MOVIES GONE MISSING
A deep-dive on film preservation efforts, a recent Warner Bros decision, and film history. Plus a weekend streaming recommendation.
Last week, Warner Brothers inexplicably scrubbed 6 HBO Max Originals from its streaming platform. There was no prior notice, and these were all movies that came out recently. I can’t say there are very many die-hard fans for movies like sci-fi romcom ‘Moonshot’, for example, but it begs the question: where do these movies go? Does the final MP4 remain on a Warner Bros server for the rest of its life? What happens if Warner Bros goes under? If there’s a data breach? Does it just disappear?
When I hear the term ‘media preservation’, I think about dusty old books from the 1400s, sitting in a climate-controlled room behind a bulletproof glass box. I think about the thousands of paintings at the Louvre that are painstakingly maintained and preserved from the elements. I think about the overall importance of art in unveiling history, and the efforts to protect that art.
One may not realize that film fits under this category as well. And because of the delicate nature of old film – strips of chemical and light-sensitive materials locked in bulky metal containers – it’s extremely easy for it to be damaged. There was even a time when old film was melted down to extract the precious silver nitrate within.
Every other form of media has huge swaths of resources devoted to its preservation. There is an unfortunate dearth of this for film.
What’s the Damage?
One shocking statistic: In 2017, Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Film Foundation’ reported that almost half of all American films made before 1950 are lost, and major distributors are making no efforts to look for them. One even more shocking: 90% of all movies made before 1929 are forever lost.
There was a hope that the advent of streaming would change this all. Studios could publish a digital copy of their older properties with few considerable costs. With 4K and 70MM restorations (high-quality clean-ups of past, damaged film) at an all-time high, this should have been a resurgence in film preservation.
Instead, the opposite has happened. Streaming is predicated on number of views, and the obscurity of these works slash any hopes of viewership. Distributors have shifted their focus even further away.
So What?
I can’t claim that this directly affects me. I love movies but I doubt I’ll ever be at the point where I’m watching these obscure works from nearly 100 years ago. But the loss of any art is a loss for humanity overall.
Moreover, this isn’t a problem relegated to older movies. It has a great deal to do with size as well. Let’s say you’re an indie filmmaker and your movie is picked up by a small and relatively obscure distributor. If that company goes under, the rights to your artwork become lost under mountains of red-tape, copyright intricacies, and general obscurity.
To Torrent or not to Torrent
So what does Warner Brothers scrubbing 6 movies from their platform have to do with all of this? As far as we’re concerned, outside illegal streaming, those movies are gone for good. Some are even going as far as to say that torrenting movies is a form of film preservation. If you can’t get a physical copy of the media you love, it may be one executive decision away from disappearance.
Organizations like Missing Movies and Scorsese’s Film Foundation are tirelessly working to preserve film history and make it more accessible. They are worthy of our support. More than that, if there’s media you love, it’s always worth investing in physical copies.
Weekend Streaming Recommendation
Office Space (1999) Dir. Mike Judge. Available on Amazon Prime Video or YouTube (free)
In honor of #summerinternship season ending, today’s recommendation is a classic satire on American office culture. Office Space tells the story of three company workers who hate their jobs deciding to rebel against their greedy boss. I haven’t seen this in a while, but I still remember how funny it is. You’d be surprised at how many pop culture references this movie has spawned – check this out for a deep-cutting, anti-corporate comedy.
See you all again next week. Until then, please get in touch if you have any thoughts or suggestions you’d like to share. If you want to keep up with what I’m watching, follow me on Letterboxd @atharv_gupta.
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