It's so strange that this movie is so overlooked. But the one image of Ripley cornered, head turned, with the alien checking her out getting mouthy is arguably the most iconic of the franchise.
Because i loved Aliens, my sister got me a VHS copy of Alien 3 for my birthday (i was about 7 i think). And i vividly remember opening the gift wrapping and they used that damn image for the front cover. I then pretty much said i didn't want it and my dad shouted at me nearly the whole car trip home haha.
It's only overlooked by the folks that need flashing lights and gunfights to feel entertained. Ask them their favourite and its always Aliens. The reality is that the top spot goes between Alien and Alien 3. Aliens is a great movie but Alien was a trend setter with regards to Alien suspense and Alien 3 tried to get back to the original roots. A relatively small group of folks hunted by a single alien with not much understanding what they're up against all while being armed with "nothing terribly formidable". Plus, I like the juxtaposition of feelings with the convicts. On one hand, they're killers and rapists but with what happens to them, all but the most cold hearted can't help but feel some sympathy. Not for their crimes, but because they died never having found God at the arse end of the universe.
@@Crimsonedge1 probably the biggest problem with Alien 3 is that it's not a stand alone film. Plot holes aside, killing off Hicks and especially Newt in the first 5 minutes felt extremely forced and lazy. I imagine a final scene of Newt trying to convince Ripley not to leave her and to take WY's offer would have been an excellent end for her. Ripley still would've came to the same decision. She would've been reminiscent of her failure to be there for Amanda. Her not being able to be there for either of her 2 daughters because of the Xenomorphs. This time however, she'd be making the ultimate sacrifice so that Newt would never need to face those monsters again. She would be sacrificing herself to give her daughter a better life, rather than simply sacrificing herself to spite the xenomorphs and WY. On its own, Alien 3 is a good movie, but when you take in what it meant for Ripley's story, it fucking sucked. Everything that Ripley went through in all 3 movies was all for nothing. It also means that her going into the hive in Aliens to rescue Newt was inarguably the wrong decision.
I'll always say that the Assembly Cut wins out for the Gollic subplot and the 'Last Temptation of Ripley' extended scene at the end. The pause she makes when she's told she can still have a family in the theatrical cut is good, but stretching it out makes it agonizing. You know she'll say no in the end, even if you've never seen the film before, but the longer it goes on, the more you can feel her waver and the Assembly Cut makes that moment intolerably long and infinitely more heartbreaking.
The chestburster not coming out as well adds to this, it allows the idea that Ripley could well have survived if she went with Bishop II, which makes her sacrifice feel much more impactful and valiant.
Though I prefer the assembly cut, I do think that the Dog was a better and more explainable vessel for the Alien to come from. The way this one moved, ran, and behaved just seem to stem from the Dog idea, though apparently it was never intended to be that way. Interesting. Excellent work as always.
And thus, the runner was born. Cannon is a bit weird now, but in my headcannon the Xenomorph still takes some of the host's characteristics. From an Ox, something like a charger would be born, but definitely something MUCH bigger than the ones we saw. And Alien3's xeno is smaller and fast. Dog host makes way more sense.
Totally understand film, however I must dissaegree about the Dog, the Ox has religious significance & thus the entire movie has this 'over-tone of faith' within the background. I prefer the Ox & hope that they'll, in the future, cgi the runner into a more bigger runner with horns.
46:50 I always found it funny that this negleted refinery prison with very few useable battries, no audio computers, no way to wash or replace clothes, prisoners having to eat stew made from the oxes somehow gets a Coca-Cola delevery from wayland-yutani.
I met Paul McGann (Golic) at a con this year, and I said I’m sorry FOX messed up Alien 3, and he said “Oh yeah they messed Fincher around, but he had the last laugh though - he’s David Fincher!” He also went on to to say he’s never seen the film, but heard about the Assembly Cut, and the chances of Fincher reclaiming it and doing his own cut were probably zero.
That’s so true, Fincher did have the last laugh by being…Fincher! Paul McGann is fantastic, I love him in Withnail & I. Cool you got to meet him and have that exchange!
@@AlienTheory Yes, just imagine if Fight Club came out before Alien 3. I was probably the only person to mention Alien 3 to Paul all day, as most people knew him from Dr Who. He signed me a really cool 8x10 of Golic!
I too met McGann at a Doctor Who con last year and we ended up having more or less the same conversation you did about how Fincher was an underrated genius who was severely mistreated during production and yet went on to become one of the greatest and most highly talented visionary directors of our generation, with both of us gushing over our personal favorite films from his repertoire. Excellent and very pleasant fellow to talk to, and a very underrated actor!
@@IaMaPh1991 Fincher’s success has hopefully been haunting FOX ever since. They should be very embarrassed over this. If any of those idiots are still alive that is.
I've seen it hundreds of times since the theater. There's something about this movie that keeps me watching I don't know why. The setting is so great for an alien movie so that helps
100% I can't imagine having this level of interest for 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.
Agreed. It's the same sort of thing with John Carpenter's The Thing. It's still so deeply timeless that it's being discussed today after almost half a century! And it still will likely be discussed and come up in conversation in years or decades to come 👍😉
Charles Dutton was super underrated as an actor. I remember watching his TV show as a kid and he was the main reason I watched Alien 3 since I was too young to watch the first two when they came out.
I absolutely love the updated Assembly Cut, cleaned up crisp footage and audio. I liked Alien3 when it first came out, but the full assembly cut makes it so much more worthwhile
I really wish they’d have just left him alone to make his movie and not rushed everything so much. Imagine how cool a proper Fincher Alien movie would’ve been.
Glad you’re making these; the alien franchise is entering a new era and you’re one of the most precise voices helping new and old fans appreciate the franchise for what it’s worth!
@@Jizzlewobbwtfcus That's not necessarily a bad thing. Like you said, the Alien franchise has been long tarnished since 4, and that was in the 1990s. Might as well let some more people take a stab at the franchise's corpse.
I recently showed my son the first three chapters of the Alien series. He'd never seen the original Alien 3 cut, and still never has. Amazingly, he enjoyed Alien 3 the best of all the films. He said for the first time, a trology ended properly. Of course, I never showed him the fourth one.
There is a lot of good stuff in Alien 4, but one thing that really bugged me about it was how they said the Company no longer existed. It felt very un-Aliens to retcon the central faceless human antagonist, for no real gain, just to have a line to say. The plot in general has many holes and is pretty stupid, such as the aliens being kept in non-acid proofed cages, and the ship automatically returning to Earth if anything went wrong. It should have automatically made a course for the nearest star. Just asking for it. You did your son a great favor and I hope he never finds out about 4.
I prefer the Assembly Cut for many reasons but I think mostly because of the idea of Golic admiring the Alien. And no - Ash and Burk were just doing the dirty work for the company. I really liked the oddness of one of the terrified prosioners to be fascinated about the killing creature as in some way - he might be his “angel” he was waiting for. Love your videos man and I just cannot wait getting the Aliens documentary!!! Happy New Year!
No Burke was not doing dirty work, he was hoping to be king of the castle and make it rich. Ash on the other hand is literally a physical expression of Big Brother writ large onto the story of Alien.
@@redpillnibbler4423 Golic was certainly insane, but not necessarily simple. There is a great bit in the film where he is in the infirmary just before the alien kills Charles Dance and he comes out with this quote: "In an insane world, an insane man must seem..... sane" To which Charles Dance replies "that's very profound Golic" and gets a big Golic smile in return 😂
The facehugger that looked different was a Royal Facehugger (makes a Queen), and that's the one that got Ripley while in cryosleep. A different facehugger attached itself to the Ox/Dog, just a normal facehugger like we're used to.
I know you didn't ask but i never really liked the royal facehugger thing, I always liked the idea that any xenomorph metamorphs into a queen after it makes a nest like the one was doing in the deleted scene of the first movie.
Definitely the Assembly cut for me. Closer to the novelization and Finchers image. I felt the theatrical cut was a little jumpy in terms of editing and washed over a lot of the story. The extended scenes of the Assembly added more to the film and made it a better watch for me personally.
That moment Ripley is given oxygen and she reacts, made me wonder if she was still aware enough to having something cover her face become a knee jerk reaction, even in her weakened state, she still has an alien phobia. Dreams and nightmares.
I absolutely love Alien 3. It's dark and visually stunning and for me has one of the most powerful endings I have ever seen in a movie. The music score at the end is incredible.
For me it's a hard choice, I prefer the dog chest burster with Dillion talking throughout which is different to the Assembly cut. I also prefer the ending in the theatrical. I would love to edit both versions into an ultimate cut of the movie. But I still love Alien 3, has one of my favourite movie scores. The soundtrack is fantastic.
I agree with you. The fact that these two images are the first to come to my mind when I think about Alien 3 really makes the theatrical version worth watching, even if it lacks a lot of other things. Alien 3 is a bit of a "monstrosity" anyway, which somehow suits the "alien" thematic a lot. Not my favorite in the franchise (yet still a lot better than what the 2010 era gave us, if you ask me), but this movie will make an unexpected impression on people who've watched it, despite what they might think after the end credits!
Alien 3 is like your favourite bands 3rd album. It feels different, the style is different, their sound is different, but over time you begin to feel it and grow to love it.
Very astute comment. I agree with it completely. The quality is the same, but the more you watch/listen, the more you catch, the more you think. It is clear to me that the majority of folks that didn’t like this movie were mostly put off by the SHOCK of early deaths. I know I was and didn’t like this movie…upon first viewing. However, as that shock receded a little more with each viewing, I was soon able to enjoy the film immensely. I was able to “see” the quality. Led Zep 1 - iconic. Led Zep II - ditto. Led Zep III - very different (I had to get over that shock) and it took me a while to get used to it and appreciate it as much as the others. To CapMarv’s point, The Song Remains the Same, but sometimes we’re not able to process completely the first time.
@@ajalvarez3111 Fair enough. The movie just never did it for me whatsoever. As I said, I appreciate having something been done differently, but I can’t support it when the film doesn’t care about what happened before.
When you think about how difficult it is to extract any more narrative and thematic juice from this idea, Alien 3 is actually a pretty incredible movie. They touched on the god and faith ideas far more convincingly than the mess that was Prometheus.
I loved it It feels like when you were at a nice place, with a lot of friends (Alien & Aliens) and suddenly not because of your will, you gotta move to another place, and you find alone in that place, gotta start over, everything feels like a challenge and depression is always near (Alien 3) My only issue, is that for me, Alien 3 should have been the ending of the franchise, swapping Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection time line And fix minor details of Alien resurrection as Ripley's clone (though keeping the Newborn and the hybrid Alien - Human, that idea was cool though) and the ending of heading to earth, and she instead escaping for the next movie (Alien 3) crashing It would have make more sense for Alien 3 being a depressive feeling movie. Even the phrase Ripley said to the Xenomorph "You have been in my live for so long, that now I don't remember a moment without you" And the way of why she sacrifice, is kinda like the "Final destiny " movies, that no matter what they do, they always die Exactly of what is going on with Ripley, since she survived the first movie, so the Aliens, and the only way for them to die is to she do it as well
Don't like how they changed it, I prefer the theatrical cut. Everything took too long in the assembly cut. Made everything less scary imop. And the dog being the host was way more realistic I thought
It’s a good film. The RT score is laughable for it. I’d say it should be a 60% or thereabouts score. The assembly cut definitely makes it a better movie. The only scene in the assembly that perhaps was a mistake was the chest buster out of the ox. Should have remained as the dog really, as in the theatrical. Otherwise, good entry and far superior to Resurrection and a pretty decent end to a trilogy if you discount that fourth film.
