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I can't tell the difference between the theatrical and the director's.

posted 8 years ago by RynoII
13 replies | jump to latest

I have watched the director's cut first, not knowing that it was a director's cut. So I went back to watch the theatrical, and then the director's again, and I still cannot tell the difference.

Because of my schedule, I had to watch them a few days apart, so maybe both cuts are so subtle that I literally need to watch them back to back, to tell?

There is only one difference I can tell, and that is the color palette is difference when the Harry Dean Stanton character is killed. In fact the color palette looks better in the theatrical cut. But aside from the color palette being different in this one sequence, I cannot find little edits here or there that are different, even though there are sites, that point them out. I still didn't notice...

Can anyone be more specific, and tell me what and where the differences are exactly?

[–] Kojiro_Vance 8 years ago

The main difference is the famous 'egg scene'.

I'm just on my way up to Clavius.

[–] roland-rockerfella 8 years ago

There are a couple of changes. One small one when Dallas and Lambert are on the bridge Dallas asks to hear the alien signal and Lambert tells them the size of the moon they are going to land on. The main one is where Ripley finds Dallas and Brett cocooned in the bowels of the ship towards the end of the film. The lighting on the Nostromo also seems brighter in the new DVD's, personally I think that takes away from the effect as you can see things a little to clearly and it isn't as dark and shadowy as it used to be.

[–] prbronx5 8 years ago

Several scenes are cut, example, Dallas talk with MUTHR before the airshaft scene.

Some are added:

Transmission on the bridge.

Kane pulls out a laser gun while in egg chamber.

Lambert attacks Riley outside the infirmary.

Adult alien dangling among the chains in the landing gear. This is during the Brett death scene.

Parker and Ripley run into the landing gear room, as alien drags Brett up into the airshaft.

The Dallas Brett coccoon scene.

Alien slaps the cat carrying case with Jones inside.

[–] RynoII 8 years ago

Okay thanks. I will have to watch for these. I cannot however, find the alien dangling the room with Brett. Can someone point out to me, where exactly in the movie this is? I watched the Brett death scene in both, and they are both the same to me, and I watched it twice now.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

There's a cool site that focuses mainly on comparing different cuts of films; here you can watch the details for Alien:

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1384

http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

[–] RynoII 8 years ago

Okay thanks. I already looked on that site though, but all it shows are pictures of the director's cut. There is no pictures of the theatrical cut to compare.

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

but all it shows are pictures of the director's cut. There is no pictures of the theatrical cut to compare.

Yeah, there is no direct comparison, true. But presumably those pictures you see are all NOT in the theatrical cut, so...

http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

[–] RynoII 8 years ago

Actually I rewatched the Brett death scene. I totally see the alien hanging. I actually though that was part of the ceiling originally! However, in this version I found online, it says that it's 117 minutes. So if this is the director's cut since the alien is hanging, then shouldn't it be 116 minutes?

In this version where the alien is hanging from the ceiling, after Brett is killed by the alien, Riply and Parker come into the room and yell for Brett, wondering what happened to him. Where as in the version I saw before, the scene ends right after Brett was killed. Which version is this? Does the theatrical cut, cut away before Ripley enter's the room?

[–] bluersun 8 years ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jLxRdHv2dG0

A very different version of Brett's encounter with the alien...

[–] RynoII 8 years ago

Okay thanks. When people say one of the differences is the egg, scene, which scene are they talking about? Are they talking about the scene when Kane was first attacked, when he was near all those eggs things? Cause that scene is in both cuts.

[–] bluersun 8 years ago

The scene where Ripley finds Dallas and Brett... Although there is some debate as to whether they are actually being turned into eggs..!

[–] TheEndIsNigh (509) 2 months ago

I've only really noticed the cocoon scene, and Parker and Ripley running to the chains where Brett has just being killed.

I'm confused as hell because people keep saying in the directors cut Lambert slaps Ripley but on the DVD i have, she slaps her in both versions.

[–] Zarkoff (2392) a month ago

The addition of the scene where Ripley finds Dallas near the end of the movie and Lambert slapping the shit out of Ripley when they are looking at Kane in the medical bay stood out to me.

I'd seen the original many times before seeing the director's cut, though.

Other than that, it's certain scenes being shortened a little, others running a little longer. More subtle things,.