Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Al Matthews, Bill Paxton, Mark Rolston, Ricco Ross, Jenette Goldstein, Colette Hiller, William Hope

Director: James Cameron

Summary: Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo, is asked to go back to the planet where the aliens were first found, when communications with the colonists are lost... Includes the scenes edited from the 1986 film release.

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor from the original ALIEN, is awakened after 57 years of drifting through space, her stories disbelieved by Company executives who tell her that the alien's planet is now inhabited and colonized. When contact is suddenly lost with the colonists, Ripley returns to the planet with a squad of marines, an android (Lance Henriksen), and a Company executive (Paul Reiser) with a mission of his own. Once on the planet, no survivors can be found except for Newt, a little girl who awakens motherly instincts in Ripley just in time for the acid-blooded aliens to attack in what quickly becomes a one-sided battle for sheer survival. Considered by many to be the best of the series, ALIENS is a fast-paced, high-intensity thrill ride that set a new standard for action films and cemented director James Cameron's status as one of Hollywood's leading directors following the success of THE TERMINATOR. Weaver received an Academy Award nomination and became a feminist hero for her strong, sensitive performance as the survivor Ripley, while costars Reiser, Henriksen, and Bill Paxton all give career-making performances in this landmark sci-fi extravaganza.

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Reviewed by: cooljimbop
Posted on July 20, 2005 1:07 PM

One of the all time great sci-fi action movies. This is proof that very occassionally sequels can out do the previous films. At 148 minutes long it may seem a bit too much but it is all fantastic and nailbiting. This is a perfect blend of characterisation, thrills, scares, violence and of course action. This is a good fun film but with enough underrunning emotions and plotlines to make it unmissable viewing. From the tense first assault to the amazing climax this film is all and more you want from a sci fi. You must own this.

Reviewed by: philreyn
Posted on October 17, 2005 12:05 PM

Still one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time. James Cameron took Ridley Scott's original Alien and made it better! A superb cast, and the intoduction of big budget special effects takes this story to the next level. An additional 17 minutes have been added to make this a real special edition, and answers some questions from the first issue. We now understand why Ripley was so determined to risk her life to save newt, it was because newt represented her own daughter that she never saw grow up! Top drawer, edge the seat entertainment.

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The Alien Quadrilogyis a nine-disc box set devoted to the four Alienfilms. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here the films have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and vision. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original and "Special Edition" form.

Alien(1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, and Ridley Scott's 2003 Director's Cut is fiddling for the sake of it. Watch once then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely the Special Edition of James Cameron's Aliens(1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice finally to have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien3(1992). This isn't a "director's cut"--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and has now been restored, remastered and finished-off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, and a subplot involving Paul McGann's character adds considerable depth to the story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien Resurrection(1997) was always a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the Special Edition just makes it eight minutes longer.

On the DVD:Alien Quadrilogyoffers all films except Alien3with DTS soundtracks, the latter having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, and the prints and transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first AlienDVD release are missing here--and there are subtitles for hard of hearing both for the films and the commentaries.

Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented at 4:3 with clips letterboxed), thousands of photos, production stills and storyboards, giving a level of inside information for the dedicated buff only surpassed by the Lord of the Ringsextended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including a Channel 4 hour-long documentary and even all the extras from the old Alienlaserdisc. Exhaustive hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set which establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and which looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Original Theatrical Trailer, Interview, Behind The Scenes Footage, Still Photo Section, Extra Restored Footage
Subtitles:	Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
Year:	1986
Release Date:	May 15, 2000
Runtime:	148 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	01802 D V D
Keywords:	Special, Aliens, General, Edition, Wide, Screen, Fiction, Science, Horror, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction