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Fox will release "Alien" Blu-ray boxset this fall, containing all four films:

Alien (1979) - Ridley Scott
Aliens (1986) - James Cameron
Alien³ (1992) - David Fincher
Alien: Resurrection (1997) - Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Here is an early artwork from French leaflet:



First two are highly acclaimed sci-fi classics. Not sure about the other two... ](*,)

With typical perversity I prefer the 3rd & 4th installments ...

The Alien baby in the 4th one looks like one of the aliens in Bad Taste.

It's obvious (to me at any rate) that Jeunet meant his installment as comedy (the director's cut opens with a wonderful joke), so I can deal with that.

I hope this franchise is next in line for a reboot. And no, the Aliens vs. Predator films do not count.

Matt wrote:I hope this franchise is next in line for a reboot. And no, the Aliens vs. Predator films do not count.

It is, with Carl Erik Rinsch, a director I´ve never heard of, at the helm. Ridley and Tony Scott are producing.

I recently re-watched the first three in the series and was disappointed with the second, which I had always liked. The first is unparalleled. A real masterpiece. The third is quite good, I think. Glad to see these coming to Blu-ray.

EDIT: on the "remake":

And last, but by no means least, the remake may not actually be a remake, nor a reboot, but an origin tale. Could we be getting, at long last, the story of how the Aliens came to land on LV-426, along with that massive ship and its elephantine driver with the giant hole punched in his sternum?

This could be fantastic, if put in the right hands.

denti alligator wrote:I recently re-watched the first three in the series and was disappointed with the second, which I had always liked.

I watched Aliens for the first time last night (I had my virgin Alien experience - a masterpiece - on the big screen a few weeks ago and I've caught most of Alien: Resurrection - awful - on cable) and I would venture to say its massively overrated. Cameron's director's cut is a bloated rehash the exact plot of the first film, which introducing a cringe inducing "Mommy issues" element to Ripley's otherwise badass character. Once again, we have the same plot twist (oh no! someone deceives Ripley and the company still wants the alien!) except in much more lugubrious surroundings. Cameron's film is routine in the worst ways, marking a stark contrast to Scott's much more subtle and ultimately more terrifying direction. Aliens seems to think that more creatures means a better film, but it quickly becomes a slog as numerous beings are blasted away while the annoying crew of Marines shout eye-rolling one liners.

Finally is it just me, or does Cameron re-work the exact framework for True Lies eight years later? We have a female heroine (with a more comedic/big breasted twist); a child in peril; terrorists instead of aliens and it saves a marriage instead of letting the lead resolve her psych issues.

It's not as if anyone outside the Academy counts Cameron among the best directors.

tavernier wrote:It's not as if anyone outside the Academy counts Cameron among the best directors.

You say that, but I remember a few years back I was doing some research for my MA Thesis (on Walter Hill), and combing through back issues of all the University's Film mags. IIRC, it was Films and Filming who did a year end poll of critics (and other filmmakers?) - and Cameron was the most frequently named best director that year for Aliens.

Dr Amicus wrote:

tavernier wrote:It's not as if anyone outside the Academy and certain critics' groups counts Cameron among the best directors.

You say that, but I remember a few years back I was doing some research for my MA Thesis (on Walter Hill), and combing through back issues of all the University's Film mags. IIRC, it was Films and Filming who did a year end poll of critics (and other filmmakers?) - and Cameron was the most frequently named best director that year for Aliens.

Fixed!

They probably all huddled together to come up with a critical consensus - part of a sneaky critics club to promote Cameron to the top rank :-"

These origin stories are just as vomit-inducing as the remakes. I love the original dearly and one of the things I most appreciate about it is the mystery surrounding the spaceship and how it feeds your imagination. If that's what they're planning for the next film, I'll be avoiding it and all the coverage surrounding it like the plague. I feel they've reached a dead end with this series which peaked with the first one, still the undisputed king. I've hated Aliens for a long time but have come to accept the film for what it is by now: the offputting machismo aside, it has some merits. Fincher's film I like personally better than Cameron's although the latter is overall superior - I love Dutton's performance and individual scenes are superb but it's evident that Fincher fought a losing battle against the studio and really wanted to get out of the horrible experience asap (think of the repetitive tracking shots of the alien chasing after the inmates). It's a fascinating failure for sure. Resurrection is flat-out terrible, even as a comedy/satire (I used to think that Jeunet could be a great director after Delicatessen but nothing he has made since is anywhere near as good as that film - in fact, I'd probably attribute the darker tone in Delicatessen to Marc Caro (which reminds me that I have to see City of the Lost Children again)). At this stage, I'd much rather see the rumoured Predator-based-on-a-Robert-Rodriguez-script sequel than a new Alien.

