Aliens [RSC Film Club 03]

[LimeGreenLegend 4,245]

This month's genre is (after much debate) sci-fi thrillers set in space or on a different planet.  I know.  The winning film is Aliens, nominated by @Spinnaker1981, James Cameron's sequel to Ridley Scott's classic horror film, Alien, and considered to be one of the greatest sequels of all time alongside The Godfather Part II and T2: Judgement Day.

Released in 1986, the film sees protagonist Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returning to LV-426 with a group of space marines after contact is lost with the newly formed colony there.  Cameron adopted the bigger is better philosophy for this film, giving us more aliens, more action and more gore than the first film, but still managing to maintain the sense of constant dread and isolation of the original.  It was nominated for seven Oscars, winning two, for sound editing and visual effects (both highly deserved), and Weaver received a nomination for best actress, something that rarely happens to actors in action and horror films, which goes to show the strength of her performance.

I'm not going to go on too much now, I'm sure we've all seen this film so I don't need to say much else.  It's been about ten years since I've seen it, and I can't wait to rewatch it and read all of your opinions and theories about it.

Let's nuke it from orbit...

Edited March 5, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[Con 5,719]

I’ve seen it, but way before I even knew what a screenplay was, so I look forward to revisiting it for analysis! 

[The_Lady_A 1,280]

I never got around to watching Chicago (sorry! ?).

But Aliens is my favourite film, and I have seen it to death! It is the archetype  for small unit military sci-fi stories and has influenced so much! The first Resident Evil movie is almost a carbon copy for example!

I could gush about this movie for hours!

[LimeGreenLegend 4,245]

Just now, The_Lady_A said:

I never got around to watching Chicago (sorry! ?).

But Aliens is my favourite film, and I have seen it to death! It is the archetype  for small unit military sci-fi stories and has influenced so much! The first Resident Evil movie is almost a carbon copy for example!

I could gush about this movie for hours!

There's no time limit on watching these films, if you ever watch it I would like to hear what you think  

And I can't wait for you to gush about Aliens when we all start getting our thoughts down  

[Con 5,719]

4 minutes ago, The_Lady_A said:

I never got around to watching Chicago (sorry! ?).

But Aliens is my favourite film, and I have seen it to death! It is the archetype  for small unit military sci-fi stories and has influenced so much! The first Resident Evil movie is almost a carbon copy for example!

I could gush about this movie for hours!

Awesome!!! Awesome!!! this months reviews should be lit!!! 

[Con 5,719]

3 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

if you ever watch it I would like to hear what you think  

Me too, Lady A. 

[The_Lady_A 1,280]

I am not joking when I say I know Aliens so well I don't need to watch it again to review it! I could probably recite 70% of the dialogue just from memory. Just another glorious day in the corp! Every meal a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune!

[Guest]

I've never seen Aliens before, so... should I be scared?

[Spinnaker1981 974]

3 minutes ago, punkbish85 said:

I've never seen Aliens before, so... should I be scared?

You never saw it?

Well, it is a bit of a heavy movie, but it is a masterpiece so get a hold of yourself (I also saw it before the first installment and you lose nothing on the experience, to be fair...).

[LimeGreenLegend 4,245]

6 minutes ago, punkbish85 said:

I've never seen Aliens before, so... should I be scared?

Have you seen Alien? It’s not as scary as that  To be fair it’s not a horror movie, just tense, and intense action.

Edited April 2, 2019 by LimeGreenLegend

[Con 5,719]

13 minutes ago, punkbish85 said:

I've never seen Aliens before, so... should I be scared?

I anticipate your review like I anticipate Lady A's now!!!!

[The_Lady_A 1,280]

25 minutes ago, punkbish85 said:

I've never seen Aliens before, so... should I be scared?

It depends what you find scary hun. It is equal parts horror movie and war movie. The cinematography, premise, and practical effects are definitely capable of being frightening. Yet the action movie editing, and definitely the quotable and sometimes cheesy dialogue can lessen that sense of horror too.

At the least it has some very intense moments.

[Guest]

@Spinnaker1981 @LimeGreenLegend @Con .. yeah, never seen it. gonna check out the trailer on my lunch break.

[Con 5,719]

Just now, punkbish85 said:

@Spinnaker1981 @LimeGreenLegend @Con .. yeah, never seen it. gonna check out the trailer on my lunch break.

Don't. Just watch it. I think if you dont see anything coming, it makes for a better experience. I envy you!!

