"ALIENS is back! And this time.... IT'S FOR TEAL!"

The irony is they remove the grain just to eventually add the grain. The Alien 4K visually surpasses this in every way.

I have the quadrilogy and anthology boxsets, but I don't think I'll make the jump to 4K releases anytime soon.

Its a real shame Cameron dropped the ball hard when it came to giving Aliens a proper 4K transfer. Instead of doing an actual restoration of an actual film print, he instead upscaled the old Blu Ray master, DNR'd it and AI sharpened it to hell, slapped some weak HDR on it and called it a day. If Alien can get a proper remaster, its no excuse for Aliens to not recieve the same treatment.

I was fortunate to see it on 70MM on my 21st birthday back in 2019, I can definitely say the 4K version does not look like it’s theatrical counterpart.

Just a shame this is what we gotten. 4K releases should be really better made in the end. Shame. Really sad to hear Oliver so negative about it. I had the same feelings with it. This is also the reason why I hardly upgrade from Bluray to 4K Bluray.

I'll stick with my 2010 blu ray or quadrilogy DVD

Thank you for the review. Whilst I understand James Cameron wanting to tinker with his films, I do think that a lot of the time, directors, editors, colour editors, do get caught up in the hype of a product, and think they have to turn up everything to eleven. We see this so often with films, particularly with HDR, with films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Akira just over doing everything. I work as a photographer and one of the biggest things I have learnt over 20+ years, is that you don't have to use every tool you have, particularly in post processing. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn as you always want to show how good you are, but often it backfires.

Glad you covered the previous releases in such technical detail and relieved to see a more sceptical response to this one. Compare a CU of Jonesy from the BluRay with the same shot in the 4k. So much detail in his fur that was baked into the grain on the 35mm print has been zapped. Using AI upscaling literally means the PC is making guess work of details. Not my cup of tea.

Thank you for clarifying the reduced detail on the faces. Many blu-ray reviewers on KZfaq seem to dodge this issue or outright deny it when you tell them. I felt they're all paid by Disney to give a glowing review.

Omg, i just watched your True Lies vid and asked for a comparison/buying guide, and that's exactly what this is! Thank you! Super helpful

Damnit James, everything doesn't have to be teal.

"Aliens"(1986) is an action horror sci-fi movie masterpiece!This is probably the best movie of all time for this Kind!

BR of aliens still looks great in my opinion so i will hold on to it

Wow, thanks Oliver for your 4K review. I'm sticking with my blu ray version. You just saved me some money!!!

A very concise and well said review. I'll stick by what I said about the Blu-Ray release over this 4K Hybrid version. True Lies had issues from the past, but I was less than impressed by the overall look of the film. Aliens has been revised to such an extent with the application of new A.I. tools that you can't ignore the elephant in the room. Unfortunately many people are ignorant and prefer riding the wave that this upscaled 4K Hybrid is an improvement when Aliens certainly isn't an improvement. This is a regression backward with film restoration. Hollywood is pushing hard with this technology, and Cameron plays along to promote this abhorrent technology. Now the flood gates will be opening to past films having the same techniques applied. Shocking! But don't tell that to the dumb asses who buy into this.

5:12 THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I have been saying for YEARS that NO STUDIO shoots their movies in 4K@60fps. It's TOO expensive and uses TOO much storage space. In addition, even in 2024 it take's ENORMOUS computer power and TIME to render CGI at that resolution. The point is that 4K UHD is FALSE ADVERTISMENT.

I fully agree! I would have been very happy with an actual restauration of the original negative, with image problems and all. Is the original image soft and grainy? Great, I'll take it! I want to have the experience of somebody in the cinema in 1986 just with the advantage of modern digital distribution so I can see all details of the master and stay at home. That's 4K for me.

Were you aware that you have released this on Alien day lv426! 26th April, bravo 👏

Great to see that you and I agree about how Aliens looking rough and ready. Its supposed to grainy.

Decided to stay with the Blu-ray on this one…too bad.

Very happy with this purchase. I felt like this was the best of the 4K release from Cameron.

I wish they'd take all the noise reduction money and put it into punching up the dropship crash rear projection scene. It's so effective, just a little contrast change on the background would make it blend in so much better.

