Alien Quadrilogy (9 Disc Complete Box Set) [DVD]

This new box set sees the re-release of the first four films of the series. I say ‘first four’ as next year will see the release of the long-awaited Alien vs. Predator film, to be followed (if successful) by Alien ‘5’. Box sets by nature are tricky things – when buying one it’s always useful to be aware that the studio will most likely release another box set in years to come with yet more bonus features added – as is true in this case. For those of you who bought the Alien Legacy box set – my sympathy – as the new Alien Quadrilogy appears to have it all…

So what’s new?

Well, this time we have the directors cut of Alien – clocking in at 40 seconds shorter than the original, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were getting less value for money than the ‘79 release. However, Scott’s new cut works well – giving a nip and tuck here and there – trimming off some of the fat so to speak. For those of you who found some of the slower moments of the original hard to sit through – the new version should provide some welcome relief as whilst the air of tension and suspense is still maintained – the pace of the film is quicker. It is also worth noting that the new version also incorporates the much vaunted Dallas cocoon sequence – available only as a deleted scene on previous DVD editions. Whether it works in the final cut is a matter of personal opinion, but for this reviewer – whilst intrigued to see it, my belief is that if wasn’t deemed good enough to make the initial print – then there’s no reason it should really be in the new one. Hard-core fans of the series will no doubt be glad to see its reinsertion though.

The other big new addition is David Finchers work print of Alien 3. Whilst many films have scenes re-shot or removed from the final print – it is interesting to see how much was actually removed from Alien 3 – to put it mildly – there’s quite a bit. In some places it merely fleshes out the story – perhaps giving an image or a sound to an obvious suggestion in the original cut, but in others it gives an entertaining twist on the plot of the film – perhaps most notable of all is the revelation that in the original script the Alien was to be spawned from an Ox – indeed much of the footage was shot with prosthetics, but it was only when the director realised how difficult an ox was to train that they abandoned the concept and re-shot the footage with a dog instead.

In addition to this, Aliens & Alien Resurrection are both faithfully reproduced here – both have bonus features on the additional discs unseen before, but little that’s new is brought to the table. The films themselves are superb pieces of fiction – fascinating on many levels and equally gruesome. Alien and Alien 3 are both masterpieces of suspense and storytelling, Aliens is every action film fans wet dream and Resurrection, whilst by no means the best of the series, is certainly a vastly entertaining film.

Whether or not this box-set is either definitive or a ‘must buy’ remains to be seen, but for fans who have yet to buy any of the movies on DVD I recommend this highly. For those of us with the Alien Legacy box set – my advice is to wait – these editions will almost inevitably be re-released along with any or all of the newer instalments in the years to come.

However, despite many sites assuring that the different regions of the discs are the same, it has now been confirmed that they are not. Region 1 viewers over in America have the superior set. Why? Let me explain.

The extended cut of Alien 3 has new scenes edited in. Because they were never intended for use in the original film, the required dubbing and voice-overs by the actors was never completed. Therefore, in certain bits the sound is inaudible. While the region 1 disc accomplishes the problem by displaying automatic subtitles, the region 2 has no such feature. It also has no "Deleted Footage" marker, which is another subtitle option that diplays these words when a deleted scene is playing.

OK, I hear you say, so it's not the end of the world, right? Wrong.

Fans of audio commentaries will be greatly dissappointed with the region 2 set.
The region 1 has a commentary for each film. The commentaries have been edited so that they can be listened to while watching the Theatrical Version of the film, or the other versions.
The region 2 however, only has commentaries for the Theatrical Versions of the 4 films. This means that there is more than an hour of audio material missing from the region 2 version. This is bound to upset many fans, so I recommend buying the region 1 version from Amazon instead, but only if you have a Multi-Region DVD player.

But don't worry region 2 dwellers. You still have one advantage.

The region 2 pack is MUCH more easy to use and navigate than the region 1. While the region 2 is like a book, with one DVD in each of it's "pages", the region 1 is a fold-out digipack which is over 5 feet long when fully opened. This can be a bit frustrating, and I doubt if it will withstand much wear-and-tear.

Still though, the packaging isn't as important as the discs. I have absolutely no idea why FOX would cut out this stuff. There would still be plenty of space on the discs to include these extras, but that's FOX for you.

FOX has also cut out 30mins of footage from the Alien 3 documentary on the disc, on both regions this time. What was originally entitled "Wreckage and Rape: The Making of Alien 3" has now been turned into "The Making of...", as well as a number of the featurettes.

Nonetheless, the Alien Quadrilogy is still a PHENOMANAL DVD package. It has completely re-set the standard for DVDs. It towers over the likes of "X-Men 1.5", "T3", and "The Lord of The Rings: Extended Editions". Alien Quadrilogy is not just another DVD, it is THE DVD, and will maintain that title for a long time to come.