How we choose

Every page here answers one question: is this film worth owning on disc, which edition, and where to get it. Here's how we get to that answer.

The Slipcover exists because working out what to actually buy on physical media is harder than it should be. Streaming catalogues rot and re-encode; retailer pages push whatever's in stock; and the good editions — the 4K restorations, the boutique-label discs, the out-of-print ones — quietly disappear. This is a reference for the films worth keeping on a shelf.

Where the catalogue comes from

The backbone is Wikidata, the open, community-run knowledge base released into the public domain (CC0). We rank the catalogue by how widely a film is documented across the world's encyclopedias — a plain, honest proxy for the films that endure and get collected, rather than whatever is trending this week. Synopses are drawn from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) and credited on each page.

How the editions and prices work

The disc images, prices and "from" figures come from live eBay listings at our last rebuild, so what you see is a real thing a real seller has, not a stock database entry. The Amazon buttons open a current search for the title's 4K UHD or Blu-ray edition. We refresh the listings weekly.

How we make money

When you buy through the Amazon or eBay buttons, we may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. That's the whole business model: no ads, no paywall, no sponsored placements. A film's position in the catalogue is set by its standing, never by what pays us. See the full disclosure.

Part of a small network

The Slipcover is a sibling to The Sleeve Notes, the same approach applied to records on vinyl. Both are independent and run by one person who'd rather own the disc than rent the stream.