Review de Bill Hunt de la edición digital de Aliens en 4K de Apple. Ya, ya sé, no es el disco, pero de momento servirá para hacerse una idea. Cito el segmento donde habla de la imagen y el sonido.

Aliens was shot on 35 mm photochemical film (specifically Eastman 400T 5294 and 5295) by cinematographer Adrian Biddle (The Princess Bride, 1492, V for Vendetta) using Arriflex 35-III and Moviecam SuperAmerica cameras with Canon K35 spherical lenses, and it was finished on film at the 1.85 flat aspect ratio for theaters. For its release on Ultra HD, Lightstorm, working with Park Road Post, appears to have utilized the best-available 2K scan (probably the same one from which the existing Blu-ray was created)—“optimized” by Park Road’s proprietary deep-learning algorithms—to create a new 4K Digital Intermediate. Photochemical grain has been greatly reduced, though not eliminated entirely, and it should be noted that this isn’t the usual Digital Noise Reduction with which people have long been familiar (a dreaded and blunt instrument). Unlike an image scrubbed with DNR, this process hasn’t removed all of the fine image detail. Not only does that detail remain, it too has been “enhanced” algorithmically. The image has then been graded for high dynamic range, with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 available. (Note: It’s possible that this remaster utilized a 4K scan of the original camera negative, but I haven’t been able to confirm that in this particular case—all of the other new Cameron 4K remasters do, however, use native 4K scans to start, per Lightstorm.)

The result is remarkable clarity and detail, but it is a bit jarring. Applied to Titanic (reviewed here), this unique remastering process feels completely appropriate. Applied to Aliens, which has always been a film with a grittier look, it takes more getting used to. The film looks almost modern now as opposed to vintage late 80s, which appears to be Cameron’s intent. On the other hand, I’ve just spent the entire morning going back and forth between the Alien Anthology Blu-ray and the new 4K Digital presentation on Vudu, Apple TV, and Movies Anywhere, and I definitely prefer the 4K (with a caveat that the forthcoming physical UHD should release improve upon it). There’s no doubt that this is James Cameron’s Aliens looking better than you’ve ever seen it before. There’s still light photochemical grain visible. There is plenty of fine image detail visible (though it’s a little less nuanced looking than the fine detail on Titanic). The color palette is vibrant, with the cool blue-gray tones it’s always had, and it’s close enough to the Blu-ray palette that you wouldn’t notice a difference unless you compared the images side-by-side. Blacks are incredibly deep, highlights are genuinely bold. This 4K image certainly isn’t perfect—it often looks a little… processed is the best word I can come up with. But the more I look at it, the more I like it, and I suspect that most fans will feel the same. But I also suspect that some viewers will really dislike it, because it’s definitely different, and I certainly appreciate that perspective too.

The film’s primary English audio is now included in a new Dolby Atmos mix that features a bigger, wider, and much more immersive soundstage than ever before. Subtle atmospherics surround the listener, with tight and punchy LFE, and more tonally full-sounding mids. Dialogue is clear at all times. Directional effects and movement are smoother sounding and a bit more aggressive at once. The height channels are employed more subtly for overhead completion, but they do play a more noticeable role occasionally, such as when the Sulaco’s dropship is firing up its engines (and the camera pans down to see Ripley watching). The actual drop too features them more prominently as hatches clang, latches release, and the engines scream down from overheads above. James Horner’s score utilizes the entire soundfield, exhibiting high fidelity that benefits its trademark brassy horn section. This is a very good sonic upgrade, and I look forward to hearing it in full bit rate on physical 4K UHD in a few months.