Rating: 
Summary: Different directors, same GREAT Sigourney...
Review: I have always been a fan of good (and bad) sci-fi, and the ALIEN series is still my favorite. Previous reviewers have gone over the plots, so I'll try not to do that. The first, ALIEN, was certainly riveting and suspenseful. Ridley Scott made his mark with this film. Sigourney, the ultimate hero, was really an ensemble cast member throughout most of the film, making no character more important than any other. I liked this touch, though the film was really a high-tech remake if "IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE". My favorite of the series is ALIENS, the second installment, directed by James Cameron (also, still trying to make his mark in Hollywood). This one also won the most praise and awards, including an Oscar nomination for Sigourney (and 6 others awards). Indeed, Sigourney's performance has more depth and range (the scenes referring to her daughter, left out of the theatrical release & the VHS versions, show a tenderness that is compelling.) The action is unrelenting, almost exhausting; non-stop excitement, due to absolutely brilliant editing (it lost the Oscar for editing to "PLATOON", which had one long beautifully edited action scene...this action goes from beginning to end. I would've voted for this one.) Cameron also used Bill Paxton in almost every one of his subsequent films. "ALIEN 3" got a bad rap. It's my 2nd favorite in the series. Again, a novice director, David Fincher, showed his flair for dark and brooding venues (later so brilliant in "SEVEN" & "FIGHT CLUB".) The most interesting thing about this third installment is that the alien was "bred" by a dog, and was essentially a mutant variety, one that Ripley couldn't out-guess. Ripley's own impregnation and subsequent demise was handled in a most effective manner. Also, fighting the alien with no weapons was an added challenge, met by a fine director and a stellar cast. The last of the series, "ALIEN RESURRECTION" was really only an example of Hollywood trying to capitalize on a successful series. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the plot was a little more than contrived (considering the over-all substance of sci-fi films in general) and didn't get me as involved as the first three. My favorite scene was when the cloned Ripley meets the clones of herself that didn't quite turn out. I saw all of these films in the theatre in their initial releases. I'm not sure if ALIENS was in a 2.35:1 widescreen, but it's presented here in only a 1.85:1 LBX. The others are all 2.35:1. A lot of people don't like Widescreen, but REAL film fans do, and I can appreciate seeing more of the picture. All of Cameron's other pictures were 2.35:1, and with the big budget he was allowed by Fox, I'm surprised he didn't take advantage of it. Or did he? I honestly don't remember. This whole series has a wonderfully consistant narrative flow; the different styles of the directors add a new touch to each installment. I really love this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Nicely put together
Review: The Alien Legacy boxed set is a very nicely packaged DVD collection. While the quality of the films is inconsistent, this set is not to be missed. All the missing scenes (many of which greatly improve the films rather than detract from them) are replaced in these versions. The menus, sound quality and other features are also top-notch.While the first two films are by far the best, it's nice to get the whole set and therefore the whole story. Alien 3 is the weakest of the set, abysmal and dark without any shred of hope to it. Aliens is still the strongest film in my opinion with great action, characters and story. The first film still captures that sense of horror and fear better than any other in the series, however. Alien Resurrection is better than most of the critics rated it in my opinion, but it's really a distant third in overall quality. The Aliens universe is a dark, unsympathetic shell in which corporate behemoths hold sway over the masses and human life holds little value. In this dismal setting, the heroism of the series main characters, Ellen Ripley above all, is all the more moving when you consider the odds stacked against them. The Aliens series is great and influential science fiction, a precursor to Bladerunner, taking the shining chrome and bright lasers out of the genre and replacing them with dank, greasy and cramped starship hulls and flamethrowers. It's influences are still felt in today's science fiction films.
Rating:
Summary: Racism
Review: This is not a review but a condemnation of comments by Marshall Fine. I would rate the movie as a sci-fi thriller classic. It never seems to end, the constant references to Native Americans as villains or sub-human creatures. Fine's comments "It plays a little like a Western in outer space, where the settlers are waiting for a cavalry that never comes-and the Indians are acid-veined aliens." This racist and stereotypical comment should be condemned and not be allowed in any forum. Fine owes the Native American community an apology!! Amazon.com owes these noble peoples an apology! I wonder if there would be any outrage if the references were made to Jewish of African American peoples?
Rating:
Summary: Alien Legacy
Review: The Alien Lagacy is my favorite sci-fi horror saga! It contains four fantastic videos and The Alien Legacy, the behind the scenes look at the making of Alien. The Alien Legacy tape includes H.R. Griger's artwork and deleted scenes. Ridley Scott also had a part in the tape. Alien is the first in the saga. Alien is a suspenseful thriller. It introduces Ripley, who is in all the Alien movies, to the viewers. It all begins when the Nostromo, which is the spaceship, receives signals from a planet. The ship wakes up the crew so they can go check out the planet. A member of the crew goes into a nest of a spacesraft that is found. He is attacked by a parasite that lays an emreyo in his chest. The alien bursts out of his chest at dinner and is loose on the ship. Alien is probably my 3rd favorite.
