RIP MichaelDVD.com.au

[BenjaminG]

After all these years, it's disappeared and with it almost the entire history of the Australian DVD industry.

Vale, MichaelDVD.

[LordCrumb]

That's a shame. Been around for a long time and usually a pretty reliable site for source and reviews.

[nuahs]

I remember the name from the early 00s, but no recollection of the site’s content.

[CompleteCount]

As someone who wrote DVD reviews in the early days of the format (hell, I even did laserdisc ones during their 90s renaissance) right through to Blu taking over, michaeldvd.net was always required reading. Wasn't entirely struck by some of the reviewers in its final days, but was a valuable source of information.

It spent three years as merely an archive of reviews, following a ransomware attack. In spite of promising to get back up on its feet, a single update the month after followed by three years of silence meant it wasn't going to happen. You can still access the site now, but it all depends how long it will stay online. Even dvd.net.au - the other Down Under site which really knew its onions - closed its doors 18 years ago but still has the site accessible for archive purposes.

With the industry shrinking, and companies increasingly rationing review discs over the last 10 years, the game just wasn't the same. It's now a case of "who can stick their tongue up furthest up the arse of the boutique labels" to keep the discs coming. Couple that with social-media influencers/d1ckheads claiming to be experts, with pure style/hype/noise over content, spreading misinformation with the sincerity of a bomb dropped on Hiroshima all meant that informed, balanced written reviews stand no chance.

Here's to the memory of both sites!

[Nitroes]

Was a wonderful site and much needed. Wasn't it broke after a database problem?

The site is still there https://web.archive.org/web/20220217...aeldvd.com.au/

Hopefully someone interested will visit https://archive.org/ and find the best cached version.

[ian959]

As the first external reviewer on the site after Michael himself, I think, it is sad to hear of its demise. It was a privilege to work with Michael and it allowed me to experience so many films that I would have otherwise avoided/ignored.

[CompleteCount]

Originally Posted by ian959

As the first external reviewer on the site after Michael himself, I think, it is sad to hear of its demise. It was a privilege to work with Michael and it allowed me to experience so many films that I would have otherwise avoided/ignored.

It seems fitting to say "Onya".

[SubElement]

End of an era. I have many fond memories of reading MichaelDVD.com.au back in the day.

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by ian959

As the first external reviewer on the site after Michael himself, I think, it is sad to hear of its demise. It was a privilege to work with Michael and it allowed me to experience so many films that I would have otherwise avoided/ignored.

Is this Ian Morris?

[dazzb]

Like most, was my go to site in early days.
Sad to hear.

[ian959]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

Is this Ian Morris?

Yes it is

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by ian959

Yes it is

I really enjoyed your reviews back in the day. Particularly the Disney ones. Thanks for all your efforts!

[StrayButler91]

I was happy to be part of the site's reviewers in its final few years. Michael basically presented us with the choice to turn the site into a read-only archive in late 2020 following that ransomware attack, and it seemed like a good opportunity to do so as the veteran reviewers were growing weary and it was a significant time commitment. Plus, only Roadshow and Umbrella were supplying the freebies, and towards the end, Roadshow started pulling back. Happy I could contribute to the site after years of reading it.

[tave]

It's back up.

[hypnotoad8128]

Originally Posted by tave

It's back up.

You must be looking at the archive.org page, it's not back up.

[tave]

Originally Posted by hypnotoad8128

You must be looking at the archive.org page, it's not back up.

No I was looking at the actual website really early this morning, but yes the link I have bookmarked isn't working now.

[Wernski]

It's up right now.

[LMFAObros]

It’s still up but Michael hasn’t fixed the site yet and I don’t think he will

[rip63]

Originally Posted by Wernski

It's up right now.

It's just an archived version. Any titles reviewed there are ancient releases. Still a handy reference if you've picked up an old Australian released DVD from eBay or something and wanna find out some info on it.

[tave]

Originally Posted by LMFAObros

It’s still up but Michael hasn’t fixed the site yet and I don’t think he will

Yes its back up again