Aliens on 4K: The Reviews and the Controversy

The new 4K UHD Ultimate Edition of Aliens has been met with positive reviews, but the transfer's use of A.I. technology has been cause for some controversy. I look at some of the reviews, and offer some comparisons to the Blu-ray release - as well as its presentations on DVD and VHS.
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[@NavySharkz]

I met Michael Biehn at a comic con last year. I had him autograph a picture of Hicks for my brother and took a few pictures with him. We traded a few lines of dialog from this movie and he started smiling. A nice dude and a great day!

[@theopenrift]

Michael Biehn is such a treasure, he deserved more acting roles. He was in Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun though, so if you like old strategy games it's worth checking out.

[@martok2112]

I envy anyone who got to meet Michael Biehn, or any of the main cast of Aliens. The only actor/ actress I got to meet from Aliens was the one who played Cpl. Dietrich, the medtech. Very, very nice lady, and it was an honor to meet her.

[@TheNITRO68]

I like to think Michael Beihn just played himself , as he seems to me to be that type of reserved but smart human being that can make snap decisions. Just my opinion.

[@MykeLewisMusic]

@@martok2112 Was she mad they left her and the Sarge behind?

[@frankrochefort8265]

Met him at montreal comiccon in 2023. Took a picture with him and hendriksen in my colonial marines cosplay, they both loved it. Great guys and i was glad i could meet them

[@InstruMentalCase]

I despise this kind of approach to remastering. Just present a faithful 4k scan of the original release. I don’t want the image reworked to look like a modern digital film.

[@lukeluck1395]

Brie larson sucks

[@KrissFliss]

This ^

[@CarsonHoy]

Atleast offer both

[@eljay5009]

@@CarsonHoy The thing is - if people want denoised and smoothed - most TVs come equipped with functions to do that now. Release the faithful version, then people can denoise or digitally smooth till their heart's content.

[@handdrawnbink]

You can't. 35mm film is best mastered at 2K for peak colour-contrast-sharpness ratio. Once you scan it at 4K you lose sharpness and the grain enlarges, obligating the need for cleanup, and that starts costing you colour and contrast values, so it becomes like a house of cards. They can very easily master this in 4K, but it's going to take a LONG time and I thing these releases are under pressure from the studios to be churned out faster and prettier.

[@ughugh351]

The 4K Blu-Ray is not based on a new 4K scan. For the Blu-Ray in 2010 the negative was scanned in 4K and processed by Lowry Digital and the result was an 2K DI. For Aliens Lowry Digital used their usual process which means that they degrained the movie and then they added a fake layer of grain. Their excuse for that was that they did it to "even out the grain". Some of the Blu-Rays of the older James Bond movies are also based on 4K scans and processing by Lowry Digital. While you at first see a nice minimal consistent layer of grain, there are so many instances of frozen grain especially seen in sky shots. By the time of Aliens which was more then 5 years after the Bond Movie "restorations" Lowry Digital became much better at hiding this process but I saw instances of frozen grain in some close up shots inside the military car when the camera is focussed on Ripley and Burke is seen in the background and on top of him you can then see frozen grain. So on the old Aliens Blu-Ray you really don't see any of the original film grain. It's only a fake layer of grain on top of a degrained picture. But is still looks filmic and much better than the 4K version. So what they did on the 4K is that they used the existing 2K DI and then used the A.I. to create a new 4K DI. So the 4K actually degrained fake grain from a degrained picture. I know this goes into nerdy territory but maybe this might interest someone who is interested in this kind of stuff and I also wanted to share this information so people can understand what the background behind these home video releases are.

[@idkanymore3382]

Great followup, James is an awful humanbeing for what he does to the old films he worked on. Terminator 2 might have been a huge stepping stone for the 3D market (2D to 3D conversions) but his 4K take was downright evil. The color was ruined, the grain was destroyed, and it was just a spit to everyone who wanted the original format on the superior 4K discs. Knowing how far remastering teams go to fix and bring us these 4K scans and upscales... he makes them look bad.

[@karakenio]

Great comment. Thanks.

[@VarietyAndy]

As someone who does ai upscale thanks for the lore on the film scans. It’s hard to find consistent info on these things and when you find out WHY things look the way they do, it makes a lot more sense. I don’t understand how fox wouldn’t have the 4k raw scan masters from before they got compressed to 2k and degrained. It’s sad because current ai would be able to handle a 4k grainy film scan really well and retain detail while keeping most of the grain

[@kekethetoad]

DNRception. Lowry indeed... Lol that was an awesome read thank you for sharing! And man, the absolute state of media fidelity & competence of the 2020's... 😭

[@tedh79]

Hi, what’s the source for this info? I can’t understand how it can ever be classed as UHD if you’re saying they up-rezzed it based on old 2K down converted film scans? Cameron wouldn’t go for that surely

[@jonjonjrfrmcali]

Bill Paxton screaming, "Game over man! Game over!" is forever etched in my brain.

[@johnthegodfatherslack]

You do not wanna f**k with me.

[@albertkurth330]

"Then why don't you put her in charge!?"

[@redslate]

"What are we supposed to use, harsh language?!"

[@danybackstone]

I know there"s no reason for you to watch this movie in another language but trust me, this passage (and Bill Paxton scenes) is even better in french. More like "We're so f*cked man, we're screwed f*ck", but in a subtle way, not as a pure insult

[@cyborgoftheyear]

@@albertkurth330 came here to post that. Very underrated Hudson line

[@aopaul]

I saw ALIENS with my Dad in the theaters back then, and will always remember that experience in my heart. He always got ALIENS and other films in the latest media format and I will too in his memory. Always remember him blasting this in surround sound and Raiders of the Lost Ark when coming home when I was older. Recently he passed away from a motorcycle accident. Miss you dad.

[@markymark4027]

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Glad you have those memories.

[@ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry for your loss. Sounds like your old man was a good one.

[@eltoro4814]

Sounds like your Dad knew how to live and love life. Sorry for your loss.

[@TheL1arL1ar]

RIP to your father…

[@cyrollan]

jeez. that made me tear up. hopefully you can get better by the day.

[@iainbaker6916]

Hot take - lower def with grain works well for horror films - it gives them a ‘gritty, rough n ready’ look which works for them. Making them too pretty can reduce the horror ’feel’.

[@George_Shonia]

documentary look is more cinematic & belivable

[@Skrenja]

That's a pretty popular take, actually.

[@gmcubed]

Higher def is even better at revealing grain though if they don't clean it up too much.

[@r4umediaentertainment831]

Not even a hot take. In at least most cases, that’s a straight up accurate take.

[@theshepherd2610]

I dont like hd. Everything looks like a cheap soap opera to me.

[@mr.voidout4739]

Video games are starting to look realistic, while current movies with their overuse of CGI, or upscaled classics are looking more like videogames.

[@jeremyhall2727]

😂 you noticed that too. Sometimes the companies over do it

[@imaginalex5850]

and i think video games are becoming ever increasingly bland and boring by going the over realistic route rather then the fantasized, stylistic and stylized way they allways used to be. just like rpg, or imaginary worlds in comics, i don't want to see them all become over the top realistic worlds in a medium like video games...

[@Korn1holio]

IMO current movies with CGI actually look WORSE than AAA videogames. At least videogames are consistent, the actors and environment both exist in the same 'reality', they don't use overlaid human actors who try to convince us they exist and act inside the CGI world.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Their movies are like modern cars. All look the same with unnecessary complication.

[@aquapendulum]

Don't be too optimistic about video games though. They have their own unique issue. There is a new trendy graphical setting that's making video games way more blurry than they should be: Temporal Anti-Aliasing. This setting when it's used is turned on by default on console versions and even on PC, has no option to turn off and may require some drastic solution such as community mods to get rid of. And that all depends on the modding community for said game to exist at all, which is always case-by-case. For more information, see "This issue is plaguing modern gaming graphics" by Hybred.

[@TitanFind]

When I watched the 4K version a few months back, it felt like I was watching actors moving around on sets. I'd never had that experience with any previous version, where I was instead watching characters moving around on far-off worlds.

[@aermotors]

Wow. This is such a good description of what it feels like! Too hyper real and disconnected.

[@invisiblekid99]

Yep. So many scenes have lost all the feel of a real “location”. It’s like watching a high frame rate film with no post image editing. Tbf some shots look good where you don’t need detail or grain, like discovering Ripley on the ship, the wake up from hyper sleep, some of the lab shots. But then you have the scene when the first rock up on LV426 in the rain. OMFG, it’s hideous! Again while some of this looks good (the actual resolution and WCG and HDR), overall I find it unwatchable.

[@DjTonioRoffo]

Probably need to turn your motion interpolation off :o)

[@invisiblekid99]

@@DjTonioRoffoit’s the first thing I do on a new tv or any tv I use be it holiday or hotel. I can see the effect very easily.

[@giannisksanthopoulos4300]

So...watching with bad quality is good huh? This is just pathetic.

[@rpgarchaeology6049]

The reason people got m ad at Lucas for changing Star Wars wasn't the updates, it was the fact that he made it impossible to buy the original version. There's no problem doing this kind of restoration, but it's worth keeping the old version available as well.

[@mymusicaljesus]

Luckily for the OG Star Wars trilogy, we've got some amazing people that spend their free time tracking down and painstakingly restoring the original theatrical prints for digital HD.

[@jamesfrench7299]

I want to see it as shown in 1977, not with afterthought add ons.

[@bentucker2301]

It's both

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Well with this you have all the versions the VHS, the DvD and the Bluray and now the 4K remaster. And it has the theatrical cut as well. I just watched it tonight and its just jaw droppingly good. I was truly impressed. I understand the grain issues and some people like that, but this film was really really grainy. And the more it was cleaned up as it moved through the formats up to Bluray the worse and more obvious the grain became. This 4K version is what the Bluray should have been. Its truly astounding what they have done here with this movie. Its not only the best restoration I have seen in a long time, its also the best 4k film I have seen in a long time. Not bad for something that was never up to that level before and came out 38 years ago. Its such a great film, to see it as clear, sharp and gorgeous looking as it is now in 4k is just a bonus. The Bluray looks like crap now compared to this version....

[@jamesfrench7299]

@@Simon-xc5oy I like that it has more of a green tint and less of the blue. Alien was browny green, so that must make the movie feel more connected. Still upset they altered the creature's head. If they had retained the smooth elongated cranium on them, I'd be as into this as the others.

[@KonguZya]

Another big problem with upscaling and cleaning up these old films with lots of effects means those effects stand out more than they did, especially on the old tapes. My favorite movie as a kid was The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and its CGI, while still incredible, looked pretty much photorealistic on my VHS, because that slight grain and blurriness helped merge the picture together.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Rest assured this 4K version looks great. Nothing looks off, or too stand out effects wise, its done so well. The practical effects still look incredible, and the sets and model work etc are just as good. And it all looks even and nothing jumps out at you, other than the Aliens. The inquest scene and the stuff on Gateway station is so clean and sharp and you can see all the notes, the stuff on the desks, the cigarettes in ash trays and so on, you cant take all the detail in at once as its never looked this good. When it gets to the darker and scary bits later on in the colony the picture is just as good....I cant believe it, how well this has been restored. Its so good I am watching it again tomorrow night on my normal 4k tv, as tonight I was viewing it on my projector....its like seeing it for the first time, afresh. Its a great story, an awesome thriller and a classic 80s action film and now it looks so good, so clear its like it was made yesterday. And like todays modern Hollywoke crap, you expect it to be a great looking movie with terrible story and dire characters. And its not. Its Aliens, a great film with great characters and now it looks as good as a recent film does....

[@MrTripcore]

Same story with alien 3

[@thegadflygang5381]

I said the same thing. The scene with the Alien Queen in 4k looks to clean and like CGI eventhough it is practical Some films shouldn't look pristine

[@Simon-xc5oy]

@@thegadflygang5381 I didnt think that. I have now checked it out on a projector and an LG tv. The projected version looks amazing, truly. As its the way it was meant to be seen in a cinema. The problems seem to arise on the tv. And its not due to the restoration, but to the tv settings. If you have motion smoothing or some such it looks off. So switch that out if you have it on. The grain is still there and more apparent on the tv but its greatly reduced to a comfortable level. It still looks like the classic film. My tv has many settings for the picture. Stuff like Cinema, Sport, Gaming, Eco and so on. Which alters things a lot if its not set on something sympathetic. If I leave it on Cinema that has the colour and brightness down a bit its looks incredible. If its on Game it looks too bright and vivid. A lot also depends on the quality of the screen itself. Its all down to individual taste in the end. I think its a great job personally. And as I have said elsewhere its only the latest version. You can still pick DvD or Bluray or even VHS if you want eyestrain and a blurred picture...its personal choice...

[@nicolaimadsen7036]

@@Simon-xc5oy back when shit happened in movies. People died. Some in the most brutal ways. Now people barely dies in horror movies 🤦‍♂🤦‍♂

[@RockinTheMountain]

The colour grading is the biggest problem for me. I much prefer the original Blu-ray, but loved seeing the colour of the DVD that you presented... I think I'll have to pick up a copy of the DVD after seeing this video!

[@ruthlessedgeboy8591]

One can never have too many copies of Aliens.

[@darrylt8502]

I always thought the blue hue was James Camron signature from True Lies, Terminator 2, Titanic, to even Avatar, etc. You usually see them during night scenes.

[@ZER0-C00L]

I prefer the 1999 DVD colour shade the best, not blue not teal, just normal. It would be a cool feature to choose what colour shade you prefer in the settings.

[@yerabbit6333]

Yes, this. Would be very nice if you could choose your own preference.

[@mykal.7424]

@@yerabbit6333 It's one of the reasons why Physical media will always have an advantage over streaming . You have options of different versions .

[@timothymatthews6458]

@@mykal.7424 What if streaming companies add multiple options for your to choose from, though? You didn't think about that.

[@davidcunningham9282]

for me the grain is part of what makes it so scary and from what i'm seeing here it looks far too polished and hate the teal grading

[@davepastern]

same

[@lukeluck1395]

Do you like chutney?

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

It looks like fake plastic wrapped in cling film like mums sandwiches.. this is bad enough in video games it’s even more hidious in film OG aliens is breath of the wild new dumb aliens is hero zero dawn

[@DanielMassey690]

Regarding the colour grading, it's like they went over the top of the previous blue grade, with green to try and balance it out, and so turned out a teal mess. I could be wrong in suggesting that, but it looks that way to me!

[@Y2Kr4SHM4N]

Agreed. The originals colours could have been deepened. But the 2010s teal is harming films. I think of 89s Batman, which has its links to Aliens in its filming locations. It certainly harms the film.

[@JONINXBOX]

I was lucky enough to stand next to the original Alien Queen prop used in Aliens during a film memorabilia tour and I was struck with how purple/blue shades the Queen is in, and those clear glass like teeth are really impressive as with all the little details on the body inspired by Giger’s art.

[@bookofthedamned]

So was I, in London, and I have a picture to prove it. The Alien Queen is painted black with blue shading.

[@Korn1holio]

Why do the colors look the most natural in DVD version, I wonder? Both Blu-Ray and 4K versions look like they have some filter overlaid.

[@voidcomp4447]

Yes I reckon too, why does the 4K version look so Matrix-esque green??

[@stevenpulkowski9750]

My college buddies and I saw "Aliens" opening weekend back in '86. It really doesn't feel like it's been almost 40 yrs. I remember the general consensus before the movie was "it won't be as good as the original." Aliens took us all by surprise and we were riveted to our seats. I don't think any of us were prepared for what we were about to see...even though we saw the trailer. It was mind blowingly AMAZING and we were exhausted when we left the theater. We were so enthralled by this masterpiece, we saw it again the following weekend. Hollywood just doesn't make films like this any more that entertain and captivate audiences on so many levels with practical effects. Aliens is a classic. One of the most memorable theater going experiences in my life...right up there with "Jaws" and "Star Wars". Thanks for your in depth and honest thoughts on the new 4K UHD. It's impressive for sure and I don't regret buying it, but I'm glad to have my 2011 blu-ray in my collection as well.

[@nintendianajones64]

Saw it in theater when I was 9 with my parents. Easily one of the best experiences I've ever had.

[@bookofthedamned]

Hahaha same experience here! Saw it twice in one week when it first came out!

[@Neonmirrorblack]

My mother and I didn't have a good relationship, and in '86 I was living with my grandparents. On one of the nights I was supposed to visit my mother, she took me to see Aliens. I had no idea that's what we were doing until it happened, and despite not having a good relationship, I'll always be thankful for that at least. It's one good memory, and it just so happened to end up being one of my favorite films of all time. Something similar happened when I was six, visiting another grandmother out of state. We were supposed to go see the Looney Tunes film that was playing at the time, but instead she took me to see The Empire Strikes Back.

[@elguitarTom]

The 1999 DVD still has better / more realistic colors. Look at Newt: In the 4K version she looks green lol

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

It's as if, in some Fuju film simulation way, they applied a new "Sony mirrorless simulation" for Sony's well known colour science that makes all skin green. Note sarcasm...

[@ESPViper100]

Direct comparison make this very apparent. It's a shame. The 1999 version still looks best.

[@edboomstick]

You are absolutely correct. Now with this 4K version it's almost all in a green tone.. from the skin tone to the background. I'd almost say AI is making us lazy.. just a one and done. The 1999 DVD is sharper, colors in skin tone have life to it even where scenes are suppose to be more moody in a cinematic tone. There are perfect versions of DVD movies from 20 something years ago. I think these new versions are not represented well at all with the color correction. They are overindulging on the AI gimmick.

[@timothymatthews6458]

@@edboomstick It is well known VHS and DVD releases regularly dialed back the green or blue color casts of movies. As said at the beginning of the video, the blue is ACCURATE to how the movie originally looked; the DVD and VHS were not.

[@Sutterjack]

I've been a photographer and /videographer for 50 years, seeing the transition from film to digital and the significant improvements in digital technology. That said, I have said from day one noise/grain is acceptable if the image is sharp! I agree that many older noise-reduction technologies in post production (and in camera) Make the image look "smudgy" compromising contrast and tone for noise. The new AI programs are amazing but I still feel we have to proceed with caution, take a step back, and say "does this objectively look better?"

[@FigmentHF]

Real optical film grain is a gift, I love the texture it adds to images.

[@Reticuli]

Chemical. And it moves temporally, giving it a life and a resolution all its own.

[@sombdywakehicks]

I Remember the first time I saw "Aliens". It was sometime in the late 80s. I was browsing the TV guide. You know the paper ones back in the day.... I was between 8-10 years old. I saw this long stretch blocked off for this movie called "ALIENS". I read the description and was intrigued. I went into my mother's bedroom and asked her if I could watch the movie. I'll never forget the look of unpleasantness that came over her face. And in a very Stern voice she said "All right. But if you have nightmares I don't want you coming in here crying to me. Do you understand?" The level of seriousness in her warning puzzled me at the time. I then proceeded to sit down and watch the network broadcast premiere. Now that included the deleted tunnel scene from the theatrical release. Which at the time I didn't understand why I could never see that scene again when watching the VHS at my friend's house. And it was a really cool scene and I didn't know why I was missing. Regardless the next day at recess me and my best friend met up on the playground and we immediately started talking about this movie and from then on till the end of elementary school we included colonial marine vs aliens make believe into our play. Pulse rifles and all. Love those things. If you can't tell by my screen name, movie had a little bit of an impact on me. 🫡

[@MrScrofulous]

I'd forgotten that line, somebody wake Hicks. I'm gonna include it in my library of obscure pop culture references that make the zoomers around me shake their heads in confusion. I usually use "waddawe gonna use ? Harsh language?"

[@TheRealNormanBates]

@@MrScrofulous *Aliens* is full of quotable dialogue: "Did I.Q.'s suddenly drop while I was away?" "What are you gonna do? Put her in charge?" "I say nuke it from orbit.. it's the only way to be sure."

[@bucknasty69]

I think I was in first grade when I first saw Aliens in a triple feature with Predator and Scanners with some teenaged cousins who were baby sitting me haha. I liked Star Trek and Star Wars so my cousin said I would like these movies. He wasn’t wrong!

[@Streetrocker28]

Same here bro

[@alistairmurray626]

i was 3 when i saw them

[@kyletitterton]

I grew up with a black and white telly I found on the street. Aliens looked incredible on it.

[@furiousapplesack]

That's really interesting. I'm gonna have to try something like that just to see how it looks. Night of the Living Dead looked really good in its original B&W, and I think it actually loses a lot of its impact when colorized so I'm curious to see that in reverse with Aliens.

[@mattro7107]

It's a vibe. They released Godzilla Minus One in B&W too I think.

[@furiousapplesack]

@@mattro7107 Saw it in theaters, it was awesome! "Minus One Minus Color" was how it was cleverly listed.

[@kingcronecker]

Me too. Hopefully I'll get a colour TV for my 8th birthday, though.

[@jimmyzimms]

I can imagine how awesome that could look. Like watch Fury Road's B&W edition, it can really flip the script on a presentation

[@Lagrangeify]

I'd take a little celluloid noise over heavy handed DNR any day, I'd even say it's a textural element that I miss, analogous to the pops and crackles of vinyl recordings. We forget how much warmer VHS and early DVD color gradings were for these movies so your side-by-side was a bit of a shock to me. Anyone who has done any significant digital restoration work will attest to the unsettling 'ship of Theseus' aspect of the process - reconstructing things that are lost with things that never were. Each time these reissues happen I'm grateful to folk like you, watching out for such things and drawing our attention to it.

[@etbadaboum]

Great video, thanks. Is the lack of grain the same as with digital audio compared with LP record?