This is probably Cameron's best film. It's a tragedy it was treated this way.

Also - wow - in those completely untouched clips the purple lighting looks amazing! And James Cameron *doesn’t* want that look??

Disney should recall the 4K-UHD, Blu-ray releases of both, “Aliens” and “True Lies,” so they could fix their original, film quality with grainy, HDR.

Thank you for your honest, as always, review. I did buy True Lies on 4K and had a laugh of some of waxiness. Owning Aliens on Blu-Ray I think I'll stick with it.

Gawd I hate when they change the tint colours, this happened with Batman and Terminator, I'm like I might as well put my VHS on at this point, just keep it pure to how it was, funny I'd rather watch the laser disc version you showed, over the 4k version, you're spot on about the faces, meh I have the quad blu rays thats good enough for me.

Wow, I'd love to see how it was originally presented. Hopefully one day when they have exhausted making films looking pristine they should release the original raw releases.

You perfectly highlight my annoyance with all these 4k re-releases and that's the outcome of making it all look digital. To me that just makes it look like CGI. The shot of the lander flying over the colony looked terrible. Its just too clean.

Love your channel. And your content. This is the greatest film of all time.

I'm still on the fence,, some of the images of the 4K do look atrocious but I suppose the only way I can really judge it is if I experience it myself. I will wait for a price drop. Thank you for your honesty.

This must be some sinister conspiracy, because nothing explains why these people think worsening the picture is better. I can't think of any other reason and it makes me scared.

#SupportPhysicalMedia

I've just bought the 4K Blu-ray as I'm a huge fan of the movie and definitely love my physical media. It still looks good to me in 4K and I really appreciate the way you have compared the different versions of the movie in your review.

That new box art is awful. What an eyesore.

People need to stop calling this a new transfer. This is the same transfer done in 2010 for the 1080p blu-ray. It is pixel-for-pixel the exact same image, only upscaled and DNR’d again after it was done on the 2010 2K transfer.

I can imagine there might be more physical releases in the future. They’ll probably be one Alien 4K box set collection & maybe one more in 4K on a physical format the size of a GameCube disc before that dystopian all digital future where we own nothing and we have to like it that way and bow down to our megacorporate overlords!🤣

What kills me is that the colony in 'Aliens: Dark Descent' also went for teal, too! 😂

Your commentaries help me fall asleep every night dude. Love your channel Please one day give us a deep dive into my favorite show Star Trek the next generation

Very good review reflecting my thoughts almost completely. 👍If we had a choice between Cameron's new preferred version and a version that's true to the original I wouldn't complain but this is (technical) revisionism - the opposite of film preservation.

The AC-3 disc is the best looking by miles, mind you seeing the 70mm print it looked nothing like the 4k or BD

How long before we get AI-generated reviews of AI-generated movies?

04:09 Thanks for posting images from the 35mm film print. The color saturation is stronger on film in my opinion.

such a classic - looking forward to revisiting this on 4K

I always thought Aliens was a really dirty transfer (where Alien felt cleaner) Not sure if it was just my VHS. Anything updated 2010 onwards is welcomed

It’s really cool and the only time I’ve seen a comparison to the original 35mm! I really like when movies are restored to what they looked like in original 35mm, but completely changing the look does bother me… instead of restoration, it’s changing how the film looks.

The Abyss seems like the best transfer outta the three new 4K releases :-)

Game over man. Game over!

Always appreciate your thoughts on films.

Watched it in the cinema in '86. I recently got the cinematic release dvd. Still chuffed. Great review.

I saw lots of people having the movie on streaming services complain about wax faces and smudges while the DVD 4k has still that super nice grainy effect. The only complaint i have is the BASS its like stripped almost i had to increase the bASS level of my subwoofer to the max ! BUt the audio is SUPERB !

0:55 "Aliens was a big hit back in *1996* " Wait you meant to say, 1986 right?

The sad thing for us who use digital stores. The 2K version has been "upgraded" to the 4K version.

I m still happy with my Definitive Edition on DVD.