Overall: 81% B
Begining: 12/20 Boring
Plot: 17/20 Decent
Alien: 18/20 Looks Great!
Acting: 18/20 Weaver, Skeritt, Great!
Ending: 16/20 A bit soft Aliens was a great movie overall, but not as scarry as the first or third. James Cameron put together a great film. It was too long. It took more of the action side at my point of view. My favorite characters, besides Ripley are, Apone, Spunkmeyer, and Burke. Ripley is found by a salavage crew and is brought to a space station. Colonies have been set up on LV-426, which was the planet Ripley was previously on. Nobody believes her story on the alien, so the Marines, Burke, and Ripley check out the disapearances on LV-426. One problem, there were a heck of a lot more! Only one of the 158 colonists are found, and that introduces Newt. An alien takes her later in the movie. Bishop and Hicks now have to wait for Ripley on an escape ship because she's out seachinf for Newt. A Queen Alien was found on the search and there is one final battle before they reach the Sulaco. My fouth favorite.
Overall: 86% B
Begining: 14/20 Boring, but with a point.
Plot: 18/20 Strong.
Alien: 6/10 Good, but you hardly see it.
Queen: 10/10 Griger's a genius!
Acting: 19/20 Weaver and Riser were great!
Ending: 19/20 Air-Lock, again? Alien 3 is my favorite! David Fincher's film is highly under-rated, but those viewers don't like the characters, who are excons. Ripley, Bishop, Hicks, and little Newt crash on Furry 161, a prison planet. Another thing viewers hated was Newt, Hicks, and Bisop were killed off. So what! It's a movie! An alien impreagnanted Ripley and a dog. The burster broke out of the dog. A Queen was inside Ripley, so it took a lot longer. The new alien species is bigger, faster, and can craw on ceilings. There are no weapons so Dillon, (Chareles S, Dutton), has the idea of luring the alien into a mould and drowning the alien in hot lead. They procede with the plan but does it work? My favorite characters were Dillon, Ripley, and Clemens. The best!
Overall: 94% A
Begining: 17/20 Alien action early.
Plot: 18/20 What else is there?
Alien: 20/20 Beautiful!
Acting: 19/20 Weaver, Dutton, Dance, and Webb!
Ending: 20/20 Best in series! Alien Resurrection is my second favorite in the series. In deep space, seven scientists bring Ellen Ripley back to life as a clone beacause nobody liked that Ripley died in the third. Nobody cared fo this one either. What else do you want besides Ripley back in action, a shot-em-up James Cameron Film?!? A crew of six come in to the Aguria to sell cargo to the ship. Twelve aliens break out of their part of the ship and start killing. Ripley and the crew have to head back to the Betty before the aliens get them. The aliens by the way were a science project for the company. They needed Ripley because of the Queen inside her. It was overall a good action movie and thriller.
Overall: 90% A-
Begining: 17/20 Slow, but interesting
Plot: 17/20 ahhh, OK, good.
Alien: 10/10 Looked great in water!
Queen: 8/10 Looked good, but not in action.
Acting: 19/20 Weaver, Wincott, Ryder, Fabulous!
Ending: 19/20 Bloody, but sweet!