[@morbidmanmusic]

Yes! 100%

[@davidmurphy7332]

The problem with these more "naturalistic" colour gradings and visual noise-cancelling, particularly for those of us who grew up in the CRT days, is they take the once grand cinematic look of the original movies - that can only really be achieved by being shot and shown on film - and make it look like a daytime soap opera

[@jamesrad6317]

You might be talking about motion smoothing - the usual culprit behind the so-called 'soap opera effect'. It might in fact be the motion smoothing settings on your blue-ray player or modern TV that is responsible for this. Those settings can be turned off. I've actually noticed even different streaming apps seem to have different levels of frame interpolation (smoothing) now.

[@CitizenScott]

Yeah I have always taken issue with this. Classic films shouldn’t be color graded at all, or at least offer a non “corrected” version.

[@rivvvers]

I’ve been saying the exact same thing for over a decade. The day time soap opera hits the nail on the head. It’s the same problems 95% of the Netflix garb generation has. Cinema died when digital came in if you ask me

[@lsu1992]

This is why I couldn't get into "The Hobbit." Looked like "As the Middle Earth Turns."

[@norwegianblue2017]

@@jamesrad6317 I noticed all that soap opera effect went away once I got a decent TV and dialed in the right settings.

[@jonathulhu]

I'll never forget when my older brother bought the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set. You can tell a lot of love went into the menus, features and even the box design itself. I remember watching the director's cuts of the original three movies all in one sitting, more times than I can count.

[@tadpolegaming4510]

The Blu-ray version, the pack I've had forever, is the same stuff with much nicer and cooler menus

[@jonathulhu]

@tadpolegaming4510 The Anthology? I prefer the Quadrilogy, especially the box design and menus. It's all subjective though of course.

[@ftilxe]

I got the Quadrilogy set for my 16th birthday in 2009, which I've kept all these years and is still my preferred method of watching the films (with the unfortunate exception of the theatrical cut disc of Resurrection, which glitches out)

[@lukeluck1395]

Have you ever thought about marrying a chicken sandwich and naming it Douglas?

[@mike197714]

I have the alien Quadrilogy dvd set. It’s awesome.

[@KaanTechCrazy]

Wonderful video. Seriously the amount of work you did to make this review video is amazing. Thank you.

[@Hyperdriveuk]

I'm just going to add some grain to my digital copy... will take a long time to render though lol!

[@Duster5000]

To me DVD had the best color grading. DVD: Natural with vibrancy Blu Ray: As stated the blue addition is much. 4K: Drab which tends be the trend on a lot of 4K releases for some reason. Flesh tones superior on DVD.

[@christiantamminen8998]

Colour grading is soooo important. When I first watched The Crow, I watched it on VHS on a small cathode ray TV. Many, many years ago :) I was blown away by the red hue. Then, when I got it on DVD, and improved my TV, I realised that it was the old TV that was faulty. I still have nostalgia for that Red hue :)

[@just_delightful]

Totally agree. The teal look is awful. I did my own regrade and I'm working on one for the Abyss.

[@casualcadaver]

Sounds like a cool way to watch The Crow.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

This gets missed by the discussions so often. What format is the best if your equipment cannot replicate what is innovative or good about this tech. This reminds me of audiophiles who want all this purity of sound then they crush their music into an MP3 player to go running or have it on the cheap speakers bc they listen to music when they cook. I'm not saying we need to force those folks to upgrade gear but people should be educated on how much or little fidelity will matter to how they actually experience music, film, games, etc in their daily lives. Consider the criticism the Tenet director gets bc his films are often screwy experiences unless you go to the theatre where they have capability to use his sound settings & aspect ratios etc.

[@werideatdusk]

I want the red version of the Crow

[@ca_quixote]

Any idea what version is being shown on April 26th at AMC? Ridley and the Romulus director are doing an interview before the screening.

[@stephen-wahl]

Have to share my Michael Biehm meeting as well: he was staying at the Wall Centre Hotel in Vancouver and met him a few times at all hours to deliver him some essentials. He was the loveliest of guys, a great tipper and we had a chat here and there but the highlight had to be him fresh out of the shower answering the door in a towel. Probably the highlight of my short lived room service career.

[@EsromFF]

I want the quality to be like I still feel im part of the film. But not that I feel like im there in the studio with the actors !

[@naiboz]

Exactly 👍🏻

[@furiousapplesack]

That's an incredibly good way of putting it. You managed to succinctly sum up, in a visual way, what the difference is.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

Well said!

[@jeckek9936]

Perfect. I want them to look like movies not an out of body experience.

[@gtube6913]

I see what you mean, felt the same but only in certain shots. It's one thing to analyse quality by frame and another to do so by full run time. Sometimes grain bothers me over the course of a film and scene type, other times not. My brain wants both, and yet knows that won't work either.

[@Scourgeisoptimusprimeyt]

Xenomorphs caught in 4k?

[@Mizikame]

👽📸🤨

[@Scourgeisoptimusprimeyt]

@@Mizikame bro 😂

[@_BASIC_INSTINCT]

screenshot and sent to the groupchat

[@Mizikame]

@@Scourgeisoptimusprimeyt Hehe just had to add to the Meme as any First Replier to the OP would do 😸

[@Scourgeisoptimusprimeyt]

@@_BASIC_INSTINCT nah nah nah don’t get too drastic(nervous laughter )

[@thetimhampton]

So true. The step up from vhs to dvd is much more significant than the improvements since.

[@theFinnisher117]

Anybody know what the background soundtrack is at 10:20 ? I recognize it but can’t remember what it’s from.

[@TubbyJ420]

Thats why multiple fan scans of theatrical 35mm prints are floating around. All the original grain, color timing and details remain. They're beautiful.

[@davepastern]

can you point me in the right direction please?

[@nighttimevideo]

I have a 4K "Grindhouse" fanscan of a 35mm print of Aliens. The grain is beautiful. It's the theatrical cut obviously, and a scan of a 35mm print not the camera negative, but will gladly watch it over the new AI UHD.

[@JosephJoseph-ky5pb]

@@nighttimevideo where u get?

[@TheUnknownVideographer]

@@davepastern Good luck with that. Nobody that has these will ever post them on open tracker torrents. They were made by people selling them on discs on very closed sites.. It's not a group like the Star Wars 4K77 people. They don't share. They say uploading them on BT is piracy, yet they sell IP that they don't own. Maybe eventually someone else will do it and share it openly. They are only 1080p, not 4K. There's screenshots floating around.

[@TheUnknownVideographer]

@@JosephJoseph-ky5pb You don't. He's just another person saying they have it but never respond. There are 1080p ones, but the group that makes them sell them on disc., they never get posted on public torrents.. because, piracy bad.. selling good.. it's a bizarre reason they give for not posting on BT. I've never even seen screenshots of this so called "4K grindhouse". so it might not even exist. LOT's of people saying they have it though. Nighttimevideo makes the same comment all over the place, never responds. likely does it in the hopes he gets subs.

[@heilong79]

Seeing the grain was the first thing that impressed me when seeing my first 4k movie. Grain is a character of a movie of its time and that is what I want to see.

[@TroyUlysses]

You do realise companies DNR scrub, then add fake grain back.

[@peterestrada9420]

Like: “the scratchiness”, on the Ole Vinyls 🤙😉 Give me the Grain🙏❤️

[@Simon-xc5oy]

@@peterestrada9420 Well its still there in this version. But its not like it was, a million ants on screen. Its a stunning, clear restoration and the detail is incredible. Five minutes into watching this and you will forget grain entirely as you will be so busy looking at all the detail. The amazing sets and props etc that you will never have seen, and you will be too busy reading the buttons, graffiti, reports etc. And checking out the tattoos, stubble, smoke, ash and counting the teeth on the Aliens to miss the grain.....

