Alien 3: Q2 Edition

This Title Will Become Available On or Around January 16, 2011

Original film name: Alien 3
New film name: Alien 3: Q2 Edition
Film studio name: 20th Century Fox
Date Original Film Was Released: 1992
Date Special Edition Was Released: 2003
Date Fanedit Was Released: 2011
Runtimes: 114 min (Theatrical) / 145 min. (Special Edition)
New Runtime: 135 min.
Amount of time Cut/Added: 15 min. cut / 5 min. added

Intention: The theatrical cut of Alien 3 was a disaster. It lacked focus and seemed to be missing key elements. Then in 2003 a special edition was released that was closer to David Fincher's original vision. This version was much better but was too long, and it replaced some of the theatrical material I preferred (e.g. the dog being host to the alien vs the ox).

What I aimed to do with this cut was utilize the special edition and remove the excess while re-incorporating some of the theatrical elements. I also wanted to introduce the alien as late as possible, thus building the suspense.

Cuts removed/added/extended:

Too many to list them all, but here are the biggies:

- replaced 20th Century Fox logo
- cut the alien being introduced during the credits (credits had to be reconstructed from scratch) (Special Thanks to ThrowgnCpr and Zeppelinrox for pin-pointing the font and its settings)
- reorganized and trimmed the opening
- cut all scenes with Andrews in contact with the Company
- replaced the special edition ox scene with that of the dog from the theatrical cut
- cut Ripley waking next to Clemens (I always disliked this and felt it was forced)
- tweaked scene where Ripley scans herself for the alien (the alien isn't revealed right away)
- cut Ripley's dialog "It must have... violated me..." when talking to Dillon
- cut Ripley screaming "NOOOO!!!" when Clemen's stays behind (I mean really... have you ever seen someone screaming "NOOOO!!!" to the heavens? Have you ever done it yourself? I thought not.)
- replaced Ripley jumping with the one from the theatrical cut
- many, many little cuts throughout to trim scenes, cut dialog and just speed things up a little

Release details:
DVD: DVD-SL @ 3900Kbps, Dolby Digital 5.1, Chapters
AVCHD: 720p DVD-DL @ 7300Kbps, Dolby Digital 5.1, Chapters
xVid: 720x405 @ 1800Kbps

Sweet! Now I'll be able to grab both your Alien 3 edits.

Nice im looking forward to this,

I havnt seen the alien movies in a long time, and i just happen to be re watching them. Im at Aliens right now so when im done maybe i will watch your version of Aliens 3 instead of either official version.

jelio said:

Im at Aliens right now so when im done maybe i will watch your version of Aliens 3 instead of either official version.

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I had the same thought. This edit sounds great. I loved Leonenut's Hybrid Cut, which was excellent, but the film has always seemed a little long. Maybe I'll watch this rather than the official BD. It's not often I say that...

My main site review:

"I liked it.
Even if the original Alien3 was a bit of a letdown for me (mostly for the Newt/Hicks plot, and the fact that it was not the movie I thought it should have been) I always thought it was an okay movie. The 2003 version was better, but had its problems. Like is the ox scene. I mean the scene is cool and all but two things did not work: the last shots of the alien running (a bit silly looking), and the fact that the first guy who dies is yelling at the name of the dog (that we never have seen before). Not to mention that the new alien moves more like a dog than a ox.
So I’m glad Q2 kept it in this edit.

This new version combining the goods from the 2 versions (the 2003 Gollic plot but trimmed a bit, the 1992 dog scene, the 2003 opening but trimmed a bit, the 1992 queen burst) as well as more cuts here and there works wonderfully. Q2 did not make an alternate take of this movie, it is still the Alien3 we know, only better IMO, and this is my favorite cut. The reorganization of some scenes did not feel odd at all and everything felt into place.

Technical aspect was flawless to my eyes/hears (exept maybe the frozen picture on the new opening credits. I mean it’s okay, but there is still some few seconds camera move at the very begining, then it frozes suddenly. Just some nitpicking here)

I personally would like even more cuts of dialogue. It’s a quite talkative movie. Not that talkative movies are bad! But the more the talk, the less the fear, IMO.
I also somehow missed a bit the names and pictures of Newt and Hicks on the screens at the begining. Not a big thing, but hey.
This still a very solid 8/10 from me.
An the fact you can choose between AVCHD, DVD or Xvid is awesome."

I am interested to see how this stacks up to xeno_alpha's re-assembly cut (my current favorite version of the film)
Alien 3 has always been my favorite of the series because its more of a drama than the others. a1 horror/a2 action/a3 drama/a4 sci fi IMO. I get why people dont like it, but its always been a great film for my personal tastes. I'm sure I have mentioned all this before but still, a new cut of A3 in HD no less? sign me up!

elbarto1 said:

I am interested to see how this stacks up to xeno_alpha's re-assembly cut (my current favorite version of the film)

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Been wondering just that myself, please let us know your thoughts on that one; although since I'm such a fan of Q2's AVCHD releases I just might click and say to hell with it

Good edit. I however had a problem with the frozen space frame in the beginning and the misspelling of Paul McGann in the credits.

Unterhaltung said:

Good edit. I however had a problem with the frozen space frame in the beginning and the misspelling of Paul McGann in the credits.

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Crap! I thought I caught all the spelling errors. :-(

As for the freeze frame I couldn't use the original footage because every time I cut credits the footage jumped. I tried finding something else to use but, alas, nothing seemed to work.

No worries. This was obvious to a keen eye, not to the general public. Next time, give me some homework - spelling - and I'll do it gladly for you;-). But wasn't there any way you could just cut the scenes interspersed with the credits and let the credits flow ? I would have many other questions but I'd rather write you a personal message than fill the space here... Anyway, good work, mate !

Unterhaltung said:

But wasn't there any way you could just cut the scenes interspersed with the credits and let the credits flow?

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No, because the background jumped a little every time I cut the shuttle footage. This is because the original editor left the space background moving even when the shuttle shots were shown. So there are sometimes a couple frames missing and other times a second or two. I couldn't correct that. I tried using dissolves, wipes and other transitions but nothing worked that made me happy. Thus... static.

(Actually... now that I think about it I may have a solution to the background issue, but it doesn't warrant a re-release.)

are there any features on the dvd?

Well this is embarrassing. I don't recall if I put any special features on the disc. I think I have a subtitle commentary on there pointing out changes as this is something I usually do.

okay. sounds cool.

Is this still available to watch?

[MENTION=29852]bumblebert[/MENTION] have you checked the usual places? Read the FAQ to see where you can find fanedits if they are available and what you can do if they are no longer available.

bumblebert please review the rules.