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| It was Born from Development Hell! |
Today is Alien Day, and we got a question for you: How do we fix Alien 3? We don't often talk about mainstream films, but this one is an exception. We'll be talking about the flaws and issues regarding the infamous Alien 3 and how to fix them.
This Article contains spoilers!
Alien 3, the science fiction horror film sequel to the 1986 classic film, Aliens, didn't meet expectations from fans and critics on May 22, 1992, when it was released in theaters. It met with a polarizing reception as many consider it inferior to its predecessors. The film wasn't only iconic for Sigourney Weaver's face-to-face with her Xenomorph adversary, but for the production hell it faced from Fox executives. The film's 2-year production suffered from many hirings, firings, conflicts, script rewrites, and revisions.
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| Director David Fletcher |
Now acclaimed director, David Fletcher (pictured), made this movie his first directional debut, but he didn't have full creative control and was not involved in post-production, consequently making the theatrical version of the film a total mess. And still, to this day, he has disowned the film and does not talk about it often, saying, "No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me."*
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| Concept art for Vincent Ward's Alien 3 "Wooden Planet" Script - Art by TyRuben Ellingson |
The story takes place after the events of the second film, Aliens, Ripley crash lands on the prison planet of Fury 161, populated with inmates. However, she soon discovers an alien is among them and stalking its prey. So, she is forced to team up with the scum of humanity and must stop it at all costs before it kills them all.
One of the biggest criticisms from fans was killing off Hicks and Newt. By the time this film was released, they knew they F***d up. It was like demolishing the perfect sandcastle because someone else built it. WTF is all I said watching the first 10 min of the theatrical cut of Alien 3. What the hell did I watch Aliens for? All that energy was wasted cheering for our beloved characters to make it to the end, and they did. It was the perfect payoff to an incredible roller coaster ride E-ticket for those old enough to remember. Then Alien 3's disaster hits us and leaves a gaping hole in our guts. Then they introduced characters we have little sympathy for because many of them are convicts that have committed irredeemable crimes. Nuf said.
In an interview, James Cameron, director of Aliens, commented about Alien 3
“I thought [the decision to eliminate Newt, Hicks, and Bishop] was dumb … I thought it was a huge slap in the face to the fans … I think it was a big mistake. Certainly, had we been involved we would not have done that, because we felt we earned something with the audience for those characters.
...[Alien 3 director] David Fincher is a friend of mine, and he’s an amazing filmmaker, unquestionably. That was kind of his first big gig, and he was getting vectored around by the studio, and he dropped into the production late, and they had a horrible script, and they were re-writing it on the fly. It was just a mess. I think it was a big mistake. Certainly, had we been involved we would not have done that, because we felt we earned something with the audience for those characters.”
The Theatrical Cut was also criticized for its lack of character development, major plot holes, continuity errors, choppy editing, and thin script.
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| As pictured above, this is one of the few continuity errors in the film. Click on the picture to see an article covering this. (External Link) |
Over the years, fans gained to appreciate the film more when the Assembly Cut was released in 2003. This cut added over 30 minutes of additional footage that was cut from the Theatrical Version. This cut was to closely match Fincher's original vision — without Fincher's involvement.
It's not really a "Director's Cut", but more of an alternative version of the film, before studio interference (well, there was already interference). The Assembly Cut, in respect, is like a completely different movie on its own. Of course, this cut doesn't bring Hicks and Newt back to life, but it does give the film a little more respect than its theatrical counterpart. This cut resolved the major plot holes and fixed the character development, making them all flesh out.
I also want to mention the Workprint Cut; this version was leaked on the Internet in the early 2000s. It doesn't offer anything significant but sits between the Assembly Cut and the Theatrical Cut. It has a few alternative and longer scenes that are exclusive to this version.
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| Despite the film's negative reputation this scene (pictured) is one of the most iconic moments. |
The film in general, no matter what version you watch, won't bring Newt and Hicks back and is very depressing and nihilistic in nature. Everything is dread, dark, and gritty, representing the grudge era of the 1990s that mainstream Hollywood has never done before at the time. The rusty/yellow color scheme of Fury 161 makes it atmospheric and immersive. I like films that are dark and gritty, but not when it slaps you in the face.
