Amph The ALIEN SAGA: review & discussion: Now Disc. Prometheus sneak peak scene

it seems both of u guys agree that scott's Alien director cut is yr least favorite

iam a bit suprised actually; i would thought it would be alien resurrection's SE your least favorite

i will defintly by the alien quad DVD before it goes out of print; the whole fiasco with fincher's original script for Alien 3 happened to linch's Dune. they were going to release the extended DVD but i think it got cancelled

 

Agreed. A boxset of the six SW films done Quad style would be sweet, and it would also quiet the fanboys crying for the original versions of the OT on DVD. The Alien Quad boxset is also the crown gem of my DVDs. I believe UGO.com ranked it number two on their top 100(or was it 50?) DVD sets ever, only losing out to Lord of the Rings extended editions.

The extended version of Ripley 8 and Call talking in the chapel, slightly different ending, and Wal-Mart taking over Weyland-Yutani makes it worth it. Only bad thing is the scene when Ripley 8 tells Purvis about the chestburster in him is a bit ruined by Wren blabbing before hand.

There is a featurette on the Alien 3 extra discs that has Vincent Ward describing his version of the script, aka the "wooden planet" script. Still had a lot of the same happenings with Newt and Hicks dying, Ripley having her thing with the character that would be become Clemens, infected Ripley, alien killed by being dropped into a tank of liquid glass, alien killed by sprinklers, and Ripley killing herself. Of course instead of prisoners, it would be monks on a space station that are living like it was the middle ages. If that version was made, there would still be the anger over the death of Newt and Hicks, but it wouldn't take as much flack, in my opinion, because of orignality of the wooden planet concept.

 

i think its unfair for LORD dvd to win over alien quad.
sense LORD was perfectly planned for an extended cut, however alien quad, from the reviews i have read is really a lot of work with good faith put into making the 9-dvd set combining 4 movies, each of them with different directors, ideas and backstabs

 

IGN.com used to have a running feature about "Good Edition" DVDs, which was basically their fantasy list of DVDs with special features out the yin-yang. They did "Good Editions" for 'A Perfect Murder', a few other movies, and a boxed set for the 4 Alien films.

What's funny is that the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set actually incorporates many of the special features that IGN listed in their "Good Edition" boxed set.
IGN wrote the article in 1998.

 

The Alien Quadrology has been on my wish-list for a long time. I've been on the verge of buying for so many times, but as gorgeous as it is, the box is so damn expensive.

Can anyone tell me how the extended editions differ from the original movies, and what the commentaries and extra features are like?
It would be much appriciated!

 

i found a website on what u are asking, ill post it when i get find it again

i hope IGN.com also does a good imaginary feature for SW dvd

 

IGN stopped doing their "good edition" articles years ago, unfortunately. I'll see if I can hunt down the original Alien Series "Good Edition" DVD article.

 

Alien Director's Cut has the famous pod sequence where Ripley finds Dallas and Brett being turned into alien eggs, a little more information about LV-426 before the Nostromo lands on the planet, Brett chasing Jones after they thought he was the alien is a bit different, and a few a scenes are taken out like Dallas talking to Mother about the crews's chances of of killing the alien. He ,of course, gets "does not compute." Scott still considers the 1979 theatrical release to be the best version of the movie. He made the director's cut at Fox's request, and the term director's quest is just for marketing. Scott leaves it up to the viewer to decide which version is the best. I personally agree with on the theatrical version of Alien to be the best version of the film. It is also my favourite in the entire series.

Featurette wise for Alien, the featurettes are divided into three catergories: Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production. Those are carried on for the other featurettes on the other movies. The run time is around 180 minutes, excluding the deleted scenes(only dc are for Alien). Then there are all the cast pictures, Scott's story boards, visual effects gallery, O'Bannon's first draft of the movie, the list goes on.

Aliens Special Edition is the classic one from 1991. The SE is about twenty minutes longer. It includes Ripley being a mom, more Hudson bragging about being the ultimate bad@$$, seeing Newt's family discover the Space Jockey's ship, seeing the drone guns being used, and the moment we find out Ripley's and Hick's first name. Cameron says in the intro for the SE that this is his prefered version of the film. It is also the canon version of the film due to the later films stating Ripley's first name is Ellen, Hicks' is Dwayne, etc. The SE makes it a lot better film, but Aliens is still my least favourite of the series.

The making of featurettes add up to about 160 minutes. There is also all the photog galleries and Cameron's original treatment of the script.

