One of the things I really love about Alien and its sequels is their distinctly low-tech take on high technology: this was a universe of interstellar travel, cryogenic freezing and other wonders run on 1970s computer tech with big clacky buttons and green-hued CRT displays, a design decision that was also carried across to the Alien Isolation video game.
So it’s nice to see that Alien: Romulus is committed to the retro-futurist vibe too – so much so that it’ll be released on “fully functioning VHS tape” in December with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a vintage-style sleeve.
The news comes via The Verge, which hasn’t been able to confirm how many copies of the tape there will be or how much it’s going to cost. It’s clearly intended to be a collector’s item rather than something you’ll watch more than once, if at all.
How to watch Alien: Romulus if you don’t buy the VHS
The age of the VHS officially ended in 2008 when JVC stopped making VHS players, but it went into steep decline in the 1990s when DVD and later, Blu-Ray came along. It’s the format I watched the original Alien on, and Aliens too, so it’s really nice to see Romulus going onto the format too.
If you’d prefer to watch the latest Alien movie with more current home theater tech, it’s obviously going to look much better in its 4K UHD steelbook physical release on one of the best 4K Blu-ray players – this is due for released on 3 December 2024, along with the VHS version (and DVD and regular Blu-ray).
It’ll also obviously look better on streaming – the date hasn’t yet been announced for it to arrive on Hulu/Disney Plus, but late November or early December seems likely, possibly alongside the physical releases.
But it’s not about what it looks best on, it’s about what it looks most atmospheric on. What could be more atmospheric than starting this movie with the clunk of the video cassette player taking this movie in.
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