Alien Quadrilogy (1979-1997) Retrospective/Review 

I'm addicted to these retrospectives. I watch many of them 3/4 times. These Aliens retros were the best

Every single character, in every scene, with every line of dialogue, is effective. There are no awkward cringe lines. No weak performances. It's an incredible feat.

I have been dying to share this story so here we go. The following took place in 1993 when I was 22 and as you can see is still burned into my brain. Took my girlfriend, of about 2 months at the time, to Alien War in the Trocodero Centre in London for her 19th birthday present, best time I have ever had whilst being absolutely terrified. Before we went in there was a small museum with actual props from the film. Everyone working there was decked out in full costumes too. They lined us up by the entry hatch, the Marine guide told us to watch the hatch further down the corridor and said "Just wait, you will see your future". After about 2 minutes the door slammed open and the group that had gone in before came sprinting out in absolute terror. We were then shown into the Shuttle Departure lounge, where another Marine lined us up against a wall and told us to wait, he received a call on his helmet coms and told us we should stay put and he would be right back. He also warned us to stay away from the large container on the other side of the room. About a minute after he left us alarms started going off and the lid of the container started to rattle and bounce like something was trying to get out. Suddenly the Entry hatch burst open and the Marine came roaring back in, he let loose a quick burst from his Pulse rifle ' sounded just like the film guns' and ordered us to listen up if we wanted to live. I was loving the amount of realism they put into this.The atmosphere was intense as all the lights went out when the alarms started and we could hear gunfire and screams from beyond the other door in the room. Everyone was all in at this point. He then told us that an incident had occured and that we had to travel thru the Departure complex to get to the rescue pods, he made it very clear we had to do exactly what he told us to do. We then proceeded thru multiple dark corridors encountering several Xenos on the way, all full size with actors in them. At one point they rushed us into a lift, I was the first one inside and I was stood at the back. Its funny tho, how I was suddenly at the front when the Marine asked for a second volunteer to pull open the lift door, as the last "volunteer" had been pulled from the lift by a full sized Xeno right in front us. In total we had 6 encounters with full sized Xenos, and a desperate sprint thru the hatchery with eggs opening around us at the end, and, yes I did kick that exit hatch open with plenty of energy only to run out into the corridor we started in. I turned to see the next group lined up, looking at us in just the same way we had looked at the group before. My girlfriend loved to tell everyone how I had been moving so fast and with such purpose at the end that her feet barely even touched the floor as I was pulling her along behind me thru the hatchery 'she was 6 feet tall, I am only 5 feet 10'. This was without a doubt one of the most exciting things I have ever done, girlfriend didn't dump me either😆 'edited for awful typing'

The cast of Alien 3 is actually insane. It’s so good in that respect.

When the Quadrilogy came out i was so excited, it was by far my favorite DVD purchase of all time.

Thank you! Someone finally confirmed it. Drake was clearly in love with Vasquez. And I'm sure she was in love with him. Those two tough Marines were always spending time together, always near each other, always touching. And the way Vasquez falls apart when Drake is left behind is pretty clear.

This is a beautiful retrospective, but is saddening that movies are not made with this type of passion anymore.

One crazy thing about the issues with Aliens Colonial Marines is that the creature AI was broken by a misspelled word in a text config file. This wasn't discovered until years after release by a consumer. The creature AI was supposed to know where it was in the current map, but the misspelled word broke that functionality making the creatures literally lost and confused.

As someone who has worked as a writer hired on the basis of "we just want you to do your thing!" and then being assaulted with an onslaught of "but actually what if you did this instead" after handing in a draft, I feel so so much for the original writer of Alien 3. Can't fucking believe they signed off on the wooden planet concept and then tried to make him write a completely different story 😂

Thanks. These retros really help me with insomnia. Just tuning into the well laid out summary and analysis of each movie allows me to enter the fictional world and slip into sleep.

This is my all-time favorite movie series. Yes, Alien & Aliens are the greatest ever but each Alien film adds something new and fresh to the lore. I love all Alien films. The series has introduced the greatest female heroine and the most unique movie monster.

I love Alien³ - it's as dour as Alien is scary and Aliens is exciting. As good in its own way. Alien: Resurrection gets a pass in that Ripley (well, Ripley-8) finally returns to Earth; her destination at the beginning of Alien (only getting as close as Gateway Station in Aliens). A full circle.