Alien 3's Special Edition is probably one the main, if not the main reason a lot of fans are getting the boxset for. As stated in the booklet that comes with the set, there is no long lost director's cut of the film. The SE is the assembly cut of the film presented to Fox before they gutted the film. Half an hour of footage is added that completely changes the film. Ripley is discovered by Clemens instead of the other prisoners as a foreshadowing their quasi-romance, Dillion is established as the minister-esque character he is a lot earlier in the film, the alien comes from an ox instead of a dog, a whole subplot that makes inmates actual characters instead of running bait is added, the fire sequence is quite longer, a whole sequence between Ripley and Aaron involving her trying to tell the Company that Fury 161 is contaminated that is blocked due to finding out Aaron has a family, actually seeing the alien escape his little inprisoment, the inmates are seen going to the furnace area, and Ripley dies with the chestburster not coming out of her when she falls into the lead works(much more powerful sequence IMO). Closest you'll ever get to Fincher's vision of the film. The SE makes Alien 3 go from, in my opinion, the worst film in the series to the second best. I'm pretty sure everyone will agree with me that the SE is the only way to go.

Got around 140 minutes for the featurettes plus the stills. Best part of the featurettes' is hearing Ward talk about the "wooden planet" version of the script that I outlined earlier.

Alien Resurrection Special Edition, similar to Alien in

 

To anyone interested, coming from Dark Horse press are a couple prose novels:

Aliens: Original Sin by Michael Jan Friedman, on October 10
In 1979, science fiction and horror were brought together in director Ridley Scott's classic film Alien. The film follows the crew of a space cargo-ship, the Nostromo, who land on a hostile planet in response to a faint SOS only to discover an abandoned ship with a hideous alien. Alien inspired three movie sequels, and now Aliens: Original Sin expands further on this classic story, bringing back classic characters like Ripley 8, the clone of Lt. Ellen Ripley, and Call, an android. It also sorts out unanswered questions from the movies and raises entirely new ones. Was it just coincidence that the Nostromo happened to pass by the desolate planet? Why was the alien on the crashed ship in the first place? The answers, along with intense action, chilling horror, and even deeper questions await in suspense virtuoso Michael Jan Friedman's Alien: Original Sin.

Predator: Forever Midnight by John Shirley, on March 12
Erupting on the screen in a blaze of blood and guts in 1987, the film Predator quickly became a favorite, spawning a host of sequels, games, and novels. In Predator: Forever Midnight, John Shirley casts his malevolent eye upon the canon.

The year is 2117 A.D. Humanity has seized the stars, using reverse-engineered alien technology to explore the far reaches of space. On the eternally lit jungle planet Midnight, explorers are making a new world suitable for habitation. For years, humans have been safe from the sadistic extraterrestrial hunters known as the Predators, but the settlers on Midnight aren?t alone: the Predators have been on the planet all along. When the ravenous creatures attack an arriving spacecraft and capture the settlers as both slaves and prey for their hunt, the humans' terraforming project takes a back seat to a new fight for survival.

 

That's awesome.

 

Thanks for the info, Sniper_Wolf!

 

ALIEN [1979,original version]
3 stars,like a theatrical "The OUTER LIMITS" episode.

ALIEN was and is a revolutionary movie in the sci-fi genre and easily in the top 10 greatest of all-time. If the SW Saga are the Beatles then the Alien Saga is the Rolling Stones. Alien was horrifying, in your face, gritty, hard edged, and the scene where the Alien pops out of Cain's chest is the thing nightmares are made of and is an unforgettable moment in cinema history. Much, much more than an "Outer Limits" episode. 4 out of 4 stars.

ALIENS [1986]
3 & a half stars,also like a theatrical "The OUTER LIMITS" episode.

One of my favorite movies ever and one of the few that is as good or surpasses it's predecessor. Actually James Cameron did it twice. ALIENS AND T2. After all these years and my 100th viewing, the scene when the Marines first encounter the nest still keeps me on the edge of the couch. Ripley's classic line "Get away from her you, Bitch!" and Hudson's constant complaining and classic line's like "Game over man, game over!" and "We're on an express elevator to Hell; going down." make the movie all the better. 4 out of 4 stars.

alien 3 [1992]
1 star,atrocious

Had I read your review in 92' walking out of the theater I'd have agreed, but over the years and many viewings later this is really a well made movie. Technically sound. Very underrated. The problem is is that Ripley as a character cannot carry the picture by herself. There are no other character strong enough to help her do this as there was in the first 2 movies. That coupled with the fact that Newt and Hicks, two very likeable characters are dead at the beginning of the movie negating virtually the whole purpose of ALIENS end rescue. Bishop is still there but nothing more than organic goo and mangled wire. There isn't a happy ending either. Sure she kills the Alien when committing suicide but the movie needs hope and there is none. That being said it is still very very well made. David Fincher did a great job in my view. 3 solid stars out of 4.

alien resurrection [1997]
0 stars,feces

I agree it wasn't the greatest. A cool concept but the wrong director for the job. You don't get an artsy director to direct a commercial blockbuster movie. There were some unique moments in the movie but lacked the firepower of the first 2 movies. A happy ending yes, but not what fans wanted. Maybe some day James Cameron or Ridley Scott will want to return to the Saga as well as Sigourney Weaver to finish the series better than what we have now. 1 out of 4 stars.

