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Posted

I already bought the trilogy box way back and the 4th film doesn't really interest me at all. The only thing I am curious about is the "restored work print" version of Alien 3.

Anyone bought the box and has seen Fincher's original version of Alien 3? How is it?

Posted

Does this cost more than individual DVDs of Alien and Aliens? If so I'm not interested. The first two are the only ones I'll ever need.

I suppose Alien 3 could have been good (not like the 1st two, but what is?), if it had been done better and it hadn't killed off "un-needed" characters from the previous movies so carelessly. Of course, I may just be saying that because Alien 4 sucked so bad that it made me look more favorably on Alien 3 than it really deserves...

On a side note: Anyone know if the Aliens DVD out there lets you watch the theatrical release version? The directors cut is fine and all, but after watching them both on vhs until my tapes won't play anymore I think I like the "original" version best. The fear that I will be stuck with the directors cut only is the only thing holding me back from investing in the DVD.

Posted
Does this cost more than individual DVDs of Alien and Aliens? If so I'm not interested. The first two are the only ones I'll ever need.

I suppose Alien 3 could have been good (not like the 1st two, but what is?), if it had been done better and it hadn't killed off "un-needed" characters from the previous movies so carelessly. Of course, I may just be saying that because Alien 4 sucked so bad that it made me look more favorably on Alien 3 than it really deserves...

Amazon.com lists it for $69.99 (free shipping if you go with their Super Saver) and I think Best Buy sells it for $74.99. Box contains 9 discs - 2 discs per film, the 9th discs are mostly trailers and TV spots for all 4 flicks.

I seriously hated Alien 3 when it came out, but I see it in a different light these days since David Fincher's proved himself as a director later and this movie becomes an interesting case study of how heavy-handed studio involvement can ruin a project with so much potential.

Anyone bought the box and want to get rid of the work print version of Alien 3... PM me! :)

Posted

An Alien quadrilogy must be a figment of the imagination, as everybody knows that there are only two Alien movies.

Now everybody repeat after me "there are only two Alien movies".

Graham

Posted (edited)
An Alien quadrilogy must be a figment of the imagination, as everybody knows that there are only two Alien movies.

Now everybody repeat after me "there are only two Alien movies".

Graham

only two alien movies.....

no wait only one alien movie and one aliens movie... right?

edit: movies -> movie

Edited by Zentrandude
Posted

Alien QUADrilogy... isn't it a bit too early? Aliens vs Predator will out before too long and then we'll see a 11+ disc QUINTology set... Mmmm. What do you call a SIX-film series, eh?

Posted

I think the cheapest price I've seen for this set is at costco which I believe is only 60 bucks. Boxset does look nice, but I don't plan on picking it up.

Posted
Alien QUADrilogy... isn't it a bit too early? Aliens vs Predator will out before too long and then we'll see a 11+ disc QUINTology set... Mmmm. What do you call a SIX-film series, eh?

AVP just doesn't fit dude. It doesn't even fit the continuities of the two series.

Posted

I have the Quadrilogy set. It's well worth the money, even upgrading from the old Legacy set.

The Alien3 workprint is interesting and definately makes a difference. The only slight downside to it is that the original materials had degraded and couldn't be properly restored to good quality, sound especially. It defaults to having subtitles on for a couple of scenes.

Also, Alien3 is very underrated and very undeservingly bashed. It's not as good as the first and second movies certainly, but it's nowhere near as bad as it's reputation, or the fourth movie which is truely terrible.

Posted

I may pick this up as it's the only way to get the director's cut of the first film. I missed it when it was released here in Annapolis. I have the extended version of Aliens on laserdisc when it was released as a box set. I really loved this movie and it is my favorite. I refused to sit through Alien 4, and the third one was okay. Kind of...

Posted

Actually, it's holding up remarkably well. I heard about the problems with this set a while back, but so far mine is okay. I also bought the extended version of The Abyss when it came out and it is still working fine.

