Paul W.S. Anderson... Alien... Predator... you know, there was a time when these three words would have never been in the same sentence.  Unfortunately, with the lack of box office sales with the last two installments of the "Alien" franchise, I guess 20th Century Fox doesn't care anymore.  Well, at least they gave us this fine DVD set.

Like my Indiana Jones box set review, I will split the movies up (there are four), and then review the extras.

Alien:

Recently, "Alien" was re-released into theaters as an attempt to bring back some decent horror films to the mainstream audience.  It flopped.  I guess people would rather see mindless crap like the "TCM" re-make.  Oh, well.  Anyway, as I was sitting in that theater all alone the night before Halloween, I realized just what a fantastic film Ridley Scott made twenty years ago on such a limited budget.  This is what "2001 a Space Odyssey" would be if it were trying to be a horror film.  This is truly a Sci-Fi/Horror classic, and deserved more attention this past Halloween.  Not to mention, that the deleted scenes included in the Special Edition are actually worth watching (Dallas in the nest is incredibly creepy).

TE: **** out of ****
SE: **** out of ****

Aliens:

James Cameron really has a gift of the Gods- somehow, he has managed to make not only one sequel better than the original ("Terminator 2"), but two.  While watching "The Alien Saga" (a fantastic documentary not included in the box set), there was an interesting little blurb from one of the producers: "If "Alien" was the haunted house, then "Aliens" would be the roller coaster."  And, it actually works.  Like the original was the best Sci-Fi/Horror, its equally good sequel is the best Sci-Fi/Action film (eat your heart out "Matrix").  Truly, it is a rare gift.  As for the deleted scenes, some of them actually take away from the suspense (the one involving Newt's parents is really hokey).

TE: **** out of ****
SE: ***1/2 out of ****

Alien 3:

Of course, every great series needs to have a dud: in the case of this franchise, it is the third entry.  David Fincher is a talented director, and it even shows in this mess.  While it certainly isn't a good movie, it still carries some interesting ideas, as well as a great ending.  The main problem lies in its repetiveness- by the third alien attack you'll just keep thinking that you have seen the same scene over and over... because you are.  While not some God-awful piece of dung as some claim, it is defiantly the worst of the four.  But, then we get to the Special Edition which adds at least fourty-five minutes to the film.  I think for the first time ever, deleted scenes have actually made a film that much better (truly the difference between "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down").  The Special Edition shows that Fincher really was trying to do something different, and watching this, you now realise just how much 20th Century Fox butchered what could have been a great film.  At least it is now availible for everyone to see.  The plot holes are filled and the ox-burster is just cool.

TE: ** out of ****
SE: *** out of ****

Alien: Resurrection

Like every franchise needs a dud, I guess every franchise also needs the film that is vastly underated.  "Resurrection" has always been special to me only because while everyone else was trashing it, I always try and defend this one as much as possible.  More of a black comedy, the fourth in the series really has some well directed scenes as well as packing a punch in its disgustingly cool idea of a human/alien hybrid.  Sure, it's sick and twisted, but at least it's original and fresh.  For that, I give this one some major credit.  Not to mention, it has some great camera movements and other touches only a great director could pull off (quite a feat, considering at the time, director Jeunet could barely speak English).  The deleted scenes are nothing special, neither adding or taking away from anything (there's only eight minutes worth).

TE: *** out of ****
SE: *** out of ****

DVD Extras

Wow!  These could very well be some of the best commentaries I have ever heard.  Kudos to Ridley Scott for making a commentary for the original DVD release as well as this re-release and not really repeating himself.  As for the other three, "Aliens" is the interesting one, "Alien 3" is the funny one (imagine a low-key "Mystery Science Theater 3000"), and "Alien: Resurrection" is the defensive one (ala "Monkeybone").  The making-of's are great as are the classic previews.  My only complaint- they did not include the great documentary "The Alien Saga."  Oh well, at least I already own it.  If you own the original set, this one is defiantly worth picking up!

**** out of ****

This movie makes for an interesting discussion.

There's a lot a of talk in the Unproduced Scripts board.... about needing to have a script that has a central character that you follow through the entire story....someone for your audience to connect with...and share the point of view...

but this movie doesnt do that. watching it from a perspective of someone who hasnt seen it before... you would not know that Ripley is the hero until nearly the very end. When the movie begins...Dallas the captain is set up as the hero... and then mid way through he is killed off....usually a big no-no in screenplay-writing 101
but this movie breaks that rule... and does it quite successfully

thoughts on this approach to screenwriting/storytelling?

