Review of Aliens: Special Edition

Introduction

This disc needs little introduction. One of those rare beasts where a sequel actually stands as a credible successor to a brilliant first movie. James Cameron transferred the creeping horror of the original Alien movie, and mixed in high action and confused claustrophobia. Rather than one Alien, we had hundreds, and the film was all the better for it. What a shame that subsequent sequels were to cause such damage to the franchise. Watched in isolation, or back to back with Alien however, Aliens is a monolith of modern cinema that stands repeated viewing.

Video

Excellent. I`d love to compare this disc to the UK PAL version, because quite frankly this NTSC American disc looks superb. Aliens must be the DVD encoders nightmare - a film almost entirely dedicated to dark scenes, smoke, fine detail in darkness and quick movement. Regardless all these potential problems, Fox have excelled themselves with this transfer which is pristine.

Audio

The sound on this disc is also a fine example of the highest quality. The film requires tight control of the vocals and sound effects in scenes where there is panic or confusion. A lesser soundtrack might become muddled or unclear, but this disc presents the film superbly, bringing great punch to the effects while keeping speech clear and balanced. Subtle sound effects during quieter and suspensful moments of the film are equally well handled.

Features

This is one of those discs that show the way for DVD manufacturers. Not quite as good as the brilliant Alien 20th Anniversary disc, this disc does not lag far behind. There is a highly atmospheric scored and animated introduction and menu sequence. This version of the film is James Camerons Directors Cut, and has extra restored footage which fill in a few details about Ripleys daughter, and the intelligence of the Aliens. It`s such a shame though that they could not get a commentary from James Cameron, which I`m sure many people would sell their grandparents for. There is a short interview with the man though, a collection of background photo stills, and some behind-the-scenes footage. For Aliens fans, an excellent haul.

Conclusion

This is going to be one of those `must own` discs for most DVD owners. It`s such a relief that Fox managed to get the Alien series right on DVD. This is something for which they should possibly receive more credit for than they actually have. It`s obviously easier to cock these thing up, rather than get them so perfect. You only need to look at the Die Hard series, or Stanley Kubric`s films, or Pulp Fiction, or Blade Runner, to appreciate how many cinema classics have been hopelessly missed DVD opportunities. I am glad to report that this top film has enjoyed a flawless transfer to the silver disc. If you have not bought it from Region 1 yet though, perhaps you might consider seeing how the PAL disc shapes up ? Either way, it`s a cracker.