recently even on 4K.

[@grannyweatherwax8005]

I've been wanting to rewatch Fright Night 2 for ages! I saw it as a teen and loved it. I'd like to know if my tastes have changed radically or if it really is underrated.

[@stevedullum6777]

Fright Night 2 is on KZbin in HD. Rumor has it there are free sites you can download full movies from KZbin as .mp4 that play perfectly on you bluray player. So I've heard.

[@Fixxxer07082]

Little Darlings is a film that isn’t legally available on DVD or bluray. Again…it’s a music rights issue. Sometime earlier this year though, it was announced it may be seeing a bluray release next year! The Midnight Hour is another classic that got a DVD release (which now goes for good money), but hasnt had a bluray release. As for Dawn of the Dead, the original bluray from Anchor Bay might be OOP, but it can be found for a decent price. I’ve got it on VHS (multiple different releases), laserdisc (again, multiple releases), bluray (same thing), BETA, and the incredible 4K release from Second Sight. Long live physical media!

[@mattblom3990]

Pacific Heights and Jacob's Ladder were two great movies that took me a long time and more money than I'd hope to track down in a physical copy. To my knowledge, neither was available on streaming the last time I checked.

[@MatthewSmith001]

Jacobs Ladder is one of my favorite movies. It's so surreal and nightmarish... probably Tim Robbins most seminal work.

[@jimthar17]

I'm almost positive that Jacob's Ladder was recently on Tubi. And not the stupid remake. I KNOW I saw it on one of the sites recently and I'm damn near certain it was Tubi. It's not there NOW as I just checked but recently it was somewhere streaming. I only have NF Tubi and MAX so it was definitely one of them.

[@ssesf]

I used to be a landlord so Pacific Heights is not my cup of tea.

[@du24pont70]

Jacob's Ladder is one of my all-time favorites!

[@rodbacote8607]

Pacific Heights was on either Starz or Showtime recently but Jacob's Ladder used to show up on one of the cable channels during October and Halloween but it's been a while since I've come across it

[@Codmaniac91]

I've been fortunate enough to find both John Woo's "Hard-boiled" and "The Killer" on blu-ray along with a Twilight Time blu-ray release of "Rapid Fire" starring the late Brandon Lee. People who didn't realise what they had decided to trade these titles in at my local movie resale store. As an avid film collector myself I couldn't pass these up.

[@kelvinthompson1660]

My library has a copy of The Killer. I'm surprised they haven't just given it away by now..

[@orboflightning]

I have a DVD copy of The Time Machine with Guy Pierce. It wasn’t well received in theaters but I enjoyed it and it’s never seen a bluray release.

[@tha_john_perez]

I'm a veteran movie collector, and I own 950 movies. And I have Cocoon on DVD. It wasn't very hard to find where I live. So, I found it at a thirft store and slammed my money on my first copy! 📽📀

[@MrRobarino]

Only 950 movies? Amateur.

[@tha_john_perez]

@@MrRobarino Hey, screw you, buddy! That wasn't very nice!

[@fins5150]

@@tha_john_perez Some people like myself have over 2000+. I bought many of mine at garage sales and FB post collections. But awesome you snagged Cocoon, never came across it yet. I've spent years burning them to digital and now in storage.

[@jeffagain7516]

@@tha_john_perez Chill buddy, he was just being sarcastically humorous. BTW, my collection sits at 4K+ Blus and dvds and my mental sanity has been questioned by a LOT of folks, including friends. No harm intended, none taken. :)

[@stonesfan285]

One movie I have now that appears to be very rare is the "Filmmaker's Signature Series" Blu-ray of The French Connection. I think ever since the streaming versions were edited, this has been tough to get. There was another earlier Blu-ray as well but the mastering isn't as good as the FSS one. I remember buying that for like $13 when it came out.

[@djserious9341]

I’ve been waiting for a reissue of To Each His Own for many years. I think there was one dvd release over 20 years ago but nothing since.

[@mjanovec]

The Beatles “Let It Be” film has never had a DVD or Blu Ray release. It had a very short-lived videotape release in the early 1980s but has been out of print since. While Peter Jackson produced an 8-hour film from the sessions, it is missing several of the full-song performances from the original film. There were rumors that the Let It Be film would be reissued alongside Peter Jackson’s film, but it never came to be. Therefore it appears this will continue to elude us, perhaps for many years to come.

[@melamineflorentine8134]

truly an unbelievable outcome. I sensed trouble when the spoken of re-release in conjunction with the release of "Beatles Get Back" never seemed to be nailed down. Then the disappointment when it still ended up not happening.

