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Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael
Biehn, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton, Al Matthews, Jenette Golstein, Lance Henriksen,
and Carrie Henn
Writer: James Cameron
Based On A Story By: James
Cameron, David Giler, and Walter Hill
Based On Characters Created By:
Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett
Director: James Cameron
1986 Theatrical Version Feature
Length: 137 minutes
1991 Special Edition Feature
Length: 154 minutes
Extras: An Introduction By James
Cameron, Brand New Audio Commentary By James Cameron, Michael Biehn, Jenette
Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill
Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak, and Stan Winston, James Cameron’s
Original Treatment, Nine Part Documentary “Superior Firepower: The Making Of
Aliens”, Still Galleries, Deleted Footage Marker, Deleted Scenes, Multi-angle
Videomatics With Optional Commentary By Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung
Languages: English Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and
Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Nine-Disc Digipack
Gatefold Within A Glossy Cardboard Slipcase
Theatrical Version Chapter Stops:
32
Special Edition Chapter Stops: 44
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 1986/DVD
Release: 2003
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth
Century Fox
Home Video Distributor: Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Warrant Officer Lt. Ellen Ripley
(Sigourney Weaver) awakens from hypersleep to find out that 57 years have past
since her encounter with the alien creature from LV-426 aboard the Nostromo.
Her employer Weyland-Yutani Corporation feigns disbelief since there is no
evidence of the creature she described aboard the Narcissus and the
planet where she claimed the alien was discovered is now a colony of
terraformers, who have had no contact with any life form on that world other
than what they brought with them. Plagued by nightmares, Ripley agrees to
accompany a platoon of Colonial Marines back to LV-426 after communication with
the colony has been lost. Upon landing in the deserted outpost, the Colonial
Marines are unprepared for the horror that awaits them when a hive filled with
aliens is discovered along with lone human survivor, a young girl named Newt
(Carrie Henn). The stakes are raised once the Marines and civilians alike are
stranded with no hope of rescue and ticking time bomb in the form of the damaged
atmosphere process that will ignite like a nuclear bomb and wipe everything
around it out including them out unless they figure a way off of the planet in
time. However the more immediate danger is not in the hordes of aliens and
impending nuclear destruction, but in a greedy traitor in their midst seeking to
profit by bringing a live specimen back to Earth by any means necessary.
“Aliens” is a rare sequel that
is as good as the original in it’s own right, but also very different. Writer
and Director James Cameron takes elements from research into the Vietnam War and
tries to use it as subtext within the story that in some ways borrows elements
from Robert Heinlein’s award winning novel “Starship Troopers.” (Please
note I am referring specifically to elements from the book and not the 1997
feature film adaptation.) Cameron had nine months to kill waiting for Arnold
Schwarzenegger to complete his work on “Conan The Destroyer” so based on the
strength of his screenplay for “The Terminator,” Cameron got the gig to
write the screenplay for “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and what would
eventually become “Aliens.” After the success of “The Terminator,”
Cameron and his then wife Gale Anne Hurd were hired to direct and produce
respectively while Sigourney Weaver got a cool one million dollars to reprise
her signature role for the film and became the first Actress to earn that high
of a salary for a single feature film at that time. The rest is history.
“Aliens” was shot using a film
stock at that time yielded a grainy image so consequently on home video the film
does not look as sharp as the first film in the series, but taking that into
consideration, “Aliens” gritty look serves the story quite well and at times
it is not nearly as noticeable as one might expect. For the first time ever on
DVD, the original 1986 theatrical cut is presented as well as the 1991
“Special Edition” that first appeared on laserdisc have been released
together. Both presentations are presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1)
aspect ratio that preserves the image as close as possible to the way the film
was intended to be screened theatrically for home video users. The picture and
sound are THX certified complete with the THX Optimizer program for proper
picture and sound calibration. The new transfer as well as the advancements in
DVD authoring provide a picture quality that is at least equal to if not better
than the 1997 “Aliens: Special Edition” DVD release. The English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is terrific considering the film is nearly
twenty years old and there is a Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtrack as
well as English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and
Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto the DVD as options Please note that
audio and subtitle changes for the film presentation can only be made by going
back to the interactive menus and not while watching the film with your remote
control.
Both versions of “Aliens” as
well as the deleted scenes feature an optional audio commentary with James
Cameron, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale
Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak, and Stan
Winston. Cameron was recorded separately while Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein,
Carrie Henn, and Lance Henriksen were recorded together and the others in
various groups. The commentary is excellent with Cameron providing a commentary
that is retrospective and technical in nature while the Actors seem to be having
a ball reuniting to watch and discuss the film in retrospect. There is a lot of
behind-the-scenes information about the challenges faced by cast and crewmembers
in the production of “Aliens” that I never knew before listening to the
audio commentary track.
