From: boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (Two days and a wake-up...)
Subject: Re: Aliens Special Edition -- Yuck!
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 07:33:22 GMT

In article <1992Aug28.202513.2213@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov>, jonke@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Stephen Jonke) writes...

} I just rented this and is it only me, or are there others who really
} dislike all the extra footage?  Most discussions in the past seemed
} to be dealing with the picture quality and grainyness (which I thought
} was good for the most part except maybe one or two short sequences),
} but I don't recall anyone discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of
} the extra footage.

There was some discussion, but not an overwhelming amount. At any rate,
I'm sure that it's not just you, though yours is the most vehemently
negative opinion I've seen.

} A general gripe is that most of the scenes add nothing to film other
} then in lengthening an already long film.

I disagree strongly.

} The only exception might be the remote sentry stuff which was mildly
} interesting.

On the contrary, I thought that scene was of some abstract interest,
but was mostly extraneous.

} A second complaint is that many of the additions/changes in dialog are
} really pretty "gushy" -- in particular the exchange of first names
} scene nearly made me throw up!

I had complaints about that scene, but never in a million years would I
have thought of calling it "gushy". My problem with it was that everything
is going along at a desperate pace: the plant is about to mushroom out,
Newt is about to become Purina Alien Chow, and Ripley just stops dead
in her tracks and exchanges first names with Hicks.

Now someone I know who didn't care for the additional material in general
thought that that was the one scene that worked the best, and his reasons
are rather compelling: it humanizes the characters. It's *despite* the
fact that all this chaos is erupting left and right, that time is critical,
that Ripley throws out that emotional anchor and bonds with Hicks in a
simple, yet effective way. Well, I *still* think the pacing gets blown
to Hell and back, but I think his argument is on target enough that I
look upon that scene with kinder eyes.

} Someone along the line realized this and edited the stuff out for good
} reason!

And that someone is James Cameron. And he didn't edit it out because
he realized it didn't work, he edited out so that he wouldn't have to
cut something that he felt was more important.

} If you haven't seen this version, you'd get an idea of what I mean by
} "gushy" dialog by watching Cameron's film, xxxxx (can't remember the
} name -- the one about the aliens underwater),

THE ABYSS.

} which has some of the "gushiest" dialog around. Phony emotions might
} be a better way to put it and if Cameron isn't put under control he
} tends to spout the stuff!

Sorry, but I disagree again. Sure, there was "mushy love stuff" in THE
ABYSS, but that was the fucking *point* of the story. The Builders
were inclined to either wipe humanity off the globe (literally) or
just move off to a better neighborhood. But they changed their minds
because of Bud Brigman's self-sacrifice and love for his wife. It made
them realize that humanity was totally bereft of worthwhile qualities.
I think it was the "mushy love stuff" in THE ABYSS that made it more
than just a simple action film.

} By far, the worst addition to the film is the longest addition. The
} scenes in the beginning of the S.E. edition taking place on LBxxx
} (whatever the name -- obviously I have trouble remembering names!) 
} Although these scenes are reasonably well done, their effect is to
} give us a glimpse early on of what happened and how the colony was
} wiped out. When watching the original version, although you had some
} idea of what happened just from seeing the first film, the lack of
} seeing anything specific added to the mystery and enhanced the "I
} don't know what's going to happen next" aspect of the film.

This was a bone of contention between me and Lazlo (if memory serves)
back when the disc was first released. He felt basically the same way
you do: that that scene ruined the "mystery", but I don't see how it
does. It's not like we see the actual infestation of the colony. We
merely see how the derelict was found and the infestation got *started*.
I think it also underscores Newt's tragedy by showing us that it was
her father who was the first victim.

And on a montage composition point, I liked the way that the screaming
Newt's wind-blown hair segued into the rising smoke from Ripley's
cigarette -- an echo of the segue from the sleeping Ripley's face to
the arc of the Earth as seen from Gateway.

} Plus, you knew instantly that they would find Newt (or her brother
} or both), where as in the originally released version it was suprise.

I don't know. I thought it was typical Cameron-style foreshadowing.
Do you, for example, think that our seeing Ripley use the exoskeleton
earlier in the film spoils the surprise of the final confrontation?

} Incidentally, by reading through some of the extras on the disc [...]
} I found that the special fx for the above sequence were finished
} specially for the special edition. Early on they must have realized
} that the sequence probably would NOT be a good idea, but Cameron
} must have felt differently.

So who do you think "they" are?

} Well, Cameron was wrong. I suppose it shows that directors really
} aren't Gods and are definitely NOT the only person involved in the
} end result of a released film.

Horseshit. Cameron had, and since then has always had, final cut
privileges. Any cuts made to this film were *his* decisions, not those
of the mysterious "they" that you refer to. All Fox did was issue the
commandment "Thou Shalt Not Have a Movie Over 140 Minutes Long"; it
is was all Cameron's choice of what to cut and what to leave in to
get the film down to that length.

Most of the cuts were made, not for "artistic" reasons, because Cameron
decided they didn't work, but simply for time reasons. Something had to
go, and it wasn't so much a case of his deciding these scenes weren't
necessary as that they were less necessary than other scenes.

On the other hand, he *did* still leave out one scene, and that's the
one where Ripley finds the impregnated Burke down in the nest. *This*
Cameron left out because he decided it didn't work for a number of
reasons.

} The S.E. edition really feels like something Cameron wanted to do
} simply because he didn't want all that extra footage he shot to go
} to waste. Well, it was a waste to start with and that's why it was
} edited out.

Sorry to blow your theory, but Cameron states quite explicitly, in print
(on the printed matter with the disc, as well as in his interview in
THE PERFECT VISION) that what was cut was solely a matter of time
constraints and not artistic change of mind.

} It's all part of making a good film -- you need to know what should
} be edited out, as well as what should be included and Cameron
} definitely needs help in this department.

Then explain why you like the shorter version so much. That's still pure
Cameron, too.

-- 

	"She's my radiation baby.
	 She's my teenage fallout girl."

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)

    boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com