Caffeinated Clint
By Adam Frazier
Brace yourself for the definitive Blu-ray release: Four exhilarating films – eight thrilling versions – in dazzling, terrifying, high-def clarity with the purest digital sound on the planet. Two bonus discs and over 65 hours of archival and never-before-seen content, including the interactive MU-TH-UR mode feature, makes this the definitive ”Alien” collection!
Let’s start where it all began, Ridley Scott’s 1979 landmark film, ”Alien”. When a mining ship is instructed to investigate a suspected SOS on a strange planet, an alien life-form attaches itself to the face of a crew member. The rest of the crew act fast in an attempt to separate the organism from its host, but little do they know this is the start of a terror that will hunt down the crew one by one.
This the definitive presentation of ”Alien”. To see and appreciate the architectural details of the Nostromo and the derelict—both the full-scale interiors and the exterior miniature model work —and H.R. Giger’s creature design is truly a thing to behold in high definition. The blacks are inky and dense, and while the color palette is bleak – the colors are vivid in flashes – the deep reds of blood, the warm oranges emitted from Ripley’s flamethrower – truly beautiful.
Stunning – I don’t know what else to say. I’ve never seen a film look this good on Blu-ray, and I honestly can’t imagine ”Alien” ever looking better than it does now.
Following Scott’s ’79 film, comes the balls-out action ’86 classic, ”Aliens”. In the months leading up to the ”Alien Anthology”’s release, James Cameron made some comments concerning his remaster of Aliens that had cinephiles worried:
“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.”
Cameron is referring to DNR, or Digital Noise Reduction – the removing of fine grain from a film. This post-production feature is applied to films during the Blu-ray processing and while it removes grain from the movie, giving a clearer image, it also removes fine details.
If you’ve seen the ”Predator: Ultimate Hunter Edition” Blu-ray release, then you’ll know the effects of heavy-handed DNR as too much can give the film a plastic, waxy flat look – like it’s being up-converted from a DVD instead of a true high-definition transfer.
With ”Aliens”, not all of the grain has been removed. Sure, there are scenes where it’s obvious that some noise reduction has taken place, but for the most part the image remains natural and cinematic.
Black levels aren’t quite as inky or dense, but color is vivid and there’s a sense of depth (especially in miniatures shots) that I think got lost in the DVD transfer. While not as impressive as ”Alien”, this is a beautiful transfer of ”Aliens”. It’s wonderful to sit down and watch a film you’ve seen two hundred times and have it feel as if you’re watching it for the first time.
The final two films in the franchise see tremendous upgrades from their previous DVD releases but aren’t nearly as stunning as ”Alien”. Both ”Alien 3” and ”Alien Resurrection” look great but honestly, I think the high-def transfer hurts both films, as a result of the dependence on CGI in those films.
The CGI xenomorph in ”Alien 3” looks even worse and more cartoonish – which makes it even worse when we see one of the gorgeous, practical creature suits. , Of course these films weren’t as popular and it’s easy to assume that maybe more money was put into ”Alien” and ”Aliens” respectively. I’m still waiting on that George Lucas-esque special edition of ”Alien 3” with all new special effects that fix all the glaring issues with the original (and extended) editions.
Blu-Ray Details and Extras
I’ve already spoken of the transfer.
Extras-wise, I won’t go into too much detail, because most of this stuff has been released previously between the ”Alien Legacy” and ”Alien Quadrilogy” box sets. A few things worth noting, however, include a deleted scene where Ripley finds Burke cocooned in ”Aliens” – as well as a look at Bob Burns’ collection of props and suits used in the Alien series.
In short, the extras include everything from commentaries, deleted scenes, and – over on the fifth and sixth disc, respectively – comprehensive documentaries on each film, as well as a whole mass of video and media material.
The ”Alien Anthology” is easily the best release on Blu-ray to date. If you’ve been on the fence about buying this, the lead in audio and video quality alone is worth the purchase, not counting the 65+ hours of bonus features and documentaries. If the nerd in your life hasn’t already picked this up for themselves, show them how much you love them and give the gift that keeps on breeding this holiday season.
