Alien - The MU-TH-UR Cut (a fan edit)

[St_Eddie]

I'm still working on my 'Prometheus' fan-edit (and also a fan-edit of 'Alien: Resurrection') but those are taking an awfully long time to finish because there's so much work involved (hundreds of hours at this point), so I've decided to make a much easier fan-edit in the meantime; 'Alien'.  Being that Ridley Scott's seminal masterpiece is nigh on perfection, very little work was involved when improving (in my eyes) the film.

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Here's what I've changed...

* Primarily, this edit is based off the original theatrical cut but I have included a couple of additions from the director's cut.  Namely, the shot of Lambert slapping Ripley for not allowing Kane to be taken on-board the ship after he's been facehugged and the shot of Parker and Ripley running into the landing gear room, after Brett is killed by the alien.  I considered including the Dallas cocoon sequence from the director's cut but ultimately decided against it because not only does it spoil the pacing of the film but it kinda breaks continuity with 'Aliens' (upon seeing the hive; GORMAN: "what is that?" RIPLEY: "I don't know").

* I've changed the 20th Century Fox theme to the glorious twisted version from 'Alien 3' because... well, it's brilliant and sets the tone for the horror to come, wonderfully.  This is something I'm doing for all of my fan-edits of the 'Alien' series.

* I've speeded up the shot of the chestburster slivering across the table, following Kane's unfortunate demise by 40%, to make it appear slightly less unintentionally comical.

* The very dodgy edit between the dummy head of Ash and Ian Holm's actual head through a hole in the table has been fixed via a transition shot of Ripley, during his "perfect organism" scene.

* I've cut back the shots during the xenomorpth's eviction from the shuttle at the end of the film, to help hide the obvious man-in-a-suit effects.

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This is now my preferred cut of the film.  Hopefully, some of you folk will agree with the changes which I've made.

Here is a link to my edit (note that you can download a copy by clicking the downward arrow towards the top right of the page).  Enjoy...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9l0_GoiZKB3Q01aTC1CN0tBV2c

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LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO: This fan-edit is intended for those whom already have purchased and possess a copy of the film on VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital Copy.  I do not endorse piracy.

[Replies From View]

Not sure what you'd be able to do to "perfect" either Prometheus or Alien Resurrection.

I predict you will abandon the project.

[St_Eddie]

Not sure what you'd be able to do to "perfect" either Prometheus or Alien Resurrection.

I predict you will abandon the project.

They're never going to be great films but I'm already well on my way to significantly improving them.

I doubt that I'll ever abandon the projects though, as I've already invested 100's of hours of my time (over a period of three years) across both edits.

[Replies From View]

Combined, let us call the edits of those two films "The St_Eddie Folly".

[NoSleep]

Not sure what you'd be able to do to "perfect" either Prometheus or Alien Resurrection.

I already prefer Alien Resurrection to Alien Cubed. Nice comic book atmosphere to it.

[NoSleep]

* I've speeded up the shot of the chestburster slivering across the table, following Kane's unfortunate demise by 40%, to make it appear slightly less unintentionally comical.

This shot evoked a laugh from the audience whenever I saw it in a cinema (2 or 3 times, I think). It's the wobbling from side to side whilst clearly stuck on a rail that does it.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I already prefer Alien Resurrection to Alien Cubed. Nice comic book atmosphere to it.

I'm with you there, I can understand why some might hate it but I thought it was an enjoyable romp with some great visuals. I know very few people agree with us though.

[Replies From View]

Alien Resurrection is a very poor film and I am in the minority, not you.  Everyone lurves Alien Resurrection and goes on about what a heap of shit Alien³ is.

[St_Eddie]

Combined, let us call the edits of those two films "The St_Eddie Folly".

Heh.

This shot evoked a laugh from the audience whenever I saw it in a cinema (2 or 3 times, I think). It's the wobbling from side to side whilst clearly stuck on a rail that does it.

I had a similar experience.  Due to the fact that I grew up watching 'Alien', it had never occurred to me that the shot of the chestburster was funny but when watching the film with a friend who'd never seen it before a few years back, it elicited a hearty chuckle from her.  That pretty much opened my eyes to the possibility that the effect had dated over the years since its initial release.  I'd be curious to see if my edit of the scene would still draw laughter from a first time viewer.  I certainly think that at the very least, I've succeeded in making it less laughable.

I'm with you there, I can understand why some might hate it but I thought it was an enjoyable romp with some great visuals. I know very few people agree with us though.

Well, my edit of 'Alien: Resurrection' is largely concentrated on taking out the jokey aspects of the movie (breath ID, "must be a chick thing", shooting a spider and so on) but I can certainly see how it's an entertaining enough flick in its own right (though cheesy as all Hell).  It's just that it's a terrible 'Alien' sequel because its tone is so drastically different to what came before.

Alien Resurrection is a very poor film and I am in the minority, not you.  Everyone lurves Alien Resurrection and goes on about what a heap of shit Alien³ is.

