The Alien Anthology Blu-Ray Set Is Coming To Destroy Your Social Life

It's been a badly kept secret that the 'Alien' series would be making its debut on Blu-Ray this Winter and frankly I haven't been that excited about it.  This isn't because I don't love and admire the films (save for the fourth which I despise) but I felt the Alien Quadrilogy DVD boxset from 2003 featured, pretty much, the definitive collection of supplemental materials for the series.

The only items that were not included seemed to be things we would never see.  The infamous deleted scene from James Cameron's 'Aliens' where Ripley encounters the cocooned Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) was left off the set at the director's request, supposedly because he is quite embarrassed by it.  And the idea of David Fincher being directly involved with any sort of retrospective on 'Alien 3' be it interview, commentary or full on director's cut was just too much to hope for.

Well IGN has the scoop on the full specs for the upcoming Anthology set as well as a look at the spanky limited edition packaging right here.  The six disc set will offer two cuts of each film, new commentary tracks from Sigourney Weaver, isolated score tracks and new featurettes.  But they have also confirmed that we WILL see the 'Burke cocooned' sequence and although Fincher, to the best of our knowledge, continues to not be directly involved with the third film, the set will include the full, uncut version of the retrospective documentary 'wreckage and rape: the making of Alien 3'.  A large amount of material was cut from this documentary before its inclusion on the 2003 Quadrilogy set for reasons which will only really become clear once we see it.  It goes without saying that we can expect a lot more footage of Fincher losing his shit with Fox executives visiting the set and, hopefully, full disclosure about this legendary nightmare production.

The bottom line is, I'm sold.  Here is a full list of the specs:

Disc One: Alien

• 1979 Theatrical Version
• 2003 Director's Cut with Ridley Scott Introduction
• Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Writer Dan O'Bannon, Executive Producer Ronald Shusett, Editor Terry Rawlings, Actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt
• Audio Commentary (for Theatrical Cut only) by Ridley Scott
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
• Composer's Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Two: Aliens

• 1986 Theatrical Version
• 1991 Special Edition with James Cameron Introduction
• Audio Commentary by Director James Cameron, Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Alien Effects Creator Stan Winston, Visual Effects Supervisors Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak, Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung, Actors Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Christopher Henn
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner
• Composer's Original Isolated Score by James Horner
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Three: Alien 3

• 1992 Theatrical Version
• 2003 Special Edition (Restored Workprint Version)
• Audio Commentary by Cinematographer Alex Thomson, B.S.C., Editor Terry Rawlings, Alien Effects Designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Producer Richard Edlund, A.S.C., Actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Elliot Goldenthal
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Four: Alien Resurrection

• 1997 Theatrical Version
• 2003 Special Edition with Jean-Pierre Jeunet Introduction
• Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Editor Hervé Schneid, A.C.E., Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof, Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz, Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
• Final Theatrical Isolated Score by John Frizzell
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Five: Making the Anthology

In addition to over 12 hours of candid, in-depth documentaries, you now have the ability to go even deeper into Alien Anthology history with nearly five hours of additional video Enhancement Pods created exclusively for this collection, presenting behind-the-scenes footage, raw dailies and interview outtakes from all four films. At topical points in the documentaries, you may access these pods to enhance your experience, or watch them on their own from the separate Enhancement Pod index.

