Director Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence was not only a box-office disappointment, it also did something that his previous films have rarely or never done -- it alienated the audience and divided the critics. Perhaps with the release of the film onto DVD, Spielberg's misunderstood science fiction fairy tale will find a more receptive audience. Dreamworks Home Entertainment has released the film as a two-disc special edition, in either its preferred letterboxed version (1.85:1 enhanced) or in a pan-and-scan format. The image on the letterboxed version is excellent throughout. The soft smoky interiors of the first part of the film have a nice auburn glow to them, which nicely contrasts the sultry colors that take over for the second part. There is no evidence of color bleeding or flaring up and the image is consistently balanced. Many scenes, which are filmed purposefully dark, still manage to keep a richness and depth that is difficult to replicate outside of a movie theater. The disc also comes equipped with various soundtrack options, including an English language 5.1 track, 2.0 Dolby Surround, and a 5.1 DTS option. The first two tracks are vigorous and active, though always keeping the dialogue clear. The first disc contains the film itself and a short ten-minute documentary on the making and origins of the film. But it's with the second disc that one finds a plethora of supplemental material. The disc contains numerous mini-documentaries on all stages of A.I.'s production, from its initial planning stage with Stanley Kubrick to its final release. There are some nice interviews with actors Jude Law, Haley Joel Osment, and others. Also of interest are the interviews with the storyboard artists, production designers, and the many special effects technicians from Stan Winston's factory of wonders and Lucasfilm's ILM studio. The disc also contains a couple of theatrical trailers, a multitude of storyboard sketches, production photographs, some interesting interviews with sound designer Gary Rydstrom and composer John Williams, and much more.

Unlike the previous two discs of The Alien Legacy Box Set, this one is not loaded with special features, but the audio and video transfers are as well done, if not better than the others. Both have been digitally remastered in THX and make excellent use of home-theater capabilities. The soundtrack is a very strong 5.1 mix which makes pronounced, frequent use of the rear channels, adding a great deal of atmosphere to the already claustrophobic nature of the film; voices echo eerily, and lingering, ambient sounds permeate almost every moment. The video transfer is pristine, with not a single instance of graininess or pixilation to be found anywhere. Also, the lines are sharp and the colors clearly defined -- there is very little to no bleeding to be found here. This film relies heavily on shadow and darkness to maintain its suspenseful atmosphere, and it seems that the disc's producers kept this well in mind, mixing the blacks as dark as possible while still maintaining subtle details within them. Again, the extra features are nothing extraordinary; the only feature worthy of special note is a short making-of featurette, which contains interviews with many of the cast and crew. There are also theatrical trailers for all four Alien films, as well as a preview of the video game based on Alien Resurrection, the fourth film in the series. Despite the lack of extraordinary special features, the disc's superb transfer make it a worthy addition to any collection.

"In space no one can hear you scream," and in Alien it was the start of a sci-fi horror series. The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks to be in excellent shape. The colors and black level (there are a lot of them) are clear and concise without any major imperfections or defects marring the image. Overall, Fox has done a fantastic job at making sure this transfer is the best it will ever look. The soundtrack is presented in a newly created Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack in English, as well as Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround in French and English. The new 5.1 mix works well within the confines of the film, utilizing both surround sounds and directional effects. Since the soundtrack is more creepy than bombastic, the directional sounds and background noises are often subtle and very eerie. All aspects of the dialogue, effects, and music are free of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English and Spanish subtitles. Fox has produced a fine batch of extras for this first-ever DVD edition of Alien, starting with a commentary track with director Ridley Scott. This is a fantastic audio track that features Scott discussing multiple stories about the casting, production, and story. Two isolated music tracks featuring composer Jerry Goldsmith's score should please film music fans, while a bunch of deleted scenes/outtakes allow the viewer to see what ended up on the cutting-room floor. Finally there is an extensive still gallery with well over 450 photos and concepts, as well as cast and crew biographies, production notes, theatrical trailers, TV spots, and an eight-page collectable booklet inside the DVD case.