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4.5 hours for one of our favourite action science fiction movies is definitely watchable. But I could've used a little bit less of the PC female empowerment or Dr. Drea and her horrible vocal fry, giving us mumbo jumbo rhetoric.

Maybe too much time was given to some of the lesser known characters versus the time that could have been given to the original writers or James Horner.

But Cameron is in control of this one of course. It did have a good dedication to Bill Paxton. Some of the actors look amazing still like Sigourney and the other guys. It's just a shame Jenette Goldstein really let herself go. It was hard to watch her on screen for that length of time.

When I backed this documentary during the crowdfunding campaign, I worried that it might end up being a prettier update of the different "making of" or "ten things you didn't know about" videos that we've all seen bits and pieces of all over the internet since time immemorial. (Well - perhaps for the past 20 years). I was pleasantly surprised, though, to discover that this behemoth of a production - clocking in just shy of five hours - feels as though it was deliberately created to avoid covering the same old ground. Aliens: Expanded is fresh, interesting, and engaging. It's a must-see for anyone who even remotely enjoyed the outstanding film and the talented cast that it so lovingly pays tribute to; make no mistake: this *is* a labour of love!

So how did they manage to make something that felt entirely new when the digital world is already replete with books, fan clubs, websites, myriad YouTube videos, documentaries - the whole kit and kaboodle - all dutifully wrung dry by any '426-er worth his cornbread aeons ago? A gigantic chunk of this is down to the fact that the creators have somehow managed to secure virtually every important cast and production member and gather literally hours' worth of interview footage. Yes, we've all heard about James Cameron's fractious relationship with the crew at Pinewood Studios, but now we get a fresh anecdote from Cameron himself about kicking the tea cart over. Every time I thought an old chestnut would be pulled off the open fire like so many granddad stories that you get to hear every time you visit, it's deftly whisked away with due deference to its significance but an understanding of the audience and what we've all seen before. As much as I love them, Cameron, Hurd, and Weaver don't utterly dominate the piece, with oft-unsung participants such as Ricco Ross, Daniel Kash and - everyone, really, regaling us with a bevy of interesting new takes and tales.

They've also managed to augment their talent from the original film with a cadre of megafans and experts who don't just know the film - they have really thought about it, considered its implications, and unpacked its representations and themes. As a high-school English teacher, I use Aliens as a text for essay analysis with my advanced 10th graders (The film is rated M here in Australia, meaning it's OK to use with anyone over 15 years of age), and it was really gratifying to see the documentary delve into the representation of female heroes, corporate self-interest, and the military-industrial complex, family and belonging, leadership, and trauma-all issues we've explored in class, perfectly illustrating how speculative fiction comments on issues relevant to the present day and to our own lives and world. The only shame for me is that the documentary is just too long for me to use with my students, because it would really solidify some of the points that we discuss! Still, I wouldn't cut a minute from the finished product. Quite how something can be so exhaustive yet so succinct might be a mystery for the ages.

Speaking of the running time, it really speaks to the quality of this production that I watched this under less-than-ideal conditions. I was (and still am) enduring a terrible chest cold and, in fact, when I asked my wife to cue it up to watch, we had only planned on watching a few minutes to gauge the quality. Five hours (and a few dozen coughing fits) later, the credits rolled, the evening was gone, and it was time for bed.

On a final note, I have to compliment the team on the heartbreaking yet heartwarming tribute to the late Bill Paxton. It was never maudlin or cloying - it was a simple statement from the heart from people who loved and appreciated the man. Let's face it, anyone who ever saw him act is surely a part of this aforementioned group on some level. A wonderful homage to the man, a brief yet touching moment in a larger homage to the film that I still believe is the high-water mark of James Cameron's cinematic career - bravo.

Such a superb documentary.

With any doc like this, the worry is always who they'll get and what they'll cover. This is the perfect doc for Aliens. They get all the right people, from SFX through to cast, giving emotional retelling of actual experiences, as well as mentions and stories of cast members past.

The level of detail about the movie itself is so good, with an almost scene by scene breakdown.