I remember reading the Giler/Hill/Ferguson screenplay in 1989, and although I didn't particularly like it, I did think the sequence where they capture the alien and then Golic lets it out ("the dragon") was pretty good. Then I watched the movie at the cinema three years later and that was the one major sequence that was missing. A major disappointment (and it ends up being a broadly pointless chunk of narrative in the theatrical cut).
Thank you for creating this. Alien 3 has always been my favorite. My only beef is that Charles Dance should have had more screen time, but I think that about every production he’s been in.
At this point after seeing both versions many times over the years I prefer the Assembly Cut. The big difference being the dog or the ox and I find it more fascinating with the ox. With the ox it’s a non-aggressive species without any predatory traits to be seen, yet it still births the ultimate life form with little change in the over all design. We’ve all seen crazy what if xenomorphs that differ wildly in design. I like the not so drastic change and in this case it’s simple design and almost bronze hue works wonders for freshening the franchise without changing much.
I always liked Alien 3, not as much as the 1st two but I thought it was a solid film and was good as an ending story. However when I finally saw the Assembly Cut I was astonished how much better it was and it has become my joint favourite with the 1st movie.
Ditto. The Theatrical cut is a bit worse than Aliens, and the Assembly Cut is significantly superior to Aliens and stands right below Alien in my rankings.
@@HouseDracul I saw the theatrical cut of Aliens when it came out and I wasn't overly impressed. But after seeing the Directors Cut, it went up hugely in my estimation.
@@DudeSilad the director's cut of Aliens helped it a lot. Theatrical Aliens felt like a feel-good tone shift from Alien, relatively speaking, and many of the extended and restored scenes help Aliens feel like a more natural progression from Alien. But A3AC still beats it for me, if only because it makes just as much sense literally as it does symbolically for the Apocalypse finding Fury-161 as well as Ellen Ripley's journey into the afterlife on a different path from Rebecca and Dwayne.
@@HouseDracul I don't think that deeply in to the storyline. I enjoyed them all. Well, Resurrection was bad. I don't think I've seen it more than once.
This breakdown is absolutely fantastic. I also share the same opinions about these versions. I've always thought the ideal cut is between the two versions, but overall I'm partial to the rhythm and effect of the theatrical cut. In my opinion, I think a stronger cut would be a combination of the following: Clemens finding Ripley opening, Spike as Alien host, Golic Subplot, and Ripley dying holding the chestburster. Great video!
Although I've only seen A3 once that I recall - about time I rewatched the series anyway - I have to agree. Just as the typical viewer doesn't give a damn about choice of cut, the typical fan/film nerd tends to default to whichever version is longer, less cut, etc. While directors' cuts and the like often are superior, it's not always straightforward. Rhythm and overall effect, as you say, are ultimately more important than simply being fed more material - and I say this as a writer who's all for respecting the script (within reason!) I find it easier deciding on alternate vs. original cut for Alien and Aliens, but this video really goes to show how it's not such an easy call when it comes to A3. Does a good job of illustrating how much of a nightmare Fincher and co. had trying to get the film right as well. Certainly has lost potential but certainly also underrated.
Sometimes a cut with extra footage, new editing, added effects, change of colour pallet etc can really enhance the original film. The assembly cut of Alien 3 really fleshed out the story for me much more than the original theatrical cut. Ironically I didn’t enjoy as much the extended edition of Aliens that featured Hadley’s Hope before its downfall with people going about their day, I liked the mystery of the theatrical cut as it made you feel like Ripley arriving and seeing the desolate silent aftermath of a carnage, your imagination runs wild as to the horror of what happened to a settlement of so many people, a scarred husk of a town that has been violated by some unknown horror.
@Sauli Luolajan-Mikkola Yes, sometimes a film can give to much and can undermine itself, instead of giving less, just enough that you rely on the audience to fill the blanks, nothing scarier than the suggested unknown.
The pre-downfall scenes and the sentry gun scenes are both real weaknesses of the director's cut of aliens imo. The first for the reasons you mention, and the second because it makes the aliens seem too mindless for what they're otherwise shown. Watching the ammo counters run down is tense as heck and the final one stop before running dry as a lead-in to the ceiling drop scene is cool as heck but I just think it works better without. I'm also of mixed opinion on the Ripley's daughter scene. It does very effectively motivate her feelings for Newt, but did we really need that? Meanwhile this Assembly Cut has a lot of things, though not all, that I wish were in the theatrical cut.
@@wyrmh0le I forgot about the sentry guns, it was a nice 'tense' scene, you could interpret that the aliens are like an overwhelming force like a flood of death and nothing can stop their numbers, but also agree with your assessment that made them feel 'dumb', you could have had the sentry guns kill a few then suddenly the sentry gun just gets taken out without a shot (snuck up on the sentry gun from an above/below air shaft?) that way it can scare the survivors as to how the hell did they do that, not sure that would ruin or boost the confrontation later when their boxed in... Making films is not easy lol Yeah the Daughter scene, I liked it, but I personally love a sharp, tight film. Hence I prefer the Theatrical Cut for that very reason.
Following this video from you I just finished rewatching the trilogy. In the theatre I hated 3 but the Assembly Cut is a completely different film. Knowing the production issues it's very nearly equal to the first two and a very fitting and satisfying conclusion. I loved it even more this time around! What a journey. What a character!! All hail Ellen Ripley. One of cinema's finest.
One thing I prefer in the theatrical cut, is Clemens' death. It comes much more as a surprise with the alien suddenly grabbing him through the curtain. Also, this happens just after Ripley has trusted Clemens with an injection, so there is that brief moment where they build suspense to make us wonder if Clemens gave her something bad after all, but then we get sort of a plot twist by him being killed instead. In the assembly cut, it's much more revealed in advance that the alien has entered the room and is slowly approaching. To me, that signals much earlier that an attack is about to happen, and it makes his death less of a shock.
I don't recall there ever being a moment's doubt that Clemens was good. I don't know where you came up with that idea. Even when we didn't know what got him sent to prison it was obvious it had to be a medical error.
@@beestingza The idea is as described in my original comment. I never said Clemens generally came off as bad. Just that in that very moment when she trusts him with the syringe, the music gets darker, as if to give us a tiny moment of doubt before the surprise kill. Either way, the surprise kill is better in the Theatrical Cut, which was my main point.
Same. Everyone saying they prefer the theatrical version can kiss a facehugger and make themselves good for something. It isn't a close contest between the versions, so theatrical supporters are objectively wrong and disgusting.
For me, Alien 3: Assembly Cut is vastly superior to the theatrical version for several important reasons but the greatest of these is the presence of the Golic subplot. More Paul McGann is always a good thing! 😄 Thanks so much for making this video, I’ve been hoping you’d cover this at some point.
I prefer the assembly cut. The dog host never sat well with me, the Xenomorph that emerged looked too big to have come from the dog and I feel the decision to use a dog just because it's an easy way to make people sad. I love the extra scenes with the prisoners, because without the extra time with them they mostly became background noise to me rather than people. I do wish they kept the queen burster at the end, I think it helps add to the strange relationship between Ripley 8 and the Xenomorphs in Resurrection. Everyone likes what they like though, no reason to get mad about different film preferences. I'm only really commenting at all because I love your content and want the algorithm to be good to you.
The only reason the dog made more sense to me, was that I always thought that the xenomorph needed a live host to gestate! The dead ox never sat well with me, lore wise( Even though as a dog lover, the scene was always particularly hard to watch). Despite all that, I feel the Assembly Cut is the superior version, as the story and characters are more fleshed out!
@@metaldiscipline3955 this was my only gripe the assembly cut. The alien resembles a dog more than a ox, the scene where it bursts from the dog is horrific and pretty essential to the film IMO, then theres the scene where a prisoner is searching for spike later on which makes no sense when theres no spike
@@geraldford9967 That is a glaring issue for me as well with the assembly cut! If they were going to omit the dog, then they needed to rework the scene where the prisoner gets obliterated by the industrial fan! And the other huge issue is again, the host! You made a very good point about the physical description of the xenomorph, in that it resembles a dog. The Xenomorphs that use humans as a host, are obviously more humanoid in appearance, so it made more sense for them to take on the traits of said host be it human, or in this case canine! To me those two things are what hold the Assembly Cut back somewhat for me, but overall it's a superior cut of the film over the theatrical, in my opinion!
What a great coincidence that today I randomly came across your recent video. Over the last week, I've been re-watching the Aliens films in order, and I finished Alien 3 yesterday. Your amazing in-depth analysis was exactly what I was looking for after watching the Assembly Cut to help me process "Alien 3" in general and the comparison of the two films specifically. Thanks for all your work on this!
It’s unlikely to ever happen, but I’d love for the three hour rough cut to be released one day. I’ve got a morbid curiosity to see the full Newt autopsy scene that had the production crew urging.
I like to think that its placed in a vault somewhere with other movies reels such as the full version of event horizon and other "if only we could see" things from movies. I like to think of this vault it helps me sleep at night/ keeps me awake through dread.
I do think Fox/Disney or whoever should release the 3-hour cut as well, even if it isn't cleaned up or restored. Fans would have a ton of fun with it and from a process perspective it helps to tell the greater story of the production.
I think the point that Ripley doesn't give birth to the Alien at the end is that it hints that she *does* have a choice. That the Alien isn't being born yet, when Bishop tempts her to join with him and he can remove the Alien, it is (from her perspective) perhaps a legitimate choice. At least, it implies she would have time. But she is still being heroic and chooses to keep the Alien from the Company. Now I'll grant you that it's hollow and Ripley is going to die, but in the Assembly Cut, there is legitimate temptation. I also found Ripley hanging onto the Alien Queen just a bit too far but each to their own.
Indeed, the chestburster emerging somewhat weakens Ripley's decision to sacrifice herself. She didn't give up a chance of life, and she even has that confirmed before her eyes. The impact of the scene was sacrificed to deliver the hokey and overly cliched Hollywood movie sting.
Agreed. I always thought it was kinda cheesy…like “oh, how convenient, the queen bursts out at the dramatically appropriate last moment.” 🙄 It also undercuts her deliberate choice. If it was that close to birthing, wouldn’t have mattered if she accepted the offer anyway.
I love this movie, I appreciate the Assembly Cut, but I also wonder what David could bring for us if he had total control over everything filmed there. Great video, AT man! Keep up!
Thank God for the Assembly/Director Cut ✂️. This is a fantastic entry from Fincher, who was utterly screwed over by the studio and absolutely 💯 is a triumph from the lack-lustre theatrical release for me, which I'm deeply thankful for, and the Alien Franchise
It's an incredible job considering the production war, honestly. Always enjoyed it, and seeing the posters advertising it on release got me interested in learning more about the original movies.
