Alien [4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray] [2019]

I must have owned every format of this film since the old VHS days & this is the best version I have seen , with minimal graining that was apparent on earlier versions. The picture is also a TV friendly 16:9 ratio too

Another film I'd not seen for some time, remember seeing this one at the Cinema when it was first doing the rounds (guess that was indeed around 40 years ago. The film was spine-chilling, often very tense, and designed to shock the audience style film of that time. Was encouraged to upgrade to 4k by some of the reviewer's comments, glad I did, the picture quality on the format is indeed outstanding given that the film is over 40 years old now. Cast/Crew Tom Skerritt -Dallas, captain of the Nostromo Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the warrant officer Veronica Cartwright as Lambert, the navigator Harry Dean Stanton as Brett, the engineering technician. John Hurt as Kane, the executive officer Ian Holm as Ash, the ship's science officer Yaphet Kotto as Parker, the chief engineer. Helen Horton as the voice of Mother, the Nostromo's computer. The Commercial vessel Nostromo is returning to Earth after completing its mission, the on-board computer 'Mother' picks-up an unidentified signal and wakes the crew. Following protocol, the crew is duty-bound to respond to possible distress calls, a small team led by the Captain head out to the derelict vessel to investigate, meanwhile back on Nostromo Ripley deciphers part of the message being sent realizing it to be a warning, however, she is unable to relay this to the investigating team. On-board the derelict vessel, Kane comes across some egg-like objects, poking one about, it opens-up, something springs out attaching itself to Kane's face. When the investigating team head back to Nostromo, Ripley says with an unidentified alien object on Kane's face they should not break quarantine rules, however, they are allowed back on-board. Removal of whatever had attached itself to Kane proves impossible, however, eventually, it disappears, however, Kane is not back to normal for long, the being had implanted itself within his being and breaks-out. The remaining crew now have to try and track down the alien presence, and soon find it has vicious intent as one by one the crew's numbers diminish until just Ripley and the onboard pet (a cat) remain. The alien spawn proves a determined adversary, as Ripley tries to escape its persistent attention. Will Ripley the only surviving crew-member escape? A truly tense watch that indeed intensifies during the final sequences of the film. Given the film was made some years before Special-Effects really got going, the visual content is indeed impressive. Certainly worthy of another glance, recommend getting theb4k upgrade if you have the necessary gear available to you.

I have watched Alien more times than any other movie, and it never stops being utterly compelling. The casting, cinematography, story, music, visuals, all of it is just perfect. I've seen both the theatrical release and the director's cut multiple times, and even went to a special screening of Alien at the Natural History Museum a few years ago. Suffice it to say, I know the movie scene for scene and - while I was not expecting to be disappointed by this 4K release - I did not expect to experience the movie differently. How wrong I was! This reshot 4K edition is breathtaking. It makes the movie look like it was shot yesterday, but without losing any of the visual texture and quality of the original. So many things are now crystal clear: you can read the little sticky notes stuck on the crew's cockpit dashboards, the detailing of the ship's hull and interiors are even more impressive, the glistening head of the xenomorph, the self-destruct instructions, even the Weyland-Yutani corporation's logo is visible in the science lab, where I had never noticed it before. This edition of the film allows you to appreciate so much more of the effort that went into creating the world of Alien. As for the sound, it is sharper, clearer and even more menacing than ever I've heard it before. Even the static and crackle of the crew's astro-suit cameras or the humming thrum of Mother's control room are somehow amplified and improved. Sitting at home watching this in my own living room, I felt completely immersed in the soundscape of the film. In short: if you love this movie as much as I do, even if you already have it on DVD or Blu-Ray (as I did!) then you should still seriously consider getting this 4K release. And if you've never seen the film before, this is the *only* way to see it now.

A 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon. Based on a story by O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, it follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo, who, after coming across a mysterious derelict spaceship on an uncharted planetoid, find themselves up against a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial loose within their vessel. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It was produced by Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill through their company Brandywine Productions and was distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Giler and Hill revised and added the script; Shusett was the executive producer. The Alien and its accompanying artefacts were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the more human settings. Alien premiered on May 25, 1979, as the opening night of the fourth Seattle International Film Festival, presented in 70 mm at midnight. It received a wide release on June 22 and was released on September 6 in the United Kingdom. It was met with mixed reviews on release. Still, it was a box-office success, winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, three Saturn Awards (Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright), and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Critical reassessment since then has resulted in Alien being widely considered one of the greatest and most influential science fiction and horror films ever. In 2002, Alien was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 2008, it was ranked by the American Film Institute as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre, and as the 33rd-greatest film of all time by Empire. The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of films, books, video games, and toys, and propelled Weaver's acting career. The story of her character's encounters with the alien creatures became the thematic and narrative core of the sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997) 4K Glory for this classic Ridley movie with both cuts available on this set.

This is not a review of Alien the film as after 40 years I can't imagine anyone who wanted to know wouldn't already be familiar with it. This is solely for those wondering if the 4K remaster is worth it. Short version is "Yes". Longer version is... 1) Grain Personally I hate grain. I'd happily see it gone from all films forever. Some 4K remasters end up looking awful because the grain gets enhanced way too much. There is grain in this film. If you look for it you can see it. As someone who normally hates grain it didn't bother me at all. This is the kind of grain that I think film buffs must mean when they talk of something looking "filmic" or having "velvety texture". So if you hate grain...no worries...it doesn't intrude. If you like grain...even less worries...this film looks like a film and not an overly enhanced digitised mess. 2) Picture Quality Okay...clearly magic was involved here because normal physics can't do this. With modern CGI, if it can be imagined, it can be filmed. There are still a lot of differences between good CGI that is convincing and bad CGI that, however good it looks, lacks weight. Bad CGI seems insubstantial and cartoon like. With real sets and practical effects there is a similar standard. Some looked great at the time but can now look dated and have aged badly. Really good effects still hold up, at least as far as build quality is concerned. In Alien I have seen little details in the film that I have never even seen before. Some scenes are so startling that it looks like someone recreated a brand new set from the original reference material and filmed it a few days ago. There is a level of detail on show that is so good that I would guess no cinema at the time could have even displayed the full range of detail. The work put in at the time is honestly only now able to be fully appreciated 40 years later. And the Nostromo and the Engineers ship, which always looked great (if dated) now takes on a level of realism that suddenly makes the film even more scary. I last watched the film in October last year. It shouldn't be possible to watch it now and be so engrossed in something with which I am very familiar. Yet it was like seeing something for the first time. For Alien fans this is great purchase. You won't be disappointed with what you get. For anyone else that wants an iconic sci-fi horror film looking the best its ever been then buy it. For film fans who have had less than good experiences with 4K "remasters" then this film is what a 40 year old film that has been restored with love should look like.

Fantastic quality upscaled to 4K. Would have benefited of the extra mile making the sound into Dolby Atmos, but still great sound. Recommend the Stereo surroundsound setting if you have a soundbar and subwoofer for it.

Watched it yet again last night. 4K picture quality superb. Sound amazing.Even if you have seen Alien on Blu Ray and dvd multiple times this is def one to get. Stunning

A perfect 4K UHD release. With my LG Oled 77 inch TV and 5.1.2 home theater sound system, this disk transported my to Nostromo. It is literally on of the, if not the best 4K releases, period.