Rating: Summary: Can't we just have the two good films, please?!! Review: I'm so annoyed at the transparent bundling strategy. There are two good movies here, Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens. The last two movies in the series are unwatchable crap. I want only the first two movies. I want nothing to do with the other two. Yet both recent releases of these films have tried to force me to buy all four in order to get the two I want. It looks like I'll have to pay $70.00 for two DVD movies, hardly a value by anyone's standards, and I resent the heck out of it...
Rating: Summary: This will be THE set to have. Review: Alright, I've been doing alot of reading about this set through discussion forums and online reviews (a good one at thedigitalbits.com) and I have to comment on people who are knocking this set already.1. The packaging - okay so it folds out to over 5 feet when completely unfolded. So what! You are not going to fold it out both ways anyway. If you really care that much be creative and come up with your own solution and store the foldout somewhere. 2. The 30 minute cut of Alien3 features - So there was a 30 minute cut of the features on Alien3 and now some people aren't happy. You guys need to get a life. 98% of the population doesn't care including myself. There are plenty of other features to keep you busy. $70 is a steal for this set and you all should be thankful that such a thorough set is being released. Count your blessings folks, this is one set that will be hard to imitate.
Rating: Summary: How can this be real? Review: I know they've released the Alien movies about 5 times already, but there's no way on Earth they can ever release something better than this. This has got everything about Alien that has ever existed. Including a longer version of Alien 3, I didn't think that was possible. This has got the be the most amazing thing to ever be realeased on DVD. How long is it all, 500 minutes? This is simply amazing. I know you've probably already paid about $150 for all 4 Alien DVD's, but just sell them and just that will be enough to buy this. This is so cheap too, I can't believe its not selling for $300.
Rating: Summary: Gems and stones in the same bag Review: Needless to say, Alien and Aliens (the first two movies) are the true gems here, but that's only 44% of this package. Keep in mind there's no director's commentary for the third one, I guess that's related to something I've read online, that Fincher openly disowns Alien 3. For some hard core fans this package might represent a good deal. I regard myself as a hard core fan... but only for the first two movies. So I'll skip the stones, will wait for the separate releases of the jewels.
Rating: Summary: Felt the need to comment Review: Looking at these "reviews" I felt the need to comment. Many fans of the series have known about this set since earlier this year. This DVD set is nothing short of a miracle and was a labor of love, made for the fans by fans of the films. There are complaints about Fox's "Double Dipping". This simply isn't so. This DVD set was made only because one person wanted to show the world what Alien 3 could've & should've been before Fox's suits stepped in and made director David Fincher's life a living hell. What he got was a package deal that he had to do Special Editions of all four films and a project that lasted about a year. The specs listed above are not entirely accurate. The ALIEN: Director's Cut is actually 2 minutes shorter than the Theatrical Version. I Also believe the Anamorphic specs to be incorrect. For those complaining they don't want to be have to buy all four films remade in this manner, all four films will be released sometime early next year separately as 2 disc Special Editions. The 9th disc, however, will only be available in this Quadrilogy set. ALIEN: This film was close to perfect to begin with. I prefer the original Theatrical version to the newer "Director's Cut". Ridley Scott himself admits that this was only named a Director's Cut for marketing purposes. Originally he had just added scenes to the existing version, but felt it was too long so he started snipping away to tighten the pace of the newer version. The cuts that were made make the newer version slightly weaker. He still prefers his original version, as do I. The extras are fantastic. ALIENS: James Cameron did it right with his Special Edition released in 1991. This edition, which was previously available on both Laser Disc and DVD, was his intended vision originally before being forced to cut 17 minutes of footage before it's theatrical release. Meddling FOX executives felt it was too long. So the theatrical version left some irritating gaps and had less of an emotional impact than the Director's Cut. Again, the extras are fantastic. ALIEN 3: The reason this set was made to begin with. The fans wanted it, and here it is: The new "Assembly Cut" shows hints of what could've been before FOX ultimately took the film away from David Fincher and butchered it. I personally would've preferred a hybrid of the two versions, without a CGI alien, which just isn't scary. With the inclusion of the Rottweiler host subplot, which had much more of an emotional impact than that of the infected Oxen. An actual shot of the dead Newt in the EEV (shown only in the theatrical version), and the birth of the Queen at the end (again shown only in the theatrical version). Though the opening sequences on the beaches of the prison planet are astounding. There is also much more (needed) character development here as well throughout the body of the film and a major new subplot regarding the actual capture of the ALIEN. I admit that the original intended ending had a better optical effect. Everything is shown to scale and you actually see Ripley's body entering the molten lead and burning up. The revamped version, done at the last hour for the original theatrical version was more emotionally disturbing as Ripley grabs the Queen and embraces it, but was a bad optical effect because they did it rather quickly only a few weeks before the film was released. For this reason it was also terribly out of scale when it was redone. The film, nonetheless, as stated in Amazon's review above is still a flawed masterpiece. The extras are an obvious compromise to what the producer of this DVD wanted to show the fans. FOX executives cut over 30 minutes out of the interviews because it showed them in a very poor light and aimed responsibility of the film's failure when it was released theatrically toward them. It also detailed their mistreatment of Fincher, by all who witnessed it. The extras promise an in depth look into what went wrong, but then there are many fade outs (no doubt what was cut out). This is sad. No doubt a perfect example of the all-powerful Hollywood Machine that is FOX, and the probable reason Fincher declined to participate in this release. ALIEN RESURRECTION: I always thought this film worked well enough on it's own, except for the painfully miscast doe-eyed Winona Ryder and some dark humor that didn't fit in to the mix. Despite critical and commercial success, it took a beating from "die hard" fans of the series who simply want all sequels to be a clone of Cameron's ALIENS. The newer version has some nice extended scenes and a better ending that promises ALIEN V, but the cheesy CGI insect introduction could've been left out, as well as other key CGI alien sequences. I have no complaints about the extras. PACKAGING: Digipak foldouts are cheap and very easily destroyed. If you're shelling out the money for a DVD box set, you should have a great PLASTIC Collector Keep Case to hold the discs in.
