ALIEN Re-Release

[Lurker 5]

If you go to ALIEN.com you'll get re-directed to FOX's web site. There you can see that FOX will be re-issuing ALIEN to theaters later this year. Here is what they have to say, "On the scariest day of the year, Twentieth Century Fox re-releases the scariest film ever made: Ridley Scott's "Director's Cut" of this science fiction / horror classic. For this newly-restored special edition, Scott has re-edited the film, incorporating new footage never before seen in theaters. ALIEN has been hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a seminal work of the genre."

The "scariest day of the year" is of course AI's birthday....I mean October 31.

I'm not happy about this being a new cut.

Here is the poster:

Neil

[Ollie 1,059]

I wonder what scenes will be restored? Most of the extra scenes on the laserdisc box set were incomplete. I know there is the scene where Ripley finds Dallas in the cocoon, that one was complete I believe.

What he should have done was restore Goldsmith's score.

[Guest]

What he should have done was restore Goldsmith's score.

Yep.

[tharpdevenport 4]

Ridley Scott's "Director's Cut" of this science fiction / horror classic. For this newly-restored special edition, Scott has re-edited the film, incorporating new footage never before seen in theaters.

So does this mean we will get to hear lots of original and un-used score from, damn, what's his name?

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Mark Olivarez wrote:

What he should have done was restore Goldsmith's score.

Yep.

You mean the one that sounds like excerpts from STTMP.

[Ollie 1,059]

I dunno what score you're listening to but it doesn't sound like ST:TMP.

The Swarm has more in common with Alien than Star Trek.

[A24 4,331]

Another movie with a director's cut. Stop tempering with the classics!

I never ever heard Ridley complain about the original cut before and I'm a major fan of the movie since its first release. This smells fishy!

The deleted scenes I've seen so far should stay deleted deservedly so.

It's obviously another attempt to make a few bucks. A petition should be held. Sad news this is.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Uni 306]

I'm not concerned one way or another about the new cut....but to see Alien again in a theater, after all these years....DAMMIT! It's still two months away!

- Uni

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

I'm not too excited about the DC either....if all they can add are the deleted scenes viewable on the existing DVD then it's really rather pointless. Anyway, I'll still pick up the new box, I've been wanting to see some more of Fincher's original ³ for years. And from what I remember, all movies should be watchable in both the DCs and the original theatrical cuts.

Marian - who will soon watch Alien on the big screen.....his own.

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

I am not sure they will be the "deleted scenes" as seen in the Alien DVD extras. As apparent from the commentary, Ridley Scott never meant them used in the final cut of the movie for fear of slowing down the pace and revealing a bit too much rather too soon. Then they might be yet some never-really-before-available shots, perhaps in no way detrimental to the movie's texture. Myself I can't wait to see them, because whatever the result, I can always return to the original cut of the Alien. And that is hell of a superb movie. Even Haley Joel Osment's favorite.

Roman.-)

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

Why isn't the letter "I" in the title on the poster cocoon-shaped?

[A24 4,331]

I would sure like a review from one of you guys!

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

In my own all-time top-ten list, it's number 7. I've seen it in theatres three times and I bought the DVD, which is a good evidence of that my soul belongs to Alien.

Aliens was a good movie too, but no match for Alien, too many aliens, which made a moment of stun almost impossible for Cameron to achieve. I don't care for Alien 3 that much, though it's still a good movie (and at least it's different), but I couldn't care less as far as we talk about Alien 4. I don¨t like this last one.

Romalien.-)

[Melange 446]

Good news. For me, the only scene that needs to go back in is the Dallas Cocoon scene. So chilling. Very effective, and i find it unforgiveable that it was left out. The sound of shock Ripley makes when she first sees Dallas, and the groaning from Dallas. Very creepy indeed. Wonderful scene. Put it back in. But no more scenes

[A24 4,331]

Well, I could live with it if they copy the E.T. stunt.

1 DVD original release digitally mastered from a new print

1 DVD director's cut (if you must)

1 DVD bursting with goodies, extras, etc.

And all this should be yours if you turn in your normal Alien DVD.

