Aliens (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by James Cameron
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Sigourney WeaverDirector: James Cameron
Brand: Fox
Writer: James Cameron
Producer: David Giler
Writer: David Giler
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
Writer: Dan O'Bannon
Writer: Ronald Shusett
Writer: Walter Hill
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-06
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Aliens (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: The best entry in the Aliens saga!
Summary: 5 Stars
Already a contender for the status of a legendary classic James Cameron's 1986 classic sequel to "Alien" entitled "Aliens" is a grand leap forward from the Ridley Scott original and adding a whole new dimension to the Alien saga while maintaining the thrills that made the original such a great movie. The first one relied on immense suspense to scare it's audience but this one brings forth far more action for it's plot.
Ellen Ripley is in hibernation through cryogenic suspension on the space ship she got on to escape from the planet that the deadly predatory alien inhabited. 57 years later after being the only survivor of the encounter with the alien creature, Ripley is found and rescued by a deep space crew and revived. Upon being revived on Planet Earth, Ellen Ripley discovers that to her utmost horror, the planet that she escaped from 57 years earlier has been colonized by a Company that wants to expand its businesses to other planets. The colony called LV-426 had been growing and was starting to prosper when contact with it is suddenly lost completely and unable to be restored.
A team of Space Marines is formed and Ellen Ripley along with the Marines are sent back to the planet to investigate what might have possibly happened that could've caused contact to be completely lost with the colony and if something horrible has happened, they must try to rescue the survivors...if there are any at all. Ellen Ripley discovers that her greatest nightmare to date has come true. The alien species is thriving well and killed all of the colonists except for one which is a little girl named Rebecca `Newt' Jordan who survived for over a year alone hiding in the complex ventilation systems of the buildings. Even worse is that the former headquarters of the colony is now host to a large nest of alien eggs. Now they must try to escape the remains of the colony and destroy the nest but the aliens are numerous and attack in numbers and are much deadlier than the one Ripley fought more than a half-century before then. The alien nest is also host to an alien queen, an alien that lays numerous eggs that will hatch facehuggers that will cause far more Aliens to be hatched from their hosts. It turns out that the colonists that lived on there have been made into hosts for the spawn of the alien queen. They have no idea of how the alien species had escaped from confinement but the answer to that may be very shocking.
This sequel is arguably one of the greatest sequels ever made even to this day in so many ways. I don't know what happened but just about everything that could work on here works perfectly. The storyline is powerful and brilliant. I really love the way that this movie builds up in suspense in the first half and then is almost non-stop action from there forth. The movie is dark, but highly futuristic.
The characters are very well defined and show enormous personality. The atmosphere is bleak and intense but lots of fun. First off James Cameron was the perfect choice for directing this movie. Coming hot off the heels of "The Terminator" two years before then, the relatively low budget of only 18 Million dollars was put to its most efficient use with his directing. The special effects are stunningly amazing, brilliant and rich in detail and don't look dated at all and this is taking into account that CGI didn't exist back at that point in time.
The aliens in this movie looked so much more realistic and far more terrifying than the one in the first one. They looked the most realistic of just about any aliens that I've seen in any science fiction movie even more so than the ones from 1996's "Independence Day". The Alien queen is the best alien creature out of all four of the entries in the saga and the egg-laying sac, although a bit gross-looking was very realistic looking. I loved the way all of the equipment and the weapons that the Space Marine crew had looked like. My favorite set was the mechanical humanoid machine that Ripley steps into in the climax. The sounds of the machine guns firing their rounds will never be forgotten.
The acting by the entire cast is incredible. James Cameron's work on making the characters really honest and vivid paid off on here. Ellen Ripley is the greatest action movie heroine of all time. Of all of the movies I've seen Sigourney Weaver star in, "Aliens" remains her best role to date as of writing this review. Her acting on here is legendary and Ripley acting as a surrogate mother to the sole survivor of the colony Newt is powerful. Starring in her only movie role, Carrie Henn at only around ten years is the best kind role of any movie I've ever seen. Newt in a way is very chilling to watch and even scary sometimes considering how she survives for so long in the colony alone with the aliens lurking around. I sometimes find it occasionally a bit troubling to watch nowadays especially that I sometimes don't like seeing scenarios of kids being in dangerous situations. Michael Biehn as Corporal Hicks is amazing as well. Paul Reiser as the traitorous Burke is great as well. Although nowhere near as prevalent, Jeanette Goldstein is an awesome riot as the fiery-tempered macho Corporal Alvarez! Watching her in this movie is so much fun and she shows lots of spunk and attitude. Let's not forget Bill Paxton playing the Space Marine who was starting to get paranoid towards the latter half of the movie. I gotta hand it to the world, this movie has a brilliant cast and it couldn't have been better!
The "Collector's Edition" DVD is fantastic! The picture and sound quality of the "Collector's Edition" are so superior to the old VHS edition as well. The original version benefits from both improvements. The first disc contains the 1986 original and it also comes with a 1991 extended edition which contains 17 minutes of previously unreleased footage that fleshes out the characters and expands the storyline. One scene in the extended edition warrants seeing the 1991 edition as it really expands on Ripley's checkered past.
The second disc is also a treasure to gain a hold of as well. One of my favorite bonus features is seeing how they made all of the awesome sets especially with the alien queen and how they made it look so realistic when Ripley shoots the grenades at the egg-laying sac. The one with the human robot that Ripley uses to battle the alien is also really spectacular and how they filmed it was really worth seeing. You can also see some really awesome production galleries of the various scenes and how they built all of the many sets and how they did some of the really awesome effects especially with how much more primitive movie-making technology was at the time. The second disc also contains great commentary by the cast and crew of the making of this set and how they look back on it today. Even Carrie Henn comments on her role and when she talks about how she loved one of the sets she was in. It's really funny to watch. There are hours of other features on here that are worth seeing. You will love every second of the hours you spend watching this disc.
This movie had a lot to live up to considering the great scales of its predecessor but it not only did that but it surpass it to become what is arguably the greatest sequel of all time. This is likely one of my favorite sequels of all time alongside "Terminator 2" which was also directed by James Cameron. Go and buy this amazing DVD today!
Summary of Aliens (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
In this action-packed sequel to Alien, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism - until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 leads her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate.Personally supervised by director James Cameron, this special edition includes scenes eliminated prior to the film's 1986 release which broaden the narrative scope and enrich the emotional impact of the film.
Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. --Marshall Fine
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