FilmEdge received our review copy of the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment, and while there was a massive amount of material to view before providing a true eyes-on evaluation for this review, our final analysis is that Fox has indeed created ultimate six-disc Blu-ray set for ALIEN fans and one of the best film-to-disc collections ever. It's a first class production and handsome collectible edition from the first moment you slide the disc 'book' out of its iridescent Giger-esque slip cover and unfold the Anthology of Blu-ray discs documenting the entire cinematic lifecycle (so far) of the ALIEN saga.

The first four discs of the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY present all four films in the successful, chest-bursting franchise in stunning new High Definition Blu-ray editions: Ridley Scott's original 1979 shocker ALIEN, James Cameron's action-packed 1986 sequel ALIENS, David Fincher's moody ALIEN³ from 1992, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's controversial ALIEN RESURRECTION from 1997. Each film is complimented with their unique Director's Cut and Special Edition versions along with their original theatrical versions. Alone, these discs offer fans one-stop viewing for their preferred versions of each feature film, and the flexibility to watch either version for comparison across different editions to fully explore a larger film experience.

Additional disc-specific bonus features accompany each film individually including available audio commentary tracks by the filmmakers, isolated score tracks of each composer's music cues, plus deleted and extended scenes which expand on the films even more.

Fox also debuts the MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream, delivering special feature content to viewers during playback plus indexing over 60 hours and 12,000 images of bonus content for direct access. This includes all previously released extras from 1991/1992 laserdisc releases, the 1999 Legacy release and the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy DVD box set plus never-before released materials, streaming data and trivia about each film during playback, and rare footage including Sigourney Weaver's original screentests prior to starring in ALIEN.  Given the dozens of viewing hours available in this massive box set, FilmEdge will review it disc-by-disc with complete content summaries while highlighting particularly outstanding or notable features on each disc:

DISC ONE - ALIEN

• 1979 Theatrical Version
• 2003 Director's Cut with Ridley Scott introduction
• Audio Commentary (2003) by director Ridley Scott, writer Dan O'Bannon, executive producer Ronald Shusett, editor Terry Rawlings, actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt
• Audio Commentary (1999) by Ridley Scott
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
• Composer's Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Both the 1979 Theatrical and 2003 Director's Cut versions of ALIEN make their highly anticipated Blu-ray High Definition debuts here, and they look and sound absolutely stunning in 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks.  This result should be obvious, of course, but this Hi-Def transfer and remastering's effect on Ridley Scott's original shocker cannot be overstated, finally giving this gothic horror masterpiece the respect it has earned as a genre and cinematic landmark. Compare this to the 20th anniversary edition DVD, which had a horribly screwed up audio mix despite its THX digital remaster sound, and fans will appreciate just how right Fox Home Entertainment has gotten it this time. Scott's expressed his own preference for his original Theatrical cut of ALIEN and FilmEdge agrees it's the tightest and "perfect" version of this watershed transmutation of sci-fi, horror and thriller genres.

ALIEN fans and neophytes alike should take advantage of both audio commentary tracks on subsequent viewings — by all means, watch the 1979 Theatrical cut first if you've never seen it — as Scott's lone commentary provides an artistic and technical contrast to the ensemble Cast/Crew commentary which is a bit more free form and personalized by each participant.  Skerritt, Stanton and Cartwright share anecdotal stories from actors' points of view while contributing many moments of humor, while Hurt offers a much more detached, matter-of-fact interpretation.  Weaver and Scott share different stories which prevents the director from duplicating his 1999 solo commentary, adding even more value to this second commentary track.  Writer O'Bannon works out plenty of his frustrations over (re)writing of the script and his subsequent battle for credit on the film in his commentary, and much more documentation on this conflict exists in the copious bonus interviews and featurettes to explore. Yet despite his decades of battle over his script's contribution, it's refreshing to hear O'Bannon express his satisfaction and joy with scenes and reactions while watching ALIEN years later.

One of the delights of ALIEN is Jerry Goldsmith's iconic, eerie original music, and two Isolated Score tracks in 5.1 Dolby Digital provide a great opportunity (and excuse) to appreciate his contribution. Though the film's score is a story with its own moments of controversy and tension created when Ridley Scott ended up using some of his editing-phase temp music in the final music playlist instead of a couple compositions by Goldsmith. Scott also had Goldsmith rewrite the main title theme to something more moody to match the film's dark horror tone, which the composer thought would be too obvious when he wrote his original opening piece. Now you can view the film while either score compilation plays and not only appreciate Goldsmith's work, but compare how different tracks and music cues work with the film visuals.  While you will hear many sections of silence awaiting the cues to sync up with their intended scenes, this is the best exploration of Goldsmith's score short of listening to the complete ALIEN Motion PIcture Soundtrack (2007) , a superb 2-disc collection of his original score, rescored alternate cues, the original 1979 soundtrack album, and bonus tracks.

