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Alien 3 (Collector's Edition)

Alien 3 (Collector's Edition)

List Price: $26.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I think it is great.
Review: I have to say that when I first saw this film I was not very impressed. Like a lot of other people I was disappointed by what seemed to be a rather tepid sequel to Aliens. Years later, after understanding a little more about it I began to realise how special this film really is. The film is the directorial debut of David Fincher who later made Seven and Fight Club.

The films events take place immediately after the end of Aliens. Ripley, the lone survivor of a crashing escape capsule awakens on a prison colony inhabited by sex criminals. Whilst recovering from the crash she attempts to find out why the spacecraft malfunctioned and if anything else survived the crash. As the truth about her circumstances becomes clearer she is compelled to act or all her previous victories will be rendered meaningless.

I believe that Alien3 works on more levels than it has been previously given credit for and is not dissimilar to David Fincher's more recent film Seven. Both Seven and Alien3 have a depressing and claustrophobic atmosphere. Like Seven, Alien3 also features such themes as evil, sin and redemption.

Certain elements established in the previous Alien films come into play here and are twisted into a fully functioning religious allegory. In the previous films the goal for the main characters was to escape from the Aliens with their lives while fending off corrupt characters who wanted to keep the creatures to suit there own purposes. In Alien3 the goal for the main characters is not survival but to kill the last of the creatures at any cost. The characters have no weapons at their disposal but reluctantly accept the situation as there last chance to find redemption. Alien3 is more about not letting evil succeed then the art of survival.

Of the three films this one focuses more on the drama (rather then suspense or action) and is more psychological. The characters are portrayed with considerable nuance; they lose confidence, become frustrated and are at times indecisive. Some of the scenes are moving, others are horrible but the film is never sentimental. Even the films most stirring scenes have a cynical edge to them. A film such as this needs good acting and Alien3 doesn't have a poor actor in it. Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack is also great.

One thing the film does not have though is a sense of discovery. You see the Alien in the first half of the film and there is no Alien queen or huge set to look forward to. The film is visually stunning but you know you've seen all they have to show you in the first half. However these are not things the film really needs.
This is one of my favourite films and I think it's great. The Dvd extras are fairly minimal.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dark, depressing, and dumb
Review: Where in the world did this movie come from? The original was a horror film that left almost everything to the imagination; the second was a rock 'em sock 'em action flick...then this? Weaver with a ridiculous buzz cut? And spending most of the movie wandering around with a sad, lost look on her face? The theme of the whole movie--oh, the horror! the horror! The Christ symbolism at the end is trite and transparent. This movie should have never been made; it's an insult to the first two, and for all practical purposes has nothing in common with them.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ultimately Unsatisfying
Review: I'm conflicted about Alien 3.

On the one hand, I respect it for broaching darker subject matter, for not being so beholden to what came before it.

On the other hand I found its break with form too jarring, its message too bleak, and its tone too disrespectful of its precedent and its audience.

Ah, what to do, what to do?

Its basic premise seems implausible enough - that an Alien egg was overlooked and then infected Ripley, that it then lived on to infect a dog, the prison planet without guns. Not only implausible, but a real slap in the face to Aliens, which concluded so well with the surviving characters having found some peace and redemption. It seems to say to the audience "Oh so you loved Alien and aliens? Well they're crap - here's what it's really about!"

Ripley is the heart of the Alien series, and here we have a Ripley utterly broken. Where has the good, practical woman gone? We have just a shadow of that character - more sly, more jaded, but without the emotional center of the Ripley from the first films. On top of all this, the woman who lived in fear of infection is now inexplicably unable to take her own life?

Finally she is a martyr. She wins by losing, and then she is lost. Anyone who thinks they will be affecting or innovative by going for a Christ-metaphor in writing or filmmaking, be advised: you are not the first to think of it, nor are you likely to do it best. The only value in Ripley's Christ-figure depiction, at this point, is for sophomoric viewers to pat themselves on the back for noticing it.

I am not opposed to dark depictions of life or the future. I very much admire Fincher's other work on Seven. But in Alien 3 we see the end of the universe, in all the ways that matter to humanity. There is no good, there is no hope - there is only the Corporation, the Aliens and your only chance to escape either is death.

