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Sci-Fi Movies

Special VHS Release for 'Alien: Romulus' Announced by 20th Century Studios (comicbook.com) 52

Posted by EditorDavid from the let's-go-to-the-videotape dept.
An anonymous reader shared this report from ComicBook.com: On Saturday, 20th Century Studios announced that the latest entry in the Alien sci-fi horror franchise 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 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 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," 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 Gizmodo, "and no special featurette attached at the end, like some used to back in the day."

Gizmodo also reminds readers of Hulu's 2025 series Alien: Earth and an upcoming videogame sequel to 2014's Alien: Isolation.

Special VHS Release for 'Alien: Romulus' Announced by 20th Century Studios More | Reply

Special VHS Release for 'Alien: Romulus' Announced by 20th Century Studios

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  • There's some facility somewhere with VHS duplicating machines sitting around since 2006, and they all still work?

    • Do not underestimate the power of localised markets for cheap older tech goods in places like Africa or Asia...

      • Do not underestimate the power of localised markets for cheap older tech goods in places like Africa or Asia...

        Do not underestimate the powerful stupidity of this products release, several thousand miles away from said markets.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      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.

    • We all know VHS give a much warmer image.

  • Why would I want to see a cropped movie?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You're probably not an embearded Brooklyn hipster.

    • Ask anyone who didn't see it in the uncropped IMAX 1.9:1 ratio.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Guspaz ( 556486 )

      If you care about the film's aspect ratio, then buy the UHD bluray and not a VHS.

    • Because your only TV set in the house was bought 20 years ago and it has a narrow screen.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Tx ( 96709 )

        I vaguely remember the last 4:3 TV I owned, it was a maybe 22" CRT, I don't remember the brand, must've actually been about 20 years ago. It broke down, and then the repair shop got robbed before it got fixed (what kind of loser steals broken TVs?), so eventually I got a compensation cheque from shop. That part-funded a Philips 28" widescreen CRT, the last CRT TV I owned, which is still working and parked in a room in my parent's house to this day, mostly because it's too damned heavy for anyone to want to

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by q_e_t ( 5104099 )
      I demand a version on 8mm film for my projector. And interspersed text for the dialogue so I can accompany the viewing on the piano forte as I have a baby grand in my home theatre.

  • "a major win for fans of physical media" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SeaFox ( 739806 ) on Sunday October 20, 2024 @11:00PM (#64880159)

    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.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drnb ( 2434720 )

      A release on a format few people can play now

      It probably comes with a key for a digital download.

  • 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:4, Interesting)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Sunday October 20, 2024 @11:13PM (#64880179) Homepage

    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 decade. The ones that are still out there are all nearing the end of their useful lives. It's as dead as a dead format can get. So they're basically selling a VHS-shaped collectible. About the only saving grace making it not entirely the dumbest thing people could buy as a collectable is the fact that NFTs are also a thing.

    • 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.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by skogs ( 628589 )

      My vinyl sound quality overall is excellent. My wife was like "I feel like we're missing some of the sound" and I asked what she meant - she literally meant the popping and hissing. I told her "Yeah, this is an aerospace quality turntable and modern fantastic perfect amplifier and speaker. What you're remembering is what our poor ass parents used, without washign their hands, and allowing tiny children us beat up the needle and drop dog hair on the record."

      Vinyl on its own is great.

      VHS ... VHS blows. It

      • At least do SVHS.
        VHS is OK for recording, but not my preferred format for buying movies. However, I'd rather take a VHS release than pay for subscription (though I could pay for one month and record the movies I want to VHS).
        On the other hand, if they are going for nostalgia, VHS is probably the only possible format - nobody has the equipment to make laserdiscs anymore and film is expensive, so an 8mm or 16mm release would cost a lot.

        I still use VHS once in a while to record stuff from TV. The stuff I'm rec

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dwywit ( 1109409 )

        A brand new VHS tape on a new-ish high quality player didn't suck too much, especially when that's all you had. And if you could feed the audio through your home stereo, it was a big step up from a CRT TV's internal speakers.

        I'm quite proud that I wore out the rental shop's copies of Animal House and Blade Runner.

    • So they're basically selling a VHS-shaped collectible. About the only saving grace making it not entirely the dumbest thing people could buy as a collectable is the fact that NFTs are also a thing.

      If you think selling a VHS-sized collectible is dumb, wait until we see the sales numbers.

      PT Barnum proved why the marketing works, long ago. Technology may get MUCH better over time, but the irony is the hairless monkeys inventing and using it, don’t.

    • 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..

      There were over 40 million vinyl albums sold in the US last year. More than CDs. If “about half” of those sales are chalked up as art hanging on walls, that is still a massive market. By comparison, how many legitimate art genres would need to be combined, to account for 20 million pieces sold? That’s not a music industry selling music anymore. It’s a music industry with a legitimate revenue stream, selling art.

      The overwhelming majority struggling in the art world, dreams of

  • With the lower quality that CGI character might not look so janky. They'd have been better off trying to find another actor that looks like a younger version of him.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Guspaz ( 556486 )

      Eh, it looked fine. Particularly since much of its appearance was via a small low-resolution CRT monitor. The appearance wasn't the issue with the character. Copy and pasted dialogue, on the other hand, was one of the issues.

  • DVD would have been more practical (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DrMrLordX ( 559371 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @12:27AM (#64880251)

    VHS tapes wear out pretty quick, unless you just don't plan on viewing the movie very often. DVD isn't perfect but it's generally a lot better, and you don't have to worry about the built-in DRM from Blu-ray.

  • Why VHS instead of say a CD, DVD or Bluray ? Those are physical media too. Or is it about being analogue ?
    Originally CDs used to be analog if i remember right. No one has VHS playback equipment

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Coius ( 743781 )

      I beg to differ. I have 3 S-VHS/MiniDV JVC DVS1U/DV2U/DVS3 decks (one of each) which can output copy protected VHS video stripping the DRM out via a IEEE-1394 (4-Pin) and It can play & record to S-VHS tapes, VHS, MiniDV, MiniDV SP/EP/LP and can output MiniDV in RGB/S-Video or composite/component, and even pass through RCA input to the FireWire port, and dub between the two decks and has jog shuttle for searching, is Adobe Compatible (can import via Premiere) and in general has a Cable TV tuner and incl

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by aergern ( 127031 )

      They are making a BRD UHD (4k) media release. Amazon bought BestBuy's business and there are quite a few smaller retailers who produce physical media. The big deal about Target is smoke being blown. Target is for appliances and cheap clothing mostly.

      https://www.amazon.com/Alien-R... [amazon.com]

  • Hey great, because we're simply not producing enough plastic waste in the world yet. They're probably also selling tonnes of over-priced plastic merch-toys to the man-children-fans. It's all just future landfill & ocean pollution.

  • "How can we make fans buy this turkey?"

  • a major win for fans of physical media.

    *snorts*

    The release will present the movie "in a 4:3 aspect ratio,"

    *spits coffee*

    If you think consumer intelligence isn’t dropping, sit back and watch this abandonware sell like hotcakes. If you’re going to sell wall art, why bother even winding magnetic tape around the reels? Not like we’re gonna start cranking out VHS players in response.

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