A pretty nice summary of Fincher's hellish experience on Alien3 that continued to the DVD production stage where most of the more honest and tactful comments about the production of the film where cut from the making-of documentary.

Good article, Antoine. It's sad that for whatever reason, Fincher didn't end up having the last laugh in this matter. What I gather may be the best thing that came out of this for him was that he learned from his mistakes well when it came to having control on later films. And possibly that his anger towards the system resulted in him taking these darker stories like Se7en or Fight Club to put across his own angst.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is just a quick update on a title we've talked about several times before, but as it's still a few months away from being officially announced, the news belongs here. In an interview with the L.A. Times over the weekend, actress Sigourney Weaver revealed that she's going to be recording brand new audio commentary tracks for each of the four Alien films - tracks that will be added to Fox's nearly complete Alien Anthology Blu-ray box set. We've confirmed this news with our industry sources, who have also informed us that the box set is going to blow away fans of the previous DVD Quadrilogy. Not only have all of those previous extras have been included, but TONS of new material has been added as well exclusively for the Blu-ray release - extras that should make the BD WELL worth upgrading to. The set will be released in mid-to-late 2010, and rest assured we'll keep you up to date on it.

As always, the above information is to be considered unofficial and subject to change until the studios in question make official announcements. Stay tuned...

The German FSK (comparable to the MPAA) recently rated some bonus materials I've never seen on any "Alien 1 - 4"-DVD before. An article with all the infos I found on the FSK website can be seen HERE.

Full specs and box art for the six-disc Blu-ray set are up at IGN. It is due October 25 in the U.K., October 26 in the U.S., and November 3 in Australia. U.S. MSRP is listed as $139.99, but I'm not sure if that is for the standard edition or the one with the big plastic alien thing. I'm not even going to bother posting all the specs here. Suffice it to say that there are two cuts of each film, audio commentaries for each, isolated scores for each, and two discs worth of additional supplements. It looks like just about everything from previous DVD and laserdisc sets is included.

I may wait until the first two films are available separately, but I've got to give Fox an 'A' for effort.

I would hope that's the MSRP for the big plastic alien thing. That MSRP would be a big "fuck you" for a 4 film boxset in this day and age - it's far more than even Criterion would charge for an elaborate 4-film Blu-ray set.

Jeff wrote:I may wait until the first two films are available separately

I will probably do the same, but that probably means at least another year added to our wait.

Why would anyone spend more to have that gross thing on their shelf?

Directly from Charles De Lauzirika, the set's producer:
Associate producer Jon Mefford and editor David Crowther are a couple of Quadrilogy vets who returned for the Anthology. Mike Matessino, who worked on the LD and the first DVD, came back to put together the isolated music tracks under the supervision of Nick Redman. But it was mostly a new team. Associate producer Joan Malloch and production coordinator Sung Chae worked with me on the supplements. There was a huge collaboration on the interactive side of things with Troy Benjamin, Adam Vadnais, Dorthe Baker, Raleigh Stewart, Amy Searles and the Trailer Park team. And some fans helped out too, like Willie Goldman, Harry Harris and Andrew David Clark. Not to mention everyone at Deluxe, Lowry, THX, Fox and other companies who contributed. A massive undertaking indeed.

Spanish limited Alien collection: http://www.zonadvd.com/modules.php?name ... &sid=21338" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It will be released in November, it's a limited blu-ray set. Any info about prices or where it will be avaiable so far.

I would return home the next day to find my shit packed in boxes on the corner if I brought that home to the apartment my girlfriend and I share.

I wouldn't get it either. Smart girlfriend eheh