This is like a DFIC review in 10 minutes 😂. I am super curious about the 4.1 and 2.0 audio mixes. Do we know if those are included with the 1080p presentation in the new set? Is the 1080p the new or previous transfer.

I just got the 4K it looks amazing , I was running it on a ps5 , the only thing I will dig it for is when the rear projection shot are used in the movie

8:51 My god, the 35mm colour grading is so cool. The 4k looks like it was shot in a swimming pool. I've heard various arguments about this release, but seeing these image comparisons here it's clear how flat and digital the new image looks. I can see why people are pissed off.

Really clear and concise presentation, I've subscribed! Watched Aliens in 35mm cinema print which was nostalgic and amazing, I don't see anything beating that experience. In terms of a home entertainment version, I only have the DVD from the Quadrilogy, so I'll defo be upgrading to the 4K regardless of any bad opinions or reviews. Thanks for the heads up.

Oliver dropping this review a day after my copy was shipped out :(

If it isn't broke, don't fix it

As an audio and movie enthusiast, I was really wondering about this release. As I found the 30th Anniversary edition was a great transfer. Great review, well done.

Idk, looked amazing to me tbh...

3 GODDAM CLASSICS !! FINALLY ! Althoug I totally agree that Abyss is the holy grail here !

Even to this day I still own the Alien Quadrillogy box set. I honestly prefer it over any 4K

I’ve seen Aliens many times. VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and Streaming. Honestly, though, I thought the 4K disc was pretty good and my new favorite transfer. The details and sharpness in certain scenes are unmatched. Is it as good as Alien on 4K? No, but then again, that transfer is a work of art and one of the best restorations ever made. Still, I think most people will be happy with Aliens on 4K.👍🏻

The 35mm color and contrast looks better than anything on these digital formats. The bluray is really nice thou...just wish it could be adjusted a bit towards the 35mm look..

Alien 1979 in cinema this weekend. Oh yeah!

I might be in the minority, but I much prefer the theatrical cut of Aliens. Seeing the colony before the Marines arrived just ruins the atmosphere of the film.

I recently re-watched my Blu Ray copy of Aliens just a few months ago and remember thinking to myself “wow, this looks really good!” It’s so strange to think even in the commentary track Cameron made (in 2003?) he comments on how heavy the grain was, while I think in the Blu Ray the grain looks perfect. So I guess James Cameron has always hated film grain and will stop at nothing to remove it all. Which is a shame, because a clean digital image just feels to sterile and soulless to me. Also I have to wonder if all this “AI” talk is just buzz words? How are these AI tools any different to sharpening and noise/grain reduction techniques in the past?

I think that ever since JC started with Avatar, he lost a bit of traditional cinematic feel of 35mm film. Looking at some of the examples from the UHD BluRay as well as knowing the DVD and BluRay, the treatment Aliens got now, is a bit too much. Like you said, it looks as if it was shot with a digital cinema camera, but lost some of its charme and organic quality. I am not against a better color grading for remasters, but noise reduction etc. is too much for my taste

Never get enough of this one 😂❤👽🥶

This whole tampering with the color started with the Wachowski brothers and making The Matrix look green like parts two and three instead of the original blue

I want to get the new 4K upgrade, but should I also get the old 2010 bluray? I wonder how the 2K bluray that comes with the new release compares to the old.

It'd be good if you noted what type of screen you watched this on. I loved watching this on my 4K Oled, especially the optical effects that look so much better on the 4K. They always pulled me out on the bluray. I still own the Bluray but I'm going with JC on this one. Appreciate the review though.

Great review. Saved me £50 with this and the True Lies one.

Laser disc, lol. But I agree with you 4K version looks too clean. I have seen Alien in 35mm a few times at the New Beverly Cinema.

Cameron believes that part of archiving his work is to keep it relevant to 'modern' audiences. That means giving it that digitally shot look. With Lucas it was inserting CGI effects. A nightmare for cinephiles and fans of the film, but probably will play well to future audiences streaming it in 2035. Just stick to the 1080p blu-ray. The original purple colour grading would have been interesting to see.

I was just just watching your Alien Resurrection review and noticed this on my recommended page. Funny coincidence.

