EXCLUSIVE: Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are being remastered in 4K for 4K Blu-ray and Disney+ release (https://www.thedigitalfix.com/film/home-releases-news/aliens-exclusive/)
QuoteNow that Disney+ has launched 'Star' - their adult section on the streaming network, a few films are conspicuous in their absence. Three of them, we have been exclusively told, are currently undergoing a 4K remaster ahead of their debut on the service alongside a 4K Blu-ray release of each of the films.
Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are the only films in the Alien series not to have 4K editions available but this is set to change with the plan being to release them on Disney+/Star initially with a subsequent 4K Alien Collection heading to 4K Blu-ray some time in 2022.
We are trying to clarify what we can expect in terms of the versions of the films included in the set - both Aliens and Alien 3 have highly regarded director's cuts on other formats, so we hope they'll make it to 4K in some way too. We also expect the 4K Blu-ray releases to include new features and footage that has previously not been made available. We're trying to confirm more on this right now.
I'm not familiar with the outlet so I don't know how reliable this is.
Would be so awesome if true... but just trying to wrap my head around why they would pull back from streaming it in the UK but not in other countries. 🤔
Also, would this would mean JC finally approved the Aliens 4K master?
And finally, I assume the DC stuff will just be upscaled again, if included.
We'll see...!
Crossing my fingers intensely for Alien³ finally getting the treatment (I believe) it deserves, oh and of course seeing Aliens, and Alien Resurrection in 4K HDR will also be a immense treat.
Gimmie that 4K Khondji
All the films are available in Australia airway, but wouldn't say no to getting the 4k for all of them. Alien looks great streaming.
PLEASE
I'd actually kill though
Wouldn't be too surprised if this was true... but I'll be very surprised if they give the 4K effort to the assembly cut.
Best of both worlds please and thank you.
If I am recollecting correctly, they only upscaled the Alien 1979 DC content to 4K, and then used seemless branching to insert where necessary within the new 4k transfer theatrical cut. So I don't see why they wouldn't do the same with the AC for Alien3.
Hope so.
It gets complicated when you have alternate versions of scenes. Even the Alien 4K HDR "DC" accidentally omitted the starfields from the actual DC on the 2010 Blu-ray for instance. I just honestly don't know if that will work for the Aliens and Alien³ Special Editions.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Feb 24, 2021, 04:55:40 AM
It gets complicated when you have alternate versions of scenes. Even the Alien 4K HDR "DC" accidentally omitted the starfields from the actual DC on the 2010 Blu-ray for instance. I just honestly don't know if that will work for the Aliens and Alien³ Special Editions.
Ah, true, all good points.
Quote from: Trash Queen on Feb 24, 2021, 04:55:40 AM
It gets complicated when you have alternate versions of scenes. Even the Alien 4K HDR "DC" accidentally omitted the starfields from the actual DC on the 2010 Blu-ray for instance. I just honestly don't know if that will work for the Aliens and Alien³ Special Editions.
The original Quadrilogy release of the A3 SE was done with branching in some regions, and the only problem it caused was Murphy saying "Spike?" before the acid spit.
Considering branching is intended to save space and memory, it makes sense they'd just use the TE star field shots of the Nostromo flybys rather than branch an otherwise identical shot. It's no big loss.
https://twitter.com/vashikoo/status/1363807202843107331
So this guy is apparently where the website got their exclusive? Not sure if its official work or not?
It'll be interesting to see if he was working on it, or if he just did some 4K upscales for personal experimentation and the announcement coincided. The comments on his "This was quick!" Tweet seem to imply he wasn't working on it officially.
But let's see!
This is great news. Here are my hopes:
1) they take this opportunity to fix the compositing issues in Alien 3.
2) as much as I dislike AVP the proper extended cut needs a better release. A lot of fans don't even realize it exists, only the extended opening version. And if they release the extended cut, I hope they redo the cgi blood they had added. It's dated and cheap looking.
Considering a lot of the compositing can be "patched up" by simply getting rid of the green tint, I hope that's the bare minimum we get, anything more extensive gets more expensive- much as the Alien itself ought to be excised from most of the first act entirely.
The Special Edition's changed with each release I expect it will change again with this one.
Yes! Cant wait!
Quote from: SiL on Feb 24, 2021, 06:01:21 AM
It'll be interesting to see if he was working on it, or if he just did some 4K upscales for personal experimentation and the announcement coincided. The comments on his "This was quick!" Tweet seem to imply he wasn't working on it officially.
But let's see!
If he was working on it in an official capacity for Disney then I don't think he would have been dropping hints of it's existence - NDA and all that.
Interesting though to see that CdL follows him...
This is cool, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to 4K and didn't really pay attention to the alien release until I found out that it had the short films with it. I DJ metal and punk rock records while playing sci-fi and horror movies on a projector, I try to stick to blu-rays, I'm curious if 4K is really going to be twice as good as Blu-ray. I tend to stick to the first two alien and predator movies, sometimes I'll throw on predators or covenant, but in this case I might actually decide to play alien three and resurrection haha
Yeah baby yeah!
Ok but seriously, Aliens is soooo grainy. What are they going to do to correct that?
I don't think they should. Film grain in 4K looks nice.
Yes and the Blu-ray already got a tasteful DNR application.
There is no such thing.
Quote from: Perfect-Organism on Feb 25, 2021, 02:29:55 AM
Yeah baby yeah!
Ok but seriously, Aliens is soooo grainy. What are they going to do to correct that?
Its already been done.
Quote from: SiL on Feb 25, 2021, 03:10:32 AM
There is no such thing.
I agree in all but this one case.
Quote from: Huggs on Mar 17, 2018, 08:07:27 PM
Quote from: HuDaFuK on Mar 17, 2018, 09:40:26 AM
Quote from: Huggs on Mar 16, 2018, 11:17:06 PMThe only reason I'm hanging on to my Alien quadrilogy and original predator dvd's is due to the grain removal the blu-rays of Predator and Aliens went through.
I don't think Aliens had any serious grain-removal for the Blu-ray. At least, not so far as I remember reading in reviews.
Also the first Predator Blu had plenty of grain, but on the flipside, no special features. The later one that had the big DNR controversy had a bunch of bonus stuff.
Didn't Cameron say they went through and really cleared up the picture in aliens for the Blu-ray? I seem to remember him making a big deal about it. I know it wasn't bad originally, but I think he was really proud of what they did for the Blu-ray. It does looks rather good.
EDIT
Yep, he did. Just skimmed through an article over at bluray.com.
Quote: "It's spectacular. We went in and completely de-noised it, de-grained it, up-rezzed, color-corrected every frame, and it looks amazing. It looks better that it looked in the theaters originally. Because it was shot on a high-speed negative that was a new negative that didn't pan out too well and got replaced the following year. So it's pretty grainy. We got rid of all the grain. It's sharper and clearer and more beautiful than it's ever looked. And we did that to the long version, to the 'director's cut' or the extended play."
I'd always wished the Alien Trilogy (don't count the 4th as canon - sorry!) would get The Star Wars - Special Edition or Blade Runner Final Cut treatment with cleaned up or added special effects.
The issue with 4K remasters is the picture is "too clear" in revealing out-dated effects, unconvincing scaled models that are Thunderbirds are go! tier, weird green screen outlines, stuntmen extra bloopers.
Aliens and Alien 3 would really benefit from this. Some want lists
Aliens
- Fix the dropship sequence slightly or CGI the ship itself in some shots. The unwinged combat mode with headlights and APC dust-off landing was fine though.
- Add (practical) alien death effects to the sentry gun sequence rather than stock footage of prior scenes
- The alien queen minatures with the exception of her getting blown out the airlock
Alien 3
- While the suitmation stuff is fine sort out that damn rod puppet and overlays. Especially in the "flare throwing" tunnel running scene. Otherwise the work Charles de Lauzirika did on the Assembly Cut was amazing.
Quote from: SiL on Feb 23, 2021, 10:30:11 PMAll the films are available in Australia airway, but wouldn't say no to getting the 4k for all of them. Alien looks great streaming.
Aliens, Alien 3, Resurrection not yet available on 4k Downunder, though there was mention somewhere (forgot where) that they were coming in 2022 ... we be running out of days there.
Strangely all the Predator movies are available on 4K
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1692180392114282503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1692180392114282503%7Ctwgr%5Ec4ba148a2e649849a129c580905cd996ebda444c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avpgalaxy.net%2Fforum%2Findex.php%3Ftopic%3D65801.120
He's the founder of Digital Bits.
God, I hope this pans out as intended. Also, crossing all of my fingers and hoping that the color isn't botched (I'm looking at you, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 4K).
And for those still wondering about Titanic/The Abyss/True Lies:
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1692176380749099233
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1692227167512580306
The abyss was supposed to be out in march. Here's hoping.
Aliens' DNR was selectively applied on the Blu-ray, if it is that exact transfer again but in 4K I will be happy, or the original film print- I just would not trust James Cameron with a new one as far as I could throw him.
Give us back the original colours you cowards.
Wholeheartedly agree.
But do not entirely trust James Cameron with the project.
No, Cameron has decided he hates purple for some reason and dedicated himself to erasing it from his films.
Starting to sound more true. But this account isn't always reliable.
https://x.com/thediscfather/status/1694381429906719076?s=46&t=_UkEryu2c2UmLOQcQ5K4SA
Alien³ tho
Quote from: Mike's Monsters on Aug 23, 2023, 06:00:19 PMStarting to sound more true. But this account isn't always reliable.
https://x.com/thediscfather/status/1694381429906719076?s=46&t=_UkEryu2c2UmLOQcQ5K4SA
Quote from: Mike's Monsters on Aug 23, 2023, 06:00:19 PMStarting to sound more true. But this account isn't always reliable.
https://x.com/thediscfather/status/1694381429906719076?s=46&t=_UkEryu2c2UmLOQcQ5K4SA
He was right about Prey.
If it's just Aliens I'm not interested honestly.
For now it'll likely only be Aliens because it's in a batch of a bunch of James Cameron films that have been announced. It's tied to True Lies and The Abyss's 4K restoration project.
I'm sure Romulus is going to push for Fox to drop 4K updates for A3 and A:R. Perfect timing with the buzz.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Aug 24, 2023, 10:40:34 AMQuote from: Mike's Monsters on Aug 23, 2023, 06:00:19 PMStarting to sound more true. But this account isn't always reliable.
https://x.com/thediscfather/status/1694381429906719076?s=46&t=_UkEryu2c2UmLOQcQ5K4SA
Quote from: Mike's Monsters on Aug 23, 2023, 06:00:19 PMStarting to sound more true. But this account isn't always reliable.
https://x.com/thediscfather/status/1694381429906719076?s=46&t=_UkEryu2c2UmLOQcQ5K4SA
He was right about Prey.
Yep! I've seen a lot of film accounts on Twitter call this guy out on false info too, so it's good to be a little skeptical of what he puts out. It's a clout chaser kind of account from what I can tell.
To be fair...from what I saw of his behaviour on Twitter when Prey was being rumoured he seems like an unpleasant person.
He said something early this month about Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio getting a Criterion release, but that wasn't part of this month's wave of Criterion announcements. Hoping that does happen soon though, and that it wasn't just him pulling something out of his ass.
Adjacently relevant:
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1707112026940801339
A.) I'm super excited for Titanic because, Titanic, and B.) This might mean that Aliens (and the rest of Cameron's body of work) isn't super far off, either. 8)
EDIT:
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1707144605739921895
Got me all excited seeing this thread bumped, for nothing homie.
Quote from: [cancerblack] on Sep 28, 2023, 10:01:27 AMGot me all excited seeing this thread bumped, for nothing homie.
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1707314782326657177
Alright that is something to chew on.
Spoiler
I was really hoping for that "3" tho
My hope/guess is that Aliens will likely be coming along with this wave of Cameron films, and then Alien 3/Resurrection will be coming either as standalone releases or as part of a box set down the line (potentially tying in with Romulus' release?).
I feel like that's pretty #optimistic tbh. I'd love nothing more but I'm not holding my breath.
Still going to jump on this thread in vain hope at every bump though.
Just imagine a lovely physical 4k set hitting this time next year with all seven films including Romulus...
https://twitter.com/TheDiscFather/status/1709609100731159012
https://twitter.com/TheDiscFather/status/1709610769904718087
f**king Aliens.
Would certainly love for the whole series to get the love, but happy to see another film get the 4k release!
I literally will not be buying it until Alien³ comes actually out. I do not care. This is non news to me.
Would love to see 4K releases for the whole series, whether separately or in a collection together.
Also lowkey hoping for a 4K of AVP next year for it's 20th.
I'd be curious to see 4k releases of the whole series... but I'm a colour grading freak, and I can guarantee they won't look right, no matter how nice the picture quality (and I remain skeptical at the report above, I've heard these claims so many times about so many movies.. I hope it is true though!)...I mean I have the blu-rays and still prefer to watch the 35mm or laserdiscs... Aliens is always a blue/teal mess on the new releases... the fact Cameron had it regraded just prior to the blu-ray releases for its new master, means even if they don't apply the awful teal, it's still not going to be right...just blue. It's lost all its purples, its natural grain..no thank you. A movie released in 1986 shouldn't look like a standard 2023 direct-to-prime video release. 😅
https://twitter.com/TheDiscFather/status/1711409258502443376
IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!
While I love that it's getting released as a standalone and not grouped with 3 and resurrection, it worries me the others may never get remastered
Please let it be true! I need mondters!! Real ones!!! And gimme Abyss while your at it...I bought Avatar 2 on 3D AND in 4k Dusc. And even all the pequel comics. That has to account for account for something Mr. Cameron...
What is the weird tint that he mentions?
Quote from: shadowedge on Oct 11, 2023, 01:58:52 PMWhat is the weird tint that he mentions?
The blu-ray sadly has an awful teal/turquoise filter applied - it looks nothing remotely like the 35mm/VHS/Laserdiscs/TV broadcasts we grew up with. Natural grain is scrubbed with DNR and artificial edge enhancement, giving a waxy look in some scenes, and they tried to hide it by applying a fake fine grain layer..picture wouldn't be the worst if they'd left the colour alone (though thankfully it's not washed out like the dvd releases). IMO they robbed the movie if it's personality - I loved the deep dark blues/purples/reds we had throughout the 80s and 90s that many Aliens comic book covers/art took their inspiration from 😅
Quote from: PrincessFiona161 on Oct 11, 2023, 07:09:21 AMWhile I love that it's getting released as a standalone and not grouped with 3 and resurrection, it worries me the others may never get remastered
I have a feeling that they will be saving those for the inevitable Alien/Aliens/Alien3/Alien Resurrection/Prometheus/Alien Covenant 4kUHD set they'll put out just before Alien Romulus so they can sell us another boxset containing Romulus afterwards 😂
https://twitter.com/TheDiscFather/status/1712542815820075145
Very very excited to get Titanic later this year, and this means that Aliens' release draws ever closer!
As long as we don't get the Terminator 2 debacle with the lack of Special Edition scenes restoration, I'm keen as hell
That's awesome been long awaiting for this.
I loved the color Tint on the Aliens Blu-Ray. It's nice to know that for those who didn't like it though that this will look closer to the original look of the film. I never noticed the waxy look, maybe because Predator looked so terrible on Blu-Ray. The Alien Anthology is probably my most treasured blu-ray set to this day. Hope the 4K release isn't too grainy.
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1713931264158511187
Just put my pre-order in on Amazon. 8)
And this means that Aliens is now but a stone's throw away. ;D
Quote from: shadowedge on Oct 11, 2023, 01:58:52 PMWhat is the weird tint that he mentions?
Quote from: shadowedge on Oct 11, 2023, 01:58:52 PMWhat is the weird tint that he mentions?
James Cameron's obsession with the Blue-py filter in all his films that got "fixed" or "f*cked" as per his TERMINATOR 2 HD-4K redux.
Here is a fan edit to fix those issues.
Merry Bloopy in advance.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eu8il9oUcAAN5Wc?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/026/005/crying.jpg)
FINALLY!
now... can i get some Alien3 and Res please?
Forgot my login details. Commented below as 'Nathan'. Just found out Disney won't release physical media anymore in Australia. Aliens has to be my most favourite movie, so I'm seriously pissed off about this. Hope I can somehow order this when it's released.
The irony of an evil corporation owning movies about an evil corporation. Hope Disney eventually sells the movies to another studio. I refuse to waste my money on digital or streaming. I'd rather burn my money. I hope someday soon people see through digital. 😡
Quote from: battyfan on Oct 28, 2023, 01:53:33 PMForgot my login details. Commented below as 'Nathan'. Just found out Disney won't release physical media anymore in Australia. Aliens has to be my most favourite movie, so I'm seriously pissed off about this. Hope I can somehow order this when it's released.
The irony of an evil corporation owning movies about an evil corporation. Hope Disney eventually sells the movies to another studio. I refuse to waste my money on digital or streaming. I'd rather burn my money. I hope someday soon people see through digital. 😡
It's happening already. They might have to reverse their decision about physical media here because streaming isn't cutting it.
Aliens 4K officially announced.
https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/111523-0659
Excellent! Instant, day one purchase. Will be pre-ordering as soon as the link is live. This is coming right alongside Titanic, The Abyss, True Lies (which I actually haven't seen), and new releases of the Avatar movies as well.
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1724809915410321614
QuoteDeleted Scene Montage – This collection of scene extensions and omitted moments represents the remainder of deleted scenes not appearing in either the Theatrical Version or the Special Edition.
Is this new? I can't remember if this was on any of the other releases?
Must be old. The article states Aliens is the only release with nothing new.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 15, 2023, 03:44:14 PMQuoteDeleted Scene Montage – This collection of scene extensions and omitted moments represents the remainder of deleted scenes not appearing in either the Theatrical Version or the Special Edition.
Is this new? I can't remember if this was on any of the other releases?
Must be old. The article states Aliens is the only release with nothing new.
I'd imagine that's the feature from the Anthology release that included the cocooned Burke scene, right?
Is it just me, or is that terrible cover art for Aliens?
It is f**king woeful and further fuels my salt.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 15, 2023, 03:44:14 PMQuoteDeleted Scene Montage – This collection of scene extensions and omitted moments represents the remainder of deleted scenes not appearing in either the Theatrical Version or the Special Edition.
Is this new? I can't remember if this was on any of the other releases?
Must be old. The article states Aliens is the only release with nothing new.
It has stuff like Drake saying 'Who cares? Let her go' while Hicks and Ripley are trying to reach Newt when they first encounter her.
Quote from: Stitch on Nov 15, 2023, 09:17:35 PMIs it just me, or is that terrible cover art for Aliens?
The only thing that makes it not seem like the worst thing in the world is that the somehow even worse
The Abyss art is next to it.
Why did they make Aliens look like a Michael Bay movie.
Why is The Abyss a Marvel Movie.
Who is deciding these things.
I thought the Aliens one was fan made, but I don't mind it or The Abyss one to be honest.
Dare we hope that the 4k of Aliens will drive out any remaining vestiges of the color red and use copious amounts of DNR? 🤞
Physical release on my birthday! LET'S ROCK!
Quote from: Local Trouble on Nov 16, 2023, 02:52:58 AMDare we hope that the 4k of Aliens will drive out any remaining vestiges of the color red and use copious amounts of DNR? 🤞
Friendship with red and magenta ended, new friendship with teal and orange started.
Can't wait!! I hope James Cameron is gonna work on terminator 1 and 2 as well with a new 7.1 Dolby atmosphere mix and Dolby hdr it will be the 40th anniversary next year
YES Let's go!!!!
I can easily see modern Jimmy making Aliens an actively worse transfer than the 2010 Blu-ray.
Wow this is terrific news 😃
Dear Grud, I hope there's a retailer exclusive option without that shockingly bad cover. 😭 it's nearly as bad as the silver egg / xeno art for Alien 4k. I think it's time for me to finally make custom cases from scans of the VHS covers.
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Nov 16, 2023, 10:53:15 AMDear Grud, I hope there's a retailer exclusive option without that shockingly bad cover. 😭 it's nearly as bad as the silver egg / xeno art for Alien 4k. I think it's time for me to finally make custom cases from scans of the VHS covers.
Already on that myself.
I only hope that all the extras (documentary, galleries, etc...) are upscaled. But i think that it will be an exact transfer from the previous bluray, dvd, laserdisc.
Quote from: Local Trouble on Nov 16, 2023, 02:52:58 AMDare we hope that the 4k of Aliens will drive out any remaining vestiges of the color red and use copious amounts of DNR? 🤞
We can only hope. I'm not sure the cover has given everyone enough to complain about. :P
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Nov 16, 2023, 08:16:50 AMI can easily see modern Jimmy making Aliens an actively worse transfer than the 2010 Blu-ray.
Yeaahhhhhh :-\
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Nov 16, 2023, 08:16:50 AMI can easily see modern Jimmy making Aliens an actively worse transfer than the 2010 Blu-ray.
100% - I absolutely refuse to buy Terminator 2 4k for this very reason. Increased resolution and HDR couldn't save that mess. It was like using every available Snapchat filter on the Mona Lisa just because it was there to click and claiming it's "better quality". Let's hope we're wrong and Aliens has been handled tastefully. 😅 #lowexpectations
Wow, the cover art is so horrid nothing is going to convince me to buy it, even if I'd very much love to have Aliens 4K in my collection. Looks like a post millennium straight to dvd sci-fi garbage, how could this happen.
I refuse to without Alien³ LOL
I have no interest, especially because restoring my 4K setup has not been a priority since the house burnt down, Alien³ might get me to hopefully come April fingers crossed, but nothing else will.
Quote from: SM on Nov 15, 2023, 10:59:06 PMQuote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 15, 2023, 03:44:14 PMQuoteDeleted Scene Montage – This collection of scene extensions and omitted moments represents the remainder of deleted scenes not appearing in either the Theatrical Version or the Special Edition.
Is this new? I can't remember if this was on any of the other releases?
Must be old. The article states Aliens is the only release with nothing new.
It has stuff like Drake saying 'Who cares? Let her go' while Hicks and Ripley are trying to reach Newt when they first encounter her.
Is it in the BR anthology? I can't remember that dialogue or even deleted scene.
Disk 6. Aliens - Post-Production and Aftermath.
Just informed my kids I will be selling one of them to afford the shipping rates to Australia. They took it surprisingly well.
Screw you Disney.
Wtf is that cover? xD
Utterly puke-a-tronic cover art. The 1999 DVD cover looked better.