Posted (edited)

Ok, for as long as Alien 3 has existed, I have heard nothing but single-sentence complaints and criticisms about it. For the first time in almost 10 years or so, I would like to hear actual reasons supported by examples and well thought out points of view, explaining why the story was so unfavorable. Enough of this 2nd grader quality "it sucks, it's crap, it's horrible, it's garbage" jibber-jabber, without so much of a clue as to why it's so bad....

Just because it didn't have a bunch of macho a-holes running around with mega-weaponry, shooting everything that moves, doesn't make it a bad movie. Actually, the only difference between Alien, Alien 3 and Aliens, Alien 4 is the element of weaponry. All four movies tell the same tale of grim, human determination against a deadly, and ironically "natural" enemy as well as incredible odds.

Also, Alien 4 is interesting, if only because Ripley's character ceases to be a complete victim, and is able to retaliate somewhat against what is going on around her.

Say what you will about Alien 3 and 4, but those two movies accurately carry the theme that started in the first Alien movie: Corporate greed and selfishness so powerful that it negated the rights and lives of those subjected to it.....

-I love anti-establishment stories.....

Edited by myk
Posted (edited)
For the first time in almost 10 years or so, I would like to hear actual reasons supported by examples and well thought out points of view, explaining why the story was so unfavorable.

i actually thought it was a pretty good film.... ON ITS OWN

but it didn't fit the alien seriese at all.

for starters, alien was a great horror flick scary, the works..

aliens was an awsome action movie. the right amount of scary parts, but for the most part it was a shoot em up! in my opinion, a good step because its hard to be scared of something the second time around.

Alien 3 fails because for one, it starts out with a bunch of in-consistenceys with the second movie. IE the Sulaco suddenly had diffrent hybernation pods, its no longer gritty and had gotten some weird lady with an accent to voice computer functions, no explination of how the face hugger got on board (the queen ripped off of her egg laying thing, and beliveing one of those little buggers crawled allll the way up from where it had been layed only to attack mid flight home is a little far fetched.. just dont' make no sence.) and they killed off hicks and newt, wich was a serious cop out. all of these things made sure that the movie started out on a seriously wrong foot.

now. if you can get past all that, wich is asking alot from a fan base that throuoghly enjoyed the first two, the movie really isn't all that bad. it brings the serise back to its horror roots and does a relatively good job of it. seeing bishop again was one of the highlights for me, dillan was an intresting character, i would have liked to see more screen time for him. the unlikely heros of a bunch of space prisoners worked pretty well. it was a decent movie on its own, but in the trillogy it fails:

what disappoints people i think is that it DID go back to previously treaded ground. we know the alien can kill unarmed people, we saw it already. we know the alien can be fought, though ineffectively by the marines. we know the company wants the alien. lets move on to the next step, what ever it is.

had the first two movies never existed, this one would have been well liked i think

the third alien movie is probably where the alien vs predator step should have taken place, there just wasn't a whole lot they could have done that would have been intresting in the third movie.

anyway, those are my opinions on alien 3, a OK movie grouped with a couple of EXCELLENT movies. it brings down the first two and for that it gets flack.

As for your opinions on Ripley being a victim, i have to disagree, in EVERY movie she has fought back and won (saved her own life and destroyed the aliens anyway) she never breaks down and wimpers like an idiot for some man to save her. personally i think she is a hugely overlooked icon for womens strength portraied in movies.

she succeds where everyone else in the mostly male crews have failed, a victim would have simply given up and said "we're screwd, lets just die and get it over with" she never gives up in the movies, even in the thrid one she only kills her self to protect man kind from the aliens.

i'm not going to get into the 4th movie, your on your own if you want to defend that thing. :rolleyes:

Edited by KingNor
Posted

When I saw Alien 3 a few years back I also thought it was a touch underrated. Its not as good as the two before it, but I don't think it deserves quite as much hate as it gets. There are far, far worse films out there.

