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(About Our Ads) DVD REVIEW FOR "THE ALIEN LEGACY" (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 & Alien Resurrection) "ALIEN" Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 116 minutes Letterbox (2.35:1) 16x9 - Widescreen English French English Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual layer) "ALIENS" Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 138 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1) 16x9 - Widescreen English English Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual layer) "ALIEN 3" Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 115 minutes Letterbox (2.35:1) 16x9 - Widescreen English French English Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual layer) "ALIEN RESURRECTION" Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 108 minutes Letterbox (2.35:1) 16x9 - Widescreen English French English Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual Layer) PLOT: Alien (The crew of a spaceship tries to survive the attacks of a hostile, alien creature that they picked up on a desolate planet and that's determined to kill all of them). Aliens (After transmissions from space colonists on a desolate planet stop, a military outfit heads there looking for survivors and must then battle hordes of the lethal aliens). Alien 3 (The lone survivor of a spaceship crash must contend with aliens without weapons of any kind on a planet inhabited by former prison inmates). Alien Resurrection (A cloned woman and a team of smugglers must battle many aliens that have escaped from their scientific experiments). PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW ("Alien Resurrection" Only) VIDEO: (A-, A-, A, A) For a twenty-year-old picture, the 1979 release looks pretty good, obviously helped by the THX transfer process. While it's clearly not as sharp as more recent releases, has a few problems with pixelation, and uses a rather drab color palette, it's otherwise a decent presentation. It's 1986 sequel likewise isn't crystal clear, has a few similar pixelation problems (with a few of the added scenes also being a bit grainy) and also uses a drab coloring (although an emergency scene filmed with red lighting feels a bit over saturated at times). The third and fourth installments of this series look much better (being more recent) and have far sharper pictures allowing for greater detail (with the fourth adding even more color). Some pixelation is present, however, especially in the fourth film, although it's more obvious in some scenes and not at all in others. AUDIO: (A, A+, A+, A+) All four films sound very good, obviously benefitting from the THX transfer process. Interestingly, for the first film, the French audio track has far greater bass response than any of the other audio tracks on the disc. The films all feature decent and effective scores (particularly the first two), with plenty of sound and spatial effects to heighten and occasionally exacerbate the proceedings. EXTRAS: ALIEN Scene selection/Jump to any scene. Running audio commentary by director Ridley Scott. Isolated audio tracks (the Score on one, Alternate music and production sound on another). Ten deleted scenes. Theatrical and TV trailers (2 each). Art & Photo Gallery (Art, Sketches, Storyboards, Production photos, Posters, etc...). "Out Takes" -- 2 more deleted scenes. PC screensaver (DVD-ROM only). THX transfer. 8 page booklet with Cast & Crew filmographies and biographies (not included with our press screener disc). ALIENS Scene selection/Jump to any scene. 1986 interview with director James Cameron (11+ minutes). "Behind the Scenes" -- Footage of sets and creature effects (8 segments). Theatrical trailers for all 4 "Alien" films. Photo gallery -- 12 sections featuring photos of cast & crew, props & sets, creatures, etc... 17 minutes of deleted scenes re-edited back into the movie. ALIEN 3 Scene selection/Jump to any scene. "Making of Alien 3 Featurette -- 23 minutes of interviews & clips from the "Alien" films. Theatrical trailers for all 4 "Alien" films. ALIEN RESURRECTION Scene selection/Jump to any scene. Production Featurette -- 3+ minutes of interviews, clips and behind the scenes footage. Theatrical trailers for all 4 "Alien" films. COMMENTS: In 1979, director Ridley Scott teamed up with writers Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett to create one of the more gripping, sophisticated sci-fi thrillers in years. Mixing elements from old 1950's "B" sci-fi flicks like "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" (featuring a lone space creature hunting down a spaceship crew), "Twenty Million Miles to Earth" (with a space creature that just keeps on growing and growing), and adding some cool new features (acid for blood), they created one of the most menacing threats ever to hit the big screen. The film was a big success and the inevitable sequel followed. Director James Cameron, however, didn't retread the monster in the haunted house setting, but instead turned "Aliens" into a thrilling action film that opened in 1986. Both films featured Sigourney Weaver as the unlucky lady who constantly has to battle the critters, and the second film was overflowing with them. Weaver received an Oscar nomination for her role and the movie did big business at the box office, meaning yet another sequel was on the way. The third film, "Alien 3," arrived in 1992 and director David Fincher (who later went on to great critical success with "Seven" and "The Game"), took a different approach with it. Jettisoning any weapons the humans could defend themselves with, along with all of Weaver's hair, the film had a highly stylized look. The fact that the humans couldn't blast the aliens, however, left audiences rather dissatisfied (as did the fact that everything that was built up by the conclusion of the 2nd film was torn down during the opening credits of this one). Additionally, by making Weaver perish in the finale, everyone figured the series was finally done. Yet with the three films grossing more than $200 million domestically, 20th Century Fox didn't want the series to end. After all, there had to be plenty of aliens left out there. The problem was, the series' heroine was dead, and Weaver had grown tired of playing that role (especially after having to shave her head). What was the studio to do? Well, after a lucrative contract and a little bit of resourceful sci-fi writing, Ripley came back in "Alien Resurrection." Helmed by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the film went after the style and feel of Cameron's "Aliens." For the most part, and without taking into consideration the previous films, it was an okay sci-fi horror feature. Comparing it with the previous three, however, it comes out better than the last, but pales when measured against the first two. Its main problem, like many sequels -- particularly when the numbers extend beyond "2" -- was that we had seen just about all of the material before. There was the crew that's hunted down, the macho fighting men, the alien queen, a flame thrower scene (torching mutants instead of egg pods) and of course, the rest of the "sneering," drooling aliens, one of which always manages to make it onboard the getaway ship for a suspenseful ending. For fans of these films, this is a must-have addition to their DVD collection. Although the films are a mixed bag -- the first two are great and have obviously been given the most attention in this release, the latter two could be jettisoned without any real loss -- they do flow together well. Die-hard fans of the series will love to see all of this material again, but the rest of us will have something of a "been there, seen that" feeling considering the third and fourth installments. While the technical quality of these transfers gets better the higher one goes with the numbered sequels, the amount of supplemental material drops in direct correlation. Of course that's because the first two films are far superior and more deserving of better supplements, and what's present should please fans of the series (and particularly the first two films).