Alien Quadrilogy

The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc boxed set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here they have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and picture. 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 fiddling. Watch it 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 to finally have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien 3 (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 story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien: Resurrection (1997) always was a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the special edition just makes it eight minutes longer.

The Alien Quadrilogy offers the first and fourth films with DTS soundtracks, the others 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 track that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here.

Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented in full-screen 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 Rings extended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including an hourlong documentary and even all the extras from the old Alien laserdisc. "Exhaustive" hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set that establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S. Dalkin

Movie Details

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Charles Dance, Brad Dourif, Charles Dutton, J.E. Freeman, Dan Hedaya, Lance Henriksen, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, Ron Perlman, Winona Ryder, Harry Dean Stanton
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 145 min
DVD Aspect Ratios: 2.35:1

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DVD Features: ALIEN - 2 DVDs

The original 1979 theatrical version and the 2003 Director's cut

An introduction by Director Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt and more

Brand new commentary by Ridley Scott and the technical crew

Nine brand new documentaries: "Star Beast," "The Visualists," "Truckers In Space," "Fear Of The Unknown," "The Darkest Reaches," "The Eight Passenger," "Future Tense," "Outward Bound" and "A Nightmare Fulfilled"

A Multi-Angle Scene Study on the Chestburster sequence with optional commentary

Sigourney Weaver's original screen test with optional commentary

Seven deleted scenes

The first draft of the screenplay by O'Bannon

Ridleygrams - Original thumbnails and sketches

Storyboard Archives "Art of Alien" including a cast portrait gallery, production gallery, the sets of Alien, H.R. Giger's Workshop, continuity polaroids and VFX gallery

Original theatrical posters and stills from the premiere. ALIENS - 2 DVDs

The original theatrical version and the special edition

An introduction by Director James Cameron

Brand new commentary by Cameron, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Terry Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak and Stan Winston

James Cameron original treatment

Nine brand new featurettes: "57 Years Later," "Building Better Worlds," "Preparing For Battle," "This Time It's War," "The Risk Always Lives," "Bug Hunt," "Beauty And The Bitch," "Two Orphans" and "Aliens Unleashed"

The Art of Aliens including conceptual art portfolio, cast portraits, production gallery, continuity polaroids, Stan Winston's workshop, VFX gallery and premiere stills

Deleted footage marker and deleted scene

Multi-angle videomatics with optional commentary. ALIEN 3 - 2 DVDs

The original theatrical version and a restored pre-release version with more than 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage

Brand new commentary by cinematographer Alex Thompson, Editor Terry Rawlings, VFX designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., effects producer Richard Edlund, and actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen

11 new featurettes: "Development," "Tales Of The Wooden Planet," "Pre-Production III," "Xeno-Erotic," "Production: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three," "Adaptive Organism," "Optical Fury," "Music, Editing And Sound" and "Post-Mortem"

E.E.V. Bio-Scan - A multi-angle vignette with optional commentary by Gillis

The Art of Alien 3 including conceptual art portfolio, production gallery, and visual effects

Furnace construction time lapse Storyboard archives. ALIEN RESURRECTION - 2 DVDs

The original theatrical version and an extended cut with alternate opening and ending sequences

An introduction by director Jean Pierre Jeunet

Brand new commentary by Jeunet, Herve Schneid, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Pitof, Sylvain Despretz, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser First draft of the screenplay by Joss Whedon

11 new featurettes: "From The Ashes," "French Twist," "Under The Skin," "Death From Below," "In The Zone," "Unnatural Mutation," "Genetic Mutation," "Genetic Composition," "Virtual Alien," "A Matter Of Scale" and "Critical Junction"

Multi-angel rehearsal footage

A Mike Carro photo gallery, a conceptual art gallery, VFX gallery, a promotional photo archive and continuity polaroids

Storyboard archives. Bonus DVD

A brand new Q&A with Ridley Scott

"Experience in Terror" -- A promotional featurette from 1979

"Alien Evolution" -- Channel 4 U.K. exclusive documentary on "Alien"

A complete laser disc archive of "Alien" and "Aliens"

Original theatrical trailers and TV spots from all four films

"Aliens In The Basement" -- Inside the Bob Burns "ALIEN" Collection

Dark Horse cover gallery -- Anthology of 11 issues of the "ALIEN" comics

DVD-ROM feature -- Script to screen comparisons

DVD International release dates:
North America: Dec 2, 03