If this thread doesn't get Ronnie to do a little more Rewind posting .. I'll be taking suggestions next!
Aliens is James Camerons sequel to Ridley Scotts original 1979 movie Alien which was a cerebral experience that attempted to scare us with atmosphere and paranoia. Well.. that creature popping out of that dude's stomach might have freaked me a little. On the flipside, Aliens is poised to thrill us with serious SciFi-action fireworks.
"Aliens" brings back Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the only human survivor from the first film, who has been frozen in cryo sleep for the last half century or so. Awaken into a new world she is ill-prepared for, Ripley is informed that the alien planet where the alien creature that terrorized her commercial vessel (in the first film) has since been colonized by humans. Oh, and it just so happens that said colony has coincidently gone off the radar and the colonists are believe to be in trouble.
Ripley is asked to return to the alien planet as a guide to check up on the colonists. She is hesitant at first, but eventually agrees out of a need to resolve unfinished business. The bulk of the rescue crew consists of Marines, including Hicks the nice guy (Michael Biehn), Hudson the loudmouth (Bill Paxton), Vasquez the badtassh (Jenette Goldstein), Bishop the android (Lance Henriksen) and Gorman the inexperienced commander (William Hope).
When the crew lands on the planet it becomes apparent things have gone terribly wrong. In fact the colonists are either all dead or are being used in some horrible way by the aliens.
From this point on is when "Aliens" distinguishes itself as one of the best movies of the 80's!
Each time I watch "Aliens", I'm even more impressed by Jenette Goldstein's wicked performance as Vasquez. Bill Paxton was playing an extended version of Chet from "Weird Science" in this flick with some of his lines being beyond funny.
"Maybe you haven't been keeping up with current events, but we just got our tasshes kicked pal!"
The action and special effects are center in "Aliens", but Cameron did an outstanding job with the backstory on Ripley as well as adding in Carrie Henn as Newt.
Outstanding sequel in my opinion..
[ 08. June 2012, 19:43: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by kingcain (Member # 6644) on :
quote:"Aliens" becames one of the best SciFi movies of the 80's
You are totaly wrong on this.....
It is one of the best Sci-Fi films of all time. lol
King
Posted by Earl Keese (Member # 7986) on :
What I appreciate about what they did with this movie today that I didn't appreciate back then was the way in which they made the main hero a quite capable woman character. Back then, you would have assumed this would have been a role for a man, but the performance and story were so effortless that you couldn't picture anyone other than Ellen Ripley clicking into that bulk loader at the end to go fight the queen alien and save Newt.
Totally bad***!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
thanks, valley. very good review.
i agree with earl, about ripley. i can say so much about this movie but in short, it's my favorite movie of all time.
it's one of those movies that i will watch everytime it's on cable, and know every word to. cheesy, i know but it's so true. and it's one of the first vhs tapes i ever owned. i got it for 10 bucks back in the 80s. i have the 4 movie box set. the extras for ALIENS is out of sight!
and though ripley is one of my favorite characters ever...vasquez was also awesome as the other female bada**. Posted by kingcain (Member # 6644) on :
Not meaning to go off topic but what do you guys thing about the Alien predator crossover theme? I kind of like it. Gives it a fresh story/plot line to go.
Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
quote:Originally posted by kingcain: Not meaning to go off topic but what do you guys thing about the Alien predator crossover theme? I kind of like it. Gives it a fresh story/plot line to go.
I liked the idea but the movies haven't quite lived up the potential. The first AVP was OK and the old SNES game entertaining in its own right but they've worn out the franchise somewhat.
Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
Aliens is a modern classic, great from start to finish. And though I'm one of the few people who thought 'Alien: Ressurection' was very good, this is still the best of the lot.
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
quote:Originally posted by kingcain: Not meaning to go off topic but what do you guys thing about the Alien predator crossover theme? I kind of like it. Gives it a fresh story/plot line to go.
not really a fan but i love aliens and predator as two separate films.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
I agree with Ronnie.. both are great franchises, but I never got into the versus movies.
btw Ronnie... can you believe that Vasquez is also Diamondback from "Near Dark"? I never connected thoses dots back in the 80's.
[ 06. July 2010, 12:44: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
oh come on valley! everyone knows that. and didn't you also know that john carpenter directed that one as well? Posted by Fightertown (Member # 7418) on :
Seeing a brand new print of this film at the New Beverly Cinema is nothing short of amazing. I can't wait for this movie to be in Blu format at the end of this year.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Ronnie.. your favorite movie of all-time needs more input from you! Unlike my fav that is often discussed, "Aliens" is not brought up that much so let's have some fun with it.
So what I'm trying to say is.. give us more as to why you consider it #1 on your list!
"Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are."
Posted by J2ME (Member # 5728) on :
or
Screengrabs from the Alien Anthology Blu-ray are now online:
Screenshots of Alien3 and Resurrection should be following in the next few days.
