I’m still sick with a cold, which has meant waking up coughing at 4AM for the last two days, with no brain presence at all. Accordingly, I am marathoning movies.
Continuing with
Aliens Director’s Cut, it saddens me that these scenes were not in the original theatrical release. They are, all of them, in perfect service to not only the story but the use of callback in reference to the original
Alien. This is my favorite Cameron film, and the Director’s Cut is the best version of this film.
I also watched
Alien 3, and was STUNNED to see how much better a film the Special Edition is over the theatrical cut, or as I like to call it, “Train Wreck Edition.” Over 50 minutes of additional footage contained:
spoiler (click to show/hide)
- Extensive opening sequence on the exterior of the prison/mining colony.
- Much more emphasis on the religious component of Fury’s remainder population, which emphasizes some very intriguing elements which were half-heartedly fumbled in the theatrical cut
- Golic, the inappropriate comic relief due to his very real insanity, becomes a secondary villain of sorts
- Shots explaining why Weyland/Yutani are aware of Ripley’s condition and en route
- Plans to trap the xenomorph, while exceedingly dangerous, seem to make sense
- No Queen Chestburster confusing the final scene
The extras on it also include 3 hours of extra material, the first half of which I’ve watched now, and it’s basically a thorough look at just how crippled the entire filmmaking process was for it, from pre-pro to final theatrical editing. It has interviews with every producer and director who worked on the film except Fincher, who has “disowned” it.
If you like
Alien as a franchise, and haven’t seen it, give it a whirl.
