Alien³ (1992)
October 26, 2022 9:02 AM - Subscribe
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
Also starring Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Pete Postlethwaite, Ralph Brown, Paul McGann, Danny Webb, Lance Henriksen, Brian Glover.
Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by David Giler & Walter Hill and Larry Ferguson. Story by Vincent Ward. Based on characters by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
47% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming on Starz, and available for digital rental on multiple outlets. **BUT*... do yourself a favor and if you're going to watch it, just buy the Special Edition from Google Play or Vudu or wherever, as it's superior. Not an official director's cut, more like the studio just putting back in a bunch of things they made Fincher cut out, but it is better.
Also starring Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Pete Postlethwaite, Ralph Brown, Paul McGann, Danny Webb, Lance Henriksen, Brian Glover.
Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by David Giler & Walter Hill and Larry Ferguson. Story by Vincent Ward. Based on characters by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
47% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming on Starz, and available for digital rental on multiple outlets. **BUT*... do yourself a favor and if you're going to watch it, just buy the Special Edition from Google Play or Vudu or wherever, as it's superior. Not an official director's cut, more like the studio just putting back in a bunch of things they made Fincher cut out, but it is better.
Between this 47% and 62% for The Hitcher I am beginning to suspect Rotten Tomatoes isn't worth a rotten tomato. This was the first Alien I ever watched, and while I've seen the first one the most, this may be my favourite, though nI've never watched the Special Edition.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:36 AM on October 26, 2022
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:36 AM on October 26, 2022
Back in the day, critics were notoriously down on horror films. Over the last 15 -20 years, that has changed, thankfully. But for horror films made between the years of say, 1974-1994, if you want to add a 20% buffer to RT scores to account for the "All horror movies are puerile garbage" contingent, that will serve you well in most cases.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:39 AM on October 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:39 AM on October 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
Is the official name for the alien baddies "Starbeast," as repeatedly used in the article DirtyOldTown posted? I have literally never seen that term used before.
posted by Naberius at 10:03 AM on October 26, 2022
posted by Naberius at 10:03 AM on October 26, 2022
I don't know; saw this in the theaters and it definitely felt like the time and money spent were a mistake. (Obviously this wasn't the alternate edition.)
It's been a while since I saw this, but my memory of the movie (and discussions afterward): The memorable characters from Alien, let alone the likable ones from Aliens, are missing. The action scenes lacked clarity and the closest thing to a new twist didn't have any real impact.
Or maybe it had a negative impact. I think by this point in the franchise I was also dealing with the knowledge that everyone but Ripley will die; telegraphing that Ripley will die as well really contributed to a no-stakes feeling for me.
posted by mark k at 10:06 AM on October 26, 2022
It's been a while since I saw this, but my memory of the movie (and discussions afterward): The memorable characters from Alien, let alone the likable ones from Aliens, are missing. The action scenes lacked clarity and the closest thing to a new twist didn't have any real impact.
Or maybe it had a negative impact. I think by this point in the franchise I was also dealing with the knowledge that everyone but Ripley will die; telegraphing that Ripley will die as well really contributed to a no-stakes feeling for me.
posted by mark k at 10:06 AM on October 26, 2022
When you read the boiled-down premise, it sounds promising, but my memory of seeing it is just dreariness.
posted by praemunire at 10:12 AM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 10:12 AM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Elliot Goldenthall's Adagio playing over the sacrifice and the foundry being shut down, the facility being shuttered. In my head canon the franchise just ends there.
I think Starbeast was what the original script was called before they went with Alien.
posted by Molesome at 10:16 AM on October 26, 2022
I think Starbeast was what the original script was called before they went with Alien.
posted by Molesome at 10:16 AM on October 26, 2022
This movie is a mess, even with the restored sections of the Special Edition. But you can see the bones of an amazing film in it; I have a lot of love for it for that. It's a beautiful failure of a film.
posted by nubs at 10:20 AM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by nubs at 10:20 AM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
1992 was a bumper year for main characters committing suicide via vats of molten metal.
One thing I like about the original Alien films (the original quadilogy) is how different in tone they all are. This one has grown on me over the years but even the much improved director's cut is a hard watch due to how dour the whole thing is. Weaver is great, as usual, but maybe the film would have been better as a loose sequel without Ripley. Still, I have to admire the sheer guts of killing off 2 major characters off-screen during the opening credits.
posted by AndrewStephens at 10:25 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
One thing I like about the original Alien films (the original quadilogy) is how different in tone they all are. This one has grown on me over the years but even the much improved director's cut is a hard watch due to how dour the whole thing is. Weaver is great, as usual, but maybe the film would have been better as a loose sequel without Ripley. Still, I have to admire the sheer guts of killing off 2 major characters off-screen during the opening credits.
posted by AndrewStephens at 10:25 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
One thing I like about the original Alien films (the original quadilogy) is how different in tone they all are.
