There’s little doubt that the Alien series would not exist without the defining creation at its core, but another constant of the four “proper” instalments contained in this anthology (the AvP misfires don’t count) is Lt. Ellen Ripley, immortalised by Sigourney Weaver. Not only does the series tell the story of the character, it also outlines significant stages in its star’s career – from unknown ingénue, anonymous amongst the crew of the Nostromo, to headlining name earning a multimillion paycheque in her final 1997 outing. She’s never less than superb, even when the films around her begin to decrease in quality (though the accepted wisdom of “films 1 and 2 good, films 3 and 4 bad” is some way off the mark). Her arc throughout the films defines the series, dealing with birth, motherhood, pregnancy, death, and even Christlike resurrection, Weaver clearly relishing such a complex, multifaceted role.
A characteristic unique to the series is the length of time that passed between each film being released (7, 6, and 5 years respectively), which, combined with the bold tactic of employing young, visionary directors each time, gives each film a distinct feel and tone. They also, to some degree, chronicle the changing styles of cinema through the three decades, from uncompromising horror to Reaganite pro-interventionist militarism (according to some), and ultimately the CGI revolution. Each film is a product of its time, which enhances their status as individual entities, albeit part of a larger whole. Regardless of any deeper themes and stylistic concerns, however, they remain simply great examples of hardcore science fiction.
Ridley Scott is currently in production on Prometheus, the film that started life as an Alien prequel and may still operate as one. He has a lot to live up to.
Here I’ll break down the series film-by-film. These mini-reviews are amended versions of those written for the DVD Review of the Alien Quadrilogy set.
Alien (1979)
"A haunted house in space" was the pitch for Ridley Scott's seminal science fiction horror classic. Made in the wake of Star Wars' success, Alien could hardly be more different; it's a lean, mean, shocking and tense experience. The small scale means we get to know each character well, from John Hurt's Kane, the first (and most infamous) victim of the chestburster, to top-billed Tom Skerritt's Captain Dallas, Ian Holm's chilling Ash, and of course Weaver's Ripley.
It was a bold and unconventional move to cast a woman in the lead, and indeed the script had no female characters. The decision has resulted in the film being championed by feminists - aside from the fairly out-of-place scene near the end where she strips to her underwear to prepare for hypersleep - and the sequels developed the inadvertent motherhood theme further. Alien remains the most efficient and claustrophobic of the series, with its impact only dimmed by years of familiarity. Two sequences stand out and remain hugely suspenseful after multiple viewings: Brett's (Harry Dean Stanton) search for Jones the cat, which cranks up the tension while showing off the stunning production design, and Dallas' crawl through the air ducts brandishing a flamethrower. It's scenes like these that make it so memorable, and paired together with H.R. Giger's iconic (and horrific) creature design, a genre masterpiece was born.
Aliens (1986)
James Cameron's more action-oriented sequel typifies what is now the normal attitude when approaching a blockbuster sequel: bigger equals better. Much of the time this proves not to be the case, but many cite Aliens as their favourite in the series, and it is hard to argue against the quality of the film. Cameron wisely chose not to imitate the small-scale slasher film approach of the original, instead upping the stakes; the humans are now mostly space marines with futuristic weaponry, while the enemy threat (as implied by the title) has multiplied considerably. Crucially, though, the all-out warfare does not start straight away, as there is quite a lengthy period spent on establishing atmosphere and character before the action properly commences, which greatly pays off in the end.
The story is not very original – the larger scale cleverly masks the fact that the film is almost a retread of the original, including a company stooge going bad, a countdown to destruction at the finale, and an extra ‘fourth act’ action scene after everything seems to have concluded - but, as is always the case with Cameron's films, it's extremely engrossing and brilliantly constructed. The marines’ banter and interplay makes them extremely likeable, although they are mostly, arguably, caricatures rather than characters; Michael Biehn’s Hicks fares best. Any suggestions that the film embraces '80s macho culture are skewered by the fact that all their bluster and arrogance amounts to nothing when they are torn apart upon first meeting the xenomorphs. Crucially, Ripley herself is a compelling central character, whose arc is further developed in the (albeit mostly inferior) special edition version. Aliens does look more dated than the original these days due to some slightly unconvincing effects shots and the occasionally rubbery appearance of the aliens, but it hardly dampens the enjoyment.
Alien 3 (1992)
Most famous for Sigourney Weaver's shaved haircut, Alien 3 was not very well received on its release, and its many production problems (like starting filming without a finished script) mean that its flaws are unsurprising. A surprise to many was that the film eschews Aliens' action-packed approach in favour of something more resembling the original, with only one alien to fight and no guns. The barren prison planet setting of Fury 161 is very well evoked though the phenomenal production design and cinematography. Continuing the trend of employing promising young directors, David Fincher was plucked from the world of music videos to helm his first feature. Fincher complained throughout about studio pressure and tight schedules, his unhappiness eventually leading to him leaving the project before post-production. The theatrical cut, consequently, is a rather truncated mishmash with subplots that lead nowhere and poorly defined characters.
Even in the improved longer version the film never overcomes the obstacle that none of the characters, barring Ripley herself, are likeable, due to them all being convicted murderers and rapists, which means their deaths have no emotional heft (if anything, you’re willing the alien on). Even Ripley’s integrity is damaged by her sleeping with the prison doctor (Charles Dance), which seems out of character. A religious subplot adds interest, Charles S. Dutton’s Dillon, the prison’s self-appointed preacher, proving to be the most engaging of the inmates. Moreover, the visuals shine throughout, with Fincher showing his obvious eye for detail even at this early stage of his career. Elliot Goldenthal's partially electronic score is unlike the previous films' music but is also a triumph that bears comparison to the work of Goldsmith and James Horner before him. Alien 3 cannot be deemed an unmitigated success, but its sheer bravery deserves applause. It’s an uncompromisingly grim, downbeat affair which doesn’t pull any punches, and is a real achievement.