Actually, I'd say that there's plenty of plenty of people who hate 'Alien: Resurrection' and thanks to the brilliant assembly cut of 'Alien 3', that film is finally getting the recognition it so richly deserves as the TRUE follow-on from Ridley Scott's '79 classic (in terms of atmosphere and tone).

[NoSleep]

That pretty much opened my eyes to the possibility that the effect had dated over the years since its initial release.

I saw it on its release and they were laughing.

[Replies From View]

Well, my edit of 'Alien: Resurrection' is largely concentrated on taking out the jokey aspects of the movie (breath ID, "must be a chick thing", shooting a spider and so on) but I can certainly see how it's an entertaining enough flick in its own right (though cheesy as all Hell).  It's just that it's a terrible 'Alien' sequel because its tone is so drastically different to what came before.

The problems with Alien Resurrection are more fundamental than the jokey elements, I think.  Through-and-through the characters are cartoony exaggerations of real people, and removing a few gags won't change that.  Even trying to ignore that and see the film beyond the characters, the storytelling is as clunky as all hell.  Things like the guy who we learn can shoot around corners, so that hey presto, when necessary he can bounce his bullets off some pipes in a way that blows up some Alien eggs.  It's a paint-by-numbers narrative, going from this set-piece to the next one, an arbitrary list of things to overcome until the the right amount of time has passed and the scene where they escape the ship can happen.

There are a few effective moments but I can't really enjoy it as a whole, especially not as part of the Alien film series.  The fact that it is so self-consciously a revival of the franchise (even down to the film's title) doesn't help.  In tone it fits more with the world of AVP than the first three Alien films.

[St_Eddie]

I saw it on its release and they were laughing.

Huh, no kidding?  That surprises me.  I guess seeming as I first saw it as a kid, I was less cynical than your average adult moviegoer.

The problems with Alien Resurrection are more fundamental than the jokey elements, I think.  Through-and-through the characters are cartoony exaggerations of real people, and removing a few gags won't change that.  Even trying to ignore that and see the film beyond the characters, the storytelling is as clunky as all hell.  Things like the guy who we learn can shoot around corners, so that hey presto, when necessary he can bounce his bullets off some pipes in a way that blows up some Alien eggs.  It's a paint-by-numbers narrative.

There are a few effective moments but I can't really enjoy it as a whole, especially not as part of the Alien film series.  The fact that it is so self-consciously a revival of the franchise (even down to the film's title) doesn't help.

Oh, I agree.  I should say that my fan-edit isn't merely removing the jokes though.  I was simply stating that as the main focus.  There are many other changes which I'm making, including some of the things you mentioned...

* An expanded soundtrack, augmented with newly sourced elements.  I've already done some lovely stuff using parts of the soundtrack from the PS3 game, 'Journey'.

* Cutting out as much of the cartoonish behaviour and acting from the cast as possible (in particular, I'm doing what I can with Dan Hedaya's abysmal and risible performance).

* No longer does Christie ricochet bullets around a room and into a soldiers head.  I haven't got to the bouncing explosives into alien eggs scene yet but I'm already planning to eliminate that if possible.

...and a whole host of other changes.  Anyone who's seen my edit of 'Tusk'[nb]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9l0_GoiZKB3bzg2WHEwbk5yNFU/view[/nb] should know that I can be ruthless when cutting the bullshit and can also get pretty darn creative with my workarounds.  The proof will be in the pudding but I have faith in my abilities.  Having said that, like you say; it's never going to be a great movie, as it's issues are inherent and run too deep but trust me, I can and will alleviate an awful lot of its problems.

[spamwangler]

fairplay for taking the time to do something like this! will checkout the ailen edit, watched it with a friend who hadnt seen it before, and those two scenes definatley kill the mood some

[Replies From View]

I haven't got to the bouncing explosives into alien eggs scene yet but I'm already planning to eliminate that if possible.

Isn't that sequence crucial to how they resolve the swimming pool scene?  Without it you'd be cutting from the water to the ladder.  And then there's the crap bit on the ladder where the two buddies get acid on them and whine about being the bestest mates ever before falling back into the water; if you remove that and all the other shit bits in Alien Resurrection you're going to end up with a ghost train with no moments in it, like the Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I'll be interested to see what can be achieved though.  I'm not being down on your project really.

[St_Eddie]

Isn't that sequence crucial to how they resolve the swimming pool scene?  Without it you'd be cutting from the water to the ladder.  And then there's the crap bit on the ladder where the two buddies get acid on them and whine about being the bestest mates ever before falling back into the water; if you remove that and all the other shit bits in Alien Resurrection you're going to end up with a ghost train with no moments in it, like the Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I'll be interested to see what can be achieved though.  I'm not being down on your project really.

No, that's okay.  I'm not taking your comments as overly negative and I agree with the general gist of what you're saying.  I'm certainly cognisant of the issues which you raise.