I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum with say the T2 4k release and also This Aliens cover I like the new look, on one side most wanted T2 to stay faithful to it's original presentation, colors, film grain even perhaps the small CGI fixes weren't welcome.
For me the idea we can take a old film and make it look like it was filmed yesterday and released today, I think that's extraordinary. I happen to really like how T2 4k looks, even the Aliens release on Blu-ray in 2010 I think the film's presentation looks so new and updated.
Now I realize they probably applied fake grain to the 2010 release of Aliens , but I'm on the other side in the minority I prefer the newer modernized look to the films.
Just figured I'll voice my opinion , because I know original fans mostly prefer original even including the Aliens cover.
But for me it's refreshing.
Quote from: Slutty Badger on Nov 17, 2023, 01:25:51 PMUtterly puke-a-tronic cover art. The 1999 DVD cover looked better.
(https://cdn.hmv.com/r/w-640/hmv/files/85/85c7d14d-1297-4d10-8602-0fc22493c587.jpg)
Legit they only got worse after this one, Aliens really has no good posters with imagery on them, all either give away too much or are over or under designed.
can someone explain to me what that thing other than the aliens head on the 1999 cover is supposed to be? i legit been wondering this for 20 years now :D
I think we decided it was a hand? The original picture is floating around. I can't remember if I have it saved, I'll have a look.
It's the hand.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41YM7PSPF4L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
This in higher quality would be even better.
I didn't mind this one especially on the steel book.
[img width=50% height=50%]https://www.jbhifi.com.au/cdn/shop/products/223453-Product-0-I.jpg?v=1572273021[/img]
It shows too much though imo
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Nov 21, 2023, 10:42:44 PMIt shows too much though imo
Yer I get that perspective. And whilst I love the iconic image of Ripley holding Newt it also does reveal too much.
Quote from: Prez on Nov 21, 2023, 10:44:08 PMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Nov 21, 2023, 10:42:44 PMIt shows too much though imo
Yer I get that perspective. And whilst I love the iconic image of Ripley holding Newt it also does reveal too much.
Perhaps do a new version of the iconic Alien `green hatched egg' but with multiple eggs and more blue hue and the iconic A L () E N S logo. Hahaha.
Quote from: Prez on Nov 21, 2023, 10:44:08 PMPerhaps do a new version of the iconic Alien `green hatched egg' but with multiple eggs and more blue hue and the iconic A L () E N S logo. Hahaha.
And then for
Alien 3, do an egg wedged upside down in the top corner of the box, sit back, and watch a 72 page thread spawn overnight debating how it got there.
Making fun of the most important thread on the internet now?
You better stick to your animated gifs
Quote from: kwisatz on Nov 22, 2023, 03:38:06 AMMaking fun of the most important thread on the internet now?
You better stick to your animated gifs
Don't make me post a gif that spoils
Dune: Part Two.
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Nov 22, 2023, 03:31:38 AMQuote from: Prez on Nov 21, 2023, 10:44:08 PMPerhaps do a new version of the iconic Alien `green hatched egg' but with multiple eggs and more blue hue and the iconic A L () E N S logo. Hahaha.
And then for Alien 3, do an egg wedged upside down in the top corner of the box, sit back, and watch a 72 page thread spawn overnight debating how it got there.
You're dreaming too small. It needs a composite of Ripley from the finale up front, Clemens, Dillon and Andrews chevroned up one side, laughing Golic, Rape Junior and f**ked up Bishop up the other side, in glorious teal and orange, with no less than
three eggs hanging down above them.
I think CB ist still a bit banged up by his interaction with zak089
Quote from: kwisatz on Nov 22, 2023, 12:20:44 PMI think CB ist still a bit banged up by his interaction with zak089
I have been drinking more heavily than usual since then but it's to deal with unrelated depression and street violence.
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Nov 22, 2023, 03:31:38 AMQuote from: Prez on Nov 21, 2023, 10:44:08 PMPerhaps do a new version of the iconic Alien `green hatched egg' but with multiple eggs and more blue hue and the iconic A L () E N S logo. Hahaha.
And then for Alien 3, do an egg wedged upside down in the top corner of the box, sit back, and watch a 72 page thread spawn overnight debating how it got there.
;D
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Nov 22, 2023, 03:31:38 AMQuote from: Prez on Nov 21, 2023, 10:44:08 PMPerhaps do a new version of the iconic Alien `green hatched egg' but with multiple eggs and more blue hue and the iconic A L () E N S logo. Hahaha.
And then for Alien 3, do an egg wedged upside down in the top corner of the box, sit back, and watch a 72 page thread spawn overnight debating how it got there.
I know this was said in total jest... but now I'm picturing an all black cover similar to Aliens Special Edition VHS, but with just an egg in top left corner - I actually think it'd be magnificent! 😃
Just looked on JB Hi Fi's site and Ezy DVD for Avatar The Way of Water. JB had nothing but Ezy DVD had Avatar 2 to buy? Is it possible for Australian fans to buy Aliens on 4K through Ezy DVD possibly?
EzyDVD still exists?
Quote from: battyfan on Nov 30, 2023, 09:07:23 AMJust looked on JB Hi Fi's site and Ezy DVD for Avatar The Way of Water. JB had nothing but Ezy DVD had Avatar 2 to buy? Is it possible for Australian fans to buy Aliens on 4K through Ezy DVD possibly?
Hmmm. It would be an import so you'll pay premium price but perhaps avoid the astronomical shipping rates.
Quote from: SiL on Nov 30, 2023, 12:16:55 PMEzyDVD still exists?
Yeah they do. I check those sites for new and upcoming releases from time to time.
Emailed EzyDVD. They don't import from overseas and said they unfortunately have no access to any Disney released media. Asking them how they are able to sell Avatar WOTW.
Update: From EzyDVD when asked about why they stocked Avatar WOTW.
Avatar Way of the Water was produced before Disney pulled out of the market so it was existing stock. Their last Australian release was Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3
Anyone any early impressions of this? It's all suspiciously quiet at the mo.
Early copies only just started going out in the last 24 or so hours.
https://twitter.com/hdreport/status/1734471256135856342?s=20
I think it's out digitally (but only the theatrical cut) in 4K today, right? Disc isn't til March (same day as True Lies and The Abyss).
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Dec 12, 2023, 08:21:42 PMI think it's out digitally (but only the theatrical cut) in 4K today, right? Disc isn't til March (same day as True Lies and The Abyss).
Digital today, but I'm not sure which version. And disc in March. Yes.
Quote from: Mike's Monsters on Dec 12, 2023, 06:45:30 PMEarly copies only just started going out in the last 24 or so hours.
https://twitter.com/hdreport/status/1734471256135856342?s=20
Adding to this. The user seems to be taking photos of the TV or screen he's watching this one with his phone, hence the pixelization or oversharpening. I wouldn't use this guy's posts as a good example of what it looks like. Really poor and misleading on his part. I'd wait to see actual screen caps.
The Abyss has been released digitally in both theatrical and special editions, so I can't see why Aliens wouldn't be the same. True Lies only has the theatrical cut.
Waiting for it to drop when it's Wednesday the 13th here already is brutal.
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1734788436878610583
I'm seeing annoyingly mixed reports about the new transfer.
This from Bill at The Digital Bits on the video quality.
"The result is remarkable clarity and detail, but it is a bit jarring. Applied to Titanic (reviewed here), this unique remastering process feels completely appropriate. Applied to Aliens, which has always been a film with a grittier look, it takes more getting used to. The film looks almost modern now as opposed to vintage late 80s, which appears to be Cameron's intent. On the other hand, I've just spent the entire morning going back and forth between the Alien Anthology Blu-ray and the new 4K Digital presentation on Vudu, Apple TV, and Movies Anywhere, and I definitely prefer the 4K (with a caveat that the forthcoming physical UHD should release improve upon it). There's no doubt that this is James Cameron's Aliens looking better than you've ever seen it before. There's still light photochemical grain visible. There is plenty of fine image detail visible (though it's a little less nuanced looking than the fine detail on Titanic). The color palette is vibrant, with the cool blue-gray tones it's always had, and it's close enough to the Blu-ray palette that you wouldn't notice a difference unless you compared the images side-by-side. Blacks are incredibly deep, highlights are genuinely bold. This 4K image certainly isn't perfect—it often looks a little... processed is the best word I can come up with. But the more I look at it, the more I like it, and I suspect that most fans will feel the same. But I also suspect that some viewers will really dislike it, because it's definitely different, and I certainly appreciate that perspective too."
https://thedigitalbits.com/item/aliens-2023-digital-uhd
Okay whatever it is a slight improvement or the opposite depending upon your point of view, but just slight regardless- Alien³ please?
Quote from: Prez on Dec 13, 2023, 09:13:33 PMThis from Bill at The Digital Bits on the video quality.
"The result is remarkable clarity and detail, but it is a bit jarring. Applied to Titanic (reviewed here), this unique remastering process feels completely appropriate. Applied to Aliens, which has always been a film with a grittier look, it takes more getting used to. The film looks almost modern now as opposed to vintage late 80s, which appears to be Cameron's intent. On the other hand, I've just spent the entire morning going back and forth between the Alien Anthology Blu-ray and the new 4K Digital presentation on Vudu, Apple TV, and Movies Anywhere, and I definitely prefer the 4K (with a caveat that the forthcoming physical UHD should release improve upon it). There's no doubt that this is James Cameron's Aliens looking better than you've ever seen it before. There's still light photochemical grain visible. There is plenty of fine image detail visible (though it's a little less nuanced looking than the fine detail on Titanic). The color palette is vibrant, with the cool blue-gray tones it's always had, and it's close enough to the Blu-ray palette that you wouldn't notice a difference unless you compared the images side-by-side. Blacks are incredibly deep, highlights are genuinely bold. This 4K image certainly isn't perfect—it often looks a little... processed is the best word I can come up with. But the more I look at it, the more I like it, and I suspect that most fans will feel the same. But I also suspect that some viewers will really dislike it, because it's definitely different, and I certainly appreciate that perspective too."
https://thedigitalbits.com/item/aliens-2023-digital-uhd
So Cameron's campaign against magenta continues.
Into infinity, for infinity. As Riddles would say. Cameron will never let Aliens look as it originally did.
Now can the other two genuinely gorgeous films get some love in 4K please?
(Maybe not with Jeunet but Khondji supervising Resurrection, considering the former's comments about DNR's absence on the prior release.)
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Dec 13, 2023, 12:13:18 PMhttps://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/status/1734788436878610583
Ah that makes sense. I was wondering what was happening since there's delays.
Honestly, I'm fine with Bill's description of the image quality. I know there will be the purists etc., but I watched the theatrical edition of The Abyss in 4K Dolby Vision and it looked gorgeous, so I can't wait to watch Aliens.
Also can't wait to buy the discs in March.
Even after reading what Bill and others have said for me it's this: I'm not an ultra-purist per se but if the image quality is superb then I generally think I'll be happy with it - I loved the Bluray quality on the Anthology release and if it's better than that is fine by me. Now trying to find funds to pay for the ridiculous exchange rate and shipping from the US. Screw you Disney for abandoning us downunder.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Dec 13, 2023, 10:28:40 PMOkay whatever it is a slight improvement or the opposite depending upon your point of view, but just slight regardless- Alien³ please?
