A Brace of Cameron’s Blockbusters

The near-simlutaneous release of the futuristic action-adventure films “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and “Aliens” on laser offers a rare opportunity to dissect the skill writer-director James Cameron brings to his craft.

The surprising thing is that these two noisy blockbusters not only sound and look almost as good on the home screen (the digital soundtracks capture all of the crashing mayhem and violence), but that the small screen also emphasizes the character, humanity and morals carefully implanted in both.

“T2,” the big-screen money-maker of 1991, brings back the relentless Arnold Schwarzenegger in a new twist to the role of advanced robot life form sent to the past to change a gruesome future. In the Carolco Home Video collector’s edition released by Live Home Video/Pioneer ($90, CAV standard play, four discs), viewers get not only the letterboxed version preserving the wide-screen format but also a “Making of . . . “

And for the first time in the short history of laser discs, there’s also a product pitch--for a “Terminator 2” jacket previously available “only to” members of the cast and crew. Yes, laser buyers, for a limited time only you can get your very own “T2” jacket for $30 off the list price of $225. (And there’s an 800 number for you to call.)

Beyond that rather crass offer lies the film itself, which reverberates around the room in surround sound and looks great letterboxed. As Cameron says in a letter-to-the viewer, the film was shot in the 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio and “only looks right to my eye in the letterbox format. The shot compositions don’t make as much sense when the image is shoe-horned by cropping it to the standard 3:4 aspect ratio.” All of which should head you away from the pan-and-scan format, which is also in laser bins (for $30).

This is one time you can use the full range of laser capability to dissect the film, one frame at a time, as you try to figure out Cameron & Co.’s incredible special effects.

It’s unfortunate, however, that this more-than-satisfying “collector’s edition” transfer to laser has relatively weak supplementary material. It simply does not compare to the sophisticated additional audio tracks and reading material presented on the Voyager Co.’s Criterion special editions.

The “Making of . . . “ documentary has the rah-rah flavor of those behind-the-scenes “events” produced to air all over the tube to promote major film releases. True, there are some insights offered by Cameron and special-effects wizard Stan Winston, but not on additional audio tracks that enable you to follow their observations as the film unreels. There’s no script, and no detailed special-effects drawings or the like that would add to a real understanding of how the film was made.

Fox/Image’s special wide-screen collector’s edition of Cameron’s 1986 “Aliens” fares better, for here we’re given an alternate version of the film, with 20 minutes of footage not in the original theatrical release. This is Cameron’s film as he originally conceived it, unlimited by commercial time constraints.

The recut “Aliens” (Fox Video/Image Entertainment, 154 minutes, $100, four discs), available only on laser disc, adds a dimension that helps immeasurably in our understanding the Sigourney Weaver character reprised from the original 1979 “Alien” (directed by Ridley Scott). Like “The Terminator” and “T2,” “Aliens” translates exceptionally well to the wide-screen laser format. It’s every bit as gripping and frightening as it was on the big screen, and in many ways--if you keep the room darkened and cut off all intrusions--even more intense in the intimate atmosphere of the home.

The women who populate Cameron’s movies know how to take care of themselves and those threatening them--from the gutsy Linda Hamilton character of both “Terminators” to Weaver’s tough Ripley in both “Alien” and “Aliens.”

In this more satisfying, recut version of “Aliens,” we can better understand Weaver’s single-mindedness in protecting the young child Newt, who is no slouch herself when it comes to survival. The restored footage gives us more sides of Ripley’s character, particularly her grieving for a daughter she never really knew.

The supplemental material accompanying “Aliens” is thoughtfully put together, both in the printed brochure and chapter stops pointing to the restored scenes. Detailed production material on the film takes up Side 7. The chapter stops are broken down into a pre-production interview with Cameron (which would have worked better without the intrusive presence of an interviewer), the screenplay/treatment (with alternate scenes and endings) as well as production segments that offer fascinating looks at the creation and fashioning of the aliens. Cameron’s ability to conceptualize the film comes through, particularly in his skillful, detailed and impressive renderings of the alien queen and several pieces of hardware.

As with “T2,” it would have been preferable for the producers of this disc, which was three years in the making, to take real advantage of the laser format by offering Cameron’s comments on a supplemental audio track. Nonetheless, “Aliens” is one of the most fascinating lasers yet in its glimpse into the complex process of science-fiction filmmaking.