[@reginaldforthright805]

@@Simon-xc5oywho cares about that junk. I want to see grain.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

@@reginaldforthright805 Dont worry its still there. You can see it. Just adjust your tv if you want more. Failing that you can draw it on the screen with a felt tip...heheh....You want grain stick with the Bluray or the DvD....

[@hulktopf5031]

I realized what gets messed up through remastering. The motion blur of movements gets lost if not replaced with stuttering frames. It feels off to not see that slight blur when someone is moving through the scenes.

[@PalimpsestProd]

7:30 I saw Aliens in the theater multiple times. The "teal" is how it's supposed to look. You can see it in your VHS clips but with the other colors punched up for cathode tube.

[@PuckeredMeatball]

3:05 Side note, but I still get a chill watching Ripley "lock in".

[@DarkoFitCoach]

We all do

[@tulinfirenze1990]

@@DarkoFitCoach Agreed with the coach!

[@doyouluvit]

Yes!!! Love that

[@joshcarter-com]

Damn straight. The way Ripley preps to enter the hive is a pinnacle moment of cinema history. She’s facing her greatest fear-with a flame thrower strapped to an automatic rifle. In that moment when puts on her game face and pushes past her fear, she’s more bad-ass than any muscle-man 80’s action star.

[@ben-64]

Such an underrated powerful moment

[@krotalus74]

You didn't mention the laserdisc version, which I had transferred to high grade VHS because I was in high school and couldn't afford a laserdisc player. Back then it was all about the extra footage and that's the version I've seen the most, my old laserdisc to VHS transfer.

[@AlienTheory]

I mentioned it very briefly at the end. I said “I think I have it on laser disc” even though I know damn well I do own the laser disc. The only thing is, I don’t have a player, so I never actually watched it on the format and can’t speak to its quality.

[@KarlHamilton]

Laserdisc. The Laserdisc version of Blade Runner was legendary. Everyone talked about it, few had seen it. Still the best version.

[@jackbootshurek8040]

​@@AlienTheoryi love my laserdisc version. Still have my pioneer player. My Alien and Aliens boxsets, along with my Star Wars trilogy box are still something I prize highly.

[@c_huntermc]

@@jackbootshurek8040 I've also still got my CAV special edition boxed sets of Alien and Aliens, (as well as the original Star Wars trilogy) although I don't know if my player works any more.

[@bucknasty69]

My buddy has a laser disc player and a copy of Aliens on laser disc, and it’s damn near DVD quality in picture. It’s great. He also has Independence Day and Stargate on laser disc which also look beautiful on the format.

[@grahamt19781]

That transition from vhs to dvd was mind blowing at the time. I remember watching X-Men on my pc as my first DVD, up close on my little CRT monitor and being blown away by the detail.

[@keefer100]

Great video. I have a question...Does the 1080 BluRay disc that's included with the 2023 edition suffer the same downsides (waxiness/over-smoothing) as the 4K disc IF viewing on a 1080P projector? Or would it look just a little better than the 2011 BluRay with only the different color cast?

[@StarWarsJay]

I had the privilege of watching Aliens in the theatre on its initial release as a 15 year old teenager. The effect it had on me (and my friends) cannot be underestimated. I already loved Alien and I was expecting something similar with Aliens. As everyone knows, although set in the same universe, the pace of Aliens was cranked up x 100. We’re all used to this kind of tempo now, but at the time, it was groundbreaking. I watched it in lLondon’s Leicester Square too (the theatre had a state of the art sound system for its time) and this of course added to the experience. I’m still waiting for an Alien movie to match Aliens, but it hasn’t happened yet. Fingers crossed for Romulus.

[@Reticuli]

The Theatrical Cut has that amazing tempo. The longer editions really screw it up... not to mention give too much away. Even the sentry guns with the unending xenomorphs is subtractive.

[@commandZee]

As a design/art school grad, film grain doesn't bother me, intellectually I understand it as a characteristic of the original media the art was created with. I'm just glad Camron didn't regret not having a bombastic animated musical number in the first act 🤣

[@richnolan4280]

You mean like the one in Space Balls? 😂

[@CitizenScott]

It’s an effect so iconic that video games add it as a post filter. It’s fine to revisit these things, but the original should be preserved and offered as an option alongside the “improved” one.

[@WrathOfGrapesN7]

Aliens: The Musical? I can fuck with that.

[@frenchyroastify]

@@WrathOfGrapesN7 I love that song " Nuke it from Orbit"

[@ExpertContrarian]

@@CitizenScottwho actually uses that in games

[@beatlecost]

I think the same thing happened with Batman '89 in 4K. It became more "teal" and they changed the sound effects. But it looks glorious. Also, Predator in 4K is miles away and beyond the god-awful Blu-Ray.

[@chet_inator_gator]

Does anyone know if the 30th anniversary bluray from 2016 is the same as image the 2011 one mentioned multiple times in this video? Thanks!

[@skylx0812]

Never cared for what I always referred to as the cyan blue wash over many modern films. I like the simple blue hues and natural fleshtones of the older version. I have a version of photosensitive epilepsy where not just flashing lights but too much clarity in a film will trigger a response. I don't have full on seizures I just get a bit stressed and hyper then have to take a break, get some fresh air and see natural sunlight. Cameron and Scott films were always a challenge so I'll keep to the safer bit of grain. No-nos are cgi flooded films like the Transformers where there's just too damn much visual info on the screen.

[@utvara1]

dvd version is for you

[@thermonuclearcollider4418]

7:53 The word you're looking for is "magenta". Old Kodak Eastman stocks until the Eastman EXR series had a lot of it in their color matrix. It's not considered pleasing because of the way it tints mid-tones, from furniture to caucasian skin-tones. It could be particularly nasty on the latter with people of ruddy complexions (or people whose face had turned red because of fatigue\stress). Kodak moved more and more towards a "warm neutral" look with the following lines of stocks and modern restorations of several movies usually switch it with orange for white skin tones. In the old days people paid less attention to this sort of things because colors on film prints tended to shift (you cannot have two prints that look exactly the same with the classic photochemical process), more so if the prints were from later generations.

[@realitycheck5376]

On just a casual observation of the side by side comparisons, I'd say that the Blu-Ray seemed to have more detail overall. Certainly it had more contrast.

[@thedad7313]

Has Cameron tweaked the background when Bishop is doing the knife thing with Hudson? When the film is obviously sped up, I seem to remember Apone and Vasquez heads moving very quickly in the background. But on the 4k it doesn’t look as so noticeable. Or is it just me being old?

[@thedad7313]

@@Konsider yes sir, are correct and I thank you.

[@mikar3601]

One of the interesting things about the human mind is the low quality games I grew up playing now look amazing in my head. Our minds fill in the blanks and creates detail that never existed. When I recently revisited those old games I was shocked how much detail was missing that I had created in my mind. So when you look at someone else's recreation of a movie, game, or other IP and add detail that was never there, it's new content that you have to agree or disagree with in your mind. If you like YOUR version (in your mind) better, than you may not like the 4K remaster! But for the new generation of alien fans who may not have ever seen Aliens, they're going to love it regardless.

[@JohnDoe-gc9dy]

This is no real 4K remaster, because it's not an authentic representation of the 35 mm prints. The problem here is the AI processing and the wiring color grading.