Having spent months recently studying Alien 3 shot by shot - seconded. And thirded.
I don't know how others would feel, but I'd love to see them touch-up the compositing on the rod puppet.
It is a necessity.
You don't put it in 4K and leave that as it is, if not then what's the point of upgrading to 4K in the first place?
Not just the rod puppet, the other composited aspects like, the radio telescope on the planet.
That shot's pretty good I reckon, ditto the EEV being craned in and crucifix. Not sure how the digital grain would come up and a higher resolution could really make the puppet compositing a lot worse. That kind of clean up - and it was needed for the blu-ray really - sounds expensive for a film so many people still hate.
I'm still shocked that they reunited the cast to re-record dialogue for the assembly cut, so we can dream.
I'm not shocked, it's more than deserving of the five star treatment. (It is the whole reason CDL wanted to do anything with Alien.)
As for cleaning the compositing up being expensive?
I really doubt it. If one guy on the Internet can do it, so can the bloody studio.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Dec 14, 2023, 04:09:55 AMI'm not shocked, it's more than deserving of the five star treatment. (It is the whole reason CDL wanted to do anything with Alien.)
As for cleaning the compositing up being expensive?
I really doubt it. If one guy on the Internet can do it, so can the bloody studio.
The guy on the internet isn't getting paid. Someone who can do it properly could - should - charge out the backside for it.
Is it worth going back to the original elements - assuming that's still possible- and cleaning them up the matte lines and green spill with current tech?
Or more effective to recreate a CGI creature and sticking it over the puppet shots?
I've heard of 35MM screenings where the compositing didn't look like ass so it could even be as simple as a better transfer of a better print.
You could also clean up the image with a lot of tedious rotoscoping and selective colour grading.
If you had the background plates you could just CG a new runner onto those and save all the hassle -- but then you've got to build, rig, light, animate, and composite a new CG character, and that's not cheap if you want it to not look ass.
I remember it looked very average in theatres in 92, so if there's better prints they didn't make it down here. My first impression was - Return of the Jedi was nearly 10 years ago, and this looks much worse.
A few years later I found Fincher was doing VFX on Jedi. Always wondered if he was disappointed too, though coming from that field I never imagine he would publicly criticise it.
It was a screening a few years ago so maybe they've already been tinkering behind the scenes? But it was an original 35mm print, so Who knows.
It is fixable, if they choose to.
I saw Alien 3 on original release in the cinema but back then I think the only thing that looked wonky was the rod puppet ... that said it still looked great to my eyes given the era.
I'd personally say it's infinitely better to clean up the compositing than replace it entirely for a multitude of reasons.
Meh, from the description and screens floating around of 'Aliens' 4k, I think I'll pass. I don't want something that is essentially the same colour grade as the blu-ray, regardless if there's more detail... I don't want anything remotely like that revisionist crap. I'll stick with the 35mm. It's just sad that we haven't had a decent transfer of the Special Edition since laserdisc.
As for 'Alien 3', the composite shots always looked better in the older transfers - the green screen bleed wasn't nearly as visible in the original UK rental and retail VHS, nor on the earliest Sky TV broadcasts. It wasn't until later broadcasts such as the "brighter/clearer/smoother" ITV broadcasts and later VHS releases onwards that you started getting a noticeable outline (the main shot that comes to mind for comparison would be the runner sitting on the ceiling in the piston tunnels). I have a 35mm transfer of Alien 3 on the way, I'll run some comparison shots to the blu-ray when it arrives.
Someone finally uploaded some screenshots for comparison with the blu-ray. Click the dropdown menu on the top left for more.
https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw (https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw)
Lots of DNR and AI upscaling. The top and bottom have been slightly cropped and the image is vertically stretched a tiny bit. Plenty to complain about, but I think it looks a lot better than the Wax Figure Edition of Predator.
Lmao look at Ripley's and Hicks' face, I will stick to the Blu-ray I think.
Might be worth it in motion with HDR, as part of a collection with 2, 3, and 4, but by itself nah.
From what I've seen, Aliens is better than True Lies, but Abyss is better than both
Jesus Christ look at Frost's face, half of it's gone!
And has changed the expressions of other's faces.
And Gorman's now the slenderman.
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Dec 16, 2023, 01:38:02 PMSomeone finally uploaded some screenshots for comparison with the blu-ray. Click the dropdown menu on the top left for more.
https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw (https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw)
Lots of DNR and AI upscaling. The top and bottom have been slightly cropped and the image is vertically stretched a tiny bit. Plenty to complain about, but I think it looks a lot better than the Wax Figure Edition of Predator.
My god... I can just see the pitch at Disney HQ;
Employee: "Hear me out ok.. what if we take the shittest transfer of Aliens to hand with the most bastardised colour grading signed off by that blue fetishest... and simply apply more edge enhancement and DNR to eliminate that fake layer of grain we applied the last time we scrubbed it?"
Disney: "yeah that all well and all, but we need it to be 'Predator-level' blu-ray so we can get them to double dip when we release a better version and pretend it's because we listened to them"
Employee: "got you covered fam.. allow me to present to you... *pulls away curtain* THE COVER ART!"
Disney: "give this man a raise".
In all seriousness, this pile of shyte won't be going into my collection... just as Terminator 2 4k didn't . Only way this will ever stop is if people talk with their wallets. If you buy it as a placeholder for a future release, you're telling them this is acceptable and they'll just keep doing it.
I'll stick with the 35mm for those deep blues, pinks, purples, vibrant reds and natural grain;
(https://i.imgur.com/mad0odS.jpg)
Gorgeous.
The 35mm print, not the Michael Jackson-starring 4K transfer.
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Dec 17, 2023, 12:57:48 AMI'll stick with the 35mm for those deep blues, pinks, purples, vibrant reds and natural grain;
https://i.imgur.com/mad0odS.jpg
I also have a copy of this 35mm print :) It is "Magnificent" I also have a copy of the D-theatre/D-VHS of the Alien Directors Cut before the re-colour grading for the Blu-Ray release so the D-VHS looks better. I stick with the 35mm print and the Alien legacy/Quadrilogy DVD's when I watch Aliens as I really don't like the new colour grading they did for that release.
Where's the supposedly bad 4K stills? I tried the site Nukiemorph linked, but it just seems to be very slow JPGs that look like they're from the original version.
You should be able to click on each image to make it switch back and forth between the blu-ray and the new 4K.
Ah, I see. Thanks.
EDIT - So I've looked at bunch of these pictures. Which ones to people have an issue with? I don't have a 4K player or telly so won't be buying this and think the grain adds to the character of the film, but most of them don't look bad, just less grainy. I was expecting it to look horrible -what am I missing?
Quote from: SM on Dec 17, 2023, 10:24:18 PMAh, I see. Thanks.
EDIT - So I've looked at bunch of these pictures. Which ones to people have an issue with? I don't have a 4K player or telly so won't be buying this and think the grain adds to the character of the film, but most of them don't look bad, just less grainy. I was expecting it to look horrible -what am I missing?
Just as quick observation, on the first image from Nukiemorph's link, most characters change from slightly grainy, to impressionistic interpretations, though Ripley does seem to have changed into Michael Myers in the journey to 4K.
Burke also turns into Goliath from Gargoyles. But don't tell ralfy
After watching this video, I'll be curious to see if the actual disc is better.
https://x.com/ponysmasher/status/1666857360407805954?s=46&t=9CBH0FCLqVD5zpN4_hSRXQ
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Dec 18, 2023, 11:10:06 PMAfter watching this video, I'll be curious to see if the actual disc is better.
https://x.com/ponysmasher/status/1666857360407805954?s=46&t=9CBH0FCLqVD5zpN4_hSRXQ
Interesting
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Dec 16, 2023, 01:38:02 PMSomeone finally uploaded some screenshots for comparison with the blu-ray. Click the dropdown menu on the top left for more.
https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw (https://slow.pics/c/gUfJLrcw)
Lots of DNR and AI upscaling. The top and bottom have been slightly cropped and the image is vertically stretched a tiny bit. Plenty to complain about, but I think it looks a lot better than the Wax Figure Edition of Predator.
Scanning a grainy film for compression to digital video causes the resultant bitrate to skyrocket because film grain is, in effect, lots of teeny tiny spacial and temporal detail that ends up as increased file data. This is not good for video intended for internet streaming, for which moderate bitrates are desired for reliable playback.
This is why DNR is often applied to the final master before compression; it smooths out the image, removes non-subject detail, and thereby lowers file size and bitrate.
What i don't know is what the industry best-practice is when it comes to manufacturing these video masters. Do they prioritise the internet-streaming version (the one that requires the heavy DNR treatment) and then say 'f**k it, we'll use this master for the blu-ray/UHD physical disc release as well,' or do they go to the trouble and expense of creating a second master which is much lighter in DNR specially for the blu-ray/UHD release?
It will be interesting to see this 4K comparison being made again, but this time using video frames from the actual UHD disc release, and not frames from the streaming version.
Also, what does it mean when people say they have a copy of the 35mm print that they prefer to watch? Surely, this doesn't mean what it sounds like?
TC
Quote from: TC on Dec 21, 2023, 03:05:22 PMAlso, what does it mean when people say they have a copy of the 35mm print that they prefer to watch? Surely, this doesn't mean what it sounds like?
TC
Someone scanned some original 35mm cinema prints of Aliens and shared it online :)
Netflix, at least, uses denoised picture for streaming but actually adds grain as part of its decoding process. I wonder if other streaming services do the same.
Well this sucks.. whilst I obviously have a gazillion versions of the Alien movies on physical media, I do have all of the alien movies purchased on iTunes/Apple TV just for ease of use to watch on the MacBook or the iPad whilst travelling or on field work... I'm completely forgot that Apple "upgrades" you free when a newer release hits... I now have the shitty wax-fest version of 'Aliens' completely scrubbed of grain..it's f**king awful and no way to roll back to the version purchased. What's worse, it's not even 4k (I assume Disney+ is keeping that for themselves) so it's 1080p and is worse quality than what was already on there. 🥴
Quote from: xeno_alpha_07 on Dec 17, 2023, 12:46:56 PMQuote from: Acid_Reign161 on Dec 17, 2023, 12:57:48 AMI'll stick with the 35mm for those deep blues, pinks, purples, vibrant reds and natural grain;
https://i.imgur.com/mad0odS.jpg
I also have a copy of this 35mm print :) It is "Magnificent" I also have a copy of the D-theatre/D-VHS of the Alien Directors Cut before the re-colour grading for the Blu-Ray release so the D-VHS looks better. I stick with the 35mm print and the Alien legacy/Quadrilogy DVD's when I watch Aliens as I really don't like the new colour grading they did for that release.
Ahh, I sadly lost my D-theatre preservation of the Directors Cut when I hard drive went down (it was my go-to version of the movie) found the 19gb torrent again but it gets stuck on 89% with no seeders every time... I've seen smaller compressed rips, but it was a real loss to me that one. 😔
Please save your money.
(https://i.postimg.cc/JMfC4jq3/Aliens-6.jpg)
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Feb 02, 2024, 05:14:05 AMPlease save your money.
https://i.postimg.cc/JMfC4jq3/Aliens-6.jpg
$96AUD (that's including shipping) for us local Aussies. I've seen a digital copy of it and TBH I didn't mind it. But for that price the collection-completist in me will just say no.
