sulaimanintokyo
New member
I was fearful of this when I ordered it.
I got Fox's Pod boxset of The Fly films for
I got Fox's Pod boxset of The Fly films for
Alien Anthology blu ray box.
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- Start date
oh my goodness, its terrible. terrible terrible. i expected like Polystone or something...not bloody cheap wafer paper thin plastic crap.
think its made by the same cheap people who made the fly pod. it certainly sounRAB that way iknowitall.
i am so tempted to throw it back to them and demand my money back. its disgusting that they charged so much for this crap.
think its made by the same cheap people who made the fly pod. it certainly sounRAB that way iknowitall.
i am so tempted to throw it back to them and demand my money back. its disgusting that they charged so much for this crap.
☼Sunshine.
New member
I ordered mine from HMV on tues 19th they posted on wed 20th and I received it on sat 23rd.
I dont order my new releases from Amazon or Play now use HMV almost all time they always seem to post on wed prior to release and are delivered fri or sat.
I dont order my new releases from Amazon or Play now use HMV almost all time they always seem to post on wed prior to release and are delivered fri or sat.
...where was I? Oh yeah...the Burke cocoon scene...
Sorry - once I got to the final disc I just got completely carried away...yeah I know...what a geek!
I will just go through various points of interest I noted - bear in mind that a lot of this material comes from the laserdisc releases of the movies, but though some of it appears dated and slightly embarassing...it often throws up the occasional gem.
Obviously...HUGE HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
First off, those of you (like me) who remember laserdisc will remember that you were often presented with massive amounts of written text, such as scripts, synopsis etc that you had to wade through. Well...all of that is here as well, if you want it. As well as a lot of occasionally ropey video footage...
Alien - the famous Dallas cocoon scene. Is it just me, but despite the claims of it slowing down the pace of the movie, isn't it obvious that Skerritt is just terrible in this scene? What is with that stupid voice? There was supposed to be hints of a romance between him and Ripley, which would in theory have rendered this scene heartbreaking...but on this evidence it just comes across as embarassing.
Good to see some deleted scenes not in any final cut, such as Kane waking up and having breakfast,extended scenes inside the derelict spaceship, alternative dialogue scenes between Parker and Brett, Lambert quizzing Ash about Kane's condition in the sickbay, and a long dialogue sequence between the cast just after Dallas has been killed, where they discuss what has happened.
'Experience In Terror!' A really ropey, dated late 70's video promo for the first movie...well, I can remember lapping these things up at the time, so what the hell.
Sigourney Weavers screen tests. Not sure if these were on the quadrilogy set, but either way it's good to see them.
The Alien Legacy - not quite sure which version of the video/dvd release this doc appeared on, but I do know I have seen it before. Dates from 1999.
Nice Ridley Scott Q&A from 2001 at a theatre in LA after a screening of the film as well.
Trailers...ok, we all know the well known ones...but you really have to see the original US teaser - the project originally started out as a possible low-budget Roger Corman production called Star Beast...these guys obviously did not get the update...!
Aliens - the gem here is all of the video footage and graphics shot for the movie, such as the colonial marines headcam footage, the graphics of the dropship display as they are landing on the planet...but the nugget for me was the footage of the crew dossiers shown in the background during Ripleys inquest, where she is being questioned about what happened on the ship.
I am not going to reveal anything, but the level of detail about each of the original Nostromo crew members is quite staggering...and there are some very interesting 'skeletons' in there too.
Burke's cocoon scene...yes, it's there. Along with a few other brief deleted snippets that often amount to no more than maybe a line of dialogue...but can often throw a slightly different slant on the character concerned.
Ride At The Speed Of Fright - oh, this is good.
A theme park ride from '96 based on the movie...an introduction by a bunch of lookalike marines (including Jeffrey Combs as a Hicks-like character), and then the actual ride footage itself. OK...maybe I am being unfair, maybe the ride itself was was more effective and entertaining, after all the T2 'Across Time' attraction at Universal is pretty darn good.