Was looking forward to this release but it sounds like the first release to T2 on 4K, hopefully they remedy it on a subsequent release, didn't like the waxy look on the 1st gen T2 4K transfer.

Way to kind and respectful. Cameron needs a man behind him saying 'you are just a man' because this is a emperor's new clothes situation, that AI upscale looks terrible, simply awful. Having played about with AI upscaling its almost comical, I'd have written it off at a test phase, let alone a full render, let alone publicly releasing it. Thanks for the warning tho!

I actually liked the 4K release overall. Yes, there were a few scenes that had noticeably waxy faces. But there were more scenes where the textures were much more defined. My only real gripe with the transfer is the brightness level. It's frustrating because I think the Blu-Ray was too dark and muddy. But now it is on the other end of the spectrum. That said, I think I like this version the best. There simply is no perfect version. The most accurate was probably the DVD, but then you are limited to DVD resolution and DVD sound.

I honestly think with older and granier films like this that werent obviously shot on digital at the time, the previous home releases have already squeezed about as much as they can out of the picture with the resources available. If you want the latest Marvel films in pristine 4k then knock yourself out.

I love the OCP opening

I watched Alien and Aliens Blu-ray about 3 weeks ago. I enjoyed it a lot. It's been so long since I've seen those movies, it was like watching it fresh. James Cameron will always be my favorite director. I had a good laugh when Sgt. Apone was like "YOU KNOW THE DRILL, A$$HOLES AND ELBOWS....HUDSON, CMERE....COME HEREEEEE" 😂🤣Took me back to my boot camp days.

they need to re release aliens back in theaters.. like they just did with alien

Personally i think it's a waste of time 4k is over rated in my opinion . I am not buying the same movie over and over again for a slight difference in the colour of someone's face

After watching 35mm scans of Aliens, I can say that no release manage to recreate the theatrical look of Aliens. It’s just to bright.

Happy Alien Day! Love the review. Thanks!

4:06 - when can we see the original colour scheme?

Great Review!

Blu-ray Quadrilogy FTW!

I had the same experience you did, having seen the first ALIEN several times on different formats and yet still being blown away by the 4K. I had just gotten a 4K TV, and even though I'd liked the improvements I'd seen in newer movies and games, it was ALIEN that truly sold me on the 4K format, it was like seeing it for the first time again. So you can imagine how disappointed I am that ALIENS isn't worth the upgrade. Side by side, yeah, it just looks like the existing Blu-ray but brighter and less textured. And I actually really LIKE the texture of the Blu-ray, my only issue with it is the extremely different color grade. Like, even the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blus weren't that heavily tinted. Still, I was hoping that maybe Cameron would see the light and change the grade back to its theatrical presentation for this release, like LotR more or less did. Unfortunately, looks like he doubled down instead. Oh well. At least THE ABYSS looks great! But then again, only people who saw it in a theater in 1989 know what it was actually supposed to look like, huh?

Batman 89, Aliens etc what else is part of the teal collection

I really like the 4k, but, as soon as there is the slower/less action shots of faces, you do see the "Fine line wrinkles are there.....gone again, oh and back again" I think the perfect release would be the 4k, but just ease off 30/40% on the DNR.

I love the Taylor pick. It has been common knowledge for a while that this draft, starting in the fourth round, dropped off in talent dramatically. Poles himself said so. Before the fifth round trade, this was their last pick, and to walk away with the best player on the drafte at his position is a steal. Ultimately, from fuve picks, you get three starters. That's a solid return.

Amazing review, thank you.

I have the dvd, blu ray and the 4k of Aliens, i think the normal blu ray has the best look overall and sounds better then the atmos track on the 4k disk. I like also the 4k version its a clean sharp picture, but i think it could be done better with more effort. Maybe the grainy look of the blu ray with 4000 nits hdr is the best version of all, if that exist.

Thank you for your honest review. I’ve seen so many positive glowing reviews praising it and saying the negative criticism is unwarranted but the AI color grading looks like shit. The cyan hues are awful. I want it to look like it did when I saw it in theaters in 1986 color hues and film grain. This is digital manipulation. Cameron needs to stop messing with his films like Lucas. Every change just keeps ruining the experience.

The 1080 blu ray looks the best!