movies

Ever since the silent era, where many films have now been lost, preservation of the medium has been a challenge—one that seemed to ease with the rise of the home video market in the 70s and 80s. In recent years, however, physical media has largely given way to streaming, making older films more difficult to maintain and leaving others at risk of removal due to a perceived lack of demand. In an effort to combat this problem, Warner Brothers is now trying a unique experiment by releasing several older films on YouTube for free. Although the studio has rightly earned a reputation for abandoning projects and prioritizing streaming over live cinema, this is perhaps one thing they are doing right. It's easy to conclude that the studio is doing the right thing for the wrong reason, but such an idea offers a rare glimmer of hope for how old films can be preserved outside of streaming. Time will tell whether this gamble will work, but it remains something that other studios should at least consider.