Aliens, True Lies, and The Abyss UHD's have all dropped to $25 on Amazon for the moment.
Some people are reporting Aliens 4K is now available on itunes in the UK. Both versions.
Whats going on with the physica release? Amazon is now showing it dropping in December?
Quote from: BISHOP 93 on Feb 26, 2024, 09:26:42 AMWhats going on with the physica release? Amazon is now showing it dropping in December?
My pre-orders for this and
The Abyss both still say March.
Just the universe trying to save you from this awful looking transfer.
Not really seeing a massive difference. Should we see a massive difference?
The matte painting of Gateway certainly looks a but more matte paintier.
Colors look more natural - people look less pink and environments look less teal. (Good?)
Detail looks sharper. (Good?)
There's less grain. (Apparently bad, but I don't really care.)
Most of the negative feedback just sounds like it comes from a stern philosophy that "GRAIN GOOD. DNR BAD." even though this AI cleanup is something in between. If AI can tone down grain without losing detail, I'm open to it.
I see a lot of comparisons to the 2010 Predator Blu-ray and that 3D T2 disc, and I don't think that's fair at all.
I've seen people claim the AI makes it look unnatural. I can kind of see that when I look for it... but I doubt it will bother me in motion.
You are so incorrect, the detail appears and changes frame by frame, it is a disaster because it is so utterly inconsistent.
The film no longer exists on this disc.
Just an artificial intelligence generated interpretation of it.
Cant judge that until I actually have the disc.
Yeah best judge the movie when it's moving. Hints right there in the name.
It is already out there digitally, I have watched it, apart from if the disc turns out to be a- completely different transfer (which it will not) this release blows.
This thing, is a f**king atrocity.
(https://i.imgur.com/euQF1oS.jpeg)
I haven't seen anything about frame-to-frame consistency on the Blu-ray.com forums or YouTube comments. All I've seen are complaints about grain.
The only motion-related criticisms I see are from the streaming version, which is more compressed than what you'll get on a disc, so I've still been waiting for the disc to give this transfer the most fair shake.
I've seen a digital copy and I don't mind it. Good review here from Bill at Digital Bits
https://thedigitalbits.com/item/aliens-2024-uhd
That review is f**king shite, putting it politely.
(https://i.imgur.com/RXkQxtV.jpeg)
Jaundiced with detail absent, replaced with edge enhancement, will look woeful when in motion on disc I absolutely guarantee it.
There are some shots that look pretty waxy in that comparison. Vasquez's arm in the pull-up shot for example.
I think I've been paying too much attention to the close-ups, because honestly, I think it's an improvement in the close-ups where you already had lots of detail on blu-ray, but loses too much detail in wider shots.
*Disclaimer - not watched the review yet, don't know details of the Tuber.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 12, 2024, 08:15:01 AM*Disclaimer - not watched the review yet, don't know details of the Tuber.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezPbc6GMgBY
He says the Abyss looks pretty good, they scrubbed the details way too hard on True Lies, and Aliens is in between. This lines up with most of the fan feedback I've seen. He doesn't really praise it or shit on it, he just says it will be up to the viewers' tastes.
This guy did an update comparing the physical release to the compressed digital release. He's long-winded and only spends the first 6 minutes talking about the subject in the title, but he does point out how much better the physical version is.
Amazon says my copy of True Lies should arrive today, but Aliens is delayed until March 21st.
I skipped buying True Lies given the quality of the transfer (which is a shame because I haven't seen the movie and was holding out for the 4K for a first viewing...), but I did order The Abyss because it looked great in the theater a few months back and I ordered Aliens because, let's face it, I was never not going to get Aliens, and it seemed to be more in-between at least rather than the seemingly awful "restoration" that is True Lies.
My copies of both movies should be in by end of day.
EDIT: Literally just got an email from Amazon requiring me to verify that I still want Aliens and saying that it is being hit with a delay. So I guess I won't be getting that one today... :(
EDIT 2: Annnnd now The Abyss just delayed as well... And Aliens doesn't even have an estimated date anymore. So much for pre-orders...
Quote from: Nightmare Asylum on Mar 12, 2024, 11:06:00 AMI skipped buying True Lies given the quality of the transfer (which is a shame because I haven't seen the movie and was holding out for the 4K for a first viewing...), but I did order The Abyss because it looked great in the theater a few months back and I ordered Aliens because, let's face it, I was never not going to get Aliens, and it seemed to be more in-between at least rather than the seemingly awful "restoration" that is True Lies.
My copies of both movies should be in by end of day.
EDIT: Literally just got an email from Amazon requiring me to verify that I still want Aliens and saying that it is being hit with a delay. So I guess I won't be getting that one today... :(
EDIT 2: Annnnd now The Abyss just delayed as well... And Aliens doesn't even have an estimated date anymore. So much for pre-orders...
I checked on Amazon today and here in the UK its now saying April 22nd
So much for pre-order guarantees! Guess they way underestimated how much these would sell.
The Abyss is apparently gonna be in tomorrow at least, but who knows when Aliens will arrive.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 11, 2024, 03:24:14 AMThat review is f**king shite, putting it politely.
Hahaha. Love the passion my friend but I will respectfully disagree. Bill makes the clear statement that this is a personal taste. Some won't mind the lack of grain and others will. And having read Bill's site for a long time, he's definitely not one to be a paid shill so he's not just saying it.
Ol Jimbo wanted a certain modern look for this grainy film. That's what it came down to. I think all the Avatar experience has led him down a visual style that he wanted for this 80s film.
As I said previously, my own personal opinion on seeing the digital version is that I actually liked it. The sharpness and clarity really hit me for good at times (and this was watching it on a high-quality display too). It took some getting used to. It's not garbage in my opinion but it's definitely a different tone and look for Aliens. I'm curious to see what it's like off physical media - maybe my opinion might change.
I'll be getting it as let's be honest, I want it in my collection.
https://twitter.com/steveasbell/status/1767680389005365438
Also, neat prop behind the movies.
I have pre-ordered Abyss, will likely pick up Aliens when it's discounted. Might pick up True Lies used.
I already have the Aliens Blu-ray, and the Spanish release of True Lies. If the new transfers are going to be that bad, then I might just stick with them.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 11, 2024, 03:24:14 AMThat review is f**king shite, putting it politely.
https://i.imgur.com/RXkQxtV.jpeg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqMiw8k07sU
Jaundiced with detail absent, replaced with edge enhancement, will look woeful when in motion on disc I absolutely guarantee it.
100% agree with everything you are saying Blue; this is, without a doubt, the WORST release 'Aliens' has *ever* received (and I have pretty much all of them) - it's not even the same movie anymore. Grain is scrubbed (which considering the video stock it was filmed on, means the movie details themselves are scrubbed) replaced with ridiculous amounts of oversharpening, then the revisionist colour regrade of the blu-ray has been further modified and revised to something different again, to the point that not one single scene looks anything remotely like how the movie ought to look anymore. It's just shockingly bad - and the fact there are people (not just casual viewers, but even here, on a fansite forum) trying to brush it off as "personal taste" is why we keep getting rubbish like this. When people will throw money at cheap churned out trash, they'll keep putting it out. We should absolutely NOT support nor accept this crap. And this movie deserves WAY better. It's shameful. (And I'm sorry, whilst I'm usually all about "each to their own", in this case those supporting this release are part of the problem).
It's like me snapping a picture of DaVinci's Monalisa, slapping a Snapchat filter on it, running it through FaceApp, sharpening it on my phone, printing it out on photo paper, displaying it in a museum exhibit and charging people to see my "superior restoration". It's a complete and utter joke.
Sidenote: The cover is complete and utter shyte too, there's not one part of this release worth a penny when fans are putting out beautiful 35mm transfers for free.
Setting aside the nonsensical 'It's the audiences fault' for a moment - I'm a casual viewer when comes to 4K (having neither owned nor watched a movie on 4K disk), so what are people genuinely expecting when it comes to transferring an old grainy movie? Are they expecting it to still be grainy? Would that fly with an audience in 2024?
Quote from: SM on Mar 14, 2024, 12:43:57 AMSetting aside the nonsensical 'It's the audiences fault' for a moment - I'm a casual viewer when comes to 4K (having neither owned nor watched a movie on 4K disk), so what are people genuinely expecting when it comes to transferring an old grainy movie? Are they expecting it to still be grainy? Would that fly with an audience in 2024?
A lot of 4K buyers are film fans who want to see what the film looked like in highest fidelity. Clean it up, remove scratches, make the print look as good as it can without sacrificing detail or changing too many characteristics of the film. So, yeah, in the case of Aliens, people want the grain. It was shot on grainy stock, so if you remove the grain, you remove parts of the film.
Quote from: SM on Mar 14, 2024, 12:43:57 AMSetting aside the nonsensical 'It's the audiences fault' for a moment - I'm a casual viewer when comes to 4K (having neither owned nor watched a movie on 4K disk), so what are people genuinely expecting when it comes to transferring an old grainy movie? Are they expecting it to still be grainy? Would that fly with an audience in 2024?
To clarify my perspective on that; whilst it's definitely the companies screwing us over, at the end of the day, If people know in advance that it's a poor release (which everyone here does at this point) and still proceeds to buy it 'just because it's Aliens', you tell the companies that "this is ok, I'll give you money for this trash" and they will continue doing it- look at the awful releases of 'Predator' on blu-ray; people were verbal about it, nobody would buy the first release once word was out that it was basically a DVD upscale on a Blu-ray Disc, they then churned out a waxy DNR mess, which again was slated and nobody wanted. They eventually realised and acknowledged that nobody would accept this, and we ended up with a beautiful 4k release. Money talks. This is Disney putting the feelers out to see if people will accept their cheap effortless A.I. Upscales. If it flops, we will get a better release in the future without a doubt, as they won't leave the cash cow unmilked. If it turns a profit however, then this is what we can expect to receive in future box sets for all the movies going forward. So yes, in that respect, it is, in part, the consumers fault too. They aren't forcing anyone to buy it, people choose to, knowing it's bad. I personally will choose to speak with my wallet (they sure as hell won't be reading my forum posts) and if enough others did the same, they'd get the message. 😅
But yes, as far as expectations; All I want is the best possible transfer of the movie as seen in 1986 (+1990 special edition). Correct colour grading, original film grain, a nice 4k scan from the negatives in UHD, with the original audio mix. No revisions.
I don't see how people have so much energy to get so upset about this.
Quote from: SiL on Mar 14, 2024, 01:57:15 AMI don't see how people have so much energy to get so upset about this.
Exactly. If you like it great. If you don't, well then good luck to you as well.
Cameron approved these new transfers so it's not the company "screwing" anyone - isn't it Jimbob doing that?
I find it akin to the 'old effects were so much better than CGI' argument, as if Cameron didn't jump into (and help pioneer) digital VFX as soon as he could. He's going to want (and get, because he's James Cameron) the new editions of Abyss, Aliens and True Lies the way he wants them.
Once again, filthy 4K casual here, but sounds kinda snobby.
It's incredibly snobby.
For better or worse, this is what Cameron wants the film to look like. He never liked the graininess. He's clearly grown out of liking the colour purple and anything related to it. This isn't the studio making a shitty transfer, this is a filmmaker using new technology to make old work look closer to his modern sensibilities.