Rating:
Summary: Sequels as character evolution
Review: No matter what you think of the cinematic achievements or pitfalls of the Alien series (e.g., see the various reviews here on Amazon.com) nothing is more interesting and compelling than the evolution of a character in the hands of various directors, writers and the actor who plays her. Lt. Ellen Ripley is the case in point. In Alien, we see Ripley as a smart but tentative lieutenant. She is second in command but not quite sure of herself--and the crew both knows it and takes advantage of it. As the lone survivor, in Aliens she is no longer tentative. When it comes time for her to take charge, she does--and this time everyone seems to want it. In Alien 3, Ripley must once again step up to the plate. This time, however, it is not only an alien she must battle but also the inmates of a space penal colony. But by the end, they follow her like lemmings as she assumes the general in a battle plan to trap the alien. She demonstrates just how much she is dedicated to leading and protecting others in this film by committing the ultimate sacrifice in the end. Finally, in Alien Resurrection, Ripley leaves unwanted leadership behind to become the renegade with a gun. People can follow her or not, she doesn't care. She emerges as a new character,; only vestiges of the first Ellen Ripley remain. Such development is rare for us to see on screen. If we compare the Alien series with just about any other series such as the Terminator, we see just how unique Ripley is. And this is important because in spite of the focus on plot, direction, and writing in most reviews, for me the essence of Alien is Ellen Ripley. Whether we know it or not, she is why we watch the series. And she is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: The fab four of sci-fi horror
Review: Ridley Scott's classic film spawned a whole new subgenre of films and resurrected the monster on the loose b-movie all within a tight, two hour horror film. Yes, folks I called it a horror film. The trappings are science fiction but not much more. In reality Alien is a remake of It The Terror Beyond Space. Dan O'Bannon's script took the same basic premise and decorated it with an entire alien culture and spieces so different from human culture and much more predatory that it helped create a bumper crop of films for the next twenty years. To be honest, the final film cut much of O'Bannon's most creative aspects of the script. It was simplified by Walter Hill and David Giler to the point that O'Bannon wasn't even sure he wanted credit at one point. Still, it works because Hill and Giler like Scott recognized that the core story idea would be fun. Let's lock everyone in a spaceship millions of miles after from Earth with a creature that appears invincible. Introduce a plot variation on 10 Little Indians and you've got a solid hit on your hands. The transfer of Alien is very good and the interactive menu fairly easy to use. The sound has also been mixed for the first time for 5.1 Digital surround. That's a bit plus as the original was in stereo. There's also the inclusion of the famous cut scene where Ripley finds out what really happened to Dallas and the other crew members. It literally stopped the movie cold in previews which is why it was excised. Add to that the stunning trailers (for both television and theaters) and you've got a solid package worth having. Most sequels are little more than placeholders in the franchise. Aliens was an exception to that rule. Every bit as different and as good as the original film that inspired it, it could be aruged that Aliens was actually superior to the first film. While Ridley Scott's classic haunted house movie (it may be set in space but, really folks it's a haunted house movie)is a great, tight horror movie, James Cameron's sequel builds on the character of Ripley and turns the first film's premise on its head; by the end of the film Ripley is every bit the predator going after the Alien queen. The extras include an interview with James Cameron. I might also add that this is the expanded edition that appeared on laserdisc. The story is much richer and plays better with the added scenes. There's more depth to the characters and the sense of irony as to the fate of Burke is deepened. The sound is terrific and the transfer, again, very good. With Alien 3 the series took a sharp decline. That's not due to director David Fancher but, instead, to the streamlined script. Originally director Vincent Ward was set to direct and he envisioned Alien 3 set on a monastary world. The switch to a prison planet doesn't gel quite as well. The rewrites and decision to "end" the series undermine much of the film. The decisions made as to the fates of the other survivors was also miscalculated. Still, Alien 3 has a number of strongly directed sequences and the CGI Alien adds a new, unpredictable element to the mix. Finally we get to Alien Resurrection. It's not a bad idea. The scripting is clever and has many tongue in cheek moments. Unfortunately, the film doesn't come together as well as the first two films. Many of the scripting decisions work quite well but the casting is questionable. Joss Whedon's script is literate and intelligent with just the right attitude given this is the fourth installment in this series. The transfer looks very good and, again, the sound is terrific. AR is a step up from A3 and a vast improvement in the area of the script. Overall for the whole series--4 stars. 4 1/2 for Alien; 5 for Aliens; 2 for Alien 3 and 3 for Alien Resurrection. To give the producers credit, the entire series has held up quite well. It's a pity that the opportunity to do more with 3 and 4 wasn't realized.
Rating:
Summary: A must for Alien Fans
Review: I bought this for my husband at Christmas because he is a huge Alien series fan. I can't believe how many times he has watched it. Any one of the movies is his "fall-back" when he can't find anything else he wants to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Aliens rock!
