Alien 3 DVD with Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance (R) +Movie Reviews

Not the best in the series, but definitely not the worst

Michael Pappalardo | Ronkonkoma, NY United States | 06/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Nope. Alien: Resurrection holds the title as thje worst Alien movie. This film simply should have been the END of the Alien series, or at least for Ripley. As far as I am concerned, this IS the last movie, because Resurrection is not a part of the Alien series, it is more of a 'wacky spin-off adventure'.In this violent, but sometimes poignant film, we see the survivors of the Sulaco, Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop peacefully in hypersleep, drifting home. Unfortunately, they had failed to realize something very important. When the Queen managed to get on the dropship, she had also laid an egg where she hid on the ship. While drifting back to earth, the egg hatched. The facehugger tried to get into Newt's capsule, and the shattering glass pierced the creatures, its acidic blood eating through the floor causing a fire. Then the terror begins yet again...The Sulaco's emergency prep drops the cryo tubes into an EEV(Emergency Escape Vehicle) and ejects it out into space, with the facehugger still on board. IT plummeted into the gravitational pull of Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a double-Y chromo prison facility. The EEV plummets into the ocean with disastrous results.Be prepared to break any emotional attachments you made to the surviving characters. The landing was quite grisly. The inmates lift the tattered EEV out of the ocean and into the junk pile, bringing RIpley, the only survivor, to the medical facility. However, as the EEV is placed in the garbage heap, one of the in-mate's Rottweiler is aroused by movement in the EEV...it is the facehugger.Shortly thereafter, we see a brand new breed of alien. With the replicated genes of a dog, this alien runs on all fours, is incredibly fast, and is by far the meanest Alien we have ever seen in this movie series yet! When the Warden does not beleive Ripley's story, even after some of the inmates are turning up murdered, it is up to her and her new found friend, Dr. Clemens, to try and convince them all what they are dealing with, but it may already be too late, as Ripley herself is carrying with her a horrible secret, that not even she knows about yet...Although this movie got bad reviews, and is my least favorite among the trilogy(I do not consider Resurrection a part of the series), I definitely think that the Runner, or Dog Alien, is probably the best alien in all the movies. Unbeleivably vicious and just, to quote Superintendant Andrews, 'Generally Unpleasant', the beast has a mean streak and often toys with the prisoners, making this the darkest and most violent of the trilogy. The bad parts about the movie are obvious. After seeing the Colonial marines in action, it is tough to see the events of this movie. You will miss the marines. Another very troubling aspect is the deahts of Hicks and Newt, whom Ripley had strived so very hard to rescue in the last movie, only to have their lives sorrowfully taken from them. Seeing Hicks die, as my favorite character from Aliens, was upsetting. The acting isn't exactly top notch, but you will grow to like a few of the prisoners, namely Morse and Dillon. Not the best in the trilogy, but it definitely brings a good closure to the series. Unfortunately, Alien: Resurrection ruined this closure by bringing us a rather poor plot and extremely poor acting, not to mention a whole new take on the Aliens, which i felt was stupid and unnecessary. Keep Alien 3 as the final movie. Watch Alien: Resurrection if you are in the mood for a 'wacky spin-off', because that is all it is."

Alien 3 - Much better than I remembered it to be!