Many fans consider Alien 3 (and Alien Ressurection) as non-canon or simply don't exist because they prefer Aliens as the true ending to Ripley's story arc, because it does have a happy ending and conclusion. They also pretend that both films are just Ripley's nightmares while she's still in hypersleep.
There's a minority that does love Alien 3, and some prefer that movie as the ending to Ripley's character because some audiences have seen Alien 3 first and never watched the other films. If you did watch Alien 3 first, you have a completely different perspective as the film does stand on its own without watching the previous two movies. But if you did watch Alien 3 first, then the first two; you're going to see why people hate Alien 3.
Listen, Alien 3 isn't a...horrible film, but a flawed and depressing masterpiece. I do admire and respect it as they at least tried to do something new (Fury 161, Runner Alien, new characters). The only parts most fans didn't like were the beginning and end, but the rest of the film is fine. The only redeeming aspects of the film are the fantastic sets of Fury 161, the practical special/visual effects, the beautiful cinematography, Elliot Goldenthal's chilling atmospheric score, the metaphoric symbolism, and the actors' performances. Standing on its own, it's a great movie, but as a sequel to Aliens, it's not...
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| Alien 3 is known for its beautiful artistic cinematography and alot of indirect shots of religious Christian symbolism and metaphors. |
In Space, No One Can Hear You Dream.
Some fans have made their own fan edits and restorations of certain scenes from the film online. And some made cartoon parodies of Alien 3 with a happy story, William Gibson's Alien 3 was released on audio, and Niel Blomkamp's Alien 5 Alien 3 was canceled.
But what if we fixed the already existing Alien 3?
What if we can redeem it?
What if we extensively enhance the story?
There needs to be a better cut that includes the best from both versions. Both cuts are "good" standing on their own, but I see a masterpiece in my head by mixing both movies.
What I mean by "fixed" is fixing the negative stuff from the film that's been criticized by fans, like the death of Newt and Hicks and some of the dated special effects.
David Flincher has nothing to do with the movie anymore, David Giler passed away, and Walter Hill is of age. So, there's been a few fan projects that have made their own version of this film. But most of these fan edits are just the same story with little improvements.
I'm highly aware that the film was made over 30 years ago, the actors have aged, and the crew has moved on. But it's the 21st century, and we're in the 2020s, and technology has evolved in filmmaking. We have more advanced CGI and digital editing tools like Photoshop and Blender, and additionally, we have Artificial Intelligence.
How do you change the dialogue? Well, you have a few choices, having the original actors is really doubtful, but using a voice that's similar to the respective actors or using A.I. is the best option. A.I. for visual and audio has been more advanced over the years, and many crazy things can be done with it.
Obviously, "fixing" this movie will be hard to do. Unfortunately, no more deleted or extended scenes were released to the public, and the extra footage from the Workprint Cut is in poor VHS quality. So, this fixed version should use the best footage from the Theatrical and Assembly Cuts (or make new SFX footage and use footage from trailers) with a few fixes and additions:
Hicks and Newt are alive.
If they didn't want either character in the film, all they had to do was leave them up in the ship and have only Ripley ejected, which was totally plausible if just her pod was contaminated and the others not. What they did was depressing, it felt contrived like it was an excuse more than something adding to the story, and bottle-necked them from possibly using the characters in any future sequels, even their own spin-off if they killed off Ripley. (Thanks Vicent Ward)
So to fix this, the scenes with Newt and Hick's bodies need to be cut out, and all lines mentioning Newt and Hicks need to be changed.
When Ripley asks Clemens where the other survivors are, he tells her there was no one else but her and the droid, Bishop.
When Ripley gets dressed and goes to the wreckage of the EEV, the dialog obviously needs to be changed.
The morgue scene needs to be changed; everything needs to be cut until were introduced to the Prison's administrators. If it doesn't execute well, just cut it all out completely.
The Funeral
Hicks and Newt's cremation at the funeral can be left intact, but you can obviously change the context. Dialogue can be changed by saying we're cremating 2 fellow prisoners that died killing each other, Tom and Shorty.