Alien does, however, setup and characterise every member of the crew so it is possible to identify with all of them on some level. Therefore, though Dallas is the Captain, he is characterised no more and no less than any other character. Though his death is a shock, it still works because we know the other characters so well.

It makes for a great study in character development.

Thought I would merge these two for my anal retentive little self.  Enjoy!

Ah, fair enough. That really freaked me out for a moment there.

What I actually disliked the most about Alien3 was not necessarily the plot, because the entire movie was overshadowed by them taking away the ending Cameron gave us in Aliens. Aliens ended with hope. Alien3 destroyed that hope and took our beloved Ripley back into hell. So I disliked Alien3 for what it did to Aliens. For me, the movie was ruined in the first five minutes. Everything else was action movie fodder.

I viewed Alien when it was first released in the cinemas so I remember the audiences reaction at the time which was way out there in scary terms, right on the money.. I remember shitting myself too and this stayed with me for a long time..

The thing about the first movie is the lack of the alien, it is the suspense, not being able to see, the suggestion and fear of the shadows is remarkably well controlled by Ridley Scott..

Ridley Scott is a fine director and has directed some excellent movies.. I actually like the studio hacked version of Blade Runner myself and I have this on V.H.S. but only have the director's cut on DVD.. Apparently, Ridley Scott bought the rights to Blade Runner and won't permit a DVD release of the original studio version with Harrison Ford's noirish voice over.. This is the very reason I like it - oh, well..

But to get back to Alien, the art design in this movie is excellent, not only conveys a futuristic environment in space and space travel but equally the drak and damp underbelly of the Nostromo certainly captured a semi-gothic, semi-industrialized feel to it..

There's so much one can say about the first movie in the franchise but obviously there are the sequels.. I do have the quadriligy set and the first Alien movie as a separate DVD title but I'm not altogether a fan of the sequels... Sure they're good, especially James Cameron's Aliens but they're not my cup of tea, personally..

With the first Alien, sheesh, "in space no one hears your scream" is a perfect logline that fulfills your expectations..

Personally, I still think there is a lot of miles in this genre, it hasn't been milked as much as the others.. If written and produced in the right manner one could make a decent flick in this genre.. Bring back the Alien, I say..

I own the Quadrilogy. Well worth the money if you ask me. It has more special features than I know what to do with and I actually enjoyed Alien: Resurrection so the films themselves were worth coughing up the cash as well.

I'm not sure about getting the Quadrilogy, since I have the previous box set and that set includes the deleted scenes from most of the films, and Aliens has the special edition which incorporates them. The only one I am interested in is Alien3 (ironiclaly, based on what I previously said), because it has so much material added to it.

Is there really value in this set to those who have the last box set?

Quoted from George Willson Is there really value in this set to those who have the last box set?

I would say yes, but keep the Alien disc from the old box set. It has a Ridley Scott commentary that isn't on the version in the Quadrilogy.

Oh, and uh... Alien 3 rules!!!!!  

I watched Alien last night.... and one of the most underrated scary elementys about the film is the musical score by Jerry Goldmsith.... i remember seeing the movie for the first time when i was 6 or 7 and damn that music still creeps me out... one of the best scores ever....and most effective...

some interesting story arcs too.
Parker goes from the loud mouth jerkoff to an action hero.
Lambert's escalating paralyzing fear
Dallas's decsion to go on - what even he seems to figure is to be a suicide mission
Ripley's by the book...follow procedure that annoys her crew so much...was actually the RIGHT decision every step of the way...and she's the one who lived.
and of course the nice twist behind Ash's duplicit nature.... a master stroke in the story

and that chestbuster scene.... one of the most powerful moments on screen...

You make some fine points Herodreamer79..

You are so right about the "character arcs", fine writing and acting and directing for that matter..

The term "classic" spings to mind, me thinks..

The first Alien movie I saw was the third one.  I was 16 when it showed on television.  I fell in love with the Alien series at that time.  My sister then bought the entire trilogy so I was able to watch them all.  Then she later bought the fourth one.  I enjoyed all of them.  I thought even the third one was miles above most other movies.  

I guess I am one of the odd ones out.  I also really enjoyed the predator, I liked the first one better than the second one but I still enjoyed the second one.  And when they made AVP, I love that movie, I was rather excited to see the Alien and the Preditor appear again.