Alien 4K UHD (1979) (40th Anniversary Edition)

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by Bobbyjoe766

Agreed. Don’t want to see this 1979 classic messed with (JAWS Blu-ray digital tweaking).

Other than dnr some thought was a little too agressive, what exactly was “tweaked” for the blu-ray of Jaws?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Fang Zei

Other than dnr some thought was a little too agressive, what exactly was “tweaked” for the blu-ray of Jaws?

the wire tugging the buoy at the beginning was erased, ships visible in the background when the Orca is at sea were also erased.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by mar3o

All of that was done to Blade Runner because it was Ridley Scott's "Final Cut" version of the film and he decided to do some enhancements to it. It wasn't done for the UHD. This UHD of Alien is supposed to be the original theatrical version. As such, I hope they do zero tinkering with the effects. If there are wires, there are wires. If that's what they saw in 1979, that's what I want to see on the UHD. Otherwise, it's not the original theatrical version imo.

Couldn't agree more. Even Jim Cameron correcting some of the Aliens goofs on the BD bugged me.

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Cineworld has it on all over also

Indeed. Got tickets to see it next month with the missus. This'll be the third time I've seen it on the big screen (and it's the theatrical version this time, which is a plus).

[FiendishlyInventive]

In such cases the Theatrical Version should always be available in addition to the enhanced version.
As I've stated previously, the first three Alien films would greatly benefit from some enhancements, but not as a replacement for the Theatrical Versions.

[StingingVelvet]

Apologies to the hardcore, but I actually like erasing wires and goofs. Sorry not sorry.

No CG "enhancements" to effects though please.

[Kakihara]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

All of the stuff you mention was done for the Final Cut of Blade Runner back in 2007. It wasn't done just "for the DVD", it was a 4K restoration of the film in general, using 6K and 8K scans of the 65mm VFX.

The UHD may have had some little extra tweaks to even out the grain in a couple of shots which were lifted from the Workprint (like the animoid row extension) due to how HDR can exacerbate grain, but that's it.

Alien may yet have a few such tweaks on the UHD transfer but it is NOT the same kind of wholesale revision to the film that the Blade Runner Final Cut was.

So now the Blade Runner UHD is bad after having been praised?

[Noremac Mij]

Originally Posted by Kakihara

So now the Blade Runner UHD is bad after having been praised?

It’s a reference UHD, no doubt about that IMO.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Kakihara

So now the Blade Runner UHD is bad after having been praised?

99% of people love it, but a certain picky few see an issue. You could say that about many a UHD.

(No, not T2 Jimmy Boy).

[Noremac Mij]

A lot of work and love went into T2. I’m digging it.

[Retroj23]

Originally Posted by Noremac Mij

A lot of work and love went into T2. I’m digging it.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Apologies to the hardcore, but I actually like erasing wires and goofs. Sorry not sorry.

No CG "enhancements" to effects though please.

For me, I like to be taken back to when it was released. I like to imagine what it was like seeing this back in 1979, warts and all. Part of what impresses me so much with older films is when they pull off visual tricks or effects that still hold up well today. I like seeing a film and thinking "wow, that shot still looks amazing and totally seamless, even in 4k" or "well, that shot had some issues but they tried". By them removing the "warts", I'm no longer seeing some of the effects issues they had to try to overcome back then. When I see a shot that looks great, I have to wonder if it looks so good because they touched it up, or removed wires, or if it really did look that good originally. I hate wondering every time I see a cool shot if they did something to it.

So what is acceptable and what isn't when it comes to "wart removal"? Fixing wires? Removing matte boxes? Replacing/fixing backgrounds (maybe they used a flat backdrop to pass as a background)? Patching up goofs on-set, like a prop issue? How about fixing continuity issues? How about fixing mistakes in editing? How far should they go to correct issues?

All films have warts. Some stand out more than others for sure. But hiding wires in a shot or two in Alien won't hide the fact that it's still obvious in a few shots that somebody is wearing an Alien suit, or hide the fact that the Alien moves really slow, or fix the issue with that scene with Ash's head not matching up well as Ripley is soldering it, or improve the editing in the shot with the Alien reaching out in the tunnel at Dallas and then stopping like it's posing, or explain why Ripley knows how to activate the emergency destruct sequence on the Nostromo, just for examples.

I love Alien a ton. And that means warts and all. It's darned near a perfect film in terms of atmosphere and dread. But it's still a movie and it has a few warts, and I'd just as soon have them leave the warts alone and let me appreciate it the way I remember it.