• The Beast Within: Making Alien
  • The Visualists: Direction and Design
  • Truckers in Space: Casting
  • Fear of the Unknown: Shepperton Studios, 1978
  • The Darkest Reaches: Nostromo and Alien Planet
  • The Eighth Passenger: Creature Design
  • Future Tense: Editing and Music
  • Outward Bound: Visual Effects
  • A Nightmare Fulfilled: Reaction to the Film
  • Enhancement Pods
• Superior Firepower: Making Aliens
  • 57 Years Later: Continuing the Story
  • Building Better Worlds: From Concept to Construction
  • Preparing for Battle: Casting and Characterization
  • This Time It's War: Pinewood Studios, 1985
  • The Risk Always Lives: Weapons and Action
  • Bug Hunt: Creature Design
  • Beauty and the Bitch: Power Loader vs. Queen Alien
  • Two Orphans: Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn
  • The Final Countdown: Music, Editing and Sound
  • The Power of Real Tech: Visual Effects
  • Aliens Unleashed: Reaction to the Film
  • Enhancement Pods
• Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien 3
  • Development Hell: Concluding the Story
  • Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Ward's Vision
  • Stasis Interrupted: David Fincher's Vision
  • Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Giger's Redesign
  • The Color of Blood: Pinewood Studios, 1991
  • Adaptive Organism: Creature Design
  • The Downward Spiral: Creative Differences
  • Where the Sun Burns Cold: Fox Studios, L.A. 1992
  • Optical Fury: Visual Effects
  • Requiem for a Scream: Music, Editing and Sound
  • Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film
  • Enhancement Pods
• One Step Beyond: Making Alien Resurrection
  • From the Ashes: Reviving the Story
  • French Twist: Direction and Design
  • Under the Skin: Casting and Characterization
  • Death from Below: Fox Studios, Los Angeles, 1996
  • In the Zone: The Basketball Scene
  • Unnatural Mutation: Creature Design
  • Genetic Composition: Music
  • Virtual Aliens: Computer Generated Imagery
  • A Matter of Scale: Miniature Photography
  • Critical Juncture: Reaction to the Film
  • Enhancement Pods
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience to Access and Control Enhancement Pods

Disc Six: The Anthology Archives

Alien

• Pre-Production
  • First Draft Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon
  • Ridleygrams: Original Thumbnails and Notes
  • Storyboard Archive
  • The Art of Alien: Conceptual Art Portfolio
  • Sigourney Weaver Screen Tests with Select Director Commentary
  • Cast Portrait Gallery
• Production
  • The Chestbuster: Multi-Angle Sequence with Commentary
  • Video Graphics Gallery
  • Production Image Galleries
  • Continuity Polaroids
  • The Sets of Alien
  • H.R. Giger's Workshop Gallery[list]
  • Pre-Production and Aftermath[list]
  • Additional Deleted Scenes
  • Image & Poster Galleries
• Experience in Terror
• Special Collector's Edition LaserDisc Archive
• The Alien Legacy
• American Cinematheque: Ridley Scott Q&A
• Trailers & TV Spots

Aliens

• Pre-Production
  • Original Treatment by James Cameron
  • Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics with Commentary
  • Storyboard Archive
  • The Art of Aliens: Image Galleries
  • Cast Portrait Gallery
• Production
  • Production Image Galleries
  • Continuity Polaroids
  • Weapons and Vehicles
  • Stan Winston's Workshop
  • Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras
  • Video Graphics Gallery
  • Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers
• Pre-Production and Aftermath
  • Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned
  • Deleted Scene Montage
  • Image Galleries
  • Special Collector's Edition LaserDisc Archive
  • Main Title Exploration
  • Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright
  • Trailers & TV Spots

Alien 3

• Pre-Production
  • Storyboard Archive
  • The Art of Arceon
  • The Art of Fiorina
• Production
  • Furnace Construction: Time-Lapse Sequence
  • EEV Bioscan: Multi-Angle Vignette with Commentary
  • Production Image Galleries
  • A.D.I.'s Workshop
• Pre-Production and Aftermath
  • Visual Effects Gallery
  • Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
• Alien3 Advance Featurette
• The Making of Alien3 Promotional Featurette
• Trailers & TV Spots

Alien Resurrection

• Pre-Production
  • First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon
  • Test Footage: A.D.I. Creature Shop with Commentary
  • Test Footage: Costumes, Hair and Makeup
  • Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals
  • Storyboard Archive
  • The Marc Caro Portfolio: Character Designs
  • The Art of Resurrection: Image Galleries
• Production
  • Production Image Galleries
  • A.D.I.'s Workshop
• Pre-Production and Aftermath
  • Visual Effects Gallery
  • Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
• HBO First Look: The Making of Alien Resurrection
• Alien Resurrection Promotional Featurette
• Trailers & TV Spots

Alien Anthology

• Two Versions of Alien Evolution
• The Alien Saga
• Patches and Logos Gallery
• Aliens 3D Attraction Scripts and Gallery
• Aliens in the Basement: The Bob Burns Collection
• Parodies
• Dark Horse Cover Gallery
• Patches and Logos Gallery
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience

The Alien Anthology will be released this October where it goes head to head with the Back To The Future boxset for your geek dollars.

Comments

[Welshfilmbuff]

So basically, it's the same as that DVD box set, but with the stuff they said would NEVER see the light of day?

I've bought the Alien films three times over the years (if you include VHS)

Bastards!