Some exec or other at Fox supposedly insisted their path forward was for every Alien franchise film to be a different genre. Always about the xenomorphs, but different tones and settings. 1: space monster. 2: war movie: 3 prison movie. They lost that along the way, but I always thought that was a really cool idea.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:46 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
Some exec or other at Fox supposedly insisted their path forward was for every Alien franchise film to be a different genre. Always about the xenomorphs, but different tones and settings. 1: space monster. 2: war movie: 3 prison movie. They lost that along the way, but I always thought that was a really cool idea.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:46 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
Some exec or other at Fox supposedly insisted their path forward was for every Alien franchise film to be a different genre.
It is indeed a shame that this idea was abandoned. I would have really enjoyed Alien:The Romantic Comedy (will Ripley marry Hicks or fall for the handsome and mysterious Dr Allen Notarobot) or Alien:The Musical!
posted by AndrewStephens at 11:06 AM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
It is indeed a shame that this idea was abandoned. I would have really enjoyed Alien:The Romantic Comedy (will Ripley marry Hicks or fall for the handsome and mysterious Dr Allen Notarobot) or Alien:The Musical!
posted by AndrewStephens at 11:06 AM on October 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Always about the xenomorphs, but different tones and settings. 1: space monster. 2: war movie: 3 prison movie
This Balder & Dash column gives a different look at the development of Alien3: Things Have Changed a Great Deal Since Your Time: A Reappraisal of the "Alien" Sequels, and SyFy's look at Alien3's Development Hell gives even more detail. Basically, ideas went from a multi-part narrative focused on the corporate greed/bioweapon angle and space socialism (script by William Gibson), to going to the alien homeworld or having them invade earth, to Ripley crash-landing on a planet with a monastery who believe the creature is the devil (which is close enough to be eventually morphed into what we got). They started shooting without a completed script and $7 million already spent. So I don't think they had any kind of grand plan here in terms of settings/types of film; they wanted a sequel to cash in with.
The uniting factors between the first four films are the xenomorphs, Ripley, the greed of Weyland-Yutani, and body horror. Where & how those get deployed, and how effectively, are the questions.
posted by nubs at 11:11 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
This Balder & Dash column gives a different look at the development of Alien3: Things Have Changed a Great Deal Since Your Time: A Reappraisal of the "Alien" Sequels, and SyFy's look at Alien3's Development Hell gives even more detail. Basically, ideas went from a multi-part narrative focused on the corporate greed/bioweapon angle and space socialism (script by William Gibson), to going to the alien homeworld or having them invade earth, to Ripley crash-landing on a planet with a monastery who believe the creature is the devil (which is close enough to be eventually morphed into what we got). They started shooting without a completed script and $7 million already spent. So I don't think they had any kind of grand plan here in terms of settings/types of film; they wanted a sequel to cash in with.
The uniting factors between the first four films are the xenomorphs, Ripley, the greed of Weyland-Yutani, and body horror. Where & how those get deployed, and how effectively, are the questions.
posted by nubs at 11:11 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Alien:The Romantic Comedy (will Ripley marry Hicks or fall for the handsome and mysterious Dr Allen Notarobot)
This was Prometheus.
posted by praemunire at 11:59 AM on October 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
This was Prometheus.
posted by praemunire at 11:59 AM on October 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
I never liked Alien3. The aesthetic was a turnoff, especially next to the more plausible blue collar look in the first two films. For instance, the costumes the soldiers wear at the end are stupid. Maybe they make sense to someone, but good sci fi production should be intuitive.
posted by Stuka at 12:12 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Stuka at 12:12 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
The central message of all the Alien movies is this:
Always listen to the brunette.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:38 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Always listen to the brunette.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:38 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I saw someone on Twitter who pointed out that from Ripley's point of view, the amount of time that passed between shit starting to go wrong in Alien through her death in this was about the worst 3 weeks imaginable.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:59 PM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:59 PM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
I tried to see this opening weekend, but the big San Antonio theater chain pulled it from all their screens except one. I tracked it down and thought it was pretty disappointing. I'm not the same person I was back then, but I don't remember there being anything that would be redeeming or interesting in it.
But for horror films made between the years of say, 1974-1994, if you want to add a 20% buffer to RT scores to account for the "All horror movies are puerile garbage" contingent, that will serve you well in most cases
IME some adjustment like that is still true, and not limited to RT. Me and my SO always have to consider this in imdb ratings too, so I don't think it's all down to critics. Maybe bc it's a broad enough genre that fans may not get what they are looking for; aka horror fans hate horror too.