Plus, some people like to spot goofs in films. I never noticed until somebody told me, but there's a shot in an episode of Space:1999 where a stun gun is supposed to suddenly appear in somebody's hand, but for whatever reason, instead of them doing a jump-cut, in this episode they just had somebody off-screen place the gun into their hand really quick, hoping you wouldn't see it. Except you can - once you see it you can never unsee it - a hand literally comes out of the side of the screen and places the gun in his hand. Hilarious! And I love seeing that kind of stuff, just to remind me that at the end of the day, this is all entertainment. I was sad when they digitally fixed it for the blu-ray.

[tducken]

Not sure if this was already posted in here, but does anyone know when this will be in U.S. theaters?

[dwk]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Apologies to the hardcore, but I actually like erasing wires and goofs. Sorry not sorry.

No CG "enhancements" to effects though please.

I don't mind either, especially in situations where the scan reveals stuff that would have been mostly hidden in the theatrical print.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by dwk

I don't mind either, especially in situations where the scan reveals stuff that would have been mostly hidden in the theatrical print.

This is the one exception I'd be okay with as far as wire removal/matte box removal goes. If it wasn't originally seen theatrically (in other words, they did effectively manage to hide them) but due to the new scan they are now revealed, then I would be okay with removing them.

[Noremac Mij]

Alterations to Star Wars tested me, but I've come to appreciate them due to George's overwhelming passion for his movies.

I fully support what Ridley did to Blade Runner and Cameron to most of his movies. If the original director is involved, it's all good.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

I am all for judicial CGI clean up of various unintended visual seams.

The degree of visual fidelity of a well treated scan that is authored to Blu-ray or UHD, in many respects, will far exceed the the quality of a conventional 35mm print from 1979. Hence not being a great reference for presentation quality. I understand the sentiment and agree with it up to a degree but I find it when taken to a self-defeating extreme to be misguided

Many of the warts some enjoy to wax nostalgic for were never meant to be seen and some of which were expected to be less visible or near nonexistent with the generational loss with film prints.

Take the wires out, remove print damage, fix certain continuity issues ala Aliens Pulse Rifle and Flame Thrower order or the scratch marks in the glass, make seamless certain gags like Bishop's torso. Those are all sensible and beneficial fixes which improves the immersion of the cinematic experience.

I would prefer all the wires removed if possible such as when the Alien is blown out the shuttle or in Aliens during the Power Loader and Queen fight.

The visual fixes with Alien with the past blu-ray transfer were generally great as far as I am concerned, except for the Lowry DNR with the funky grain reduction artifacts, etc.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by Noremac Mij

Alterations to Star Wars tested me, but I've come to appreciate them due to George's overwhelming passion for his movies.

I fully support what Ridley did to Blade Runner and Cameron to most of his movies. If the original director is involved, it's all good.

Originally Posted by Noremac Mij

A lot of work and love went into T2. I’m digging it.

A lot of love and work went into conceiving Hitler also

[The Beast Within]

Originally Posted by Noremac Mij

Alterations to Star Wars tested me, but I've come to appreciate them due to George's overwhelming passion for his movies.

I fully support what Ridley did to Blade Runner and Cameron to most of his movies. If the original director is involved, it's all good.

The problem with Lucas was never the alterations - I remember people being quite excited to see the special editions in the cinema when they released - but the fact that he chose to hide away the original versions from Star Wars fans and removing the most important thing that Cameron, Scott, etc have always given us; options.

Some of the changes Lucas made were great, others, awful. there's a whole generation of film fans who have only grown up with the special editions now, and I'd be quite happy to pay for 3 disc, 4K sets of each original movie that had both original and special editions included. The Blade Runner/Alien sets should be the template for any of these films with complicated releases. Sadly though, I doubt we'll ever see the likes of it for Star Wars.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by The Beast Within

The problem with Lucas was never the alterations - I remember people being quite excited to see the special editions in the cinema when they released - but the fact that he chose to hide away the original versions from Star Wars fans and removing the most important thing that Cameron, Scott, etc have always given us; options.

Some of the changes Lucas made were great, others, awful. there's a whole generation of film fans who have only grown up with the special editions now, and I'd be quite happy to pay for 3 disc, 4K sets of each original movie that had both original and special editions included. The Blade Runner/Alien sets should be the template for any of these films with complicated releases. Sadly though, I doubt we'll ever see the likes of it for Star Wars.

Not anymore

[The Beast Within]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Not anymore

Yup, which is why I was pretty disappointed by the lack of DC on the Alien 4K disc. I tend to go theatrical with all the alien films I watch these days anyway but would have been great to have these be 'definitive' sets. My blu rays won't be going anywhere.