Love the details in your work... when you indicate Sigourney loses her temper with Parker, her lips move as you say 'Parker'. Brilliant.

The editing you done for the Aliens introduction is 100% adrenaline fuelled blood pumping I have to see this movie right now kind of editing . 10/10

I think the reason you don't see many collectibles of the newborn is that it works very well as a creepy and frightening monster, but unlike the normal xenomorphs it just isn't cool at all. It sure scared/unnerved me way more than the regular kind ever did though.

Holt McCallany, who played Junior in Alien 3, would also go on to work with David Fincher again, with a supporting role as The Mechanic in Fight Club and as FBI agent Bill Tench, one of the lead characters in Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter (which is an incredible show).

I laughed as I watched this retrospective as I also had a similarly older sister with a penchant for renting horror films when I was a kid. I snuck and watched Alien when I was around 6 and it scared the living crap out of me. My tiny little kid brain was convinced that the dinner John Hurt’s character was eating was what caused the thing to burst out of his chest, so I spent the next two years too scared to eat noodles as that’s what I though he’d been eating. Gotta love the ‘80s, right? Who needs parental supervision when you can have nightmares for years and still grow up loving horror films ;)

The refinery is huge, the Nostromo is a tiny spaceship towing the refinery.

They actually made an audiodrama based on William Gibson's uncovered Alien III script. Check it out

Yeah, man, the effects in Alien are astonishing. I think I take it for granted, but everything looks so good.

It’s wild how much the scene where she finds out that her daughter died really enhanced her relationship with newt.

Subscribed to your channel because of this excellent video. I've studied the Alien saga for years and your insightful retrospective was delightful to behold. Thanks again for taking the time to make it.

Unbelievable effort. Like a full Alien Documentary. Oliver Harper is the best in the business and does it in an understated way without gimmicks or being mean. The modern Roger Ebert.

This has been a wonderful experience! Thank you so much.

I was too young to watch Aliens. I lied to my father so he could buy me and my one year older brother the tickets. He spotted the age limit on the movie poster outside and said NO. We took our cousin as he looked older than he actually was while being only one and a half years older than my brother. I was only 7. It was a miracle that we got the tickets. Can't remember the age limit in my country but I'm sure it was more than double of my 7. 15+ or 16+. The next problem faced was my parents showed up. There was a mess of discussion with my cousin. I took the highest risk and moved toward a cinema ticket agent. He was looking at the rush in his foyer. Moved his eyes down only to check my ticket and said the usual: "- Welcome, Sir. Row 11, place 18. Have a nice show." What a lucky pass! I was in heaven! My brothers entered only because my parents said they are both teens. I was 7 and I watched it with my mouth open reading all dialogue by myself. I was so scared. I love Sigourney Weaver ever since.

I think the Assembly Cut of Alien 3 is a must-watch, and makes it one of my favourite horror movies of all time. It's just so terrifying and existential.

Fantastic analysis of these films! Really well done.

I like Alien Resurrection more than most people. Thanks for combining these!

Brilliantly written and researched. Hope you cover the Predator and or Terminator retrospectives 👍🏾

the alien quadrilogy is one of my favorite film series (i only rate mad max above it), with 3 being my least favorite. i actually really love resurrection, in spite of its few flaws. for me, the special edition's end was a wonderful bookend to ripley's story, as it was the first time we see her return to earth. i enjoyed the dark horse comics throughout the 90s, especially the first aliens vs predator series... but those were stories best left in the medium of comics. as for the prequels, they are filled with flaws, and appear to contradict the opening of alien directly. i do like the idea of films further exploring the larger universe, but i feel like going backwards within the series chronology was not the best choice. i certainly never wanted an 'origin of the xenomorph' story. a creature as strange as they are should have at least a little mystique left about them.

So nostalgic watching these films in review. Aliens best action and Alien best suspense. Well done Oliver.

The Retrospective Reviews of these movies was what brought me to Oliver Harper. I love every installment of the alien quadrilogy set with ALIEN³ my favorite.

I loved Glen Danzig's performance in Alien Resurrection!

