Aliens Expanded (Documentary) (Blu-Ray) (1 Viewer)

[Alex...]

Join the Aliens cast & crew, including James Cameron (Writer & Director), Michael Biehn (Hicks), Lance Henriksen (Bishop) Mark Rolston (Drake), Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez), William Hope (Gorman) and Carrie Henn (Newt), on a deep dive into this science-fiction classic.

Brimming with stories, insight, and wonderful personal detail, this four-hour documentary is the most passionate and sophisticated exploration of Aliens ever made; a love letter to the people who made it and the communities who adore it, reflecting and enhancing the incredible legacy of this beloved epic.

The backbone of the documentary is an analysis of the crucial scenes of Aliens in chronological order. Using an innovative graphical ‘scanner’ we travel inside the movie to focus on not just scenes, but individual elements within those scenes, including characters, weaponry, and sets.

As we examine these elements, the crew, including Creature Effects Supervisors Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Skotak, Model Maker John Lee, and Graham Hartstone (Sound Department) add their own stories to those of the cast.

Along the way, we offer up a fresh and expanded take on the incredible story behind the film: the chance encounter that led to Cameron taking it on, the intense writing process, the intuitive casting of the marines, winning over Sigourney Weaver, finding Newt, the nightmare shoot, and the ultimate triumph. Famous tales are retold, but enriched with new perspectives. And More...

up for pre-order: (Digital delivery in June, Physical Delivery in July.)

Digital Only Package

Blu-ray Package

T-Shirt & Blu-ray Package

Associate Producer Package


Orders close at midnight on May 5th.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Just ordered the BluRay package. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Allansfirebird]

I'm curious what this documentary will offer that Charles de Lauzirika's Superior Firepower: The Making of Aliens didn't cover? $99 is a lot of money for a documentary that's trodding over familiar ground.

 

[ahollis]

I'm not impressed.

 

[Jeff F.]

I find it strange that Sigourney Weaver did not take part in this.

 

[Richard Kaufman]

No Sigourney Weaver, no purchase.

 

[jayembee]

I hope if there will be a non-swag edition later on.

 

[Alex...]

 

[dpippel]

I'd be very interested to hear why Sigourney Weaver isn't a BIG part of this project. Personal reasons? Money? Scheduling conflicts? Just not interested? Some weird Cameron thing?

Anyway, at $99 + shipping for the physical release, I'm also hoping that a pared-down set will eventually be offered. If not, those who choose to skip the box-o-junk package might have to try and hunt down a decent deal on a digital copy from a third-party seller. The $50 they're charging for the digital pre-order is excessive IMO, particularly without Weaver's involvement.

 

[Malcolm R]

Probably money or scheduling conflicts, as Weaver seems to be OK with Cameron and working with him on the Avatar franchise.

 

[TravisR]

I'd be very interested to hear why Sigourney Weaver isn't a BIG part of this project. Personal reasons? Money? Scheduling conflicts? Just not interested? Some weird Cameron thing?

My guess is one of two things- either her agent just said no without asking her (a reason I've heard cited before) or she's sick of talking about Alien(s). It's a shame that she's not a part of it but is she really going to bring anything new than the normal stories that she has been reciting over and over for decades? Granted, you could probably say that about most people in this documentary though.

 

[dpippel]

Probably money or scheduling conflicts, as Weaver seems to be OK with Cameron and working with him on the Avatar franchise.

Maybe doing the voice work and mo-cap performance to portray a teenage Na'vi pushed her (or Cameron) over the edge.

 

[dpippel]

My guess is one of two things- either her agent just said no without asking her (a reason I've heard cited before) or she's sick of talking about Alien(s). It's a shame that she's not a part of it but is she really going to bring anything new than the normal stories that she has been reciting over and over for decades? Granted, you could probably say that about most people in this documentary though.

Like you, I don't think that any real new ground will be broken here. I think the main attraction of this documentary is the nostalgia factor and the fact that so many of the principal actors and production team came together to make it happen. Except for Weaver, who's absence leaves a huge hole in the project IMO. Plus, it's obvious that they're leveraging the recent 4K release of the film.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Tommy R]

I’d pay $10 tops to watch this, and maybe not even that. The stuff that was initially made for that Quadrilogy box set from 20+ years ago is sufficient in my book for all my behind the scenes cravings for the first 4 movies.

Also very curious why Weaver is not involved. But I’ve been equally curious all these years as to the absence of “new” (for its time in 2003) interview footage of her talking about Alien Resurrection on the Quadrilogy box set. IIRC, she had “new” interviews for the portions covering the first 3 films but on all the new features for Resurrection, it’s only older interviews of her, in-costume on the set of Resurrection, speaking on it. Like, the interviewers for the 2003 stuff were like “Okay, Sigourney, now let’s move onto our Alien 4 questions…” and then she was like “Oh jeez, look at the time…”

 

[Alex...]

Sigourney Weaver has joined

‘Aliens Expanded’ – Sigourney Weaver Joins Upcoming 4-Hour Documentary!

“You’ll never watch Aliens the same way again.” That’s the promise of upcoming documentary Aliens Expanded, which aims to be the ultimate companion to the 1986 classic. In addition to featuring a brand new exclusive interview with director James Cameron, Bloody Disgusting has learned that star...

bloody-disgusting.com

 

[Allansfirebird]

While that's cool they're getting all the big players, $99 is too much for a retrospective documentary for me to open my wallet for a physical copy, to say nothing of $49 for digital.

 

[Alex...]

Empire Review 4/5

"The 4.5 hour-plus runtime might put some off, but that massive canvas only allows for the deepest of deep dives into a monumental achievement in cinematic science-fiction. Another glorious day in the corps!"

 

[dpippel]

The digital version is available now, and the price has dropped to $29.99. There's no info that I could find about what PLATFORM the digital is accessible on, only that the video will be 1080p MP4.

 

[dpippel]

Has anyone purchased the digital version of this? How is it delivered?