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This review is for the UHD edition of Alien released by 20th Century Fox in April, 2019
I pre-ordered this release and I sat down to watch the movie in it's entirety for the first time since it's theatrical release, 40 years ago. I've seen bits and pieces and I've seen 'Aliens' a few times. Other than that, the only other movie from this franchise that I've seen more than once is 'Prometheus'.
UHD Disc: I'll get right to the point. The picture is very clear as would be expected from a UHD release of a movie of this magnitude. I don't know much about photography. I just go by what my eyes tell me. If you want an in depth breakdown on the picture, you will have to check elsewhere in the reviews. The picture looked great. The only thing that I can really comment on is the color saturation. This seems somewhat muted but I suspect that is the way the movie was filmed. Other than that, I don't think you will be disappointed if you are watching this on a large screen television.
There are two different versions of Alien presented. You can watch the original theatrical version or the director's cut.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE THEATRICAL CUT AND THE DIRECTOR'S CUT?:
There are many differences and changes made between the two movies but the director's cut is actually about a minute shorter than the original cut.
In the director's cut many minor scenes are cut and some scenes are trimmed to eliminate some unnecessary excess.
There are several scenes added to the director's cut. They are:
-The crew listens to the transmission on the Nostromo's bridge shortly after being woken up.
-A longer scene is used when Ripley comes to the medical bay where Kane is after being attacked by the facehugger.
-The most notable scene that is added is the scene where Ripley finds Dallas and Brett in cocoons and she incinerates them.
EXTRA'S: You get two versions of the movie, the theatrical cut and the director's cut. You get both the Blu-Ray version and the UHD version.
-Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott and cast & crew.
-Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott on the theatrical version
-Introduction by Ridley Scott on the Blu-Ray version.
-Final Theatrical Isolated Score
-Composers Original Isolated Score
-Deleted and extended scenes
COMMENTS:
WHAT WERE MY THOUGHTS AFTER WATCHING THIS MOVIE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS?: I was actually quite surprised at how little screen time the 'alien' has in this movie. I am so used to the sequel, 'Aliens', which I've seen many times, and having played many video games, that I never realized how rarely you see the 'alien' in the original. I thought the movie in some respects was better than I remembered and in other respects it was worse. As a young teenager I wanted action and this movie is very slow in the first half. Today, I like the slow build up and the slow development. What I don't like is the unrealistic actions of the characters which is normal for most science fiction movies. I go into more detail below under 'WHAT I DON'T LIKE'. It had always been my impression that this was a big budget movie. Listening to the commentary, this is not the case. Ridley Scott talks about short cuts they had to make since they didn't have the budget to do it the way he would have liked. The bottom line is that after watching this movie again for the first time in 40 years, my opinion is basically exactly the same. I don't think any higher or lower of it.
WHAT I DIDN'T REMEMBER:
-Ripley isn't nearly as tough as I remembered nor as tough as she is in later movies.
-I remember almost nothing about the cat. I have no memory of it.
-Being that I was only 13 at the time this movie was released, I wasn't paying much attention to the details. I never realized that the trip was a set-up. I knew, of course, that in later movies, such as 'Aliens' that this was the case but I wasn't aware of it in the original.
-I thought that the android was the same one that was in 'Aliens'. Obviously, my memories are scrambled!
-I did not realize that Kane was alone when the facehugger jumped on him. I found it surprising that the next time you see him, he is being brought on the ship.
WHAT I LIKE:
-The Alien design is as classic a look as it gets for an 'alien'.
-I very much like the look of the interior of the 'Nostromo'. This is excellently designed. Even taking into account the unexpected leap in computer technology, things still look good. The exterior is nothing to write home about. Of course it's a mining ship!
-While 'Alien' has been criticized for having a slow moving plot, I think that is a plus. I like movies that slowly build up the story, characters and world. If anything, I wish most movies of this type were longer so that they can be fleshed out even more. I'm not one to complain about 3 hours movies. I like epics as long as they are good. I don't care of a movie is 10 hours longs as long as those 10 hours have interesting stuff in them.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
-Call me whatever names you like. I don't like strong female protagonist's. I know in this day and age that makes me Public Enemy #1 to half the country. So be it. I very much prefer the 'damsel in distress', any day and time of the week.
-I find that a common theme with Ridley Scott's science fiction movies, is a decided lack of 'common sense' amongst the characters of his movies. He doesn't really seem to care about realistic scenario's. Some examples of what I'm talking about:
a) Looking at the size of the Nostromo, how hard could it have been to quarantine the 'alien' once you knew where it was. It should be quite easy to seal off area's of any ship whether it be a sea going vessel or even a proposed space ship. In any event, any type of ship would have these types of safety features.
b) Kane could have been quarantined but they chose not to do this. Even taking into account, going against procedure, they still should have had him completely isolated, especially on a ship of that size.
c) Why even attempt the landing? They did what they had to do and went to the planet to answer the distress call. Once there, there was no response and there was no reason to attempt a landing that was that dangerous. The excuse that the whole thing was a set up is not really valid here since the captain was unaware of what was really going on.
STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST'S: Yes, that pretty much starts here. There were some others that came before but Ripley is the first genuine heroine of this type that everyone thinks of. Of course, today, this sort of thing has gone way 'over the top'. We are now just about at the point where strong male protagonist's are unusual.
RATINGS:
Plot: 7/10 - The plot is actually thin and it takes big parts from earlier movies. Significant, of course it is, but I've created a separate category for that.
SFX: 7/10 - For it's day, the effects were very good but for this movie, I'm creating a set design category because that is what truly stands out.
Set Design: 10/10 - The ship is excellent as is the planet landscape. Based on Giger, that's all we need to know.
Picture: 9/10 or 5 stars - I always think there is room for improvement
Historical Significance: 10/10 or 5 stars - This should be obvious.
Extra's:
Overall: 9/10 or 4.5 stars which I'm rounding up to 5 stars
CONCLUSIONS/DOES THIS MOVIE STAND THE TEST OF TIME?: This is an all time science fiction classic. It has to get 5 stars. I was quite happy to get the director's cut which I had never seen until now.
I was never really a big fan of this franchise to begin with. Thus, this is the first time watching this movie in 40 years.
The obvious franchise to compare it to is 'Predator'. I much prefer the 'Predator' franchise to the 'Alien' franchise.
I think it pretty much stands the test of time, even if some of the special effects and the computer graphics are dated. This movie looks as if it could have been made today. Thumbs up for 'Alien'.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR THE ALIEN FRANCHISE?:
If you are purchasing this release, I doubt very much that you need me to tell you about future movies. Obviously, 'Aliens' is next followed by 'Alien 3' and 'Alien Resurrection'. After a hiatus, next comes the two Alien vs. Predator movies. More recently the prequels arrived in the form of 'Prometheus' and 'Alien: Covenant'.
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| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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DVD
October 7, 2014 "Please retry" | New Box Art | 1 | $7.82 | $3.06 |
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October 7, 2014 "Please retry" | No enhanced packaging | 1 | $9.85 | $5.99 |
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It is a great movie that announces the start of the series
It is a great movie that announces the start of the series that made fans excited! And it is a great movie that features more alien life than imagination.