I saw Aliens aged 13 and was blown away for a week. One of my fave movies till this day. Alien 3 I’ve always liked too. It has those bleak hopeless vibes which are ballsy and awesome. Though not a perfect movie it’s still better than 99% of movies made today. The 4th iteration is not of as high quality clearly but still a very fun movie with a stellar cast

Yes I was horrified by aliens as a child and had to sleep in my parents room afterwards for a while ... hahaha

Wow, where do you get the energy my dude? This is top shelf content. I approve.

Missed this when it premeired 2 weeks ago! But I have some long car rides and this is gonna be welcome company. Thanks for your wonderful work.

Great retrospective. Aliens is my all time favourite movie and Alien is a classic too. The others are entertaining enough and are the only ones I have seen on the big screen. I've got the quadrilogy on blu ray but have never gotten around to watching them which is something I will rectify.

If I am the only person that likes Alien 3 I’m fine with that. It’s additive mythology is wonderful and I can see the films intent looking through its foreshortened ideas that are only partially on screen. I wish I could have seen the wooden planet realized on screen however.

One for the fact fans. The actor who was the original 'Kane' was Jon Finch probably best known for playing the lead in Hichcock's 'Frenzy' but he was also a former paratrooper and later served in the SAS Territorials.

I unironicly love both Alien 3 and Resurrection. I loved how fast the xeno was in 3 and I love the weird soap opera melodrama of Resurrection. It fulfills my inner-Theater Queen.

Very detailed and entertaining review. Thank you!

The book for Alien 3 is what they wanted the movie to be. Its based off the original script and so worth it

Amazing video man! Really appreciate it!

Kudos for all the effort you put into this monster of a retrospective! I actually love Resurrection - I think it was far from safe for the studio, it did take huge risks both in story and direction approach - but I agree with you that there has to be a continuation from Resurrection's extended version ending. I would hate to see Alien 3 and 4 retconned.

The best movie franchise of all time! The only bad film is Resurrection the rest are great and add their own style

6:13 - This was made as an episode in "Heavy Metal" the animated film (extended edition) that O'Bannon wrote with others. Also his concepts from 'Dune' were there too & later on it 'Blade Runner'

Really appreciate the amount of work which has gone into this

To this day I still have no idea how the alien got on the ship in Alien 3. AAALLLSSSOOOO how the heck did both Ripley AND the dog/ox get impregnated by an alien? Was it a special type of face hugger or something?

Always love the reviews and this one was amazing. Will we be seeing more Long form, multi film franchise reviews like this?

The studio intereference in Alien 3 will always be one of my biggest bugbears. I really like the assembly cut version that was later released. I never had a problem with the off screen killings of Hicks and Newt, for me it just reinforced the hopelessness of Ripleys life (something nastily reinforced by Resurrection). As a Brit I loved the cast and it presented a refreshing change from the usually US dominated sci-fi movies.

Alien Isolation DLC for the 1st Alien movie was very good, wish there was a museum mode just to explore the map.

Alien 3 was the first one I saw. I loved it, and it's probably the one that captures my imagination the most. I know 1 and 2 are some of the best sci-fi/horror movies ever made, just saying I think Alien 3 is better when you aren't expecting more of the same coming from 2.

Actually have this downloaded as a playlist but now you have given this gift.

Aliens is the absolute best, movie just gets better everytime I watch it. So many classic lines

Alien Resurrection is my favourite Alien movie. I love Ripley 8 and the hybrid. When I was a child I wrote fanfiction continuing that story with Ripley 8 going through a secondary metamorphosis, and the military genetically mixing xenomorphs with animals.

This retrospective is a movie in itself . Thank you

Gravey! (Also only 3 Alien movie's, in my opinion)

I was too young to watch Aliens when it came out on video, but I had the soundtrack and listened to it endlessly. When I finally saw the movie, it did not disappoint! Alien Trilogy was the last video I bought (mainly because of the facehugger box it came in) and the Quadrilogy is still a high water mark for DVDs

Your narrative of these awesome movies is amazing 👍

Oliver Harper is that guy we all knew, who knew everything about movies:D

I wasn't expecting to hear the phrase "She never had the chance to poop out an egg" - ever - but I'm here for it.

I agree with everything that was said about Alien 3 in this video. It's a fascinating film, whatever angle it's viewed from.