 

This thread has been upped so it can be added to the Index.

 

This thread is upped because the Saga is a damn fine set of movies.

I agree with the above poster on the extended cut of Alien 3. This is a fantastic movie that fixes sooo many problems.

 

I agree, the SEs are all great except for the Alien SE.

Really? Interesting, I like the Alien SE. It's the only SE (from any series) I put equal to the original (not above, not below). If I could only have one on DVD, I would go with the original, that's because if an SE/DE/EE has no clear advantage over a TE, I always go with the TE. In this case, there is no clear advantage of an SE, however, it works just as well as the original.

How do others feel about this version?

For the A:R, again, I see no advantage to the SE, but neither does it hurt anything. Overall, I don't like A:R enough to care. In the future, I'd probably watch the SE, but mostly because it's something different.

A3 I agree the SE is better. I'd probably be preaching to the choir if I explained why.

For Aliens, I much prefer the TE. The SE is just too dragged out, and many of the new scenes add nothing (Hick's showing off while they descend to the planet ruins that scene for me). However, I may start watching the SE from here on out because last time I watched the TE I really missed a couple of scenes. I can always scene skip new scenes I don't like. TE is still a better paced, edited film, though.


Is this boxset worth buying for Alien fans? I have to say it is a must. Only minor downside is you see how lacking other boxset are in comparsion, especially that very bad set for the Orignal Trilogy.

Agreed. It's the way boxsets were meant to be made. I'm not really much into A3 and A:R (more of a dualogy fan), but even for me it was worth it to get this set.

One note, if you're a huge Alien fan, don't get rid of your original release of Alien on DVD. There is material in it not available on the Quad disc.

 

The Quadrilogy Set is definately worth getting. That's the Alien fan in me talking.

 

I agree, although it's Hudson that shows off, not Hicks. I'm tempted to quote the film considering Gorman makes that same mistake at one point.

But anyway, I prefer the tightness of the TE as well, although the extra scenes pertaining to Ripley's daughter add a lot of weight to her bond with Newt later on. Other than that, though, the extra scenes add very little.

 

First of all huge fan of the series. Glad I finally found this forum!

For what it's worth, here's my two cents on the subject:

Alien: I prefer the TE. I can appreciate the DC/SE (whichever you prefer to call it), but the pacing is thrown way off during the "Cocoon" scene. We have Ripley running through the bowels of the Nostromo, klaxon horns blaring, pitch black, smoke everywhere, tension mounting not knowing if she'll make it out alive, or whether the alien is right around the corner, then she finds Dallas and Brett and learns their fate.

I'm not saying this scene doesn't work. It's creepy as hell. Brett's turned ito an egg, and Dallas was more than likely an intended host for the developing facehugger. But in the context of the film itself, it just throws the pacing off. It's supposed to feel unrelenting and nonstop as she's trying to make it off the ship before it destructs.

Aliens: Now for this, I actually prefer the DC/SE. I feel the scenes add more depth and humanity to the film. I like the scenes with the sentry guns in the colony complex. I feel that it adds tension to the situation that Ripley and company are facing. The added scenes with Ripley concerning her daughter (before the board hearing scene), and the night time scene with Newt help to establish Ripley's humanism and compassion. Who wouldn't go through that hell to rescue their child, etc. I know I would.

Interesting to note that this was actually the first sci-fi/fantasy film to be recognized by the AMPAA with Weaver's nomination for Best Actress.

as far as Alien Cubed, and Alien Regurgitation, well, I don't much care for the TE's and IMHO, I don't feel the DC/SE's add anything but more excrutiating viewing time to already bad films.

 

Aliens DE does have some good scenes. Most of the new scenes aren't bad (only two annoy me), but they just stretch the movie out too long.

Yes, the cocoon scene does throw the pacing off some, and that's one mark against the SE, but it is still a cool scene, and the other scenes add where the cocoon scene takes away.

The cocoon scene confuses me, though. What's with the egg and Brett? And why was Dallas wanting Ripley to kill him? He hadn't been infected.

 

I think I read somewhere that they were still going with the concept of the alien as the "perfect organism", in control of it's entire life cycle. The idea of the queen laying the eggs wasn't yet established, the alien made the eggs from it's victims.

 

Yeah, Cameron came up with the Queen concept.

 

Here's the three "Alien" posters; has anyone seen the third one before? http://boards.theforce.net/the_amphitheatre/b10382/24329188/p2/?50

 

I've seen all of those before. That third one is really bad but it reminds me of this Aliens comic cover:

[image=http://tatooine.fortunecity.com/asimov/321/comics/aliens2_1.jpg]

Must've been the inspiration.

 

Brett is becoming the egg.

The novelization makes it pretty clear that Dallas was infected.

 

They keep saying that there will be another movie in the series, but it seems lost in Development Hell...