Alien Anthology (Blu-ray Review)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Lance Henriksen, Winona Ryder
Rated: R/Region: A/Widescreen/Number of discs: 6
Available from 20th Century Fox
Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott
The crew of the deep space towing vessel Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS.
And here we have the one that started it all! And for the most part you could say that unlike what would follow in the franchise; this is one pure horror entry into the series. And I think it may be due to that reason why I prefer this one ever so slightly above Aliens, even when I’d give them the same score for different reasons. The thing about Alien is it does pack a bit of a slow burn at the start. But once things hit the fan they really do hit it hard, and what follows is great until the very end. It is my personal belief that when we start out the movie we are introduced to a dull crew in what seems like a dull and slow paced science fiction flick, but once members of the crew starts biting the dust things quickly escalate and turn into a space based horror that results in a classic and the bloom of a great horror characters, Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Once business picks up in the second half of the film what follows is great. We have a big alien taking people out in very cool and unique ways, androids, and maybe the strongest female lead character you’ll ever find. I think the idea of space also pushes the true terror of this one home. I believe that the nowhere to run and nearly closed in claustrophobic aspect of things does get lost a bit later on down the line with other films to come in the Aliens franchise. Had there never been another Alien film, yes we would have missed out on at least one or two very kick ass sequels, but on its own, Alien, is a great science fiction horror film. And to combine those two and make it awesome is very hard to do. But the collaboration of Dan O’Bannon (writer) and Ridley Scott do a great job with this.
– 1979 Theatrical Version
– 2003 Director’s Cut with Ridley Scott Introduction
– Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Writer Dan O’Bannon, Executive Producer Ronald Shusett, Editor Terry Rawlings, Actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt
– Audio Commentary (for Theatrical Cut only) by Ridley Scott
– Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
– Composer’s Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
– Deleted and Extended Scenes
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
Aliens (1986)
Director: James Cameron
Fifty seven years after Ellen Ripley survived her disastrous ordeal, her escape vessel is recovered after drifting across the galaxy as she slept in cryogenic stasis. Back on earth, nobody believed her story about the “Aliens” on the planet LV-426. After the “Company” orders the colony on LV-426 to investigate, however, all communication with the colony is lost. The Company enlists Ripley to aid a team of tough, rugged space marines on a rescue mission to the now partially terraformed planet to find out if there are aliens or survivors. As the mission unfolds, Ripley will be forced to come to grips with her worst nightmare, but even as she does, she finds that the worst is yet to come.
Very rarely does a sequel top or match its predecessor, but Aliens at least matches it in my mind. And it matches it for very different reasons than you might think. While Alien was a horror flick at heart and packed many moments that might make you jump, Aliens, is a pure sci-fi action movie. While one could argue that it takes about equal time to get things rolling as the original, the characters here don’t have to have something bad happen to wake them up and make them interesting. We pretty much get solid characters out the gate with this one. We of course have the great character of Ripley, but we also got some exciting marines and a few shady characters to match up with a very large group of Aliens. So it isn’t just one this time around, we got a whole army of them.
We also insert a small child into the mix for Ripley to take a liking to and try to protect. I do think it makes a lot more sense for her to follow around this child and try to save her from the evil aliens than it did for her to do the very same for a cat in the previous film. This movie also benefits from having such great actors as Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton along for the ride as well. So all in all we have a great action film that takes place in space with marines, a child, and a bad ass woman going to war with aliens. It does lose a lot of if not all of the actual horror elements it has before, but from a visual standpoint and an action standpoint it is top notch for its genre and style. Plus, how could we ever forget the queen alien after seeing it here? My main complaint would be that I do feel it runs a little long.
– 1986 Theatrical Version
– 1991 Special Edition with James Cameron Introduction
– Audio Commentary by Director James Cameron, Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Alien Effects Creator Stan Winston, Visual Effects Supervisors Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak, Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung, Actors Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Christopher Henn
– Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner
– Composer’s Original Isolated Score by James Horner
– Deleted and Extended Scenes
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
Alien 3 (1992)
Director: David Fincher
After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ellen Ripley crashes onto a remote and inhabited ore refinery. While living in the ore refinery until she is rescued by her employers, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for her crash: An alien stowaway. As the alien matures and begins to kill off the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her true enemy is more than just the killer alien.
Following the awesome one-two punch of Alien and Aliens, I went into Alien 3 very excited. I also was happy about seeing director David Fincher listed as the director. But as this movie went along on the screen I was deeply reminded why I hated a lot of what I saw in the horror/Sci-fi world in the early 90s because this movie simply doesn’t live up to its own standards that the other films before it in the Alien franchise set. I know a lot of people hate what they did to the survivors of the previous film, but seeing as the sequel takes place six years after Aliens I could see where they felt backed in a corner. But couldn’t they have just landed safely and went from there years later? Instead we kill off everyone besides Ripley and toss her in a male based setting that does a fine job of taking away the space elements that made things cool before. What follows is just mostly dull in my opinion and very underwhelming.
We also have the fact that this movie packs CGI and I hold a grudge against it for that. The two previous films where space based, much more than this one, and the aliens were natural and done in a natural and cool effects kind of way. Here we have a CGI alien at times and it just kills the overall mystic of things. Also while they really go for shock and emotion for what happens with the Ripley characters, I don’t think that even that is done as well as it could have been done. Maybe it’s because I know they went on to make another film with Ripley, but the ending and the movie as a whole just falls really flat with me in comparison. If there weren’t two classic before it already in the same series perhaps I’d have better eyes for it, but that sadly isn’t the case.
