The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc box set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here the films have been repackaged with vastly more extras & with upgraded sound & vision. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original & "e; Special Edition"e; form. Alien (1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, & Ridley Scott's 2003 Director's Cut is fiddling for the sake of it. Watch once then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely the Special Edition of James Cameron's Aliens (1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice finally to have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien 3 (1992). This isn't a "e;director's cut"e;--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, & has now been restored, remastered & finished-off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, & a subplot involving Paul Mc Gann's character adds considerable depth to the story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien Resurrection (1997) was always a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, & the Special Edition just makes it eight minutes longer. Alien Quadrilogy offers all films except Alien 3 with DTS soundtracks, the latter having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, & the prints & transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary & isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here--and there are subtitles for hard of hearing both for the films & the commentaries. Classification
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