‘The Goonies’ VHS tape worth $125,000
Although we’re firmly in the age of streaming, it’s not unusual for music lovers to spend copious amounts of money on vinyl records, revelling in the experience of going to a record shop, appreciating album artwork and playing the songs on an elaborate set-up. With crisper fidelity and something to hold on to forever, it makes sense that music lovers like collecting vinyl, going to record fairs, and buying limited edition pressings.
Yet, many people struggle to understand why certain movie lovers invest in physical copies of films when they’re so easy to stream, rent or purchase online. Some people simply can’t justify spending money on DVDs or Blu-rays, which are only going to be watched a handful of times – perhaps only once. Yet, like vinyl aficionados, there’s a certain appeal to collecting limited edition versions of movies in a high-quality format.
For example, The Criterion Collection offers high-quality Blu-Rays accompanied by beautiful artwork, essays and special features such as additional short films by the same director. These have become incredibly popular since their inception, with their price points – anywhere between £15 and over £100 for certain box sets – making them the same kind of investment as vinyl records.
However, before the rise of streaming – which has made buying physical media a collector’s hobby – owning lots of DVDs or VHS tapes was normal and pretty much the only way to watch films outside of the cinema. These lower-quality formats were often packaged with little additional material and could even be rented from places like Blockbuster if you didn’t feel like fully investing in a movie. But just as there are Blu-Ray addicts today, lusting after the latest restoration and release by Arrow or BFI, there were hardcore VHS lovers back in their heydey.
While VHS is pretty much a dead medium now, there are special editions of certain tapes that can fetch ridiculous amounts of money. Because VHS tapes are hardly made anymore, there are some movies which are incredibly difficult to find in the format, with just a few hundred copies to their names. For example, due to the controversial nature of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, its VHS distribution was slim. These days, copies of the film on VHS fetch around $300 or more. That’s a lot of money to watch a movie in a low-quality format…
While that sounds like a lot, that’s nothing compared to the most coveted and expensive VHS tapes of all time. Coming in at third place is a Black Diamond release of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast, which can be purchased for no less than $10,000. If you fancy spending $30,000 more than that, you can find a rare copy of E.T the Extra-Terrestrial. With a starting price of $40,000, this version of Steven Spielberg’s movie can be found listed as the ‘20th Foil Holographic Anniversary Limited Edition’.
Taking the top spot, however, is a surprising movie. The Goonies, a beloved family-friendly classic, has the ability to reel in a ridiculously large sum of money when purchased on VHS. An unopened copy of the film was once available on eBay with an asking price of $125,000, which seems to make it the most expensive VHS of all time.
