Alien Anthology

There are some movies that we just seem to buy over and over again. Of course one of the most infamous examples is the ‘Star Wars Flick that George Lucas has been tweaking and revising for decades. With the advent of DVDs this phenomena has accelerated with alternate versions, directors’ cuts and now to the high definition format of Blu-ray. One such series of films that seem to enjoy a periodic re-release is the Alien saga. At least with these new editions most fans agree that the new material or improved presentation make it worth considering the investment. Personally I have fallen into this trend with ‘Alien’ and its sequels represented in my collection represented by versions ranging from video tapes made from early cable through full screen VHS followed by widescreen then THX audio. Naturally in this growing collection of editions several DVD renditions going from stand releases to the previous ‘ultimate edition’ eventually leading up to this spectacular Blu-ray edition. Looking back at this shelf full of copies the first thing that is evident is the thought, consideration and yes even respect for the loyal fans that the studio place into the crafting of the first high definition treatment of these films. My friends are quick to point out that I get movies for preview but this release is so impressive that I would gladly pay in order to own a copy. When it comes to movies, especially horror films there are not many that I hold in such esteem. Many franchises similar to this make the upgrade from standard to high definition with a quick re-mastering and a direct port of special features. Here it is immediately evident that Fox pulled out all the stops providing a complete makeover to all four films of the series extending this royal treatment not only to the theatrical editions but also the more resent extended or director’s cuts as well as the amazing selection of bonus material. The Blu-ray format allows for and incredible amount of storage, over ten times that of a standard DVD and it is about time that a studio took full advantage of the true improvements of this format.

There is a slight downside to this collection using the Blu-ray features to their best advantage. The Blu-ray specification has one feature that is a major departure from its predecessor; the firmware that drives the player is upgradable by the user. This means that the developers of the hardware and software are free to make improvements to the technology without a major upgrade problem. When I sat down to review the first of the six discs in the collection I was greeted by a blank screen. I tried reinserting the disc and this time after some sounds of the disc being read I received a message that my player has to be upgraded. This was on a LG BD-390 but I had similar experiences with a Sharp AQUOS BD-HP22U and Phillips BDP 7200. All three offered ways to download the required software upgrade but the LG by far was the simplest. Using a hard wired 7MB/s DSL connection the procedure took about 35 minutes. The good news is the slight delay in getting started was well worth while; this is by far the best Blu-ray release I have seen to date. Before you go out to purchase this set it might be a good idea to become familiar with the specific details of how to perform this procedure on your Blu-ray player.

One of the most user friendly features in this set is the attention to details from the viewpoint of the user. An example is the little pop-up window that appears when you switch between audio tracks. Instead of the typical ‘Audio 1’ there is a brief description of the sound track. For example in the first film you can easily choose the 1979 or 2003 commentary track or one of two isolated scores. There is even a notation of which tracks are available only on the theatrical version of the film. The collection also makes excellent use of the Top Menu feature which permits you to change between features without leaving the movie. All of these technological enhancements are nice but they really don’t mean all that much if the presentation of the actual films isn’t able to exceed previous releases. In that regard all fans of this franchise can rest assured that this release is better than what you might have seen and heard in a high end theater during the movie’s initial theatrical showings. After so many years watching these films on lesser media I seemed to remember them as much darker and murky. These editions are crystal clear revealing details I either forgotten or just never noticed before. One example is in the first film as the ship approaches the planet. I recall the ring around the planet as the settle into orbit but know the faint ring is clearly visible on the approach. Much of what you will notice in high def is along the same line; nothing major when taken on their own but the cumulative effect is to create a much more realistic look to the movies than ever before. The detail on the ship and the organic nature of the creature just pops out strongly. In the second film the showdown at the end between Ripley and the Alien breeder you can see the damage with exquisite detail. Likewise the audio reflects a dedication to the integrity of the films balanced with the advances in technology. I most cases the original stereo soundtrack is selectable alongside the re-mastered DTS HDMA lossless audio. The sound field is expansive yet able to let you focus on the slightest sound. The audio range runs the gamut from huge explosions the ripple through your living room to the tiny click of the toy drinking bird in the first movie. One thing about the bonus material; some have noted a framing error in a few of the documentaries. This is likely due to the age of the material being up scaled from 4:3 to the modern 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Try setting your TV to native 4:3 mode to reduce the effect.

DISC ONE: ALIEN

DISC TWO: ALIENS

DISC THREE: ALIEN3

DISC FOUR: ALIEN RESURRECTION

DISC FIVE: MAKING THE ANTHOLOGY

DISC SIX: THE ANTHOLOGY ARCHIVES

Posted 10/30/2010