Alien [4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray] [2019]

I have watched Alien more times than any other movie, and it never stops being utterly compelling. The casting, cinematography, story, music, visuals, all of it is just perfect. I've seen both the theatrical release and the director's cut multiple times, and even went to a special screening of Alien at the Natural History Museum a few years ago. Suffice it to say, I know the movie scene for scene and - while I was not expecting to be disappointed by this 4K release - I did not expect to experience the movie differently.How wrong I was! This reshot 4K edition is breathtaking. It makes the movie look like it was shot yesterday, but without losing any of the visual texture and quality of the original. So many things are now crystal clear: you can read the little sticky notes stuck on the crew's cockpit dashboards, the detailing of the ship's hull and interiors are even more impressive, the glistening head of the xenomorph, the self-destruct instructions, even the Weyland-Yutani corporation's logo is visible in the science lab, where I had never noticed it before. This edition of the film allows you to appreciate so much more of the effort that went into creating the world of Alien.As for the sound, it is sharper, clearer and even more menacing than ever I've heard it before. Even the static and crackle of the crew's astro-suit cameras or the humming thrum of Mother's control room are somehow amplified and improved. Sitting at home watching this in my own living room, I felt completely immersed in the soundscape of the film.In short: if you love this movie as much as I do, even if you already have it on DVD or Blu-Ray (as I did!) then you should still seriously consider getting this 4K release. And if you've never seen the film before, this is the *only* way to see it now.

Another film I'd not seen for some time, remember seeing this one at the Cinema when it was first doing the rounds (guess that was indeed around 40 years ago.The film was spine-chilling, often very tense, and designed to shock the audience style film of that time.Was encouraged to upgrade to 4k by some of the reviewer's comments, glad I did, the picture quality on the format is indeed outstanding given that the film is over 40 years old now.Cast/CrewTom Skerritt -Dallas, captain of the NostromoSigourney Weaver as Ripley, the warrant officerVeronica Cartwright as Lambert, the navigatorHarry Dean Stanton as Brett, the engineering technician.John Hurt as Kane, the executive officerIan Holm as Ash, the ship's science officerYaphet Kotto as Parker, the chief engineer.Helen Horton as the voice of Mother, the Nostromo's computer.The Commercial vessel Nostromo is returning to Earth after completing its mission, the on-board computer 'Mother' picks-up an unidentified signal and wakes the crew.Following protocol, the crew is duty-bound to respond to possible distress calls, a small team led by the Captain head out to the derelict vessel to investigate, meanwhile back on Nostromo Ripley deciphers part of the message being sent realizing it to be a warning, however, she is unable to relay this to the investigating team.On-board the derelict vessel, Kane comes across some egg-like objects, poking one about, it opens-up, something springs out attaching itself to Kane's face.When the investigating team head back to Nostromo, Ripley says with an unidentified alien object on Kane's face they should not break quarantine rules, however, they are allowed back on-board.Removal of whatever had attached itself to Kane proves impossible, however, eventually, it disappears, however, Kane is not back to normal for long, the being had implanted itself within his being and breaks-out.The remaining crew now have to try and track down the alien presence, and soon find it has vicious intent as one by one the crew's numbers diminish until just Ripley and the onboard pet (a cat) remain.The alien spawn proves a determined adversary, as Ripley tries to escape its persistent attention.Will Ripley the only surviving crew-member escape?A truly tense watch that indeed intensifies during the final sequences of the film.Given the film was made some years before Special-Effects really got going, the visual content is indeed impressive.Certainly worthy of another glance, recommend getting theb4k upgrade if you have the necessary gear available to you.