It's called Assembly because Fincher didn't personally approve it - I think it was re edited based on some notes of his at some point. Sadly it's probably the worst quality master of all 4 films various cuts - so it needs to be redone again completely for a 4K remaster just as the Directors Cut of Star Trek The Motion Picture was recently.
@@CoruscationsOfIneptitude Fincher isn't going near Alien 3 again, sadly. They burned him too much and he never wanted to see it again. I mean, it's far better than The Game, certainly wasn't his worst film.
The tea and milk detail is a subterfugial slap in the face, masterfully delivered by an actor who lived two doors fown from my mum when he was younger.
I didn't think either version was bad, honestly. Saw it in the theaters when it came out and I was 13 and I remember enjoying the hell out of it. And I've never lost my taste for it on repeat viewings, either.
I wonder if the character Vincent (aka Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film) is a reference to Vincent Ward. Ward was the original writer and director who came up with the monk colony on a wooden planetoid storyline and was ultimately fired after clashes with the producers and Fox. Ward's script and vision was significantly altered for the final film, although he retains sole story credit.
I remember buying the novel with my paper round money back in 1992. I was only 12 but had seen the other movies with my older brother. Even back then I remember feeling somewhat let down by the material but told everyone it was great anyway. I think it was early 1993 when I finally got to see the movie and I just didn't really like it. Fast forward many years and I finally got to watch the assembly cut when I was in my 30's. Got to say, I really loved it. I was a lot older and the lack of in your face action, I think expected in my youth, was replaced by good character building and a different kind of story. Due to this, I really prefer the assembly cut, but like I said, I think I just watched both versions at very different times in my life.
I've never worked out why this film is so underappreciated. I prefer it to Aliens, which is a great film, but it's more like an action movie. Alien 3 feels like a genuine sequel to the original.
I love the Assembly Cut of Alien 3. It's my second favorite Alien film after Aliens! If I recommended a version to someone who hadn't seen Alien 3, I'd recommend the Assembly Cut, not the theatrical version. The theatrical version doesn't add enough to justify the absence of Hicks and Newt. At least with the Assembly Cut you get more to the story.
@@earthcitizen3939 My ratings: "Alien" - 10/10, one of the few movies that deserves a perfect score "Aliens" - 8/10, rock solid sequel but not quite on the same level of brilliance "Alien3" - 4/10, visually stylish but also dour, miserable and cynical
Watched the assembly cut as my first viewing. I was so confused seeing a video on the movie showing the dog as the host, I thought I was crazy or dreaming it up. Your analysis and comparison of the scenes involving the animals is very strong, especially the point about the lack of struggle from the ox. New sub gained.
You hit the nail on the head for me, I prefer the dog been the host for the Xenomorph chest bursting but I do like the added scenes in the assembly cut, someone, official or not should edit this film accordingly as an experiment.
I finally watched the Assembly Cut, and wow... I've always loved A3 and have seen the theatrical cut quite a few times over the years (still have my VHS trilogy box set), yet the Assembly hit me pretty hard (in a good way), I loved the Gohlic subplot and the xeno capture, plus all the extra interactions, and the lice-infested ox-bursting was creepy as hell! A3 is an underrated film(s) for sure. I had a little watch party and also played Resurrection SE (which I also hadn't seen in years) and was hoping the time and perspective would make it a rewarding experience, but alas, Resurrection remains a turd in my book. Now I want to go watch The Giftbearer and Covenant Evanus Cut again, so good! I love flawed masterpieces. Thanks for doing this side-by-side breakdown!
Thank you for making this. It’s been a while since I’ve viewed Alien 3. I’ve just bought the assembly cut and it’s nice to see the huge contrast from what was first debuted.
I did rewatch it yesterday and I must say I greatly appreciated it. The photography, the peculiar sound editing, the characters; the feel is of a theater piece. that said I like the 4th installment too.
Great video! I love the Assembly Cut... I place it with Alien (1979) in the top spots for me. I seem to mostly go back to those two films in particular whenever I'm in the mood for the franchise. The others are fine too but there's something about the atmospheres of 1 and 3 that really captivate me.
@@redshift912 Aliens is much too cheerful relative to the other three main films. Even Resurrection had a tone and ending that lines up better with Alien and Alien3 than any of them do with Aliens. I like either Aliens just a little more than the theatrical version of Resurrection, but it's horrendously overrated within our community.
I remember going to see Alien 3 when it came out. But after buying tickets, me and my mate went the pub. But when we went in, the only seats available were right at the front. When the Alien is chasing the men through the tunnels, the camera is swiveling in all directions and angles and I looked sideways at all the other cinema goers and everyone was swaying like Stevie Wonder! It was pretty comical.
Before the assembly cut was released Alien 3 was a guilty pleasure for me. I’ve always been an apologist for it. But after 2003(especially after the blu-Ray release) it became a legitimately serviceable film that I’ve been proud to show newcomers. I recently went back and rewatched the theatrical version for the first time in MANY years and I found it to be a far inferior product personally. I’ve become so accustomed to the character development and pacing and plot of the Assembly cut that it just came off as an “edited for tv” version. And Golic completely disappearing from the movie had me laughing. Never caught it before.
Prior to the Assembly Cut I had presumed Golic was killed by the Alien whilst strapped to the bed. Same way Junior vanished but I assumed he was killed in the tunnel explosion.
I have a special attachment to alien 3, my dad was filming a music video at pinewood and they were filming alien 3 at the same time, he had a load of photos of random props and was telling me all the stuff he saw. I'm not sure which the best cut, but i love the characters and the sets and locations are amazing.
Alien 3: Assembly cut is a wonderful film. I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it but it’s a fascinating film. It’s a drama. It’s a story of loss and redemption. Even the making of on the blu-ray is fascinating, with so much indecision. The score by Elliott Gouldenthal is exquisite too, so deep, epic and there is a sense a wonder about the ideas of isolation/togetherness within the camp. The funeral theme is pure beauty and sadness. Thank you for your works, here - so engrossed in your content and general appreciation/opinions of the the alien saga.
I never understood the flak that Alien 3 copped, I have always enjoyed it but the Assembly Cut was another level above! Still trying to decide whether or not I prefer the ending with or without the chest burster emerging as Ripley falls into the fire. Seeing it come out with her holding onto it is very dramatic, but there's also something about never seeing it and being denied that moment in the same way the company is also denied, makes it seem appropriate. 🤷♂
I'm satisfied with what we got with the Special Edition/Assembly Cut, so if ever I'd want a director to use their additional footage to make their final cut of a film, it'd be Event Horizon. I know why that will never be, but that's what I'd wish.
The outside shots were filmed at a place near me in England called Seaham you could get some big waves down there on a good day, they also had a local trawl looking for people to act as prisoners but had to have their heads shaved, I think it was something like £500 just to have your hair cut. My Dad worked for the Local Council and helped with some of the planning for it.
here's the biggest difference I find between the 2 versions in my opinion. the theatrical has more suspense and "stronger" scenes.. but they are individual points. as a whole, they don't matter because you don't care about the convicts and what happens to them. the Assembly shows some things out of place... but they also hit much harder when they conclude later on. and it also helps ground it in reality, as things are happening all around simultaneously. you care about the All people in the movie, not just Ripley. the Ending of the theatrical with the Alien queen is the better one in my opinion love both versions as I saw the theatrical when it came out in cinema back in 1992/3 but the Assembly cut became my favorite movie in the series. while I always felt the Theatrical was overall the weakest in the Quadrilogy series. Dillon is still my favorite character in the series other then Ripley ;) P.S. I think David Fincher would probably be my best candidate to make the next movie. if only that wasn't such low probability.
54:10 - I love Ripley's gloves grasping the writhing Queen Chestburtser as it comes out of her. I think that's great because you get the feeling that if she hadn't held it firm to her chest it could've just parted ways with her and sprang off to survive as she fell.
I absolutely love the Assembly Cut, and Murphy calling out to Spike is the only major detractor for me. It is odd that they didn’t remove it for the subsequent release
Losing the Gollic subplot was such a shame. In the first film the Android obsesses over the alien, in the second it's the company man, and in the third it's a criminal that worships it. In all three cases, they're equally insane, just presented differently.
I prefer the dog chest chestburster scene waaaaaay more than the ox one. I also prefer the ending with the chestburster erupting from Ripley (although I do get the argument as to why the assembly version of the ending is thematically stronger). For me, if you swapped those two scenes into the assembly cut of Alien 3, that would be my preferred version.
I hate the idea of the dog being in pain. I prefer the dead ox and for the ending would prefer that the alien came out of Riley as she leapt into the fire.
I like the ox scene more. Dog scene feels a bit like a cheap shock, and to me it's weird that these prisoners would have a dog on a lice infested planet (which isn't really explained in the theatrical cut if I'm remembering right), whereas oxes are actually relevant to their lives. plus I like the idea of the alien being 'born' from a holy symbol like an Ox. For me it works better interspersed with the scenes of Newt and Hicks being laid to rest, altho I do like the opposing contrast with the death of the dog.
At this very moment I am watching the theatrical release on television and watching your video during the commercials. As someone who will probably never see the Assembly Cut, I very much appreciate all of the work and insight you've put into this. Thank you.🙂
The Assembly Cut is the best, but I wished they had kept the Dog scene, it was a more powerful scene projecting the death, suffering and rebirth theme.
Overall the assembly cut is better, but I do enjoy the beginning up to the birth of the alien in the theatrical cut more. The dog being a victim is imo the most heartbreaking death in the series. Something about seeing animals in pain hits right in the feels.
I absolutely love this channel! It’s something about the owners voice, diction and almost tranquil volume. I re-listen to various videos/playlists (especially the ones that cover the Shafer brothers, and the “evolution” of the Little Knife during and after the fall of Ryushi!!)
Great voice-over, pleasant to the ears, insightful analysis, all in all a most impressive synthesis of the comparison between these two film cuts. Keep up the amazing work!
I got lucky with this one and read the book first. Then watched the theatrical cut and realised why everyone was disappointed. Then watched the assembly cut and felt better. Great video, thanks.
Alien 3 is a testament to Fincher as a pure talent. Considering all the studio interference, backstabbing, covert spying and general fuckery that went on backstage, Fincher made a movie that outweighs all the movies in the Alien series that were released afterward. I would love to see him give an interview on the movie, but as far as I know he flatly refuses to talk about it.
You think Alien 3 is better than Prometheus? I get that a lot of people don't like Prometheus for various reasons, but to me Prometheus is 100x more entertaining and interesting than Alien 3. I mean Resurrection was garbage, but it's got really good special effects and the xenomorphs look amazing... And then there's Covenant which was quite bad, but I find Michael Fassbender's android characters and the crazy protomorph stuff to be more interesting than any of the unlikable prisoner characters or the occasionally crappy looking effects in Alien 3. For me Alien 3 is probably my least favorite, but if it wasn't for the great looking xenomorphs and effects of Resurrection, I would probably say that one is worse because the story and characters are just abysmal lol. 🤷♂
My favorite cut of the film is some hybrid between the two where I would pick and choose the best pieces of the AC and the theatrical editions and possibly have some fun with the Workprint as well (that “for the last time” line can be found there). The AC is a better overall cut but I would still roll with the dog birth and especially the theatrical edition’s ending. What in Christ’s name anyone was thinking releasing that disgustingly unfinished scene at the end of the Assembly Cut I will never know, but it almost takes the whole cut down an entire grade for me. At least there was some effort put into finishing the theatrical ending. In the end whenever I watch Alien 3, and I love it, I still feel like it’s missing something or that something ought to have been different no matter what version I watch. That’s why each version of this film is so valuable.
Thanks for all the work you put into these videos, you gotta appreciate your commitment to the franchise! Your comments are all spot on. Also, I can listen to your voice all day long.
I have exactly the same view on the 2 versions as you. I think there could be another version made with the material which makes the assembly cut a bit tighter. Great video by the way. Really helpful and informative, it is long but all purposeful. Great work
What I love about the more languid pace of the Assembly is that's it's kind of like a horror Blade Runner, just a mood piece of torment and sorrow. A film to sink into not for plot, but for tone and vibes. Sweat and blood, rust and fervor. Damn good.
I could see selected aspects of both cuts being used to make a super cut. Great video. Since I was a kid I always like the third one the most. I had no idea until recently just how chaotic and disastrous the process was of making it. I think that is a huge credit to Fincher and the cast.
Personally I've always loved Alien 3, for a trilogy each of the first 3 films is a vastly different beast (no pun intended) they each bring something special and unique to the franchise. I enjoy both cuts of Alien 3 - I love Fincher's sense of style and drama, the movie is steeped in atmosphere and IMO is the most emotional of the trilogy and it certainly feels like an ending, a bittersweet one. I know I'm in the minority but 3 is my favourite in the franchise.
@@KaitainCPS I was the biggest fan of the first two, so this one would of course be a letdown. In it's own right, I do have a soft spot for the Asembly Cut, but simply does not meet expectations. Killing off everything that was achieved in Aliens seemed like such a swerve just for the sake of it, which is never good. This film really did damage to the franchise, but eventually, so did Resurrection and Prometheus. I cannot even be bothered to check out Covenant at this point.
yankees wanted the happy american family: wife, soldier husband and little blonde child. So they got bitter when someone said "this is not happy ending future" lol. I really love Alien 3 (assembly version) and the best part was NOT HAVING hicks and newt. I'm also thankful that Alien 5 with those 2 never happened
You hit it on the head. Give me a cut with the Dog Burster Scene replacing the Ox. Retain everything in the middle, as well as the chest burster scene at the end. Probably about as perfect a cut as we would get, telling a cohesive story with the footage we have available. How has this not been done yet by a talented internet editor?
I was doing it, it was coming up fantastic, and the software glitched my edit. I had no backups due to lack of storage space back then. I had combined both first acts, so we see Ripley washed out in the beach, the oxen pulling the crashed EEV and also the theatrical scene of the inmates crawling inside it with the dog, all intercut by redone computer readouts and using the soundtrack to make it flow well. The original abbatoir scene skips Frank and Murphy talking about why the ox died as if it's a routine slaughtering for meat, it just focuses on them thirsting over Ripley, and then after that Murphy finds Spike injured.
Fanedits are the way to go. I've got one that combines both gracefully, featuring the dog birth, the peaceful death fall, and many small edits that help flesh out everything
As far as the Dog/Ox debate…I’d side with the Ox as being the better option…firstly, violence against dogs is always visceral, which makes sense in this film don’t get me wrong; but not see the Ox in pain…gives the audience one less reason to be furious with the Alien…which subconsciously adds to the mystery of why it doesn’t harm Ripley (before we know the real reason); the theme of “is this a demon come to punish the murderers” hangs in the background, and ultimately it keeps a less hateful lens pointed at the monster.
Also: I have lean towards the assembly cut in terms of the extra Dillon line during his rousing speech; I agree that the pace with the score is thrown off by the extra line; but Dutton’s delivery of “this IS as good a place as any” is really cool…the idea of possibly getting off Fury 161, out of that awful place, and maybe dying years later is some beautiful place could be lingering in the minds of the listeners…but ultimately it doesn’t matter where you die, even in an ugly place like that, it’s how you live that matters.
It is a tough call; personally my favorite component of Alien3 is the world itself; the sets, and the prison/cathedral…Clemons is my favorite side character of the franchise and so the assembly cut is the best; but I don’t think you’re crazy for liking the Theatrical Cut more; the pacing is better and more decisive as you said. Amazing review and thoughts! 👍🏻
I saw the Special Edition or Assembly Cut of Alien 3 rn in my first time ever watching the series. Amazon says 144min runtime. Thank you for making this video as I was very curious where they could've cut even 30mins worth of runtime here.
I think the dog and facehugger is a lot more straightforward, as even I was confused with the Ox situation. However I did enjoy the introduction of Ripley unsure if the facehugger got to Newt first. As even I was unsure! A tragic fate indeed.
Don't feel bad for preferring the theatrical I would agree with your caveats as well. Honestly the whole franchise has been so close to perfect consistently and even the reboots are barely off. I've always wondered how much it's actually James Cameron vs the rest of the crew bringing things to the level they were at.
Nice work. I agree, start with the 92 version if you haven't seen it before. The assembly cut is better once you know the story and can sit back and appreciate all the expanded scenes and extra elements.
Yeah, I want more of a boring soldier and a noisy child too! Honestly, nobody cared about those two until _after_ Aliens, not during. It really says a lot about the straws people will grasp at to denigrate a later movie. I still prefer Aliens to this and I always will, but the idea that there was ever anything else worth doing with Hicks and Newt has always baffled me.
That is the original alien 3 screenplay by william gibson, also made into a book, comic and audio book with Michael Biehn & Lancen Henriksen, that is the real deal.
I would love to see Fincher sit down and narrate his vision of the film along with some animatics to help illustrate. Alien 3 is such a fascinating case study in sequel politics and I will devour every piece of media I can find on it.
This video made me unsub and I want to step far away from a community with such sharply dropped IQs that anyone thinks the theatrical version beats the Assembly Cut at anything but sucking and disappointing viewers.
Scrolling through the comments, it's clear that I'm among the minority of Alien fans who hate both versions of this movie. I loved the first two films and went into the theater in 1992 expecting something dark and scary, just not THAT dark. I don't like any of the characters in Alien³, so there are no stakes for me. Most of them resemble each other so much that I couldn't keep them straight, and it's hard for me to feel there are stakes involved when I don't care if any of them lives or dies. The only interesting new character is the doctor, but he's killed off halfway through the movie and no one mourns or even mentions him again. This film was a huge misfire; the only good thing about it is that (ironically) it's still better than all films that followed it.
Great video. Very well put together. Especially enjoyed your last sentiment about Fincher being in an edit suite ~ with every frame and moment shot ~ as options for a new assembly.
It's so strange that this movie is so overlooked. But the one image of Ripley cornered, head turned, with the alien checking her out getting mouthy is arguably the most iconic of the franchise.
Because i loved Aliens, my sister got me a VHS copy of Alien 3 for my birthday (i was about 7 i think). And i vividly remember opening the gift wrapping and they used that damn image for the front cover. I then pretty much said i didn't want it and my dad shouted at me nearly the whole car trip home haha.
Plus the practical effect was superb in that scene,arguably the best ever.
It's only overlooked by the folks that need flashing lights and gunfights to feel entertained. Ask them their favourite and its always Aliens. The reality is that the top spot goes between Alien and Alien 3. Aliens is a great movie but Alien was a trend setter with regards to Alien suspense and Alien 3 tried to get back to the original roots. A relatively small group of folks hunted by a single alien with not much understanding what they're up against all while being armed with "nothing terribly formidable". Plus, I like the juxtaposition of feelings with the convicts. On one hand, they're killers and rapists but with what happens to them, all but the most cold hearted can't help but feel some sympathy. Not for their crimes, but because they died never having found God at the arse end of the universe.
@@Crimsonedge1 probably the biggest problem with Alien 3 is that it's not a stand alone film. Plot holes aside, killing off Hicks and especially Newt in the first 5 minutes felt extremely forced and lazy.
I imagine a final scene of Newt trying to convince Ripley not to leave her and to take WY's offer would have been an excellent end for her. Ripley still would've came to the same decision. She would've been reminiscent of her failure to be there for Amanda. Her not being able to be there for either of her 2 daughters because of the Xenomorphs. This time however, she'd be making the ultimate sacrifice so that Newt would never need to face those monsters again. She would be sacrificing herself to give her daughter a better life, rather than simply sacrificing herself to spite the xenomorphs and WY.
On its own, Alien 3 is a good movie, but when you take in what it meant for Ripley's story, it fucking sucked. Everything that Ripley went through in all 3 movies was all for nothing. It also means that her going into the hive in Aliens to rescue Newt was inarguably the wrong decision.
You guys do know the meme with the black and white print of Ripley and the stapler? Someone have to make an edit with this cut into the scene
I'll always say that the Assembly Cut wins out for the Gollic subplot and the 'Last Temptation of Ripley' extended scene at the end. The pause she makes when she's told she can still have a family in the theatrical cut is good, but stretching it out makes it agonizing. You know she'll say no in the end, even if you've never seen the film before, but the longer it goes on, the more you can feel her waver and the Assembly Cut makes that moment intolerably long and infinitely more heartbreaking.
The chestburster not coming out as well adds to this, it allows the idea that Ripley could well have survived if she went with Bishop II, which makes her sacrifice feel much more impactful and valiant.
Though I prefer the assembly cut, I do think that the Dog was a better and more explainable vessel for the Alien to come from. The way this one moved, ran, and behaved just seem to stem from the Dog idea, though apparently it was never intended to be that way. Interesting. Excellent work as always.
And thus, the runner was born.
Cannon is a bit weird now, but in my headcannon the Xenomorph still takes some of the host's characteristics.
From an Ox, something like a charger would be born, but definitely something MUCH bigger than the ones we saw. And Alien3's xeno is smaller and fast.
Dog host makes way more sense.
Also the idea of an embryo growing inside an already dead animal seems a little too far stretched to me. Although I kinda miss the royal facehugger.
@@sliverhandsonbasses maggots do it all the time
Agreed - the Assembly cut as a whole is in my mind a better film, but the dog makes a better host for the alien.
Totally understand film, however I must dissaegree about the Dog, the Ox has religious significance & thus the entire movie has this 'over-tone of faith' within the background. I prefer the Ox & hope that they'll, in the future, cgi the runner into a more bigger runner with horns.
I always found it funny that this was at 300 years in the future but the guy recording footage for the company had a 1980s video camera
Clearly because he was a hipster 😂
All the technology in the original looked like it was from the 70s too
Corporate budget cuts😂😂😂
I love how in the 80’s in a lot of other Sci-fi movies, they make things look “futuristic” by simply covering stuff in circuit boards and wires.
46:50 I always found it funny that this negleted refinery prison with very few useable battries, no audio computers, no way to wash or replace clothes, prisoners having to eat stew made from the oxes somehow gets a Coca-Cola delevery from wayland-yutani.
