Alien on Home Video: The Quadrilogy Takes DVD a Step Beyond
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- An in-depth look at the absolutely epic 2003 DVD collection of the Alien series: The Quadrilogy. This was packed with special features, new cuts of each film, and if you were really lucky, you could even find an Alien Head replica gift set!
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ELLEN RIPLEY TIER OF EXCELLENCE: Lady Anne ^^ö^^(Jessica M Kandal, PhD)
WEYLAND YUTANI EXECUTIVES: NanashiFx, Sergei Kolobashkin
QUEENS: Ronni Jensen, XenoShadowMorph, Alyssane, Grizz4756
PRAETORIAN: John Griggs
WARRIORS: Kurt Venetis, Blockerman, Savanna Lamaison
DRONES: KuroNyra, Grace Ryder, Matthew Coleman, Yunners, Waya525
CHESTBURSTERS: Anne Mac, James Aponte, Rafael Aguila, Oliver, Stewart Crichton, Matt Bro, BWXenogears, Thomas Watvedt, Gregor Mundell. John C Jones, Sean Arme, Thomas J Gettings, Commodore Erickson, Tariq_RUH, Arkuras, Ambrosia. Project Acheron, Robert Johnson, Axel R. Garcia, Adam LaZerte, David Hokanson, Mark Lennon
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I'll never forget when I got my hands on this in December 2003. I was very fortunate at the time my uncle owned and operated several mom and pop video stores. This is all I really wanted for Christmas that year, I was 16 and begging my parents for it. I remember going to my younger cousins local basketball game. This was a few days after Christmas so I was kinda bummed I didnt get it, and in walks my uncle and he comes and sits next to us in the bleachers with this nondescript white plastic bag. Apparently, my aunt had wanted him to get it for me days before but he kept forgetting to grab it and my parents didn't want to spoil the surprise. But he didn't forget it this night. He sits next to me and my mom and aunt both look at him cross and ask "Did you get it this time?" he rolls his eyes and says "I got it." Plops this bag in my lap, I open it and nearly scream with joy. There was no wrapping or great fanfare just boom there you have it kid. My mom smiled and said "That's what you wanted right?" A few days late but it made my Christmas, and the best part is it didn't cost them a dime, he just gave it to us for free. I still have it 18 years later, in pretty good conditon and all intact and its been by my bedside ever since. Thanks mom, aunt Jeanne and uncle Tony. One of the best Christmas gifts ever.
Positive core memory for sure
Hope you didn't shoot your eye out.😉
Man, this is the reason why I wish I was a 70s, 80s, or 90s kid. I’m a 2000s baby but I can’t imagine the excitement it was to get this beautiful looking box set for the first time when it was new. I unfortunately have a bare bones DVD collection of the first four films with discs ripped from the Alien Legacy set. Oh well, I’m okay with what I got although buying the Alien Quadrilogy 2003 set with all of the special features and commentaries in it.
@@ivebenjamin8036 it was a very special time and place to grow up in the 90s and early 2000s. The 80s was the greatest time to grow up, but the 90s were something else. You’re young but one day you will look back on your youth with the same nostalgia, trust me.
@@Section8Spectre what a great story. I love hearing people's stories about getting the gifts they really wanted the most. Thank you for telling us. Keep that box set in good condition!!
I watched every disc of the Quadrilogy and every version more times than I can count. Best DVD box set ever!
Same!
I really hope the 4K they are making adds all this content to it too
I got the Alien Quadrilogy on DVD when I was a teenager, I'd never seen any Alien movie before and I watched all of them in short order, so I didn't have to wait years for the next movie to get released. I like all 4 of them and don't understand the hate for Alien Resurrection. The first one is my favourite though and nothing is nearly as scary as Alien: Isolation imo.
100% agreed
alien isolation with the unpredictable and/or the super aggressive alien mod is a fairly accurate alien simulator
Alien Resurrection may not be a great Alien sequel, but it is a perfect Heavy Metal Magazine film.
@nate0
Agree. 👍
Agreed - it just became trendy to pile onto Resurrection. I'm sure most people don't even know why they hate it.
The Quadrilogy was the greatest DVD set I ever had besides the extended LOTR trilogy. With the sheer wealth of extra features, the documentaries especially were worth the asking price. You got the theatrical and special edition cut of each film, the aforementioned special features discs, plus a bonus disc of special features alone (my favorite was of the museum where most of the original props went to rest), just... this was why DVD exploded when the asking price of players started to go down in the 2000s. Plus as a major Aliens fan, this was THE definitive collection, and until Blu-Ray finally had a matching version of the collection I held off buying on that format for almost ten years, if not perhaps over ten years.