[@reginaldforthright805]

Old games look better on a crt tv

[@MorpheousXO]

The version that I grew up with and watched unto infinity as a kid was actually the special edition before it was called the special edition. A family friend had a laser disk player, and regularly copied movies onto VHS and send them to people. One of those was the Special Edition of Aliens, or at least the same cut of the film. This was in the early to mid 90s. I remember being very sad when the tapes (cuz it had to fit on two VHS tapes) got ruined and the friend was unable to find the Laser Disk again to recopy it (he sent us, like, 4 different copies of the theatrical version like "was this it?"). Was really stoked when the Special Edition actually came out and I could finally see my favorite version of my favorite film again.

[@LukeShort1854]

So I'm confused. Some amazon reviews are saying it's only the theatrical edition that you get. Are both versions (extended full film) on the 4k disc. Or are they added as extras?

[@DMORGAN486]

you get both versions on 4k and blue ray, the 4k disc defaults to the theatrical version and you just have to choose the extended version in settings.

[@LukeShort1854]

​@DMORGAN486 thank you for clearing that up. I prefer the extended version over the original, as it gives more of a fleshed out story. Really appreciate your help.

[@dougswinford389]

I updated the original Alien (1979), and the upgrade was significantly better. I’ve been hesitant to upgrade Aliens, because I didn’t want to lose my previous copy. The 4K Alien is definitely eye opening when you first see it. I know this is going to come as a shock, but the original Ridley Scott film has always been my favorite film of the franchise.

[@eljay5009]

Alien was properly remastered though - so takes advantage of proper HDR and the wider colour gamut modern TVs are designed to display. Aliens is a simple stretch SDR content and still in Rec709 colour space - which is such a shame.

[@TheSektor13]

Aliens is my favorite movie. It blows all modern sci fi movies out of the water. 80 and 90 and early 00 were best years for movies.

[@bigtechisbigbrother8690]

It was all downhill after 2005.

[@edwarddore7617]

There are still great sci-fi films out there

[@AlanSmitheeman]

STAR WARS, ALIEN, and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND came out in the 70s. So, I would add the 70s to your list.

[@mattburkey]

I like the simpler menus on modern blurays. I often found DVD's and early blurays littered with lots of excessive animated menus, repeated studio logos, piracy warnings, adverts and such. Back in the days of Blockbuster Video, I'd rent DVD's and have parts of the unseen movie spoiled by the big scenes appearing in the background on the main menu. I like the simplicity of it booting straight to a menu where I can pick my preferred audio format and film version (where options exist) and on with the show. Having a pop up menu without pausing the film is also great :)

[@rosstee]

I agree, the worst aspect of DVD/Blu-ray menus is if scenes from the movie play in the background, spoiling parts of the film before you've even started watching!

[@JohnSmith-qn3ob]

Did they do anything else to the movie? Did they do any wire removal? Like how they fixed the hole in the floor for Lance Henriksen.

[@saysthemanbehindthemask]

I love the grain in film. Makes it seem more cinematic. As for colour grading I feel like original had somewhat of a purplish hue, which is warm and cool at the same

[@ectoplasma5]

My biggest gripe is actually that it looks too bright. But that can be easily fixed with tv settings.

[@laurenced2916]

We still need a proper game sequel to Alien Isolation!

[@frankthecat1660]

Alien$ I$olation

[@pizzathehutt1812]

@@frankthecat1660 I see what you did there 😉

[@furiousapplesack]

Hell yes!

[@BlueScarabGuy]

Bill Hunt's comment that "the color grade is close enough to the Blu that it should be fine!" is kinda ridiculous. The whole point was that the 2011 color grade was an extreme change people wanted removed!

[@keithknapp175]

For the most part Hunt doesn't know what he's taking about, so that checks out.

[@stephenbrower1755]

Will you be doing a version of this breakdown on Aliens expanded. Unless you did that and I missed

[@andykang6469]

Anyone remember LaserDisc? One of my friends owned laserdisc version of Aliens with all the deleted scenes and i was so envious of him😅

[@bucknasty69]

The laser disc version of Aliens looks great. I have a buddy who collects laser discs, and most of the films we’ve watched on that format look fine. I’d say it’s almost DVD like in picture quality.

[@bedfordshiremodeller4491]

Yes i remember them

[@tonyd5151]

I loved the laserdiscs and always had the best memories of the movies on that format. I collected the DVD and Blu-ray versions and always wondered why there was so much more grain in those. I didn't mind the grain since I assumed we were given a more close to theatrical presentation. I never seen the movie in 1986 in a real theater so always loved each sharper version. But now I too have mixed feelings of the 4k. But again grateful for another copy.

[@DMORGAN486]

I no longer have a laser disc player but I still have the laser disc set of aliens. I remember seeing it in tower records and when i read that there was 22 minutes of deleted scenes i bought it and then went out and found an older pioneer player that held 2 discs and auto changed sides so i bought it used. I loved the deleted scenes and thought they greatly added to the movie. When it came out on dvd I was happy to see the director cut was included. I have not had a chance to watch the 4k yet but I do own it. I am waiting for the right moment when I have enough free time to savor it! One of my all time favorite movies for sure!

[@vicks.577]

The "pinkness" you refer about regarding the DVD is actually a magenta dominant, a catastrophic issue that plagued 99% of all telecine transfers in the LaserDisc/VHS/DVD-era. These original movies were shot on 35mm and never featured that hue when originally projected in theatres. Yet, sadly, fans of many properties keep referring to the DVD-era transfers of these classics as "original", and point their finger in anger at many impeccable HD transfer for simply restoring the original filmic tones and white balance inherent in analog film. Granted, many digital restoration sourced from OCN had trouble in capturing the original warmer tones without overdoing it, due to both limits of digital grading and actual costs, as a "separate elements within the frame" grade is extremely laborious and expensive, but even those flawed ones were more failthful to the original presentation than old magenta-looking home-video transfers. The latters also look ghastly from an aesthetic point of view, but that's another matter.

[@Disciple_Of_Lerxst]

Uuuuuuh... What?

[@vicks.577]

@@Disciple_Of_Lerxst Not sure where your confusion stems from, but here on this platform there's more than one video detailing the 'Telecine' process and how it destroyed the cinematography of countless classics. If YT allowed external links in the comments I would also happily provide an audio clip from David Fincher explaining the exact origin of pink-looking movies during such process, and why this abysmal practice needed to be stopped.

[@TebrocGaming]

Great video. It was nice to hear all the different viewpoints on the remaster in one place. I'm excited to see this edition of one of the greatest films of all time.

[@MatthewDiekman]

As filmmaker AND Alien fan I have come to love film grain. Now that I'm middle-aged maybe it's nostalgia, but super sharp modern digital imagery makes me sad, grain makes it feel alive (to me), and I almost always add grain simulators to my projects to try to recapture that analog feel I like. While Cameron is chasing ever sharper images (Avatar) its refreshing to see the beauty of the Dune films and others in modern times that are carefully considering grain as an artistic element even with digital all of the digital tools available. Thanks for the vid!

[@modelcitizen1977]

I think it says something that nearly 40 years after the original film, even with the film grain stripped away and even more detail visible than ever before, the effects and props and set design still hold up just fine.