For the “Special Edition” the
new footage added can have an optional flag to let the viewer know when new
material not presented in the 1986 theatrical version is on the screen. The
theatrical version allows for access for the 14 cut scenes presented in the
“Special Edition” individually. The scenes are noted as follows
“Ripley’s Daughter” (2:18), “Van Leuwen’s Verdict” (4:21), “The
Colony & The Jorden’s Discovery” (5:40), “Burke’s Answer” (2:01),
“Int. Sulaco” (2:12), “Hudson’s Hubris” (6:34), “False Alarm”
(5:25), “Ripley Pauses” (1:24), “The Sentry Guns” (5:01), “Newt’s
Question” (1:52), “Hudson’s Ant Theory” (1:16), “The Aliens Attack”
(1:15), “The Aliens Retreat” (1:48), and “First Name Basis” (1:48).
There is a short audio introduction by James Cameron before the “Special
Edition” (: 34), in which he states that this is his preferred version of the
film. Sadly the infamous deleted scene where we learn the true fate of Carter
Burke (Paul Reiser) is not present in any form other than a few still shots in
the fourth disc within the box set. The interactive menus for both discs three
and four focus on the face hugger stage of the alien’s life cycle as viewers
once again see a simulation of the “Weyland-Yutani” computer files on the
species.
Please note that discs three and
four in the “Alien Quadrilogy” will be the equal to discs one and two in
Fox’s “Aliens: Collector’s Edition” DVD release that streets in January.
So whenever I reference disc four, it can be taken as disc two for those who
choose to buy only the films they like separately and not the entire nine-disc
box set that streets in December. Disc four offers the option to view nine
individual featurettes separately or as one long documentary entitled
“Superior Firepower: The Making Of Aliens.” I suggest watching all of the
featurettes as one documentary because it is easier to then just sit back and
enjoy it and the flow the nine featurettes collectively works must better when
one watches them as one big documentary. Like the documentary on “Alien,”
this is a great mix of brand new videotaped interviews as well as vintage
interview clips and behind-the-scenes interviews and production footage. The
documentary covers the development of the screenplay in the first part entitled
“57 Years Later.” “Building Better Worlds” is a production design
featurette. “Preparing For Battle” covers the casting and characterizations.
“This Time It’s War” is a look back at Pinewood Studios in 1985. “The
Risk Always Lives” covers the weapons and action. “Bug Hunt” covers the
creature designs for the film. “Beauty And The Bitch” gives viewers a look
into the development of the battle between Ripley in the Power Loader and the
Queen Alien. “Two Orphans” covers the relationship between Sigourney Weaver
and Carrie Henn during the production and “Aliens Unleashed” covers the
reaction to the film. There is a lot of information that covers the union
politics and production problems as well as the film’s scoring that is
included within the various topics detailed above.
One can choose to view photo and
image galleries as a whole or separately by exploring the various submenus that
also contain links to the various featurettes that make up the documentary
detailed above. Under “Pre-Production” is the complete original treatment
Cameron wrote in 1983 for “Aliens,” which can be read onscreen without the
need of a DVD-ROM player. The art of “Aliens” provides conceptual sketches
and designs for the film by Ron Cobb, Syd Mead, and James Cameron and covers the
Gateway Station and Colony, Vehicles and Weapons, and the Alien Queen.
Pre-visualization provides multi-angle videomatics with completed scene
comparisons and optional audio commentary by Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat
McClung. Within the
“Production” submenu are a cast portrait gallery, a production gallery
archive, and images of the Narcissus, Gateway Station, Colony Life, the Sulaco,
Arrival on Acheron, Main Colony Complex, Ripley Rescues Newt, Final Battle, and
the Epilogue. Additional photo galleries containing weapons and vehicles,
continuity Polaroid stills, and Stan Winton’s Workshop are also included.
Under the “Post-Production” heading are a visual effects galley, music
recording shots, promotional shots and more. The black and white still photos
with James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd posing next to the Alien Queen look like
some bizarre advertisement for some gothic avant-garde show that would play
somewhere in Greenwich Village or SoHo here in New York City.
The 1986-videotaped interview with
James Cameron that appeared on the 1999 DVD release and 1991 laserdisc is not
included on discs three or four. As a whole this is a great bunch of extras that
enhances the entire experience of watching “Aliens” on DVD like never
before. “Aliens” will debut as a part of the “Alien Quadrilogy” DVD box
set at retailers on and offline from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2003 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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Continue On To My Review of "Alien 3" On Discs 5 And 6
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