Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 12, 2024

Aliens is the outlier of the three James Cameron films Disney / Buena Vista is offering in new if evidently to some fans unimproved 4K UHD versions, since, unlike The Abyss 4K and/or True Lies 4K, this film has had a prior release on (1080) Blu-ray, and in fact more than once. This release offers both the Theatrical and Special Edition versions (kind of like The Abyss) in either 1080 or 2160, with two 1080 discs in this package also sporting supplementary material.

My Aliens Blu-ray review of the so-called 30th Anniversary Edition from several years ago provides a bit of information, and links to my colleague Casey Broadwater's Alien Anthology Blu-ray review, which can serve as a further reference for plot information.

Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Aliens is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Disney / Buena Vista with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Those who have already perused my True Lies 4K Blu-ray review and The Abyss 4K Blu-ray review will not be surprised to hear I'm once again going to sidestep any controversies surrounding the technologies utilized to create this new master, and instead concentrate on how it looks. This is another presentation where anyone wanting a recreation of a traditional 35mm viewing experience is probably going to be disappointed, but as with both of the other Cameron films receiving 4K UHD releases, there are sometimes astounding improvements in fine detail levels when compared to the old 1080 release, and even when compared to the 1080 disc in this release. The absence of grain is going to be the biggest stumbling block for many viewers, though I have to say for me personally it was actually mostly a shock when seeing the opening 20th Century Fox masthead, which is clear and clean and distinctly not reminiscent of a 35mm element. Things improve during the actual film, but grain is still "minimized", and I'd say darn near obliterated some of the time, leaving this with a much more contemporary digital capture appearance. That aspect definitely gives a glossy, sleek sheen to things, with typically admirable detail levels, even in some less than fulsome lighting conditions. As with the two other Cameron offerings on 4K disc, and unlike most other Disney / Buena Vista 4K outings, Aliens does offer Dolby Vision, and HDR definitely adds some rather lustrous new highlights across a span of hues, notably a lot of the blues, greens and teals that predominate some of the darker material. As I mentioned in my review of True Lies, this may be another case where some fans actually prefer the 1080 presentation to the 2160 presentation, since the processed appearance of this transfer is arguably a bit less dramatic looking in the relatively lower resolution.

Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K UHD disc in this set offers another really nicely nuanced Dolby Atmos track, while the 1080 disc features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The Atmos track takes full advantage of both overhead and just general vertical effects in any number of establishing scenes offering spacecraft, but there's even clear engagement of the Atmos speakers in some of the scary interior scenes where the pitter patter of little (?) feet and/or other menacing sounds can create an enveloping sense of dread. Sudden bursts of LFE offer quasi-startle effects that do shake things up, and there is a regular background clamor of spaceship "high tech" sounds that frequently underlies the action. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One (4K UHD)

• Theatrical Version (2:17:15) and Special Edition Version (2:34:28) are accessible under the Play Menu. The Special Edition begins with a 00:34 introduction by James Cameron. Toggling between the versions is accessible under the Setup Menu.

Disc Two (1080)

• Theatrical Version (2:17:15) and Special Edition (2:34:28) are accessible under the Play Menu. The Special Edition begins with a 00:34 introduction by James Cameron. Toggling between the versions is accessible under the Setup Menu.


• Direct Access to New / Additional Scenes from Special Edition (HD; 20:03)


• 2003 Audio Commentary by James Cameron and the Cast and Crew


• Final Theatrical Isolated Score is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is available on the Theatrical Version only.


• Composer's Original Isolated Score is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is available on the Theatrical Version only.

Disc Three (1080)

• The Inspiration and Design of Aliens (HD; 30:54) is a fun look at things like Cameron's original concept art.


• Superior Firepower: Making Aliens (SD; 3:04:59) is an involving archival multi-part documentary that covers a glut of informaation from pre-production through to the shoot and release.


• Superior Firepower: Making Aliens Enhancement Pods (SD; 58:31) is another archival multi-part piece focusing on more production design aspects.


• Pre-Production offers various galleries, some with video components:

  Development Original Treatment by James Cameron

  
  

  Footage

  Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics offer optional commentary by Pat McClung:

  Angle 1: Videomatic (SD; 3:13)

  
  

  Angle 2: Videomatic/Final Shot Comparison (SD; 3:14)

  Pre-Visualization Storyboard Archive

  
  

  Conceptual Art

  
  

  Casting

• Production

  Photography Production Image Galleries

  
  

  Footage

  Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras (SD; 5:08)

  
  

  Video Graphics Gallery (SD; 4:07)

  
  

  Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers (SD; 3:37)

• Post-Production and Aftermath

  Footage

  Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned (SD; 1:31)

  
  

  Deleted Scene Montage (SD; 4:08)

  Photography

  
  

  Image Galleries

  
  

  Miscellaneous

  Laserdisc Archives

  Chapter 1: Introduction

  
  

  Chapter 2: Table of Contents

  
  

  Chapter 3: Writer/Director James Cameron

  
  

  Chapter 4: The Screenplay

  
  

  Chapter 5: The Aliens Crew

  
  

  Chapter 6: Casting

  
  

  Chapter 7: Introduction

  
  

  Chapter 8: The Narcissus

  
  

  Chapter 9: Gateway Station

  
  

  Chapter 10: Alien Landscape

  
  

  Chapter 11: The Jorden Tractor

  
  

  Chapter 12: The Sulaco

  
  

  Chapter 13: The Drop-Ship

  
  

  Chapter 14: The Colonial Marines

  
  

  Chapter 15: Marine Weaponry

  
  

  Chapter 16: The Armored Personnel Carrier

  
  

  Chapter 17: The Colony

  
  

  Chapter 18: Facehuggers

  
  

  Chapter 19: The Alien Nest

  
  

  Chapter 20: The Chestburster

  
  

  Chapter 21: The Aliens

  
  

  Chapter 22: The Queen

  
  

  Chapter 23: The Power-Loader

  
  

  Chapter 24: Replicas of Bishop and Newt

  
  

  Chapter 25: The Power-Loader vs. Queen Battle

  
  

  Chapter 26: Editing and Music

  
  

  Chapter 27: Theatrical Release

  
  

  Chapter 28: Promotion

  
  

  Chapter 29: The Restoration

  
  

  Chapter 30: Closing Commentary

  
  

  Chapter 31: Bibliography and LaserDisc Production Credits

• Main Title Exploration (SD; 3:01)


• Theatrical Trailers

  Teaser Trailer (SD; 1:51)

  
  

  Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1:56)

  
  

  Domestic Trailer (SD; 00:35)

  
  

  International Trailer (SD; 00:32)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Aliens 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's already been a lot of bandwidth expended (expanded?) with discussions about the appearance of the three 4K UHD releases of Cameron films. Are they true to the original looks of the movies? No, but as I mentioned in our True Lies 4K Blu-ray review, Cameron paid for these upgrades and evidently loves the way they look, so while that may not please each and every fan, until those fans have their own vaults of moolah to hand over to fund a transfer they would like, the controversies seem kind of moot. I'd personally rate the three in terms of video quality as The Abyss, Aliens and True Lies, in that order, in terms of preserving at least some semblance of an organic 35mm appearance, but as with the other two offerings from 20th Century Studios and Disney / Buena Vista, the absence of grain may be at least partially counterbalanced by some at times rather gobsmacking upticks in fine detail. Dolby Vision / HDR also offers some really nice, lustrous new highlights to Aliens in particular. Video revisionism aside, technical merits are solid, and the supplements exhaustive and very interesting. With caveats for some videophiles in mind, Recommended.