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Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1996 - 1997
Running Times: 109 mins
Format:
Technicolor     Super 35mm (Kodak)
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: DTS     Dolby Digital

SELECTED CREDITS

(Full Credits)

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox/Brandywine Productions Ltd
Executive Producer (Blue Sky Studios): Amy J. Jupiter
Executive Producer (Duboi): Antoine Simkine
Producers: Bill Badalato, Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill
Producer (Hunter/Gratzner): Lisa Knaggs
Producer (Duboi): Edouard Valton

SCRIPT
Script: Joss Whedon
Characters: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett

DIRECTION
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Darius Khondji
Underwater Photography: Pete Romano

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Hervé Schneid

MUSIC
Music: John C. Frizzell, Jerry Goldsmith (from Alien (1979))

SOUND
Sound Designer: Leslie Shatz
Sound Effects Designer: Paul Urmson

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up: Bill Myer, Mike Smithsen
Key Hair: Jason Joseph Sica
Costume Designer: Bob Ringwood

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Original Alien Designer: H.R. Giger
Alien Effects: Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr, Ken Niederbaumer

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: Blue Sky Studios; All Effects Company
Digital Visual Effects: Duboi; Digiscope
Miniatures: Hunter Gratzner Industries Inc

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Design Supervisor: Marc Caro
Production Designer: Nigel Phelps

STUNTS
Stunt Co-Ordinator: Ernie F. Orsatti

CAST
Sigourney Weaver (Ripley)
Winona Ryder (Annalee Call)
Dominique Pinon (Vriess)
Ron Perlman (Johner)
Gary Dourdan (Christian)
Michael Wincott (Elgyn)
Kim Flowers (Hillard)
Dan Hedaya (General Perez)
J.E. Freeman (Dr Wren)
Brad Dourif (Dr Gediman)
Raymond Cruz (DiStephano)
Leland Orser (Purvis)

PLOT SUMMARY

200 years after the events at Fury 3, and on their eighth attempt, a team of scientists succeeds in cloning Ripley from a blood sample taken during her stay in the penal colony. The result is an altogether different Ripley, with incredible strength, black fingernails and enhanced intuition, all inherited from the trace of alien queen DNA mixed in with her own. The driving force behind the experiment, the United System Military, have hired a group of mercenaries to smuggle abducted humans to the laboratory ship for use in their experiments and before long, the aliens are loose and up to their old tricks.

CAPSULE REVIEW

A visually arresting but soulless and derivative film, Alien Resurrection is a a huge disappointment, despite the undoubted visual ingenuity of Delicatessen (1991) and La cité des enfants perdus (1995) co-director Jeunet. There's nothing here that we haven't already seen so many times before in the series (Sigourney Weaver runs around a large spaceship pursued by slobbering ETs) and for all of Jeunet's panache as a director, the old-hat story simply never engages. And as for that ending - what was once the cinema's scariest monster is now reduced to a mewling freak who just wants a hug from his mummy... Oh dear...

AVAILABILITY

Finland
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia TriStar Egmont Film Distributors

France
Theatrical Distributor: UGC-Fox Distribution

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox of Germany
DVD Distributor: USA - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (The Alien Legacy)

Portugal
Theatrical Distributor: Filmes Castello Lopes

Finland
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia TriStar Egmont Film Distributors

France
Theatrical Distributor: UGC-Fox Distribution

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox of Germany
DVD Distributor: USA - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (The Alien Legacy)

Portugal
Theatrical Distributor: Filmes Castello Lopes

Spain
Theatrical Distributor: Hispano Foxfilm, S.A.E.

UK
Laserdisc Distributor: Encore (EE1230)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Laserdisc Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (0032584); (0032585)
DVD Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (4110439 - The Alien Legacy; 4110433)

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: MA

Chile
Rating: 18

Finland
Rating: K-16

France
Rating: -12

Germany
Rating: 16

Hong Kong
Rating: IIB

Netherlands
Rating: 16

New Zealand
Rating: R16

Norway
Rating: 15

Portugal
Rating: M/16

Spain
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R (for strong sci-fi violence and gore, some grotesque images, and for language)

AWARDS

1997
Bogey Awards, Germany

Bogey Award - winner

1998
Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films, USA (Saturn Awards)

Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver) - nominated
Best Director (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) - nominated
Best Supporting Actress (Winona Ryder) - nominated

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Favorite Supporting Actress - Sci-Fi (Winona Ryder) - winner
Favorite Actress - Sci-Fi (Sigourney Weaver) - nominated

Golden Satellite Awards
Best Motion Picture - Animated or Mixed Media (Bill Badalato, Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill) - nominated

TIMELINE

1996
November

20: USA - filming begins

1997
May

Day Unknown: USA - filming ends

November
6: France - world premiere in Paris
12: France - theatrical release
12: Switzerland - theatrical release in French speaking region
26: Spain - theatrical release
26: USA - theatrical release
27: Germany - theatrical release
27: Netherlands - theatrical release
27: Singapore - theatrical release
28: Austria - theatrical release
28: Ireland - theatrical release
28: Sweden - theatrical release
28: Switzerland - theatrical release German speaking region
28: UK - theatrical release

December
3: Belgium - theatrical release
5: Denmark - theatrical release
5: Israel - theatrical release

1998
January

1: Australia - theatrical release
8: New Zealand - theatrical release
9: Estonia - theatrical release
10: South Korea - theatrical release
12: Poland - theatrical release
15: Slovakia - theatrical release
16: Norway - theatrical release
23: Iceland - theatrical release
27: Thailand - theatrical release
28: Taiwan - theatrical release
29: Slovenia - theatrical release