I met Paul McGann (Golic) at a con this year, and I said I’m sorry FOX messed up Alien 3, and he said “Oh yeah they messed Fincher around, but he had the last laugh though - he’s David Fincher!”
He also went on to to say he’s never seen the film, but heard about the Assembly Cut, and the chances of Fincher reclaiming it and doing his own cut were probably zero.
That’s so true, Fincher did have the last laugh by being…Fincher! Paul McGann is fantastic, I love him in Withnail & I. Cool you got to meet him and have that exchange!
@@AlienTheory Yes, just imagine if Fight Club came out before Alien 3.
I was probably the only person to mention Alien 3 to Paul all day, as most people knew him from Dr Who. He signed me a really cool 8x10 of Golic!
I too met McGann at a Doctor Who con last year and we ended up having more or less the same conversation you did about how Fincher was an underrated genius who was severely mistreated during production and yet went on to become one of the greatest and most highly talented visionary directors of our generation, with both of us gushing over our personal favorite films from his repertoire.
Excellent and very pleasant fellow to talk to, and a very underrated actor!
@@IaMaPh1991 Fincher’s success has hopefully been haunting FOX ever since. They should be very embarrassed over this. If any of those idiots are still alive that is.
It would have even been better if Fox hadn't acted like that
It always strikes me as one of the best examples of foreshadowing and setup/payoff when the metal bucket cracks after the sprinklers turn on.
Never noticed that. Great spot.
@@emotionalsupportostrich2480 seems like good movies always have something new upon rewatchings. 😀
I will truly never, ever get bored of discussing _Alien 3._
My love for this flick is endless.
I've seen it hundreds of times since the theater. There's something about this movie that keeps me watching I don't know why. The setting is so great for an alien movie so that helps
100% I can't imagine having this level of interest for 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.
Agreed. It's the same sort of thing with John Carpenter's The Thing. It's still so deeply timeless that it's being discussed today after almost half a century! And it still will likely be discussed and come up in conversation in years or decades to come 👍😉
Thought I was the only one that liked this movie
@@redshift912 "Thought I was the only one that liked this movie"
Are you kidding me... it's a bloody cult classic! 🙂
Charles Dutton was super underrated as an actor. I remember watching his TV show as a kid and he was the main reason I watched Alien 3 since I was too young to watch the first two when they came out.
I loved his show too. Sad it went away so fast.
He was great in Die Hard
He is one of the best characters in the movie because of his personality.
@@marlaseegerstein3158 You're trolling right?
Roc.
I absolutely love the updated Assembly Cut, cleaned up crisp footage and audio. I liked Alien3 when it first came out, but the full assembly cut makes it so much more worthwhile
why do u like it more
Yeah, the theatrical version had too much cut out.
I really wish they’d have just left him alone to make his movie and not rushed everything so much. Imagine how cool a proper Fincher Alien movie would’ve been.
Glad you’re making these; the alien franchise is entering a new era and you’re one of the most precise voices helping new and old fans appreciate the franchise for what it’s worth!
For what it WAS worth ye. It was destroyed after AVP and now that Disney own the rights it's only going to get worse.
@@Jizzlewobbwtfcus That's not necessarily a bad thing. Like you said, the Alien franchise has been long tarnished since 4, and that was in the 1990s. Might as well let some more people take a stab at the franchise's corpse.
Yes Disney era... Its gonna be... 😏 You know what
@@Jizzlewobbwtfcus Disney own the rights to Alien?! 😳 Ohhhhh god this is bad. So so so bad.
True dat
I recently showed my son the first three chapters of the Alien series. He'd never seen the original Alien 3 cut, and still never has. Amazingly, he enjoyed Alien 3 the best of all the films. He said for the first time, a trology ended properly. Of course, I never showed him the fourth one.
There is a lot of good stuff in Alien 4, but one thing that really bugged me about it was how they said the Company no longer existed. It felt very un-Aliens to retcon the central faceless human antagonist, for no real gain, just to have a line to say. The plot in general has many holes and is pretty stupid, such as the aliens being kept in non-acid proofed cages, and the ship automatically returning to Earth if anything went wrong. It should have automatically made a course for the nearest star. Just asking for it. You did your son a great favor and I hope he never finds out about 4.
@@loungelizard3922 I had more fun watching the making-of/behind-the-scenes documentary about 4/Resurrection than I did watching the movie itself.
In a lot of ways Alien 3 could have been the best in the series if not for all the interference and lack of direction.
I prefer the Assembly Cut for many reasons but I think mostly because of the idea of Golic admiring the Alien. And no - Ash and Burk were just doing the dirty work for the company. I really liked the oddness of one of the terrified prosioners to be fascinated about the killing creature as in some way - he might be his “angel” he was waiting for.
Love your videos man and I just cannot wait getting the Aliens documentary!!! Happy New Year!
No Burke was not doing dirty work, he was hoping to be king of the castle and make it rich.
Ash on the other hand is literally a physical expression of Big Brother writ large onto the story of Alien.
Just like us (Golic relationship with “the Dragon”)
Yes,Golic wasn’t evil as such,just a “simple bastard”.
@@mnomadvfx
Agreed,Burke was just a slimy corporate ladder climber.Ash was programmed to obey company orders not for self gain.
@@redpillnibbler4423 Golic was certainly insane, but not necessarily simple.
There is a great bit in the film where he is in the infirmary just before the alien kills Charles Dance and he comes out with this quote:
"In an insane world, an insane man must seem..... sane"
To which Charles Dance replies "that's very profound Golic" and gets a big Golic smile in return 😂
The facehugger that looked different was a Royal Facehugger (makes a Queen), and that's the one that got Ripley while in cryosleep. A different facehugger attached itself to the Ox/Dog, just a normal facehugger like we're used to.
I know you didn't ask but i never really liked the royal facehugger thing,
I always liked the idea that any xenomorph metamorphs into a queen after it makes a nest like the one was doing in the deleted scene of the first movie.
I think Royal 'huggers actually implant twice: once to plant a queen, and again to plant a guard to protect her.
Definitely the Assembly cut for me. Closer to the novelization and Finchers image. I felt the theatrical cut was a little jumpy in terms of editing and washed over a lot of the story. The extended scenes of the Assembly added more to the film and made it a better watch for me personally.
That moment Ripley is given oxygen and she reacts, made me wonder if she was still aware enough to having something cover her face become a knee jerk reaction, even in her weakened state, she still has an alien phobia. Dreams and nightmares.
An Alien Theory video at 2am is perfect!!!
East Coast, represent!
Same here brother!
Driving through a snowy forest listening to a new Alien Theory video. Life is good.
I'm 24 hours behind 😂
Or is that ahead🤔
Anyway, all the best for 2023🎉👍
So weird I looked at this exactly at 2am
I absolutely love Alien 3. It's dark and visually stunning and for me has one of the most powerful endings I have ever seen in a movie. The music score at the end is incredible.
For me it's a hard choice, I prefer the dog chest burster with Dillion talking throughout which is different to the Assembly cut. I also prefer the ending in the theatrical. I would love to edit both versions into an ultimate cut of the movie. But I still love Alien 3, has one of my favourite movie scores. The soundtrack is fantastic.
You echo my thoughts exactly.
I agree with you. The fact that these two images are the first to come to my mind when I think about Alien 3 really makes the theatrical version worth watching, even if it lacks a lot of other things. Alien 3 is a bit of a "monstrosity" anyway, which somehow suits the "alien" thematic a lot. Not my favorite in the franchise (yet still a lot better than what the 2010 era gave us, if you ask me), but this movie will make an unexpected impression on people who've watched it, despite what they might think after the end credits!
This is exactly what I want
Google Alien 3 Third Cut. I believe that edit splices the Assembly with Theatrical to reinstate the dog but keep the other additions.
Alien 3 is like your favourite bands 3rd album. It feels different, the style is different, their sound is different, but over time you begin to feel it and grow to love it.
I don’t agree with that. The quality just remains the same.
Very astute comment.
I agree with it completely. The quality is the same, but the more you watch/listen, the more you catch, the more you think. It is clear to me that the majority of folks that didn’t like this movie were mostly put off by the SHOCK of early deaths. I know I was and didn’t like this movie…upon first viewing. However, as that shock receded a little more with each viewing, I was soon able to enjoy the film immensely. I was able to “see” the quality.
Led Zep 1 - iconic.
Led Zep II - ditto.
Led Zep III - very different (I had to get over that shock) and it took me a while to get used to it and appreciate it as much as the others.
To CapMarv’s point, The Song Remains the Same, but sometimes we’re not able to process completely the first time.
@@ajalvarez3111 Fair enough. The movie just never did it for me whatsoever. As I said, I appreciate having something been done differently, but I can’t support it when the film doesn’t care about what happened before.
When you think about how difficult it is to extract any more narrative and thematic juice from this idea, Alien 3 is actually a pretty incredible movie. They touched on the god and faith ideas far more convincingly than the mess that was Prometheus.
killing off newt wasa no go and betrayed the ending of Aliens.
This is a great breakdown! Having always felt disappointed by Alien 3, I think the Assembly Cut is a big improvement.
I loved it
It feels like when you were at a nice place, with a lot of friends (Alien & Aliens) and suddenly not because of your will, you gotta move to another place, and you find alone in that place, gotta start over, everything feels like a challenge and depression is always near (Alien 3)
My only issue, is that for me, Alien 3 should have been the ending of the franchise, swapping Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection time line
And fix minor details of Alien resurrection as Ripley's clone (though keeping the Newborn and the hybrid Alien - Human, that idea was cool though) and the ending of heading to earth, and she instead escaping for the next movie (Alien 3) crashing
It would have make more sense for Alien 3 being a depressive feeling movie. Even the phrase Ripley said to the Xenomorph "You have been in my live for so long, that now I don't remember a moment without you"
And the way of why she sacrifice, is kinda like the "Final destiny " movies, that no matter what they do, they always die
Exactly of what is going on with Ripley, since she survived the first movie, so the Aliens, and the only way for them to die is to she do it as well
The Assembly cut is my favorite of the franchise
Don't like how they changed it, I prefer the theatrical cut. Everything took too long in the assembly cut. Made everything less scary imop. And the dog being the host was way more realistic I thought
It’s a good film. The RT score is laughable for it. I’d say it should be a 60% or thereabouts score. The assembly cut definitely makes it a better movie. The only scene in the assembly that perhaps was a mistake was the chest buster out of the ox. Should have remained as the dog really, as in the theatrical. Otherwise, good entry and far superior to Resurrection and a pretty decent end to a trilogy if you discount that fourth film.
I remember reading the Giler/Hill/Ferguson screenplay in 1989, and although I didn't particularly like it, I did think the sequence where they capture the alien and then Golic lets it out ("the dragon") was pretty good. Then I watched the movie at the cinema three years later and that was the one major sequence that was missing. A major disappointment (and it ends up being a broadly pointless chunk of narrative in the theatrical cut).
Thank you for creating this. Alien 3 has always been my favorite. My only beef is that Charles Dance should have had more screen time, but I think that about every production he’s been in.
Yes, even Last Action Hero
At this point after seeing both versions many times over the years I prefer the Assembly Cut. The big difference being the dog or the ox and I find it more fascinating with the ox. With the ox it’s a non-aggressive species without any predatory traits to be seen, yet it still births the ultimate life form with little change in the over all design. We’ve all seen crazy what if xenomorphs that differ wildly in design. I like the not so drastic change and in this case it’s simple design and almost bronze hue works wonders for freshening the franchise without changing much.
It also fits the religious theme more. A sacrificial ox.
Alien 3 was the first time I was introduced to the xenomorph so it holds a special place in my heart.
I always liked Alien 3, not as much as the 1st two but I thought it was a solid film and was good as an ending story. However when I finally saw the Assembly Cut I was astonished how much better it was and it has become my joint favourite with the 1st movie.
Ditto. The Theatrical cut is a bit worse than Aliens, and the Assembly Cut is significantly superior to Aliens and stands right below Alien in my rankings.
I always loved 3 too. It was the perfect evolution in the franchise even with the original cut. 👌
@@HouseDracul I saw the theatrical cut of Aliens when it came out and I wasn't overly impressed. But after seeing the Directors Cut, it went up hugely in my estimation.
@@DudeSilad the director's cut of Aliens helped it a lot. Theatrical Aliens felt like a feel-good tone shift from Alien, relatively speaking, and many of the extended and restored scenes help Aliens feel like a more natural progression from Alien.
But A3AC still beats it for me, if only because it makes just as much sense literally as it does symbolically for the Apocalypse finding Fury-161 as well as Ellen Ripley's journey into the afterlife on a different path from Rebecca and Dwayne.
@@HouseDracul I don't think that deeply in to the storyline. I enjoyed them all. Well, Resurrection was bad. I don't think I've seen it more than once.
This breakdown is absolutely fantastic. I also share the same opinions about these versions. I've always thought the ideal cut is between the two versions, but overall I'm partial to the rhythm and effect of the theatrical cut.
In my opinion, I think a stronger cut would be a combination of the following: Clemens finding Ripley opening, Spike as Alien host, Golic Subplot, and Ripley dying holding the chestburster.
Great video!
Although I've only seen A3 once that I recall - about time I rewatched the series anyway - I have to agree. Just as the typical viewer doesn't give a damn about choice of cut, the typical fan/film nerd tends to default to whichever version is longer, less cut, etc. While directors' cuts and the like often are superior, it's not always straightforward. Rhythm and overall effect, as you say, are ultimately more important than simply being fed more material - and I say this as a writer who's all for respecting the script (within reason!)
I find it easier deciding on alternate vs. original cut for Alien and Aliens, but this video really goes to show how it's not such an easy call when it comes to A3. Does a good job of illustrating how much of a nightmare Fincher and co. had trying to get the film right as well. Certainly has lost potential but certainly also underrated.
Exactly, man! You nailed it!
100% agree with your take.
Sometimes a cut with extra footage, new editing, added effects, change of colour pallet etc can really enhance the original film. The assembly cut of Alien 3 really fleshed out the story for me much more than the original theatrical cut. Ironically I didn’t enjoy as much the extended edition of Aliens that featured Hadley’s Hope before its downfall with people going about their day, I liked the mystery of the theatrical cut as it made you feel like Ripley arriving and seeing the desolate silent aftermath of a carnage, your imagination runs wild as to the horror of what happened to a settlement of so many people, a scarred husk of a town that has been violated by some unknown horror.
@Sauli Luolajan-Mikkola Yes, sometimes a film can give to much and can undermine itself, instead of giving less, just enough that you rely on the audience to fill the blanks, nothing scarier than the suggested unknown.
Absolutely. Sometimes less is more, but it's always case by case
The pre-downfall scenes and the sentry gun scenes are both real weaknesses of the director's cut of aliens imo. The first for the reasons you mention, and the second because it makes the aliens seem too mindless for what they're otherwise shown. Watching the ammo counters run down is tense as heck and the final one stop before running dry as a lead-in to the ceiling drop scene is cool as heck but I just think it works better without. I'm also of mixed opinion on the Ripley's daughter scene. It does very effectively motivate her feelings for Newt, but did we really need that?
Meanwhile this Assembly Cut has a lot of things, though not all, that I wish were in the theatrical cut.
@@HerohammerStudios Agreed, also some films don't have any redeemable quality no matter what you do
@@wyrmh0le I forgot about the sentry guns, it was a nice 'tense' scene, you could interpret that the aliens are like an overwhelming force like a flood of death and nothing can stop their numbers, but also agree with your assessment that made them feel 'dumb', you could have had the sentry guns kill a few then suddenly the sentry gun just gets taken out without a shot (snuck up on the sentry gun from an above/below air shaft?) that way it can scare the survivors as to how the hell did they do that, not sure that would ruin or boost the confrontation later when their boxed in... Making films is not easy lol
Yeah the Daughter scene, I liked it, but I personally love a sharp, tight film. Hence I prefer the Theatrical Cut for that very reason.
Following this video from you I just finished rewatching the trilogy. In the theatre I hated 3 but the Assembly Cut is a completely different film. Knowing the production issues it's very nearly equal to the first two and a very fitting and satisfying conclusion. I loved it even more this time around! What a journey. What a character!! All hail Ellen Ripley. One of cinema's finest.
One thing I prefer in the theatrical cut, is Clemens' death. It comes much more as a surprise with the alien suddenly grabbing him through the curtain. Also, this happens just after Ripley has trusted Clemens with an injection, so there is that brief moment where they build suspense to make us wonder if Clemens gave her something bad after all, but then we get sort of a plot twist by him being killed instead. In the assembly cut, it's much more revealed in advance that the alien has entered the room and is slowly approaching. To me, that signals much earlier that an attack is about to happen, and it makes his death less of a shock.
She trusted him with a COUPLE injections, if you know what I mean.
@@RedHeadKevin, please don't remind us of that.
I don't recall there ever being a moment's doubt that Clemens was good. I don't know where you came up with that idea. Even when we didn't know what got him sent to prison it was obvious it had to be a medical error.
@@beestingza The idea is as described in my original comment. I never said Clemens generally came off as bad. Just that in that very moment when she trusts him with the syringe, the music gets darker, as if to give us a tiny moment of doubt before the surprise kill. Either way, the surprise kill is better in the Theatrical Cut, which was my main point.
@@ojthevikingOh, I gotcha.
This is the first Alien movie I managed to watch when I was a kid…so I absolutely love it
All the best to everyone
I'm one of those who swear by the Assembly Cut. The best New Year's Eve gift I could've hoped for, thanks for making this, can't wait to watch.
Same. Everyone saying they prefer the theatrical version can kiss a facehugger and make themselves good for something. It isn't a close contest between the versions, so theatrical supporters are objectively wrong and disgusting.
For me, Alien 3: Assembly Cut is vastly superior to the theatrical version for several important reasons but the greatest of these is the presence of the Golic subplot. More Paul McGann is always a good thing! 😄
Thanks so much for making this video, I’ve been hoping you’d cover this at some point.
I prefer the assembly cut. The dog host never sat well with me, the Xenomorph that emerged looked too big to have come from the dog and I feel the decision to use a dog just because it's an easy way to make people sad.
I love the extra scenes with the prisoners, because without the extra time with them they mostly became background noise to me rather than people.
I do wish they kept the queen burster at the end, I think it helps add to the strange relationship between Ripley 8 and the Xenomorphs in Resurrection.
Everyone likes what they like though, no reason to get mad about different film preferences. I'm only really commenting at all because I love your content and want the algorithm to be good to you.
I always thought they emerged from the host not yet full grown. In fact that's the only way it ever makes any sense.
The only reason the dog made more sense to me, was that I always thought that the xenomorph needed a live host to gestate! The dead ox never sat well with me, lore wise( Even though as a dog lover, the scene was always particularly hard to watch). Despite all that, I feel the Assembly Cut is the superior version, as the story and characters are more fleshed out!
@@metaldiscipline3955 this was my only gripe the assembly cut. The alien resembles a dog more than a ox, the scene where it bursts from the dog is horrific and pretty essential to the film IMO, then theres the scene where a prisoner is searching for spike later on which makes no sense when theres no spike
@@geraldford9967 That is a glaring issue for me as well with the assembly cut! If they were going to omit the dog, then they needed to rework the scene where the prisoner gets obliterated by the industrial fan! And the other huge issue is again, the host! You made a very good point about the physical description of the xenomorph, in that it resembles a dog. The Xenomorphs that use humans as a host, are obviously more humanoid in appearance, so it made more sense for them to take on the traits of said host be it human, or in this case canine! To me those two things are what hold the Assembly Cut back somewhat for me, but overall it's a superior cut of the film over the theatrical, in my opinion!
The Ox was unknown to me until this video. Is there a whole Ox Xenomorph design somewhere that never made it?
What a great coincidence that today I randomly came across your recent video. Over the last week, I've been re-watching the Aliens films in order, and I finished Alien 3 yesterday. Your amazing in-depth analysis was exactly what I was looking for after watching the Assembly Cut to help me process "Alien 3" in general and the comparison of the two films specifically. Thanks for all your work on this!
It’s unlikely to ever happen, but I’d love for the three hour rough cut to be released one day. I’ve got a morbid curiosity to see the full Newt autopsy scene that had the production crew urging.
I like to think that its placed in a vault somewhere with other movies reels such as the full version of event horizon and other "if only we could see" things from movies. I like to think of this vault it helps me sleep at night/ keeps me awake through dread.
@@nowho9800 the event horizon extra footage was destroyed
@bigwhopper6501 I didn't realize that event horizon wasn't the full version!!
I do think Fox/Disney or whoever should release the 3-hour cut as well, even if it isn't cleaned up or restored. Fans would have a ton of fun with it and from a process perspective it helps to tell the greater story of the production.
Alien 3-hours
I think the point that Ripley doesn't give birth to the Alien at the end is that it hints that she *does* have a choice. That the Alien isn't being born yet, when Bishop tempts her to join with him and he can remove the Alien, it is (from her perspective) perhaps a legitimate choice. At least, it implies she would have time.
But she is still being heroic and chooses to keep the Alien from the Company.
Now I'll grant you that it's hollow and Ripley is going to die, but in the Assembly Cut, there is legitimate temptation.
I also found Ripley hanging onto the Alien Queen just a bit too far but each to their own.
Indeed, the chestburster emerging somewhat weakens Ripley's decision to sacrifice herself. She didn't give up a chance of life, and she even has that confirmed before her eyes. The impact of the scene was sacrificed to deliver the hokey and overly cliched Hollywood movie sting.
The birthing scene made us cringe in the theater when it happened.
The way I saw it was that the queen sensed she was in danger and bursts out prematurely
Agreed. I always thought it was kinda cheesy…like “oh, how convenient, the queen bursts out at the dramatically appropriate last moment.” 🙄
It also undercuts her deliberate choice. If it was that close to birthing, wouldn’t have mattered if she accepted the offer anyway.
I love this movie, I appreciate the Assembly Cut, but I also wonder what David could bring for us if he had total control over everything filmed there.
Great video, AT man! Keep up!
Thank God for the Assembly/Director Cut ✂️.
This is a fantastic entry from Fincher, who was utterly screwed over by the studio and absolutely 💯 is a triumph from the lack-lustre theatrical release for me, which I'm deeply thankful for, and the Alien Franchise
It's an incredible job considering the production war, honestly. Always enjoyed it, and seeing the posters advertising it on release got me interested in learning more about the original movies.
It's called Assembly because Fincher didn't personally approve it - I think it was re edited based on some notes of his at some point.
Sadly it's probably the worst quality master of all 4 films various cuts - so it needs to be redone again completely for a 4K remaster just as the Directors Cut of Star Trek The Motion Picture was recently.
@@CoruscationsOfIneptitude Fincher isn't going near Alien 3 again, sadly. They burned him too much and he never wanted to see it again. I mean, it's far better than The Game, certainly wasn't his worst film.
It improved things a lot
The tea and milk detail is a subterfugial slap in the face, masterfully delivered by an actor who lived two doors fown from my mum when he was younger.
I didn't think either version was bad, honestly. Saw it in the theaters when it came out and I was 13 and I remember enjoying the hell out of it. And I've never lost my taste for it on repeat viewings, either.
I wonder if the character Vincent (aka Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film) is a reference to Vincent Ward. Ward was the original writer and director who came up with the monk colony on a wooden planetoid storyline and was ultimately fired after clashes with the producers and Fox. Ward's script and vision was significantly altered for the final film, although he retains sole story credit.
I remember buying the novel with my paper round money back in 1992. I was only 12 but had seen the other movies with my older brother. Even back then I remember feeling somewhat let down by the material but told everyone it was great anyway. I think it was early 1993 when I finally got to see the movie and I just didn't really like it. Fast forward many years and I finally got to watch the assembly cut when I was in my 30's. Got to say, I really loved it. I was a lot older and the lack of in your face action, I think expected in my youth, was replaced by good character building and a different kind of story. Due to this, I really prefer the assembly cut, but like I said, I think I just watched both versions at very different times in my life.
I've never worked out why this film is so underappreciated. I prefer it to Aliens, which is a great film, but it's more like an action movie. Alien 3 feels like a genuine sequel to the original.
I love the Assembly Cut of Alien 3. It's my second favorite Alien film after Aliens! If I recommended a version to someone who hadn't seen Alien 3, I'd recommend the Assembly Cut, not the theatrical version. The theatrical version doesn't add enough to justify the absence of Hicks and Newt. At least with the Assembly Cut you get more to the story.
LOL, I also just posted that it's my second favorite. Glad I'm not the only one!
What more to the Hicks & Newt story of their death do u get? It's pretty cut n dry. what did the assembley cut do differently?
To me it goes
1. Alien 3 AC
2. Alien
3. Aliens
@@earthcitizen3939 My ratings:
"Alien" - 10/10, one of the few movies that deserves a perfect score
"Aliens" - 8/10, rock solid sequel but not quite on the same level of brilliance
"Alien3" - 4/10, visually stylish but also dour, miserable and cynical
@@KaitainCPS Fair enough, we all have different likes and dislikes.
Watched the assembly cut as my first viewing. I was so confused seeing a video on the movie showing the dog as the host, I thought I was crazy or dreaming it up. Your analysis and comparison of the scenes involving the animals is very strong, especially the point about the lack of struggle from the ox. New sub gained.
You hit the nail on the head for me, I prefer the dog been the host for the Xenomorph chest bursting but I do like the added scenes in the assembly cut, someone, official or not should edit this film accordingly as an experiment.
I finally watched the Assembly Cut, and wow... I've always loved A3 and have seen the theatrical cut quite a few times over the years (still have my VHS trilogy box set), yet the Assembly hit me pretty hard (in a good way), I loved the Gohlic subplot and the xeno capture, plus all the extra interactions, and the lice-infested ox-bursting was creepy as hell! A3 is an underrated film(s) for sure. I had a little watch party and also played Resurrection SE (which I also hadn't seen in years) and was hoping the time and perspective would make it a rewarding experience, but alas, Resurrection remains a turd in my book. Now I want to go watch The Giftbearer and Covenant Evanus Cut again, so good! I love flawed masterpieces. Thanks for doing this side-by-side breakdown!
Thank you for making this. It’s been a while since I’ve viewed Alien 3. I’ve just bought the assembly cut and it’s nice to see the huge contrast from what was first debuted.
I did rewatch it yesterday and I must say I greatly appreciated it. The photography, the peculiar sound editing, the characters; the feel is of a theater piece. that said I like the 4th installment too.
Great video! I love the Assembly Cut... I place it with Alien (1979) in the top spots for me. I seem to mostly go back to those two films in particular whenever I'm in the mood for the franchise. The others are fine too but there's something about the atmospheres of 1 and 3 that really captivate me.
Same.
Thought I was the only one with that placement. 2 always seemed out of place
@@redshift912 Aliens is much too cheerful relative to the other three main films. Even Resurrection had a tone and ending that lines up better with Alien and Alien3 than any of them do with Aliens.
I like either Aliens just a little more than the theatrical version of Resurrection, but it's horrendously overrated within our community.
I remember going to see Alien 3 when it came out. But after buying tickets, me and my mate went the pub. But when we went in, the only seats available were right at the front. When the Alien is chasing the men through the tunnels, the camera is swiveling in all directions and angles and I looked sideways at all the other cinema goers and everyone was swaying like Stevie Wonder! It was pretty comical.
Before the assembly cut was released Alien 3 was a guilty pleasure for me. I’ve always been an apologist for it. But after 2003(especially after the blu-Ray release) it became a legitimately serviceable film that I’ve been proud to show newcomers. I recently went back and rewatched the theatrical version for the first time in MANY years and I found it to be a far inferior product personally. I’ve become so accustomed to the character development and pacing and plot of the Assembly cut that it just came off as an “edited for tv” version. And Golic completely disappearing from the movie had me laughing. Never caught it before.
Prior to the Assembly Cut I had presumed Golic was killed by the Alien whilst strapped to the bed. Same way Junior vanished but I assumed he was killed in the tunnel explosion.
You're proud to show characters getting killed off screen?
I have a special attachment to alien 3, my dad was filming a music video at pinewood and they were filming alien 3 at the same time, he had a load of photos of random props and was telling me all the stuff he saw.
I'm not sure which the best cut, but i love the characters and the sets and locations are amazing.
Alien 3: Assembly cut is a wonderful film. I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it but it’s a fascinating film. It’s a drama. It’s a story of loss and redemption. Even the making of on the blu-ray is fascinating, with so much indecision.
The score by Elliott Gouldenthal is exquisite too, so deep, epic and there is a sense a wonder about the ideas of isolation/togetherness within the camp. The funeral theme is pure beauty and sadness.
Thank you for your works, here - so engrossed in your content and general appreciation/opinions of the the alien saga.
I never understood the flak that Alien 3 copped, I have always enjoyed it but the Assembly Cut was another level above! Still trying to decide whether or not I prefer the ending with or without the chest burster emerging as Ripley falls into the fire. Seeing it come out with her holding onto it is very dramatic, but there's also something about never seeing it and being denied that moment in the same way the company is also denied, makes it seem appropriate. 🤷♂
I'm satisfied with what we got with the Special Edition/Assembly Cut, so if ever I'd want a director to use their additional footage to make their final cut of a film, it'd be Event Horizon. I know why that will never be, but that's what I'd wish.
Sadly I think all the extra footage from event horizon has been lost. I too would love to see the extended edit
The outside shots were filmed at a place near me in England called Seaham you could get some big waves down there on a good day, they also had a local trawl looking for people to act as prisoners but had to have their heads shaved, I think it was something like £500 just to have your hair cut. My Dad worked for the Local Council and helped with some of the planning for it.
here's the biggest difference I find between the 2 versions in my opinion.
the theatrical has more suspense and "stronger" scenes.. but they are individual points.
as a whole, they don't matter because you don't care about the convicts and what happens to them.
the Assembly shows some things out of place... but they also hit much harder when they conclude later on.
and it also helps ground it in reality, as things are happening all around simultaneously.
you care about the All people in the movie, not just Ripley.
the Ending of the theatrical with the Alien queen is the better one in my opinion
love both versions as I saw the theatrical when it came out in cinema back in 1992/3
but the Assembly cut became my favorite movie in the series.
while I always felt the Theatrical was overall the weakest in the Quadrilogy series.
Dillon is still my favorite character in the series other then Ripley ;)
P.S.
I think David Fincher would probably be my best candidate to make the next movie.
if only that wasn't such low probability.
I think overall the pacing of the theatrical cut flows better, even with all its flaws.
54:10 - I love Ripley's gloves grasping the writhing Queen Chestburtser as it comes out of her. I think that's great because you get the feeling that if she hadn't held it firm to her chest it could've just parted ways with her and sprang off to survive as she fell.
I always assumed the Queen chestbursted at this point because it knew Ripley was committing suicide and instinctively was trying to escape.
@@emotionalsupportostrich2480 That's a good point that stops it from being coincidental.
@@emotionalsupportostrich2480 greatly put! I've thought this exact thing myself
@@emotionalsupportostrich2480 Exactly. To me it never felt coincidential, but the alien knowing something's wrong.
Fantastic walk through. Thank you. I bang on about and forward your channel to people often. Keep up the exemplary work Amigo.
I absolutely love the Assembly Cut, and Murphy calling out to Spike is the only major detractor for me. It is odd that they didn’t remove it for the subsequent release
I have to check it again but if I remember correctly they DID remove it for DVD but forgot while making Blu-ray.
@@thatrebelsoldieronhoth9708 Interesting! I’ll have to have a look!
@@steviedow1701 I've just checked it and it's removed on DVD (I don't have Blu-ray).
Yeah this always irks me too. How that could've been overlooked is beyond me. Hopefully it'll get fixed for the 4k release.
@@ULTRAWIDE. A 4K release of the Assembly Cut with this fixed would be like a dream for me!
Losing the Gollic subplot was such a shame. In the first film the Android obsesses over the alien, in the second it's the company man, and in the third it's a criminal that worships it. In all three cases, they're equally insane, just presented differently.
I prefer the dog chest chestburster scene waaaaaay more than the ox one. I also prefer the ending with the chestburster erupting from Ripley (although I do get the argument as to why the assembly version of the ending is thematically stronger).
For me, if you swapped those two scenes into the assembly cut of Alien 3, that would be my preferred version.
exactly what i think
I hate the idea of the dog being in pain. I prefer the dead ox and for the ending would prefer that the alien came out of Riley as she leapt into the fire.
I like the ox scene more. Dog scene feels a bit like a cheap shock, and to me it's weird that these prisoners would have a dog on a lice infested planet (which isn't really explained in the theatrical cut if I'm remembering right), whereas oxes are actually relevant to their lives. plus I like the idea of the alien being 'born' from a holy symbol like an Ox. For me it works better interspersed with the scenes of Newt and Hicks being laid to rest, altho I do like the opposing contrast with the death of the dog.
Same here.