K. Wyatt | St. Louis, MO United States | 01/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I remember the long wait between the release of this movie and "Aliens" and the great amount of anticipation that was built up around this movie considering how extraordinary the first two films were and just imagining how great this one was "going" to be. Then its release date came and it received generally bad reviews and collectively, the majority of the fans were highly disappointed by it, including myself. That being said, I was quite reluctant to spend the money on this DVD but after reading some of the other positive reviews I decided to give this film one more chance and now, after having watched it again I would have to say I've completely changed my mind. Alien 3 just wasn't as bad as I remembered it to be from that one time viewing in the theater so many years ago and in fact, stylistically, it's a movie that was ahead of its time. Ultimately, I think what turned so many people off of this film when it was released is that it was so dramatically different from the first two that it initially just didn't seem as though it belonged in the mythos that is the Alien legacy. The one thing about this film that does make it drag is its pacing. What the director appeared to be reaching for was the same feel that "Alien" engendered but in the end, in reaching for that intense atmosphere didn't always work and only resulted in the pace slowing down and too little suspense. As stated above though, thematically it was just years ahead of its time and I believe, were it a movie that were originally released more recently, with some minor changes, it might've garnered much more success in the theaters.Performance wise, Sigourney Weaver does just as wonderful a job with this film as she did with the first two and, not to mention, she co-produced the film, further showing her support for the script and this addition to the Alien mythos. Charles S. Dutton's role in the film is "over the top," as his acting usually is and it fits quite well with the character.David Fincher, who took up the directing mantle for "Alien 3" deserves a fair amount of credit for the thematic style of this film, bringing the original story and screenplay to fruition. Twelve years ago, I would've said don't ever let the man direct again, but this second viewing of "Alien 3" and after seeing some of the other films he's directed since, I would definitely have to say that he is a very good director!This Collector's Edition release comes with two options, the original 1992 Theatrical version or a 2003 Special Edition. One note of caution, the Special Edition doesn't really add too much to the film, but of the small portion that is added, it helps to set up the story that much better. The THX certification and 5.1 Dolby Surround is perfect for the film, bringing out the score beautifully!The Premise:As Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop are slumbering away in hyper sleep, hoping to next wake up near Earth, the ship suddenly encounters problems of the alien kind. Being the good futuristic starship that it is, it kindly ejects Ripley and the bodies of her companions on a prison planet. Ripley awakens to find herself on this prison planet and not long thereafter, prisoners start showing up dead and Ripley herself finds that her worst nightmare has come true...What follows from there, as stated above, is most certainly not the best of the Alien series but it is most definitely a lot better movie than my initial assessment of it had been. I would definitely recommend this film to any and all fans of the Alien series, as I believe it plays an integral part in the mythos. {ssintrepid}Special Features:-1992 Theatrical version (Deleted/Extended Scene Index) & Alien vs. Predator Teaser Trailer
-2003 Special Edition (Deleted Footage Marker)
-"Development: Concluding the Story" Featurette
-"Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Ward's Vision" Featurette
-"Pre-production, Part III" Featurette
-"Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Giger's Redesign" Featurette
-Still Photo Galleries (multiple)
-"Optical Fury: Visual Effects" Featurette
-"Music, Editing and Sound" Featurette
-"Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film" Featurette
-"Production, Part I" Featurette
-"Adaptive Organism: Creature Design" Featurette
-"Production, Part II" Featurette
-"Production, Part III" Featurette
-"Furnace Construction: Time Lapse Sequence"
-E.E.V. Scan Multi-Angle Study with Optional Commentary"

Far superior to the theatrical release.

Matthew E. Hamilton | Piscataway, New Jersey | 06/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a review of the printed edition:

Wow!! This version is so much better than the theatrical release. There is much more character development here. The prisoners have much more dialogue amongst each other, and you really get to know who they are before their eventual demise at the hands of the alien. The relationship between Ripley and Clemmens(the doctor) is expanded. The superintendant also has more dialogue with the prisoners. Just makes for a better film. This way you have a sense of who the character is when they die as opposed to them just being a piece of meat that has bit the dust on screen.

A few changes of note: such as the alien comes from an ox rather than a dog. No big deal, however the birth of the alien is better. The little alien running away after it's birth was incredibly believable. Also, Ripley is found washed up on shore as opposed to being found in the wreck itself. These little changes I feel actually make the film better.

A couple of negatives about the film: (I can look past them though): The big one in my view is that this particular alien was I guess left behind by the queen from the movie "Aliens". I guess the viewer is supposed to assume that, but since she tore herself away from her "laying machine" to pursue Ripley and Newt, it does leave a few questions unanswered. How did it get there? Also, this facehugger apparently has implanted both Ripley and the ox. That never happened before. In the previous installments, the facehuggers fall off eventually and die once it has implanted the embryo.

Since the dog in this version is never introduced, there is a scene where a prisoner backs into a fan after being struck by the Alien. He sees movement down a shaft which he thinks is the dog and calls out his name. "Spike, hey Spike!!" The dog was never introduced so who the hell is Spike. Bad move there, at least have the dog somewhere in the movie.

And finally the quality of the alien I have to admit in some phases is a little cheesy looking. Only the computer generated alien mind you. I wish they could have gone back and redid the alien with some update computer graphics to make the alien look more believable.

By far the positives out weigh the negatives in this film and it is a welcomed edition to the series. I really don't see why so many people hated it."

Misunderstood classic gets new life on DVD!

Distant Voyageur | Io | 07/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After reading the enormous amount of negativity at this third entry in the Alien series, I feel highly compelled to step in here and defend this marvelous 1992 sequel to the 1986 predecessor "Aliens" entitled simply "Alien 3" and as I write this, I have to say that while this movie definitely has some troubling flaws, this is a very strong and amazing movie and one of my favorite science-fiction movies of all time.

