The Last VHS Movie Ever Released, and Where to Find VHS Tapes Today

For about twenty years the chunky black VHS cassette was how most families watched films at home. Then, within a few short years, shelves of tapes gave way to discs, and the format quietly disappeared. So which film was the last one ever put out on VHS? And if you feel like rebuilding a collection today, where in Hong Kong can you still find tapes and a player? Here is the short history, plus practical tips for collectors and for anyone sitting on a box of old home videos.

The title most often given that honour is A History of Violence, David Cronenberg's crime thriller starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello and Ed Harris. It reached cinemas in 2005 and was released on VHS in 2006, by which time DVD had taken over almost completely. It is generally described as the final major studio film to come out on videotape in the US.

The story follows a small-town diner owner whose quiet life unravels after he stops a robbery and becomes a local hero, drawing unwelcome visitors from a past he has kept hidden. The film was adapted from a graphic novel and was well reviewed, but its spot in VHS history comes down to timing rather than fame. Because so few copies were made on tape, it has become a curiosity for collectors.

VHS arrived in the late 1970s, beat Sony's Betamax in the format war and dominated home viewing through the 1980s and 1990s. DVD launched in the late 1990s and offered sharper pictures, menus and no rewinding. By the mid-2000s studios had stopped producing new VHS titles and shops had cleared their tape aisles.

Hong Kong took a slightly different path. Video Compact Discs (VCDs) became hugely popular here in the 1990s, and many households moved to VCD for films and karaoke well before DVD arrived. Laserdisc also had a loyal following among enthusiasts. VHS stayed on in many homes mainly for recording TV and for camcorder footage.

• The Lion King is widely cited as the best-selling VHS release ever. Its 1995 tape is so common that most copies are worth very little, despite rumours to the contrary.

• Titanic was long enough that the VHS edition came on two cassettes, which many people remember swapping halfway through.

• Disney classics with the "Black Diamond" logo on the spine attract collectors, though again most copies are not rare.

• Sealed copies of 1980s blockbusters are the ones that make auction headlines. Graded, factory-sealed tapes in excellent condition can sell for remarkable sums, while open, played copies of the same film usually don't.

The lesson for anyone hoping their attic holds a fortune: condition and sealing matter far more than the title.

• Nostalgia. The worn sleeves, the trailers before the film and the tracking lines are part of the experience for many people who grew up with them.

• Titles that never made it to disc or streaming. Some low-budget films, local releases and TV recordings exist only on tape.

• Cover art. Hand-painted and oversized VHS boxes have a look that later formats never matched.

• Physical ownership. A tape on a shelf can't be removed from a streaming catalogue.

• Sham Shui Po and Apliu Street. The stalls and second-hand electronics shops are the best-known place in town to hunt for old VCRs, camcorders and the odd box of tapes. Test a player before you pay if you can.

• Online second-hand marketplaces. Local listings, including on Carousell, regularly turn up tapes and working decks; ask the seller for a short clip of the machine playing.

• Collector groups and forums. Online VHS communities are useful for valuing a tape, spotting rare editions and buying from overseas.

• Family cupboards. Before buying anything, ask parents and grandparents. Many homes still have a shelf of recorded TV dramas and films.

Magnetic tape doesn't last forever, and Hong Kong's humidity shortens its life. Mould is the most common problem on stored tapes here, showing up as white spots or a powdery coating on the tape edge.

• Store tapes upright like books, in their cases, in a cool, dry cupboard away from windows and the floor.

• Use a dehumidifier or a dry cabinet during the wet months.

• Keep tapes away from speakers and other magnets.

• Rewind fully before storing, and don't leave a tape paused for long in a player.

• Never play a tape that looks mouldy. It can damage the tape further and contaminate the player's heads.

If a tape has snapped, it can be spliced back together, though a small section of picture will be lost. Original sleeves and boxes add a lot to a tape's value, so keep them dry too.

A Hollywood film on VHS can almost always be found again on another format. Your family's camcorder footage of a wedding banquet, a Lunar New Year dinner or a school sports day exists nowhere else. Those are the tapes to digitise first, while they still play cleanly.

Capture HK transfers VHS and other home video tapes to MP4 on calibrated decks with time-base correction, from HK$200 per tape whatever the length, with cleaning available for mouldy tapes. Visit our video digitisation page or get a free quote.