This is how you celebrate a series and the fans with a home video release; its sad sets with such in-depth special features hardly seem to come around anymore. In fact, I think the Hobbit Trilogy Extended editions were the last time I had a movie set that gave such a wealth of extra features. In this day and age, many Blu-ray releases are so bare-bones basic, that the Blu-Ray editions of original DVD releases lack the interactive menus that popped with color and style and the features. My original Blu-Ray of John Carpenter's The Thing LACKED the featurette of the DVD release, so I held onto that until a future re-release fixed that issue. I also held off on any Blu-Ray of the original Dawn of the Dead because no release matched the Ultimate Edition set until I believe the last few years alone.
Much as Blu-Ray is great visually, I feel the jump to that format was so soon as opposed to the VHS-to-DVD turnover, those home video producers got greedy and rushed format upgrades without bothering to put the same pop and bang for your buck many DVD releases once gave readily gave out versus the new Blu-Ray format. So many movies come out with bland menus and lack of anything really popping, like say the bitching Weyland-Yuitani style menus of the Alien Quadrilogy. Not to say all Blu-Ray is bad in that category, but once you were given a taste of the best, you could notice the dip in quality of interactive home video menus all the easier.
They use to put so much effort into home video releases with laserdisc, and dvd. It makes me sad when I open a bluray and see a completely white inside and an artless disc. Some blurays don't even have menus anymore. I've even seen budget blurays with no subtitles.
Have watched this series for years and I'm a big fan of ALIEN:Isolation. My one wish when I was a kid was to watch it in theaters. When it was re-released during Halloween as the directors cut I knew my wish had been granted...years later of course. I took my whole family to watch it that night of release....had the whole theater by our selves....the sound...images...I was in Heaven.
The Alien franchise has some of the best making of I've ever seen. I'd even go so far as to say that the making of for Alien 4 and Prometheus are better than the movies themselves.
Making-of documentaries are a dying art and I totally agree with you. The Furious Gods is almost four hours long and the first hour and a half is dedicated just to the pre-production. Much better than the film!
I know the making of on Resurrection made me respect the movie more.
I recently found the Quadrilogy set for 12 bucks at a theft store, and I absolutely love it. The features are absolutely to die for and the artwork when you open them up is fantastic. I will say the Blu-Ray is slimmer and holds more to it but I say every collection needs this set
Paying ANYTHING at a theft store seems silly. Coulda been free! ;)
I actually love shopping at thrift stores. It's items like the Quadrilogy that make it fun to shop, you never know what you'll find :)
@@nickmesogianes4638 Agreed!
Theft store?
I remember getting this as a Christmas gift in 2003. Best DVD box set ever!
@@residualwaste5038 😳🤭
In my timezone Alien Theory videos mostly come at night, mostly.
Cheers mate, love your work.
Happy New year 🍻
This set really is amazing, and I grew up with the laserdisc special editions. It blew me away.
I like that in the chestburster multi-angle footage it showed Lambert falling down after the Chestburster burst out of Kane.
This set cost me $80 back in 2004. I was able to buy the Anthology Blu-Ray set for $24 used ten years later. I also wasn't super pleased with the DigiPak design for the Quadrilogy set. I eventually put all the discs in slim dual DVD cases with custom artwork. I used to have to cradle those DigiPaks in my arms and fumble around to grab the disc I wanted. Lots of TV series DVD sets used them, too.
In the Australian release, the cover images are different and the internal layout is a book, nine (eight) pages of clear thin jewel cases, booklet in a pocket in the front
I can attest to this.
Got this in the UK too. The standard had clear pages, whilst the pre-order had clear green/yellow pages.
One of the greatest box sets ever. The only other one I can think of that comes even close is the lord of the rings extended sets.
I actually own this quadrilogy. Had it for a super long time. Best thing ever!
This movie is absolute GOLD
I've purchased this set the year it came out on the same day my house was robbed. I will never forget it. At some point, I sold the set and purchased the Blu Ray edition. I just rebought this DVD set on ebay as brand new and am so excited to have it back in my collection! Thank you for a great video! I have been consuming Alien and specifically Aliens documentaries and feature videos recently and I just can't get enough! Its so good! Thank you again!
One of the best home releases ever I remember cherishing my VHS copies I had in Middle school and remember finding this for CHEAP in highschool when I was at a flea market in 2010 and it was a massive upgrade.