I have to wonder why the franchise broke so violently with its established format. While I am THRILLED to see the studio push the envelope and not simply rehash what came before, I see no good reason to contort so dramatically something so beloved and so successful.

I am touched by the willingness of Alien 3 to face up to themes of despair and sacrifice. I can appreciate it as an experiment. But none of this is enough overcome its many failings.

I wish it could have been relegated to some hyper-sleep nightmare of Ripley's. Since it was not, I'm satisfied that Ripley was brought back for a chance to redeem herself in the superior Alien Resurrection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: All the scenes, Please!
Review: Release a special edition ALIEN 3 with the deleted scenes included. I bet it would be a lot less confusing! I also hope they release a special edition of ALIEN as well. That would make me very happy to see all the scenes originally in the film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: beating a dead calf
Review: Directed by David Fincher, "Alien 3" is . . . well, let's face it . . . pitiful. Not even thrilling, it can't even compare to the pair of semi-classics which followed before it. The story is weak, the acting bland, the special effects so-average-it's-not-funny, and the entire idea is just dumb. After two great predecessors, what do you expect? Okay, maybe sequels are good, but after that? You have nothing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of the series!
Review: Alien was too boring, Aliens was too long, and Alien Ressurection was too complicated! Alien3 was the best one. It had suspense, good acting, good visual effects, good music, good storyline, a good ending, and a really cool new alien that was faster and more agressive than the others. My favorite part was the ending, and another good part was when the alien burst out of the hot lead- that really surprised me! This is one of my favorite movies and I can't understand why so many people hated it! And in case you wondered, the picture on the case is the queen embryo that is inside Ripley.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Guilty pleasure of the series.
Review: Ripley ( Weaver) still survives after that terrifying attack with both creatures from Aliens and Alien, she is on a planet filled with Criminals and rapist alike where the Monster is still after her. It may be hated by fans but i enjoyed it, it's
one of my guilty pleasures.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Alien Sequel.
Review: Ripley (Signourney Weaver) has Crash landed in a Prison on a Planet named Fury 161. Inside the Prison are full of Murderers and Rapists. The Acid-Spitting, Flesh-Eating space creature has unfortunately hitched a ride with Ripley. Now the Prisoners and Ripley has to face the Alien and they have to Battle the Alien to Survive but Ripley has a Problem of her Own, which is going to be a surprise for Her, like it or not.

DVD`s has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an Digitally Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and also the Original Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surroud Sound. First Time Director:David Fincher actually disowned the film before the film`s release and he could never put the version, that was close to his vision. The Original Cut of Fincher`s was much longer and it made much more sense (Also fixing several plot holes of Alien 3), it`s runs about more than 135 Minutes. Now it`s has been 10 years after the Original Relase of this Sequel. Still, Alien 3 is one the most Complex Sci-Fi Thriller in Years. Now the Lastest 2 Disc Set of Alien 3, it`s has the somewhat the closer cut of Fincher version. Which now, it`s has more Character`s Development with Alternative Scenes and 30 Minutes Longer, which this is a Assembly Cut Version (It`s also has the Original 1992 Release Version). Disc 2:It`s has many Behind the Scenes featurettes and more. I prefer the Assembly Cut than the Theatrical 1992 Cut. Alien 3 is the most ambitious sequel in the series, too bad that Fincher still does disowned his film, because is going to be always the Flawed Masterpiece of the Series. Panavision. Theatrical Cut-Grade:A-. Assembly Cut-Grade:A.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Its OK for an incomplete movie
Review: Story:

