Is the Alien Anthology still the best Blu-Ray Release of the movies?

[Inverse Effect]

I have Blu-ray Import Version (Going to assume UK) Since it has the 18 rating on it. I've had this for least maybe 10 years now? (I live in the US) and spite of having a stand alone versions of Covenant on 4K and Prometheus on Blu ray with it's own Case. Is there a newer Release of these movies with perhaps better quality and all of the movies together? Or is what is included in the anothogly still have the best prints of these films?

Or is the anthology still the go-to set to watch these movies? (The original ones that is)

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Alien-Anthology-Blu-ray/5090/ - this release is the one i own.

[Scott Conover]

yes

[Nightmare Asylum]

The 4K release of Alien is the way to go there.

Aliens/Alien 3/Alien: Resurrection don't get any better than the Anthology at the moment though.

[Inverse Effect]

The 4K release of Alien is the way to go there.

Aliens/Alien 3/Alien: Resurrection don't get any better than the Anthology at the moment though.

How does the 4k version of Alien watch like? Is the Blu-ray that comes with it from the same print as the 4K ver? or is the blu ray included that of the Anthology version?

[BlueMarsalis79]

It's the Anthology version.

[The_Nostromo_Files]

I enjoy my Anthology collection for the films and the extras, but I also find I enjoy the other releases I've bought over the decades ina "meta" way since they're a "snapshot" of the movie's marketing at the time. Sounds like you've bought enough to have some good options yourself. Enjoy!

[Nightmare Asylum]

The 4K release of Alien is the way to go there.

Aliens/Alien 3/Alien: Resurrection don't get any better than the Anthology at the moment though.

How does the 4k version of Alien watch like? Is the Blu-ray that comes with it from the same print as the 4K ver? or is the blu ray included that of the Anthology version?

Like TQ said, the Blu-ray disc included with the 4K is just the Anthology disc in a new box. But the remaster on the 4K disc is brand new and looks gorgeous. The color especially is quite different from the Anthology release, and skews away from the alterations made to the Anthology release.

[BlueMarsalis79]

It's much more natural.

[Xeno Killer 2179]

Honestly at this point they need to just sell the master file to us, and we can just download fan made gradings at our whim.

[BlueMarsalis79]

Uh... no.

[SiL]

There's enough colour information in the 4k to do that without a master file.

[Xeno Killer 2179]

The best experience is not possible without the master file. This perpetual upgrade crap of diminishing returns is called greed. While we're at it, allow people to make physical copies while completely stopping pressed copies to be made and sold at all.

[SiL]

The "master file" is 42 year old film stock.

[Xeno Killer 2179]

The "master file" is 42 year old film stock.

"Master file" is the term for the raw digital file created by digitally scanning the original film, or the existing print with the highest quality/least level of degradation. It then gets "mastered" as a lossy (read compressed) file that gets pressed on a disc, or is digitally distributed, where it can be kept at the same level of compression or much further reduced.

There will be multiple existing scans, and every year the film gets a little worse, but there is no reason to think further advances in scanner technology can extract anything more that is appreciable out of the film than can existing scanners. Maybe software processing/AI tricks will improve and do something people like to the movie, without needing a new scan.

A movie this worshipped deserves to have a product end of life, not kept on some money cow life support like some comatose vegetable. People will then do with it what they will.

Spoiler

Mass effect 3 star child: "It is the ideal solution"

[close]

[Crazy Rich]

I enjoy my Anthology enough, even donated my "Quadrilogy" (DVD) a week ago actually for space reasons.