Alien 3 - what's most interesting about the promo's and publicity for this one is that it seems Fincher never, ever appeared on camera talking about the movie whatsoever. (Rest assured...the expanded behind the scenes docs elsewhere show Fincher voicing his opinion, and indeed contempt for Fox in no uncertain terms).
There is suprisngly little footage here for Alien 3, the occasional time-lapse set building feature, the usual promo's...but the gem for me is the very first teaser trailer, which has the tag line 'In 1992, we will discover on earth...everyone will hear you scream!'. Obviously this was put together whilst the script was still being written...
Alien Resurrection - not much of interest in the archive stuff here...just one unintentionally hilarious gem in the HBO making of, hosted by Ron Perlman...'Hi...I'm Ron Perlman, one of the stars of the movie...we'll take you behind the scenes of the movie, and find out just what it is about the alien movies that scares us'.
Finally...we get the Mark Kermode Alien Evolution doc...in fact, two versions. The original 2001 version that sired on TV, which took in all 4 movies, and the 2003 version from the quadrilogy box set which is longer and concentrates primarily on the original movie.
It's ok, I guess. It suffers from that tendency to over-styilise such docs at that time by having dry ice, moving graphics projected behind the interviewee's, and lighting them from below to make them look slightly menacing. And to be honest by the time you get to the 6th disc...there is nothing here that you probably do not already know anyway.
The Aliens Saga - an almost 2 hour, epic doc narrated by John Hurt spanning all 4 movies, and like most of the main retrospective docs made during the 1999 - 2003 period. Again, once you get to this section of the set (assuming of course you are watching it in sequence), most of this stuff will be pretty familiar, and you will pretty much know the story of the movies and the attendant making of's.
That said...it is interesting to note the differences in style, attitude, content and perception across the board in the various making of and documentaries about the movies.
As a general rule, you tend to think you get more honest opinions and comments the further way we get from the movies...at the time any movie is made, of course everyone involved will praise it to the hilt (and largely because it's a contractual obligation).
However, sometimes you actually get interesting and honest little gems of information in those older docs and interviews, that would not perhaps be allowed in today's somewhat more PC and diplomatic climate.
And...you get the trawl round the late Bob Burns basement with him showing his collected Alien props over the years, a selection of Dark Horse comic covers, logo's, patches...whew.
Y'know, I am not normallly a 'bells and whistles' guy, I don't really feel like I want to know about every single detail of how a movie was made. But with some older movies, the story of the making of them can often be as entertaining and fascinating as the films themselves.
Sorry - once I got to the final disc I just got completely carried away...yeah I know...what a geek!
I will just go through various points of interest I noted - bear in mind that a lot of this material comes from the laserdisc releases of the movies, but though some of it appears dated and slightly embarassing...it often throws up the occasional gem.
Obviously...HUGE HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
First off, those of you (like me) who remember laserdisc will remember that you were often presented with massive amounts of written text, such as scripts, synopsis etc that you had to wade through. Well...all of that is here as well, if you want it. As well as a lot of occasionally ropey video footage...
Alien - the famous Dallas cocoon scene. Is it just me, but despite the claims of it slowing down the pace of the movie, isn't it obvious that Skerritt is just terrible in this scene? What is with that stupid voice? There was supposed to be hints of a romance between him and Ripley, which would in theory have rendered this scene heartbreaking...but on this evidence it just comes across as embarassing.
Good to see some deleted scenes not in any final cut, such as Kane waking up and having breakfast,extended scenes inside the derelict spaceship, alternative dialogue scenes between Parker and Brett, Lambert quizzing Ash about Kane's condition in the sickbay, and a long dialogue sequence between the cast just after Dallas has been killed, where they discuss what has happened.
'Experience In Terror!' A really ropey, dated late 70's video promo for the first movie...well, I can remember lapping these things up at the time, so what the hell.
Sigourney Weavers screen tests. Not sure if these were on the quadrilogy set, but either way it's good to see them.
The Alien Legacy - not quite sure which version of the video/dvd release this doc appeared on, but I do know I have seen it before. Dates from 1999.
Nice Ridley Scott Q&A from 2001 at a theatre in LA after a screening of the film as well.
