Special VHS Release for 'Alien: Romulus' Announced by 20th Century Studios (comicbook.com)
- Reference: 0175292321
- News link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/24/10/21/0046258/special-vhs-release-for-alien-romulus-announced-by-20th-century-studios
- Source link: https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-romulus-is-getting-a-vhs-release-yes-really/
> On Saturday, 20th Century Studios announced that the latest entry in the Alien sci-fi horror franchise [2]will get a limited-edition VHS release on December 3 — just in time for the holidays.
>
> The VHS release of Alien: Romulus is the first such release from a major studio since 2006... a major win for fans of physical media. In recent months, there has been a great bit of conversation surrounding the so-called death of physical media with the rise of digital and streaming with some retailers even having previously announced that they have or [3]will be stopping sales of physical media. But with streaming platforms removing content for various reasons, there's been a rise in appreciation for physical media which has, in turn, resulted in increased sales, particularly when it comes to limited edition items [4]such as Steelbooks [collectible steel-case disc releases]... Given that the Alien: Romulus VHS release is part of an overall celebration of the franchise for its 45th anniversary year, leaning into that nostalgia for feels pretty spot on.
The release will present the movie "in a 4:3 aspect ratio," [5]writes the Verge , "hopefully with well-done pan-and-scan..." (Their post includes a promotional picture showing the "slick, vintage-style" box-cover art.)
"The tape has only the film," notes [6] Gizmodo , "and no special featurette attached at the end, like some used to back in the day."
Gizmodo also reminds readers of Hulu's [7]2025 series Alien: Earth and an upcoming videogame sequel to 2014's [8] Alien: Isolation .
[1] https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-romulus-is-getting-a-vhs-release-yes-really/
[2] https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-romulus-is-getting-a-vhs-release-yes-really/
[3] https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/target-stores-physical-media-games-movies/
[4] https://comicbook.com/movies/news/alien-romulus-hits-4k-blu-ray-with-a-limited-edition-steelbook/
[5] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/20/24274915/alien-romulus-vhs-limited-edition-collectible-release-date
[6] https://gizmodo.com/alien-romulus-vhs-release-2000514136
[7] https://gizmodo.com/alien-earths-first-teaser-sure-does-show-an-alien-and-earth-2000494359
[8] https://gizmodo.com/10-years-later-alien-isolation-is-getting-a-surprise-sequel-2000508386
One word: letterbox (Score:2)
Why would I want to see a cropped movie?
Re: (Score:2)
Ask anyone who didn't see it in the uncropped IMAX 1.9:1 ratio.
Where's the Laserdisc version? (Score:2)
Such discrimination!
"a major win for fans of physical media" (Score:4, Interesting)
What a stupid line. A release on a format few people can play now isn't a win in any philosophical battle over intellectual property. It's just a publicity stunt. Releases on formats consumers can easily pay back from and can be assured will continue to work even if stakeholders go bankrupt is what people want, and DVD/Blu-ray are those formats now.
Oh, Cool! (Score:2)
This is intensely stupid! And a waste of time, energy, and resources!
What, no PSP UMD release? Whereâ(TM)s my Betamax copy?!
And play it on what? (Score:2)
The only reason the continued production of vinyl records isn't a complete dumpster fire is that you can technically still play them on a current model turntable that doesn't suck. Granted, according to polls about half of the people buying new vinyl records don't play them anyway, but it's nice to know if you did actually want to use them for something other than a wall decoration, they are actually still a playable form of media.
VHS VCRs on the other hand, haven't been manufactured in probably close to a
Re: (Score:2)
It would be funny if it was literally the VHS box art with a blank VHS tape in it. If it's even got a tape in it. When was the last time VHS tapes were physically made? These must be NOS tapes, hopefully they have been stored properly and arent growing mold. If these are NOS tapes, then they must be getting sold to 20th century studios for a pretty penny considering the rarity of NOS VHS tapes.
So... (Score:2)
There's some facility somewhere with VHS duplicating machines sitting around since 2006, and they all still work?
Re: (Score:2)
Do not underestimate the power of localised markets for cheap older tech goods in places like Africa or Asia...
Re: (Score:2)
I picked up some B-horror movie called Kill Her Goats released in 2023 specifically because they had a VHS release. Thought it was neat. So yea, somewhere out there some company is making VHS tapes, and (probably some other company) is still manufacturing VHS releases for films.