UPDATE: IMAGES REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
[ 17. September 2010, 10:43: Message edited by: J2ME ]
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
thanks J2ME! just put this on my christmas list and sent it straight to my husband! Posted by Mike. (Member # 7179) on :
I always liked Aliens and thought it was a great film with good characters and effects,but because i was young at the time i had never seen Alien so i think the 2nd film works well as a stand alone film. Strange that although i am 36 now i have still never seen Alien.
Posted by Devolution (Member # 1731) on :
Devolution here,
There is nothing that doesn't look dope about that box set. That's right I said it. Dope.
We are DEVO
Posted by StevenHW (Member # 509) on :
quote:Originally posted by Valley: ...[snip]...btw Ronnie... can you believe that Vasquez is also Diamondback from "Near Dark"? I never connected thoses dots back in the 80's.
Jenette Goldstein played Vasquez in the movie, and she was also in some other James Cameron-directed movies, Terminator 2, and Titanic.
She's had a pretty long and varied career! Check out her list of credits. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001280/ Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
It's amazing how so many of the conventions Cameron would use in his movies ended up being cliches because so many other movies ripped them off.
I always thought part of why 'Aliens' worked as a sequel, is that it changed genre from 'Alien' - horror to thriller.
Posted by J2ME (Member # 5728) on :
Anybody picked this up yet?
I received it a few days ago, along with the BTTF Blu-ray set. I'll probably start watching them over the weekend.
Just in case you're undecided, here is a review that should make up your mind.
Edit: Special Features --
DVD Description 6 x BD Discs:  4 film discs  Two versions of each movie (Directors Cut or Special Edition & Theatrical Version) in High Definition, plus commentaries  2 discs of Bonus Material  Over 60 hours of extra features, including every piece of bonus material ever released  Including over 4 hours of NEVER BEFORE SEEN content  New MU-TH-UR Mode, a fully interactive companion takes the extensive materials in the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY and puts them in the users hand  connecting fans to special features on all six discs and instantly providing an index of all available ALIEN content.
Special Features DISC ONE: ALIEN  1979 Theatrical Version  2003 Directors Cut with Ridley Scott Introduction  Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Writer Dan OBannon, Executive Producer Ronald Shusett, Editor Terry Rawlings, Actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt  Audio Commentary (for Theatrical Cut only) by Ridley Scott  Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith  Composers Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith  Deleted and Extended Scenes  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
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  Composers Original Isolated Score by James Horner  Deleted and Extended Scenes  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
DISC THREE: ALIEN3  1992 Theatrical Version  2003 Special Edition (Restored Workprint Version)  Audio Commentary by Cinematographer Alex Thomson, B.S.C., Editor Terry Rawlings, Alien Effects Designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Producer Richard Edlund, A.S.C., Actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen  Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Elliot Goldenthal  Deleted and Extended Scenes  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
DISC FOUR: ALIEN RESURRECTION  1997 Theatrical Version  2003 Special Edition with Jean-Pierre Jeunet Introduction  Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Editor Hervι Schneid, A.C.E., Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof, Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz, Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser  Final Theatrical Isolated Score by John Frizzell  Deleted and Extended Scenes  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream
DISC FIVE: MAKING THE ANTHOLOGY In addition to over 12 hours of candid, in-depth documentaries, you now have the ability to go even deeper into Alien Anthology history with nearly five hours of additional video Enhancement Pods created exclusively for this collection, presenting behind-the-scenes footage, raw dailies and interview outtakes from all four films. At topical points in the documentaries, you may access these pods to enhance your experience, or watch them on their own from the separate Enhancement Pod index.