For example, one of the things I like in horror is the 'normal life' establishing stuff. The first two movies do this, but Aliens3 really doesn't. The prison is just shitty and sucks and is horror-lit from the beginning IIRC. Prometheus and Covenant don't understand that Alien has horror DNA and so neither movie knows what to do with its crew. They're like, "Uh so these are just some guys who will die and don't matter?" Without a good normal part, horror movies usually feel thin and false to me I think.
posted by fleacircus at 6:05 PM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
But for horror films made between the years of say, 1974-1994, if you want to add a 20% buffer to RT scores to account for the "All horror movies are puerile garbage" contingent, that will serve you well in most cases
IME some adjustment like that is still true, and not limited to RT. Me and my SO always have to consider this in imdb ratings too, so I don't think it's all down to critics. Maybe bc it's a broad enough genre that fans may not get what they are looking for; aka horror fans hate horror too.
For example, one of the things I like in horror is the 'normal life' establishing stuff. The first two movies do this, but Aliens3 really doesn't. The prison is just shitty and sucks and is horror-lit from the beginning IIRC. Prometheus and Covenant don't understand that Alien has horror DNA and so neither movie knows what to do with its crew. They're like, "Uh so these are just some guys who will die and don't matter?" Without a good normal part, horror movies usually feel thin and false to me I think.
posted by fleacircus at 6:05 PM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
This Balder & Dash column gives a different look at the development of Alien3: Things Have Changed a Great Deal Since Your Time: A Reappraisal of the "Alien" Sequels
This was an interesting bit of criticism. But the actual defense of Alien 3 seems to be "People remember it wrong. If you watch it again, you'll see how grim and bleak it is, top to bottom, even not counting the xenomorph!" Given the complaints here by me and others who aren't fans, I'd argue the issue is not that we don't remember the bleakness.
I do think it's a valid point that each movie had a unique vision. They don't iron out the individuality of the directors, and even the ones I don't like at least fail for trying something new.
posted by mark k at 11:29 PM on October 26, 2022
This was an interesting bit of criticism. But the actual defense of Alien 3 seems to be "People remember it wrong. If you watch it again, you'll see how grim and bleak it is, top to bottom, even not counting the xenomorph!" Given the complaints here by me and others who aren't fans, I'd argue the issue is not that we don't remember the bleakness.
I do think it's a valid point that each movie had a unique vision. They don't iron out the individuality of the directors, and even the ones I don't like at least fail for trying something new.
posted by mark k at 11:29 PM on October 26, 2022
I saw the original work version/special edition cut in the cinema this month as a 30 year anniversary rerelease and yeah, it's still so much better than the theatrical version. It's still a bit of a mess but there are actual characters with arcs, scenes connect in a logical since and they do so much more to build atmosphere and a sense of place to be, if not on par, at least comparable to the Nostromo and LV246.
It's a real depressing movie with themes of suffering and sacrifice against an uncaring universe, society and corporations. Newt and Hicks die, the rare intimacy we get to see Ripley have is immediately crushed when the Doctor dies, the guards and prisoners die regardless of their allegiances etc. Even if this had been perfectly executed, it's not a crowd-pleaser.
I have a soft spot for this as an ending to the trilogy. It's a shame/blessing that they never made a single Alien movie after this. :/
posted by slimepuppy at 2:41 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's a real depressing movie with themes of suffering and sacrifice against an uncaring universe, society and corporations. Newt and Hicks die, the rare intimacy we get to see Ripley have is immediately crushed when the Doctor dies, the guards and prisoners die regardless of their allegiances etc. Even if this had been perfectly executed, it's not a crowd-pleaser.
I have a soft spot for this as an ending to the trilogy. It's a shame/blessing that they never made a single Alien movie after this. :/
posted by slimepuppy at 2:41 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
The only edit of this movie that I'm really interested in seeing is the one where Ripley wakes up at the end and it's all an awful nightmare, and she tells Hicks about it over breakfast while Newt is getting ready for school and the TV in the background is talking about Weyland-Yutani stock cratering after the partially-restored Bishop's congressional testimony.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:15 AM on October 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:15 AM on October 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
Neil Blomkamp was working for a few years on an Alien movie that would ignore everything from Alien3 on. It was going to feature Hicks again, though I'm not sure if it had Newt. Prometheus ruined that.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:49 AM on October 27, 2022
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:49 AM on October 27, 2022
I keep meaning to rewatch this movie. I hated it when it came out, but also remember it being a pretty scary and effective "Alien" movie. The problem for fans (and I was definitely a capital-F Fan of Alien and Aliens) was that the movie opened with, "Hey, remember those characters you liked in the previous movie? Well, fuck you—they're dead. So anyway..."
posted by The Tensor at 2:27 PM on November 1, 2022
posted by The Tensor at 2:27 PM on November 1, 2022
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:20 AM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]