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‘Aliens’ 4K Re-Issue Builds Hope For A “Quadrilogy,” 6-Movie 4K Re-Issue

More than 40 years ago, 20th Century Studios (nee 20th Century Fox) and director Ridley Scott changed the face of both horror and science fiction when they released the groundbreaking movie, Aliens.  The movie brought the genres together and took them in a direction that even the science fiction flicks of the 1950s could ever imagine going, in turn creating a whole new genre within itself.  Roughly seven years later, the success of that movie would lead to the first of a number of sequels in the form of Aliens.  The largely well-received sequel earned itself two Oscars® awards, one for Best Sound Effects Editing and the other for Best Visual Effects.  The awards were credit in large part to famed director James Cameron who also wrote the movie’s script alongside David Giler and Walter Hill.  Star Sigourney Weaver (GhostbustersGhostbusters IIAlien) was nominated for Best Actress, proving even further the movie’s success.  The movie has seen a number of re-issues on each new home media platform since making its debut in July 1986, and now this coming March, will see its latest re-issue, this time on March 12 on 4K UHD.  The forthcoming re-issue will appeal to longtime fans of the Alien franchise and to those who might be less familiar with the franchise.  That is due in part to its story, which will be addressed shortly.  As with another Cameron-helmed movie set for re-issue March 12 – The Abyss – its special effects are just as much a part of its presentation and worth examining, too.  They will be discussed a little later.  The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming 4K UHD re-issue rounds out its most important elements.  It does its own share to make for engagement and entertainment and will also be examined later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of Aliens.  All things considered they make the movie’s forthcoming 4K UHD re-issue a largely successful presentation that still leaves audiences wondering if the rest of the movies will ever get the 4K treatment.

20th Century Studios’ forthcoming 4K UHD re-issue of Aliens is a presentation that established fans of the Alien franchise will find mostly appealing just as much as those who are less familiar with the movies.  That is due in part to its story.  The story at the center of Aliens is of interest because it continues Ellen Ripley’s (Weaver) battle against the vile Xenomorphs, this time on an exomoon’s surface instead of in space.  The planet in question is the site of a human colony that has been overrun by the Xenomorphs after the creatures’ ship crashed on the planet.  As with the original movie, there are lots of casualties, lots of gunfire and whatever that stuff is that drips from the Xenomorphs’ mouths (primary and secondary).  There is also a shocking revelation about the creatures that ties back to her employer, the Eather-based Weyland-Yutani company, leading to even more conflict as Ripley and the colonial marines battle the Xenomorphs.  If course Ripley and a handful of others escape in the end and the Xenomorphs are believed to have been defeated.  Of course, being there was another movie (and another, etc. after this one ended), audiences know now this was just the latest chapter in the ongoing franchise that has otherwise sadly gotten worse with every movie since Aliens.  That overall story is sure to keep audiences fully engaged even as Ripley and the Marines keep battling the Xenomorphs in increasingly tense and difficult situations leading up to the finale.  It will all leave viewers breathless and spent by the story’s end.

As much as the story does to make Aliens so engaging even with all of its tension and action, it is just part of what makes the movie interesting.  The special effects are of their own importance to the appeal here.  As with The Abyss, Cameron was unable to rely on computers for the special effects.  He actually uses largely real elements, such as guns and models, and even a remote control exosuit that was part costume for an actor.  Even the Xenomorphs themselves were real costumes worn by stunt actors.  This is all discussed at length by Cameron in one of the bonus features carried over from the movie’s most recent re-issue, “The Inspiration and Design of Aliens.”  All of that commentary will be discussed later along with a focus on the movie’s also carried over feature-length commentary.  Almost all of the special effects exhibited throughout the movie were actual physical items.  The result is that the movie’s otherworldly setting, beings, weapons and other items look all the more believable, thus pulling audiences even more into the movie.  It is such a welcome, refreshing change of pace – again – from all of the over the top CG-infused blockbusters out there today.  To that end, Aliens’ special effects and story do more than enough to keep audiences engaged and entertained.