Trailers...ok, we all know the well known ones...but you really have to see the original US teaser - the project originally started out as a possible low-budget Roger Corman production called Star Beast...these guys obviously did not get the update...!
Aliens - the gem here is all of the video footage and graphics shot for the movie, such as the colonial marines headcam footage, the graphics of the dropship display as they are landing on the planet...but the nugget for me was the footage of the crew dossiers shown in the background during Ripleys inquest, where she is being questioned about what happened on the ship.
I am not going to reveal anything, but the level of detail about each of the original Nostromo crew members is quite staggering...and there are some very interesting 'skeletons' in there too.
Burke's cocoon scene...yes, it's there. Along with a few other brief deleted snippets that often amount to no more than maybe a line of dialogue...but can often throw a slightly different slant on the character concerned.
Ride At The Speed Of Fright - oh, this is good.
A theme park ride from '96 based on the movie...an introduction by a bunch of lookalike marines (including Jeffrey Combs as a Hicks-like character), and then the actual ride footage itself. OK...maybe I am being unfair, maybe the ride itself was was more effective and entertaining, after all the T2 'Across Time' attraction at Universal is pretty darn good. Alien 3 - what's most interesting about the promo's and publicity for this one is that it seems Fincher never, ever appeared on camera talking about the movie whatsoever. (Rest assured...the expanded behind the scenes docs elsewhere show Fincher voicing his opinion, and indeed contempt for Fox in no uncertain terms).
There is suprisngly little footage here for Alien 3, the occasional time-lapse set building feature, the usual promo's...but the gem for me is the very first teaser trailer, which has the tag line 'In 1992, we will discover on earth...everyone will hear you scream!'. Obviously this was put together whilst the script was still being written...
Alien Resurrection - not much of interest in the archive stuff here...just one unintentionally hilarious gem in the HBO making of, hosted by Ron Perlman...'Hi...I'm Ron Perlman, one of the stars of the movie...we'll take you behind the scenes of the movie, and find out just what it is about the alien movies that scares us'.
Finally...we get the Mark Kermode Alien Evolution doc...in fact, two versions. The original 2001 version that sired on TV, which took in all 4 movies, and the 2003 version from the quadrilogy box set which is longer and concentrates primarily on the original movie.
It's ok, I guess. It suffers from that tendency to over-styilise such docs at that time by having dry ice, moving graphics projected behind the interviewee's, and lighting them from below to make them look slightly menacing. And to be honest by the time you get to the 6th disc...there is nothing here that you probably do not already know anyway.
The Aliens Saga - an almost 2 hour, epic doc narrated by John Hurt spanning all 4 movies, and like most of the main retrospective docs made during the 1999 - 2003 period. Again, once you get to this section of the set (assuming of course you are watching it in sequence), most of this stuff will be pretty familiar, and you will pretty much know the story of the movies and the attendant making of's.
That said...it is interesting to note the differences in style, attitude, content and perception across the board in the various making of and documentaries about the movies.
As a general rule, you tend to think you get more honest opinions and comments the further way we get from the movies...at the time any movie is made, of course everyone involved will praise it to the hilt (and largely because it's a contractual obligation).
However, sometimes you actually get interesting and honest little gems of information in those older docs and interviews, that would not perhaps be allowed in today's somewhat more PC and diplomatic climate.
And...you get the trawl round the late Bob Burns basement with him showing his collected Alien props over the years, a selection of Dark Horse comic covers, logo's, patches...whew.
Y'know, I am not normallly a 'bells and whistles' guy, I don't really feel like I want to know about every single detail of how a movie was made. But with some older movies, the story of the making of them can often be as entertaining and fascinating as the films themselves.
UHHiloveyou.
New member
Why is aliens so grainy all the other films look fantastic in HD but the 2nd one there far to much grain effect.
MacDaddy_101
New member
I've not watched mine yet but I heavily suspected that Aliens might look grainy. Shame really as it's my favourite film of all time!!!
Raving Metalhead {RVD}
New member
Aliens is full screen unlike the other 3 films in the set and has the worst picture by far. but other than that its a decent set. Alien looks really good. Might watch the first one tomrrow night.
