for the soldiers that died because we knew so much about them. Alien 3 was cold and dark and because the characters were never formally introduced we as the viewer didn't know who was getting killed nor did we care. The emotion of the movie was silent and the beginning as well as the ending was bitter.

of religious sect. No one at the prison has seen a woman in years, and they have never seen what Ripley has accidentally brought with her to the facility--a hostile alien, intent on killing them all.This may be the most "difficult" film of the Alien franchise. Although it has some stylistic elements from the first two films--everything from claustrophobic pursuits down dark, crypt-like corridors to the feeling if not accoutrements of big action blow-outs--director David Fincher has created the Bleak House of the series. In a personification of the films, Alien 3 covers the later adolescent years, when the series has decided to become a nihilist and write doom-laden poetry.And that is the deciding factor regarding whether one is likely to enjoy this film or not. Fincher has abandoned the breakneck pacing of the second, James Cameron-helmed film, and returned to a slow, complex dramatic pacing more akin to Ridley Scott's first Alien. Alien 3 trades traditional horror material the first film could be seen as an almost Gothic haunted house story , gunfights and explosions for a constant dark, dingy atmosphere, both literally and figuratively in terms of the characters and their relationships. The film is imbued with brown tones, with a bluish-gray for contrast. Everything and everyone is dirty, beat-up, bruised and bloody. There is threatening machinery everywhere you look and infestations of overgrown lice. Imagine Clive Barker supervising the set design of a bloated subway system merging with the inside of an Egyptian pyramid, and you get the idea. That is a more literal analogy than you may think--the climax could easily be seen as basically a Mummy film set in Egypt due to the environment and the structure of the action. Alex Thomson's consistently remarkable cinematography is also worth noting in contributing to the delicious, gloomy atmosphere of the film.I love that atmosphere, and the regularly graphic grimness of this film especially in the director's cut, or "special edition", which you should be sure to watch rather than the theatrical release , but it may be difficult for some viewers to take. Add that Fincher has made the film primarily about the intricate relationships of a relatively large cast of prisoners and their trying to deal with the sudden presence of a woman in their midst, and you lose another gaggle of viewers, but again, some of us still love it. Of course, there is alien-fighting stuff here, but we're back down to a single alien, and our heroes have to fight it with whatever is at hand, including weapons like axes and the machinery at the prison. The villain in Alien 3 is just as much "man against himself" as it is "man against monster".Fincher also wisely continued the plot thread from Aliens about Ripley's daughter, and her motivation towards the end of that film based on the loss of her daughter, in conjunction with the adoption of a functional surrogate. That aspect continues to supply the motivation for her actions in this film, where she undergoes a number of crises, and where in the end, she becomes a much more mythical figure.A lot of people dislike both the ending of this film and the fact that two primary characters are killed off without so much as a peep in the beginning, but it's important to remember that the underlying theme is nihilism, and the remote possibility of overcoming it through sacrifice--for example, with the prisoners finding a highly questionable religion, complete with "celibacy", with the hardships experienced by Clemens and his subsequent decisions, and with the final acts of redemption at the climax of the film. In that context, the plot points that tend to be disliked do not only make sense, they're absolutely necessary if we're not to completely ruin the tenor and subtext of the film.It is again worth noting the influences that the Alien series has had on other films. A prominent example is the Matrix series, which took power loaders as weapons of war used in The Matrix Revolutions 2003 from Aliens, and much of the atmosphere, production design, costume design and even some character structure from this film and used it in the early scenes aboard the Nebuchadnezzar in The Matrix 1999 , as well as parts of Zion in The Matrix Reloaded 2003 and The Matrix Revolutions .While I can easily see how Alien 3 would not be for all tastes, it is as a gourmet meal to me. It is at least recommended viewing if you are interesting in experiencing later films in the series.

