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If you agree with the general fan and critical consensus, ALIEN
3 is where the franchise started to go wrong. The feature debut
of music video wunderkind David Fincher, the film was met with
generally negative response, at least in America; it was often
called too dark, too antagonist and just plain uneffective.
Personally, I thought ALIEN 3 was neither as bad as most said,
but admittedly never really did hit the mark. Perhaps right off
the bat the film rubbed some people the wrong way. It was clear
Mr. Fincher intentionally wanted to throw viewers off balance
and not make things too easy nor comforting for the audience.
At the beginning of the film, Ripley & Co. are picked up (again)
by some salvage ship, though this time it is a crew of motley
monks in some sort of space monastery. Aside from Ripley, the
rest of the crew, including poor little Newt, is dead. You know
a film is bound to piss off longtime fans when you get an autopsy
of a 10-year old major character in the first 15 minutes.
I have to admit, this seems a bit too calculatingly "dark"
and forced. Still, I'm very partial to pessimistic and foreboding
visions, and I generally prefer the world of, say, Blade Runner
to the "happier" attitudes of Star Trek (though I like
those films, too). While I think Fincher may have been a bit too
eager to displease, I admire his willingness to pick an approach
and really stick to it.
However, perhaps the biggest problem with the film is that it
really doesn't have a point. Unlike ALIENS, which effectively
continued both the genealogy of the alien creature and Ripley's
development, ALIEN 3 just seems to exist so Fox can make another
ALIEN film. The way the alien arrives to be on Ripley's ship is
patently absurd, and is an obvious script conceit to get things
going. But perhaps worst of all, by going "backward"
and shelving the multiple aliens and the queen of the first sequel
and reverting to the singular threat of the first film, a great
deal of tension is lost, and let's face it, we've seen all this
before.
As far as the characters go, I thought the monk-dudes were all
relatively nondescript. I liked "86," as well as the
return of Bishop, and Sigourney Weaver is always a class act.
However, I thought the best character was the doctor played by
Charles Dance. He displayed great humanity, and offers Ripley
her first romantic interlude and lone bright spot in all the four
films. Unfortunately, after a genuinely moving reveal of Dance's
past, he, too, is quickly offed because the script requires it.
Again, Fincher seems intent on being dark simply for the sake
of nihilism, without much of a point thematically.
However, the film has a stunner of closer, which really worked
for me. And, I think Sigourney looks rough and tough bald...I
wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley. The production design
is top notch, and the title creature itself, though diminished
by some bad composites, is still pretty wicked. The "piston"
maze sequence near the end worked for me, and is the highlight
action sequence in the film. But though, for me, ALIEN 3 isn't
terrible, it certainly didn't match the first two.
It is worth noting that there was extensive footage cut from
the film for its theatrical release. It is no secret David Fincher
and Fox Home Entertainment did not see eye to eye, and the director
has been very candid about his displeasure with the experience,
and he has gone on to great success with Se7en and The Game (good
for him). When I was a student at USC, I got a chance to see a
screening of ALIEN 3, where Mr. Fincher spoke. He described many
of the lost scenes of the film, and his intentions for the story
as a whole. I subsequently saw a video tape copy of the footage,
and I have to say it really did make a difference. There is a
significant subplot involving Golic and Ripley,and the extended
scene at the end is amazing. Fincher just holds on Ripley for
almost 2 minutes as the company rep (Lance Henrikson) describes
the life she could as he tries to persuade her to give up the
alien fetus inside her. It really packs an emotional wallop, but
of course Fox cut it for time or some other nonsensical reason.
Anyway, the point of this is that, distressingly, it is an open
secret that Fox has rushed this ALIEN Legacy box set to get it
out in time for June 1, and catch the big Phantom Menace hoopla
(Can't get into Star Wars? Go buy the ALIEN Legacy!). I commented
to a Fox rep about the ALIEN 3 "director's cut," and
he depressingly mentioned that Fox may "revisit" ALIEN
3 again. Personally, they should have done them all right the
first time, this time. Sigh.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Alien 3 has a strong transfer, a bit better compared with the
first two discs in the set. The THX certified transfers is anamorphic,
downconverted from a High-Definition master. The image is very
clear and film-like, with virtually no grain or edginess in spite
of the very dark and murky nature of the film.
It is clear a new transfer has been struck, with muted but well
saturated and elegantly dank colors, and very impressive shadow
detail and solid blacks. Fleshtones veered just a tad to the orange
side for me, but I could just be mistaking the color scheme for
inaccurate renderings. There is no visible specs or scratches
in the transfer that I could spot, and this just looks "newer"
than ALIEN or ALIENS. Of course, it is also a much more recent
production.
Unfortunately, though, the aspect ratio is not the 2.35:1 indicated,
but more along the lines of about 2.20:1 This is noticeable in
some bits, notably the funeral triptych montage and the early
"dead crew member" bios, where text is visibly cut on
the sides. Otherwise, that blunder aside, this is a topnotch,
near reference-quality transfer that is satisfying overall.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The audio is also superb. Possessing probably the most active
surrounds of any of the discs in the set, bass is very deep and
forceful, dialogue very well recorded, and overall its a strong
mix. About my only complaint is that the music score is not presented
as strongly as the other ALIEN discs, though I have read that
composer Elliot Goldenthal was very displeased with the way his
score was used in the film, so this just may be a creative decision.
There is also a separate English 2.0 mix provided, which of course
can't compare to the full 5.1 mix, but is a nice addition for
those without Dolby Digital setups, as it does sound a bit better
than the downconversion via the player. Also included is a French
2.0 mix, as well as English and Spanish subtitles, and English
Closed Captioning.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
The supplements on ALIEN 3 are just barely adequate, and certainly
can't compare to the first two discs. The main culprit is simply
that no attempt was made to give this the treatment that the first
two films got. Where is the director's cut? Hello? This is The
ALIEN Legacy, not a ALIEN and ALIENS double feature with a ALIEN
3 blue light special. Let's hope Fox does "revisit"
the film, and gives us all a big discount for having had to buy
this version first.
However, there is a nice 25-minute making-of feature that includes
interviews with Sigourney Weaver and David Fincher, and most of
the rest of the cast and crew. There is some nice behind-the-scenes
footage as well. However, this is obviously one of those "made-by-the-studio"
features, so it is pretty self-serving, and in light of all the
backstage bickering amongst the studio and creative side, it is
kind of silly in a way. I kept thinking of what must really have
been going through everyone's minds while they were patting each
other on the back.
Aside from that, there is the usual trailers for all the films,
a nice 8-page booklet and cast/crew bios and production notes.
Even the menus are only okay, and not as cool as those on the
first two discs (Fox obviously started to run out of steam for
the DVDs as the series progresses). So, a good enough package,
but a disappointment given the attention lavished on the other
films in the set, and the possibilities.
Parting Thoughts
For $29.95, this is a good disc for the money. The lack of a
director's cut and more extensive supplements is a disappointment
in comparison with the first two ALIEN discs. Though the film
is not a favorite among ALIEN fans, I always felt it had more
going for it than most give it credit for, though I agree it is
not the best of the series. This disc is very strong in the audio-visual
department, and recommended for fans of the film.
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