I got the 2003 quadrilogy back in 2003. Have it still and watch them once every 2 years. Absolutely love those films to this day, I'm 30 years old now, first watched Alien when I was 7 by myself, scared me good had to hide behind the couch and peek over while watching lol. Great memories
Now this was awesome! I’ve been a lifelong fan of the Alien franchise since the first one came out in theaters in 1979 and I’ve pretty much owned every home video release since then including the Legacy collection on VHS, this awesome Quadrilogy set on DVD and of course the awesome Anthology set on Blu-ray. As fans we really are lucky to have such amazing physical media releases of our favorite films with some of the most extensive documentary materials ever assembled together. Thanks also for showing us the Alien replica head that was exclusive to Japan. Finally, it would be great to see more videos like this exploring all the physical media incarnations because this is a big part of the Alien franchise history.
I ended up buying each film separately when I was younger like 15, each came with the extra disc's..soo much fun
Ps, currently reading Alien 3 by Pat Cadigan based on William Gibsons screenplay, it's great
I got to meet Sigourney Weaver who signed my Quadrilogy box set and Ghostbusters box set back in 2010. On the Quadrilogy, she signed the inside 'spine' of the box set on her picture.
That is a amazing collection. Have the blu ray set. Hours of alien content
Legacy collection...same thing but better
Great set of movies, hell I love part 3 too, and the mega documentaries on part 1 and 2 were superb
I had this set on release day. It set a new benchmark for DVD releases. The UK release had a very different box, though equally as cool and the first pressings were individually numbered.
I also had the Alien Head.
Fantastic vid by the way.
Oh and I got Marvels Alien Comic #1 variant cover for Xmas.
That Alien head collection wasn't exclusive to Japan, it was available here in Sweden too!
Oh the memories
Christmas 2003 had this under the tree
Had watched Aliens many times but this was the first time i saw the Original. Was blown away
I got the Alien head special edition as a gift. The amount of extras is amazing, LaserDisc archives and everything. The Blu-Ray has some extra clips left out of the making of videos, but the DVD version is still amazing. The Weyland-Yutani themed menus were better than the Blu-Ray versions in my opinion too.
Everything is connected and near seamless playback on Blu-Ray though.
Awesome, still have this set along with the Anthology bluray.
Still have this thing. I remember spending a lot of time with the Special Features. Money and time well spent. :)
Completely agree - as a set, this film collection is very hard to beat for presentation and all the included extras. "Digital versatile disc"; that gave me a good chuckle - I call 'em the same thing around my family, to much eye rolling!
Dad jokes ftw
*The Weakest Link question in about 2001:*
"What does the V in DVD stand for?"
_"...Video?!"_
"Correct."
I was furious 😂
As someone very close to the making of the original film, this DVD set is the pride of my collection. Regarding a possible blu-ray reboot with additions I will just stress in the same way Agent K did when alien tech was going to force him to buy the Beatles "White Album" again.
Did you contract on the production or something?
@@DrMurdercock I worked at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College, run by Gary Shusett, the brother of Ronald Shusett, co-writer and executive producer of Alien. I read the original script after it was sold and, because I was a horror freak, my first seminar at the school was on the making of this film and I got to interview the makers and attend the premiere. My RUclips channel has a video with more detail. It was my best Hollywood experience.
@@SirSmoldham Awesome story and appreciate you sharing. I will check the video out broham. Thanks!
@@DrMurdercock Thank you.
I was so excited for this one before it came out and it actually lived up to the hype and blew me away. The amount of special features are so above and beyond and legendary. Such an amazing value here if you are a big Alien fan. I wasn’t a fan of the way you had to open the set up for about 20 feet to access some of the discs either lol
This was an awesome look at the set! I'm pretty sure I could listen to Derek narrate DVD menu's for physical days at a time..
The Eight Passenger (El Octavo Pasajero) is the title used in my country, México, for the first film! I have always thought that it is really good and mysterious
Best special features of any box set EVER! I still go back to it for those Laurent Bouzereau docos.
It just dawned on me that John Conner's step-mom is in aliens...
I'm so glad I grabbed this great set many years ago.
I bought the quadrilogy on blu-ray.. one of the best movie purchases outside of owning three copies of princess mononoke.. VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.
This video takes me back
One of the greatest box sets ever.
I got the box set of the quadrilagy mixed and the predators. It was like $140 at the time.
I wish this DVD collection was easier to find nowdays.
Still have my copy - all 9 discs. It was the perfect anthology.
One of the most legendary box sets of all time. Up there with the likes of the Lord Of The Rings box sets
I really enjoyed this. Thank You.
