Forget 4K Blu-ray for Alien: Romulus – get it on VHS instead, physical media fans
In space, nobody can hear you scream (when the tape gets mangled or the tracking slips)
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One of the things I really love aboutAlienand 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 theAlien Isolationvideo game.
So it’s nice to see thatAlien: Romulusis 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 viaThe 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 originalAlienon, andAlienstoo, so it’s really nice to seeRomulusgoing 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 its4KUHD steelbook physical release on one of thebest 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 looksbeston, it’s about what it looksmost atmosphericon. 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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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.
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