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
The franchise should have ended, as was intended, with Alien 3. That film provided total narrative closure, albeit a conclusion that many disliked. 20th Century Fox's insistence that Sigourney Weaver returned as Ripley meant that a contrived method to bring her back had to be conceived. The choice of having her cloned resulted in her character being completely unsympathetic, as she's given a few new character traits that make her weird and aloof. Resurrection is actually a passable, even enjoyable, sci-fi action film for a good portion of the running time, but it doesn't possess the atmosphere of earlier instalments; it just doesn't feel like an Alien film. It's hamstrung by a protagonist we don't care about, but the main problem comes in the third act, where the alien/human hybrid is revealed. It's a laughable and woefully misguided plot direction.
Writer Joss Whedon (creator of TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, Oscar winner for co-writing Toy Story, and director of Marvel's upcoming Avengers) has somewhat disowned the film, as he attests that his script was mishandled by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. To be fair, the film had an uphill struggle the instant that it was decided Ripley had to be resurrected.
Release Information
Country: UK / Region: Free / Version: N/A / Discs: 6 / Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Presentation
Alien is a revelation on Blu-ray. It never looked bad on DVD, but this new remaster brings out colours and textures never before evident. It gives the film a whole new lease of life, feeling as fresh as the first time you watched it. It sounds brilliant too, with superb use of ambient sound and Jerry Goldsmith’s eerie, understated score. You can practically feel the wind battering you when the three crewmembers are exploring the LV-426 planetoid.
Aliens looks fantastic too, having also benefited greatly from a Lowry restoration. It has always looked grainy due to the stock it was shot with (which was discontinued soon after), and it still does, but it’s generally fine and natural, never clumpy or obstructive. Some shots are stunning in their clarity, which leads me to conclude that other shots are softer due to focus rather than transfer issues (depth of field would have been very narrow due to low light conditions). I doubt it could look any better, and compared to the DVD, it's remarkable. The sound, unfortunately, does not make as much use of the surrounds as Alien, mainly staying front-heavy, but it’s clear and weighty with a robust low end.
Alien 3, on the whole, looks better than expected, given that it has not received a remaster, with strong fine detail. The lack of a new spruce-up only reveals itself in some softness here and there and also some noise in shadows, which aren’t always as inky as they could be. In fact the footage added to the 2003 ‘assembly cut’ looks a bit better than the rest, with higher contrast, stronger hues and more ‘pop’, probably because the negative for those elements was more recently scanned. The sound is appropriately dense and deep, with excellent enveloping atmospherics, though sometimes voices tend to get lost. It’s worth mentioning that the sound issues present on the Quadrilogy DVD have been corrected here, as Fox had some original actors return to redub their lines. The end result is seamless.
Alien: Resurrection, the black sheep of the series, is treated as such. It looks really quite poor; soft, hazy, and lacking in both detail and contrast. It barely looks HD, to be honest. Surprising, given it’s the most recent entry, but you can’t blame Fox for not paying to get it cleaned up. The soundtrack is far less problematic, fortunately, benefiting from its lossless rendering.
Firstly, this is a Fox release, so that means the discs feature resume play functionality, before even seeing the studio logo. Thank you Fox; other studios take note.
Fox's big trump card here is "MU-TH-UR Mode", named, one presumes, after the Nostromo's computer, although that was spelled the more mundane, correct way. It sounds complicated - there's both an instruction booklet and on-screen tutorials included in the set - but really it's just a fancy way of navigating through the discs' copious bonus material. Basically, when watching any of the films, MU-TH-UR Mode lays a graphic over the image that lets you swap between audio tracks, access set photos, and make text trivia appear, and also bookmark certain topics that relate to featurettes on the bonus discs. (The latter seems slightly pointless, as surely most people interested in the behind the scenes material will want to watch it all.) The most useful part is the ability to flick between audio tracks - Alien, for example, offers two commentaries and two isolated score tracks.
Indeed, isolated score tracks are present for all four films, although only the first two get alternative options - composer's original score and final theatrical score. At times they make for very interesting comparisons, such as in the opening titles of Alien. All the films get at least one commentary, Alien receiving two (the second being Ridley Scott's original commentary for the 1999 DVD, not included in the Quadrilogy set). They're all fascinating for their own reasons, particularly those for Alien 3 - despite the lack of Fincher - and Aliens, a patchwork of many participants, including Cameron, which is often revealing and also funny (especially Bill Paxton). All the films come in two versions, and helpfully the additional scenes are also viewable separately, akin to the recent Avatar Blu-ray.
The two bonus discs are named "Making the Alien Anthology" and "The Alien Anthology Archives". The former houses the wonderful documentaries made for the Quadrilogy DVD, along with four-plus hours of new "enhancement pods", which comprise even more fascinating interview footage. The Alien 3 material is uncut, too, meaning there's more criticism of the studio's role in the production problems. In total there's probably 12 hours' worth of watching here, all four films getting their due (and then some). The Archives comprise everything else: deleted scenes, photo galleries, TV documentaries, scene breakdowns, screenplays, EPK featurettes, and the kitchen sink. Note that none of it is in HD but it does certainly take advantage of Blu-ray storage capacity.
Summary
Alien is a masterpiece. Aliens is a classic example of 1980s action cinema, and is not without brains either. Alien 3 is an interesting, brave experiment. Alien: Resurrection is sadly forgettable. Fox's Blu-ray treatment is outstanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment