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Idea & Info: a Preservation of Alien Evolution doco?

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I’ve just purchased the Alien Quadrilogy - after much research/reading reviews. Interestingly, the doco “Alien Evolution” is trimmed. On this collection it is purely the first film. The original one featured all 4. I’m sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere or whatever, but does anybody know anyone that preserves Alien material? It might not have as big a fanbase as Star Wars but I’m sure there are some completists out there who must own everything Alien.

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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It is a good idea.

I have it on DVD, from a second generation VHS, but it is anamorphic and with a TC at the top of the frame. in PAL.
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I have a documentary called The Alien Saga. I don't know if this comes the Alien Quadrilogy and would like to know how similar it is to the Alien Evolution doc. you have. This is what the back of the case says.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE ALIEN SAGA

NARRATED BY JOHN HURT

ALIEN burst onto the scene in 1979 with a strong female lead (Sigourney Weaver as Ripley) battling the ultimate biomechanical creature. The Brilliant and terrifying result reinvented the horror/sci-fi genre.

This award winning feature-length documentary serves as the definitive story of how a dark, nightmarish screenplay became one of the most successful -- and celebrated -- film franchises in Hollywood history. THE ALIEN SAGA also examines the sexual and mythic origins of its subject with compelling interviews, never-before-seen outtakes and extensive highlights from all four big-screen incarnations.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- The greatest moments from ALIEN (1979), ALIENS (1986), ALIEN3 (1992), and ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997).

- Rare home movies, screen tests and outtakes.

- Exclusive interviews with cast members Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Michael Biehn and Carrie Henn; artist and "Alien" designer H.R. Giger; screenwriters Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett and Joss Whedon; special effects artist Martin Bower, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. -- and many, many more!

BONUS FEATURES
Original Screen Tests, Theatrical Trailers, Featurettes, Never-Before-Seen Footage

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It could even be the same documentary under a different name. I was just hoping that someone could fill me on the differences so I could decide whether or not the boxset was worth buying since I would be getting it mainly for the extras.

Thanks.
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I think that is a different documentary altogether - Alien Evolution originally had Mark Kermode segments when it was shown on CH4, at least 6 months before the quadrilogy box set came out.

Save London’s Curzon Soho Cinema

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yes they are two different documentaries. the Alien Saga is AMC/Fox documentary released on DVD by Image Entertainement. the Alien Evolution is a Channel 4 documentary.
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Thanks for the info.

What are the differences between the two though? It sounds like it is pretty much all covered in the The Alien Saga. Is there anything really different or extra as part a part of the Alien Evolution documentary which it make worth having since I already have this one?
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I haven't seen the complete Alien Evolution documentary, but the one on the DVD is rather different from the Alien Saga piece. Alien Saga goes through all four movies while Alien Evolution's focus is more on the original Alien and its impact (if I recall corrently, they interview everyday people for their reactions to the chestburster scene). With only about 10 minutes cut from the Evolution doc on the DVD, I doubt it went much into the other films.
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there were some interviews about the Making of Alien 3 which may embarass the fox executives; so all of this was cut, with also all the stuff about Aliens and Alien 4.

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Are we talking about the "Alien Legacy" doc that was aquired through a mail in program with the first "legacy" box set? If so, ive got it. It covers only the first film. Lots of interviews with Ron Cobb, Dan OBannon, Ron Shusett.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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no it is another documentary again, produced by Sharpline Arts for the first DVD box set.

there are 3 documentaries on Alien films

Alien Legacy
Alien Saga
Alien Evolution.

We are talking here about Alien The Evolution which was released on the 9th disc of the Alien Quadrilogy Box in a Cut version.

here is what I found several monts ago about the cut version :

ALIEN EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY CUTS


nobles gate productions List the Documentary at 75 mins

The Alien Quadrilogy DVD "ALien Evolution" Run time is 64 mins

Now, lets look at the Channel 4 version shown twice on UK television:

The total Channel 4 BROADCAST Run time without ads is: 64 mins

The total run time of Alien footage ONLY is : 34 mins 21 secs

So that means there is officially 29 mins 39 secs CUT

So, in summation,

1: All the Alien interviews are EXTENDED

2: (other than narration at the start of the DOCCO) Mark Kermode is CUT

3: All interviews with Cast/Crew of Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are CUT


the Noblesgate Company website has a trailer for the original uncut documentary and a summary.

noblesgate website

Alien Saga was released on DVD by Image Entertainment

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/545969h.jpg http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/545969bh.jpg

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I believe Ash595 has summed it all up.

I just picked up a double-disc DVD on ebay that had the original 20th Anniversary Edition of Alien and the Alien Legacy disc. I felt that even though I have the Quadrilogy set, I needed the legacy doco DVD and the commentary/isolated score/alternate music tracks on the Alien DVD.

I'd love to get a copy of the Alien Saga DVD and now that I know that a small, but significant enough amount of material has been trimmed from the Alien Evolution doco I'd love to get that. I actually just acquired a (fairly crappy) VHS rip file of the "Making of Alien Resurrection". I was wondering if this was on the original Alien Resurrection DVD? I know the Making of Alien 3 was on the Alien 3 DVD. Are there any other Alien bits and pieces on the Legacy DVDs or other sources that aren't on the Quadrilogy set?