February
5: Mexico - theatrical release
12: Hungary - theatrical release
20: Portugal - shown at the Fantasporto Film Festival
26: Hong Kong - theatrical release
27: Italy - theatrical release
27: Portugal - theatrical release
27: Switzerland - theatrical release in Italian speaking region

March
4: Kuwait - theatrical release
6: Finland - theatrical release
20: Greece - theatrical release

April
9: Argentina - theatrical release
9: Brazil - theatrical release
25: Japan - theatrical release

May
1: Colombia - theatrical release

June
3: USA - laserdisc release (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (0032585))

July
1: USA - laserdisc release (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (0032584))

1999
March

15: UK - laserdisc distributor (Laserdisc Distributor: Encore (EE1230))

June
1: USA - DVD release (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (4110439 - The Alien Legacy); (4110433))

2000
May

25: Germany - DVD release (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment - The Alien Legacy)

POSTER TAGS

Witness the resurrection.

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Alien 4 - working title
Alien: Die Wiedergeburt
- German title

LINKS

SEQUEL TO
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Alienł (1992)
Alien: Resurrection (2000)

SEE ALSO
Blade Runner (1982)
La cité des enfants perdus (1995)
Curse of the Fly (1965)
Cut (1999)
Dune (1984)
The Green Slime (1969)
Muppets From Space (1999)
The Mutations (1973)
Species II (1998)
Taxi Driver (1976)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique May 1996 p.5 (UK)
note

Cinefantastique vol.29 no.12 (April 1998) pp.5; 40-41, 43 (USA)
illustrated article; illustrated article

Cinefantastique vol.30 no.1 (May 1998) pp.28-31 (USA)
illustrated article

Cinefantastique vol.36 no.1 (February /March 2004) pp.58-59 (USA)
illustrated DVD review

CinémAction no.112 (2004) (France)
illustrated article

Creative Screenwriting vol.5 no.4 (July /August 1998) p.54 (USA)
illustrated article

Empire July 1997 pp.12-13 (UK)
review

Empire January 1998 p.34 (UK)
review (by Ian Nathan)

Empire no.108 (June 1998) p.134 (UK)
illustrated review

Empire no.114 (December 1998) p.156 (UK)
review

Empire no.132 (June 2000) pp.124-125 (UK)
illustrated DVD review

Empire no.161 (November 2002) pp.164-169 (UK)
illustrated article

Empire no.167 (May 2003) pp.126-127 (UK)
illustrated article

Empire no.175 (January 2004) pp.190-191 (UK)
illustrated DVD review

Fangoria no.186 (September 1999) p.58 (USA)
illustrated DVD review

Film Review January 1998 p.17 (UK)
review (by Jason Caro)

Film Review June 1998 p.71 (UK)
illustrated review

Film Score Monthly vol.9 no.2 (February 2004) pp.44-46 (USA)
illustrated article

Hollywood Reporter 4 February 1997 p.15 (USA)
review

Imagenes January 1998 p.118 (Spain)
review (by Quim Casas)

Metro no.116 (1998) pp.30-35 (Australia)
illustrated article

New Review of Film and Television vol.1 no.1 (November 2003) pp.101-130 (UK)
article

Premičre December 1997 p.35 (France)
review (by Éric Libiot)

Premičre no.281 (Summer 2000) p.117 (France)
illustrated article

Premiere vol.10 no.8 (April 1997) pp.30-31 (USA)
illustrated production notes (Resident Alien)

Premiere vol.17 no.5 (February 2004) p.91 (USA)
illustrated DVD review

Screen vol.40 no.1 (Spring 1999) pp.38-50 (UK)
article

Screen vol.44 no.3 (Autumn 2003) pp.251-276 (UK)
illustrated article

SFX 30 (Spoiler Zone) p.4 (UK)
review

Sight and Sound June 1996 p.5 (UK)
note

Sight and Sound vol.10 no.5 (May 2000) p.66 (USA)
DVD review

Sight and Sound vol.14 no.2 (February 2004) p.68 (UK)
illustrated article, DVD review

Soundtrack! The Collector's Quarterly vol.17 no.67 (September 1998) pp.32-34 (Belgium)
illustrated interview

Starburst no.267 (November 2000) pp.36-43 (UK)
illustrated article

Studio December 1997 p.12 (France)
review (by Thierry Klifa)

Total Film November 1997 pp.14-15 (UK)
illustrated article

Total Film January 1998 p.90 (UK)
review (by Andy Lowe)

Vox Magazin February 1998 pp.29-31 (Hungary)
review (by László Horváth)

NEWSPAPERS

A Capital 27 February 1998 (Portugal)
review (bu Rui Brazuna)

Diário de Notícias, Programas 27 February 1998 (Portugal)
review (by José De Matos-Cruz)

Svenska Dagbladet 28 November 1997 (Sweden)
review (Obändig livskraft tar över by Jeanette Gentele)

BOOKS

The A-Z of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films p.15
credits, review

Film Review 1998 - 1999 pp.15-16
credits, review

KEYWORDS

androids, acid, vacuum, aliens, xenomorphs, basketball, clones, cloning, dna, computers, eugenics, space travel, disabilites, cryogenics, smugglers, cyberpunk, flamethrowers, the future, genetic engineering, gene manipulation, military, mutations, scientists, regeneration, human duplication, space, spacecraft, sequels, nuclear explosions, underwater, sequels, the future

 


Last Updated: 15 October, 2008

 


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