Which is a whole other kettle of fish.
Quote from: SiL on Mar 14, 2024, 03:14:25 AMIt's incredibly snobby.
For better or worse, this is what Cameron wants the film to look like. He never liked the graininess. He's clearly grown out of liking the colour purple and anything related to it. This isn't the studio making a shitty transfer, this is a filmmaker using new technology to make old work look closer to his modern sensibilities.
Which is a whole other kettle of fish.
Spot on. And also what SM said earlier too.
It's what I said earlier. I think Jimbo wants his films to look a certain way - and given his experience in all things digital filming, I would say Aliens 4K is probably how he wanted it to look.
And am I the only one who doesn't feel passionately either way about the cover?
I think it's fine... It's like a modernized version of the poster with Ripley & Newt, and honestly, I was never crazy about that poster. I like the addition of the queen's silhouette in the background.
Wait, we were talking about the cover?
Not lately.
James Cameron like Peter Jackson and George Lucas, has butchered their work (collaborative projects mind you), for their "modern sensibilities" yes it is snobby and it is also the truth.
It is infuriating as this might well be the last physical media release of the film.
I will always have the energy to care about the presentation of any art.
With every pixel being altered by an artificial intelligence algorithm, I do not know if I can even earnestly say it is Aliens whatsoever, it is just an imitation of a computer.
Quote from: [cancerblack] on Mar 14, 2024, 07:29:53 AMWait, we were talking about the cover?
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Mar 14, 2024, 12:33:56 AMSidenote: The cover is complete and utter shyte too, there's not one part of this release worth a penny when fans are putting out beautiful 35mm transfers for free.
And as far as telling James Cameron what we want with our wallets, you can look to the T2 4K release as an example of how little he cares what we think.
He's made of money at this point so, yeah.
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Mar 14, 2024, 08:53:49 AMQuote from: [cancerblack] on Mar 14, 2024, 07:29:53 AMWait, we were talking about the cover?
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Mar 14, 2024, 12:33:56 AMSidenote: The cover is complete and utter shyte too, there's not one part of this release worth a penny when fans are putting out beautiful 35mm transfers for free.
And as far as telling James Cameron what we want with our wallets, you can look to the T2 4K release as an example of how little he cares what we think.
In Cameron's defence, that's a slightly different situation. The T2 4K master was not made for a UHD release, but a 3D cinematic release.
Because of the nature of 3D, the heavy DNR makes sense, so that the planes look smooth when viewed stereoscopically. It's the same thing that happened with Predator.
The problem came when they decided to use the same master for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release as well, instead of one designed specifically for the medium. Again, same thing happened with Predator. Studios wanted to cash in on the new big thing, but didn't want to spend the money properly.
The real problem is that it seems Cameron has decided he likes the way the bad masters look. :'(
Quote from: Stitch on Mar 14, 2024, 08:59:37 AMThe real problem is that it seems Cameron has decided he likes the way the bad masters look.
Amen
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 08:34:19 AMJames Cameron like Peter Jackson and George Lucas, has butchered their work (collaborative projects mind you), for their "modern sensibilities" yes it is snobby and it is also the truth.
The artists have chosen to present their art differently. It is their art to make this decision.
They are not the sole artists responsible for said art.
Quote from: SiL on Mar 14, 2024, 09:14:46 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 08:34:19 AMJames Cameron like Peter Jackson and George Lucas, has butchered their work (collaborative projects mind you), for their "modern sensibilities" yes it is snobby and it is also the truth.
The artists have chosen to present their art differently. It is their art to make this decision.
Yes and no.
Yes, they created it. They released it. It was made to their own standards at time of release.
It has now become appreciated by audiences, who want to see the best possible release of said version. If the audience wasn't there for it, they wouldn't get the option of the rerelease. So no, they shouldn't get to change it, because the audience for this specific media isn't asking for it.
The best option would be to release 2 versions, one that the director wants it to look like, with AI upscaling and colour timing changes, and one that's just a cleaned up version of the original. That would cost too much, though.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 09:16:52 AMThey are not the sole artists responsible for said art.
They're the artists responsible for the creative direction of the pieces. This is entirely under their purview.
Quote from: Stitch on Mar 14, 2024, 09:20:59 AMYes, they created it. They released it. It was made to their own standards at time of release.
And then were given the opportunity to update the presentation later, which they have chosen to do in accordance with how they feel now.
To cringely quote Alien Covenant somewhat, it is my belief that the people who have the responsibility and capacity to supervise presentations of the works of others, have the obligation to present the work of the thousands of people on said projects in the best manner possible.
Not to their own specific likes or dislikes, or not to the degree they let their preferences take sole priority, even if they were the key driving force in many respects during the making.
Love or no love for what they directed, they have a duty to everyone else who created them, not to the audience- to fellowship.
I guess we'll find out whether Cameron changing the entire look of the movie (for it no longer looks like film) is justified, based on sales. If the audience votes with their wallets, we'll know if he made the right decision.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 09:28:05 AMTo cringely quote Alien Covenant somewhat, it is my belief that the people who have the responsibility and capacity to supervise presentations of the works of others, have the obligation to present the work of the thousands of people on said projects in the best manner possible.
Not to their own specific likes or dislikes, or not to the degree they let their preferences take sole priority, even if they were the key driving force in many respects during the making.
Love or no love for what they directed, they have a duty to everyone else who created them, not to the audience- to fellowship.
As someone who has worked on films you know as well as anybody else everyone is working to either the director or the producer's vision. The work of the other artists is in service of the director's vision of how to execute the work.
The director is the artist with the ultimate say about how all the pieces are combined to create the finished result. Is literally the point of their craft.
Let's be honest: if every other artist signed off on the 4K master, you'd just done some other reason to justify hating it.
You don't like it. That's all there is to it. It doesn't need to be anything more than that.
Quote from: Stitch on Mar 14, 2024, 09:31:36 AMI guess we'll find out whether Cameron changing the entire look of the movie (for it no longer looks like film) is justified, based on sales. If the audience votes with their wallets, we'll know if he made the right decision.
I don't know if the pleb-o-meter is the best way to judge art, even if it's inherently commercial art.
I for one will not like the transfer more even if it sells well.
I strongly agree to disagree on this one.
I have worked on collaborative projects, when things are fair and just, everyone gets not only credited but also considered. Without the team surrounding the director or producer or writer they would be nothing. Like only recording history of the "important individuals" it skews the reality that multitudes make up the whole.
They are the director, not owner, the leader doing their own thing irrespective of how others who worked on it may feel turns something that ought to be wonderful into something ugly.
It is also true I do not like it because of this:
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 08:34:19 AMWith every pixel being altered by an artificial intelligence algorithm, I do not know if I can even earnestly say it is Aliens whatsoever, it is just an imitation of a computer.
But I believe that, like the presentations of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings most recent transfer, to be a symptom of the above. Just taken to the nth degree.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 14, 2024, 09:45:05 AMThey are the director, not owner,
The owners are the ones letting him do this so...
The corporation definitely, and that sucks, but the fault in my opinion still lies with the supervisor of each transfer whomever that might be. (For reasons I have already outlined.)
Quote from: [cancerblack] on Mar 14, 2024, 09:33:57 AMQuote from: Stitch on Mar 14, 2024, 09:31:36 AMI guess we'll find out whether Cameron changing the entire look of the movie (for it no longer looks like film) is justified, based on sales. If the audience votes with their wallets, we'll know if he made the right decision.
I don't know if the pleb-o-meter is the best way to judge art, even if it's inherently commercial art.
Considering it seems like the entire run of all 3 new 4K releases has sold out, I guess quality doesn't count for much.
Someone get that meme of a guy standing in a corner at a party but have him think "They don't realise their taste in movie releases is shit".
I will never, ever understand the mentality of the whole "it's what the director approved, so it's how it should be" crowd.
No. A thousand times no.
If you come into an art gallery and buy an oil painting of mine because it really speaks to you, you hang it on your wall, you admire it every day, you know every inch of its surface, every brush stroke, and then almost 40 years later I walk into your home, take a permanent marker draw over the outlines, and completely recolour it with some Warhammer paints to smooth out any brush strokes, and tell you "it's what I always wanted it to be", is that the painting you fell in love with? Would you have bought it in the first place had it looked this way? Should you just accept it and love it because I'm the artist and I retroactively dictate how you get to enjoying it?
Yea, older versions of 'Aliens' don't disappear on physical media (and thankfully I have almost every release)- but we are entering an age of digital media, where physical is being phased out. The Aliens I had purchased on iTunes that I enjoy via Apple TV when I'm working away (which itself had awful colour grading as it was the blu-ray version, but was still nice enough quality to enjoy) I woke up to find had disappeared and been replaced with this crap. I didn't buy this. I didn't ask for this, and I wouldn't have paid for this. This isn't ok. Apple is only able to put out the version the studio wants on there.
More to the point, if this really is how James Cameron *really* wanted the movie to look in 1986, a teal and turquoise, oversharpened, waxy mess, then this just furthers the argument that sometimes directors simply don't deserve the credit they get, if the art they produce is actually just a byproduct of what they consider 'limitations of the time'. (And to be fair, grain aside, he was more than capable of using turquoise lighting in 1986, he chose deep blues, purples, and scarlets. Its revisionism whichever way you look at it)
Who said "it's how it should be"? Nobody's said anyone has to like the new version or approve of it.
Quote from: SiL on Mar 14, 2024, 07:42:55 PMWho said "it's how it should be"? Nobody's said anyone has to like the new version or approve of it.
Oh that wasn't directed at anyone here per se, just a general rant (I've seen this argument so many times for so many movies, especially in groups on Reddit etc) 😅 "it's the director's vision" "it's what he had always intended" "the director approved this transfer" ...to quote Gorman: "So? So what?" 🤣
Sometimes directors need saving from themselves. Cameron is completely off the rails at the minute; both T2 and Aliens 4k releases are a complete and utter travesty. Someone ought to check if he is actually ok... 😬
Man, I hate when an artist comes into my house and changes the painting - the only one ever in existence - that I've had for 40 years.
Already happened twice this month and it's only the 15th.
Alright, disc in hand now. Watching on a 75" TV and getting close to scrutinize.
I don't see any issue with frame-to-frame consistency at all.
People do lose a little detail and look a a tiny bit waxy in wider shots, but I'm looking for it to nitpick. I doubt the average viewer would even notice. The shot of Vasquez doing pull-ups looks fine in motion. I can't even tell there's a loss of detail at all without switching back and forth between screencaps.
There also is still some visible grain. It's not completely scrubbed clean.
The only significant downgrade is the menus. You throw in the disc and are treated to a black screen with two small words in the center: "Play" and "Menu." If you hit "Play," the theatrical cut starts playing. You have to manually go to the main menu, go to setup, and select the extended cut. The main menu is just a still of the front cover. Gone are the elaborate animated readouts that we had on the blu-ray.
I put the anthology blu-ray in to compare some moments and honestly, I like this new transfer a lot. Go ahead and consider me part of the problem.
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Mar 16, 2024, 07:14:31 AMAlright, disc in hand now. Watching on a 75" TV and getting close to scrutinize.
I don't see any issue with frame-to-frame consistency at all.
People do lose a little detail and look a a tiny bit waxy in wider shots, but I'm looking for it to nitpick. I doubt the average viewer would even notice. The shot of Vasquez doing pull-ups looks fine in motion. I can't even tell there's a loss of detail at all without switching back and forth between screencaps.
