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Synopsis:
Ripley is found adrift in her life-pod 58 years after the first Alien.
Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism
– until the disappearance of terra-forming colonist on LV-426 which leads
her to join a team of hi-tech space marines sent in to investigate.
Review:
Aliens is a great movie, and this Special Edition makes it even better.
The restored footage provides a lot of the back-story of what’s happened
on LV-426 (and more significantly what happened to Newt’s family) before
contact was severed with Earth. I only wish they had included scenes of
the Aliens taking over the colony.
Other restored scenes
help us to better identify with what Ripley’s encounter with the Alien
has done to her life. We find out that Ripley’s daughter died before her
return, never knowing what happened to her. Which in turn amplifies the
importance of Ripley’s relationship with Newt later on in the film.
Other than these additions,
this Special Edition is the same Aliens that we’ve all come to know and
love. To his credit, James Cameron’s vision for this film is light years
away from Ridley Scott’s classic Alien. In my opinion, there are far too
many “Jaws 2” type sequels out there. I’m glad he had the balls to make
this film.
Special Features :
Firstly I feel that I have to mention the excellent navigation menu of
this DVD, it’s the best I’ve ever seen (other than those found in the
James Bond Collection)..
The 10-minute interview
with James Cameron (film in 1986) focuses on why Ripley would sign up
for another encounter with the Aliens. He makes a very compelling argument.
The behind the scenes
stuff concentrates more on the S F/X and is well worth a look if you’re
a fan of this movie. The same can be said of the still image gallery,
which was very thorough.
The theatrical trailers
are all right, but were not really needed, as they are the same ones found
on the Alien DVD in this set.
Video and Audio:
Great video-transfer, and Dolby 5.1. In a word “Hardcore’.
“Die, you bastards!
Die, mother fucker! Mother fucker! Come on! Come on ! Come on and get
it, baby! Come on, I don’t got all day! Come on, you bastard! Come on!
You, too! Oh, you want some of this? Fuck you! Aah! Fuck you! Araaagh!!!!!”
- Hudson
-Nicky Eyes
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