Films will never be the same.
Last 2 sections was cool - I don't remember watching the ninth disk - And the model set is cool.
Look forward to your next videos - SALUTE!!
I think Quadrilogy was about £80 in HMV
I wanted it _so_ badly
I've have the Quadrilogy on DVD and in October happened to buy it again on Blu Ray with it being on sale at Target for $20. I was disappointed that the Blu Ray version was bare bones with only giving the movies.
Just for fun I looked up what the DVD was selling for thinking it would be worth some money because of all the bonus features not released since. To my surprise they are going for dirt cheap at around $30. If you are missing this collection I would hunt it down. It's a steal.
I picked up the whole Quadrilogy about a year ago from CEX in the UK for £4. The discs were in mint condition and came with the small book. I had it when it first came out in 2003 but lost it in a fire.
I remember this 9 disc collection in HMV in a huge alien head it was £100
I feel old now was born in 2001 and remember watching vhs tapes 😭
I actually noticed my mum had our trusty old Polaroid camera out the other day and casually said "Wow the good old Polaroid eh?"
Oh, yes, I have used a Polaroid. Watching them slowly develop, an image emerging out of that gray emulsion, was fairly mesmerizing.
Amazing video man talk about in depth thank you sir happy new years
wow that Bob Burns Sulaco model! Of course, all the collectables are cool, but that sulaco is huge! Thanks for the effort, that ws a fun watch. With lots of new material on it. I'd love to have a look as well. I did get a Quadrilogy dvd set as a Christmas gift a year ago, but DVD playes are rare here in the house. Computers enough but no dvd player. So never had a good look at it: shame on me. Going to buy a usb one RIGHT now :) The big alien head dvd set is really cool
I have the quadrilogy Blue ray that came in an alien egg that lights up. It’s my favorite box set I own.
Honestly, this is an amazing video and deep dive. Great work!
I was working third shift when I got the Alien Quad back in 2004 I think it was. I got it from Circuit City on sale. I spent the next weeks mornings watching all the special features after work.
I fell asleep to the movies so many times and it would go to that main menu when I’d wake up in the middle of the night wow never thought I’d see a video of this !! Also damn I’m getting old and happy new year
20:50 I was very disappointed when the 8th passenger wasn't about Johnsey ❤😀 - Also: AlienTheory, how about a cat-special!? All about Jones! 🐱
Now this is some fantastic content. I purchased the set when it came out and it still holds a place of honor even as I upgrade my video selection to 4K.
Curious here when it comes to the 4K experience:
Which direction are you going in order to enjoy those either on 4K screen or projector? Also, are your discs giving you the 16x9 or 21x9 experience(s)?
@@That_Handle 4K Oled with a 11.1 Home Theater Setup. As to the aspect, 16:9. And I'm totally fine with that. It really is great, but honestly even in the 4K era, some studios still have issues getting the best possible film transfer or audio options on disc.
I hope they release a new set with Avp and the prequels
I still have that thing
Ripley and newt talk about endurance!
Bolaji Badejo (God Rest his Soul) is still an unsung best actor in the ALIEN universe and of all Sci Fi. His performance made it a Masterpiece.
Alien Theory please do a video dedicated to Bolaji. My apologies in advance if you already did and I missed it.
Scott should remake Phantasm, and give it a huge backstory.
I remember getting this set and I got the alien 3 disc x2 and Alien 4 was missing so I had to take it back to the store and get a replacement to finally watch the 4th 😂
Outstanding video🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉!!! Con you one covering the bluray releases?
Despite not having had a DVD player for many years it still sits in my drawer under my TV to this day
I love retrospectives like this, especially when it involves the Alien disks. The Alien Quadrilogy was the absolute cream of the crop, I still hold it as my most prized DVD set.
In that same vein, I also hold the Alien Anthology as my most prized Blu-ray set. Will you be doing a retrospective on that box set?
I had these separately on dvd 2 discs they were great.
I prefer this box design a billion times more than the Anthology Blu-Ray box which can easily scratch the discs
The Anthology Blu-ray came out in different types of sets. At least four I've identified. Two of them are the book type (regular and slim) and the other two have plastic cases. The region free one from UK has the similar Quadrilogy layout and another from US has a blue plastic case.
European release was much more simple, but still a pain in the ass to find a specific movie from the box.
Dear Alien Theory, You may be aware there is another trailer for the movie (maybe more) than the standard one we see all the time. I had (past tense) a VHS of several trailers from sci-fi movies including Alien. IT IS WICKED COOL!!, scary, too. I bought the VHS in Japan. Maybe you've already done this. But have a segment on different trailers for Alien; maybe even one from other countries.
