Boutique: To Preserve and Collect chronicles the rise of the Blu-ray collectible renaissance and the growing number of specialty distributors dedicated to restoring and re-releasing long-lost cinematic treasures. Featuring interviews with filmmakers, stars, historians, collectors, and industry experts, the documentary highlights the passion behind preserving overlooked films and underappreciated artists. A love letter to cinephilia, it celebrates those working to rescue and share forgotten works with new audiences.

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Video Quality

Boutique: To Preserve and Collect comes to Blu-Ray from ETR Media with a gorgeous HD source which allows this documentary to look quite fetching. This feature is comprised of mostly recent interviews along with some older clips, pictures, and other archival material to help flesh out the history of physical media. All older footage seems to come from the most stable source possible, leaving more recent footage looking the best and clips from decades ago looking more inconsistent.

The new individual interview segments largely look clear with natural skin tones and some detailed facial features such as makeup, age lines, and facial hair. Some of the footage has a discreet amount of inconsistency depending on the filming scenario. The colors on display in the footage, such as clothing and production design elements, have a wonderful vibrancy to them. The encode does not falter when it comes to compression artifacts or unwanted digital nuisances. While not all the footage is ideal for an HD presentation, this documentary was always destined to come to Blu-Ray, and ETR Media has translated it quite well.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray disc comes with a sturdy DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this material exactly as intended. Dialogue is the driving force in the center channel as you get these anecdotes in talking head form delivered in a stable environment. The interviews have numerous individuals on deck to share their experiences. Any music or clips come through with favorable fidelity that complements the overall journey. The room feels suitably saturated when you are viewing the film. There are no notable digital anomalies or other issues spotted. This track delivers on all fronts. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Ry Levey and Co-Executive producers Jason and Brett Butler provide a commentary track in which they discuss how this film materialized, the process of getting different interview subjects involved, their own relationship to physical media, and more.

Interviews: Some additional interviews are provided that cover topics that couldn’t fit neatly into the documentary.

- John Huckert (4:40)

- Lisa Langlois (3:45)

- Samm Deighan (6:02)

Something Weird Office Tour: A nearly 36-minute exploration of the Something Weird office with so many cool insights and memorabilia.

Official Trailer (2:22)

Short Films

- The Closest Thing to Heaven (2013) (9:05)

- Nora: Through the Years (2016) (13:42)

Final Thoughts

Boutique: To Preserve and Collect is a documentary meant for anyone who would take the time to read a Blu-Ray review. As enthusiasts of the hobby, we understand the importance of physical media, and it is a joy to hear others speak so passionately about why this is the case and how we have come to live in a golden age of collecting. It may not be breaking any new ground by uncovering major revelations, but the range of experts and artists assembled represent a nice snapshot of the physical media landscape. If you love boutique labels and want to hear others justify why you are right to love them, you simply will not go wrong here. ETR Media has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and some wonderful special features. Recommended

Boutique: To Preserve and Collect is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: ETR Media & OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.