Ellen Ripley, who is now in cryogenic suspension on board the spaceship that she got on to escape the colonized planet after saving Newt from the alien that hitched a ride on board. Unaware of it though, the alien that she defeated was in fact a queen that laid a small egg in a hidden compartment onboard the ship. The alien that hatched onboard which happened to be a `facehugger' on board causes an acid spill which causes an electrical fire and the resulting fire causes the escape pod where the survivors of the previous movie to be separated from the mother ship. After crashing into the ocean on a desolate planet, Ripley finds herself once again the only survivor on a totally unknown world. After being revived in a high-security prison called Fury 161, Ripley finds herself being the only woman in a prison with a religious cult comprised of convicted criminals like former rapists and murderers. Now being imprisoned on the planet, she learns her greatest nightmare of all and how much of a big sacrifice must be made in order to destroy the aliens once and for all. However, Ripley has no idea that the alien isn't her only enemy anymore.

The acting once again is top-notch. Sigourney Weaver once again scores another touchdown as the ever awesome heroine Ellen Ripley as she did in the previous two Alien movies. This time Ripley's journey is a lot more personal than ever before and Weaver perfectly brings out the emotional turmoil of Ripley. Charles Dutton brilliantly plays former murderer Dillon who leads a religious cult and makes a really action-packed fight against the alien creature in the climax of the film. I also really like British actor Charles Dance's role as the troubled character Clemens and seeing how he got to where he was as a doctor at the prison facility.

The movie feels so much different from the previous two movies. I almost view this as almost like a return to the utter suspense of the first Alien movie and away from the tons of action that dominated the second entry in this series. The colors too are a lot more `orange' where as I often view the others having a more `greenish' look to them. This also has a much more of a Gothic industrial tone to it than the previous ones. The alien creature was also a lot different than in "Aliens" and that it was born from a dog (on the theatrical version) and runs on four legs and is much faster.

While this is a great movie, this tends to suffer from some problems which likely has caused a lot of fans of the previous two to really shun this movie. While I can't blame them for killing off two important characters from the previous movie, my biggest problems are different. The greatest flaw with this movie is not it's storyline nor the deaths of Newt and Hicks but it's excessive used of dropping F-Bombs right and left. Swearing doesn't bother me necessarily but the F-Bomb is WAY overused here and it really tends to detract from the films enjoyability. I also wasn't too thrilled at the whole prospect of the prisoners being nothing more than just `live bait' for the alien to kill off one by one. However at the same time it was pretty interesting using the `no weapons' idea since the prison does not allow any weapons on it's premises.

The "Collector's Edition" is fantastic in many ways. The deeply flawed theatrical release is much better in its remastered form but the "Special Edition" is light years ahead of its old theatrical counterpart. With the film being extended to two hours and thirty-five minutes, with some old footage replaced with previously unreleased footage, along with extended and previously unreleased scenes, "The Special Edition" of "Alien 3" really helps to mend a lot of the problems that plagued the original version and the result is a movie that is almost as great as the first two movies. It's darkly poetic, dramatic, intense and sheds new light on Ripley's fate and provides greater insight into the character Clemens. The only problem I had was the ending which where the climax scene had new CGI effects and the result in all honesty looked a lot more fake than it did in the original version. Despite this minor quibble, the "Special Edition" of this movie is light years better than the original and the result is a flawed movie that really is lifted much higher in rankings to rank up there with the 1979 original. It'll never top "Aliens" for me but "Alien 3" really benefits from it's revamping. To all of the people who strongly detested this movie to begin with, I would strongly recommend that if you have the time, watch the "Special Edition" because it really helps to correct a lot of the mistakes of the original and it makes the characters a lot more three-dimensional. I have come to appreciate this movie a lot more since seeing it on its newest form.

The second disc is a real treat. The extras on disc two are really good and along with the first disc, warrant purchasing "Alien 3". I at first found that this was a movie that was not easy to digest especially due to its troubling loss of two of the main characters from the previous movie "Aliens" from 1986. However I have since over time have come to really enjoy this movie and have felt more sorry for the crew after seeing a deep insight into how troubled the movies making really was. You can also see the mixed reactions towards the finished film from the crew members who were involved in it's production. Perhaps the most memorable thing I learned even if it's not from the DVD itself was how much agony David Fincher went through when directing this movie. He was pushed into this movie's directing late into it's production and the result was enormous tension between him and other producers which resulted in agonizing almost non-stop work in directing this movie. Upon this I felt sorry for him that he had to go through all of this and that he was pushed into this late into it's production and how interference from Fox Studios really made things go awry for him. Perhaps it's why he hasn't embraced it since its release nor has he done a commentary on it but I have to credit him that his work on this is nonetheless absolutely fantastic and the result was worth it to me. The second disc also has a really spectacular time lapse shot of the crew building the movie set over a period of months. It's really a lot of fun to watch, seeing the studio ground going from looking like a concert stage being set up to nearing completion. There are even more where that came from too on this DVD.

To me while it isn't the best of the series by any means, "Alien 3" is a really excellent and satisfying conclusion to the storyline of Ellen Ripley and her war against the predatory alien creatures. To me, "Alien 3" makes a great conclusion to the Alien movie storyline. To me, this is the true conclusion to Aliens at the same time, I often think of 1997's "Alien Resurrection" as more like some wacky spin-off of some sort and a cash-in on the saga that had almost nothing to do with the previous three movies and I agree. While I'm not saying that it was terrible, it wouldn't have been a bad idea of they had simply closed the series on the third one.

I give the makers of this newest DVD two flaming thumbs up for doing such a great job at giving this misunderstood classic a second chance on DVD. The movie itself is a great film but the newest edition on this marvelous two-disc set makes this movie so much better than it was ever before. I strongly recommend that for those who enjoyed this film that you go and buy this DVD today. It's so awesome that it warrants trashing the old Disk and throwing the VHS into the local thermal depolymerization plant!"

An underrated film gets a second chance with great new DVD

Crazy Jim | Massachusetts | 03/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Alien 3" has always been given the harshest treatment of any of the Alien films. Having to follow up Ridley Scott's suspense masterpiece and Jim Cameron's action-adventure juggernaut of a sequel is no easy task. I have always looked at David Fincher's third entry as sort of a misunderstood child in the Alien franchise. Perhaps going from the thrill-a-minute gun-blazing epic that was "Aliens" to a sort of a dark and gloomy European-style "cat and mouse" film was too much of a sour note for most of the fans and critics to handle. From the hectic details of the production to the less-than-stellar way in which the film was received, many saw "Alien 3" as being a mediocre final nail in the coffin of the Alien series. I have always had a special place in my heart for this film and now with its latest DVD release, it is finally getting the treatment that I feel it honestly deserves. With this latest edition of "Alien 3" on DVD as part of the "Alien Quadrilogy" boxed set, you not only get the controversial 1991 theatrical version but a never-before-seen "alternate version" of the film that includes over 30 minutes of new footage. Included in this new version are several new sequences including an alternate opening sequence and several lost "character moments". In this version, the alien is born through a dead bull, instead of a dog. We also get more of an insight into Charles Dutton's Dillion as his role as a sort of religous leader is defined a lot deeper. There is also a number of sequences showing what happened to Paul McGann's "Golic" that were omitted from the original version. The "alternate ending" isn't very different from the original one but there are a few subtle changes. For the record, this is not a "director's cut" as David Fincher had nothing to do with this DVD release at all. "Alien 3" is in my opinion, a lot better film that it ever gets credit for. Charles Dutton's perfomance alone is better than anything seen in the terrible "Alien: Resurrection". Elliot Goldenthal's musical score is absolutely brilliant and is not mentioned nearly enough when people talk about this movie. In my opinion, the music may have been one of the things that I enjoyed the most about the movie. The lack of firepower has always been something that the die-hard fans have always complained about but I never saw it as a problem. Maybe today's audiences just aren't into the whole idea of trying to outsmart the creature in a tunnel maze rather than just blowing it up with a grenade launcher. "Alien 3" also displayed a far better use of performances. I was a big fan of the character interactions between both Ripley and Clemens as well as Ripley and Dillion. From an acting perspective, Weaver is given a lot more to do, this time around. Not that her performance in the other two films was ever bad but she really takes over here. I have always felt that this was a good way to end the series but Fox's decision to release a fourth film in 1997 shows that perhaps, many people didn't agree. This one is superior to "Resurrection" on every level.This DVD is packed with bonus features including a full-length commentary for both versions of the film with numerous members of the cast & crew. As previously stated, director David Fincher is noticeably absent. We also get a whole bunch of featurettes that cover nearly every aspect of the film's production. These do a great deal to show the frustration that the crew had to deal with when working on this film. It also shows all of the different concepts for the script and overall design of the film that were abandoned. For any of the fans who truly enjoyed "Alien 3", this is certainly a definitive collector's item."

Search - Alien 3 on DVD

Movie Details

Similar Movies

Similarly Requested DVDs

Member Movie Reviews

Movie Reviews