Cameron's Aliens as the perfect set-up for Ripley's final descent and eventual transcendance from the Alien.this installment is definitely more thoughtful, a lot slower and more of a character study than the first two films. the first was about surviving the Alien. the second was about kicking the crap out of a whole swarm of 'em. this one, this little underrated much kicked-about baby over here, this one's all about Ripley, and how she eventually accepts her fate, starcrossed as it is by the presence of the Alien. oh, and it's also about a bunch of hopeless baddy-types, who turn out to be the most upliftingly, almost heart-achingly human of all the characters we see in the TRILOGY.it is most unfortunate that Mr Cameron and even Mr Fincher himself totally abhore this film. though i can understand Mr Fincher's distaste being involved in it and having the movie "made for him" by the dictates of "The Company", i can totally understand his opinion, and would probably feel the same way in his shoes , i am totally baffled and outraged by Mr Cameron's opinions. though some may say otherwise, just cause he made the biggest-budgety-looking and most successful of the three films doesn't make the trilogy "his".certainly this is a slow trod for an Alien film, but despite the cliches, this movie for me has the most substance of the three films. here, we actually see humans using their wits and grit against what has become an almost omnipotent killing machine. and though this is also the darkest of the three films, it is also, in its own way, the most uplifting.i daresay, it's almost arthouse. certainly the gore is a little gratuitous the almost sensual "cruelty" of the Alien from the first film reduced to a simple cold efficiency in this one---which makes more sense to me , and the effects are pretty obvious, B-movieish in fact, but it in no way detracts from my personal movie experience. unlike the blustering Aliens, this is not a big-budget, hollywood special effects movie, though it may have cost a lot in the making due to all the corporate s***e. the specialest effect we see here is in the characterization. the "acting" as you will. and the story is cooler than cool, cliches bugs and all hey, Casablanca was chockful of cliches, and no one ever complains about that little doozy .say what you want, see it for yourself. this is the tightest of the three films IMHO, and though i've only seen the "unwanted" cinematic version and not the DVD version, alls i can say is, I LOVE THIS FILM.FYI, my ranking for the films in descending order: Alien3, Alien, Aliens. but i love them all, and wish they would all just live happily together. without THAT other one, of course. now THAT was such a blasphemy, i don't even want to write its name.dreamwell. c

to see in hindsight the editorial debauchery David Fincher's Alien3 was witness too. The TR was bad. Large sections of the plot were stripped, they replaced the pivotal alien host, and in general the sections that set the scene were all missing. One Simple and essential must... SEE THE SPECIAL EDITION !!!!The characters are disturbingly great and portray a very credible motley band of backwater planet prisoners. Charles Dance is brilliant but unfortunately isn't on screen for as long as I wished. Maybe that in itself is a testament to the brilliance and another reason why some people scored Alien3 lowly- their sensibilities were hurt with a fantastic character killed quickly!!. Charles Dutton is a mean and believable 'top dog' and the contribution of the reliable Pete Postlethwaite was a treat. The interaction between prisoners, authorities and visitors was always evident and very well handled. Alien3 further highlighted the expendability of human life for corporate greed.The Alien is one nasty critter. Different to the other Alien movies, the camera angles of the alien's sight and movement are well executed. It is clear the creators wished to return to that claustrophobic and technological defunct world of the first Alien movie, and while it is very different, I believe it worked extremely well.Alien3 has an incredibly beautiful and stirring musical score. It is haunting in parts and from all the 'Alien' movies, I believe most people would have this tune in their head. In the scheme of the Alien saga, I believe Alien3 -Special Edition to be the best. Without giving away serious spoilers, the SE reinstates massive sections that transcend Alien3 from a lowly rated movie to a thoroughly deserved masterpiece. It is a pity David Fincher wasn't more experienced and time under his belt to tell and force the producers to 'My way or the highway'.SPECIAL EDITION ONLY TO BE SEEN!!!!!!

are something vague and no one really believes it to be possible. Ripley and the alien intrude into their stable world: Ripley represents the temptation against which the convicts have to struggle inside themselves, the alien represents the external threat - something which they haven't had to encounter on Fiorina. The woman threatens their soul, the alien threatens their body. Andrew aims to preserve the stability - his purpose may be said to be the restoral of the purposelessness, but one cannot prevent changes from happening once they are imminent. The movie goes deep and explores this aspect of life and ultimately conveys the message: this place is as good to rise to heaven from as anything else. The alien is just a means of illustrating the utter inevitability of the change: there is no way to ignore it. You may trap it - but from that on you have to be on alert. Or you may kill it - this requires cooperation and that you put personal differences aside as the common aim is the one that counts. After that let's assume that many other convicts survive, just for the sake of interest the entire community would be different, they would have changed to a real community, united on a higher level. This is also a change what would be inevitable, no matter that the alien would have been killed.So I think this to be the ultimate message of the movie: there is no bottom point you can't get out of. No matter how deep the pit is, there is always a way out - sometimes a path too weird, frightening, difficult to take, sometimes even to think about.

