‘Aliens’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Action-Horror Sequel Is One Of The Greats

The terror continues in this chilling, critically acclaimed sequel written and directed by James Cameron. Ripley, the sole survivor of the space tug Nostromo’s deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, is found after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. She agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426—and this time it’s war. Aliens stars Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, and Paul Reiser.

For thoughts on Aliens, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/3x0xakJG6zw?si=W7yLTmso17kh9Pg3&t=974]

Video Quality

Aliens makes its hotly-anticipated 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with an inconsistent 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer that continues James Cameron’s war on film grain. Unlike True Lies or The Abyss, this did receive a prior Blu-Ray release first seen in 2010, so the impetus to upgrade simply to have the film in HD is nonexistent. As mentioned, Cameron has used AI technology to enhance the film to look closer to his original vision free of natural film grain. We explored why this was such a misstep in the recent True Lies review, and this somewhat follows the same pattern, only to less egregious effect. Of the three Cameron releases dropping on the same day, Aliens falls in the middle when it comes the digital tinkering. How sensitive you are to such things will determine if this is worthy of an upgrade for you. 

As someone who did not watch the digital versions of the Cameron remasters when they dropped in December, we cannot say how it compares to the disc, but this would seem to be in line with that experience, only with the typical benefits of physical media. Armed with 100GB of space and Disney’s efficient encoding that handily beats streaming, this 4K UHD Blu-Ray looks as good as the master will allow it to. The release has been “enhanced” to be free of the natural film grain for a highly artificial appearance. Close-up shots have a semblance of texture and detail, but things look ever so slightly off when it comes to things like perspiration. 

We will admit that the Dolby Vision proves its worth when embarking upon this aesthetically dark journey. The black levels provide notable depth and detail in even the most unyielding shadows. While there are sporadic scenes in the beginning that are brightly lit, this is one dark feature that is thankfully free of black crush and other such anomalies. Highlights are stunning and stable without veering into blooming. The digital enhancements cause the skin tones to look slightly off. There is very little in the way of vibrant colors outside of some of the explosions and lighting. While Dolby Vision is not the standard for the studio outside of Cameron, we are grateful it is provided to bring some stronger positives to the release. 

The picture is startlingly crisp and clear with absolutely nothing in the way of print damage, softness, or even compression artifacts. You just have to deal with the waxy facial features that can either look fine or disappointing depending on the lighting and angle. The darkness helps to hide much of this digital manipulation in terms of skin texture, and things fare even better when it comes to the production design and costumes. It is still not replete with texture like it should be, but many will be able to overlook the slightly unnatural quality. If you already own this on Blu-Ray, you need to ask yourself how distracting you find digital smoothing to be. If you want a “looking through a window” experience with every movie regardless of age, this is probably the release for you. If you are a cinema purist, you will probably complain about this release. You will still want to buy it to see for yourself, but you are going to complain. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that Alien came through unscathed five years ago. We can only dream about this release looking as good. 

Audio Quality

The audio presentation is a good deal better than the video side of things as the 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with an upgrade to Dolby Atmos along with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio stereo track. We are unsure if the stereo track is the original mix or a simple fold-down meant to accommodate those with soundbars. Dialogue emanates clearly without competing elements outclassing important information. Even moments of mounting tension utilize unique sounds that crawl through the surrounds to provide some terrific ambient texture. All of the sounds in the mix appear to be keenly placed so that nothing ever feels out of sorts. The subwoofer comes alive consistently with a cavalcade of giant thrills. The nimble soundscape is given substantial weight within the mix. The audio experience always exhibits power while never sacrificing nuance. 

The Atmos track takes the basics of the original soundscape and explodes it with careful execution to deliver an immersive experience. The iconic James Horner score fills the room with an awe-inspiring fidelity. The additional channel allotment expands this element of the film alongside the height channels to bring the rich environmental elements to a more three-dimensional space. These channels work with the main load carried by the core channels, and the results are top-notch. The film makes good use of its audio tracks in a way that fans should love. There are optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided. 

Special Features

Feature Film

• 1986 Theatrical Version (2:17:15) and 1990 Special Edition (2:34:28)

• Audio Commentary: An audio commentary track is provided with an array of talent including 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.

• Direct Access To New/Additional Scenes From Special Edition: There are 16 scenes totaling 20 minutes of new material included in the Special Edition that you can watch independently. 

• Special Edition Introduction: A 34-second audio introduction is provided by Cameron who explains why this is his preferred cut. 

• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Composer’s Original Isolated Score by James Horner (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Bonus Disc

• The Inspiration and Design of Aliens: A 31-minute featurette is provided that takes a look at the world James Cameron created, how it evolved from what Ridley Scott did with Alien, and more. 

• Superior Firepower – Making Aliens: A massive 3-hour-and-5-minute documentary piece is provided here which covers nearly everything you can think of when of as it pertains to this film. This is one of the most exhaustive pieces we have ever seen. 

• • 57 Years Later – Continuing The Story (11:05)

• • Building Better Worlds – From Concept To Construction (13:39)

• • Preparing For Battle – Casting and Characterization (17:00)

• • This Time It’s War – Pinewood Studios, 1985 (19:39)

• • The Risk Always Lives – Weapons and Action (15:12)

• • Bug Hunt – Creature Design (16:23)

• • Two Orphans – Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn (13:48)

• • Beauty and the Bitch – Power Loader vs. Queen Alien (22:25)

• • The Final Countdown – Music, Editing and Sound (15:31)

• • The Power of Real Tech – Visual Effects (27:47)

• • Aliens Unleashed – Reaction To The Film (12:33)

• Superior Firepower – Making Aliens Enhancement Pods: An additional 59 minutes of material is provided here featuring odds and ends that did not make it into the larger documentary. 

• • Without Sigourney Weaver (1:28)

• • Origins of Acheron (2:02)

• • Building Hadley’s Hope (3:28)

• • Cameron’s Design Philosophy (2:23)

• • Finding An Unused Power Plant (2:08)

• • Cameron’s Military Interests (1:25)

• • Work with Sigourney Weaver (5:26)

• • The Importance of Being Bishop (1:28)

• • Paul Reiser On Carter Burke (1:02)

• • The Paxton/Cameron Connection (2:18)

• • Becoming Vasquez (1:08)

• • On Set – Infiltrating The Colony (3:13)

• • Props – Personal Light Unit (0:38)

• • Simon Atherton Talks Weapons (2:01)

• • Praising Stan Winston (1:41)

• • Test Footage – Chestburster (1:21) 

• • Fighting The Facehugger (1:18)

• • Test Footage – Facehugger (7:29)

• • Stan Winston’s Challenge (1:48)

• • Test Footage – Queen Alien (4:49)

• • Stan Winston’s Legacy (2:37)

• • Cameron’s Cutting Edge (1:33)

• • Sigourney Weaver’s Triumph (1:39)

• • Re-Enlisting with Cameron (1:25)

• • From Producer To Stunt Double (2:31)

• Pre-Production

• • Development

• • • Original Treatment by James Cameron

• • Footage

• • • Pre-Visualizations – Multi-Angle Videomatics: With optional audio commentary from Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung

• • Pre-Visualization

• • • Storyboard Archive

• • Conceptual Art

• • • The Art of Aliens: Artwork by Ron Cobb, Syd Mead, and James Cameron

• • Casting

• • • Cast Portrait Gallery

• Production

• • Photography

• • • Production Image Galleries

• • • Continuity Polaroids

• • • Weapons and Vehicles

• • • Stan Winston’s Workshop

• • Footage

• • • Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras

• • • Video Graphics Gallery

• • • Weyland-Yutani Inquest – Nostromo Dossiers

• Post-Production and Aftermath

• • Footage

• • • Deleted Scene – Burke Cocooned (1:31)

• • • Deleted Scene Montage (4:08)

• • Photography

• • • Image Galleries: This provides image galleries for Visual Effects, Music Recordings, Premiere, and Special Shoot. 

• • Miscellaneous

• • • Laserdisc Archives: An option to skim through text-based essays from the Laserdisc release. 

• • • Main Title Exploration (3:01)

• • • Theatrical Trailers: This disc provides the Teaser Trailer (1:51), Theatrical Trailer (1:57), Domestic Trailer (0:35), and International Trailer (0:32)

Final Thoughts

Aliens is one of the best efforts James Cameron has ever unleashed upon the world. While he may not capture the raw horror that Ridley Scott delivered in the original film, he scales up the film in terms of sheer spectacle that works like gangbusters in the horror space. Sigourney Weaver is in prime badass mode alongside an array of entertaining fodder for the titular creatures. This is simply a classic of the genre. 20th Century Studios has released a long-desired 4K UHD Blu-Ray that offers up a middling A/V presentation and tons of supplemental features. The movie is an essential part of any collection, but you need to reflect on your personal preferences to see if this is right for you. Recommended 

Aliens is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: 20th Century Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.