Rating: 
Summary: Great Alien Boxset! But Don't Get Rid Of Your First Edition!
Review: The Alien series is without a doubt one of the best ever pieces of filmmaking created on film. Not only does it have an amazing storyline, a strong female lead, some of the scariest creatures ever created, as well as some great action sequences and chills to boot, but it also has real depth and a strong sense of perseverance. The first two films are still the true gems, with both Ridley Scott & James Cameron at the top of their game. And the Extended and/or Director's Cut versions only make the films even better. But Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are still very good installments. Although most of us are still angry with the direction that Alien 3 took, more and more are admitting how strong a film it actually is today. And with the resurrection of Ripley in the fourth movie, who knows where the series will take us? Earth? The original home of the Aliens? Only time will tell.I just finished looking at everything on the Alien Quadrilogy. Took a long time too. Lots of archival reading to get through. Very thorough. Enjoyed the special editions to Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection a lot, though I preferred the original opening to Alien Resurrection and the original ending to Alien 3 from the theatrical versions. The commentaries were pretty good. Too bad Sigourney Weaver only participates in the original Alien and none of the other films (and even then, she doesn't say all that much) She does discuss ideas for Alien 5 with Ridley Scott towards the end (maybe she wants him to direct part 5?????). My favorite had to be the "Aliens" commentary parts with Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henrickson, and Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez). Bill saying that he's not getting paid to record this commentary but is at least getting free beer and reuniting with his Alien costars, was a highlight. The commentaries for the theatrical versions are the same as the ones for the director's cut/special expanded editions, only some comments are omitted here and there, except in Alien 3 & Alien Resurrection. Some additional comments are made at the end of the theatrical cuts of Alien 3 and the opening of Alien Resurrection, since significant changes were made to the films. The segmented documentaries are also very detailed from the first film to the fourth. Lots of great information! The real empty feeling is the absence of David Fincher during the Alien 3 "making of" (except when you see him during the actual filming days) as well as from the commentary, since the director's from all the other installments participated. Some disappointments were that not all the extras from the original Alien DVD Boxset were included in this new one, such as Ridley Scott's own personal audio commentary by himself along with another separate additional bonus audio track of different music cues by Jerry Goldsmith and some other cool things to listen to while watching the film (like the original audio track during filming where you can actually hear Ridley giving Sigourney direction as she moves about the ship towards the end. The original featurettes from the first boxset are all missing too. Plus the bonus 5th DVD from the original boxset that you had to mail away for to get in the states isn't featured here either, which is a bit surprising. And for me, I was just surprised that the Aliens theatrical trailer was shown Pan & Scan, when a letterboxed version does exist (I have it on my Big Trouble In Little China 2 DVD Special Edition). I'm just glad I didn't sell the original boxset as I originaly intended. I like retaining all the extra material made available. Still a great 25th Anniversary Boxset Collection...
Rating:
Summary: BEST DVD SET EVER!
Review: Ok about the "Quadriology thing" i think the name fits the movies perfectly, personally. THIS IS THE BEST SERIES EVER! I love it! There isnt anything bad about the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd one in my opinion. The 4th one could of been better, but its still really cool. If there is something anyone doesnt understand about Aliens in general just email me at voltron182@hotmail.com i know pretty much everything lol.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazingly Comprehensive
Review: I cannot believe how much they managed to throw into this box set.... As a fan of the Alien "Quadrilogy," this is the ultimate service. All four films, in both original theatrical and extended director's cut/special edition versions. The extras discs are amazing. I haven't watched every possible thing to watch on them. It's like attempting to watch all the extras on the old "T2: Ultimate Edition DVD" in one sitting. Even though I've seen each movie scores of times (with the exception of the ho-hum Alien 3), the DVD transfers are just awesome. Especially the transfer of Alien. Amazingly crisp and clean. The new cut of Alien 3 doesn't make up for the theatrical release or make it "good;" it's simply interesting. The reasons this set gets only four out of five stars are 1.) the awkward and flimsy packaging, 2.) the sound, which is a tad disappointing and 3.) not getting any real insight into the mess that was Alien 3 in the extras for that film. From what I understand, the behind-the-scenes footage is heavily edited (not to mention an MIA David Fincher; no commentaries or anything). Other than that, flawless! To address the "locking up" issue some people seem to have: Are you using your PlayStation 2 as your primary DVD player? I do and Alien locked up on me at exactly the same spot another reviewer mentioned. Since some DVDs have a tendancy of skipping/locking up on the PS2, I always run "problem" DVDs through my alternate player, which is in my PC. After running the DVD from where it erred on my PS2, it continued on smoothly and without fail. So, if you are using your PS2 to run the DVDs either attempt to rectify the problem by installing the new media drivers that come with the official Sony PS2 Remote (which I do not have and may not work) or watch them with another DVD player.
Rating:
Summary: Two great Sci-Fi movies
Review: I think "Aliens" is the best Sci-Fi movie ever made. The third and fourth entries are big let-downs. They made a mistake by killing Newt and the other guy (Reese?) before the third movie. I think Mr. Cameron should just pretend the third and fourth movies never happened and make his own next chapter; perhaps taking the three of them to the Alien home planet.
Rating: 
Summary: Defective Box Set
Review: I too have had problems with several discs skipping or stopping in various places on the movies. Has anyone contacted Fox about this? This is the second box set I have got and both have been defective, in exactly the same spots. I am using a Denon DVD-2900 which has played hundreds of movies flawlessly, this is the first defective DVD I have ever had. The problem is only when watching Alien or Alien Resurrection when using the DTS soundtrack. If you watch either of these films using Dolby Digital soundtrack they play flawlessly.
