Aliens (1986) [PILF-2172]This title is available in a standalone release in
Aliens (1986) [PILF-2172] and also included in this
Alien Saga Collector's Set [PILF-2565]. I am pretty sure it is identical to this
Aliens (1986) [8761-85].
What's special about this LD is, it has the 70mm 6-track theatrical soundtrack available in AC-3. This soundtrack is also available in the first print DVD release (Alien Legacy Box Set). I am not sure if the current Blu-ray has this mix, I own the BD box set, I will compare it one of these days.
The video is THX mastered which means it has mild video noise reduction and edge enhancement. The noise reduction is very mild, hard to notice but EE is easy to spot. I got used to the sharpness due to EE in the first couple of chapters then it didn't bother me as much. Overall the video is very clean and sharp. I didn't notice any artificial contrast boosting. There is absolutely no aliasing or weird alterations on color timing. I can't think of this movie look any better on LD than this release. In my opinion it is a very faithful transfer, I have no complains. I would like it a bit easier on the EE but it benefits smaller screen which was %98 of TVs back in 90s. Japanese subs are in picture but not very distracting, dialog is not very heavy on this film. The first side break wasn't on an optimum spot but the second side break was spot on.
The audio is front heavy but full of dialog and effect pans. The bass is strong and this film has ton of it. There was a handful of instances the rear surrounds were screaming effects but beside that they were only for ambient and orchestral soundtrack. I believe the 6 track soundtrack is 5 fronts and 1 mono rear configuration. I didn't hear and split surround effects. AC-3 on this LD is very dynamic, the dialogue is very clear, even under heavy machine gun fire! I didn't try the PCM tracks but I imagine they should be easily able replicate this front heavy AC-3 soundtrack. The first Alien film had a wonderful musical soundtrack, this film disappointed in that aspect. There was plenty of orchestral music but all overshadowed by special effects, that's why the lossy AC-3 soundtrack didn't sound thin as usual. AC-3 tend to do very well with effects but not so much with music. For music, lossless PCM tracks are the king.
There is a making of Alien Resurrection feature on the fourth side. I didn't watch it entirely. No other extras are found on this release. The Japanese box set is nice but there is nothing artsy about it. The cardboard is thick and sturdy as usual from a Japanese release. If you don't care for the third film and the box, I recommend obtaining the US AC-3 releases of the first two films.
I viewed this title on my Pioneer HLD-X0 with minor noise reduction applied on only chroma. X0's composite output was connected to Lumagen Radiance 2144 which applied forced 3:2 pull down to inverse telecine then scaled to 1080p24. The display is Pioneer Pro-141FD 60" plasma monitor calibrated to rec.601 standards. The audio gear includes Meridian 519 RF demodulator, McIntosh MX-121 Processor, Mc207 Power amp, Pass Labs active xover, Martin logan electrostatic speakers all around with dual descent i subwoofers.
Equipment:
Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-141FD - 60" Plasma Monitor
McIntosh Mx-121 AV Preamp/Processor
McIntosh Mc207 7ch Power Amp
Pass Labs XVR1 Active Crossover
Meridian 519 RF Demodulator
Martin Logan Theos L/R Speakers
Martin Logan Stage X Center
Martin Logan Descent I - two subwoofers
Martin Logan Motion 4 Side and Rears
Lumagen Radiance Pro 4449 Ultra HD Video Processor
Lumagen Radiance 2144 Video Processor
Pioneer HLD-X0 Reference Laserdisc Player
Thanks list