Re-editing films is a passion of mine and there's no denying that with certain (highly flawed) movies, it's an uphill struggle to try and improve them in a worthwhile way, to say the least.  Often, the end results are worth the blood, sweat and tears though.  There's something wonderful and magical about taking a film you dislike and turning it into something you love and one does end up loving the final outcome because you've spent so much damn time working on it.  So much so that in part, it becomes your own personal film that you feel as much ownership over as the person who directed it.

[Baby Of The Year]

I, for one, am interested in seeing the fruits of your labour. But it's true, Alien Resurrection will be your biggest challenge. Not only does the film have the wrong director and tells the wrong story, it's almost completely miscast. In fact, it's astonishing how many of my most hated actors they cram in: Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Dominique Pinon. The cherry on the cake is the awful design of the alien baby, shame on whoever signed off that concept. It's just an awful film.

I once had a boss whose favourite films were Aliens and Alien..... Resurrection. Mind boggling.

[St_Eddie]

I once had a boss whose favourite films were Aliens and Alien..... Resurrection. Mind boggling.

Clearly they favoured action.  Well, action and shitty, belated sequels.

[Blumf]

How much Tom & Jerry have you added?

[St_Eddie]

How much Tom & Jerry have you added?

Tom was superfluous to requirements, so instead there's an extended sequence which I like to call 'Jonesy & Jerry'.  Oh and I have the titular alien singing 'Pure Imagination' at one point too.

[Shaky]

In fact, it's astonishing how many of my most hated actors they cram in: Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Dominique Pinon.

So basically you hate character actors with unusual/ugly faces? You fiend!

[St_Eddie]

The link in my original post at the top of the page is now defunct, as I've replaced the edit with a higher quality, 1080p version...

1080p version of Alien - The MU-TH-UR cut: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9l0_GoiZKB3dGw0VUN0TWU5V3M

If you're watching my edit online (as opposed to downloading it), then changing to 1080p resolution is as easy and simple as it is on YouTube.  Simply click the 'play' icon and then click the 'cog' icon in the lower right corner of the video screen (settings) and select 'quality' from there.  You can download a copy by clicking the 'downward arrow' icon towards the top right of the page

[Brundle-Fly]

I saw it on its release and they were laughing.

I crept in to see Alien in 1979 and I don't recall the audience laughing at the chest burster scene, maybe a nervous WTF? giggle. While Alien was taking horror into a brand new territory, animatronics were in their infancy back then, so it's bound to look a little shonky now. Certainly didn't feel like that at the time.

[NoSleep]

I crept in to see Alien in 1979 and I don't recall the audience laughing at the chest burster scene, maybe a nervous WTF? giggle.

Come on, it wobbles. Anybody will see that. They didn't laugh at the chest burster scene, they laughed at the chest burster muppet wobbling along the dinner table on a rail that followed.

[St_Eddie]

Perfunctory link to the obligatory 'Spaceballs' chestburster scene...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVZUVeMtYXc

[madhair60]

I've done a fan edit of Prometheus to take out all the shit parts of the film - you can download it here:

[Brundle-Fly]

Come on, it wobbles. Anybody will see that. They didn't laugh at the chest burster scene, they laughed at the chest burster muppet wobbling along the dinner table on a rail that followed.

Maybe..erm....that species does wobble when it moves for the first time. Stop spoiling my memories.

[Pepotamo1985]

It'd be interesting to see a tightening edit of Aliens. One thing that always bugged me about the movie (and stopped me from truly enjoying it) it the Directors Cut is way too fucking long and, to my mind, shittily paced but the actual movie is somehow still too fucking long and shittily paced...yet also omits tons of material that's necessary for the plot to make full sense.

[St_Eddie]

It'd be interesting to see a tightening edit of Aliens. One thing that always bugged me about the movie (and stopped me from truly enjoying it) it the Directors Cut is way too fucking long and, to my mind, shittily paced but the actual movie is somehow still too fucking long and shittily paced...yet also omits tons of material that's necessary for the plot to make full sense.

If you'd care to make list of what you'd like changed and/or retained between the two existing cuts; I'd be perfectly willing to make your very own personalised edit of 'Aliens' for you.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Well, my edit of 'Alien: Resurrection' is largely concentrated on taking out the jokey aspects of the movie (breath ID, "must be a chick thing", shooting a spider and so on) but I can certainly see how it's an entertaining enough flick in its own right (though cheesy as all Hell).  It's just that it's a terrible 'Alien' sequel because its tone is so drastically different to what came before.

I completely agree with you there, it's a terrible Alien movie and a ludicrous piece of film making. But I have quite the soft spot spectacular failures like this, and pretending it's a stand alone movie makes it far more bearable.

In fact, it's astonishing how many of my most hated actors they cram in: Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Dominique Pinon. The cherry on the cake is the awful design of the alien baby, shame on whoever signed off that concept. It's just an awful film.

Aw I love Dominique Pinon, he's got an adorable face and is brilliant in so many movies, Delicatessen and Mic Macs especially.

[spamwangler]

fair doos, those three edits you mention in op really work! top job