I just purchased "Alien" on DVD; now it has both the directors cut and the original version on one single DVD. I presume it just plays the same versions, adding or subtracting certain scenes as required. Why can't Lucasfilm do this? Surely they have the knowhow? I also liked the introduction to the Directors cut, in which Ridley Scott very humbly said that he hoped we agreed with the changes he'd made in that version. Just imagine Lucas doing something like that...
As for me, I have decided just to stick with my VCR tapes for now. If the opportunity comes along, I will get a bootleg version, perhaps from someone who has posted in the forums here, but I'm not too fussed.