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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I don't think so

if you have:

the first release of Alien (with the audio comm, and the isolate alternate score
the Alien legacy DVD
The Alien Quadrilogy box set
the Alien Saga (image Ent DVD)

and the Alien Evolution uncut version,

so you have all about Alien


but if you are interested in movie trailers, this dvd includes as extras, a lot of 20th century fox trailers, with trailers for Alien and Aliens, not seen on the alien quadrilogy set.

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/618318h.jpghttp://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/618318bh.jpg

about the Alien Saga DVD, apart from the documentary, it also includes :

original screen test footage
Alien featurette (1979)
Aliens: Behind the Scenes featurette (1986)
Grunts in Space: Aliens featurette (1986)
profiles of Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron (1986)
4 theatrical trailers

review here : alien saga review
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Any chance of getting the Alien Legacy disc? It's completely OOP since that mail-in offer was discontinued right?
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I guess down here in Australia we're lucky. Because of the problems with the whole mail-in system for the disc in the states, we just got it inside the Legacy boxes.

Ash595:
Yep. Well that sounds right. I'll have to hunt down Alien Saga and the uncut Alien Evolution. Do you have them? That is; should I PM you?
Also that "To the Galaxy and Beyond" DVD looks interesting.

Just one more question. The "Making of Alien 3" not the one on the Quadrilogy, but the older one (22-ish minutes), does that have anything that isn't on the Quadrilogy? I ask this because I think it might. We all know the drama about the shooting of the third film and maybe some of that is on there. I am still annoyed they cut down the new "Making of" because of that. I really wanted to see Fincher's struggle against the producers/studio.

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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I don't know about The Making of Alien 3 (22') but you can PM me for the uncut doc.

Here in france, it was the same as Australia, we had the Alien Legacy disc included in the first box set.
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Originally posted by: Ash595
no it is another documentary again, produced by Sharpline Arts for the first DVD box set.

there are 3 documentaries on Alien films

Alien Legacy
Alien Saga
Alien Evolution.


The Alien Saga is a great documentary. I think they re-aired it on AMC earlier this year.

So are all 3 of those docs on DVD uncut? I got the Legacy Box Set a few years ago and was disappointed after reading about the send-away disc being unavailable otherwise in the US. And the previous anniversary edition has a couple things that weren't duplicated on the Quadrilogy? I still haven't gotten the Quad set because I didn't wanna re-buy the Alien flicks yet (which is sadly the expected norm after countless re-re-releases of seemingly every movie now). Maybe if it comes down in price eventually.

You'd think with NINE discs, the Quadrilogy would contain complete content, and be a one-stop shop for all things Alien. Jeez louise.

p.s. I'm new here.
We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
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Welcome to the forums, booah!
I hope you'll feel welcome here. It's a great forum.

To clarify now that the discussion has taken place:
Alien Evolution is on the Quadrilogy set, with a small, but significant, amount of content cut out.
Alien Saga & Alien Legacy are not included on the set.

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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Originally posted by: digitalfreaknyc
Any chance of getting the Alien Legacy disc? It's completely OOP since that mail-in offer was discontinued right?


In case you still want the original, it is constantly for sale on e-bay for a year or so. The English guy offers it again and again, he has many copies probably. It is European second edition with an Alien trailer added and its own Amaray case. PAL video system. Probably Region 2 - I can check my copy if you wish, sometimes these DVDs happen to be regionless. Look on e-bay for "PROMO ONLY ALIEN EXTRAS DVD", 3 pounds.

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I found two very interesting Indiana Jones threads here and I hoped to find also an Alien "preservation" thread. I thought there must be plenty of Alien fans among SW fans, but I was wrong. Does anybody know a similar site where people exchange Alien trailers and documentaries?
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While we are on the subject. Is there anything extra on the CBS Brodcast version of Aliens?
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Originally posted by: Ash595

here is what I found several monts ago about the cut version :

ALIEN EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY CUTS


nobles gate productions List the Documentary at 75 mins

The Alien Quadrilogy DVD "ALien Evolution" Run time is 64 mins

Now, lets look at the Channel 4 version shown twice on UK television:

The total Channel 4 BROADCAST Run time without ads is: 64 mins

The total run time of Alien footage ONLY is : 34 mins 21 secs

So that means there is officially 29 mins 39 secs CUT

So, in summation,

1: All the Alien interviews are EXTENDED

2: (other than narration at the start of the DOCCO) Mark Kermode is CUT

3: All interviews with Cast/Crew of Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are CUT



aha! I wrote that for a site a few years ago! That's mine!


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DOCCO is a funny spelling mistake. Thanks for that info though, ages ago when this thread got started (by me) it was good to have some clarification. Now I have a somewhat poor quality version of the uncut doco. I'm on the lookout for a better version.

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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Originally posted by: Cassius76


aha! I wrote that for a site a few years ago! That's mine!


great job Cassius 76