– 1992 Theatrical Version
– 2003 Special Edition (Restored Workprint Version)
– Audio Commentary by Cinematographer Alex Thomson, B.S.C., Editor Terry Rawlings, Alien Effects Designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Producer Richard Edlund, A.S.C., Actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen
– Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Elliot Goldenthal
– Deleted and Extended Scenes
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
200 years after the conclusion of Alien 3, the company is able to resurrect Ripley through the process of cloning and the scientists successfully take the Queen Alien out of her. But, Ripley’s DNA gets mixed up with the Queen’s and she begins to develop certain alien characteristics. The scientists begin breeding the aliens, but they later escape. Soon the Xeno-morphs are running amok on the ship, which is on course to earth. The Queen then gives birth to a deadly new breed of alien, which could spell disaster for the entire human race. It’s up to Ripley and a band of space pirates to stop the ship before it reaches earth.
Our last trip into the world of Alien before Alien vs. Predator is a major rebound for the franchise as a whole. This is due in a great deal to the great writing of one Joss Whedon. Here, Joss, breaths fresh air into a franchise that desperately needed it after Alien 3. And what we end up with is a much better paced and wittier trip into space with a cloned Ripley and several other memorable characters played by such names as Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman. The film packs a much more action based platform as it seems much more like Aliens than Alien, but that is ok in association with this plot.
So the horror aspects are all pretty well gone here, but the action is good and we have plenty of gory moments to keep us horror fans happy. We also not only touch base with some of our aliens and face huggers from previous films, but the cloning elements of it all leads us to have a brand new alien that is pretty cool as well. If you like Alien, Aliens, or just a fan of the writing style of Joss Whedon you should enjoy yourself a great deal with Alien: Resurrection. While some of the overall mystic of the series is gone by this point and CGI aliens in spots still don’t help and still sort of piss me off, you have a much better timed and hipper film that does seem to be pretty self-aware and in the fourth film in any series that does help. Alien: Resurrection is the most fun of the franchise, not the best, but being fun doesn’t hurt at all.
– 1997 Theatrical Version
– 2003 Special Edition with Jean-Pierre Jeunet Introduction
– Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Editor Hervé Schneid, A.C.E., Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof, Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz, Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
– Final Theatrical Isolated Score by John Frizzell
– Deleted and Extended Scenes
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
DISC FIVE: MAKING THE ANTHOLOGY
In addition to over 12 hours of candid, in-depth documentaries, you now have the ability to go even deeper into Alien Anthology history with nearly five hours of additional video Enhancement Pods created exclusively for this collection, presenting behind-the-scenes footage, raw dailies and interview outtakes from all four films. At topical points in the documentaries, you may access these pods to enhance your experience, or watch them on their own from the separate Enhancement Pod index.
– The Beast Within: Making ALIEN
– Superior Firepower: Making ALIENS
– Wreckage and Rage: Making ALIEN3
– One Step Beyond: Making ALIEN RESURRECTION
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience to Access and Control Enhancement Pods
DISC SIX: THE ANTHOLOGY ARCHIVES
ALIEN
– Pre-Production
First Draft Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon
Ridleygrams: Original Thumbnails and Notes
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Alien: Conceptual Art Portfolio
Sigourney Weaver Screen Tests with Select Director Commentary
Cast Portrait Gallery
– Production
The Chestbuster: Multi-Angle Sequence with Commentary
Video Graphics Gallery
Production Image Galleries
Continuity Polaroids
The Sets of Alien
H.R. Giger’s Workshop Gallery
– Post-Production and Aftermath
Additional Deleted Scenes
Image & Poster Galleries
– Experience in Terror
– Special Collector’s Edition LaserDisc Archive
– The Alien Legacy
ALIENS
– Pre-Production
Original Treatment by James Cameron
Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics with Commentary
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Aliens: Image Galleries
Cast Portrait Gallery
– Production
Production Image Galleries
Continuity Polaroids
Weapons and Vehicles
Stan Winston’s Workshop
Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras
Video Graphics Gallery
Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers
– Post-Production and Aftermath
Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned
Deleted Scene Montage
Image Galleries
Special Collector’s Edition LaserDisc Archive
Main Title Exploration
Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright
Trailers & TV Spots
Alien 3
– Pre-Production
Storyboard Archive
The Art of Arceon
The Art of Fiorina
– Production
Furnace Construction: Time-Lapse Sequence
EEV Bioscan: Multi-Angle Vignette with Commentary
Production Image Galleries
A.D.I.’s Workshop
– Post-Production and Aftermath
Visual Effects Gallery
Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
– Alien3 Advance Featurette
– The Making of Alien3 Promotional Featurette
– Trailers & TV Spots
ALIEN RESURRECTION
– Pre-Production
First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon
Test Footage: A.D.I. Creature Shop with Commentary
Test Footage: Costumes, Hair and Makeup
Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals
Storyboard Archive
The Marc Caro Portfolio: Character Designs
The Art of Resurrection: Image Galleries
– Production
Production Image Galleries
A.D.I.’s Workshop
– Post-Production and Aftermath
Visual Effects Gallery
Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
– HBO First Look: The Making of Alien Resurrection
– Alien Resurrection Promotional Featurette
– Trailers & TV Spots
ANTHOLOGY
– Two Versions of Alien Evolution
– The Alien Saga
– Patches and Logos Gallery
– Aliens 3D Attraction Scripts and Gallery
– Aliens in the Basement: The Bob Burns Collection
– Parodies
– Dark Horse Cover Gallery
– Patches and Logos Gallery
– MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience
