Alien - which version?

ctowner1

In preparation for the 6/8 premiere of Prometheus, I want to rewatch Alien. I own the Quadrilogy set, which has the original theatrical version and a Director's Cut version. Both are about the same length. Can someone please tell me the main differences? Opinion on which is better? I'm watching the movie w/my wife who's never seen it and is not too geeky - does that affect the decision? Thanks,

e
L nny

hauberk

Direct

In preparation for the 6/8 premiere of Prometheus, I want to rewatch Alien. I own the Quadrilogy set, which has the original theatrical version and a Director's Cut version. Both are about the same length. Can someone please tell me the main differences? Opinion on which is better? I'm watching the movie w/my wife who's never seen it and is not too geeky - does that affect the decision? Thanks,

e
L nny

Usually, I'd say the Director's Cut and in this case I still lean that way as the Director typically has the best idea of what they were attempting to accomplish. I say usually though because I completely disagree with that when it comes to Bladerunner. While I very much appreciate some of the additional footage I really miss the noir-ish voiceover track, which had some of Ford's best lines in the film.

KyleMoyer

Direct

In preparation for the 6/8 premiere of Prometheus, I want to rewatch Alien. I own the Quadrilogy set, which has the original theatrical version and a Director's Cut version. Both are about the same length. Can someone please tell me the main differences? Opinion on which is better? I'm watching the movie w/my wife who's never seen it and is not too geeky - does that affect the decision? Thanks,

e
L nny

Usually, I'd say the Director's Cut and in this case I still lean that way as the Director typically has the best idea of what they were attempting to accomplish. I say usually though because I completely disagree with that when it comes to Bladerunner. While I very much appreciate some of the additional footage I really miss the noir-ish voiceover track, which had some of Ford's best lines in the film.

Actually, Ridley Scott has said that the director's cut for Alien is a director's cut in name only in that he prefers the original cut and was perfectly happy with it. Fox was releasing them on DVD in 2003 and wanted a director's cut for each movie so they asked him to make one for Alien. He obliged, although he said that most of the scenes that he took out of Alien, he did so for pacing reasons and in order to keep the movie flowing, he took out other scenes to replace the ones he added. The end result is that the director's cut is actually shorter than the theatrical cut.

MikeGallagher

As no one has said, the biggest difference is pacing. Story wise the biggest difference is (spoiler) seeing what happens to Dallas and the others and ripely correcting it. There are a few beats different with ash. Mainly pacing. No plot points changed.
The original is the best version to watch. The directors cut is a fun missive.
I cannot recommend highly enough getting any version of the alien quadrilogy. It has some of the most amazing content on it. And it's honest. The extra stuff on the alien 3 disc is incredible.
The blu rays have a superb transfer as well, if you are into that sort of thing.

Aliens? The directors cut is the way to go.
Alien 3? Skip it
Alien 4, watch until ripely escapes on the ship heading to earth then turn it off. You will think it is a great installment if you don't watch further.

ctowner1

Thanks! I'm the same way, but I actually researched it a bit online after posting this, and the consensus seems to be to go Theatrical Version for Alien, and Directors cut for Aliens. So that's what I did (for Alien, tonight). Awesome movie - was great seeing it once again!

e
L nny

ctowner1

Actually, Ridley Scott has said that the director's cut for Alien is a director's cut in name only in that he prefers the original cut and was perfectly happy with it. Fox was releasing them on DVD in 2003 and wanted a director's cut for each movie so they asked him to make one for Alien. He obliged, although he said that most of the scenes that he took out of Alien, he did so for pacing reasons and in order to keep the movie flowing, he took out other scenes to replace the ones he added. The end result is that the director's cut is actually shorter than the theatrical cut.

Yah. I saw the same thing. As opposed to Aliens, where Cameron says that the Director's Cut is what he wanted to release in the first place, but was not allowed to.

Alien 3 seems to have an interesting "special" version which added in a bunch of footage, but was done w/o the director. Seems worth checking out (given that Alien 3, at least the theatrical version, was a movie I didn't particularly like that much).

e
L nny

KyleMoyer

Actually, Ridley Scott has said that the director's cut for Alien is a director's cut in name only in that he prefers the original cut and was perfectly happy with it. Fox was releasing them on DVD in 2003 and wanted a director's cut for each movie so they asked him to make one for Alien. He obliged, although he said that most of the scenes that he took out of Alien, he did so for pacing reasons and in order to keep the movie flowing, he took out other scenes to replace the ones he added. The end result is that the director's cut is actually shorter than the theatrical cut.

Yah. I saw the same thing. As opposed to Aliens, where Cameron says that the Director's Cut is what he wanted to release in the first place, but was not allowed to.

Alien 3 seems to have an interesting "special" version which added in a bunch of footage, but was done w/o the director. Seems worth checking out (given that Alien 3, at least the theatrical version, was a movie I didn't particularly like that much).

e
L nny

I've recently gotten an Alien box set with both versions of all the movies and I'm interested in that one also. From what I understand, Alien 3 was completely butchered. I've heard that it was a few good movies all edited together into a mess.

And to clarify (not sure if this is what you meant or not, but for the benefit of everyone else reading this), when you say that it was done without the director, the job was offered to Fincher just like it was with the other 3 movies, but he turned it down. He was the only one of the three directors to do so.

Odd side note - the Alien 2003 edition is referred to as a "director's cut" and the Aliens 2003 edition is referred to as "special edition" even though the 2003 Alien was not the director's first choice, but the 2003 Aliens is.

hauberk

Great info. My recollection for Alien and Aliens was based on the the old laser disc editions. Looking at them now, they're both considered extended editions. Also realizing that most of my memories of the different cuts are of Aliens.

Would love to see them to a third Alien movie... William Gibson did an amazing treatment.

Webhead

When it comes to Aliens, the Directors Cut is a must watch just for the extra scenes that were added. The one that always comes to mind is when Ripely finds out about Amy and how it adds more depth to her relationship with Newt.

KyleMoyer

There's also this cut which is the best of them all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uQg6sVeAVG8

Flintlockjaw

Direct

In preparation for the 6/8 premiere of Prometheus, I want to rewatch Alien. I own the Quadrilogy set, which has the original theatrical version and a Director's Cut version. Both are about the same length. Can someone please tell me the main differences? Opinion on which is better? I'm watching the movie w/my wife who's never seen it and is not too geeky - does that affect the decision? Thanks,

e
L nny

Usually, I'd say the Director's Cut and in this case I still lean that way as the Director typically has the best idea of what they were attempting to accomplish. I say usually though because I completely disagree with that when it comes to Bladerunner. While I very much appreciate some of the additional footage I really miss the noir-ish voiceover track, which had some of Ford's best lines in the film.

Actually, Ridley Scott has said that the director's cut for Alien is a director's cut in name only in that he prefers the original cut and was perfectly happy with it. Fox was releasing them on DVD in 2003 and wanted a director's cut for each movie so they asked him to make one for Alien. He obliged, although he said that most of the scenes that he took out of Alien, he did so for pacing reasons and in order to keep the movie flowing, he took out other scenes to replace the ones he added. The end result is that the director's cut is actually shorter than the theatrical cut.

Totally agree with Kyle. There was no need to have a directors cut of Aliens...it was pointless. The only direcotrs cut I've seen that is completely different to the theatrical release and was better is 'BladeRunner'. The rest are just studios double dipping.

ctowner1

Totally agree with Kyle. There was no need to have a directors cut of Aliens...it was pointless. The only direcotrs cut I've seen that is completely different to the theatrical release and was better is 'BladeRunner'. The rest are just studios double dipping.

Alien, not Aliens, right?

e
L nny

Flintlockjaw

Both.

ctowner1

I was just referring to your agreement with Kyle. He was saying that the Alien, not Alien's, director's cut wasn't needed.

Personally, I love Aliens just the way it is, myself. But I recall seeing the Laserdisc version with some interesting extra scenes added, as people here have mentioned, concerning Ridley's personal life, which make her connection to Newt more poignant. It's actually been a really long time since I last saw that, though, so I'm looking forward to seeing the Director's Cut (which I assume was what I saw many years ago on Laserdisc) again sometime soon.

e
L nny

MikeGallagher

Aliens director cut was better than the theatrical.
Kingdom of heavens was an amazing movie when it is viewed in the director cut.
Chronicles of riddick is a solid film also in the director cut.
Director cuts are good when the studio destroys and chops a movie to death, loosing a vision of the director. Blade runner is a good example of this.
Alien, as Ridley says on it, was something of a lark.

KyleMoyer

To clarify, I haven't seen the Aliens directors cut yet (next up on my blu-ray watching), and at the time of my posting I hadn't actually seen the Alien directors cut either, so my comment wasn't on my opinion on either, just on the director's opinions on both.

And for the record, I kinda liked the one added scene in Alien where Ripley saw the victims in the cocoons. Especially considering how they went back to that in Aliens (I'm assuming James Cameron was aware of that cut scene and played off of it). I also liked the scene where Lambert slapped Ripley since it showed a bit of her character, although I don't think either scene was really necessary to the movie.

I have watched the theatrical version of Aliens though for the first time in years and I don't remember those space marines being near so cheesy and dated, lol. But whenever they weren't acting like macho 80s marines, the rest of that movie held up quite well. There were some moments of genuine tension despite my having seen the movie before and knowing what's coming.

ctowner1

Aliens director cut was better than the theatrical.
Kingdom of heavens was an amazing movie when it is viewed in the director cut.
Chronicles of riddick is a solid film also in the director cut.
Director cuts are good when the studio destroys and chops a movie to death, loosing a vision of the director. Blade runner is a good example of this.
Alien, as Ridley says on it, was something of a lark.

Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America is the classic version of the Director's Cut far surpassing the theatrical version. The Studios hacked an almost 4 hour movie into less than 2.5 senseless hours. The restored version is far superior.

e
L nny