Movie Details
Theatrical Release:May 22nd, 1992
On DVD & Blu-ray:January 6th, 2004
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Movie Budget:$50,000,000
Movie Box Office Gross:$159,773,545 (Worldwide)
Original Language:English
Executive Producers:Ezra Swerdlow
Production Companies:20th Century Fox, Brandywine Productions
Alien³ Quotes
Exploring Despair in Alien³'s Narrative Depth
“Ripley’s Got a Death Drive: David Fincher’s Alien³ at 25” (May 19, 2017):
Even within arguably the most nihilistic franchise in cinematic history, Alien³ stands out for its consistent tone of despair. It presents a reality where even machines feel fear and agony, as when Ripley reactivates the heavily damaged Bishop droid (Lance Henriksen), its tattered face struggling to focus a sagging, milky eye as it relays Weyland-Yutani’s continued, destructive interest in capturing and weaponizing the xenomorph. Having warned Ripley, he then asks her to be shut off, saying he feels pain in his current form and fears being rebuilt into something less special and perfect than what he was. Ripley’s death drive, always present but overwhelmed when she discovers an alien embryo inside of her, is so intense that it blunts the confrontational behavior of the men around her, even Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), the prison’s religious leader whose initial hostility toward Ripley fades when he recognizes the purity of her martyrdom. The deflating alien antics of the film’s back half sap some of the power from Ripley’s ultimate sacrifice, but her final act, taking pro-choice symbolism to self-immolating extremes, is one of the most powerful images in the entire Alien franchise.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Disappointing Alien Depiction in Alien³
“Ripley’s Got a Death Drive: David Fincher’s Alien³ at 25” (May 19, 2017):
The alien itself is a disappointment, as the filmmakers’ intriguing idea of having a xenomorph infect and thus absorb the DNA of a quadrupedal animal is squandered on a garish puppet creation that moves in jerky, dissonant steps that completely divorce the creature from the environment. This robs the alien of even a hint of menace, barring a few close-ups that keep the image limited to the xenomorph’s face and teeth. Prefiguring an issue that’s plagued all future Alien movies in the CGI era, the depiction of the xenomorph so casually in full view saps much of the suspense that the first two films wrung out of keeping the monsters hidden or partially glimpsed. Once its definitions are set, the creature loses its amorphous, undefinable shape and size, limiting it to something comprehensible. The lackluster alien undeniably drags down the proceedings, but the film maintains a consistently bleak atmosphere that elevates it above its sloppy sequel and the more self-conscious philosophy of recent prequels by staying truest to the simple hopelessness of the original film.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Alien Movies
A science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her battle with an extraterrestrial life-form, commonly referred to as "the Alien". Produced by 20th Century Fox, the series started with the 1979 film Alien, then Aliens in 1986, Alien³ in 1992, and Alien: Resurrection in 1997.