There was an Alien The Gun coin-op in the foyer of the Showcase cinema in Peterborogh which I used to go to as a massive treat as the Cannon in nearby Cambridge had gotten so grotty and parking was such a pain and it was before the crapper but closer Warner Village opening. Prior to screens being available at the Showcase you'd queue across and around the foyer and I would eye the cabinet like Luke eyeing his lightsabre in ROTJ when the Emperor's got it. I think I was allowed to waste £1 of my pocket money on it once in several years of temptation and pleading. As prophesised this amounted to about 40 seconds of playtime as I was really unused to playing games at all, especially difficult change-hoovers like that. I spent plenty of time pretending I was playing it during the wait for people to finish having a piss before the long drive home. It was a full life.

I'll never understand the hate for 3 and Resurrection

Best thing to fall asleep too. And I mean that with the utmost respect. Incredible stuff my man. You should have a million plus subs…

Dan Hedaya (General Perez) was famous for playing Cheers' Nick Tortelli, Carla's ex-husband - and was comedy gold whenever he was on screen.

Nice job as usual Oliver but I’m surprised you didn’t mention the 1995 ac3 Laserdisc of Alien with the Sensurround test mix that not only has some of the temp or alternate Goldsmith cues but in a ridiculously more intensive audio mix that makes the Dolby stereo seem mono in comparison!

Not gonna lie, this just made my 2023 more awesome ❤. Thanks Oliver!

I wish we could have gotten Neil Blomkamp’s version !!! I think he could’ve restored the horror and ended Ripleys character with a bang. He also had newt and Hicks back.

Holt McCallany is also in alien 3 and worked with Fincher a lot after

In the novelization, it's explained that Burke has arranged for Gorman to be the LT specifically BECAUSE he is inexperienced.

I love how in a lot of these videos, oliver will bend his script to insert some kind off superman reference, and each time I get happier and happier🤣

This channel is doing the Lord's work!

Alien Resurrection is a guilty pleasure of mine.

I was 17y/o when I saw Resurrection on Thanksgiving Day. The Queen-Human hybrid was gross, but interesting. Having the hybrid sucked out the ship was great. The callback was nice too, as Peter Parker got to use it in Infinity War. That being said, I liked Resurrection more than Alien3. Although Roc was nice to see again.

Great video and appreciate all the work put into it. I guess I'll toss in my two cents here as well. I know that so many people love Aliens and I think the first and last 3rd of the movie are truly outstanding, but I feel like there was a lot of dialogue, mainly with Pvt Hudson (Bill Paxton) that became really grating really fast. It was like taking Veronica Cartwright from Alien with her representation of the audience's fears and all but letting it dominate every single scene. That being said, there is a lot to love in the film- it's just when it switches into blockbuster shoot 'em up mode that it loses something. That's part of why I like Alien 3 more- the simplicity of it. No big guns/advance tech, stranded on a prison island, one alien, and just survive.

Excellent work on this video!

I agree with you about Charles Dance, he was done so dirty. When you have Charles Dance you have to treasure him, his time, his talent, his voice that smoother than warm butter spread over a pile of flapjacks

When I first watched it in 93 and 5 min in hicks and newt are dead it was brutal. A punch to the gut. I like it now more than I did then.

Ohhh im going to safe this one for tomorrow during my roadtrip. Thanks in advance Oliver!

