Alien Quadrilogy

I recently plonked down some hard-earned dosh for the 9 DVDs that constitute the collection of the four "Alien" films, plus lots of "the making of" extras. Yep, I bought Alien Quadrilogy. Well, since Amazon were offering it at nearly 75% discount, how could I refuse?

 

And, I have to say, I am still impressed with these films. Ridley Scott’s original Alien is an astounding piece of work. It is still, to me, the best of the four. But the others have their attractions also. James Cameron’s Aliens was a magnificent sequel in that it didn’t try to reprise the original, but took it into the realm of the action movie, where Cameron delivered in spades. The moment where Ripley comes out in the loader exoskeleton and says: "Get away from her, you BITCH!" to the Alien Queen is one that I will always treasure. When we saw it on the original release in the cinema, the whole audience erupted with cheers, and it still gives me goosebumps. The ultimate cat-fight, I suppose. 

 

The later films seem to have mixed receptions. I suspect that the bleak vision of Fincher’s Alien3 was too strong for many, and the very individual style of Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection was too campy for most.

 

I have to say that I enjoyed them both in their own way. Alien3 is indeed bleak, but Sigourney Weaver and Charles Dance turn in excellent performances, and the warped monastic religious overtones of the prison colony seemed to me to be entirely likely. Charles S. Dutton as the preacher character, Dillon, was right up there with Weaver and Dance.

 

As for Alien: Resurrection, well, yes, I can quite appreciate that those who worship the sort of film that James Cameron does would heartily detest the style of Jeunet. Me, well, I like the style, what can I say? The outrageous visuals and characters that inhabit films such as Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, came home to roost in Alien: Resurrection, and I liked it enormously.

 

All in all, what I see here in these four films are variations on a theme. All very different, and depending on your outlook on life, some are going to appeal more than others. I actually like them all, and all for different reasons, but Ridley Scott’s original has a special place because it kicked the whole thing off – with a bang, or shall we say: a chestburst.

 

Update: Oh, BTW, I should perhaps add that the version of Alien3 that I was impressed by was the Special Edition, not the Theatrical Release. The latter was totally emasculated by the studio suits. The Special Edition restored at least something of Fincher’s vision and a better plot.