ALIENS
(Director's Cut)

 1986
155m (film)
21m (supp)
 










 Aspect Ratio (Theatrical):

Spherical Panavision - 1.85:1

  Aspect Ratio (Disc Transfer):

1.83:1



    



        





Fox
#1504-85
$99.98

Film Credits

Written and Directed by: James Cameron

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews, Mark Ralston, Ricco Ross, Cynthia Scott

 

Review

FINALLY! After over two long, torturous years of delays and excuses, the director's cut of Aliens has hit store shelves. The reasons for the frustrating waiting period began when Fox told Pioneer that they were going to release a director's cut of the James Cameron film on laserdisc. Pioneer jumped the gun and announced it immediately, even though Fox had not yet been in the pre-production stages. Also, supposedly, Fox wanted to time the release of the disc until it would generate interest in their upcoming summer release, Alien 3. Fox's choice of announcing a $99.98 list price without giving away the features only added to the mystery and frustration.

The speculation is finally over, and now it can be seen whether the wait was worth it. The answer is yes! Not only has Fox added 17m of footage that James Cameron found difficult to cut from the film for its theatrical release, but Fox attempts to present a Criterion-style supplemental section with photographs, interviews, and even production videos. Packaged inside the very sturdy box (which has a flap so it opens like a book, rather than lifting off) is a well-produced six-page full-color folded insert. The insert features a critique on the film, production notes, restoration notes detailing ALL added scenes, and a listing of all 65 chapter stops (33 for the film, 32 for the supplement; there's also an unlisted one at the supplement's end for a Chace Home Theatre Sound Check). As the icing on the cake, it's presented in CAV over four discs, allowing the film analyst to slow down or view Cameron's compositions or the Academy Award-winning visual effects frame by frame, all the while in a letterboxed approx. 1.83:1 aspect ratio (Aliens was filmed in the 1.85:1 Spherical Panavision process).

As if that weren't good enough, the disc's release comes after the changeover from CBS/Fox to Fox Video, which has made it clear that they have listened to customer complaints about quality. Then again, when James Cameron supervises the transfer, how can you go wrong? Although multiple copies screened showed a nasty tendency for flickering during the dark opening credits, the rest of the disc was first rate with an exceptionally detailed picture and a lovely color transfer. Another outstanding feature of the disc is the CX-encoded digital Dolby surround stereo sound, which booms out loud and clear from all directions to engulf you in the adventure. Side changes are carefully thought out, an admirable feat considering the addition of three more side cuts to the original CLV version (which had outstanding side cuts in its own right).

The added footage is enough to make any laser owner lament the control film studios have over directors to keep their films short in order to get enough screenings to turn a profit. The biggest dramatic addition from the new footage is deeper insight into the character of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), and why her instincts to protect Newt (Carrie Henn) are so strong. In addition, the best lines in the film are contained in the added scenes, showing Cameron's talent at writing dialogue. Special applause should be given to all those who worked to make sure that the added scenes were not noticeable by changes in color timing, sound level, or image quality. The prints of the extra 17m are clean, and deliver surround stereo sound just as fine as in the rest of the film.

Some people have been unnecessarily vocal about the fact that quite a few grainy sequences are present in the transfer. Bitch and moan all you like, but as Cameron personally supervised this transfer of Aliens (as I stated earlier), it looks the way it's supposed to look. No ifs, ands or buts. Parts of Aliens were grainy during its original theatrical release, and they're grainy here as well.* Cameron's new transfer is light years ahead of the old CBS/Fox pan & scan disc (which looks soft, indistinct, and too dark by comparison) and I'm extremely pleased with it, as are most other people. Enough said.

Concerning the supplementary section, it's a fine start for Fox, and it rivals the best of the Voyager/Criterion supplementary sections. Consisting of 574 text frames, 644 photos/drawings, and 21m of video footage, the supplementary section depicts every possible aspect of the film's production, from the evolution of the story straight through post-production, and both casual viewers and hard-core film buffs will benefit from its inclusion. Some of the featured segments include in-depth looks at the Narcissus, Gateway Station, the Sulaco, the drop-ship, weaponry, the APC vehicle, the colony, and the aliens, among many others. Additional highlights of this section include a video interview with James Cameron (conducted in 1986 by Don Shay of Cinefex magazine), as well as numerous videos shot during the production which include a test run of a giant, black-plastic-trash-bag mock-up of the alien queen shot in the back lot of Pinewood Studios. For all its wealth of information, the supplementary section was noticeably lacking in a couple of details. For example, it would have been great had the entire screenplay been provided rather than just certain scenes, and the theatrical trailers would have been a welcome addition. By focusing on these interesting elements and paying attention to where the supplemental section falls short, Fox will no doubt produce some formidable collector's editions in the future.

So what are you waiting for? What are you still doing reading this? Run, do not walk, to your laser retailer and pick up a copy of this dynamite release. After all, you deserve it, since you've waited for it long enough!

Aliens was pressed at Pioneer and is Table of Contents encoded. Unfortunately, stores and consumers are reporting that a large number of these Pioneer-manufactured discs have pressing-related defects. These range from glitches, to horizontal lines distorting the picture, to sides skipping and locking up. While my copy of Aliens was fine, Pond Scum editor Jeff has already gone through six various replacements before being able to make up a non-defective set of discs. Jeff also reports that his defective sides featured faint (but visible) ripples in the disc surface.

 

Supplementary Recap

  • New digitally mastered transfer supervised by director James Cameron
  • 17m of restored footage not included in the theatrical or televised version
  • Full-color 6-page brochure including program notes, chapter listings and viewer's guide to additional scenes
  • Exclusive Collector's Section (574 text frames, 644 photos drawings, 21m video) including:
  • Interview with James Cameron
  • Behind-the-scenes footage
  • Production art work from the collections of James Cameron, Ron Cobb, and Syd Mead
  • Original visual effects storyboards and materials from the collections of Robert Skotak, Dennis Skotak, and Stan Winston
  • Rare production photographs
  • Screenplay excerpts
  • Annotated history of the production
  • Original advertising materials

 

* Editor's Note: To this day, many people are still complaining about the grain that is present during darker sequences. Here's the final scoop on this...

No, Mr. Cameron was not asleep during the transfer, nor was he asleep during the filming of such scenes. The laserdisc transfer of "Aliens" is an absolutely accurate rendition of what appeared on-screen during the film's 1986 theatrical release. During that theatrical showing, some scenes looked perfectly clear and others were noticeably grainy; therefore, since some parts were grainy when originally filmed, they are definitely going to be grainy on the disc. And if none of you believe us, just go out and see "Aliens" the next time it shows up at your local revival theatre, then try and tell us there's no grain.

But still, why are certain scenes grainy, you ask? It's all due to the nature of the sets and the many low-level light situations they created. As has been documented in several film magazines at the time of the film's release, many scenes required the use of a special light-sensitive film stock that allowed for shooting in extreme low light situations. The grain is caused when the film stock tries to compensate for and distinguish between the barely-available light and the surrounding black areas. In fact, if you look at the disc, you'll see some scenes in which part of the image [say a dark background] is grainy, while a lit foreground object [say a face] is clear.

And finally, for those of you who have complained that Fox's pan & scan Aliens disc didn't show any grain, remember that the older disc doesn't come close to featuring the amount of detail that is present in this new letterboxed transfer. Fox's earlier disc is soft and dark in comparison, thus any grain will be barely noticeable. Since the new transfer features so much more detail and information, that grain present in the original film itself will be more apparent.

And that's all we have to say on the subject. So there.

 

 
Review by Brad DeMoss
Originally Published in "Pond Scum" #27

Original Review: 02/92
Last Updated: 04/28/97