Watch the "Directors Cut/Extended Version"!

Rating: 9/10 (24 June 2007)

I watched this again recently for the first time in fifteen years. Like many, I was so infuriated by the killing off of Newt and Hicks that I refused really to acknowledge what was happening in this film.
However, I was always aware of how good it looked, its atmosphere and general tone and when I realised it was David Fincher that directed it I thought perhaps that maybe I should give this another try.
Mellowed with age (!) I decided to give the film a second chance, and knowing of the controversies with the script and editing etc etc I finally gave it another go, but this time the newer extended version. While still not exactly Fincher's "Directors Cut" (he wasn't allowed to film things he wanted to do I gather) this is for all intents and purposes his version and the one that should have been released.
I watched it on a rainy Saturday afternoon and was frankly stunned. It was absolutely superb, not just standing up to the previous two classics but perhaps even having the edge on them in terms of style and content. Once you grasp the main moral theme of the story it really does grab you. Apart from the fact that it is so terribly and genuinely sad, it offers some interesting metaphysical points (sorry...big word, didn't want to sound that pretentious...really) about the Alien being in a way "Death" and how mankind can defeat it by accepting it (death that is not the monster).
Someone else on IMDb described the film as like a fine wine that matures with age. I agree, and I can't recommend this version enough (simply don't bother with the theatrical release...it's OK don't get me wrong but it's not a classic like this one)especially if like me you're one of these people that was so angered by it after seeing Aliens.
Actually when you realise that it was one of the original scripts that killed off Hicks and Newt I can even more forgive Mr Fincher. Also, and I'm sure proper film fans won't be, the effects are stilted at times especially with the alien. This is because the original idea had the alien coming out of an ox and therefore was supposed to be fairly large when in the theatrical release it came out of a dog. Link this with the aliens "growth", editing and adding effects later in the day partially explains why the alien doesn't seem quite right at times. Either way - you MUST see this version, easily a nine out of ten to the original releases 5.