[@Psilocybin77]

I'm reminded of the actor Warwick Davis lamenting the removal of the streaming series "Willow" being removed from Disney Plus shortly after it's release. He said it hurts his soul to know that nobody will ever know the art him and thousands of other's created, and worked so hard on. I've never seen the streaming show, because I'm sick of these media conglomerates, "re-imagining" childhood favourites, but respect the artists behind the show. This whole situation is made even more awful because the series was removed to save a few bucks on royalties and taxes, in a time of awful Disney business decisions.

[@LandOfTheGeek]

Nothing of value was lost on that one!

[@katemaloney4296]

I thought it was removed because it was a terrible remake.

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

Don't care it was terrible it deserves to be wiped from history. It completely shit all over the original movie and was part of this never ending BS woke movement ruining films and media.

[@zakofrx]

Many people hated it... It was a modern (as in Woke) remaking... The stars of it were two teenage girls who were lesbians..

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

@@zakofrx No having lesbians doesn't make it modern it just makes it Woke left.

[@mastermindmartialarts]

I lucked out big time with Strange Days, I had it on VHS for years and was able to find a copy on DVD on facebook marketplace a few years back. I paid $6 for it including shipping. I also lucked out with a few of John Woo's Hong Kong films on DVD, I was able to pick a few up not long ago.

[@johnaustin9856]

Thanks! I have Cocoon on Region 2 DVD and purchased a Region 2 player just for it! Also, my wife loves "Bugsy Malone", also only available on Region 2.

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

I found some pretty obscure films from CEX in the past, but most of them were worthless, but Dark City was another decent find, from another used media store, but some seem to be only available in certain regions in PAL at least, like Australia, or Germany.

[@zu_1455]

Recently found Dark City in the cardboard dvd case at Goodwill

[@rustymixer2886]

​@zu_1455 is that the 1998 alien erases minds 24 hours movie?

[@croftmire]

I’m in Australia and I bought Dark City on Blu maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Haven’t noticed it at the stores since, so it may have gone out of print.

[@rustymixer2886]

@@croftmire is it better than the matrix

[@thumpyloudfoot864]

Fun Fact: "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is the title of a novel written by Ray Bradbury and is actually a line from Shakespeare's story Macbeth...

[@dorailroad4285]

The Bradbury novel is what the movie is based on.

[@thumpyloudfoot864]

@@dorailroad4285 yes, but the title is a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth, I find it interesting when someone takes a line from one medium and uses it for the basis for something in a different medium... Metallica has The Call of Ktulu (Cthulhu) which is just the name of a story from HP Lovecraft and For Whom The Bell Tolls which is the name of an Earnest Hemingway book but they also have a song call "The Thing That Should Not Be" which is a line from a story called "They're Shadow Over Innsmouth" by HP Lovecraft...

[@RainePhoenix]

Dogma, Sling Blade and The Brave Little Toaster are very hard to find anywhere.

[@stevedullum6777]

Local used bookstore has great collection of blu-ray and DVDs, all for $3. Just got Sling Blade on blu-ray there a few months ago. I hit that place every weekend and walk out with a large stack of movies.

[@SimonAshworthWood]

“Blood of Heroes” was shown on TV in Australia and available to rent in video stores in Australia, too, IIRC.

[@roxy5588]

I have Strange Days. It was pretty easy to find on Ebay. Another movie that stars Strange Days actor the late Tom Sizemore is Watch It! released in 1993. I cannot find it anywhere online or on dvd.

[@ChrisOnStage2]

I had THE toughest time trying to get a DVD of "The Comeback" with Robert DeNiro & Morgan Freeman since the movie was never released anywhere in the U.S. ! I finally had to buy a foreign DVD.

[@JoBloOriginals]

Did it ever get officially released in the US?

[@ChrisOnStage2]

@@JoBloOriginals It was never released to any theater or any streaming service that I know of. I checked! I finally had to buy a copy off of Ebay from Australia!

[@jbainbridge22]

Don't forget "the 13th warrior".

[@The3rdGunman]

The Hitcher (1986) and especially Rock & Rule are like impossible to find.

[@ricahrdb]

My personal list of titles not yet available on blu-ray: Bringing Out the Dead (1999) High Society (1956) In America (2002) Panic Room (2002) Titan A.E. (2000) Map of the Human Heart (1992) Le Notti Bianche (1957) Ryans Daughter (1970) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) A Prairie Home Companion (2006) A Canterbury Tale (1944) Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

[@stereothrilla8374]

Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” is not available on any streaming platform and never airs on tv. It did get a Blu-ray release but people are t willing to part with it for much less than $80. Great flick.