Review: The series of classic sci-fi horror mvie has kept its crrepy atmospheric thrills and chills throught eh years and is still the best series in the horror/sci-fi section ever. Possibly the bst series in the world is tottaly worth every dime you pay. The er are 5 parts, 4 movies and a bonus documentary. the first movie is simply title Alien and is directed the the famous Ridley Scott who later went on to make many great movies including Gladiator. The gothic feel of the whole movie adds extra suspense and the atmospheric tension is almost unbearable at times. I also do not recommend it to the squeamish as it has some blood and a weird android decapitation that is satisfyingly grotesque. The claustrophobic backgrounds will make your palms sweat and give you a major case of the hebee gebees. A very cool movie. the collection wouldnt be complete with out this first installment to the awesome series. Next up is Aliens, in my personal opinio, the best movie out of all of them. It has a group of colonial marines along with Ripley go inspect LV426, the planet where all the action started. this movie is very suspenseful. I had some friends over to watch it and they were covering their eyes, and they were 13! The action scenes are awesome and the weapons the marines use are the coolest things ever. the smart guns rock the aliens and rip through anything like it was cheese. The Pulse rifles are the coolest guns that spit out rounds rapidly and can shoot grenades at swarms of aliens. Another thing about this movie is that swarms of aliens attack and destroy instead of one and they like to use stealth and sneak attacks all the more adding to the suspense and terror. The showdown with the Queen and the power loader is stunning and one of the best fight scenes ever done. Alien3 was proabaly the least intense and fun because of all the relentless profanity and lack of substance and plot. The dialouge is nothing speacial either. but the action and the alien picking off prisoners one by one is pretty entertaining. The last battle where Ripley takes the alien on in a tunnel and buries it in lava is the best part of the movie. Alien resurrection is the fourth and final installment into the series. And by far the goriest. The massive maounts of blood and guts could put some people off. otherwise it is a very big improvement over Alien3. It takes place on a huge spacecraft where scientists are breeding aliens. Of course all hell breaks loose and the aliens run amok killing everybody. But one very cool underwater chase scene and a part in an upward tunnel with exploding alien head sis so great it could compare with Aliens. It is different from the first three as it is and escape movie, wwhere they're running from the aliens back to their ship so they could blow the science vessel. It has some great thrills and chills and its worth the money to watch it because it is a pretty fun experience. the documentary talks about the making of the 4 movies and how the aliens were designed etc. All in all pay the money enjoy the movies, its worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Out of Print !
Review: The Alien Movies are indeed some of the greatest sci-fi movies to come out in the late 1970's. This DVD set in particular shows the movies in the best way possible, the DVD format. The second movie Aliens, which other reviewers have mentioned as having a "grainy" picture and therefore leading the people to believe that this transfer was not a good transfer, are very mistaken. The Director James Cameron filmed the movie like this to add more of an effect. But in since this is the only one out of the four to have a high definition transfer also makes it the best out of the four. Also, the movie has 17 minutes of footage from the laserdisc version. So, while the DVD box states that the footage is brand new, it is if you don't already own the laserdisc version. The other special features include interview with James Cameron and interesting shorts on the making of the queen alien.
Alien, the first movie includes a documentary and deleted scenes. The best by far is an early "Cocoon Scene", this shows an early version of the cocooning by the Alien in which is shown in greater detail in the second movie. Alien also contains original isolated scores which for a person interested in sound or film production is quite interesting. Alien also contains 500 production photos and artwork, posters, theatrical trailers, TV spots. It also contains a very well done commentary by Ridley Scott, the director of Alien. The commentary is very good and worth listening to one of the best directors in movie history.
The third movie Alien 3 is still a good movie but not as good as the first two is still a decent movie. The fourth movie Alien Resurrection is perhaps the most horrible because it had to find a way of bringing back the main character, which the story itself strays, way too far off track and really doesn't fit that well into the other three also because of so many loopholes in the story as well. The special features on these two DVD's only offer trailers and the third movie offers a "making of ". The picture and letterboxing is all your truly getting out of the these two DVD's. This box set as a whole is worth it. The widescreen ratios are all 2.35:1 for the first, third and fourth movies while, Aliens has a 1.85:1 ratio. Alien and Aliens are the only two worth buying unless your a fan of the movies then by all means buy the box set. But also since I'm writing this review in light of 20th century fox is putting out a 9 disc collector's box called "Alien Quadrilogy". This will feature Alien 3 in its 2 hour 50 minute cut and Aliens in two different cuts the theatrical version and the Director's cut offered on this version of Aliens. The fourth movie will also get an alternate beginning and ending. So, while you probably still can find a copy of this great set it's better to wait for the 9 disc "Alien Quadrilogy" later in the year in October of 2003.
Rating:
Summary: The aliens are the true stars of this series...
Review: I've never been a Sigourney weaver fan, and I honestly think she helped make the last 2 movies stink more than they should have, but the second movie in this series Aliens is one of my all-time favorite classics. The special edition has a ton of new scenes that make it very enjoyable to watch, even though I've seen the original cut probably 30 or 40 times now. If you do not own any of the Alien movies but were as fascinated by HR Giger's art and alien creation as I was, you must get this movie set. If you were as underwhelmed with the last 2 movies in the series as I was, then keep in mind that you will also get a ton of special content in the form of design sketches, deleted scenes, graphics, concept art, etc which can take an hour or more to browse through. All in all, even though the last 2 movies in the series are barely ratable at 2 stars, overall the series is worth purchasing in one piece and enjoying all in one sitting in some dark night at home alone.
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