Ox or Dog?
Controversially, there are two versions of the scene of the Alien's birth from the host. The Dog version and the Ox version. As depressing as it was, many (including myself) prefer the dog version because it fits with the Alien's genetic traits with the host. The Runner Alien is more animalistic and acts like a Canine than an Ox. But sometimes runs like an Ox and a Canine.
The introduction of the two prisoners in the butcher room should be intact, with one of them discovering a super face hugger.
Alternatively, this may be unpopular, but why not keep both? Adding the twist of two Aliens makes it twice as deadlier. Dialogue can be added with one of the prisoners saying, "Aw Shit, there's two of them!" The Ox Alien dies in the fire trap, making that sequence have an actual purpose, while the Dog Alien gets trapped and released trapped later. This will be a cool twist.
If the host was an Ox, then I believe the design of the alien would be very different
For example
•It would have had some kind of horns
•It would have been much more chunky instead of the slender proportions we see
•It would probably be slower than usual considering that Oxen travel rather slowly
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| Imagine the Ox Alien had horns? |
Bishop's conversation with Ripley
In the scene where Ripley is having a conversation with Bishop in the infirmary, the dialogue needs to be changed. Ripley needs to ask Bishop if Newt and Hicks were affected and if they're okay. He tells her they're fine and the Sulaco is returning to earth. She is relieved. When she asks him if they're was an Alien on board, he says yes. And there were only two detected on board.
Additional music from the Expanded Edition Soundtrack
The Expanded Edition of Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack contains unused, extended, and alternative versions of the tracks. It would be cool if these tracks were added to the film.
Fix the dated SFX
Another criticism is toward the rod puppet special effects, some didn't age well by today's standards, and many have mistaken it for primitive CGI. The special effects department did a great job on the puppets, but the color grading needs to be corrected and needs to match with the scenes surrounding colors. Some scenes, like when the Runner Alien approaches Ripley in the infirmary, before that iconic moment where it was all in Ripley's face, didn't age well. I always felt this film deserved a "Lucas" treatment to update the visuals. That should be fixed with a new practical effect or CGI.
At least someone fixed the color grading in this video.
There's also a fan project called Project A34K that aims to polish the film.
The "For the Last Time" line seen in the trailer
The "For the Last Time" line in the trailer needs to be added because it was a cool one-liner, and this is Ripley's final moment. So far, that particular line of dialogue is only in the trailer, and the trailer is in SD. So, it would be nice to have a 35mm positive of the trailer and restore it.
The Ending
The ending might be the hardest part, some like the original ending, and some don't. There've been many fan edits of the ending over the internet; here are a few choices:
- Ripley sacrifices herself with the Queen and wipeouts the Xenomorphs for good (without the Chestburster coming out) shown in the Assembly Cut. This gives her character arc an ending, and Weland-Yutani never wins.
- Ripley is still in hypersleep (using footage from Aliens and Alien 3), talking about dreams, and she wakes up (using Alien Resurrection footage).
- Ripley dies with the Chestbuster coming out and wakes up from a bad dream.
- Weyland-Yutani's "Dog Catchers" shoots Ripley with a stun gun, take her to the company's ship, and then performs the surgical operation (using footage from Alien Ressurection). Thus the bad guys win.
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| In the movie's metaphor, a fallen angel descends to hell and destroys the beast to save humanity. |
Call me crazy, but this could work. As a fan of the Alien franchise, I wanted to like this movie, but I couldn't fully like this beautiful underrated masterpiece. I was excited for Neil Blomkamp's Alien 5, it was going to bring back Sigourney Weaver and Micheal Biehn and retcon Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, but it was sadly canceled.
So, I said to myself, won't we fix Alien 3, a flawed masterpiece born from development hell because of studio interference. It was already filmed, and extra footage is provided; a simple edit can make a difference.
The love for this flick is endless. People will truly never, ever get bored of discussing Alien 3. 100% I can't imagine having this level of interest in any of the sequels to Star Wars, Trek, or the MCU flicks. There's so much implied and not answered that it gives us lots to consider.
Author: Joe Bloggs & A.E. Firestone
Images: ©Fox/Disney
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