[The_Lady_A 1,280]

5 minutes ago, punkbish85 said:

@Spinnaker1981 @LimeGreenLegend @Con .. yeah, never seen it. gonna check out the trailer on my lunch break.

Noooo it'll be all kinds of spoiler! 80's ads were the worst for spoilers!

[Guest]

Okie dokie.. I'll Amazon it tonight after grocery shopping. 

[omarcomin71 3,875]

Great selection!  I’ve probably seen Aliens 20 times. Love it! 

In fact I love the entire franchise.  Check out the movie Prometheus. It intertwines With the Alien movies.  

[LimeGreenLegend 4,245]

10 minutes ago, omarcomin71 said:

Great selection!  I’ve probably seen Aliens 20 times. Love it! 

In fact I love the entire franchise.  Check out the movie Prometheus. It intertwines With the Alien movies.  

I really like this franchise too.  Alien will always be my favourite, it's one of my favourite films of all time, but I like them all.  I actually prefer Alien 3 over Aliens, and find Resurrection really fun too, being a fan of it's director.  I also really like Prometheus, probably more than most going by the reviews.  I've not seen Alien Covenant yet though.

[omarcomin71 3,875]

7 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

I've not seen Alien Covenant yet though.

I enjoyed Alien Covenant. It is a direct sequel to Prometheus.  Pretty cool! 

[Guest]

i thought it was pretty hot what happened on the ship at the end of Prometheus.. ?

[The_Lady_A 1,280]

The difference between the Theatrical Cut and the Director's Cut 

I thought it might be useful to outline the main differences between the two versions. The major point is that there is an extra 15 minutes of footage in the director's cut.

Unlike some director's cuts this one doesn't change any of the story at all. The only reason there is a theatrical version was because of the runtime. This was obviously released back in the day of single screen cinemas so there was major pressure to have the movie short enough to fit another screening in per day. Neither Cameron nor Weaver were happy about having to cut the film down and Weaver reportedly threatened to never appear in another Alien film if this happened. But it did.

Most of the additions are minor. But three whole scenes were removed altogether. 

Firstly was the scene that Weaver was so unhappy about losing, as she felt it contained her entire motivation for the character. It is a brief but poignant scene detailing something that happened between the end of the first film and the start of this one. And I agree that this one scene alone makes the director's cut the better version.

Second is a look at the colony on LV-426. I can't say much without spoiling the main story arc of the film, but it breathes life into the setting where a large portion of the film takes place. I like everything about this scene except the ending, which I feel spoils some of the suspense. Like I would literally cut the last ten seconds off if I could!

Third is about halfway through the film and is an action sequence involving some remote operated guns. While an interesting sequence it doesn't really add anything.

Aside from this there are some scenes that are slightly extended which provide a bit more background and show off some of the excellent set design. And an excellent monologue by Hudson, Bill Paxton's character. Hudson can be a bit polarizing as he is there mostly to provide 80% of the film's quotes, so yet another quote by him might not be so desirable.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,245]

I'll be watching the director's cut, mainly for that first scene you mentioned, proper heartbreaking for Ripley.

[Con 5,719]

Ridiculously enough, I own Part 1 & 3 but dont have Part 2 in my collection, So i had to find this on a stream, I must have watched the Director's Cut a few days ago because it had that early exposition that adds a little more substance to Ripley's decision and remember saying, "Hey I dont think I remember this moment when I saw it back in the day." and it is a really profound moment that reminded me of another film that was nominated.

[djw180 6,929]

I have seen them all once and Alien at least 3 times. For me that is the best, but I am a big fan of Ridley Scot, especially his early films. I have to say Aliens never made me that bothered about seeing it again. Not that I thought it was bad but mainly action films are not my thing, I need more plot than just action. So I definitely want to see the directors cut version if I can get hold of it. It sounds like the extra opening scene is exactly the sort of thing I like.

[djw180 6,929]

Wanting to make sure I get the Directors Cut version. Anyone  able to confirm / deny if this is it on Amazon UK? It just says "special edition" but it's what I get if I search for "Aliens directors cut". Run time is 131 minutes, released date 15 May 2000 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aliens-Special-DVD-Sigourney-Weaver/dp/B0001HHRVM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=aliens&qid=1554713676&s=dvd&sr=1-3

The problem with finding the right version is of course searches find all versions and same for Alien and sequels. I think based on the runtime the above is not the directors cut.