Alien Quadrilogy Box Set (9 Discs) (5.1/DTS)

Smoking please. Smoking, drinking, voting-the works! Aliens has turned 21. A movie that swaggers like a boozed 21 year old at their coming of age party; mouthy, brash, and overconfident.
The film doesn't start like that. Like a party it takes a while to get going. Nervous, with only her cat for company, she waits for her new guests to arrive. Remember her last bash didn't work out so hot. A gatecrasher ruined the show-but instead of vomiting on the carpet this uninvited guest ripped her buddies apart. After an explosive night she managed to boot out that troublemaker-naked and screaming and finally get her head down for some much needed sleep.
When her guests do arrive she feels a stranger at her own party. They're younger than her, wear hip clothes and talk differently. They are cool, annoying, and wont listen to a word she says. What's worse is that they want to look up her gatecrashers family and sort them out. Ripleys a little scared but she goes anyway.
And this is when the party gets out of control. Her new friends aint so tough. Not only that, they're completly out of their league. They shout, scream, and argue but mostly they die. And leave sensible Ripley to clear up their mess.
As parties go Aliens is one which will be remembered for along time yet. The guest list is superb; Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez, and Apone. The conversation wickedly funny, the action immense, and the thrills cathartic.
Cameron as director simply owns the screen and bosses the audience. We were invited again and turned up for The Abyss, T2, and True Lies-he didn't let us down on either count. So we stayed loyal and were repaid with...Titanic. A wet party at best. Role on Battle Angel.

No Dvd Collection should be missing the Alien Quadrilogy Boxset! Not only do you get 2 versions of each film but also an extra 5 discs of special features!

The films vary in terms of quality. Ridley Scott's fantastic Alien (1979) starts it all off, now you can watch the 2003 Director's Cut which is actually shorter than the theatrical release, mainly for pacing reasons, however it also includes new footage previously unseen. The film is fantastic, extremely suspenseful and claustrophobic with a brillaint cast.

James Cameron carried on the Alien legacy in Aliens (1986) and decided "This Time It's War!" The film is extremely action orientated while still sticking to the feel of the original making it immensely entertaining! For best results watch the Special Edition for around half an hour of extra footage such as cool century guns!

In 1992 Alien3 was released to generally negative reviews and poor fan reactions. Forget what you think you know about Alien3! The David Fincher directed third installment is best seen in the extended cut, also known as the assembley cut which is wildly different from the original film and 10 times as good, to learn more and get a full understanding on this underated film watch the special features to learn of the troubled production and general problems with the movie. Trust me it will give you a new respect and understanding.

Alien Ressurection (1997) closes off the saga. Unfortunately Jean-Pierre Jeunet fails to make a film as entertaining as the previous 3 directors and even casting Winona Ryder alongside Sigourney Weaver does little to boost this mishmash of a film, generally it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, the only enjoyment I got from this film was seeing 2 brillaint actors (Ron Perlman and Sigourney Weaver) playing off each other very well.

Overall don't let the poor 4th installment put you off, this boxset is fantastic and well worth the price, there are loads of extras to educate you on the entire production and history of the Alien Quadrilogy!

The previous review sums this up, Quality through and through. Alien and Aliens, fantastic. Alien 3, don't bother watching the cinema version it's rubbish, stick with the way it should have been version (sorry meant to say the special edition). Number 4 is pretty poor in either format but it's in there so watch it anyway. The special editions are the ones to watch on all four films, more so with Aliens and Alien 3. I bought this a few years ago when it was £50 so now it's a steal! No better boxed set on the market.

Anyone reading this review will know all about the Alien series so i will despence with the story telling.

This box set is brilliant because it not only gives you all four versions of the film it also has all four special editions as well.
These special editions should have been the final cuts for two reasons,- A, They are much better films and B, They allow you to understand the story better by showing essential material that was absent from the theatrical releases.
Discs 1,3,5 and 7 have two versions of each film on them and discs 2,4,6 and 8 are the supplimental info which takes you deep into each individual film.
Disc 9 is very good as it has all the trailers and tv spots as well as Laserdisc material and interviews,also the great Alien collection which is good on it's own.

In my opinion Alien is the pick of the bunch,like most film series the original is always the best,more so in this case as nothing like this existed at the time.
Aliens is a great film with payback coming to the fold as well as the introduction of a queen for the first time.
Alien 3 for me is the weakest especially in the theatrical version,as David Fincher had to pick up the pieces it's not suprising,however all is not lost,the special edition is far superior and fills in a lot of blanks.
Alien resurrection is sonically the best of the bunch,especially the DTS version,this also explores Ripley's "Dark side" as a clone she has some Alien DNA which also gives her great strength.

Verdict:- At the original selling price of £69.99 this would be a bargain due to the amount of material on offer,any reduced price is a bonus,the copy i own cost me the same price as an individual disc so this box set has to be the bargain of the century!!!--- A MUST BUY !!!!

This is the best boxset ever put together and is well worth your hard earned cash

Each film has two versions the theatrical and an extended version of each film and the bonus discs that occumpany the films are amzing going deep into the production, story and Post Production the main people behind each film tell you there stories and the bonus disc is good but not to the scratch of the others

Overall the first most in depth and definitive set for a film series, the close second is the 13 disc superman set...Brilliant, excellent a must for any of the series or just fans of film