"As if you hadn't heard, Alien is a classic sci fi
creature feature from one of the great filmmakers of our time,
Ridley Scott. It was only his second feature, after The Duelists.
A story teller of the first order, Scott has the touch of a
master filmmaker, his use of silences to build tension
contrasting with his ability to move the action along once it
gets going. This 20th anniversary release is welcome -
and a reminder of the film's great power as another pioneer in
its genre, despite Scott's own admission that he owes much to
Stanley Kubrick and 2001… The story of this freight carrying
space train getting (horrifyingly) involved with alien life is as
fresh today and as exciting as it was when it was first released
in 1979. (Which was a time when space workers smoked cigarettes
on board space craft.)
The DVD contains a feast of extras, from the extensive art and
picture gallery that details the design background to the film,
through production shots and the outtakes (two - one dull, the
other fascinating) and deleted scenes: in the latter two, the
image quality is sadly inferior. And of course there is Scott's
commentary track. His voice a surprise (reedier than you might
expect), Scott talks us through some spellbinding detail,
including how and when cows stomachs and sheep intestines were
used to fulfil alien creature bits and pieces, or when fresh
oysters and clams were used. While he is at it, he tells us what
was used for space food - it's a cereal, but we'll leave the
detail for you to discover. To my own great relief, Scott reveals
his rationale for all that dripping water in the bowels of the
spaceship where Harry Dean Stanton meets his fate . . and also
how he (Scott) managed to get such great reactions from the cat
which plays a small but important support role. Of the deleted
scenes, the most talked about one - the one near the end -
reveals something about the alien's life cycle and is
extraordinary. If you haven't had much to do with the Alien
series, here's your big chance; if you have, you'll probably be
ahead of me with this whole package."
Andrew L. Urban
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Also Available: Alien Legacy Box Set (5 discs – featuring
all four Alien Movies plus 5th disc featuring 68
minute documentary on the making of Alien) RRP: $135.95
Aliens Special Edition featuring James Cameron's extended
version & 17 minutes of restored footage, plus
behind-the-scenes footage and James Cameron interview.
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We gratefully acknowledge the complimentary use
of a DVD player from Philips.
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