I’ve probably seen Aliens a couple of dozen times in my life, but until recently, I hadn’t watched one of the best sci-fi movies ever in one sitting in at least a couple of decades, and I’d never seen the director’s cut. Until just last week, it was available with an HBO Max subscription. James Cameron released it in 1991 on Laser Disc only (I never had one of those). I’ll just say upfront, I wish I hadn’t waited so long. While I love the theatrical cut, this version is definitely better in almost every way. There was one backstory I loved being included in, but there was another I was less enthusiastic about.
Ripley Backstory Makes The Movie So Much Better
There is about 20 minutes more movie in the Aliens Director’s Cut, and most of that time is spent on two scenes. The first is Ripley’s recovery after being found floating in space after 57 years at the beginning. In a conversation with Burke (Paul Reiser), it’s revealed that Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) had a daughter when she left Earth in the first movie of the franchise, Alien. She (and we) also learned that her daughter had died two years before at age 66.
This informs so much more about Ripley than the original theatrical cut and makes her relationship with Newt (Carrie Henn) later in the movie more visceral. It totally changes the dynamic in that final confrontation with the queen alien, much more potent, as well, as two mothers come to an understanding with each other. I really don’t understand how this was ever removed from the original cut. It makes the movie so much better.
Newt’s Backstory Took Some Mystery Away
On the other hand, there is another backstory that wasn’t included in the original, that of Newt and her family. In fact, we get a lot more of the colonists on LV-426, seeing their lives on the planet before they were decimated by the aliens. A big part of this time is spent with Newt, her brother, and their parents as they head outside of the base to investigate the crashed ship. It’s where we first see the alien and how they get into the base in the first place.
I was pretty disappointed by this. Not because it wasn’t well shot, or well told. I just love the mystery of Newt that is presented in the original cut. We only know what happened to her family and the other colonists through her descriptions. Aliens is as much a sci-fi-horror flick as it is one of the best action movies ever, and the mystery is so much more effective than seeing what actually happened. It’s a cool scene, for sure, but it takes away something from the overall story, rather than adding to it like Ripley’s backstory.
I understand why James Cameron feels that this is the definitive version of Aliens (still the best movie in the franchise). Sometimes director’s cuts are just self-indulgent slop (I’m looking at you, Apocalypse Now Redux), but that is not the case here. It’s a better movie with these included scenes, but I would have loved it even more if the mystery of Newt’s backstory stayed the same.