Year:
1997
Production:
20th Century Fox/
Brandywine Productions
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
4/5
Five years after Ripley died in Alien 3, 20th Century Fox decided to do
a fourth movie. Joss Whedon before he became a geek favorite was given
the task of writing the script. Relatively unknown (and still
relatively unknown) to the US, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jeunet was given
the director's job. Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder were signed on to
star in the movie and Alien: Resurrection was off and running.
After the lackluster Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection was quite an
improvement. Ripley (Weaver) is back but it's two hundred years later
and she died in the last movie so the explanation for her return is a
bit unusual. Annalee Call (Ryder) is the newest and youngest crewmember
in a band of rather shady characters and she has her own secrets.
The movie starts out on a US Military Research Station hidden in an out
of the way place. The researchers there have bred an Alien Queen. The
crew of the Betsy arrive to deliver their cargo of hyperslept humans.
They encounter Ripley, whom Call recognizes. She goes to kill Ripley
and is caught. The Betsy's crew are held captive but quickly escape.
Right around this time a bunch of Aliens are bred. Naturally they
escape and start wandering the research station killing everyone.
Meanwhile the station itself heads for Earth because that's part of the
emergency routine. Ripley and the Betsy's crew join forces to escape
from the doomed station before it crashes or the Aliens catch up to
them.
I liked the movie. It's a combination of the first and second movies:
lots of people with guns but still have scary parts. I liked that more
people made it out alive than is usual for the series. The new Alien
was interesting though a bit creepy because it was almost sentient.
Overall I'm pleased with the movie though it's still rates a 3. A high
3 whereas Alien 3 was a low 3.
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DVD Commentary
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Editor Herve Schneid, A.C.E.
Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr
Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof
Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz
Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
The commentary is a bit subpar, mostly because Jeunet does a lot of
talking and he has a heavy french accent. Once again the actors said
little.
Extras DVD
Pre-Production
From the Ashes: Reviving the Story [10:10]
First Draft Screenplay: by Joss Whedon
French Twist: Direction and Design [26:10]
Under the Skin: Casting and Characterizations [12:50]
Test Footage: Creatures and Costumes [9:50]
The Marc Caro Portfolie: Character Designs [20]
The Art of Resurrection: Conceptual Art Gallery
Storyboards: Archives
Previsualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals [2:50]
Production
Death from Below: Fox Studios Los Angeles, 1996 [31:35]
In the Zone: The Basketball Scene [6:45]
Production Gallery: Photo Archive
Unnatural Mutation: Creature Design [26:20]
A.D.I's Workshop: Photo Archive
Post-Production
Genetic Composition: Music [13:10]
Virtual Aliens: Computer Generated Imagery [9:55]
A Matter of Scale: Miniature Photography [22:50]
Visual Effects Gallery: Photo Archive
Critical Juncture: Reaction to the Film [14:30]
Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
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