Yeah, then I could live with it.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

How many releases with E.T. on DVD have actually been made available? Here I can buy in total two sets, one-disc and double-disc packaging. I haven't bought either yet; is the original '82 cut of the E.T. on either of the two or does it take the 3-disc set to get it?

I'm glad Alien had been release on DVD before they decided to release the director's cut, which --as bad as I want to see it-- will never make the original superfluous.

We've talked a lot of Alien recently, but do you think it is a perverted idea to want Ridley Scott to shoot the Episode III, instead of G. Lucas in the director's chair? I know it can't happen, but would it do good or wrought evil? Would Scott pull it off? Just an idea....

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

Well, I could live with it if they copy the E.T. stunt.

I'm not sure if they'll release the single movies separately, but there will be a 9 DVD set called The Alien Quadrilogy. I believe I've read that all expanded movies will be viewable in the "new" as well as in the theatrical versions thanks to seamless branching. And with 9 DVDs, there's bound to be tons of extras.

Marian - who thinks this should be a neat set.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

We've talked a lot of Alien recently, but do you think it is a perverted idea to want Ridley Scott to shoot the Episode III, instead of G. Lucas in the director's chair? I know it can't happen, but would it do good or wrought evil? Would Scott pull it off? Just an idea....

Scott would have Hans Zimmer write the score...

Marian - who thinks there are no words to describe just how evil that would be.

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

If he had it along the lines of "Patricide", I perhaps wouldn't mind...

No, no, seriously, SW needs JW. I didn't think of it like that, I had the idea of only replacing Lucas with the rest of the crew firmly at its place.

----------------

It can be taken for granted with the 9-disc set? Whom am I to kill to cut the Resurrection item away from there to lower the price of the set for me...? I mean, it's sure to be very very costly.......

[King Mark 3,631]

i want to see more of the Alien planet and more shots of the spaceship they find the eggs in,or better shots of the Alien itself near the end.I find Geiger's creepy concepts very facinating.

K.M.

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

Gieger's design is outstanding, but I think the movie would be half as scary if you saw more of it.

Marian - who finds the theatrical cut very scary.

[A24 4,331]

I think Ridley Scott could pull a more darker Episode, blindly. OTOH, he could just as easily pull a Legend or a G.I. Jane and then where would we stand?! I don't think Ridley is the right man for the job. It's too risky with only just one Episode left.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Isn't this old news?

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/420/420975p1.html

- Marc, who has never seen any of the Alien films.

James Horner Falkirk from Braveheart

[Uni 306]

When I was about eight, my next-door neighbor brought me into his clubhouse and showed me one of his prized possessions: the old Heavy Metal comic adaptation of Alien. We took turns reading the narration and dialogue. From the first few pages, I was morbidly fascinated; by the time Kane's chest went Vesuvius, I was completely hooked. (I tracked down a copy of the comic for myself a few years ago....)

Then I got the Alan Dean Foster novelization when I was ten. Because I went cover-to-cover with it repeatedly back then, even after years of finer literature I'm pretty sure I've read that novel more times than any other (probably five or six times more than the closest runner-up). Foster's style--clipped dialogue, altered scenes, and a trite love affair with fragmented sentences--reads pretty goofy today, but to an engrossed preadolescent he was able to create absorbingly vivid images for the mind's eye to feed on.

It was a few years before I actually got to see the movie, but when I did....oh, man. It was a captivating experience, watching the true form of a story I'd already pictured for myself in so many different fashions. While I can't deny a certain measure of predetermind bias toward the film, I'll staunchly defend it to my grave as one of the finest cinematic experiences of all time. There aren't many films I can think of that have been able to create such a palpable atmosphere, a sense of place and time and foreboding that so completely transcends the visuals alone (though those are brilliant in their own right). Even disregarding the horror elements, it's a tour-de-force accomplishment; add those elements to the mix, and you have something that's gripping, exhiliarating, terrifying, fascinating, and deeply, deeply moving on every level.