[@rileypowell2871]

I think one of the worst things you can do in any form of visual media is the breaking of immersion. While I agree that the film looks better, this is fairly indisputable, the issue is just how unrealistic and fake props look. I think the best example of this is where you see the eggs in the hive as Ripley and Newt are walking backwards and you have a POV shot of them doing so from the front. The eggs come off very much looking like props, as they are, but now it’s very easy to tell. The illusion of reality is what makes physical props so engaging for the audience and the moment you break this illusion, it snaps people out of the focused and immersed experience. James Cameron movies look so good, because of the amount of effort put into production. Even things people consider trivial or unimportant during production, he chooses to hover over. Every detail, regardless of how unnoticeable something may appear is tackled with near the same vigor as what is more important and center frame. This is why the movies have held up so much better than others when transfers or upgrades are approved. However, in this case specifically, it has gone beyond and undone some of that meticulous attention to detail. The break in immersion, no matter the overall quality upgrade is not worth being taken out of the film you’re watching. As someone who loves introducing people to things I enjoy, films being a big one, I do not think I’d ever show someone this release if it’s their first time viewing ALIENS. I don’t even like the Special Edition of ALIENS from 1990, because the dialogue and some shots just do not look right and wouldn’t show them it either. I want someone to be completely immersed when they watch ALIEN and ALIENS that they forget they’re ’just watching a film’. You need some level of grain and lack of detail to an extent to hide blemishes and also add an air of mystery. To this day, I still stand by the Blu-Ray upgrade to ALIEN as being the best transfer I’ve ever seen. ALIENS looks better on Blu-Ray, a few complaints I do have, but otherwise I do think it’s the superior version compared to DVD and especially VHS. But, I can’t say that this newest version will ever replace the Blu-Ray. These films were shot during a pivotal and changing time for films and video in general. People need to accept that fact. People need to also accept that we don’t need to purchase these whenever they release. Personally, I’m not going to be buying this. I’d much rather buy another copy of the Blu-Ray Boxset that looks fantastic and as you mentioned, feels like a higher quality product down to the menus as well.

[@Riceball01]

The reason why props will often look like props in older shows an movies is because they weren't made with ni0def in mind. Before HD came out things were only made to look so good because they knew that on the screens of the time, silver and TV, the time (particularly TVs) they'd looks just fine. Then HD comes along and now you can see just how cheap the props and costumes really were. One show, I think that it was the BSG reboot, that came out around the time HD did had nonsense and gobbldygook showing on their screens as was commonly done at the time. When they switched to filming in HD they realized that any text on the screens were now perfectly ;legible to the viewer at home so they had to blur the screens, I think they smeared Vaseline over them, to make the them unreadable again.

[@rileypowell2871]

@@Riceball01 I should have elaborated more on that. What I was trying to say is that he’s so good at creating the setting and props down to the finest detail that when upscaled, they look better. Not worse like in a lot of movies. However, the AI doesn’t understand what does and doesn’t need to be ‘corrected’ and that is why you suddenly have amazing props that are so believable turned into plastic looking messed.

[@Benisyourfrien]

You sir deserve a beer.

[@shaunmills4611]

Abso-freakin-lutely!

[@batmanimal5993]

I agree but you are watching it as a veteran of the film and like most you have probably watched it a lot over the years . I think the 4k brings it closer to modern movies and as a youngster watching it you wouldn't really dwell on an egg you'd be impressed this is were it all started not long after the 1979 alien release and to imagine this was all built with hands and imagination plus the eggs are stationary moulded by hand and look more organic than cgi

[@tomatokosir]

The main problem is the extreme combination of ultra sharpening of the parts in total focus and over bluring the parts next to them which are just slightly out of focus. Maybe your eye doesn't realise it, but the brain does. I can't watch a movie like that, a DVD would be a more satisfying watch than this.

[@christopherbaxter434]

Like any remaster in the video game industry they should give you an option to revert back to the original picture so in essence with the special edition you have the original format and remastered format. Then everyone’s happy..

[@parangaricuchillo]

I literally would restart my vhs-to-vhs "copy" of Aliens as soon as it ended when I was 15. Countless viewings, and I never tired from them. The picture quality never fazed me, and never thought about how video quality for movies would improve in the years to come. With that spirit in mind, I love the picture quality of this 4k edition. From its sharpness and its colors, it was amazing to see how far home video has come since my days watching my cassettes. I will not give up a single copy of this film in all its formats.

[@LukeLovesRose]

My family made VHS copies of the Special Edition on laserdisc and we wore each copy out

[@Simon-xc5oy]

I know what you mean. It looks amazing. Its like going from the stone age to the future in a single bound. I have many versions of the film, but this one in 4K is truly a work of art. What its done is give you a version of the film that you can see. All the things you need to see. And its no longer a strain on the eyes or like watching it through fog in blurovision. I honestly feel like I just saw the film for the first time the way it was intended.

[@ZvookUK]

I read somewhere that Cameron chose to use the lower quality film stock as he felt it was more forgiving re special effects. Scott used a far superior film, and his HD releases of Alien and Blade Runner absolutely walk all over Cameron's from the same era. Same as with all of Cameron's films - Terminator 1 & 2, and the Abyss. I think it was just a poor choice on Cameron's behalf.

[@toddjones1480]

Cameron is the problem, not film stocks.

[@megavideopowermegavideopow8657]

I thought you would mention the ending fight with the queen alien mother very visible plastic wires were digitally removed and updated graphics for the space station etc..

[@strangemarkings]

As someone who’s seen the original 35mm print projected fairly recently, it’s indeed grainy as hell and super blue. I was surprised how obvious the rear projection is, especially when the drop ship crashes

[@Mottyz]

Remember my dad coming back from the video rental store when Aliens first came out. I was about 11 and was a school night. We stayed up late to watch it till about midnight. Thought it was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen and one of my most membered awesome nights with my dad on one random Wednesday night.

[@destinycaptain247]

I was 16 when Aliens was released on VHS in February 1987, I flocked to Hastings Music, Books, and Video and rented a copy. I then duped it. I went from VHS to Betamax and back to VHS. I then wore that cassette out over the next few years. The jump to DVD was glorious. I don’t love the overly blue tone from 2011. I also don’t love the digital smoothing or the AI smoothing we have now. Aliens DOES NOT need tweaking. Tweaking veers into revisionism after a certain point. Many filmmakers cannot help themselves. The grain is necessary. Computer interpolation is actually interfering with legacy of this film. RMB, one of Bill Hunt’s buddies likes the new version. I normally agree with RMB about a lot of things. I cannot agree with him here. Incidentally, he’s covered it on his channel The Burnettwork.

[@deaddai]

R.I.P. Hastings

[@destinycaptain247]

@@deaddai - It was a great store. It managed to outlive the rest.

[@MarkSleper]

Thank you for this balanced review / review of reviews. I love how you included all opinions on the spectrum. And I love how someone with their roots firmly planted in the past and the cinematic history of this movie can still keep an open mind to what future developments can bring to the table, and to this movie in particular. Thank you for not being polarizing. I for one love this new technology and consider this a win for the preservation of the movie. Having previous outings (like for instance the 2011 Blu Ray) remain in your collection is sound advice if you want to keep having access to a more grainy version. And I will keep that one in my collection, but I doubt I will watch it ever again. It’s the thought that it’s still available to me that is soothing. But I will probably only give it a spin to admire the beautifully rendered animated menu’s…

[@ApplesnCastles]

I'm going to buy the physical discs version here in the UK regardless but I have a Q if anyone can clarify? What version is Apple hosting in the UK on AppleTv? I have owned the film on ATV since 2019 and it's showing in UK AppleTV movies library with the new artwork from the "ALIENS: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION" release. When you check the formats as the film starts to play, it states it's in 4k. I don;t think this is the Ultimate Collectors - but am I wrong? I've searched about & can't find any clarification on. Does anyone know please? Is the film on AppleTV in the UK now - the Ultimate (4k) Collectors edition - or is it just a HD upscale of a previous version? I wonder if it'll change again - after the physical release date passes? Thanks in advance.