On the way back to Earth from LV426 the Sulaco experiences a fire and the survivors from Aliens are dropped down to a prison planet in an escape pod. The fire was cause by the spilt acid of a facehugger's blood although it is never explained how some alien eggs got aboard the ship in the first place, much less the cryo chamber where the crew was sleeping.
When the escape pod crashes near the shore of the prison Hicks is impailed by a support beam, Newt awakens only to drown in her chamber, Bishop is further damaged and Ripley survives (hey, she's the star). The pod is rescued by some of the prison's inhabitants while they were outside working with oxen. Ripley is found alive and is taken to the infirmary but no one notices that the facehugger has hitched along for the ride in the escape pod. The facehugger quickly attacks an ox and lays an embryo within.
Ripley recovers and is curious to found out what happened. As she figures out what occured another prisoner discovers a dead ox with its chest burst open and alongside the now dead facehugger (its huuuuge, bigger than the ones seen in previous films, its a different design which explains why the alien in this film looks somewhat different from, again, the ones in previous films). Ripley tells everyone that there might be an alien around but of course no one believes her and the body count starts to rise. After witnessing the alien the prisoners set a trap to entrap the alien by burning sections of the prison and luring it into a chamber. Something of course goes wrong and many of the prisoners are killed in the fire but the plan works and the alien is finally trapped. Unfortunately a psychotic prisoner frees the alien believing it is god and the body count continues.
Ripley discovers she's now carrying an alien inside of her and tries to kill herself by letting the alien kill her but of course the alien wont do that since it senses that she's carrying a queen! The Company is also on its way to the planet to capture the queen for themselves so times running out.
After some more deaths the alien is finally killed but the Company gets there in time to capture Ripley and the queen. Ripley not wanting the Company to capture the queen and use it as a weapon throws herself into a furnace and kills herself and the queen.

Movie :

This movie was done to cash in on the sucess of Aliens, let me just make that clear. The final script wasn't even complete until a few weeks before filming began (although by today's standards many directors would be thankful to at least have a few weeks! Jurassic Park 3's script wasn't completed until the last week of shooting)! Alien 3 was rushed into production. This explains why the movie is nowhere near as good as Fincher's other films, Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, The Panic Room.
During production the crew ran into a problem, oxen don't do anything! The oxen wouldn't do what was called for in the script and at the last minute they replaced the ox and reshot using a dog! Many people mistakenly believe that the reason the alien looks different is because it came out of a dog, this is not true since the dog wasn't added into the movie till the very last minute.
The editing process was also hurried and many of the scenes were left on the cutting room floor which makes the final movie feel rushed and chopped up. In fact, if you ever get to watch the trailer for this movie you'll notice that 85% of it isn't in the movie! Some scenes cut out were all the scenes with the oxen, scenes where the alien is first trapped and released, scenes with the huge facehugger and more scenes with a lot of character development. If you look around you'll find pictures and avi's of some of these scenes on different websites.

The movie itself looks great and has great performances unfortunately it feels incomplete and badly edited and thats only because it is. It would be nice if Fincher and Fox could reteam and complete this movie and release it as a Special Edition DVD. Hey, write in folks and let them know that there is a demand to see this happen!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Its Started!
Review: very much maligned upon its release, alien 3 is seen as the weaker of the 4 films by many fans of this franchise. i myself am a fan of this movie and purchased it on dvd today [i write this review after watching it!]. i managed to pick this dvd up at a bargain price from a video rental outlet.

why this film was hated so much by critics and fans alike i will not know. each alien movie is unique in its own way and alien 3 is a total sidestep away from camerons classic aliens. many people expected the 'bang' 'bang' 'boom' 'boom' of its predecessor but instead david fincher decided to create his own vision using the same formula as the first alien movie.

commendable performances from the cast [charles dutton, ralph brown and brian glover] all compliment weavers performance excellently. like the first two movies there are some strong characters that we can identify and sympathise with. the script itself has some plot holes but that aside the film is a visual masterpiece with some breathtaking set designs which were way ahead of 1991 standards. easily the grimmest of the alien movies, fincher gave this movie a rather nihilistic undertone and it works great with the story.

the dvd transfer is very good, clear picture and the sound is also good with a few tweaks here and there over the vhs version. my only complaint was that this dvd has no real special features. we get a 25 minute 'making of' doc which is more like an overview to the making of the movie, there is no real depth. we get all 4 trailers to the alien movies. strange because alien3 had 3 trailers if i can remember...the one seen at the end of the documentary, the 'on earth we can hear you scream' trailer and the missing 'when the sun burns cold' trailer...no directors commentary which disappointed me. there were no tv spots either which was a shame.

i'm giving 5 stars to the movie...but on the features front i don't think it deserves any. alien and aliens had far better features and documentaries.


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