What is the far north that David Fincher's ``Alien³'' popular science fiction series arrives at?

Fincher faced the devil with his debut work.

David Fincher took over as director after this. Although he is now recognized as a genius, this is his first time directing a feature film. He rose to prominence in the field of commercials and music videos, and was featured in Billy Idol 's theme song ` `Cradle of the Fairlane '' (1990), a 20th Century Fox movie directed by Renny Harlin. He was working on the video clip for ``Love ''.

Using the story left by Ward as a starting point, Fincher followed Fox's wishes and changed the setting to a prison planet mainly made up of old, rusty metal buildings. It was also decided that The Talented Mr. Ripley would survive on this planet with the prisoners. However, there was a limited time until the film's release. Thus, the unusual situation developed in which a new director was working on filming while the set was being rebuilt without a completed script.

If Fincher had one weapon, it was fearless youth. The first thing he suggested to Sigourney Weaver, the face of the series, was to shave off all her hair. Weaver liked the idea and became a skinhead like the other prisoners, completely changing the image of The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Fincher's idea was to tattoo barcodes on the backs of prisoners' heads. Thanks to this, the strange atmosphere of the prison planet that is the setting has increased. By the way, during the additional filming, Weaver's hair had grown long, so a cropped wig was used.

Fincher also commissioned a new design from Alien creator H.R. Giger. The previous Alien was a reuse of the first movie's design, but Fincher wanted something ``sexier.'' In response to the director's request, Giger gave the lips and chin to a new Alien.

"Alien³" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Because it was a parasite on dogs, this Alien has the habit of walking on all fours and can even run through walls and ceilings. This shot is also new to the series. Cinematographer Alex Thomson saw the crew rolling the camera during rehearsals and incorporated this into the hallway chase. In this way, a powerful scene from an Alien perspective was created.

Filming proceeded without a script, resulting in constant chaos on set. There was also a conflict between Fincher and Weaver. But perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that the studio edited the film in a way that was contrary to the intentions of Fincher and his staff. It is true that this resulted in some parts that did not fit into the story, such as characters suddenly fading out.

Still, it is no exaggeration to say that this film is the darkest thriller in the history of the series, and is the complete opposite of the hopeful development of the previous film, and its intense darkness is rather interesting. Currently, you can also watch the complete version, which is closer to the director's intentions, on software. Why not take a fresh look at the far north of Alien movies?

Text: Manabu Soma

After working as an information magazine editor, became a freelance writer. He writes articles and reviews for magazines such as ``SCREEN,'' ``DVD & Video Distribution,'' and ``Cinema Square,'' as well as theater pamphlets and the movie site ``Cinema Today.'' Currently appearing on Star Channel "GO! Theater". I host club events as a hobby.

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