Building even more on the appeal ensured through the movie’s primary and secondary content is the bonus content that accompanies Aliens in its re-issue.  None of the bonus content featured here is new.  It is all carried over from previous releases but again maybe not everyone has seen any of said content, making for its own share of interest.  The previously noted featurette that addresses the movie’s special effects offers lots of insight into how much work went into making the whole futuristic film.  For instance, Cameron reveals that the drop ship that takes Ripley and the Marines onto the moon’s surface was a model whose design was itself based on an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.  He also notes the Xenomorphs were in fact actors in suits.  There was no CG to cause the cast to have to imagine being chased.  Those intense scenes involving the evil creatures were, for the most part, real.  Additionally, he reveals the wheeled vehicle used after the drop ship reaches the moon’s surface was itself real.  He points out the machine was in reality an aircraft “tug” that was used to move airplanes at London’s famed Heathrow Airport.  He notes that for specific reasons, the crew had to physically remove some 20 tons or so of weight from the vehicle for use in the movie and somehow managed the task.  As if all of this is not enough, Cameron also points out that while the movie is a sequel to Alien, he also points out what is perhaps the most intriguing pieces of information in the revelation that America’s involvement in Vietnam was the inspiration for the story herein.  He goes into some depth here and the discussion will be left for viewers to take in for themselves.

The discussion on the movie’s look and special effects is just one of the bonuses that audiences will appreciate.  The feature length audio commentary carried over from the movie’s 2003 release adds even more to the appreciation for the whole.  Cameron points out here that taking the lead for Aliens happened largely by chance after he had talked to studio executives with 20th Century about Alien.  His anecdote here is quite insightful in how casually it happened.  He also points out as the movie continues, the movie also focuses on the central theme of motherhood.  More specifically, that theme comes from the central focus on Ripley through a scene included here that was deleted from the original movie.  That discussion and how it ties directly into the movie’s tense climactic finale makes for its own share of interest, too.

As if all of this is not enough, members of the movie’s cast and crew (including producer Gale Hurd and the late great Bill Paxton – TwisterApollo 13Frailty) are on hand to add to the discussions.  Hurd reveals through her comments that the noted scene that was cut and others removed were taken out so as to optimize the number of showings the movie could have in theaters at the time.  That revelation is eye-opening as it can lead to talks on how apparently movie run times are tied to their own access to theaters.  She points out the cuts made to the movie for its final release put the run time at just over two hours whereas Cameron points out the full movie’s run time (which is displayed in this 4K UHD re-issue) is just over two and a half hours.  Between this discussion, the others also addressed here and the rest of the bonus commentary throughout the extras makes the movie all the more encompassing.  The overall engagement and entertainment ensured through the overall bonus content works with the movie’s story and its equally unique special effects to make the presentation in whole a mostly welcome new re-issue of what is one of the scariest and most intense science fiction and horror films to come from the 20th Century.

20th Century Studios’ forthcoming 4K UHD re-issue of its 1986 sci-fi/horror flick Aliens, is a largely positive early addition to 2024’s list of new movie and TV re-issues.  That is due in part to its story.  The multi-tiered (and apparently rather in depth) story continues Ripley’s battle against the evil Xenomorphs but in a unique fashion.  How this happens is what really makes the story unique.  Yes there is lots of gunfire, lots of violence, etc. but it isn’t just another shoot-‘em-up flick.  As the bonus commentaries reveal there is a lot more going on.  That collective bonus content does plenty of its own share to make this movie worth watching.  When it is considered along with the story and the largely organic special effects, the whole therein makes the overall presentation that is Aliens all the more engaging and entertaining for science fiction and horror fans alike.  Maybe now with this movie’s re-issue on 4K UHD and that of Alien in 2019, maybe just maybe audiences will see a full 4K re-issue of the Alien Quadrilogy or even the 6-movie set sooner rather than later.

Aliens is set for re-issue March 12 on 4K UHD.  More information on this and other titles from 20th Century Studios is available at:

Websitehttps://20thcenturystudios.com

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