DVD Movie Rating for: Alien (1979)

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

Movie Plot of: Alien (1979)

When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late.

DVD Production Details of: Alien (1979)

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Ridley Scott, James Cameron

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Box set, Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video

DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003
DVD Features:
Discs 1-2: Alien (1979)

Theatrical version (117 min.)

Extended cut (seamlessly branched) (137 min.)

Commentary by Ridley Scott and technical crew

1.85 anamorphic, English 5.1 DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Surround, THX Certified

Preproduction: Star Beast (developing the story), First Draft of Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon, The Visualists (direction and design), Ridleygrams (original thumbnails & notes), storyboard archive, Art of Alien (Cobb, Foss, Giger, Moebius), Truckers in Space (casting), Sigourney Weaver's screen test with optional commentary by Ridley Scott, cast portrait gallery

Production: Fear of the Unknown (Shepperton Studios, 1978), production gallery, The Darkest Reaches (Nostromo and alien planet), The Sets of Alien, The Eighth Passenger (creature design), The Chestburster (creature design)

Post-Production: Future Tense (music and editing), 8 deleted scenes, visual effects gallery (photo archive), A Nightmare Fulfilled (reaction to the film), poster explorations, special shoot, premiere

Discs 3-4: Aliens (1986)

Theatrical version (137 min.)

Extended version (154 min.)

Commentary by Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Terry Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak and Stan Winston

2.35 anamorphic, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Surround, THX Certified

Pre-Production: 57 Years Later (continuing the story), Original Treatment: by James Cameron, Building Better Worlds (from concept to construction), The Art of Aliens (conceptual art portfolio), Pre-Vis Anamatics,

Preparing for Battle (casting & characterization), Cast Portait (still gallery)

Production: This Time It's War (Pinewood Studios, 1985),

Production Gallery (photo archive), Continuity Polaroids, The Risk Always Lives (weapons and action), Weapons and Vehicles (photo archive), Bug Hunt (creature design), Beauty and the Bitch (Power Loader vs. Queen Alien), Stan Winston's Workshop (photo archive), Two Orphans (Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn)

Post-Production: The Final Countdown (music, editing and sound), The Power of Real Tech (visual effects), Visual Effects Gallery (photo archive), Aliens Unleashed (reaction to the film), Film Finish & Release, Easter egg (A Boy and His Power Loader)

Discs 5-6: Alien 3 (1992)

Theatrical version (114 min.)

Restored work print version (155 min.)

Commentary by Terry Rawlings and crew

2.35 anamorphic, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Surround, THX Certified

Pre-Production: Development (concluding the story), Tales of the Wooden Planet (Vincent Ward's vision), The Art of Aceron (conceptual art portfolio), pre-production part III featurette, storyboards, Art of Fiorina, Xeno-Erotic (H.R. Giger's redesign featurette)

Production: Production part I featurette, Production Gallery (photo archive), Furnace Construction (time-lapse sequence), Adaptive Organism (creature design), ADI Workshop, E.E.V. Scan Multi-Angle Vignette, Production part II

Post-Production: Post-Production part I, Optical Fury (visual effects), Music, Editing and Sound, Visual Effects (photo archive), Post-Mortem (reaction to the film), Special Shoot

Discs 7-8: Alien Resurrection (1997)

Theatrical version (109 min.)

Extended cut (119 min.)

Commentary by Jean Pierre Junet and crew

Intro (extended cut only)

2.35 anamorphic, English 5.1 DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Surround, THX Certified

Pre-Production: From the Ashes (reviving the story), First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon, French Twist (direction and design), Under the Skin (casting and characterization), Test Footage #1 (hair/makeup), ADI Effects, Mark Carro Photo Gallery, The Art of Resurrection (conceptual art gallery), storyboards, Pre-Visualizations (multi-angle rehearsals)

Production: Death from Below (underwater photography), In the Zone (the basketball scene), production gallery (photo archive), Unnatural Mutation (creature design), ADI Workshop, ADI Test Footage

Post-Production: Genetic Composition (music), Virtual Aliens (computer generated imagery), A Matter of Scale (miniature photography), Visual Effects Gallery (photo archive), Critical Juncture (reaction to the film), Special Shoot (promotional photo archive), Easter egg (Alien extra)

Disc 9: Bonus disc

ALIEN:

Alien Legacy , Alien Evolution, Experience in Terror (promotional featurette '79), Ridley Scott Q&A

Alien Laser Disc Archive: Part I (pre-production), Part II (production), Part III (post-production), theatrical trailer A, theatrical trailer B, TV spot (Egg), TV spot (Now Playing)

ALIENS:

Aliens Laser Disc Archive: Part I (pre-production), Part II (production), Part III (post-production), theatrical trailer A, teaser trailer, domestic trailer, international trailer, TV spot (Now Playing)

ALIEN 3:

6 trailers, 7 TV spots

ALIEN RESURRECTION:

Theatrical teaser, 2 theatrical trailers, 4 TV spots, Bob Burns Alien Collection

Dark Horse Still Gallery

DVD-ROM (script to screen comparison)

Widescreen anamorphic format

Number of discs: 9

DVD Easter Eggs

None

Cast of the movie: Alien (1979)

Cast of Alien 1979
• 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 (voice)
• Eddie Powell .... Alien (uncredited)

Photo Gallery of the movie: Alien (1979)

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Alien 1979

Reviews of the movie: Alien (1979)

Structural perfection matched only by its hostility
Director Ridley Scott's well-honed talents of pacing and editing create a tense atmosphere that superbly conveys dread and fear of an unknown, unseen evil entity. In 1979, the technology didn't exist to generate a computer image of a Being from another world, and thank God, because this film would have sucked just like all these post-Alien creature features do. Everyone who loves this movie knows what I'm talking about. Ridley Scott had to be extremely careful not to show a full shot of the Alien, except in very brief scenes, and not to reveal exactly how it moves, because then we would see that it is just some tall, skinny guy in a rubber suit. Nowadays, some computer guy would whip up a really scary-looking, but nevertheless FAKE-looking (yes, computer guys, we can tell) Alien, and the director would not have to even think about trying to breathe life into H.R. Giger's hallucinations to make a successful picture.

The dark, cold beauty of this film will never be equaled.