[@astrobot702]

We went from blue washing to green washing. Space is COLD the blue was also a character. The movie is gritty and it should have kept some of it however I'm it is a pleasing addition to any existing collection

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

It's as if, in some Fuju film simulation way, they applied a new "Sony mirrorless simulation" for Sony's well known colour science that makes all skin green. Note sarcasm...

[@Dirvinator]

Unfortunately Disney followed through with their intent to no longer support physical releases in New Zealand and Australia. So no more Marvel movies, no Indiana Jones 5, no Prey, and, most insanely, no James Cameron 4k releases. (If we don't end up getting Alien Romulus, I'll be so pissed!)

[@reloadpsi]

Considering what getting physical media through customs is like there I don't blame them. Their ratings board gets some movies and games treated like smack wrapped in cocaine leaves.

[@blatherskite3009]

On Blu-ray, Australia/NZ is the same region-code (B) as Europe ... so even if you have an unmodded off-the-shelf Blu-ray player you can just import the physical release from the UK, or anywhere else in Europe, and be confident that you can spin that disc. So at least there's that.

[@eljay5009]

Just import them. I got the Abyss on 4k from the states because the BBFC refused to rate it in the UK. Cost about the same as it would have in the UK even with shipping.

[@blatherskite3009]

@@eljay5009 The rat scene? Well, animal cruelty is a mandatory cut under the BBFC's rules, regardless of age-rating ... and I guess the distributor wasn't prepared to press a disc with the necessary cuts especially for the UK market. If so, that's going to affect a lot of films as the market for physical media shrinks.

[@eljay5009]

@@blatherskite3009 Yep - basically. I just imported it from the US.

[@AuroraMeansDawn27]

As i was watching this, i noticed that there is a People Magazine on Ripley's desk (at 8:09) Do any of you know who was on the cover?

[@phyrr2]

This "restoration" reminds me of the expectation of digital sharpening in cameras, specially DSLRs until only recently. ALL came with that friggin' moire filter which softened the image to prevent said patterns but then required said digital sharpening which added fake contrast with softening. One thing that people forget is that the eyes are trained to pick out patterns. So when this is done, these things pop out more than what you're actually watching. Film grain being analogue, meant it was an imperfect pattern, so therefore just became a comfortable staple. Digital tools (and the people that use them) forget that you NEED IMPERFECTIONS to negate this recognition of patterns. Life normally has these imperfections and nothing is perfectly symmetrical unless honed in with a microscope or looking at inorganic material. When it comes to looking at people and manmade things, there is always an indiscernible imperfection in everything. This is why CGI is so noticeable, even when using AI. Until they start doing studies with the brain and our eyes along with AI enlisting indiscernible patterns, these kinds of "restorations" will look fake and remove actual detail. It's what happens when your R&D gets too stuck in the details and in the micro instead of pulling back to look at the macro. Pun intended, to look at the BIG PICTURE instead.

[@bronzewand]

My brother and I must have watched our VHS copy thousands of times after school! The scene where the marines first get ambushed became so degraded, it was pretty much just white noise haha

[@thelivingjed9676]

That would've added to the experience though, like Gorman, Ripley and Burke can't tell what's going on through the video monitors as the ambush is going on.

[@thegood9]

People just don't understand how much DVD, and Blu-Ray (when done right and not just "upscaled") changed history---those formats were revolutionary.

[@wisnoskij]

The 4k disc is presumably a blueray as well? Or did they come out with a new format of disc that I never noticed?

[@redslate]

It's a Blu Ray _variant_ . It won't play on a standard player; hence the inclusion of a standard Blu Ray disc as well (for convenience).

[@loonatticat]

When comparing all of these different formats, VHS vs DVD vs BLU-RAY vs 4K, are you using the same 4K monitor? It seems like there would be some upscaling within that monitor that would impact the overall appearance separate from the work done on each new master. I’m curious how you would compare back to back viewing on 4 different monitors with native resolutions matching each master.

[@tekhed5843]

Aliens is my favourite movie of all time, I’ve seen it close to 200 times. I own every version, and, to me, each new release was better than the last, and this is no exception.

[@reginaldforthright805]

What film do you like better aliens or total recall

[@richinderbyshire4779]

Released 22nd April on Amazon here in the UK.

[@RW_CreativeMedia]

Noise is always reduced in films but to give it the film look, grain is added to the post production render, which should not be eliminated from a movie, let alone a classic, cause if you do, film will tend to look like Soapopera like.

[@PASTRAMIKick]

man I just hope these OG directors don't ever get the bright idea of adding interpolated frames to makes movies "life-like" with 60 fps, that would suck soooo bad. Movies should look like movies...

[@SirChristian100]

"Teal" Haha, yeah, now its Green-Ray!!!

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

It's as if, in some Fuju film simulation way, they applied a new "Sony mirrorless simulation" for Sony's well known colour science that makes all skin green. Note sarcasm...

[@Schubeedoobee]

It's not teal... it's the addition of Yellow tint to the scan... blue and yellow is green, or teal in this case. Yellow tint brightens and carves out shadow detail at the sacrifice of color grading.

[@reginaldforthright805]

Could you achieve the same effect with a thin coat of urine

[@inkermoy]

@@reginaldforthright805 Yup. the Piss filter that I see used on so many new films.

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

It's as if, in some Fuju film simulation way, they applied a new "Sony mirrorless simulation" for Sony's well known colour science that makes all skin green. Note sarcasm...

[@TruthSurge]

If it isn't originally recorded in 4K, you cannot actually get 4K. You can only ever can what an algorithm THINKS should be there so it's a weee bit deceptive to actually tell people hey, it's 4K! It's 4K but... not. What it IS, is a ploy to resell it again.

[@thadonis.]

It's not so much the grain, it's the sharpening of areas that should be in soft focus, eg Ripley's hair. Soft focus in these areas bring more focus to the areas that should be sharp (her face and expression), due to contrast. It's noticeable in foreground v background elements too. It takes away the impact of the frame.

[@TDDMS]

There's noticeable image improvement over the VHS, but between DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K, I'm hard pressed to see if it's worth it to purchasing these higher definition media.

[@charlessaint7926]

I watched the 1989 Batman VHS so many times that we broke it. Good times. Also, my father thought it was a good idea for me to watch Aliens back when I was about seven years old. For years afterwards I couldn't go down a dark hallway. Thanks, Dad.

[@odotb9916]

Best dad ever.

[@technomancer5449]

I was 3. :D In kindergarden must boyz wanted to play Batman. I wanted to be cocooned victim on the Jungle Gym. :'D

[@TueSorensen]

Thanks for the analysis. This actually convinces me that I need the 4K, since I like the brighter, "tealer" look more than the blue sheen later added for the Blu-ray.

[@KevinWRay]

I watched this film a week ago 4k, found myself blown away at what I saw, spent allot of time looking at the background of the film for the first time. Absolutely loved it, I also have the Criterion Collection Laser Disk. Remember seeing this film in the theatre 1986, what a ride it was! In my world this is the "best" movie sequel of all time!