amazing vid and discription of two iconic films thanks for this oliver nice one

As a huge fan of the series, there is something for me to like about each film. Are they equal in my mind? Absolutely not. It's obvious which two are the strongest, and that's partly because those two films didn't have two prior Alien films to contend with. The novelty was somewhat diminished. In addition to this, the Studio didn't seem to have much faith in the franchise, and it's clear that they didn't really know what made the Alien Universe so appealing. It was a lived-in setting that heavily-implied so much more through the dialogue and visuals. Just the addition of a humanoid synthetic being that can almost perfectly integrate into a crew without anyone suspecting is grounds for so much speculation. What's this company and how much control do they have? What do they want with the Alien? Who was the petrified giant and what was that ship all about? So many questions, that could be answered, but were better left a mystery on the periphery of a much more focused horror story. As fans, we love Ripley and will stan her till the end of days, but keeping her as the focus really limits the universe and forces writers to convolute her into new stories. I grew up loving Alien 3, but looking back, they should've given Ripley and Co a nice send off, and sent the Xeno somewhere else to carry on the legacy. Unfortunately, branding and marketing requires familiarity, and sadly, Ripley's character has been somewhat dragged through the mud. I know Sigourney Weaver was really wanting to stretch her acting wings during Resurrection (see: Galaxy Quest & Heartbreakers), but this was such a bizarre take on the character that was not at all a welcome addition. I know I've always been a minority on this, but I don't like Joss Whedon's writing. I hate how he strings together quippy dialogue, because it always sounds like some dork giggling from the back of the room. Conflictingly, I absolutely adore Jeunet's work, so it makes Resurrection a hard watch. I'm cautiously optimistic about Alien: Romulus. That being said, I have some doubts from what I've heard and seen. I personally think they should do a series, which could be similar to the Dark Horse comics and expand the Alien universe into some truly bizarre stories. I feel like this hyper-fixated brand messaging with the Xeno has really lost a lot of its allure and mystique. One thing I did like about Ridley Scott's alien-adjacent stories were that they were strange and mysterious. I just wish the Studio and Scott chose better writers. Then again, people like David S. Goyer get to helm one of the greatest sci-fi franchises into the ground (Foundation), at the behest of a multi-million dollar budget curtesy of Amazon, so what do I know. Fingers crossed we'll see some better expansions into the Alien Universe, or at the very least, a really, really good sendoff.

my favourite series, thanks for this

So we've come to Oliver's "Republic", his "Nicomachean Ethics", his "Meditations on First Philosophy". I am pleased.

I’ve always thought of Aliens 3 as a kind of sci-fi Lord of the Flies…..the dystopian vibe gives the film its own character and the cast often give it the feel of a theatre play rather than a Hollywood blockbuster. It has its faults but the Directors Cut made a huge difference to the overall narrative of the film.

I was thinking about a stand-out remark you made about the change in the tone of Weyland-Yutani between the first and second movies. I wonder if this reflects changes that occurred in the business world between the 70s and 80s. I remember the 70s being a very brutal business environment, still clinging to the vestiges of post-war business practices. The 80s saw a change in tone to a more nuanced, if still brutal business mentality.

Dude... Brad Dourif was Billy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. He won a Golden Globe, a British Oscar, and was nominated for a US Oscar.

That is the longest represpective of a lot of the alien movie great job.

Wow, four reviews in one.....Thank you!

Awesome work as always. One thing I've personally never understood is the preference for Aliens Special Edition over the Theatrical Cut. The Special Edition is enjoyable as a curiosity but the Theatrical Cut is just a better version. My main issues with the Special Edition scenes - 1. Ripley's Daughter -- It's fine but Ripley finding Newt later makes it just a little too neat from a storytelling perspective as a "replacement daughter". 2. Hadley's Hope prelude -- It's totally unnecessary. It's more effective that we as an audience are experiencing the same mysteries and discoveries like Ripley and the marines. The performances are ropey also (as you pointed out). 3. Sentry Guns -- Again, it's unnecessary. It boils the problem down to being essentially that the Marines just don't have enough bullets. 4. Ripley's Goodbye to Hicks -- Nice to see a little more of her connection with Hicks (though it's oddly acted "See. You. Hicks") but it derails the frantic pace and takes away from what Ripley is facing. She's choosing to go into her absolute worst nightmare and potential death. Newt's rescue is understandably her only focus. Her one exchange with Hicks "don't let Bishop leave" is perfect in capturing where her head is at.

I love Alien and ALiens, that goes without saying as they are true classics but i do love Alien 3, Ressurrection was too slapstick and commic booky for me. The newborn is truly horrifying though.

Amazing job, Oliver. Really satisfying this overview of the original 4 you done here! Will you do the same for the prequels and spin offs? What do you think of the upcoming Alien Romulus flick?

Oh man I wish we'd got the Danny Boyle version of an Alien film. His style would have been perfect. I wonder what that might have done for the series more generally also.

The first is my favourite. The sequel is great too, but I prefer having the slower pace and the horror feel. The third is surprisingly good if you know the backstory about the production. I prefer the Assembly Cut by far though. Didn't like the premise of Alien Ressurection at all though...

The intro logo is perfection!

Thank you for making this.

The Alien Quad boxset is debatably the best boxset out there in terms of extras.

What a great great great job u did Oliver. What a pleasure to watch this amazing retrospective. As usual u did an outstanding job here.

Very well done video!!! Felicitari!