Alien - Director's Cut (2003)

Average rating

(82%)

Starring:	Sigourney Weaver \| Tom Skerritt \| Veronica Cartwright
Director:	Ridley Scott
Run time:	117 mins
Collections:	100 Horror Films
Genres:	Horror \| Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Released:	March 15, 2004
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For this digitally remastered special edition of what many have called the "scariest movie ever made," Ridley Scott has incorporated new footage never before seen in movie houses. Working closely with Twentieth Century Fox, Scott oversaw a restoration of the original film's negative, as well as further digital enhancements. In addition, Scott and his team of archivists went through over 100 boxes of film footage, unseen in almost 25 years, which were discovered in a London vault. From this wealth of material, Scott selected new "Director's Cut" footage, which then underwent digital restoration, matching it to ALIEN's newly-"polished" negative. The film also features a brand-new six-track digital stereo mix. Fox released the original ALIEN in May 1979. The film was hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a seminal work of science fiction, and went on to gross over $100 million worldwide, a remarkable number for that era. The film's success spawned a film franchise for the studio, with three adventures in the saga following in 1986, 1992 and 1997. ALIEN launched the career of Sigourney Weaver, whose character Ellen Ripley became one of the genre's first and most enduring heroines.

Highest rated reviews

18 out of 25 people found the following review helpful:

Fresh as a daisy

TubThumper from Yorkhire, 17th January, 2004

Endless and ageless, a much imitated and never bettered classic.

Dark, patient, beautifully lit with masterful casting. How can you have Iain Holm, John Hurt and Harry Dean Stanton sharing the screen?

Relive the tension again and see how timeless it is. Like Blade Runner it just hasn't aged like so many 80s and 90s movies.

Scott may have borrowed from Kubrick's patient pannning, scene setting and love of soundtrack but created an edgy one off of his own. Alien really is a gift for us all.

Rent it again, switch off the lights, settle yourself in your speaker's sweet spot and enjoy.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Incredible film, however we are left to wonder what has been remastered...

Colin Winter from Warrington, England, 29th July, 2004

This film is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of all times.

It has spawned 3 sequels; more than it's fair share of imitation titles; over 50 comic books and spin offs. It has also been referred to as the scariest film of all time.

The film is a work of true genius; both original in its day and successful. While current audiences will not be as frightened by the alien as their parents or perhaps grandparents by now; the film still has many shocks for someone who is prepared to watch this terrifying ordeal in pitch black.

However, this is so called 'remastered and director's cut edition' if you compare this to the original dvd you will probably notice the 1min difference in running time. And as for the re-mastering, while good it allows the film to loose a quality it once posessed. The aliens trilogy is renound for its view of the future as a more industrial and less technologically advanced than you would expect especially in comparrison to star trek. By remastering and cleaning up the footage and using CG some of this quality that the original team who produced the movie strived to create is lost.

I would give the original dvd 5 stars, but this dvd while excelent in story and score seems to take something away from the magic of the original rustic and dirty version.

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Most recent reviews

2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.

JediSi from , 2nd December, 2007

The script is a work of art, the story, mesmerizing, well-constructed, well-developed, and free of unnecessary twists. Its simplicity and effectiveness are yet, to be matched. The direction is just perfect. Every shot is marvellous, every movement of the camera is breathtaking. There is absolutely nothing you could add or subtract. Touch it, and you spoil it. The atmosphere is pure genius. Gothic, claustrophobic and sometimes baroque. The use of light and dark is beyond description, the use of sound is as creepy as it gets. For film made 28 years ago, Alien is as good now as it was back then. Alien is as flawless as they come and will entertain for years to come. Awesome stuff.

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