There also is still some visible grain. It's not completely scrubbed clean.
The only significant downgrade is the menus. You throw in the disc and are treated to a black screen with two small words in the center: "Play" and "Menu." If you hit "Play," the theatrical cut starts playing. You have to manually go to the main menu, go to setup, and select the extended cut. The main menu is just a still of the front cover. Gone are the elaborate animated readouts that we had on the blu-ray.
I put the anthology blu-ray in to compare some moments and honestly, I like this new transfer a lot. Go ahead and consider me part of the problem.
Thanks for this. I've only seen the digital version and couldn't see any motion issues some others have mentioned - perhaps I don't have that keen an eye but I did like the sharpness of it all.
(https://i.imgur.com/tBI2W8B.gif)
Didn't load.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 16, 2024, 09:14:40 AMhttps://i.imgur.com/tBI2W8B.gif
;D
On my deathbed, I'll have a father-son moment like Anakin did with Luke in ROTJ. I'll turn to my own son in gasped breaths saying `You tell
@BlueMarsalis79 she was right. She was right'
Weird, I still don't see anything.
Aliens in 4K UHD is freaking abomination, I feel like vomiting my lungs out when looking at it.
I am really glad I have perfectly fine Blu-ray on my shelf.
Quote from: SiL on Mar 16, 2024, 11:24:26 PMWeird, I still don't see anything.
It's a GIF of Hudson saying to Vasquez: "Colors that pop. Vivid mode."
Vasquez responds "You take that back."
Ignorance was bliss.
You'll sleep better now though.
*Not watched. Just seen on my travels today.
Good analysis.
He's not crazy about the enhanced sharpness & grain-reduction, but he loves the new audio.
He also points out how much more detail we could have gotten from highlights and shadows if they'd re-scanned the film in 4K like they did for Alien. But Jim just upscaled the existing transfer from the blu-ray, so this release doesn't really get any benefit from 4K's higher dynamic range.
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Mar 21, 2024, 09:53:30 AMBut Jim just upscaled the existing transfer from the blu-ray, so this release doesn't really get any benefit from 4K's higher dynamic range.
Or any other real benefit of 4K for that matter. Not doing a 4K scan is dumb.
So what's the verdict? Has the color red been completely eradicated yet?
Not when viewed through the tears of blood that this "abomination" apparently provokes.
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Feb 24, 2021, 12:26:00 AMWouldn't be too surprised if this was true... but I'll be very surprised if they give the 4K effort to the assembly cut.
The Assembly Cut needs it, the audio is bad in places, sounds like static school announcement mike in parts when they re-inserted scenes.
Aliens will be the worst looking of the Alien films in 4K and that's nuts.
Aliens is the worst looking of the films in any format.
Agree to disagree parts of Alien³ and most of Resurrection are barely any better than the DVD on Blu-ray.
No, I don't think I will.
Aliens on Blu-ray looks damn good, Alien³ restored stuff not so much, Alien Resurrection pretty rarely.
(https://i.slow.pics/InTiYyGr.png)
(https://i.slow.pics/nM1y4alX.png)
From filmic to a soap opera.
Resurrection is beautiful on blu.
Aliens will always be the worst looking of the films regardless of format.
Mhm, maybe I am incorrect about Resurrection, been a minute.
And agreed... ? But I am talking presentation of what exists, not the film stock or aesthetics or anything like that.
(Apparently several sounds are missing from the atmos, part of the box hitting Gorman, the ramp closing sound after Spunkmeyer turns up, the "a lot of these parasites" line sounds better than before.)
Quote from: SiL on Mar 24, 2024, 09:37:03 PMResurrection is beautiful on blu.
Aliens will always be the worst looking of the films regardless of format.
Its to do with how they filmed it right? So its got that film grain even in hd.
Quote from: The Cruentus on Mar 24, 2024, 10:37:18 PMIts to do with how they filmed it right? So its got that film grain even in hd.
They filmed on new, fast stock that had a lot of grain, which is a common issue with film stock intended for low light (look at the scene in
Predator where Mac says he'll take first watch -- jeez).
The cinematography is also kind of plain. Lots of iconic shots throughout the film, but it just feels very functional. Which isn't a bad thing at all, it's just in a series of movies that have really, really gorgeous cinematography so it's the odd one out.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 24, 2024, 09:09:38 PMAliens will be the worst looking of the Alien films in 4K and that's nuts.
I watched the UHD version a couple of days ago and it looked really bad. This happened with Lord of the Rings Bluray first release, the HD removed all the work of smoke and shadows and etc to blend the CG with live action, most notable was The Belrog, it looked in HD like bad cgi from a video game.
A negative one. He complains about the waxy look, but praises the colors on the previous blu-ray AND praises the cover-art on this new UHD.
A mixed/positive one, and probably the one that echoes my feelings the most. He cited specific examples where DNR smudge jumps out at him, but says it didn't break the experience for him overall.
And another positive one. He acknowledges how many people are complaining about the DNR, but says he personally likes the enhanced sharpness and detail.
Quote from: E. Shaw on Mar 24, 2024, 11:06:52 PMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 24, 2024, 09:09:38 PMAliens will be the worst looking of the Alien films in 4K and that's nuts.
I watched the UHD version a couple of days ago and it looked awful. This happened with Lord of the Rings UHD.
Nothing hurts me in the realm of current home theater more than the butchering of the Lord of the Rings that happened on 4K, the DNR, the ghosting, changing the flashbacks and flashforwards to be grey... it pains my soul.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 25, 2024, 12:00:06 PMQuote from: E. Shaw on Mar 24, 2024, 11:06:52 PMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 24, 2024, 09:09:38 PMAliens will be the worst looking of the Alien films in 4K and that's nuts.
I watched the UHD version a couple of days ago and it looked awful. This happened with Lord of the Rings UHD.
Nothing hurts me in the realm of current home theater more than the butchering of the Lord of the Rings that happened on 4K, the DNR, the ghosting, changing the flashbacks and flashforwards to be grey... it pains my soul.
Oh no! That sounds horrid! Better keep my Standard Definition set then.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 25, 2024, 12:00:06 PMQuote from: E. Shaw on Mar 24, 2024, 11:06:52 PMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 24, 2024, 09:09:38 PMAliens will be the worst looking of the Alien films in 4K and that's nuts.
I watched the UHD version a couple of days ago and it looked awful. This happened with Lord of the Rings UHD.
Nothing hurts me in the realm of current home theater more than the butchering of the Lord of the Rings that happened on 4K, the DNR, the ghosting, changing the flashbacks and flashforwards to be grey... it pains my soul.
Good thing I've got my beautifully packaged Extended Editions of that trilogy still (even if I have the UHD version too).
You and others have given me much food for thought in my initial thought to purchase Aliens in 4K. As I said I didn't mind the Digital Version but perhaps now I won't spend a small fortune getting the physical copy.
For what it's worth, 35mm transfers for Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 theatrical cuts are now all out in the wild after someone broke a gentleman's agreement. If you don't mind a bit of a rough grindhouse look, they are beautiful to watch. (Alien 3 has never looked so good - beautiful depth, and no green outlines around the rod puppet). I'd stay clear of the 4k UHD of Aliens, it's not worth a penny. (And in honesty, it's no longer Aliens).
Will have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
So what is the best release so far?
Still the 2010 Blu-ray.
Quote from: Wweyland on Apr 01, 2024, 07:33:12 AMSo what is the best release so far?
For me, if we are going for best official releases only;
Alien [UK Facehugger Boxset VHS]
Alien: Director's Cut [US Dtheatre /DVHS]
Aliens [First UK Laserdisc]
Aliens: Special Edition [UK or USA Laserdisc]
Alien 3 [Blu-ray]
Alien 3: Assembly Cut [Blu-ray]***However, roll with the Special Edition DVD if you don't want the audio mistake from the seamless branching on the blu-ray***
Alien Resurrection [US DTS Laserdisc]
Alien Resurrection: Directors Cut [Blu-ray]
Prometheus [No clear winner; 4K UHD for best picture quality, 3D Blu-ray for theatrical presentation]
Alien Covenant [4k UHD]
However, if we include unofficial releases also, I'd 100% switch out Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 theatrical cuts for the 35mm transfers, Alien Resurrection theatrical Blu-ray (regraded to laserdisc colour palette), and add the Alien Covenant IMAX aspect ratio 1080p blu-ray as a 2nd viable option (though in my opinion the latter is better as a companion, you really want the 4k UHD for the correct colour grading)
I could never watch one of the DVDs again honestly. Maybe to pine over the menus, but that's all really, I'm interested in Blu-ray and above.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Apr 01, 2024, 08:18:14 PMI could never watch one of the DVDs again honestly. Maybe to pine over the menus, but that's all really, I'm interested in Blu-ray and above.
Ah, I remember seeing the Special Edition of
Aliens on DVD for the first time. Blew me away.
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Apr 01, 2024, 08:18:14 PMI could never watch one of the DVDs again honestly. Maybe to pine over the menus, but that's all really, I'm interested in Blu-ray and above.
Yeah, I honestly would prefer high resolution over some of the SD transfers, however I'm completely anal about colour grading 😅 (not just for Alien movies, in general). It pains me when you get a beautiful 4k transfer of a movie... and then you see the revised colour that looks nothing remotely like the movie you love, and honestly, it can completely put me off. 😅 Aliens on blu-ray was bittersweet; on one hand it was the best the movie has ever looked visually, with a nice layer of grain retained... but my god, what is Cameron's current boner with turquoise /teal?? 🤮 Like, show me on the doll where the pinks, purples and deep blues hurt you, Jim! Worst part was, they didn't just apply a filter or do a standard regrade that enthusiasts could easily correct.. no, they completely recoloured individual elements in frames... so even if you attempt to put it back to how it was, something is always the wrong colour in the shot without stupid amounts of time, effort and work to fix it (I've seen some valiant attempts mind you, but they just aren't right) I just don't get it 😅 he did the same shit with Terminator 2.
Ridley isn't as bad for it, though Alien is slowly getting more blue introduced; from the DTheatre release to the blu-ray (which used the same HD master) greys became blue, the derelict interior was recoloured, the Jockey recoloured... they dialed it back a bit with the 4KUHd thankfully, but then they recoloured the pink lense flares from the flashlights (that movies like Alien and John Carpenter's 'The Thing' always had; hell, even Alien Isolation perfectly emulated it) and instead made everything blue.. 😅 it's a lovely 4k transfer, and I admit, still my go to for ease of use (especially when streaming) but I wish they'd just leave them alone. Alien 3 on blu-ray is nice, but it's too desaturated, and looks flat/no depth. Prior to getting a 35mm scan, I attempted a mock 'virtual' 35mm trial by creating a duplicated layer of the blu-ray image in monochrome and overlapping it (to emulate silver retention) and the shadows gained really made a difference in faces to creating depth (obviously it would have required a complete overhaul of colour) but I dunno...I guess it probably bothers me more than majority of folk 😅
Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
Quote from: Stitch on Apr 02, 2024, 10:37:50 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
How exactly?
Quote from: Stitch on Apr 02, 2024, 10:37:50 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
Who? Ridley Scott?