[@Finfection]

I found Dogma on DVD at a vender mall for 80 cents recently. I was so psyched! lol

[@MatthewSmith001]

True!

[@Iam-still-noone]

🤫 u can watch it on a certain video app - nudge nudge wink wink 😉- points at search button in the corner

[@juliesmith5969]

101 Dalmatians with Glenn Close and Jeff Daniels. I've been looking everywhere but can't find a region 1 copy. I even called the Disney movie club and they didn't have it. 😢

[@CiderMorphine-xv3gf]

High Spirits staring Steve Guttenberg has always been hard to find.

[@FranzSanchez-ky9up]

The original version of The Stepford Wives has never got a Blu-ray. Paramount released it on DVD about 20 years ago, but the transfer was very poor. I believe the reason it hasn't had a better release is because it's owned by some medical company, who have no interest in releasing it or even leasing it to another company. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the same company also owns The Heartbreak Kid.

[@Gobear1]

Yup, both are owned by Bristol -Meyers-Squibb.

[@FranzSanchez-ky9up]

I was about to update my previous post. Thank you. Palomar Pictures were in business with ABC, but they severed their ties with the company and then Bristol Myers Squibb came in. @@Gobear1

[@mattmozgiel2111]

Strange Days is criminally underrated

[@reeltimegamer7708]

The iconic skateboard film, Gleaming the Cube (with Christian Slater) is Damn tough to find

[@croftmire]

The Time Guardian (unsuccessful '80s Aussie sci-fi film - Carrie Fisher was in it) hasn’t seem to be released on DVD.

[@raindogs]

One of the most frustrating, hard to find movies for me is a copy of The Compleat Beatles. I used to have a beautiful copy on laserdisc but I don't think that a HD copy of it exists. A pity. Also, it is almost impossible to find a copy of the Australian film A Dangerous Life, starring Gary Busey, here in the US although lesser Australian films, such as Stunt Rock, can be found in different formats.

[@melamineflorentine8134]

Reading through these comments is sobering. I remember playing hooky from high school .. go down to the record store at the mall... I remember the CES discs of both Let It Be AND The Compleat Beatles... I remember both briefly available on Laser Disc too.. 40 years ago... hard to believe these things were easier to get when the playback machines were the size of your whole home theater system nowadays.

[@hinotorineko]

Am I the only person who 'took sail on the high seas' and found each and every one of these films, in HD, as he was listing them off? You could say that I found them in a ̶y̶i̶f̶y̶ jiffy.

[@thedys70]

Ahaaaaaaaaaaar me scurvey mateys! Seriously though; please tell me how/where on keyboard you make the line run through text? i.e. ̶y̶i̶f̶y̶ [copy/pasted here lol]

[@boltzmannbrayn]

He could and should have done the list with more rare films, however Looking for Mr Goodbar has never been released on DVD/Blu-ray/4K yet (though it will probably get a release in 2024), and The Heartbreak Kid isn't in HD and likely never will be, and its 20+ years old DVD is long out of print.

[@hinotorineko]

@@boltzmannbrayn 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar' was done in HD at some point, because it's readily available in 1080p. But you are correct about 'The Heartbreak Kid'; I was only able to locate 720p HDTV (but it seems to be intact, with no logos, and uncensored).

[@JohnnyTong215]

Dark Horse, the 1992 movie, isn’t on 📀 and it’s a shame!!! 30 years later, and it was still forgotten!!!

[@samueltheprideofafrikarobi9319]

I had to go to either Germany or Australia (online) to get a Blu-ray copy of Strange Days. But I'm glad that I went through the trouble. It's a movie that's more than worth owning physically and the Blu-ray copy I have looks beautiful. The fact that it can't be found here in the US as a 4K re-release is criminal.

[@doggedout]

Looking for Mr. Goodbar is not only hard to find now, it was hard to find within a few years of release. HBO used to do an occasional run of it in the 80's ,usually at 3 a.m.. It was really weird. It was maybe Diane Keaton's best role and a real gritty depiction of the time. A great movie ..if you can find it.

[@boltzmannbrayn]

Looking for Mr. Goodbar has been cleared for release recently and it will be released by a boutique blu-ray label in the future, it's speculated that Vinegar Syndrome is doing it.

