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The Other Alien movies
The Film: Alien 3
Years: 2003 and 2010
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What makes it special? This is rumour control. Here are the facts. Despite what many believe, Alien 3 ’s Special Edition/Assembly Cut has nothing to do with director David Fincher. He turned his back on Alien 3 half way through filming due to prohibitive studio interference. However, the Assembly cut represents the closest to his version of the film we’re ever likely to get short of a complete reshoot, and it’s the only version you should consider watching, on Blu-ray preferably, which fixes a number of the audio issues from the DVD version.
The most significant additions are admittedly aesthetic – we no longer see the Queen erupt from Ripley’s chest during her plunge into the molten steel, the film opens with Clemens finding Ripley on the beach and the alien erupts from a cow instead of a dog (which explains why the xenomorph was so big from birth). The major change, however, is to the character of Golic – a rambling welsh weirdo in the theatrical version (played by Paul McGann) who does nothing significant in the entire movie. In the Assembly Cut, however, his role is crucial. He becomes obsessed with “the dragon” after witnessing it butcher his friends. Couple that with a shattered psyche and Golic becomes obsessed with “talking” to the dragon – going as far as killing the warden guarding the xenomorph’s temporary prison and letting it out to do so.
The assembly cut also seemingly settles a debate many fans have been having for years – is Bishop II seen at the end of the film human or android? We’re led to believe he’s human as he bleeds red blood after being hit over the head by Aaron/85, though this only makes sense if you ignore Paul WS Anderson’s Aliens Versus Predator . And everyone should ignore Aliens Versus Predator (especially the Special Edition).
The Film: Alien Resurrection
Year: 2003
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What makes it special? On the Alien Resurrection commentary, director Jean Pierre Jeunet explicitly states this is not his “director’s cut” version, however the new scenes present here do add to the darkly comedic tone of the film – a tone he is best known for. The only two significant additions are a new opening and ending. The film now starts with an extreme close up of a fly getting squashed under a man’s finger, and ends on a devastated earth with Paris in ruins in the background. It’s our preferred version, because at least you don’t have to sit through those queasy opening titles.
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