The Beast Within: Making ALIEN  Star Beast: Developing the Story  The Visualists: Direction and Design  Truckers in Space: Casting  Fear of the Unknown: Shepperton Studios, 1978  The Darkest Reaches: Nostromo and Alien Planet  The Eighth Passenger: Creature Design  Future Tense: Editing and Music  Outward Bound: Visual Effects  A Nightmare Fulfilled: Reaction to the Film  Enhancement Pods
Superior Firepower: Making ALIENS  57 Years Later: Continuing the Story  Building Better Worlds: From Concept to Construction  Preparing for Battle: Casting and Characterization  This Time Its War: Pinewood Studios, 1985  The Risk Always Lives: Weapons and Action  Bug Hunt: Creature Design  Beauty and the Bitch: Power Loader vs. Queen Alien  Two Orphans: Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn  The Final Countdown: Music, Editing and Sound  The Power of Real Tech: Visual Effects  Aliens Unleashed: Reaction to the Film  Enhancement Pods
Wreckage and Rage: Making ALIEN3  Development Hell: Concluding the Story  Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Wards Vision  Stasis Interrupted: David Finchers Vision  Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Gigers Redesign  The Color of Blood: Pinewood Studios, 1991  Adaptive Organism: Creature Design  The Downward Spiral: Creative Differences  Where the Sun Burns Cold: Fox Studios, L.A. 1992  Optical Fury: Visual Effects  Requiem for a Scream: Music, Editing and Sound  Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film  Enhancement Pods
One Step Beyond: Making ALIEN RESURRECTION  From the Ashes: Reviving the Story  French Twist: Direction and Design  Under the Skin: Casting and Characterization  Death from Below: Fox Studios, Los Angeles, 1996  In the Zone: The Basketball Scene  Unnatural Mutation: Creature Design  Genetic Composition: Music  Virtual Aliens: Computer Generated Imagery  A Matter of Scale: Miniature Photography  Critical Juncture: Reaction to the Film  Enhancement Pods  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience to Access and Control Enhancement Pods
DISC SIX: THE ANTHOLOGY ARCHIVES ALIEN  Pre-Production  First Draft Screenplay by Dan OBannon  Ridleygrams: Original Thumbnails and Notes  Storyboard Archive  The Art of Alien: Conceptual Art Portfolio  Sigourney Weaver Screen Tests with Select Director Commentary  Cast Portrait Gallery  Production  The Chestbuster: Multi-Angle Sequence with Commentary  Video Graphics Gallery  Production Image Galleries  Continuity Polaroids  The Sets of Alien  H.R. Gigers Workshop Gallery  Post-Production and Aftermath  Additional Deleted Scenes  Image & Poster Galleries  Experience in Terror  Special Collectors Edition LaserDisc Archive  The Alien Legacy  American Cinematheque: Ridley Scott Q&A  Trailers & TV Spots
ALIENS  Pre-Production  Original Treatment by James Cameron  Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics with Commentary  Storyboard Archive  The Art of Aliens: Image Galleries  Cast Portrait Gallery  Production  Production Image Galleries  Continuity Polaroids  Weapons and Vehicles  Stan Winstons Workshop  Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras  Video Graphics Gallery  Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers  Post-Production and Aftermath  Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned  Deleted Scene Montage  Image Galleries  Special Collectors Edition LaserDisc Archive  Main Title Exploration  Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright  Trailers & TV Spots
ALIEN3  Pre-Production  Storyboard Archive  The Art of Arceon  The Art of Fiorina  Production  Furnace Construction: Time-Lapse Sequence  EEV Bioscan: Multi-Angle Vignette with Commentary  Production Image Galleries  A.D.I.s Workshop  Post-Production and Aftermath  Visual Effects Gallery  Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive  Alien3 Advance Featurette  The Making of Alien3 Promotional Featurette  Trailers & TV Spots
ALIEN RESURRECTION  Pre-Production  First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon  Test Footage: A.D.I. Creature Shop with Commentary  Test Footage: Costumes, Hair and Makeup  Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals  Storyboard Archive  The Marc Caro Portfolio: Character Designs  The Art of Resurrection: Image Galleries  Production  Production Image Galleries  A.D.I.s Workshop  Post-Production and Aftermath  Visual Effects Gallery  Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive  HBO First Look: The Making of Alien Resurrection  Alien Resurrection Promotional Featurette  Trailers & TV Spots
ANTHOLOGY  Two Versions of Alien Evolution  The Alien Saga  Patches and Logos Gallery  Aliens 3D Attraction Scripts and Gallery  Aliens in the Basement: The Bob Burns Collection  Parodies  Dark Horse Cover Gallery  Patches and Logos Gallery  MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience
Subtitles and Audio
Alien
Theatrical Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, English 4.1 Dolby Surround, English 2.0 Dolby Surround, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Theatrical Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Extended Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Surround, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Extended Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Aliens
Theatrical Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, English 4.1 Dolby Surround, English 2.0 Dolby Surround, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Theatrical Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Extended Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Surround, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Extended Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Alien 3
Theatrical Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Theatrical Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Restored Work Print Version Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Restored Work Print Version Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Alien Resurrection
Theatrical Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Theatrical Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
Extended Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, Brazilian Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Latin Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Extended Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Latin Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish
[ 29. October 2010, 12:42: Message edited by: J2ME ]
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Just wanted to make sure that fans of the movie "Aliens" didn't miss this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly. James Cameron reunited with Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, and Lance Henriksen in LA for a reunion.
Cameron said:
"It was like getting the band back together.. we wanted to run off and make another Alien movie."
Watched this movie last weekend after discussing it with Ronnie who cherishes this film. I own the Special Edition version, but now I'm interested in the Blu-ray boxset that J2ME nicely details above.
The EW article is only a couple of pages, but there are several memories and a great description of Ripley by Weaver. Also, it was a blast to find out that Paxton improvised some of those hilarious quotes we all know so well.
I recommend that everyone watch "Aliens" as soon as you can work it in.
Posted by skatexedge (Member # 5712) on :
I'm so bummed I missed that issue of EW!! Which one was it so I can find it on eBay or something???
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