you've taken & how it's affected your life & everyone around you & the sacrifice you make for the greater good. David Fincher did a great job directing considering he never had a full script to work off & Fox screwing him over at every turn especially in editing .The set design, music score & lighting are all top notch.. Although to really appreciate this film you should watch both the Theatrical release & the assembly cut of the film. Don't listen to all those negative reviews and give this film a chance..

testament to the timelessness of it's concept which we younger viewers take for granted.

response: I can understand that fans were hungry for another shoot-em-up film like 'Aliens', but the point of a sequel is to explore new ground and give the viewer something fresh and new! Why was 'Resurrection' so bad? Because it tried to combine all of the previous films into one and the result was a giant s*** ball! Alien 3 does play out like a drama, but what the hell is wrong with that? It is, by far, the most bloody and violent of the 4 films. -Their gripe: Character development sucks. My response: Ok, first watch the new 'assembly cut' that just came out, it should stop some of your bitching. Second, the majority of the characters are convicts, and, as you will find out in the film, they are expendable, so once you know one, you basically know them all. I mean they're convicts for Christ's sakes! They're violent, loud, dirty, and crude even though they are trying not to be . What more could you possibly want from them? The 'Assembly Cut' does give more insight to their characters, though. I really don't understand why 'Alien 3' is the most bashed film in the series, while 'Resurrection' was accepted as the finale. I know that the reason why 'Alien 3' was hard to accept was the fact that the fans were expecting another gun/marine movie and not something bold, daring, and different, which is exactly what 'Alien 3' is. If you have not seen 'Alien 3' you really should. Don't take other people opinions. Watch it with an open mind, and make your own decision.

backstreet prostitute fight. The location is Fury 161, an evacuated lead mine and prison colony with only a fraction of it's original population wishing to voluntarily remain of they're own accord. There, some of society's most wretched and vile convicts have been isolated; murderers, child rapists, serial killers and loons have formed a sort of monastic order, living in the lead mining facilities. The prisoners logically have no weapons, no escape vehicle, no booze, no pornography, no TV, no internet access, no HBO and to make matters even worse, are all inclined to regularly shave their head and body hair, as the planet is infested with "future" lice. On this delightful planet arrives Lt. Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver , the future equivalent of Typhoid Mary.No sooner has Ripley shaved, deaths immediately begin occurring throughout Fury 161 with a rather suspicious Xenomorphic air about them . Realizing what she may have inadvertently brought Fury's unsuspecting residents from her visit to LV-426, Lt. Ellen Ripley goes about doing what must be done in order to save Fury's quickly dwindling prison population, and perhaps - humanity itself.From this point onwards, the rest of the film is spent franticly running around, strenuously arguing, overly screaming and weeping through the depressing Fury 161 facility, while awaiting Bishop II played by Lance Henriksen to arrive to make his gimmick guest appearance.On a more serious note, the plot does takes time to advance. The first half of the film is short on action, BIG on character introduction, development, tension and suspense. The thought of having weapons taken away adds even more to the terror as the theme goes into that of vulnerability/helplessness/defenseless. The power structure is reversed and the frustration is evident, and seeing how a group of prisoners, who's crimes are based on those of assumed power, deals with it is a very strong concept. Without the sympathy for Ripley from the previous ALIEN movies and only minor flashes of humanity from the prisoners themselves, the film is without sympathetic characters worthy of redemption. A truly wonderful change from the traditional film status-quo B.S..Asides the undeserving criticism the film received on it's debut, ALIEN³'s superb intermixed UK & US cast, cinematography, excellent production values, beautiful art direction, flawless editing, menacing score, visually stunning set designs and not forgetting of course - skillful directing; make this an underrated masterpiece, that continues to find itself in greater appreciation in a modern day sea of mediocre Hollywood productions. Despite the constant high level daily studio interference throughout the troubled production of ALIEN³ back in 1991 , Finchers directorial debut brilliance continues to shine throughout ALIEN³ in the above noted departments. All in all, this movie is a worthy conclusion to the ALIEN trilogy. It's my personal favorite in the series due to the multiple themes and concepts presented. Brilliantly acted and directed, and the prison/Gothic industrial setting is haunting and eerily beautiful.ALIEN³ is akin to a fine wine; it matures with age.An underrated if somewhat misunderstood masterpiece.