Alien (1979) Theatrical cut vs. Director's cut.

Which cut of the movie do you like better? I like the director's cut better after seeing both.

SPOILER

Mostly because of the one scene with Brett's death. Seeing the Alien hanging there was just creepy and awesome, which is not in the theatrical cut. Also, in the original after Brett was killed, it cuts to the next scene and Parker says "Whatever it was, it was big", but I was thinking how did Parker see it, when he wasn't even in the room.

But in the director's cut, it does show him come into the room and see it. So it made a lot more sense therefore.

I also like how we see what happened to humans after the Alien takes them away such as what happened to Dallas.

So for those two scenes, I would have to say I like the director's cut better, but what do you think?

I like the original because it shows less but I still like the things you describe, especially the cocoon scene. I prefer the Alien life cycle in Alien to how it developed in Aliens that's for sure.

I'd probably agree with you about the director's cut. It had never dawned on me before about Yaphet Kotto referring to seeing the alien, but after a rewatch a few nights ago, it stood out to me, and I do remember the dc having that extra footage as well as the dallas cocoon scenes.

For this film in particular, the more, the better.

Such a tremendous movie.

Well there are some things in the director's cut I still think should have been left out. There is a scene near the beginning where they are discussing what to do, before going to the planet, that wasn't in the theatrical cut that I think should have remained out.

When it comes to Brett's death, they also show POV shots from the Alien's POV looking down at Brett from above. This perhaps gives a little too much away, and I think they should have left those out as well, and just have the shot of the alien hanging only.

I d definitely watch the director a cut for all of these scifi films

I like the Aliens Director's Cut a lot more.

It's strange with some films though because I've only seen the Director's Cut and not the theatrical cut. Like The Chronicles of Riddick for example, with I loved. I saw the climax of the theatrical cut one day on TV and absolutely hated it.

Well the director's cut isn't necessarily the best all the time. For example, I saw the Aliens (1986) director's cut and felt that the theatrical cut was better and the director's cut didn't really add much, but I would have to watch the theatrical cut again to be sure.

Yeah it's like Blade Runner and its many versions. I liked the first Director's Cut that Scott did, and things like the removal of the voiceover and the 'happy' ending improved it so much. He seemed to overwork the later cuts for this and Alien.

I personally don't think that Parker seeing Brett being dragged off was as frightening as watching Yaphet Kotto in close-up playing Parker's shock and fear an hour or so later. In other cases it's timing. Some of the extra crew scenes feel uneccessary. It makes sense for Lambert to slap Ripley but appears to get in the way somewhat.

This reminds me that I haven't seen my third favourite film for a bit .

Oh okay. Perhaps you have a point that it's scarier to cut to Parker right away, but the fact that Parker and Ripley go to check on Brett makes more sense, cause when I first saw the scene, I was thinking, there's an alien on the loose and you are just going to let Brett go off alone, you idiots!

But the fact that they went to check comes off as smarter. I don't remember Lambert not slapping Ripley in the theatrical, was this only in the director's cut?

I reasoned that their lack of concern was because they believe they're hunting the small creature that came out of Kane, not the giant that it's become in the hours since .

Yeah – whether it's in both the Director's Cuts I'm not sure.

The directors cut added the much needed scenes to make the movie make more sense and give an answer to some of the questions, like what happened to neut parents..

Much-needed is open to debate I think.

I remember seeing Aliens for the first time and the moment where Ripley is told by the executive that families went out to the colony. I only needed the look on Sigourney Weaver's face to get the gist – and bear in mind I hadn't seen Alien yet so the medical room dream sequence was all I'd had as a taste of the creatures. I'd also say that Carrie Henn's performance made it easy to join up the dots and imagine far worse than what James Cameron eventually put back into the film.

But the creature although thought to be small, was still squirting corrosive acid before, and isn't that enough of a danger, that they thought they should stick together?

The facehugger was, yeah and Ash warns Parker not to attack the chestburster, we assume for the same reason. There's a guilt trip laid on Brett for not grabbing Jones when he could, effectively forcing him to go off while Parker and Ripley continue the real hunt, but complacency's set in. It's as if to say things can't get any worse .

The extended versions of Aliens and Aliens 3 add much more to their stories than the extended version of Alien

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"Bowels in, or bowels out?"

I don't see how they could have guilt tripped Brett, when he was right there with them and had just as much chance of not catching the cat as they did.

Well you'd think not but that's how its played. That's obviously Brett's character, somewhat less forthright than the other two . He just accepts that it's him that's at fault and gets on with it, irrespective of the fact that both Parker and Ripley are his superiors if I remember rightly.

That's true, that makes sense.

This has reminded me how good Harry Dean Stanton was – there was a nice tribute to him on the BAFTAs at the weekend and I saw him recently in Escape from New York and appreciated his acting in that.

I remember him saying that when he made Alien he didn't know how to play terror. He eventually found out how to do it years later.

Even so, the way he plays Brett seeing the Alien somehow fitted his character very well. It's actually pretty innocent.

Happy Ash Wednesday to my fellow atheists and cinephiles.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra