| Aliens [1986] | ![Aliens [1986]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4155BQ56YBL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: James Cameron
Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £17.99
Buy Used: £1.02
You Save: £16.97 (94%)
New (13) Collectible (1) from £1.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 16666
Format: Anamorphic, Pal, Special Edition, Widescreen
Languages: Czech (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), Hebrew (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), Polish (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Running Time: 148 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5039036001205
ASIN: B0001HHRVM
Theatrical Release Date: July 18, 1986
Release Date: May 15, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 One of the Greatest Movies.... July 10, 2008
Rather than just describe what happens in Alien's, I thought I'd write a review that explains why it is such a great film. Well...for me anyway...
Firs and foremost, the structure of the film is excellent. The film takes time to set the scene, not rushing the disposal of the characters from Alien, but all the time maintaining a sense of tension. The film is set, very comfortably after the first, showing how the world has moved on and describing over a number of scenes Ripley's struggle to re-integrate. This is juxtaposed with the developing of the plot for the bigger picture, each early scene containing several elements of plot and character. As the film progress's this structure is maintained, with each scene, though being driven by the central characters, often offering time to the minor characters.
For Example, even in the scene where Hicks is teaching Ripley how to use an Assault Rifle we are made very aware of Ripley's motivations for doing so - to protect Newt. Aliens takes the time to develop these relationships and, though ultimately a science fiction movie, it allows characters the screen time to develop and not just be 2-d caricatures. In Bishop, we have a very complicated Robot. He is a robot who understands, not only his status as a robot, but also the problems of being an "artificial person". While not necessary to the plot, this adds depth to the supporting cast, and indeed, makes Bishops acts of heroism more believable and interesting.
While the story is relatively simple, it is unrelenting. The plot has always struck me as being character driven, given that the soldiers have a mission, and it is what happens to the characters that is important, not the outcome of the mission. By this I mean, we realise very early on the mission is a disaster and there can only be one outcome (ie escape), but it is the survivors we are interested in. Having given even the most minor characters enough time to develop a personality and presence, their deaths are important. This is something that allows the film not only to have depth, but also emotional importance. Everything from the personalised helmets to the Over the Top manliness of Vasquez allows for engaging characters, and even if you don't empathise with one character, there are bound to be characteristics of multiple characters that one finds engaging.
Ultimately, what I am trying to say is that Aliens is, pun intended, a rare breed. It is an action film with emotional depth. It is a sci-fi movie that relies more on characters than outlandish plot. And best of all, is the enemy. The fact that the enemy is not directly explained, not empathised with (save for one wonderful remark by Ripley) means that we have a film for all times. The enemy could be an metaphor for all manner of evils in the world, then again, it can be a metaphor for the struggle against what is evil in humanity. Perhaps it is just an unstoppable killing machine....bit what it ultimately makes for is one hell of a film.
Truly, one of the greats.
Kindest,
DD
Aliens 2 - This time it's warriors (grooved heads) July 8, 2008
Being such a huge fan of this film, I had to start with this. Wow... such an incredible feature from start to finish. For the uninitiated, I'll offer up a brief overview, here, right now.
From the rip-roaring finale of Aliens 1; directed by Bladerunner author Phillip K Dick, Fighter Pilot Elaine Ridley is found by a huge robot on the moon sleeping on the job. She is brought back to Earth and once they find out what really happened she is commended for her bravery in killing the Aliens in Aliens 1. Then things take a turn for the worst. She finds out her daughter died of quick-aging (a little more explanation I felt would have been useful; a futuristic disease perhaps) & that the crew she left on the moon had stopped emailing Earth (so she didn't kill 'all' of the Aliens, did she?) In the special edition it shows you why; a Predator ship had crash-landed there all of a sudden with eggs even though the ship from Alien Versus Predator crash-landed back on Earth in Requiem - continuity error methinks; tut-tut. Petty issues aside, it is found by some backpackers in a futuristic moon-buggy & the family take it back to base & contaminate everyone without even knowing.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Berk Carter (fantastically portrayed by 'Joey' from 'Blossom') is a sleazy holiday rep. who funds the moon colony & he has a hidden agenda. He decides to send the Navy Seals to there & find the Aliens for a Zinomorf (posh word for Aliens) zoo he plans on his moon-lodge holiday compound. Due to her skill at fighting Aliens, Berk Carter asks Ridley to go & capture some, an opportunity she jumps at after losing her cat to a chest-buster (more on these hand-shaped little devils later).
Ridley meets the Navy Seals & hits it off instantly with them all, especially a robot with liquid parts called Priest. They get to the moon after lots of frankly OTT bravado & macho garbage (that I found did not contribute anything to the flick except an unnecessary drenching in testosterone).
What ensues is a rip-roaring roller-coaster of a thriller packed with comedy (listen to Jeremy Paxtons 'wild-man'; the dubiously titled Spunkmire & his wacky, outrageous retorts 'No, have you?' in response to question 'Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?'), war (plenty of gung-ho action), love... all sorts. Without ruining it for anyone (no need for spoiler warnings here) Ridley falls head-over-heels in love with a grunt called Hutson (moodily acted by the young Jon Connor of Terminator fame - another Jim Cameroon film incidentally), she rescues then adopts an annoying orphan girl-child called Nuit (who hugely distracts from the tautness of the plot). The Aliens lair is ultimately infiltrated & the boss Alien (who manufactures the chest busters in a bio-factory) runs after Ridley; leading to the grand finale. Luckily, Priest does turn up & rescues them, leading to quite the happy ending.
Now, with the plot examined, we are left with the production value. An all over excellent effort & from what I understand; a pleasure to work on, especially for the UK crew in our very own Pine-Needle Studios. The Aliens are a land-mark in CGI (Computer General Imaging for the uninitiated) programmed expertly by SFX whiz-kid Winston Zeddmore of Ghostbusters SFX team. The conceptual generation of Aliens 2 has to lie within the creative mind of J.R Giler; an ex-porn photographer who left behind his seedy work in Berlin to develop the kind of porn-free monster required for such a film. The Alien was apparently based on an acid trip he had regarding a sinister PEZ dispenser/ hoover tube/ pipe-cleaner cyborg hybrid... oh and a cougar. The birth of the alien is a masterstroke. These spidery chest-busters that the boss alien builds, stick to people to get around, then jump off & hide to grow into fully-fledged monsters. If they don't like you or feel threatened or trapped, they crap cyanide into your mouth. Genius.
My only criticisms on the film is that it draws heavy influences from 'Troll', 'Xtro II', 'Highlander' & HT Wells' classic 'I am Robot'. It's truly fun for all the family, your 80 year old gran can sit down & watch it alongside those three year old monsters of your own & each will walk away with a unique, but equally refreshing experience. In all honesty I prefer Critters, but in its absence, this will easily fit the bill. If you like this, you're gonna love its follow-up; Species.
BTW; What's that La Pensive guy on about? Helen? Noot? Utter rubbish. You'd be forgiven for thinking that his review was in fact a sarcastic jab at morons who claim mastery over such terrain, created at work whilst he was bored.
THE finest film ever made June 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Without question this is the best film ever made in any genre. From a time when filmakers actually put some effort into their creations and cared about their films, unlike todays mass produced conveyor belt CGI infested crap.
You can watch this over and over again, and its still like watching it for the first time. Awesome acting by Weaver et al, great script with more quotable lines than any other film ever made, and special effects that actually look real. (Note to Lucas - this is how its done you lazy CGI over using moron) Also, it has believable technology, which is very important in a sci fi. "10mm standard light armour piercing caseless. Why?"
A different beast to Alien April 20, 2008
Although this sequel is set on the same planetoid inhabited by the same monsterous aliens and uses many of the same plot devices, it feels completely different from the magnificent Alien. This is a longer film but it doesn't mess about much trying to create tension and set the scene before giving us a chill, it just thrills us, and keeps thrilling us, in fact the thrill factor is relentless throughout. Okay, it's nowhere near as subtle as the original, granted, but neither does it come across as pretentious at times, whereas Alien most certainly did. It has weak points and is a bit fast and loose in its narrative, is pretty corny in patches (like little Newt surviving), and feels a bit like a Spielberg movie in the way it all falls together for our hero, but it is also full of invention, is visually stunning, superbly crafted and is a testament to the quality of big blockbuster movies you can make in England. Lastly the very best thing about this alien blast fest movie, Sigourney Weaver in a blistering performance you cannot forget. She has never been better and she has never been hotter than she is here. I have to take a cold shower after watching this great movie, the woman is that hot. And playing her maternal instinct off against that of the Queen alien was a masterstroke. A masterpiece of modern cinema.
The best sci fi sequel ever made January 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The original won awards, this is even better. More action than the original with a far less predictable ending.
Sigourney Weaver must relive the horrors or the original film, but this time she has the backing of a heavily armed and highly trained team of marines, to help investigate the mysterious disappearance of all the colonists. She agrees to return despite not being believed over her account of the fate of her crew and the Alien that she says was responsible.
This will give some people nightmares, but for all of that is still a very fine action packed and exciting epic.
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