The theatrical or the special edition? ALIENS is one of my all time favorite films, I love it! I really like the special edition scenes, but they slow down the pace. So it's a toss up for me, what about you guys?
Both are brilliant -- and both have their advantages and disadvantages -- but I prefer the special edition.
Hi Thor! Do you own the ALIEN ANTHOLOGY set? It has 2 bonus discs with supplements for each film. And Horner's score is isolated on the ALIENS disc. It's a great set. BTW, we seem to like the same films which is cool my friend!
Directors cut was unnecessary like the Star Wars Special Editions. It added nothing important to the story, the scenes with the parents were just awful and felt like it came from another director. The auto-machine gun sequence was superfluous. I don't remember what else was in the directors cut but these things are left on the cutting room floor for a reason. Frankly I've never seen a directors cut that merited the revisit. Edit: Other than Superman II!
Directors cut was unnecessary like the Star Wars Special Editions. It added nothing important to the story, the scenes with the parents were just awful and felt like it came from another director. The auto-machine gun sequence was superfluous. I don't remember what else was in the directors cut but these things are left on the cutting room floor for a reason. Frankly I've never seen a directors cut that merited the revisit. Edit: Other than Superman II!
Hi solium! The scene where Ripley finds out about the death of her daughter adds more weight to the scenes with Ripley and Newt.
Hi, henry! I like both versions, but slightly prefer the Special Edition. You're right about the audience knowing about Ripley having a daughter added more weight to the Ripley/Newt relationship.
The only thing is, I wish they had also added the scene of Ripley encountering Paul Reiser's character after she goes back for Newt, only to find him cocooned. She gives him a grenade so he can kill himself. Don't know why everything else was added back in, but that wasn't...
Disagree about adding in the daughters death. Ripley's "motherly" instincts took over, we didn't need a tragic back story and I think it actually weakens her character as acting selfless in protecting Newt.
My main attraction to the extended cut is that I am obsessed with the ALIEN universe, so I want as much footage as possible to revel in. I also love each of the added scenes individually. But there's no doubt that the theatrical cut has better tempo and flow. But if I play ALIENS these days (which I tend to do at least once every year), I always play the extended cut.
Directors cut was unnecessary like the Star Wars Special Editions. It added nothing important to the story, the scenes with the parents were just awful and felt like it came from another director. The auto-machine gun sequence was superfluous. I don't remember what else was in the directors cut but these things are left on the cutting room floor for a reason. Frankly I've never seen a directors cut that merited the revisit. Edit: Other than Superman II!
You must not have seen the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which is a VASTLY better movie than the theatrical release.
Directors cut was unnecessary like the Star Wars Special Editions. It added nothing important to the story, the scenes with the parents were just awful and felt like it came from another director. The auto-machine gun sequence was superfluous. I don't remember what else was in the directors cut but these things are left on the cutting room floor for a reason. Frankly I've never seen a directors cut that merited the revisit. Edit: Other than Superman II!
You must not have seen the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which is a VASTLY better movie than the theatrical release.
Nope haven't seen any version of Kingdom of Heaven. The only way I see a directors cut being better is if studio interference ruined what would've otherwise been a solid movie. Which you seem to be implying here.
Directors cut was unnecessary like the Star Wars Special Editions. It added nothing important to the story, the scenes with the parents were just awful and felt like it came from another director. The auto-machine gun sequence was superfluous. I don't remember what else was in the directors cut but these things are left on the cutting room floor for a reason. Frankly I've never seen a directors cut that merited the revisit. Edit: Other than Superman II!
You must not have seen the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, which is a VASTLY better movie than the theatrical release.
Nope haven't seen any version of Kingdom of Heaven. The only way I see a directors cut being better is if studio interference ruined what would've otherwise been a solid movie. Which you seem to be implying here.
That's pretty accurate here, yes. I'd recommend seeking out the Director's Cut sometime. Gets the full roadshow treatment to boot.
Regarding 'Aliens', I prefer the theatrical version mostly, but find the extra scenes in the extended edition interesting. I think the director's cut of 'Alien 3' is better than the original.
As for extended or director cuts generally, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I think 'Dances With Wolves' special edition works well, as does the Final Cut of 'Blade Runner'. I've only see the Bluray extended cut of the 'The Martian', and I thought that worked well.
I've watched the extended cut a few times over the decades, but the theatrical version works much better for me. As a couple of others said, in part it's because the Ripley backstory and the early scene with Newt weaken the dramatic effectiveness of simply being in the moment with those characters without knowing anything more.
The theatrical is a tighter version of a tight (and thin) story. A big part of the success of Aliens in the theater in 1986 was its pacing - such an interestingly different film for a sequel compared to the slow pace of Alien. It made the sequel much more powerful than the often pokier pace of the extended version.
ALIEN I clearly prefer the original theatrical cut (which is also the actual "director's cut") by Ridley Scott, whereas for ALIENS, I actually prefer the special edition cut, but just by a small margin.