Be sure to check out the seven Deleted Scenes, all remastered for Blu-ray Hi Def presentation, which include Ripley discovering the cocooned fate of Dallas, Lambert playing back the distress transmission, a fight between Lambert and Ripley outside the infirmary, and an extended scene of Kane's death with Ripley and Parker.

ALIEN remains the classic which started a popular and sometimes troubled hit franchise, and it remains FilmEdge's favorite of the series for numerous reasons, foremost of which are the impressionist bravura of its visual style via Ridley Scott's keen direction and the top notch ensemble cast which made the unbelievable terrifyingly real in 1979. Both qualities hold up masterfully across thirty years of time and stand proud in this Blu-ray era of High Definition scrutiny.

DISC TWO - ALIENS

• 1986 Theatrical Version
• 1991 Special Edition with James Cameron introduction
• Audio Commentary by director James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd, Alien effects creator Stan Winston, visual effects supervisors Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak, miniature effects supervisor Pat McClung, actors Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Christopher Henn
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner
• Composer's Original Isolated Score by James Horner
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

James Cameron faithfully followed up on Ridley Scott's vision while amping up the action several notches in ALIENS, continuing and advancing the Alien mythology.  Wisely, Cameron didn't simply rubber stamp the 1979 original hit, but he paid well-deserved respect to the film, carrying over key aspects of Scott's visual style while adding distinct and now iconic Cameronesque touches and viewpoint.  The film's pacing and in-story philosophy mirror 1986 Reagan-era culture and its predilection for militaristic gun barrel diplomacy, not to mention riding the wave of uber-action films of the '80s upon which ALIENS rode at the forefront.

Both the 1986 Theatrical cut and 1991 Special Edition versions fare well in their High Definition Blu-ray transfers, though the original film grain inherent in the master prints remains evident in many shots, especially darker scenes.  As Cameron explains in his commentary track, this image noise on the disc is due to the high-speed emulsion film used during this production in particular, though such graininess was also typical for film stocks of the time.  So if you notice moments of grain in sequences during Blu-ray playback, don't fault the transfer: its an artifact that has been on even the best original film prints since ALIENS was made. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround audio bears no such source limitations of resolution, separating and unifying clear, crisp highs and thundering bass as alien warriors squeal, pulse rifles rip through the air and rumbling explosions give your sound system a good aerobic workout.

Cameron made significant and substantial changes in his 1991 Special Edition, adding several scenes and 17 minutes to its 154-minute expanded run time. Unlike the tweaks made in ALIEN's Director's Cut (which actually shortened its run time by one minute), these added moments delve a bit deeper into Ripley's mourning her lost daughter, the revocation of her flight officer status, and the discover of the derelict ship on LV-426. These additions flow quite smoothly into the Theatrical version and their Hi-Def transfers make the bridging seamless. As usual, FilmEdge recommends viewers new to the series watch the Theatrical version first, then compare it to the Special Edition for a slightly longer, more expansive thrill ride.

Though Cameron and composer James Horner had some legendary difficulties during production of the film music, once again both the Final Theatrical and Composer's Original Isolated Score tracks are recommended listening. Horner's Oscar-nominated music differs considerably and appropriately from Goldsmith's ALIEN score, but also carries on a creepy consistency in tone while leaving its own mark on the franchise.

For fans who wondered whatever happened to Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) after an alien warrior cornered him in the processing plant, don't miss the Deleted Scene which explains his fate: cocooned with the other colonists in the sub-basement, as Ripley discovers. While an interesting and rare artifact from ALIENS, it's also fairly obvious why the scene didn't pay off capping Burke's fate and ultimately wasn't necessary in the story. But worth a look after all this time.

While a slightly different breed of film offering a entire new brood of face-hugging, brain-munching bugs, ALIENS delivered the goods as a high-octane sequel to a critically and popularly praised original. Seen and enjoyed in its High Definition Blu-ray debut, prepare to have your mind blown as the filmmaker commentary tracks reminds viewers this rapid-fire monster rally was made for only $18.5 Million in 1986! While ALIENS remains a close number two behind Ridley Scott's progenitor in franchise success, it remains a very worthy companion piece and stands ready for reloading in your player for years to come. FilmEdge joins many fans who consider James Cameron's sequel the last "real" exploration of the contiguous Alien mythology since ALIEN³ quickly severed most all character and story ties with Cameron's story to great disappointment. ALIENS remains a testament to James Cameron's unshakable, insistent vision while keeping alive the best parts of its neo-franchise universe blending technology and terror.

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