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Directed by |
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Specs |
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- 16:9 Enhanced
- Dual Layer ( )
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Languages |
- English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
- Commentary - English: Dolby Digital Stereo
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Subtitles |
English - Hearing Impaired, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish |
Extras |
- 12 Featurette
- 7 Photo gallery - + art and storyboards
- Multiple angle - 6 streams
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Alien 3: CE |
20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment .
R4 . COLOR . 139 mins .
MA15+ . PAL |
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Well, where the quality epics of Alien and Aliens left off, Alien³ disappointed. Not a bad film in itself and beautifully shot, it is however a sweepingly different film from its predecessors. Some hailed the change, but most did not. Ripley, after her partial triumph over the horrors of the last chapter (and this time with friends surviving), has everything once more taken away from her. This, the fifth disc in the sequence of nine, again contains two versions of the film, but the obvious exclusion of David Fincher from the presentation of the special edition is glaringly apparent. With the original production of this film in constant upheaval throughout, the final cut of the film was in a constant state of flux afterward. Even Fincher’s final edit wasn’t approved and the film ran on with the producer’s choices; pretty much taking the expected thrill of a new Ripley adventure and throwing it back in filmgoer’s faces. After the events of Aliens, Ripley is again headed back home to Earth in hyper-sleep. However, she is again interrupted and her ship crashes in a remote ocean on a mining world. Waking up amid a males-only prison and infested with lice, she shaves her head and begins waiting for her rescuers to appear. Unfortunately, the thing that interrupted her flight home is creating its usual brand of menace and the good-natured prison-folk start dropping like flies all around. And what’s worse – Ripley has been impregnated with an alien embryo and it’s but a matter of time until the Company turn up to take her back home, alien and all. "We have no weapons of any kind...?" |
This version is the gory splatterfest that the other films (or even the theatrical version) aren’t. Containing some incredibly bloody and grisly moments, the film plays more as a traditional horror film than a science fiction epic. A brief romance between Ripley and a guy working in the prison seems a little tacked on and the special effects are particularly cheesy. Understandably attempting to make the best use of emerging technology, Fincher (as always) has embraced the alien animation front well. Some of the puppet animation of the newer breed of panther-like alien is quite good, but the transfer to film spatters gouts of blue-screen residue all over. While an interesting film in its own right, this is the poorer cousin of the other three in the Quadrilogy and in this special cut, runs for far too long at 139 minutes, regardless of some scenes that improve the original version.
Video |
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Well, overall the picture quality is awesome. The full cinema aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with 16:9 enhancement leaves none of the progressive camerawork of David Fincher out and the film is the better for it. Razor sharp quality brings all the detail to the fore, with flesh looking natural and the colour palette (mostly earthy colours) looking fine. Shadow detail fluctuates a little between average to lesser, but there’s nothing missed in the details here. Less is more, in this case. The only real complaint about this pristine transfer is in some of the puppetry/blue-screen stuff being a little too obvious. Also some shots of the surface with junk blowing across the screen look a bit primitive and artefacty. Otherwise, top marks and better than Aliens on the third disc of the nine.
Audio |
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Mostly perfect, with only the teensiest tiniest complaint in some dialogue being a little low. Whether this is intentional or not, it’s still mildly irritating. However, the rest of the dialogue is well spoken and there are some cool lines delivered, regardless of the hastily banged-out script. Music is a real treat here, too. Progressive as he is, Fincher, even in this his first major film, imported someone who impressed him to do the music. That man was Elliot Goldenthal and his extraordinary grasp of eclectic soundscapes suitable to the situation go so far toward making this film what it is. The music is fitting throughout, albeit moody, eerie, creepy, haunting or just outright shit-yourself, it never misses a beat. Along that vein, the sound effects are also superb and marry well to the musical soundtrack. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround here keeps pace with the film well, although we don’t get the mind-numbing onslaught we were delivered in Aliens. Regardless, it still sounds super with some nice all round activity in parts that puts us amongst the action.
Extras |
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Overall |
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If this film wasn’t attached to the Alien series, it would be better than it is. There’s no way this film can compete with the two previous incarnations, although it’s a watchable film and does belong here among the series. Try and look through the plot holes and such and instead enjoy some of Fincher’s trademark style as he makes the most of a bad situation. The film looks great and has been restored magnificently, although, as noted, it runs a little long even if the new stuff improves the overall story. Not long to go now in our overall Alien Quadrilogy exposé, so stay tuned to your Alien specialists, DVDnet.
LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=3495
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And I quote... |
"On Earth, everyone can hear you scream..." - Jules Faber |
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Review Equipment |
- DVD Player:
Nintaus DVD-N9901
- TV:
Sony 51cm
- Receiver:
Diamond
- Speakers:
Diamond
- Surrounds:
No Name
- Audio Cables:
Standard Optical
- Video Cables:
Standard Component RCA
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