During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
|
Tom Skerritt | Dallas |
|
Sigourney Weaver | Ripley |
|
Veronica Cartwright | Lambert |
|
Harry Dean Stanton | Brett |
|
John Hurt | Kane |
|
Ian Holm | Ash |
|
Yaphet Kotto | Parker |
|
Bolaji Badejo | Alien |
|
Helen Horton | Mother |
|
Eddie Powell | Alien |
| Director | Ridley Scott |
|
| Writer | Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett | |
| Producer | Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill, Ivor Powell, Ronald Shusett | |
| Musician | Jerry Goldsmith | |
| Photography | Derek Vanlint | |
| Nr Discs | 1 |
|---|
| Watched | |
|---|---|
| Quantity | 1 |
| Index | 3 |
| Added Date | Mar 10, 2012 13:58:28 |
| Modified Date | Jun 24, 2025 17:45:05 |
Out of Print
WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
The first installment of one of the most popular science fiction sagas, Alien stars Sigorney Weaver as Ripley, a member of the spaceship Nostromo who investigate a mysterious transmission from a desolate planet.
DVD Picture:
With considerably less noise and artifacts than the previously reviewed LaserDiscs (Alien and Aliens in Issues 1 and 18, Alien 3 in Issue 2, and Alien Resurrection in Issue 29), the anamorphically enhanced, THX® digitally mastered DVDs are finally what fans of the Alien series have been waiting for. With increased vertical and horizontal resolution, contrast and shadow delineation are refined with superior visual information in the darkest scenes for optimal suspense. Color fidelity is excellent with rich and vibrant hues and deep, pure blacks. All aspects of visual quality are excellent, and there are no distracting artifacts of any kind. Most notably is the lack of irritating moiré patterns apparent on the Alien Resurrection LaserDisc. Both Alien and Alien 3 have anamorphic and letterbox aspect ratios of 2.32:1; Aliens”measures 1.85:1; and Alien Resurrection is framed precisely at 2.35:1.
Soundtrack:
The Alien series’ sound design played an important role in the effectiveness of all four films. Any science fiction film requires an array of original sound effects to create an other worldly environment, and this series is particulary rich with both complexity and startling realism. The scores by Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Elliot Goldenthal and John Frizzell capture the senses from the vast emptiness of space and grisly human terror. These four DVD soundtracks are newly remastered in Dolby® Digital, but the Alien soundtrack is dramatically less dynamic, and below reference level, with no split surrounds and very weak .1 LFE enhancement, making it a 4.1 mix. Our reference Dorrough meter bridge shows aggressive split surround signals on the discrete LaserDisc reviewed in Issue 18 version, but monaural surround on the DVD version. Both are THX digitally mastered for optimum performance, but the THX standard of quality is not heard on this DVD. The other three films are superior in sonic character, delivering system-challenging bass enhanced with .1 LFE. The Aliens soundtrack delivers a full scale aggressive holosonic soundfield experience when all the channels are fully engaged. The Alien 3 soundtrack out-performs the matrix PCM LaserDisc in spatial dimensionality and dynamic impact. The use of aggressive split surrounds creates an exciting soundfield experience with phantom center back imaging. Like the LaserDisc version, Alien Resurrection intensifies all 5.1 discrete channels at very high SPL levels. Surround envelopment is directionalized with effective use of split surrounds.
This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality
Superb Color Fidelity
Collector Edition
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