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Aliens [Region 2] | ![Aliens [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417E7VFB79L._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: James Cameron
Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $14.98
Rating:  615 reviews
Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), French (Original Language), English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 137 Minutes
EAN: 3344421505452
ASIN: B00004VY2I
Theatrical Release Date: July 18, 1986
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. --Marshall Fine
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| Customer Reviews: Read 610 more reviews...
 As worthy a sequel to an original as The Godfather II June 24, 2009
Oneness (Kew Gardens New York)
There is one major flaw in this film of which I am acutely aware each time I view it and yet I cannot bring myself to give it less than five stars.
It is fifty seven years after the events in ALIEN and Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has spent all that time in suspended animation because her escape craft, the Narcissus, drifted out of the commonly traveled space routes. Luckily for her and for us her craft was detected and picked up by a deep space salvage vessel.
Soon she is convalescing in the hospital wing of a huge space station in Earth's orbit that did not exist in her time, everyone she knew is dead and her sleep is haunted by her experience on the Nostromo. Except for a seemingly friendly and sensitive executive named Burke from the Weyland Yutani Corporation (her employers) she is alone and worse; she is out of her time.
With little time to recover, she soon finds herself before a skeptical and unsympathetic board of inquiry commissioned by the Weyland Yutani Corporation with her frustration at their refusal to believe her story culminating in an impassioned but insulting outcry to no avail as the case is summarily closed. She soon learns the reason for the board's skepticism. LV-426, the small planet (moon actually) on which the events of ALIEN began is being terra-formed. There are already some sixty to seventy people on the planet including whole families. The fact that they have not found the alien craft does not ease her sense of dread as she knows that the inevitable will occur.
The inevitable comes true of course as all contact with the colonists ceases. Soon Burke and The Colonial Marines are on their way to investigate along with an initially reluctant Ripley who was asked to serve as an advisor. This is the major flaw in this film as the little she does know about the Xenomorph is explained in less than a minute and we also learn that they have a full report from her on disc. Her reason for going is both therapeutic (facing her fear) and to have her A-rating restored which was taken away from her because of her actions fifty seven years before and for psychiatric reasons. Another motive to restore her rating is because her current rating renders her unable to make a sutible living and she is in fact living in poverty.
Like Ridley Scott before him, James Cameron spends considerable time setting up the story and drawing the audience in to what seems to be a fully fleshed out universe. The Marines with their barrack's humor are a refreshing change from the characters we met before but there is still an underlying sense of unease, I mean it's ALIENS for goodness sake and we know that at some point the jocularity is going to come to an end. Also like ALIEN the actors all come off as totally believable, a feat that I find can only be achieved in science fiction when all involved take the material seriously. The Colonial Marine ship, The Sulaco is not completely without tension however as Ripley soon discovers that Bishop is an android, a fact that does not sit well with her.
Soon after, we find ourselves on the surface of LV-426, the atmosphere of which has been rendered breathable via the massive atmosphere processor set up and maintained by the colonists. Even here Cameron exercises restraint as he deftly teases us with the suspense of our own expectations going so far as to supply us with a little jump start, a precursor of things to come. It's all over rather quickly and things settle down luring the audience into a feeling of calm before they get swept away by the storm.
In the second half of this film James Cameron manages to mix high action with intense suspense, a feat very few directors before him or since have been able to pull off as deftly. Like ALIEN before it, the effect ALIENS has on the viewer is the result of the time spent by both directors establishing not just the characters but the atmosphere as well. One merely needs to compare ALIEN and ALIENS to Alien vs. Predator: Requiem to fully appreciate the value of patience coupled with a healthy dose of respect for the material and the audience. By contrast, in AVP Requiem a whole nursery of newborns is killed but at that point you just don't care. Now that's bad filmmaking.
There a few surprises in ALIENS, all unexpected and striking yet meshing seamlessly with the rest of the film and as with ALIEN, it is rife with metaphors and subtext delivered with a carefully restrained hand rendering it enjoyable by all, in a sweaty, heart pounding, teeth gritting kind of way.
PS. The following might dispel a common misconception for you.
When Ripley takes the one elevator down to the basement level, it automatically goes back up once she steps out. Later when she goes back to the elevator she furiously hits the button for the one elevator to come back down, after a few seconds, in frustration and heart pounding fear, she hits the other button for the second elevator.
Remember the elevators go back up automatically.
 The Other Half of the Peak June 2, 2009
Untitled (nowhere)
Aliens is often touted as that sequal that matches the original. That's really not true, as Aliens has things that Alien does not, and vice versa. Gone is the tension and simple yet effective plot of the first one. But that's not exactly a bad thing, because trying to top the first film's trademarks is totally stupid and not worth doing. Instead, Aliens wisely delivers more action and less claustrophobia. Not to mention more Aliens than before. Indeed, having the man who directed and co-wrote (the sceenplay) the Terminator onboard gives the sequal a great direction into a new, inviting way for the franchise.
The plot on this one is a bit less satisfying, involving less on problem solving. There is nothign more interesting in the Alien series than the problem solving that deals with the Alien, in my opinion. The acting ensemble is fine and well done. I didn't find the crew as interesting though, the characters didn't interset me and just kind of stood their like carboard cutouts. Not much screen-time is given to them, making mostly for Ripley and Newt. Newt is a great plot twist for the movie, and she and Ripley bond together in a very sweet way.
Oh, and of course, another thing that makes this film great is more Aliens. The queen itself is another sight to behold, and you get more aliens than before. While nothing really compares to watching the first encounter with the Alien, it more than makes up for it with some gruesome effects, egg nests, and of course, the Queen. Most Alien films are known for introducing and elaborating on the ever-interesting and expansive creatures, and Aliens doesn't disappoint.
Alien and Aliens are a one-two knockout of science fiction films, and are not to be missed.
B+
4.5 stars. NOT BETTER THAN ALIEN April 19, 2009
strangeitude
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
To set the record straight: this movie is great action sci-fi, highly entertaining and very good looking. But IS NOT better than Alien, so the Amazon reviewer is vastly wrong, and even more when states that Aliens is 'far' better. I would have to agree if someone says that Alien and Aliens are equally great, but never that Aliens is 'far' better.
The main difference between the two is that while Aliens is a great film, Alien is totally a work of art in every level: in cinema, production and art design, visually and musically. Alien musical score stands alone as an indivual masterpiece, something I cannot say about the good James Horner score.
A movie is not better than other only because one has great action sequences and the other not: Alien is more for the patient, a much more cerebral movie that builds the suspense just like anything on Hitchcock's; it's opening act is total hardcore sci-fi while the scares arrive. Aliens is a good excuse to show bullets blasting aliens, that's it.
Nevertheless, do not be fooled by my comments, Aliens is a must have on any serious sci-fi collection, but get Alien first.
Aliens March 19, 2009
Ubecleb (Venezuela)
One of my favorite movies ever in this genre. This is better because it got extra features and scenes I have ever seen. I bought used and discs and picture were perfect.
Top-notch! February 16, 2009
M. Damien (MA, United States)
I was never interested in the four-DVD Alien series as a whole. Although the first movie is a classic, the second is the best of the quartet, and the third and fourth -- well, the less said about them the better. I also wasn't interested in just the "special edition" version -- I wanted to be able to watch the additional scenes, or not watch them, as I chose without having to perpetually play with my remote.
So this? This was perfect. Combining the classic theatrical release of Aliens with the additional scenes (which all work, save for the initial scene with Newt's family), along with an additional DVD with tons of extras and documentary footage? Excellent!
Moreover, the sound and video transfer is top-notch.
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