[@stinkasscat]

There are multiple copies of it in both VHS and DVD on eBay. They aren't that expensive either. I'm not really sure what's so hard about finding it.

[@boltzmannbrayn]

@@stinkasscat DVDs of LFMG are bootlegs though, it hasn't had an official and legal disc release.

[@stinkasscat]

@@boltzmannbrayn thank you, I didn't know that!

[@Gamble661]

I have a large DVD collection that includes numerous films that you can't find anywhere anymore and I intend to hold onto it. One in my collection is mentioned here; "Something Wicked This Way Comes", a pretty good little horror film. Unfortunately though, another trend is for studios not to spend the money to produce a physical copy of a film or series on any format any longer. You may be able to "own" a digital copy but that's all. The third season of The Orville is one example I recently encountered. People love or hate The Orville, I happen to love it and have the first two seasons on DVD, I grabbed them as soon as they came available. But it doesn't look like the people at Disney, who let's face it, are pretty much asshats these days anyway, are going to release a DVD or Blu-ray version of season three.

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Agree. Disney as a company has been consumed by short-sighted greed.

[@nihthasu]

200 Cigarettes! Great, underrated comedy with a cast that was in top form. Apparently it did so badly in theaters that the studio had all but denied its existence, granting it a single DVD release and not allowing it to stream anywhere.

[@briansomers6022]

We picked up a copy at a used book store not long ago. So happy to have tracked down a copy. Very underrated

[@sirstewartwallace3917]

It got a Blu-ray release a while back but the transfer is terrible.

[@TUMNIAISETU]

Nice to know you are also here in Quebec! Great vids!

[@ivoreategui781]

Pink Floyd The Wall directed by Alan Parker is great example of a movie that never was available on Blu-ray, only in DVD, Laserdic, VHS, Betamax, but it still difficult to get a DVD or Laserdisc or VHS or Betamax of that movie. The Man Who Saw Tomorrow starring Orson Welles was only available in Betamax and VHS, but never was available in Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray.

[@TueSorensen]

I work in a second-hand music and movie store in Copenhagen, and the region 2 The Wall DVD is one we see quite often. It also is a steady seller.

[@sdelong74]

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a beautiful Halloween film. So many movies I can think of. Disney has purposely buried Song of the South. I can think of dramatic movie like, The Whole Wide World, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge. The very bizarre early 90s movie Boxing Helena. All of these that I mentioned have huge names in them. Boxing Helena was met with controversy when originally released. Also received an NC-17 rating. I remember when the Rock Hudson movie Seconds was found. There was a video store in LA that rented out a bootleg. Then there's the William Shatner oddity The Incubus. A movie spoke in Esposito. It was found and restored back in the late 90s. So many film become lost this way.

[@JoBloOriginals]

Seconds is a stone cold classic

[@TheRealNormanBates]

go to The Internet Archives. They have 2 different HD restorations of *Song of the South* that look really good. One is 1080p and the other is 2160p; both from 16mm negatives.

[@bulldogs_6165]

i remember watching boxing helena on laser disc in the 90's

[@210Stitch]

But with Song of the South if it's not released on bluray/DVD or theater again I thought in something like 4 years it goes into public domain, because it's been shelved for so long.

[@sdelong74]

It could be. I know Disney wants it buried. That was why the controversy over Splash Mountain. Who Framed Roger Rabbit doesn't seem to get a lot of love from the house of mouse either. Never understood why they won't give Cocoon love.

[@AaronGerschler]

I saw Salute Of The Jugger in a test screening in LA. It was a great post-apocalyptic film and really great vehicle for Rutger Hauer. I later saw Blood of Heroes; it's horrible hack job of the movie. I have never been able to get a copy of Salute Of The Jugger, so I don't know if it's the same cut of the movie that I saw. Test screenings was a mixed bag, but a lot of fun. In most cases the extended cuts were way better than the theatrical release.

[@chantelchapman4875]

Great list! There was two I did not know of…Quirky movies for a quirky girl.😊

[@petemarron6677]

I remember looking for "cross roads" with Ralph machio at blockbuster and Hollywood videos and all that they had was the Brittany spears movie. Circa 2000

[@thedys70]

Pete, plenty on ebay, both DVD and bluray

[@petemarron6677]

@@thedys70 thank you, I was able to buy that on dvd idk 2005? Now I see it steaming on Netflix.

[@thedys70]

@@petemarron6677 Yes it's one of those few movies i'll watch once for nostalgia purposes every few years; Jamie Gertz played a good role in it too.