Dogs can't get lice from humans and vice versa, different types of lice@@panterxbeats
At this very moment I am watching the theatrical release on television and watching your video during the commercials. As someone who will probably never see the Assembly Cut, I very much appreciate all of the work and insight you've put into this. Thank you.🙂
The assembly cut is definately the better version
The Assembly Cut is the best, but I wished they had kept the Dog scene, it was a more powerful scene projecting the death, suffering and rebirth theme.
Overall the assembly cut is better, but I do enjoy the beginning up to the birth of the alien in the theatrical cut more. The dog being a victim is imo the most heartbreaking death in the series. Something about seeing animals in pain hits right in the feels.
An entire crew of people die to a space monster: 'Well the cat survived so whatever'
Dog dies: 'Ok this is too far'
lol
@@emeraldcelestial1058 🤣
That's the only part I hated when I was a kid. I didn't even care about the opening deaths
@@markchristian3249 literal child dies:
dog dies: NANIIII
Newt?
I absolutely love this channel!
It’s something about the owners voice, diction and almost tranquil volume.
I re-listen to various videos/playlists (especially the ones that cover the Shafer brothers, and the “evolution” of the Little Knife during and after the fall of Ryushi!!)
Great voice-over, pleasant to the ears, insightful analysis, all in all a most impressive synthesis of the comparison between these two film cuts. Keep up the amazing work!
I got lucky with this one and read the book first. Then watched the theatrical cut and realised why everyone was disappointed. Then watched the assembly cut and felt better. Great video, thanks.
Alien 3 is a testament to Fincher as a pure talent.
Considering all the studio interference, backstabbing, covert spying and general fuckery that went on backstage, Fincher made a movie that outweighs all the movies in the Alien series that were released afterward.
I would love to see him give an interview on the movie, but as far as I know he flatly refuses to talk about it.
You think Alien 3 is better than Prometheus? I get that a lot of people don't like Prometheus for various reasons, but to me Prometheus is 100x more entertaining and interesting than Alien 3. I mean Resurrection was garbage, but it's got really good special effects and the xenomorphs look amazing... And then there's Covenant which was quite bad, but I find Michael Fassbender's android characters and the crazy protomorph stuff to be more interesting than any of the unlikable prisoner characters or the occasionally crappy looking effects in Alien 3. For me Alien 3 is probably my least favorite, but if it wasn't for the great looking xenomorphs and effects of Resurrection, I would probably say that one is worse because the story and characters are just abysmal lol. 🤷♂
I remember the Newt autopsy scene at the cinema back in the day, it was disturbing but added to how desperate and scared Ripley was at that point.
It fits the tone of the franchise
So glad to found your video after watching theatrical version. My honest gratitude for your insane and precise work.
My favorite cut of the film is some hybrid between the two where I would pick and choose the best pieces of the AC and the theatrical editions and possibly have some fun with the Workprint as well (that “for the last time” line can be found there). The AC is a better overall cut but I would still roll with the dog birth and especially the theatrical edition’s ending. What in Christ’s name anyone was thinking releasing that disgustingly unfinished scene at the end of the Assembly Cut I will never know, but it almost takes the whole cut down an entire grade for me. At least there was some effort put into finishing the theatrical ending.
In the end whenever I watch Alien 3, and I love it, I still feel like it’s missing something or that something ought to have been different no matter what version I watch. That’s why each version of this film is so valuable.
Thanks for all the work you put into these videos, you gotta appreciate your commitment to the franchise! Your comments are all spot on. Also, I can listen to your voice all day long.
That’s very kind, thank you!
If the Assembly Cut had the ending from the Theatrical-cut, the Assembly cut would be a masterpiece.
I have exactly the same view on the 2 versions as you. I think there could be another version made with the material which makes the assembly cut a bit tighter. Great video by the way. Really helpful and informative, it is long but all purposeful. Great work
Alien Isolation was one of the best games of the 2010s and we still have no sequel
There is a sequel to the game but it's for mobile only
Thanks for making this comparison. I've just watched this again for the first time in many years and didn't know about the assembly cut.
What I love about the more languid pace of the Assembly is that's it's kind of like a horror Blade Runner, just a mood piece of torment and sorrow. A film to sink into not for plot, but for tone and vibes. Sweat and blood, rust and fervor. Damn good.
SCAMMER!!!!!!!
I could see selected aspects of both cuts being used to make a super cut.
Great video. Since I was a kid I always like the third one the most. I had no idea until recently just how chaotic and disastrous the process was of making it. I think that is a huge credit to Fincher and the cast.
Personally I've always loved Alien 3, for a trilogy each of the first 3 films is a vastly different beast (no pun intended) they each bring something special and unique to the franchise. I enjoy both cuts of Alien 3 - I love Fincher's sense of style and drama, the movie is steeped in atmosphere and IMO is the most emotional of the trilogy and it certainly feels like an ending, a bittersweet one. I know I'm in the minority but 3 is my favourite in the franchise.
You've got great insights into the possible motivations for the decisions they made in editing.
I have never understood all the hate for alien 3. It’s a great movie
It's just miserable, and disrespectful to the ending (and characters) of "Aliens". The entire premise of the movie is essentially a shitty retcon.
@@KaitainCPS I was the biggest fan of the first two, so this one would of course be a letdown. In it's own right, I do have a soft spot for the Asembly Cut, but simply does not meet expectations. Killing off everything that was achieved in Aliens seemed like such a swerve just for the sake of it, which is never good. This film really did damage to the franchise, but eventually, so did Resurrection and Prometheus. I cannot even be bothered to check out Covenant at this point.
yankees wanted the happy american family: wife, soldier husband and little blonde child. So they got bitter when someone said "this is not happy ending future" lol. I really love Alien 3 (assembly version) and the best part was NOT HAVING hicks and newt. I'm also thankful that Alien 5 with those 2 never happened
@@KaitainCPS Aliens is entertaining but is the typical gringo flashlights and guns sh1t. James Cameron is so basic
It’s trash
You hit it on the head. Give me a cut with the Dog Burster Scene replacing the Ox. Retain everything in the middle, as well as the chest burster scene at the end. Probably about as perfect a cut as we would get, telling a cohesive story with the footage we have available. How has this not been done yet by a talented internet editor?
I was doing it, it was coming up fantastic, and the software glitched my edit. I had no backups due to lack of storage space back then.
I had combined both first acts, so we see Ripley washed out in the beach, the oxen pulling the crashed EEV and also the theatrical scene of the inmates crawling inside it with the dog, all intercut by redone computer readouts and using the soundtrack to make it flow well. The original abbatoir scene skips Frank and Murphy talking about why the ox died as if it's a routine slaughtering for meat, it just focuses on them thirsting over Ripley, and then after that Murphy finds Spike injured.
Every time im reminded of Alien 3 i longingly think about Neal Blomkamps Alien 5 🚬😮💨
Fanedits are the way to go. I've got one that combines both gracefully, featuring the dog birth, the peaceful death fall, and many small edits that help flesh out everything
As far as the Dog/Ox debate…I’d side with the Ox as being the better option…firstly, violence against dogs is always visceral, which makes sense in this film don’t get me wrong; but not see the Ox in pain…gives the audience one less reason to be furious with the Alien…which subconsciously adds to the mystery of why it doesn’t harm Ripley (before we know the real reason); the theme of “is this a demon come to punish the murderers” hangs in the background, and ultimately it keeps a less hateful lens pointed at the monster.
Also: I have lean towards the assembly cut in terms of the extra Dillon line during his rousing speech; I agree that the pace with the score is thrown off by the extra line; but Dutton’s delivery of “this IS as good a place as any” is really cool…the idea of possibly getting off Fury 161, out of that awful place, and maybe dying years later is some beautiful place could be lingering in the minds of the listeners…but ultimately it doesn’t matter where you die, even in an ugly place like that, it’s how you live that matters.
It is a tough call; personally my favorite component of Alien3 is the world itself; the sets, and the prison/cathedral…Clemons is my favorite side character of the franchise and so the assembly cut is the best; but I don’t think you’re crazy for liking the Theatrical Cut more; the pacing is better and more decisive as you said. Amazing review and thoughts! 👍🏻
I saw the Special Edition or Assembly Cut of Alien 3 rn in my first time ever watching the series. Amazon says 144min runtime. Thank you for making this video as I was very curious where they could've cut even 30mins worth of runtime here.
I think the dog and facehugger is a lot more straightforward, as even I was confused with the Ox situation. However I did enjoy the introduction of Ripley unsure if the facehugger got to Newt first. As even I was unsure! A tragic fate indeed.
Don't feel bad for preferring the theatrical I would agree with your caveats as well. Honestly the whole franchise has been so close to perfect consistently and even the reboots are barely off. I've always wondered how much it's actually James Cameron vs the rest of the crew bringing things to the level they were at.
29:48 A rare glimpse of the definitive 'Yoink!' cut.
Assembly cut all day, sorry!
Nice work. I agree, start with the 92 version if you haven't seen it before. The assembly cut is better once you know the story and can sit back and appreciate all the expanded scenes and extra elements.
I want the Hick & Newt survived Cut!
Yeah, I want more of a boring soldier and a noisy child too!
Honestly, nobody cared about those two until _after_ Aliens, not during. It really says a lot about the straws people will grasp at to denigrate a later movie.
I still prefer Aliens to this and I always will, but the idea that there was ever anything else worth doing with Hicks and Newt has always baffled me.
That is the original alien 3 screenplay by william gibson, also made into a book, comic and audio book with Michael Biehn & Lancen Henriksen, that is the real deal.
No thanks, there are other franchises where you have happiness and family. Leave that sh - - out of the Alien-franchise.
@@earthcitizen3939 I’m not asking for all sunshine and rainbows fool! I’m saying, they deserve a better fate than what they got in the film!
@@reloadpsi Boring soldier And Noisy Child? I think you meant Badass Soldier and Lovable Child. (sorry for the late reply)
I would love to see Fincher sit down and narrate his vision of the film along with some animatics to help illustrate. Alien 3 is such a fascinating case study in sequel politics and I will devour every piece of media I can find on it.
Alien Theory rocks!!! Love when you read the comics.
This video made me unsub and I want to step far away from a community with such sharply dropped IQs that anyone thinks the theatrical version beats the Assembly Cut at anything but sucking and disappointing viewers.
Really good, well-argued, impartial and in-depth video, I'm very impressed by the work it must've took to script and edit this.
Scrolling through the comments, it's clear that I'm among the minority of Alien fans who hate both versions of this movie. I loved the first two films and went into the theater in 1992 expecting something dark and scary, just not THAT dark. I don't like any of the characters in Alien³, so there are no stakes for me. Most of them resemble each other so much that I couldn't keep them straight, and it's hard for me to feel there are stakes involved when I don't care if any of them lives or dies. The only interesting new character is the doctor, but he's killed off halfway through the movie and no one mourns or even mentions him again. This film was a huge misfire; the only good thing about it is that (ironically) it's still better than all films that followed it.
Great video. Very well put together.
Especially enjoyed your last sentiment about Fincher being in an edit suite ~ with every frame and moment shot
~ as options for a new assembly.