2019 marks forty years since Lt. Ellen Ripley of the S.S. Nostromo came face to face with the terrifying xenomorph in Ridley Scott’s seminal film Alien, and sci-fi horror was changed forever.
To celebrate four decades of this incredible and influential classic, 20th Century Fox is releasing the film with an all-new 4K Ultra HD master, available April 23. A limited edition 4K UHD steelbook of Alien 40th Anniversary Edition will also be available exclusively at Best Buy.
The new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray will contain the 1979 Theatrical Version, as well as the 2003 Director’s Cut, with the 2003 audio commentary by Ridley Scott and the Cast & Crew. In addition, the 1999 Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott for the original 1979 Theatrical Version will also be included. This disc will also feature the Final Theatrical Isolated Score in Dolby Digital 5.1, for the 1979 Theatrical Version only, as well as the composer’s original Isolated Score, also in Dolby Digital 5.1, and again for the 1979 Theatrical Version Only. Also included are several deleted scenes.
In the film that birthed the wildly successful Alien franchise, the crew of the deep space tug Nostromo awaken from stasis during a voyage home to Earth when their ship’s computer detects what is believed to be an alien distress signal coming from the desolate nearby moon, LV-426. While investigating, one of the crew, Kane (John Hurt), is attacked by an alien creature that latches to his face. Against the wisdom of the ship’s warrant officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Kane is rushed back to the Nostromo to receive medical treatment, bringing the ship under threat from a mysterious, extraterrestrial apex predator with violent and lethal survival instincts.
The film was restored in 4K in 2018 by 20th Century Fox at Company 3/Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, supervised by Ridley Scott and Pam Dery, with the 4K scans were done at EFilm. Alien is one of the greatest sci-fi films and one of the greatest horror films ever made, and no film lover’s collection is complete without it.
Images: 20th Century Fox
