Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17467 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-01-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Perhaps these films are like the Star Trek movies: the even-numbered episodes are the best ones. Certainly Alien Resurrection film (directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet) is an improvement on Alien 3, with a script that breathes exciting new life into the franchise. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power (and a bad attitude). A band of smugglers comes aboard only to discover the new race of aliens--and when the multi-mouthed melonheads get loose, no place is safe. But, on the plus side, they have Ripley as a guide to help them get out. Winona Ryder is on hand as the smugglers' most unlikely crew-member (with a secret of her own), but this one is Sigourney's all the way. --Marshall Fine

Amazon.co.uk Review
Alien: Resurrection, the fourth entry in the franchise, is directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet in a much more straightforward action-adventure manner than its predecessor, the dark and confusing Alien 3. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power (and a bad attitude). A band of smugglers comes aboard only to discover the new race of aliens--and when the multi-mouthed melon heads get loose, no place is safe. But, on the plus side, they have Ripley as a guide to help them get out. Winona Ryder is on hand as the smugglers' most unlikely crew member (with a secret of her own), but this one is Sigourney's all the way. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Unlike the first Alien movie which has an excellent documentary and director's commentary, this DVD is light on extras (although digital picture and sound quality are excellent) with only a perfunctory "making of" featurette.

DVD Description
Two hundred years and eight horrific experiments later, Ripley's back - witness the resurrection.

Customer Reviews

no more, please
I like the film Aliens [1986], it's one of my favourite films of all time, sadly this is not that good.

I truly believe that they reached the pinicle with Aliens [1986] - for those interested I recommend the Aliens (Two Disc Special Edition) [1986] truly outstanding dvds that show the way a sequel should be done.

Aliens was a massive and unexpected hit, raking in millions. Unfortunately in the eyes of the film companies that means they churn out the sequel without little thought to the content. There were a trio of writers involved in the script, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Joss Whedon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame), Mr Weldon has let it be known that the finished result bears little resemblance to the script that they wrote.

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been cloned from blood samples that were taken in the prison in film 3 have been used (400 years later) to clone a new Ellen Ripley. The military scientists want the alien DNA that was mixed with Ripley's in film 3. They are looking for the ultimate weapon - a trained alien, you'd have thought they would have learnt better by now.

The film is what you would expect and there are few (if any surprises).

What a shame that the franchise has come to this, I'm very sorry that I have to say it was a disappointment.

The (misunderstood) black sheep
There was a time when nobody seemed to like Alien 3. Then they made Resurrection and now nobody seems to like this - but love Alien 3. What it really amounts to is that Aliens is everyone's favourite, and both Alien 3 and Resurrection are very, very different. But that, of course, is what makes the Alien saga so great - the different approach taken each time - and this one is no exception.

Resurrection is misunderstood. Not that it isn't simplistic. It is the simplest to understand. This, in essence, is the very Hollywood film (made by a Frenchman who spoke no English prior to filming) for all the people who hated Alien 3 for being just a little too avant garde. The plot is basic, the characters sketchy and the special effects very standard. This isn't the mould-breaker Alien (and even Aliens was). But it IS a worthy edition to the Alien canon.

Like Alien 3, you watch Resurrection for Sigourney Weaver. In Alien 3, the character was at the end of the road. Here she is taken to a new level. She could go anywhere. She seems fresh. Weaver almost appeared younger here than she did in Alien 3. Some people don't appear to appreciate her almost autistic attitudes, but hey, this is Ripley, she's been through a lot, and this time she can't escape it, because it's inside her. Wouldn't you be traumatised?

Somewhere in the middle of this film is an excellent action sequence, where the characters have to swim through a flooded kitchen and climb a ladder through a boobytrapped nest of alien eggs. This scene is perfect. So much is going on, but Jean Pierre Jeunet directs with aplomb and makes a visceral scene that matches anything Aliens had to offer in its intensity.

The film's weakness (apart from the virtually empty DVD in this case) is the script. It was written by Joss Whedon, who writes vacuous teen shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was the wrong person. His one-liners are never less than funny, but they're out of place. Alien 3 may well have been overly po-faced in places, but Resurrection sometimes can't take itself seriously enough in places due to the script, so if it can't, we start to wonder if we can.

This is not Jeunet's bad egg. He made Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children and Amelie. They all have a lot in common, but because the other three were in French, people seem to think they are any more artistic. I wonder had this film been in French, would its detractors be waxing so lyrical about it as well? I suspect they would.

Oh, and I always loved the look of this film, and if the DVD is worth it for anything, it is the sheer richness of the deep colours.

4th, and hopefully, final
If Alien 3 had mixed feelings, they had all but disappeared when this movie was released. It's a shame some people think badly of this film, because I feel it has some great twists which are very clever, if not always well produced. The basic plot of cloning from DNA is very believable in today's world and justifiably scary and the scenes of the mis- cloning results makes me fear for the real world. The idea of part of the Aliens' DNA being left inside Ripley adds an uncertainty to her behaviour, which is well recieved, and, for me, gives an extra edge to her previous, fruitless, attempts to destroy the creatures. The dual personality she portrays is often unsettling. Although the idea of the "Newborn" was clever and moved the premise forward, I feel it was badly executed and the actual Alien seemed rather poorly thought out and just a little like something from the muppets!!! I love all the films in the saga for the films they are and I try not to compare each with the other. This is a good film and, like Aliens & Alien 3,is different from it's predecessor. If this were not an Alien film, most people who critisize it would love it. Of course, since the release of AvP, many people have come over to this film, having realised it's NOT that bad!!!! At least this film makes some kind of sense, which is more than can be said for AvP.