Aliens was a great sequel; Cameron managed to approach the core idea from a different, unique angle, while remaining more or less faithful to the original conceptions. Alien3 and Resurrection were perfect examples of what happens when a narrow-minded fan base gets their hands on good material. Both were Dark Horse comic, gangrenous, plebian sci-fi dreck.

But even their failures couldn't take away from the dazzling triumph of the original. Alien easily makes my top five list of best films of all time.

- Uni

[ocelot 508]

more is added in? Fantastic, where's the line?

[Lurker 5]

You can now see the trailer here. The marketing people have to make up their minds. Twice in the trailer the film is referred to as a "special edition", yet the official title is ALIEN - The Director's Cut. Which is it?

And just remember....what was released in 1979 was Ridley Scott's final director's cut as well. This is not a "studio tampered" film , the way Blade Runner and Legend were.

Neil

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

Aliens was a great sequel; Cameron managed to approach the core idea from a different, unique angle, while remaining more or less faithful to the original conceptions. Alien3 and Resurrection were perfect examples of what happens when a narrow-minded fan base gets their hands on good material. Both were Dark Horse comic, gangrenous, plebian sci-fi dreck.  

But even their failures couldn't take away from the dazzling triumph of the original. Alien easily makes my top five list of best films of all time.  

- Uni

Oh man, I so so much agree! I think we're the two most devoted fans of Alien alive. Thank you for the post, Uni.

Roman.-)

[A24 4,331]

You can now see the trailer here.  The marketing people have to make up their minds.  Twice in the trailer the film is referred to as a "special edition", yet the official title is ALIEN - The Director's Cut.  Which is it?

And just remember....what was released in 1979 was Ridley Scott's final director's cut as well.  This is not a "studio tampered" film , the way Blade Runner and Legend were.

Neil

Alien, Special Edition? Now that I could live with! Naming it "Director's Cut" is screwing the facts.

However, I finally would like to see a Special Edition, plus a new (and real) Director's Cut of Blade Runner. Why do these legal disputes go on forever? New fresh crispy prints have been made a long time ago (3 versions of Blade Runner!!!). I wanna see them!!!

The DVD that is contaminating the market now is a bad joke! It was the first DVD I bought eventhough I had no player. I gave up watching after 5 minutes. What was that? Who did this transfer? The man responsible badly needs new glasses and another job.

If Alien, Director's Cut also gets a new print then I demand that they include Alien, Original Version with the same treatment.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

3 years back, there was it in one magazine that promoted the release of Alien on DVD, they claimed we're going to get the "best" video and sound quality with this release, so I considered it ultimate in these regards. I think it cannot be bettered any more so I hope they'll leave it the way it is, which is okay. Apparently they did some tricks with the picture and sound of the first DVD release, because the scenes marked as deleted that can be accessed from the menu are some two thirds lower as to both picture and sound when compared to the full film.

I was very disappointed with the DVD print of Exorcist I hurried to get a while back, which was overdigitalized and when camera goes from still to move, scintillating pixels are pretty apparent all over the screen. It may not be a fault, though. Maybe it cannot get any better than that.

Or I really might get myself a new TV set, a color one.

[A24 4,331]

The picture quality of Alien is OK but there's plenty of room for improvement. It doesn't have that "Digitally Mastered and Restored" quality, I've seen in some Kubrick films, yet. And Alien is not that old. I'm sure that on this subject the new release will be quite superior.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Lurker 5]

Apparently they did some tricks with the picture and sound of the first DVD release, because the scenes marked as deleted that can be accessed from the menu are some two thirds lower as to both picture and sound when compared to the full film.

The cut scenes on the DVD were never completed in 1979. They do not have a fully post-produced soundtrack, the way the film proper does. Also the cut scenes were an older video transfer, so it makes sense that visually they appear different than the newer transfer of the film.

Neil

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

And keep in mind that even trailers often don't get a really good treatment for DVDs, they often are non-anamorphic, sometimes even panned & scanned, and rarely feature 5.1 tracks.

Even on the Stigmata DVD, the original ending, which can be viewed in the film instead of the one shown at the theatre, has much poorer quality than the rest, and here it can't be attributed to the film's age.

