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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

That new box art is awful. What an eyesore.

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

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

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

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

The transfer looks mega wank mate. I don't care what Cameron wants it to look like, this is a level of tinkering too far.

Looks way too artificial for my taste, especially the hair looks like topaz ai upscaling. Also i hate DNR. True Lies looks horrible too in some scenes.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

People wanting filmic look above all should just stick with DVD or VHS in my opinion. No mention of the poor HDR grading 👎🏻

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

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.

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.

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!🤣

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.

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.

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.

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

Idk, looked amazing to me tbh...

I feel my dvds are probably better at keeping that grain and cinema look, i've no interest in seeing my favourite films reduced to cheap digital soap Orpha looking hot shit. i detest digital over 35m

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.

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.

Watching 2014 US Bluray. Looks better than the no grain 4K mess. More natural look. The 4K looks like a CGI film overall

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

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

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

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

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 !

All of James Cameron films look great in 4K..!!! He did an excellent job!

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

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

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

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.👍🏻

I hate the teal green look, the light of the moon casts a blue tint on earth through the blue sky. Seeing Harry Potter and Aliens and other films in that teal color looks so bland and unnatural.

That cover is so horrible haha

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

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.

Always appreciate your thoughts on films.

#SupportPhysicalMedia

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

18 mln is not a tight budget for 1986, it cost more than Top Gun released the same year.

Game over man. Game over!

100% agree! Too often, 4K transfer looks worse than Blu-Ray 1080p. I just don't get it! Well, sometimes even Blu-Ray looks worse than the good old DVD but 4K is almost always worse than Blu-Ray 1080p. 4K is way too dark and cold. It is sharp okay but it looks ugly. Colors are also reduced to almost a minimum. Not to mention the higher price of the disc..........

How are you showing the 35mm print scan? Where is that from and how does one watch it like that?

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

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

I’ve bought Aliens more times than I can count. Glad I can pass on this one 😆 thanks for the review

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.

No no ,your being way too over critical . Removing film grain while retaining the detail is not detrimental to image, It's just a clean up process. Just because your obsessed with film grain doesn't mean its a standard, just as modern movies don't have have film grain unless artificially applied . if your judgeing on realism you would not see or have film grain in really with the naked eye. Also look at planet earth series on 4k they have remarkable depth and clarity without film grain, Could you imagine having film grain on that series?. Film grain is a relic of the past film processes and limitations. By your accounts all 4k movies without grain should be thrown under the buss . 4k is a format to be enjoyed and should not be subject to negativity. On a personal note i enjoy film grain especially when it has a light layer. Bottom line is depth and clarity .

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

Normally I'm in total agreement with you, true lies looks extremely waxy in 4K, definitely couldn't argue that. But aliens absolutely floored me in 4K HDR. I was even remarking to my brother that this might be the single sharpest looking 4K disc I've ever seen and that's something considering the grainy structure of the original negative and the age of the film. So much so that I would say this is the first time in all my years of buying 4K media that I actually felt like I was watching something that justified the format. But to each their own, great review as always!

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.

I was fine with this 4k, but granted I've only ever owned Aliens on DVD. I certainly think that the film looks massively better than it did on DVD or Laserdisc. I personally think there's kind of a hipster aspect to Laserdisc collecting; the image is inferior and the discs themselves unstable.

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.

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

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

Bought this just for the blu ray and out of curiosity tried the 4k disc in my xbox one and it bloody played , never knew till now 😂 I've had this on VHS , a bootleg VHS of the special edition from the laser disc, it was one of my first dvds and blu rays then got the quadrilogy on blu ray and now this .

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.

Oliver, you've finally said something I disagree with.....you can't own too many copies of Aliens...lol

I am mainly commenting because I constantly love it when you slip in a personal opinion or annoyed sound in your reviews; specifically your groan during your updated Dune (1984) review when you mentioned the year the film takes place, and in this video, when you at first say that we should respect Cameron's decisions on his modifications of his films, and then adding how annoying it is. I love it! As to the film itself, I hate it. However, I love James Horner's music, especially when he gives it a Penderecki sound when they are searching for survivors. Brilliant soundtrack, and often more interesting than Goldsmith's music for the first film.

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.

Yes it looks different, but I still thought it looked really good. The new 30 minute interview was great, it reminds you just how multi-talented Cameron is and I wish he didn’t dedicate so many years just to Avatar.

It's extra crisp and high resolution. Enjoy it for the detail. I will still keep my bluray copy

No one of these pseudo Reviewers tells me if and how the new Atmos Sound is better. He says "it has Atmos now" and moves on. Yeah, thanks, great review👏 😒

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

I feel like I'm on a lonely island. I'm the only person I know who loves ALIENS' 4K release 😅

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.

Alien 1979 in cinema this weekend. Oh yeah!

Never get enough of this one 😂❤👽🥶

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.

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..

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?