Alien 3 (stylized as ALIEN3) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. Starring Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley, it is the third installment of the Alien franchise.
Set immediately after the events of Aliens (1986), Ripley and an Alien organism are the only survivors of the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco following an escape pod's crash on a planet housing a penal colony populated by violent male inmates. Additional roles are played by Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Ralph Brown, Paul McGann, Danny Webb, Lance Henriksen, Holt McCallany, Pete Postlethwaite, and Danielle Edmond. The film had a troubled production, facing numerous problems, including shooting without a script and the attachment of various screenwriters and directors. Fincher, in his feature directorial debut, was eventually brought in to direct after a proposed version with Ward as director was canceled during pre-production.
Alien 3 was released by 20th Century Fox on May 22, 1992. While it underperformed at the American box office, it earned over $100 million outside North America. The film received mixed reviews and was regarded as inferior to previous installments. Fincher has since disowned the film, deeming it unfaithful to his original vision due to studio interference. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, seven Saturn Awards (Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver, Best Supporting Actor for Dutton, Best Direction for Fincher, and Best Writing for Giler, Hill, and Ferguson), a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and an MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence. A sequel, Alien Resurrection, followed in 1997. In 2003, an extended and revised version of the film known as the Assembly Cut was released without Fincher's involvement, which received a warmer reception.
Plot
Shortly after escaping the planet LV-426, the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco is travelling back to Earth with Ellen Ripley, Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, Cpl. Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop in cryonic stasis. An alien egg hatches on board, releasing a facehugger that attacks the crew. A fire starts and the ship's computer ejects an escape pod with the crew still in their stasis chambers. The pod crash-lands on Fiorina "Fury" 161, a foundry and maximum-security correctional facility inhabited by male inmates with a genetic predisposition for antisocial behavior. The inmates recover the crashed pod and its passengers. The facehugger approaches inmate Thomas Murphy's dog, Spike.
Ripley is awakened by Clemens, the prison's chief medical officer, who informs her that she is the sole survivor. The prison warden, Harold Andrews, says that her presence may have disruptive effects. Ripley insists that Clemens perform an autopsy on Newt and that her and Hicks's bodies be subsequently burned, fearing that Newt may be carrying an Alien embryo. Despite protests from the warden and his assistant Aaron, the autopsy is conducted and no embryo is found. The funeral proceeds with spiritual leader Dillon eulogizing the deceased as their bodies are dropped into the furnace. Elsewhere in the prison, a quadrupedal alien bursts from Spike.
Ripley finds the damaged Bishop in the prison's garbage dump before being cornered by four inmates. After being saved by Dillon, Ripley returns to the infirmary and re-activates Bishop, who, before asking to be permanently shut down, confirms that a Facehugger came with them to Fiorina, under knowledge of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Growing to full size, the alien kills Murphy, Boggs, and Rains. The shock returns outcast prisoner Golic to his previously psychopathic state. Ripley informs Andrews of her previous Xenomorph encounters and suggests everyone work together to hunt down and kill it. However, the facility is without weapons; their only hope is the rescue ship being sent for Ripley by Weyland-Yutani.
The Alien ambushes Ripley and Clemens in the prison infirmary, killing him, and cornering her. However, it mysteriously spares her and retreats. Ripley rushes to the cafeteria to warn the others. Andrews orders Aaron to take her back to the infirmary, but the warden himself is dragged into the vents and killed by the Alien. Ripley rallies the inmates and proposes they pour flammable toxic waste into the ventilation system and ignite it to flush out the Alien. However, its intervention causes a premature explosion and several inmates die. With Aaron's help, Ripley scans herself using the escape pod's medical equipment and sees the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her. Upon this discovery, she realizes that there were two facehuggers on the Sulaco, and that Weyland-Yutani plans on capturing the alien incubating inside her in hopes of turning it into biological weapons.
The Alien will not kill her because of the embryo she is carrying, so Ripley begs Dillon to do it; he agrees only if she helps the inmates kill the Alien first. They form a plan to lure the Alien into the foundry's molding facility, trap it, and drown it in molten lead. The bait-and-chase plan results in the deaths of every remaining prisoner but Dillon and Morse. Dillon sacrifices himself to position the Alien towards the mold as Morse pours the molten lead onto them. Although the Alien is covered in molten metal, it escapes the mold. Ripley activates the fire sprinklers, blowing the Alien apart from thermal shock.
