The Alien movies have always been about their characters, with the creatures themselves taking back seat to the human reaction to them. In "Alien" (****), there was animosity on the ship as the seven astronauts were initially torn between their job and their desire to go home. They had to put their differences aside in order to fight their common enemy: the alien creature bent on eating them. In "Aliens" (****), the military must overcome hysteria, deception, and clausterphobia in order to escape from an entire army of alien creatures. These films are classics for a reason--the strong characters are what take center stage and manage to balance logos with ethos, making for very powerful character studies within a sci-fi/horror premise.
When "Alien" 3 came out, none of that character chemistry was present. While I can name you nine prominent characters, besides the continuing character Ripley, that were effectively created to stand out from the second film (off the top of my head: Hicks, Hudson, Bishop, Vasquez, Gorman, Newt, Burke, Drake, Apone) only three characters come off with any depth in number three, one of which who is inappropriately killed just as his character development was beginning to pay off. As a result, despite impressive visuals, great direction, and powerful performances by the leads, the film lumbers when it should have soared.
Given the quality of the other films in the series (even the fourth film that followed, "Alien: Resurrection" (***), which restored the rich characters), I couldn't help but wonder just what in the world happened during filming that undermined the characters of this film. Then I get wind of the twenty or so minutes that were cut out of the final version. For a complete listing of the scenes, look on the alternate versions page. After reading the script for Alien 3, I must confess that these scenes, when restored, not only bring the film up to greater heights than it achieved in its final version, but it was the best, darkest film in the series. Why on earth these brilliant scenes of character development and thematic discussions were cut is beyond me. They shape the film to have a very good theme and the characters are the most intruiging of the series. Great scenes explaining the motivations of Morse, Golic, Junior and others were lost on the cutting room floor. These scenes weren't only important for character development, but they were also necessary to shape the story and give it a rounder and broader thematic purpose.
With the success David Finscher has had in his recent films (deservedly so--"Fight Club" remains one of the most powerful cinematic experiences of my life, and let me tell you, I've had quite a few), I hope that he is able to restore "Alien 3" with a director's cut. If he reissues scenes to restore the fluency missing in the plot and characters, he would recreate a film which not only would become the best film in the alien series, but also one of the finest horror thrillers ever made! I can only hope that he find time and motivation to take on such a project, as it would be the most effective director's cut since "Blade Runner."
Final cut: ** out of **** With restored scenes: **** out of ****
When "Alien" 3 came out, none of that character chemistry was present. While I can name you nine prominent characters, besides the continuing character Ripley, that were effectively created to stand out from the second film (off the top of my head: Hicks, Hudson, Bishop, Vasquez, Gorman, Newt, Burke, Drake, Apone) only three characters come off with any depth in number three, one of which who is inappropriately killed just as his character development was beginning to pay off. As a result, despite impressive visuals, great direction, and powerful performances by the leads, the film lumbers when it should have soared.
Given the quality of the other films in the series (even the fourth film that followed, "Alien: Resurrection" (***), which restored the rich characters), I couldn't help but wonder just what in the world happened during filming that undermined the characters of this film. Then I get wind of the twenty or so minutes that were cut out of the final version. For a complete listing of the scenes, look on the alternate versions page. After reading the script for Alien 3, I must confess that these scenes, when restored, not only bring the film up to greater heights than it achieved in its final version, but it was the best, darkest film in the series. Why on earth these brilliant scenes of character development and thematic discussions were cut is beyond me. They shape the film to have a very good theme and the characters are the most intruiging of the series. Great scenes explaining the motivations of Morse, Golic, Junior and others were lost on the cutting room floor. These scenes weren't only important for character development, but they were also necessary to shape the story and give it a rounder and broader thematic purpose.
With the success David Finscher has had in his recent films (deservedly so--"Fight Club" remains one of the most powerful cinematic experiences of my life, and let me tell you, I've had quite a few), I hope that he is able to restore "Alien 3" with a director's cut. If he reissues scenes to restore the fluency missing in the plot and characters, he would recreate a film which not only would become the best film in the alien series, but also one of the finest horror thrillers ever made! I can only hope that he find time and motivation to take on such a project, as it would be the most effective director's cut since "Blade Runner."
Final cut: ** out of **** With restored scenes: **** out of ****