The Alien Legacy (Alien / Aliens / Alien 3 / Alien: Resurrection)

I have always been a fan of good (and bad) sci-fi, and the ALIEN series is still my favorite. Previous reviewers have gone over the plots, so I'll try not to do that. The first, ALIEN, was certainly riveting and suspenseful. Ridley Scott made his mark with this film. Sigourney, the ultimate hero, was really an ensemble cast member throughout most of the film, making no character more important than any other. I liked this touch, though the film was really a high-tech remake if "IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE". My favorite of the series is ALIENS, the second installment, directed by James Cameron (also, still trying to make his mark in Hollywood). This one also won the most praise and awards, including an Oscar nomination for Sigourney (and 6 others awards). Indeed, Sigourney's performance has more depth and range (the scenes referring to her daughter, left out of the theatrical release & the VHS versions, show a tenderness that is compelling.) The action is unrelenting, almost exhausting; non-stop excitement, due to absolutely brilliant editing (it lost the Oscar for editing to "PLATOON", which had one long beautifully edited action scene...this action goes from beginning to end. I would've voted for this one.) Cameron also used Bill Paxton in almost every one of his subsequent films. "ALIEN 3" got a bad rap. It's my 2nd favorite in the series. Again, a novice director, David Fincher, showed his flair for dark and brooding venues (later so brilliant in "SEVEN" & "FIGHT CLUB".) The most interesting thing about this third installment is that the alien was "bred" by a dog, and was essentially a mutant variety, one that Ripley couldn't out-guess. Ripley's own impregnation and subsequent demise was handled in a most effective manner. Also, fighting the alien with no weapons was an added challenge, met by a fine director and a stellar cast. The last of the series, "ALIEN RESURRECTION" was really only an example of Hollywood trying to capitalize on a successful series. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the plot was a little more than contrived (considering the over-all substance of sci-fi films in general) and didn't get me as involved as the first three. My favorite scene was when the cloned Ripley meets the clones of herself that didn't quite turn out. I saw all of these films in the theatre in their initial releases. I'm not sure if ALIENS was in a 2.35:1 widescreen, but it's presented here in only a 1.85:1 LBX. The others are all 2.35:1. A lot of people don't like Widescreen, but REAL film fans do, and I can appreciate seeing more of the picture. All of Cameron's other pictures were 2.35:1, and with the big budget he was allowed by Fox, I'm surprised he didn't take advantage of it. Or did he? I honestly don't remember. This whole series has a wonderfully consistant narrative flow; the different styles of the directors add a new touch to each installment. I really love this series.

I've never been a Sigourney weaver fan, and I honestly think she helped make the last 2 movies stink more than they should have, but the second movie in this series Aliens is one of my all-time favorite classics. The special edition has a ton of new scenes that make it very enjoyable to watch, even though I've seen the original cut probably 30 or 40 times now.If you do not own any of the Alien movies but were as fascinated by HR Giger's art and alien creation as I was, you must get this movie set. If you were as underwhelmed with the last 2 movies in the series as I was, then keep in mind that you will also get a ton of special content in the form of design sketches, deleted scenes, graphics, concept art, etc which can take an hour or more to browse through. All in all, even though the last 2 movies in the series are barely ratable at 2 stars, overall the series is worth purchasing in one piece and enjoying all in one sitting in some dark night at home alone.

Excellent DVD set to add to your collection. The quality is perfect! With plenty of features and great graphics it only adds to this already perfect collection. No need to go into my thoughts on the various movies in this set. Regardless of whether one was better than another is really pointless at this time. Im quite sure the movie sales spoke for themselves and the executives know where they made their mistakes. But lets face it one thing they did do with great precision was to keep Siquorney Weaver in all 4. Without her I probably would have called it quits after the first 2. If you cant get the original stars back in a movie then move on to something else, its just not the same without the original actor.. Death being the exception of course :). Dont change the recipe if everyone loved it the way it was.

Okay, is there any other series of films that have been made so wonderfully or have housed such great oscar-nominated performances than Alien Legacy? Probably, but did they include any face-huggers, queen mothers and acid for blood? I think not!Alien Legacy is one of the best buys on the market, you get all 4 films including special effects enhancements and the behind-the-scenes, making of Aliens for a very reasonable price. This had to be the largest purchase I have ever made on Amazon, but it was more than worth it.The quality of sound and picture for this set is just like seeing them in the theatre for the first time. They are truely great!Don't forget that Sigorney is in all four films and was nominated for Aliens (2) the best of the entire series.

good buy