×צ.LadyJoker.¦××
New member
Full Screen as in 16:9 right?
The rest should be 2.35:1
The rest should be 2.35:1
Would agree that while looking better than it has in previous editions, Alien's does not look as impressive in HD as the others.
Remember that Cameron had just come off the first Terminator, another low budget film which though respected at that time, had not quite achieved the classic status it now has.
And Cameron, coming from a background of working with Roger Corman and cutting costs and corners at every opportunity, carried on this tradition with Aliens.
I never thought the work of the Skotak brothers in the movie was that impressive, and some of the process shots (the dropship crash for one) look extremely unconvincing.
But you tended to forgive the movies occasionally dodgy effects because of the sheer, coollness, the energy and the ultimate rollercoaster ride that it was.
Remember that Cameron had just come off the first Terminator, another low budget film which though respected at that time, had not quite achieved the classic status it now has.
And Cameron, coming from a background of working with Roger Corman and cutting costs and corners at every opportunity, carried on this tradition with Aliens.
I never thought the work of the Skotak brothers in the movie was that impressive, and some of the process shots (the dropship crash for one) look extremely unconvincing.
But you tended to forgive the movies occasionally dodgy effects because of the sheer, coollness, the energy and the ultimate rollercoaster ride that it was.
shaman sun
New member
I got in late last night after a few drinks and thought I'd give Aliens a go.
Now I don't know if it's because I was drunk and/or had read comments like Chris_TV's, but I thought the picture quality was excellent! It really exceeded my expectations. Sure, it doesn't compare to newer films but when comparing the Blu-ray version with the DVD version, I think it looks amazing! I am so pleased!
I will give it another sober watch tonight to see whether it really is as good as I initially thought!
Now I don't know if it's because I was drunk and/or had read comments like Chris_TV's, but I thought the picture quality was excellent! It really exceeded my expectations. Sure, it doesn't compare to newer films but when comparing the Blu-ray version with the DVD version, I think it looks amazing! I am so pleased!
I will give it another sober watch tonight to see whether it really is as good as I initially thought!
Masokabaso
New member
Sorry to sound pedantic Ted, but al the deleted scenes you've mentioned so far re: Alien have already been available thru the last two releases of Alien on dvd. I was hoping that there might be some further scenes that havent been made available yet, as it says on the 6th disc 'additional deleted scenes'...?
Also the deleted scenes you mentioned- its a shame they werent included, as alot feature Veronica Cartwright, who is a fantastic actress, the scenes with Ripley talking about Ash are bloody brilliant. Infact the last two dvd releases featuring the deleted scenes show different versions of the deleted scenes- on both releases... Just to make that more confusing!
Also the deleted scenes you mentioned- its a shame they werent included, as alot feature Veronica Cartwright, who is a fantastic actress, the scenes with Ripley talking about Ash are bloody brilliant. Infact the last two dvd releases featuring the deleted scenes show different versions of the deleted scenes- on both releases... Just to make that more confusing!
David.hamster
New member
Although I haven't watched it yet, Aliens has been fully restored by James Cameron.
Cameron: "It's spectacular. We went in and completely de-noised it, de-grained it, up-rezzed, color-corrected every frame, and it looks amazing. It looks better that it looked in the theaters originally. Because it was shot on a high-speed negative that was a new negative that didn't pan out too well and got replaced the following year. So it's pretty grainy. We got rid of all the grain. It's sharper and clearer and more beautiful than it's ever looked. And we did that to the long version, to the 'director's cut' or the extended play."
So this is the best we will get, unless you want a waxed facing DNR edition a la the Predator Blu Ray v2.
Cameron: "It's spectacular. We went in and completely de-noised it, de-grained it, up-rezzed, color-corrected every frame, and it looks amazing. It looks better that it looked in the theaters originally. Because it was shot on a high-speed negative that was a new negative that didn't pan out too well and got replaced the following year. So it's pretty grainy. We got rid of all the grain. It's sharper and clearer and more beautiful than it's ever looked. And we did that to the long version, to the 'director's cut' or the extended play."
So this is the best we will get, unless you want a waxed facing DNR edition a la the Predator Blu Ray v2.