Rating: Summary: The definitive DVD collection!? Review: You (almost) can't ask for more! All four films of this landmark and trendsetting sci-fi/horror series, including theatrical and extended versions of each of these unique films plus countless hours of behind the scenes footage and stills creates what can only be described as one of the most, if not THE most, definitive DVD collection available! Too bad, then, that there are glaring omissions in this otherwise superb offering. Why is it, for instance, that there are apparently no interviews, commentary or featurettes with Sigourney Weaver?? Without her, the series would be infinitely less accessible and interesting. Her role in "Alien" was a groundbreaking, gender-bending eye-opener, and her Oscar-nominated performance in "Aliens" was equally revolutionary. Second, why was "The Alien Legacy" substituted for "The Alien Saga"? The latter, narrated by John Hurt of "Alien," was a spectacular and riveting analysis of the making of each film in the series and their relevance. It provides a wonderful, insightful bookend for the series, and includes interviews with the principals, including Weaver! Lastly, while some featurette material focuses on H.R. Giger, I wonder if it's too little? This master's imprint on the series - and subsequent sci-fi/fantasy films in general - is indelible and unmistakable. His creepy-yet-beautiful artistry not only created arguably the most memorable creature in film history, but supplied the wondrous alien environments as well. Directors come and go, but his influence was omnipresent throughout the series and should not be overlooked. I mention these shortcomings simply because they're glaring in such a stupefyingly comprehensive collection. This is a must-own for me and should be for any serious fan of film. Twentieth Century Fox is to be commended for a collection that truly honors the series' fans and film connoisseurs in general.
Rating: Summary: 1.85 Anamorphic for Alien? Review: The film was released at 2.35:1, and the previous DVD release kept the original aspect ratio. Since all the other films in this box set keep the OAR of the other films, why change Alien? Can't say I'm particularly excited by this as alien 3 and Alien Resurrection sucked. I might buy Aliens, but I'm certainly not going to blow $70 for the one or two films I care about. JMO. --M
Rating: Summary: I just can't believe this is for real!!!! Review: I am a great fan of alien and I was very upset when I saw that alien trilogy was out of stock.Finally I decided to buy these dvds seperately and I am so glad that I didn't. This boxset is every fan's dream and I am really looking forward to buying it. I am literally counting the days to the release date...Many thanx to the people who have contibuted to the making of this dvd.
Rating: Summary: AWESOME! Review: I'm speechless. I cannot believe this boxed-set! Not only do they include new bonus features, but they even include the laser-disc special features with this collection. I knew there was a reason I never purchased the Legacy set. And the price is actually cheaper than the previous collection, and there is much more. I'm looking forward to hearing the audio commentary on Aliens. Too bad James Cameron and Sigourney aren't on there. I also can't wait to see the extended version of Alien 3. I will continue this review in a few weeks when I purchase this new stupendous version of an all-time sci-fi classic.
Rating: Summary: Oh, woe is me, chrislabye... Review: To give this monumental 9-dsic 'ultimate edition', a 1-star rating for a rant against double or triple dipping is just ridiculous. First of all, this box set contains each 'existing' film of the Alien Saga in two viewable formats via 'seamless branching'. For the first time ever, the viewer will be able to view either the theatrical version or the special editions of each film. Oh, also, for the first time, you get feature-length commentaries on each film. And if that's not enough, you get a extra disc of extras for each of the four films. You get a load of retrospective docs and original docs detailing every thing you'd wanna know about these films, and probably stuff you'd didn't wanna know. And as for the name "Quadrilogy", as opposed to "Tetralogy", each word in fact is acceptable to mean a series of four. And as for revieweing an item before release date, try clicking your browser over to thedigitalbits.com to read their review. They've had a copy for quite some time.
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