Very cool
I bought the quad at a yard sale for...ready?...50 cents. True. As I had the first three already and didn't care for Alien: Resurrection, I swapped them at a reuse store for some of their store credit...kind of like Ollie North selling arms to the Contras. I thought it was neat.
I have The Blu Ray set it's great especially for the features.
I am happy to have this.
I remember getting this with my Christmas money when I was 12. Insane amount of material in this set.
All of the sudden I want to buy this even though I don't care much for 3 and 4. Saw 2, 3, and 4 at the theaters. I really wanted to like the 4th movie. But no. Saw part 1 on new years eve 1982 on VHS. I'm old.
Outstanding review! I never knew about the special Japanese DVD boxed set release with the exclusive Alien head and seeing how I currently live in Japan, I might pick it up myself eventually. Cheers and happy new year!
Re the DVD case, very similar to the ones that my B5 DVD Collections came in. They don't wear well.
I have this set on both DVD and Blu-Ray, absolutely love this set!
I’m surprised you hadn’t seen the workprint of Alien3 prior to this set, it was widely on the video trade circuit for years before, along with Star Trek Generations.
I got this box’d set on PO and loved every minute of it. For example I had no idea how the three first directors fought a neverending battle with the producers, fights that finally will bleed over (no pun) the making/editing of the movies.
And ”yes”, being 43 as of date I avtually own a Polaroid camera😏
Great vid as usual, brother!💚 You’re doing the community a h u g e favor making this videos and, hopefully, bring new fans to the lore and franchise.
Cheers from Sweden🇸🇪
I bought this set a couple years after it came out and I really like it, especially getting the chance to watch the different versions of each film and I also like watching the behind-the-scenes documentaries.
Wait did I just hear "Carl" ??? For the newborn xenomorph? I'm laughing so badly right now, because I heard the name Carl, I'ma call the Newborn Carl now and whenever it's on screen I'ma say "Hey, It's Carl!"
A good buddy of mine had this, and once i saw it at an FYE i snagged it immediately. Loved the feeling of the boxart, the texture was awesome at the time. I miss Box Sets
eh? Box sets are probably more popular than ever.
@@Outland9000 while they are popular, I wouldn't say as ever. Certain editions may be, especially when it comes to aliens.
Do not buy this online even if it is labelled as brand new. You might encounter the possibility of a disc rot from movies 1 to 4. The dual layered discs that features both theatrical and special editions are prone to disc rot. Basically it takes over a minute to load and plays choppy every couple of minutes, so you notice a frame freeze for a split second. This happens throughout the entire movie. Sometimes the disc would stop reading and resume. Only the feature presentations suffer from this reading error and not the bonus discs. If you have one, try playing this in your room and see if you encounter the same problem. Any single disc that has both special edition and a theatrical might suffer from disc rot.
I have the Alien Legacy boxset! And got the torch offer with it that was a postal order. Saw the quadset and didn't want as didn't look as well made.
Your wishing for the 4k box set & what you expect from it are dead on!
saw the theatrical 1979 cut in denmark 2009 at great cinema of best called cinemateket !!
Alternate title: "I blew a bunch of money on this set I mostly already owned and needed to make it a tax write off" lol. Glad you did though, because this was a site to see for someone who missed these milestones for Alien. As an added note, I was born in '98 and I *do* know what a Polaroid is, even if I've never used one.
I have the quadrilogy but my box art is different. The sleeve is embossed with an overmorph on the front and an embryo queen on the back. The inlay art is different too. Not sure if it's a re-release or just different for the European market.
Ok I stand corrected there were a few pics from the second film love the movies
Mine has a different outer box , and the insert isn’t a foldout. It’s like a fat book with thick pages.
My wife, then in 2004, found that I was thrilled to see AvP with her as she was also an Alien fan. She soon after bought me the Quadrilogy DVD set. I still have it and it holds a very high spot on my shelf. However, the box set I have is different from the one shown on this video. Everything else is much the same though. I've seen every movie on the big screen, including Romulus. Which I consider inferior to every other Alien featured movie to date. So disappointing!!
I absorbed every little bit of extras i could from this, including the whole V-CD stuff.
Edit: Laserdisc, not V-CD (derp)
Same - it's very hard for me to learn new things about the first two movies, since I am OBSESSED with them.
I feel like the red alien can be like a solo alien that can do whatever it wants create his own new legacy , Like the red alien becomes its natural form instead of the black goo