I will say that I do tend to think of it as the "British" Alien movie, due to the casting... :lol:

Posted

Alien 3 is way overrated, it's a good sequel and a good conclusion of the Alien series, very dark and deep, it has some holes but the anbient, the new creature and the overall feel is fine, it goes back to the original Alien in a different way but overall its a good conclusion, nothing else after that and in the case of Alien resurrection I think is the worst most stinky POS ever, there's so much errors, stupidity and crap on that movie that it doesn't deserve the name, for me there's only 3 alien movies and nothing more, Alien 4 is a joke, a really bad joke and an insult to the serious Alien follower, Aliens vs Predator is on the same arena, period, :angry:

Later folks, feel free to add or comment about my opinion ;)

Posted

Later folks, feel free to add or comment about my opinion ;)

i'll wait for avp to come out before i bad mouth it, i WANT it to be good. but reality is, it probably won't be.

the predator movies, much as i liked them, were pretty close to being bad B movies at times.

honestly, a cool pred movie would be one about the 1715 musket.

seeing some colonial era guys take on a Predator (i'm asuming with some of its weaponry removed) with mussle loaders and hand to hand weapons could be cool.

Posted

Later folks, feel free to add or comment about my opinion  ;)

i'll wait for avp to come out before i bad mouth it, i WANT it to be good. but reality is, it probably won't be.

the predator movies, much as i liked them, were pretty close to being bad B movies at times.

honestly, a cool pred movie would be one about the 1715 musket.

seeing some colonial era guys take on a Predator (i'm asuming with some of its weaponry removed) with mussle loaders and hand to hand weapons could be cool.

Is just that I hate to see two completely different and unrelated stories bonded, in my opinion the movie will be a complete joke and a rape of the caliver of Alien resurrection to the Alien series

Posted
Ok, for as long as Alien 3 has existed, I have heard nothing but single-sentence complaints and criticisms about it.  For the first time in almost 10 years or so, I would like to hear actual reasons supported by examples and well thought out points of view, explaining why the story was so unfavorable.  Enough of this 2nd grader quality "it sucks, it's crap, it's horrible, it's garbage" jibber-jabber, without so much of a clue as to why it's so bad....

Because quite simply Alien 3 took everything from Aliens and trampled all over it as if it didn't matter. It was like a big reset to zero that made all the events of the previous movie null.

Ripley finally finding some peace by seeing the aliens wiped out? Ruined because a single egg magically made its way on board the Sulacco.

Ripley growing from an untrusting and haunted person to one who could trust again and overcoming her hate of androids? Wiped clean since Bishop was ruined and Hicks was killed off screen.

Ripley finding some small redemption for herself for missing her childs life by walking into hell to save Newt? Wiped clean because they killed Newt offscreen as well.

Beyond that, it just had problems. Story wasn't that great, the cast being all criminals means there was no sympathy or concern for them dying, etc. It was also a disaster production wise.

It's a fine movie on it's own. It is not a good part of the Alien series.

Posted
Realistically, they couldn't have brought Newt back. The girl playing her has grown into a teen and no longer looked the part.

They could have just recast the role. But really, Alien 3 was doomed from the get-go. (I think the production problems would actually make an interesting book) And as it turns out, a large part of the blame belongs squarely on Sigourney Weaver's shoulders. I read a recent interview with James Cameron, and in it he describes the problems he had with her in preproduction and during the filming of Aliens. She had all kinds of demands for her character and the story, but she lacked the power to make Cameron back down. She didn't want to use any guns, she wanted Ripley to die, and on and on...

Cameron describes how appaled he was when he saw Alien 3. Not only did they kill off all of his surviving characters in the first 5 minutes, but there on the screen was all the things that Weaver had wanted from Aliens. I had initially blamed Fincher for Alien 3's suckitude, but since then he's made some really good films, and the true problems behind Alien 3 have come to light. That's largely why I'm interested in the A3 "workprint." It's still supposed to suck, but it is arguably a better film. And remember, kids....don't start filming your movies until you have a script.

Alien: Resurrection is beyond redemption.

Posted
They could have just recast the role.

Recasting a major character like Newt with a different actor is always a bad idea. They did better killing the character off.

Can you imagine if they hired someone else (not Linda Hamilton's twin sister) to play Sarah Connor in T3?

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