The Weyland–Yutani team arrives, including commandos and a man who looks identical to Bishop who says he is Bishop's creator. He tries to persuade Ripley to undergo surgery to remove the Alien Queen embryo, claiming it will be destroyed. Ripley refuses and steps back onto a mobile platform, which Morse positions over the furnace. The Weyland–Yutani team shoots Morse in the leg to stop him; Aaron strikes the Bishop look-alike with a wrench and is shot dead by the commandos. Ignoring pleas to give them the embryo, Ripley throws herself into the furnace, holding captive the infant queen as it erupts from her. The facilities are closed down. Morse, the sole survivor, is led away as Ripley's final logbook recording from the Nostromo plays.
Cast
Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, reprising her role from the previous two Alien films. Ripley crash-lands on Fiorina 161 and is once again burdened with the task of destroying another of the alien creatures. Weaver approved of David Twohy's script and signed on, but demanded a larger salary of $4–5 million, plus co-producing credit. She also requested for the action not to rely on guns. Charles S. Dutton as Leonard Dillon, one of Fiorina's inmates who functions as the spiritual and de facto leader amongst the prisoners and attempts to keep the peace in the facility. Charles Dance as Jonathan Clemens, a former inmate who now serves as the facility's doctor. He treats Ripley after her escape pod crashes at the start of the film and forms a special bond with her. Before he is killed by the Alien, Clemens laments to Ripley why he was originally sent to Fiorina, describing it as "more than a little melodramatic". Fincher initially offered the role to Richard E. Grant, hoping to reunite him with Withnail and I co-stars Ralph Brown and Paul McGann. Brian Glover as Harold Andrews, the prison warden. He believes Ripley's presence will cause disruption amongst the inmates and attempts to control the rumors surrounding her and the creature. He rejects her claims about the existence of such a creature, only to be killed by it. Ralph Brown as Francis Aaron, the assistant of Superintendent Andrews. The prisoners refer to him by the nickname "85", after his IQ score, which annoys him. He opposes Ripley's insistence that the prisoners must try to fight the Alien, and repudiates her claim that Weyland–Yutani will collect the alien instead of them. Paul McGann as Walter Golic. A mass-murderer and outcast amongst the prison population, Golic becomes very disturbed after being assaulted by the Alien in the prison's underground network of tunnels, gradually becoming more and more obsessed with the Alien. In the Assembly Cut of the film, his obsession with and defense of the creature lead to murder and his own demise, and his actions jeopardize the entire plan. Danny Webb as Robert Morse, an acerbic, self-centered, and cynical prisoner. Despite being wounded by the Weyland–Yutani team, Morse is the only survivor from the entire Fiorina 161 population (including Ripley). Lance Henriksen as the voice of the damaged Bishop android, as well as a character credited as Bishop II. He appears in the film's final scenes, claiming to be the human designer of the Bishop android, and wants the Alien Queen that was growing inside Ripley for use in Weyland-Yutani's bioweapons division. The character is named as "Michael Bishop Weyland" in certain tie-in materials. Tom Woodruff Jr. as the Alien known as "Dragon".Alien3 audio commentary, Alien Quadrilogy boxset This Alien is different from the ones in previous installments due to its host being quadrupedal (a dog in the theatrical cut, an ox in the Assembly Cut). Initially a visual effects supervisor, Woodruff decided to take the role of the creature after his company, Amalgamated Dynamics, was hired by Fox. Woodruff said that, following Sigourney Weaver's advice, he approaches the role as an actor instead of a stuntman, trying to make his performance more than "just a guy in a suit". He considered the acting process "as much physical as it is mental". Pete Postlethwaite as David Postlethwaite, an inmate smarter than most who is killed by the Alien in the bait-and-chase sequence. Holt McCallany as Junior, the leader of the group of inmates who attempt to rape Ripley. He has a tattoo of a tear drop underneath his right eye. In the Assembly Cut, he sacrifices himself to trap the Alien as redemption. Peter Guinness as Peter Gregor, one of the inmates who attempts to rape Ripley; he is bitten in the neck and killed by the Alien during the bait-and-chase sequence. Danielle Edmond as Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, the child Ripley forms a maternal bond with in the previous film who briefly returns as a corpse being autopsied. Carrie Henn, the original actress, was unable to reprise the role due to her age so Danielle Edmond took over the part for the brief shots of Newt in her cryotube and the later autopsy scene with her corpse. Christopher Fairbank as Thomas Murphy.Alien 3 at the British Film Institute Phil Davis as Kevin Dodd. Vincenzo Nicoli as Alan Jude. Leon Herbert as Edward Boggs. Niall Buggy as Eric Buggy. Hi Ching as Company Man. Carl Chase as Frank Ellis. Clive Mantle as Clive William. DeObia Oparei as Arthur Walkingstick. Paul Brennen as Yoshi Troy.
An archive picture of Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks appears.
Production
Development