Marian - who recently re-watched Jurassic Park and noticed that the image quality on the DVD is bad.

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

Marian - who recently re-watched Jurassic Park and noticed that the image quality on the DVD is bad.

The picture looks fine on my ancient TV set. But...

I have neither surround nor dolby digital, just plain stereo amplifier, so as far as I can make, though constricted, any comparison to other DVDs I have, the Jurassic Park (DVD) sound in stereo is close to average. The sound level is so low that I have to turn up the volume of my amplifier past its midpoint, where it's ordinarily too much for other moviews, and also the dynamics (esp. lower frequencies) seem and sound somewhat trimmed. Of the DVDs I have, it's comparable to War of the Roses sound-wise, albeit it was never meant to boost off the speakers like action films should.

Roman.-)

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

I think it sounds fine (I have the non-DTS version, the DTS one seems to have issues with the subwoofer channel I believe). But when watching it on the projector, all the edges looked very blurred, and there was something like colour noise in lighter scenes - as soon as it got dark again, the picture was quite good.

Marian - who'd still give JP's image quality far better ratings than that on the old De Palma DVDs.

[Lurker 5]

I saw it tonight. It was alright. Most of the extra scenes felt shoe-horned into the movie. A bad music edit was cleaned up at one point, but at the expense of poor Jones the cat.

Note the start of the cocoon sequence. You see Ripley climbing down a ladder with yellow lights flashing. This shot was also used earlier, when Dallas is climbing through the air-shaft.

The alien transmission scene is pointless and slows down the actual arrival at the planet. I always loved the cut onto the ship after Parker's line, "We're goin' in".

The brief fight between Lambert and Ripley was better left out of the movie. There was always tension between the two of them, but it was unexplained and really made the film that much more uneasy. Now that aura is missing. The performances are good, but it cuts to quickly back to the operation, making this section feel "dropped in".

The print looked and sounded good, but I'm glad this new version will not supplant the original.

Neil

[Melange 446]

I've not seen the new version. But i've previewed the outakes in the past on the DVD i own, and the only scene that i felt should of been put back in was the Cocoon sequence with Dallas. It's incredibly effective and chilling. Every other scene was pointless in my opinion, and best left out. Same with Aliens. I'm not a fan of the special edition which now passes as the "edition". I much prefer the original one, and have it on VHS somewhere. I cannot stand the whole terraforming colony sequence in the beginning because it destroys all the mystery that met the troops when they arrived. Some things are best left alone. With Alien, they should of re-implanted the score to make it how it was originall intended, rather than adding loads of outakes instead.

[Lurker 5]

The cocoon sequence is in the wrong spot in this new cut. It's supposed to occur after Ripley finds Parker and Lambert dead. That shot of her running down the hallway to set the self destruct should happen after the cocoon sequence. Now what happens is she sets the self-destruct, clmbs down a ladder, fries Dallas and Brett and then climbs back up the ladder. It doesn't make sense. It also doesn't make sense for her to kill Dallas if she's already set the self-destruct. He's going to die anyway. If she had set the self-destruct after this scene, it would have worked a little better.

Neil

[ocelot 508]

Oh wow, I really do prefer the special edition of Aliens. It shows her relationship or lack therov with her daughter and gives us the reason why she is so obsessed with saving Newt. In the first edition, I was sitting there thinking, OK I know she wants to save her, but this is too much....

[QMM 4]

I've never seen any of the Aliens movies SO THERE

[Justin 2]

Me neither. I'm waiting for the big huge DVD that is supposed to come out some time....

Justin

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

The brief fight between Lambert and Ripley was better left out of the movie.  There was always tension between the two of them, but it was unexplained and really made the film that much more uneasy.  Now that aura is missing.

Neil,

is this the scene that is included as a "deleted scenes" bonus on the initial DVD release of Alien? I thought this would have had ruined it a lot for me had it been in the actual movie and now it seems it made it in! can't believe that!