I learned so many new things about the film, even though I didn't think there was anything I didn't already know, with some surprising details.

I would recommend this for fans of the alien movies, or just movie fans in general. It's an amazing piece of work and the makers should be very proud.

I have never seen such a detailed documentary of a movie. This is a perfectly fitting tribute to a SF masterpiece. The fact that it was made four decades after the film itself speaks volumes for what an achievement Aliens was. Someone could argue that it is not objective and fair to give such a high rating to a documentary with a modest budget and a professionally routine production, but that is not the point - the point is in the energy that is recognized by fans of the genre, the point is to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Aliens as a SF movie that has become a cult and will be an eternal classic. With its magical influence it has shaped the entire domain of sci-fi creation up until today, and I believe in the future as well. Also, I give it a high rating because this documentary was created out of enthusiasm and not as a commercial project motivated by profit, this is the product of pure love of film enthusiasts and nerds - and as such has a special value. Aliens was a perfect adventure, and with Aliens Expanded I lived it once again, thank you so much!

A worthy, detailed documentary on my favourite movie of all time. So much detail and breakdown of individual scenes. Very impressive production featuring a lot of the key stars and crew from the production. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and will do again, many times. It makes you want to watch the movie again after seeing this to spot all of the details you may have missed previously. I'm so glad this was made as there's no better way to appreciate the grandeur of the Aliens movie. So much detail and effort has been put into this creation and it shows with every scene. Excellent work done by all of those involved in the production.

Like many, Aliens (Director's Edition) is my all time favorite movie. This is such a wonderful documentary, I'm so glad I am one of the sponsors. Almost the whole cast, and James Cameron and Gail Anne Hurd contribute, and the vast amount of behind the scenes info and memories they share is incredible. The only thing that could have made this better would have been if Bill Paxton was still with us. I can't imagine how many hilarious stories and memories he would have been able to add. The run time is over 4 hours, and I have watched it 3 times so far. It's so enjoyable, I have the digital version on my laptop always ready to view.

I am a huge Alien and Aliens fan, Aliens is my favorite ever film, watched at least 50 times and this documentary is an absolutely perfect edition. It's a masterfully crafted documentary that succeeds on every level. It is informative, thought-provoking, and visually captivating, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in Aliens or the broader quest to understand its lore. Ian has created a documentary that not only educates but also inspires, pushing the boundaries of our knowledge into the Aliens universe and takes us beyond the surface into the thoughts and imagination of James Cameron. For its comprehensive approach, credible testimonies, scientific rigor, and stunning visuals, "Aliens Expanded" earns a perfect 10 out of 10.

A MUST WATCH.

This thing is not a documentary, and I can't believe the director credit himself as the writer because there is NO script at all !

This is a huge disappointment, a really huge one.

I truly believe that the other comments are from "rookie fans" of the movie, beginner or with small knowledge about it, because if you're a real diehard one you will learn nearly nothing at all. For myself I learn four things, that's all. Pretty expensive (140$.. sic) for so few new information.

The problem is, they sell this project as the ultimate Aliens companions, please pay extreme attention to these words. They say that it will be about absolutely everything, scene by scene, all the behind-the-scenes, all the secrets, about everything. On the paper, it's truly the dream for a fan, but the reality is the total opposite. It's just a +4hrs non-stop interviews of the 60% of the cast, who speak about things we already know or are already well-known, there is no off-voice to explain anything, you just deal with screen changing and interviews with sample of the movie and sometimes a rare making of footage.

• They didn't pay any tribute to Trevor Steedman and barely spoke about Tip Tipping, no tribute to Paul Maxwell
• No tribute to Jay Benedict too, I didn't recall it was even mentioned in this "doc"
• Very small tribute to Al Matthews, the same for James Horner (they overshadow his difficult work and didn't mention that he used old stuff like Star Trek sample for Aliens OST)
• There is no interview of the cast of the director's cut such as Christopher Henn, Mac McDonald and Holly de Jong.