Quote from: Stitch on Apr 02, 2024, 10:37:50 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
I myself am one of the original supporters of that project and agree wholeheartedly with you in supporting the source; though it's (sadly) a bit more complicated than that now. 😢 I think it goes without saying that it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to everyone who had contributed throughout when someone posted them online - not out of some need to be in some 'special club' or hoard classics to ourselves as some suggested, nor was it a money spinner for the project creator; what they didn't understand was that we *gladly* paid the prices for the discs, because it was a non-profit project. Every penny went into the renting of the 35mm reels from collectors, then the cost of the transfers, and then the hours of work and love that was poured into them. The money paid in meant more preservations could happen, and kept the project going. If everyone could just download them online, nobody (or not as many) would pay in, and thus there would be no more transfers, as each movie cost thousands.
That being said, the only reason I even brought up the Alien 35mm transfers here is because (aside from the obvious of them being references to compare to official releases for theatrical accuracy)they are now out in the open, and the project creator (understandably) has made it clear he no longer accepts new supporters /donations from unknowns anymore, with future projects tightly controlled. (I should also note that 35mm transfers of Alien and Aliens already existed online prior to this so I wasn't specifically referencing that project beyond A3; an earlier transfer of Alien did the rounds a few years back, restored from two separate reel sources, and I stumbled on a different transfer of Aliens 35mm a year or so ago by complete accident on the Russian trackers with bonus open matte ending, so technically Alien 3 was the only 'new' addition that we didn't already have (though I do love the extensive colour work done on the newer transfers). Should he ever open doors again, I'll be the first to point everyone his way; more supporters = more movies for us all after all! He's doing gods work. But right now, I don't think he actually *wants* anyone new, and from his announcements, has pretty much accepted that Pandora's box was opened on the earlier releases, and there is no really getting that lid back on. 😔 A small few can certainly spoil it for everyone. I think it's a real shame what went down, but I also feel it's an absolute *travesty* if fans don't have an option or avenue to experience these. I hope for everyone that there is a way doors can be opened to all again. But as I say; two of the original trilogy had been out there long before all this went down, so I wanna make it absolutely clear that I wasn't suggesting anything that'd be damaging to the preservation project. 😅
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Apr 01, 2024, 09:36:45 PMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Apr 01, 2024, 08:18:14 PMI could never watch one of the DVDs again honestly. Maybe to pine over the menus, but that's all really, I'm interested in Blu-ray and above.
Yeah, I honestly would prefer high resolution over some of the SD transfers, however I'm completely anal about colour grading 😅 (not just for Alien movies, in general). It pains me when you get a beautiful 4k transfer of a movie... and then you see the revised colour that looks nothing remotely like the movie you love, and honestly, it can completely put me off. 😅 Aliens on blu-ray was bittersweet; on one hand it was the best the movie has ever looked visually, with a nice layer of grain retained... but my god, what is Cameron's current boner with turquoise /teal?? 🤮 Like, show me on the doll where the pinks, purples and deep blues hurt you, Jim! Worst part was, they didn't just apply a filter or do a standard regrade that enthusiasts could easily correct.. no, they completely recoloured individual elements in frames... so even if you attempt to put it back to how it was, something is always the wrong colour in the shot without stupid amounts of time, effort and work to fix it (I've seen some valiant attempts mind you, but they just aren't right) I just don't get it 😅 he did the same shit with Terminator 2.
Ridley isn't as bad for it, though Alien is slowly getting more blue introduced; from the DTheatre release to the blu-ray (which used the same HD master) greys became blue, the derelict interior was recoloured, the Jockey recoloured... they dialed it back a bit with the 4KUHd thankfully, but then they recoloured the pink lense flares from the flashlights (that movies like Alien and John Carpenter's 'The Thing' always had; hell, even Alien Isolation perfectly emulated it) and instead made everything blue.. 😅 it's a lovely 4k transfer, and I admit, still my go to for ease of use (especially when streaming) but I wish they'd just leave them alone. Alien 3 on blu-ray is nice, but it's too desaturated, and looks flat/no depth. Prior to getting a 35mm scan, I attempted a mock 'virtual' 35mm trial by creating a duplicated layer of the blu-ray image in monochrome and overlapping it (to emulate silver retention) and the shadows gained really made a difference in faces to creating depth (obviously it would have required a complete overhaul of colour) but I dunno...I guess it probably bothers me more than majority of folk 😅
What is also neat is Alien and The Thing share the same music, Dallas in the Air Shaft and MacReady visiting the site where the two headed corpse is.
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Apr 03, 2024, 12:33:04 AMQuote from: Stitch on Apr 02, 2024, 10:37:50 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
I myself am one of the original supporters of that project and agree wholeheartedly with you in supporting the source; though it's (sadly) a bit more complicated than that now. 😢 I think it goes without saying that it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to everyone who had contributed throughout when someone posted them online - not out of some need to be in some 'special club' or hoard classics to ourselves as some suggested, nor was it a money spinner for the project creator; what they didn't understand was that we *gladly* paid the prices for the discs, because it was a non-profit project. Every penny went into the renting of the 35mm reels from collectors, then the cost of the transfers, and then the hours of work and love that was poured into them. The money paid in meant more preservations could happen, and kept the project going. If everyone could just download them online, nobody (or not as many) would pay in, and thus there would be no more transfers, as each movie cost thousands.
That being said, the only reason I even brought up the Alien 35mm transfers here is because (aside from the obvious of them being references to compare to official releases for theatrical accuracy)they are now out in the open, and the project creator (understandably) has made it clear he no longer accepts new supporters /donations from unknowns anymore, with future projects tightly controlled. (I should also note that 35mm transfers of Alien and Aliens already existed online prior to this so I wasn't specifically referencing that project beyond A3; an earlier transfer of Alien did the rounds a few years back, restored from two separate reel sources, and I stumbled on a different transfer of Aliens 35mm a year or so ago by complete accident on the Russian trackers with bonus open matte ending, so technically Alien 3 was the only 'new' addition that we didn't already have (though I do love the extensive colour work done on the newer transfers). Should he ever open doors again, I'll be the first to point everyone his way; more supporters = more movies for us all after all! He's doing gods work. But right now, I don't think he actually *wants* anyone new, and from his announcements, has pretty much accepted that Pandora's box was opened on the earlier releases, and there is no really getting that lid back on. 😔 A small few can certainly spoil it for everyone. I think it's a real shame what went down, but I also feel it's an absolute *travesty* if fans don't have an option or avenue to experience these. I hope for everyone that there is a way doors can be opened to all again. But as I say; two of the original trilogy had been out there long before all this went down, so I wanna make it absolutely clear that I wasn't suggesting anything that'd be damaging to the preservation project. 😅
So basically, there's no way to buy these transfers but I get to feel guilty if I torrent them? :P
Just like any other torrent!
(https://i.imgur.com/os7VZyT.gif)
Quote from: Nukiemorph on Apr 03, 2024, 02:38:23 AMQuote from: Acid_Reign161 on Apr 03, 2024, 12:33:04 AMQuote from: Stitch on Apr 02, 2024, 10:37:50 AMQuote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Mar 29, 2024, 02:50:25 AMWill have to track them down, I will probably watch Alien 4K for the beautiful HDR and ease of access, but Aliens and Alien³ might not get better for quite some time.
If you want to track them down, please don't just get the rips online. Ask the guy who made them. A lot of effort went into getting them done.
I myself am one of the original supporters of that project and agree wholeheartedly with you in supporting the source; though it's (sadly) a bit more complicated than that now. 😢 I think it goes without saying that it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to everyone who had contributed throughout when someone posted them online - not out of some need to be in some 'special club' or hoard classics to ourselves as some suggested, nor was it a money spinner for the project creator; what they didn't understand was that we *gladly* paid the prices for the discs, because it was a non-profit project. Every penny went into the renting of the 35mm reels from collectors, then the cost of the transfers, and then the hours of work and love that was poured into them. The money paid in meant more preservations could happen, and kept the project going. If everyone could just download them online, nobody (or not as many) would pay in, and thus there would be no more transfers, as each movie cost thousands.
That being said, the only reason I even brought up the Alien 35mm transfers here is because (aside from the obvious of them being references to compare to official releases for theatrical accuracy)they are now out in the open, and the project creator (understandably) has made it clear he no longer accepts new supporters /donations from unknowns anymore, with future projects tightly controlled. (I should also note that 35mm transfers of Alien and Aliens already existed online prior to this so I wasn't specifically referencing that project beyond A3; an earlier transfer of Alien did the rounds a few years back, restored from two separate reel sources, and I stumbled on a different transfer of Aliens 35mm a year or so ago by complete accident on the Russian trackers with bonus open matte ending, so technically Alien 3 was the only 'new' addition that we didn't already have (though I do love the extensive colour work done on the newer transfers). Should he ever open doors again, I'll be the first to point everyone his way; more supporters = more movies for us all after all! He's doing gods work. But right now, I don't think he actually *wants* anyone new, and from his announcements, has pretty much accepted that Pandora's box was opened on the earlier releases, and there is no really getting that lid back on. 😔 A small few can certainly spoil it for everyone. I think it's a real shame what went down, but I also feel it's an absolute *travesty* if fans don't have an option or avenue to experience these. I hope for everyone that there is a way doors can be opened to all again. But as I say; two of the original trilogy had been out there long before all this went down, so I wanna make it absolutely clear that I wasn't suggesting anything that'd be damaging to the preservation project. 😅
So basically, there's no way to buy these transfers but I get to feel guilty if I torrent them? :P
Not quite. Any new projects will be private, but apparently he'll still make older work available.
These scans are now being shared around Twitter. They seem to be fairly accessible now.
https://twitter.com/SAMSEPlOL/status/1778083661444731065
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 16, 2024, 07:34:45 AMThese scans are now being shared around Twitter. They seem to be fairly accessible now.
https://twitter.com/SAMSEPlOL/status/1778083661444731065
Interestingly, this is yet *another* scan of 'Alien' - possibly the earliest out there so far, being a UK X-certified print (so pre-BBFC) - Rob's release was taken from an early 90s print, and the project that was up on Original Trilogy utilised two separate 35mm prints (both later prints like Rob's judging by the quality and colour grading) - would love to know who put this particular one out to see if there is a version with a larger file size - this definitely hasn't done the rounds on either the private trackers nor the Russian trackers, so it's interesting to see it casually posted on Twitter/X 😃
Quote from: Acid_Reign161 on Today at 12:09:15 AMQuote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 16, 2024, 07:34:45 AMThese scans are now being shared around Twitter. They seem to be fairly accessible now.
https://twitter.com/SAMSEPlOL/status/1778083661444731065
Interestingly, this is yet *another* scan of 'Alien' - possibly the earliest out there so far, being a UK X-certified print (so pre-BBFC) - Rob's release was taken from an early 90s print, and the project that was up on Original Trilogy utilised two separate 35mm prints (both later prints like Rob's judging by the quality and colour grading) - would love to know who put this particular one out to see if there is a version with a larger file size - this definitely hasn't done the rounds on either the private trackers nor the Russian trackers, so it's interesting to see it casually posted on Twitter/X 😃
I believe the Alien print I have matches the one mentioned in the X post. It's an X certificate and around 19 or 20GB. My print includes trailers for Outland and a Blade Runner teaser, but the one in the post does not. It's currently 3:41am here, so I'll compare the prints on my PC later.