Hollywood has, in a strange twist, rediscovered the videotape – VHS – but there is one crucial difference compared to vinyl's revival.
The movie Deadpool received a VHS release in 2016. It was a collector's item produced in 100 copies, meant more for display on a movie shelf than for playback on a TV. Deadpool on videotape was not sold, but given away at Comic-Con.
In 2024, Suspiria (from 1977), the new Alien: Romulus, and the two horror films V/H/S/Beyond and Terrifier were released on VHS. All of these went on sale. 2025 began with a VHS release of They Live.
They Live on VHS as a collector's item. Photo: Studiocanal / Vice-Press
A step further
Now comes Escape From New York from 1981. It is being released on VHS in two editions, with a slipcase version limited to 1000 copies.
The other version is sold without a pre-set production run but is still labeled a collector's edition.
- "Each release includes the full film in widescreen, and runs at approximately 99 minutes in PAL format. And yes, they play...," said the distributors, StudioCanal and Vice-Press.
How much do they cost? £30 before shipping. Posters are sold separately for around £100. Everything was released on May 15.
Escape From New York on VHS as a collector's item. Photo: Studiocanal / Vice-Press
Not like vinyl
It is tempting to compare the VHS trend with vinyl's resurgence, but the difference is that music on vinyl still sounds good and has a certain "warm" charm to it.
VHS does not offer good picture quality – far from it.
VHS plays films in interlaced 480i or 576i, which results in an effective resolution of 240p or 288p – compared to 1080p HD or 2160p 4K today. VHS is typically in 4:3 format but widescreen can be achieved through tricks. The film is also converted to 29.97fps or sped up 4% to 25fps. Almost nothing is as it should be, and the presentation is very far from the director's intent.
Also see: Full list: Movies in 4K and Dolby Atmos
For a generation of movie lovers, there may certainly be some charm in having to rewind a tape – just like you have to move the needle on a vinyl record – while the wider cover also allows for more prominent display of artwork on a shelf, but that is about the only positive things we can say about VHS.
There were many good reasons to lay VHS to rest. There are absolutely no good arguments for reviving the format.