• There is no interview of the small cast such as Barbara Coles (they even didn't know that her name is Mary, they refer to her as the cocooned colonist...), Valerie Colgan, Alibe Parsons, Alan Polonsky or even Carl Toop and Eddie Powell (who were inside the xenemorph costumes)
• Do you know the name of the guy who pull out his mask on the very first scene and say the first "real" sentence? No, and you will not because they didn't tell a word about it.

• There is no interview of Walter Hill (only one alive of Brandywine) BUT there is an interview of the director himself Ian Nathan!!! But no one care!

• They interview a very very very small part of the crew, they even didn't interview people who were there when Cameron kicks the tea trolley, they didn't show the infamous t-shirt of the crew against Cameron.

• They say they will talk about the comics... It must be a joke! The interview of Mark Verheiden is a shame, he nearly didn't talk about Dark Horse. Worst of all ; they didn't interview Mark Richardson, who found Dark Horse and write the adaptation of Aliens in comics.

• They completely overshadow all the novels and the video games, they interview V. Castro who recently wrote Vasquez. Who cares? Why haven't they interview Steve Perry and his daughter Stephani ? They wrote dozen of Aliens novels. Or also Alex White, his Cold Forge is considerate to be one the best Alien novel ever written.

• They absolutely not talk a single line about the TV cut of 1989 !

You can't imagine how many example of failure I can count and how high is my anger against that so-called "ultimate documentary" about Aliens. This is a complete disaster and a huge waste of money.

I will never, ever, support another of their pitiful low-quality project, never!

I bought this on a whim one night - thinking it would a run-of-the-mill documentary. I couldn't have been more wrong. It arrived last week and I spent the weekend digging into it.

It's 4 hours and 42 minutes long. It has most of the remaining cast and execs involved. They do several minutes for Bill Paxton (classy that they did this). The BTS stories are fascinating (see: Tea Cart Lady). This list goes on.

And it isn't cheaply made. This is a truly magnificent effort by its director. Complete with cuts of the film cut into it, it moves along in chronological pace. I kept stopping it, and watching 15 more minutes of 'Aliens' to keep up with what they were talking about.

Hands down, one of the top 5 finest documentaries I've seen. Fans already have it for sure. If you are on the fence, take the plunge. You won't be disappointed....

Aliens Expanded isn't what expected. It's way better! The effort and love put into this excellent documentary is outstanding. To get all the members to work with the creators is a huge success itself. So many unknown stories and memories to hear and watch for the first time. Especially how James Cameron created his version of the Alien universe by keeping a loving eye on Ridley Scott's masterpiece but with the other one pushing his imagined version is brilllant. To imagine that the studio wanted James Cameron to write Ripley out because Sigourney Weaver wanted a salary of one million is ridiculous. Thank god he said No! A real joy to watch it. And I make a guess that Bill Paxton would have loved to be part of it. Now I am looking forward to the next project - The Thing. My two most-favourite movies accompanied by these documentaries...Thank you for that. Never made a better decision backing both projects. Cheers!

Mammoth documentary only relevant if you are a movie buff or one of the devoted fans. Being one of them myself, I watched this doc with interest and pleasure. BUT... And is more like a wtf in this case: almost 5 hours and NOTHING about James Horner??? One of the best "thing" that ever happened to this movie. How is that even possible?? Lol

Mammoth documentary only relevant if you are a movie buff or one of the devoted fans. Being one of them myself, I watched this doc with interest and pleasure. BUT... And is more like a wtf in this case: almost 5 hours and NOTHING about James Horner??? One of the best "thing" that ever happened to this movie. How is that even possible?? Lol.

I'll start by saying Aliens and The Terminator are my two most favorite movies of all time, they don't make them like that anymore.

I have watched a few documentaries on Aliens but this is by far the best. The runtime is over four hours but please do not let this put you off as it doesn't seem that long when you sit down to watch it. This documentary has everything, from casting, special effects, locations, wardrobe and set design.

This documentary proves why the movie is so good and still stands today nearly forty years later as the best sequel ever made (my opinion, maybe not yours).

If you are a die hard fan like myself, you need to watch this, so find a spare four and something hours, get a pizza (or another takeaway) and enjoy!