THERE are no other four films in a series which vary so much in quality and tone as the Alien Quadrilogy, released this Christmas on DVD.

The vehicles for one of the most appealing female action heroes of all time, Ridley Scott's 1979 first instalment has now been unleashed in its digitally remastered glory on the big screen to cause universal pant-wetting again.

It's very '70s in the way that James Cameron's Aliens was very '80s, and the raging action of Hudson, Hicks, Vasquez et al in the latter has meant that the more subtle tension-tastic Scott treatment has often suffered by comparison.

But that doesn't mean I wasn't clambering over cinema seats to get a slice of this film.

As a devotee of Ridley's other classic Director's Cut treatment - the wonderful Blade Runner - I was anxious to see just what had been done. And Scott has repeated his earlier feat of making his own cut 40 seconds shorter than the original.

Alien focuses on the ill-fated crew of the Nostromo, who answer a distress signal and, in the process, bring a nasty big creature back on board, stuck to the face of the unfortunate Kane (John Hurt).

After it makes its way out of his stomach in one of the most famous scenes in cinema, the rest of the crew must fight to avoid death.

The slow, steady atmospheric build-up of Alien may frustrate the channel-hopping, impatient viewer as Scott's camera follows the rabbits in the warren through water, smoke and the dark, but the rewards are there for the patient to reap.

The genius of the concept - moving the traditional, haunted, isolated house location into space - means that every scare tactic seems fresh. But the ace of the proceedings is the powerhouse performance of Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the last woman standing.

Any alterations don't jump out of the screen, being simple quality adjustments and character scenes, including Ripley's discovery of her cocooned fellow crew members, but all in all this remains a very worthy repeat showing.