[Lurker 5]

It's an alternate take of the scene so its not the exact same one on the LD and DVD, but yes, the slapping scene is in the new cut.

Neil

[Yoda Longbottom 0]

I have quite an off-topic, technical question concerning DVDs with deleted scenes. So it goes, speaking of the DVD with Alien, is there a way to program the DVD player so that the deleted scenes could be inserted in between the regular chapters of the movie and then played as one seamless movie? Am I clear about it? I mean, just curious to know whether the deleted scenes can be added via programming features in between the regular movie chapters as I desire and then watched as one seamless movie?

Thanks,

Roman.-)

[Lurker 5]

A DVD has to be designed with that option. The new DVD coming out of ALIEN will let you choose between the original cut and the new cut.

Neil

[ocelot 508]

That's a good thing, you should call Lucas so that he can do the same for you guys who want the original!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Latest rumblings are that Lucas has again changed the original Star Wars. The lightsabers in the Darth vs. Ben fight now look good. In the shot where Ben's saber looks like a stick it's now completely colored, and Vader's saber is now bright red in every shot.

However, it is reported that there have also been clouds added to the binary sunset scene. WTF?

- Marc, :?

[Lurker 5]

There have always been clouds in the Binary Sunset scene. The rumor is that this was done to avoid a continuity error. :roll:

Neil

[CYPHER 1]

I first saw Alien in 1998 on good old VHS. It was late at night in a darkened room and by the concluding third of the film I was well and truly drifting in and out of sleep. For this and other reasons I was never overly impressed with it. Sure, I felt it had its merits but it was by no means 'all that' to paraphrase a Ricki Lake-ism.

Having recently seen the Alien re-release at the cinema, I can thankfully say that my opinion of this film has been elevated immeasurably. What an absolute stunner! I can barely begin to describe how amazed I was. Aside form its obvious virtues (stunning plot, tight direction, excellent cast) I was struck by the brilliance of the cinematography and the detailed perfection of the art direction. And Goldsmith's unobtrusive score is exactly what the doctor ordered. Another dimension to this film I appreciated far more this time around was its rich thematic subtext. In particular it's been quite some while since I've witnessed a more cogent or compelling cinematic depiction of such menacing sexuality. Love it!

The alien transmission scene is pointless and slows down the actual arrival at the planet. I always loved the cut onto the ship after Parker's line, "We're goin' in".  

The brief fight between Lambert and Ripley was better left out of the movie. There was always tension between the two of them, but it was unexplained and really made the film that much more uneasy. Now that aura is missing. The performances are good, but it cuts to quickly back to the operation, making this section feel "dropped in".

Obviously I'm no expert on this film, or a die-hard long-term fan either Neil, but I thought both these additional scenes worked well. The cocoon scene with Dallas was the only scene that I was fairly sure wasn't in the original. It goes to show that for a relative neophyte, this new edition worked very well. The tension was sustained and the characters fleshed out. Certainly I understand that for those individuals with more emotional investment in the original cut, this altered re-release may have disappointing elements in it, but I hope you can take some solace in the fact that for new (or second-time) viewers this movie still packs an incredible punch .

Finally it's a sad state of affairs when my enjoyment of this film easily eclipses the sum total enjoyment I derived from the last FIVE recent releases I saw at the cinema. For those of you like Justin and ?MM who haven't seen this movie or are waiting for it on DVD I urge you not to hesitate in seeing it at the CINEMA. I don't care how big your screen is at home Marian (), it'd be hard pressed to compete with this crisp, clean transfer projected up there in the cavernous dark.

CYPHER

[A24 4,331]

Cypher wrote:

Having recently seen the Alien re-release at the cinema, I can thankfully say that my opinion of this film has been elevated immeasurably.

Great! That means there's still hope for you.

Now, what other movies didn't impress you much at first?

You've got a lot of catching up to do, mister!

----------------

Alex Cremers

[fommes 153]

I've got a question - I have the Alien DVD from the Quadrilogy - is it worth having the original Alien DVD for the alternate Goldsmith score accompanying the film? It's not for the isolated score per se, I have that on mp3 already.