Rating:
Summary: The new heavyweight champion
Review: For those with lives, "Alien Quadrilogy" is too massive to be experienced in full -- it's a black hole from which no free time can escape. The behemoth stands at the intersection of video obsession and science-fiction geekdom, a space nearly as creepy as any visited in the films. Not scared off? Climb aboard -- here's one long strange trip worth taking. DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika ("Tomorrow Never Dies") has pulled together a quarter century's worth of "Alien" matter -- outtakes, production clips, art elements, promo materials, etc. -- somehow emerging with a coherent package. Some elements return from the series' fairly ambitious video past, but much of the content is new or unseen. The set's backbone is what amounts to a 12-hour documentary, carved up into digestible segments of about three hours (and then again into featurettes, if the viewer chooses that navigation option). De Lauzirika weaves a tale populated by a Shakespearean cast of heroes, villains and martyrs, most of whom have their say in new interviews. Even the DVD docu itself is not without drama -- De Lauzirika pulled his name from the piece on "the tragedy of Alien 3" after the studio removed some of the more volatile material about the shoot.
In addition to great-looking versions of the four original theatricals, "Quadrilogy" streams in alternate versions of the films, basically director's cuts, three of them new to home video. The directors briefly introduce the rearranged movies, and join key cast and crew members in new commentaries. Only director David Fincher of "Alien 3" is missing in action, a shame because his film went through the most radical renovation. The "Alien Quadrilogy" layout gives viewers a fighting chance, with a logical and uniform approach to content. Menus look good (and creepy), with little guesswork required. (Unfortunately, there's no main onscreen index.) Each title takes up two discs: one for the film(s) and another for bonus materials. A ninth DVD does clean-up with trailers and such. The films' release dates crack open a few Easter Eggs.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Idea, Poor Execution
Review: The movies in this set are for the most part excellent. Alien, Aliens, and (yes) Alien^3 stand out as masterpieces of the science fiction genre. (It should be noted that the third film was much better received in Europe, where more mature audiences were no doubt able to handle the grim but inescapabley ending to what is essentially a saga of Lovecraftian cosmic horror.) Resurrection will always be a shameless commercial farce, but the special features for the other three films more than make up for this shortcoming. Unfortunately, the value of the films themselves is marred by the flimsiness of the packaging. The foldout is low-quality cardstock that creases and abrades with the slightest use, blemishing the printed surfaces. The plastic inserts are poorly fastened and come loose readily, causing the discs to jostle around inside the sleave and become scratched. Some discs also seem to be faulty, containing glitches that cause them to skip consistently at specific points, making them unwatchable without a remote control handy to fast-forward through damaged segments. Altogether, these problems detract considerably from the viewing experience and make the set as constituted more of a headache than a joy. I was forced to return my first copy for a working replacement and will likely be returning the replacement as well. The individual releases will hopefully be more sturdy and less bug-ridden, and I recommend that anyone considering this item wait instead for those to become available.
Rating:
Summary: A Steal for the Price
Review: I received my box set last week in the mail. None of the plastic inserts were loose and my copy of the director's cut of Alien was flawless. The interactive menus on all the discs are amazing, the most intricate and beautiful I have seen so far, and the hours and hours of extra features give wonderful insights into each of the films and those who made them. The picture quality is also something to behold. Very crisp and clear. Ok, so the rollout packaging is a tad awkward, but hey, it's really not that bad and for the low price of $69, I'm far from complaining too much.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate in DVD bonus content
Review: As an Alien fan, the I would have been perfectly happy to pay the same amount of money for this set's bonus disks alone. Each movie is paired with its own dedicated bonus disk full of behind the scenes footage and new interviews, photo archives, concept artwork, 1st draft scripts... it's enough to make an old fanboy like me weep like a little girl. Aside from the wealth of information presented here, there's something else that I appreciate just as much: the unflinching candor in the interviews. Usually when you watch behind the scenes talking head interviews with cast and crews, everything they say is through a sunshine filter, praising their comrades with every other breath, making it sound like the movie was made by a troop of saints and Good Samaritans. Not so here. If a writer had a problem with one of the producers, you'll hear about it, sneers and all. (Dan O'Bannon has always been a hero of mine, and now he's even more so. How can you not love this bitter old crank?) James Cameron has a reputation for being a big jerk on the set, and here you'll find out why. Alien 3 wasn't a successful installment of the series, and no one tries to skirt that issue here. They go into great detail to explain the process of how the project was born with a lot of potential and was then pounded down into mediocrity by a handful of studio execs with no imaginiation or vision. Vincent Ward, the original "first choice" director for Alien 3 has a lot to say, but David Fincher, the sore loser that he is, stubbornly and petulantly refused to appear here. I I really would have loved to hear his side of the story, being a Fincher fan. I respect him a little less now. I haven't even started on the Alien Ressurection bonus disk or the final all encompassing disk 9, and I haven't watched any of the movies in the set yet. I will though, if I can ever finish these other extras...
Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff!!
Review: Errr.. What happened to the other reviews on this I am sure there were more reviews. Anyway I love this collection. I loved Alien which annoyed me by freaking me out despite the fact that it is over 20 years old and the alien frequently looks fake by modern standards. I still get an adrenaline thrill from Aliens despite the fact it has less action than most modern action thrillers. I didn't like Alien 3 and hated alien resurection.
So why am I giving this 4 stars? Well I love filmaking as much as I love films and this is an excellent view of what went right and wrong vs what was intended. I can see clearly why Alien 3 was a disaster waiting to happen and why Jean was the wrong man for Alien ressurection. I find that information invaluable.
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