The other day I was browsing the local Goodwill’s fine selection of previously owned DVDs (as everyone does), when I came across the film “Bridesmaids” starring Melissa McCarthy. It was a movie that I had been interested in viewing for a while but wasn’t on any of the streaming services that I have. Previously, I had looked it up on Vudu to see how much it would cost to rent the movie and was surprised to find out that it cost $3.99! And, after the rental period, the movie just goes away. But, the price of the DVD was $3.00, so I bought the DVD knowing that I was saving a dollar. Then, I went home and watched the movie and disliked it. It definitely was not the worst movie I have ever seen, but it is one I probably wouldn’t watch again. So now what do I do with the DVD? This got me thinking about the DVDs in my own personal collection. What is the point of holding on to DVDs when I have access to a large amount of movies through streaming services like Netflix and Hulu?
Personally, I like to own the DVD versions of some of my favorite movies and TV shows. My reasoning behind this is that streaming services have taken certain episodes of shows off their services or edited scenes in movies to make them more appropriate.
An example of this is Lilo and Stitch, where edits were made to the film shortly after its DVD release. In the original film, Lilo and her sister Nani get into a fight, and Lilo hides in a dryer. In the edited version, Lilo hides behind a pizza box. This edit was made so that kids would not be encouraged to climb into a dryer because that could cause them to get injured. This version was released on later DVDs and is on Disney Plus.
While this may seem like a small and maybe even good change to make to a film, there are many other examples of changes such as whole episodes of shows like The Simpsons and The Suite life of Zack and Cody being removed from later DVD releases or not being on Disney Plus. There have even been edits to movies as big as Star Wars.  (The unedited versions of the original Star Wars trilogy were not released on DVDs; they were released on VHS tapes in 1995 for the last time. The first release that added significant changes to the original theatrical version of the films was in 1997. This version added visual effects and other changes. Every other version of the films (even the one on Disney plus) released since has not been the theatrical version and includes some edits. The only way to see the original version of this popular film is to own the tapes, so maybe consider adding some VHS tapes to your DVD collection.)
Another reason I like to hold on to DVDs is that you never know when companies are going to take something off of a streaming service. Remember that dreary day when they took “Legally Blonde” off of Netflix? I was left in the miserable state of not being able to watch my favorite movie about Harvard law school at any time I wanted. Thank goodness I was able to buy the DVD off of Amazon, so that would never happen again.
Also, I personally have a lot of nostalgia for DVDs. As a kid who grew up on Disney DVDs, it doesn’t feel right to start a Disney movie without hearing the words, “This Disney DVD is enhanced with Disney’s FastPlay.” Going back and watching the old DVDs reminds me of how it felt to watch them as a kid, and how excited I was to watch the movie.
Being a fan of pop culture memorabilia, I also hold on to my DVDs to display them. I have a shelf in my basement with DVDs of all my favorite movies and TV shows on it, and I think they complement the video games that I have beside them.
Even though I feel strongly that collecting DVDs is a worthy hobby, as a good journalist I must inform you of some of the cons.
Buying new DVDs can be more expensive than renting them on streaming services. This is why I only buy DVDs when they are on sale or are secondhand.
DVDs are really easy to break. If they get a scratch they may quit working, which is quite sad. Also, if the box is broken, then the DVD might move around in the box, which causes scratches. This has happened to me several times.
DVDs take up space. Some people might not be willing to dedicate shelves of their house to just DVDs, especially if they don’t watch them very often, or if they don’t even like the movies they have.
This brings me back to my original question, What do I do with my DVD of the movie Bridesmaids? After giving it way more thought than I should have, I decided to donate it back to Goodwill. Although I love DVDs, I think that I will only stick to collecting the movies I enjoy or feel nostalgia for.

The unedited versions of the original Star Wars trilogy were not released on DVDs; they were released on VHS tapes in 1995 for the last time. The first release that added significant changes to the original theatrical version of the films was in 1997. This version added visual effects and other changes. Every other version of the films (even the one on Disney plus) released since has not been the theatrical version and includes some edits. The only way to see the original version of this popular film is to own the tapes, so maybe consider adding some VHS tapes to your DVD collection.