Alien: Resurrection

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For the video game, see Alien: Resurrection (video game).

Alien: Resurrection
The original 1997 theatrical poster
Directed by	Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Produced by	Bill Badalato Gordon Carroll David Giler Walter Hill
Written by	Characters: Dan O'Bannon Ronald Shusett Screenplay: Joss Whedon
Starring	Sigourney Weaver Winona Ryder Dominique Pinon Ron Perlman Gary Dourdan Michael Wincott Brad Dourif Leland Orser Dan Hedaya J.E. Freeman Kim Flowers Raymond Cruz
Music by	John Frizzel
Cinematography	Darius Khondji
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 26, 1997
Running time	Theatrical Cut: 109 min. 2003 Special Edition: 116 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70,000,000
Gross revenue	$161,295,658[1]
Preceded by	Alien³
Followed by	Alien vs. Predator
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Alien: Resurrection (1997) is a science fiction/thriller film written by Joss Whedon and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It opened on November 26, 1997. It is the fourth in the Alien series of films. Unlike the previous movies, it was not filmed in England. The original music score was composed by John Frizzel.

Plot

The events of Alien: Resurrection take place two centuries after the events of Alien³. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been cloned on the outer space military science vessel Auriga using "blood samples from Fiori 16, on ice," so that the United Systems Military can extract the alien queen embryo that had been implanted in her prior to her death in Alien³. After successful extraction of the queen embryo, the scientists decide to keep the Ripley clone alive for further study. They raise the alien queen to adult size and collect its eggs for further use. As a result of the cloning process, during which Ripley's DNA was mixed with the alien's, she has developed several new abilities including enhanced strength and reflexes, acidic blood, and an empathic link with the aliens. The Betty, a ship full of mercenaries, arrives delivering several kidnapped humans in hypersleep. The military scientists use them as hosts for the alien facehuggers, raising several adult aliens for study. The mercenaries soon encounter Ripley, and their youngest member Call (Winona Ryder) recognizes her name. She attempts to kill Ripley, believing she may be used to create more aliens. Call is too late; the adult aliens have already been created and quickly escape their confinement, damaging the ship and killing most of its crew. Dr. Wren, one of the ship's scientists, reveals that the Auriga's default command in an emergency situation is to return to Earth. Realizing that this will unleash the aliens on Earth, Ripley, the mercenaries, Wren, a surviving marine named DiStephano, and a surviving alien host, Purvis, set out to escape on the Betty and then destroy the Auriga. As the group makes their way through the damaged ship, several of them are killed by the aliens. Call is revealed to be an android after Wren betrays the group. Using her abilities to interface with the damaged ship's systems, they set it on a collision course with Earth, hoping that the remaining aliens will be destroyed in the crash. The alien queen has also gained an ability from Ripley's DNA: she can now give birth to live offspring directly without the need for eggs and human hosts. The resulting offspring, which appears more humanoid, recognizes Ripley as its "mother" and kills the alien queen. Ripley is a witness to the horrific birth but escapes soon after and heads for the Betty. Ripley and the surviving mercenaries arrive at the Betty; and, as they launch, the human/alien hybrid attacks Ripley and Call. Ripley kills it by using her own acidic blood to burn a hole through a viewing pane, causing the creature to be drawn through the small hole and into the vacuum of space. The survivors escape in the Betty as the Auriga dives into the atmosphere and explodes over Earth.

Cast

Reception

Despite positive reviews for Sigourney Weaver's and Winona Ryder's performances, the film is considered the least successful in the series, having been lukewarmly received by critics.^[2] The film has a score of 55% (rotten) on rottentomatoes.com, higher than Alien 3 and the AVP films but far less than Alien (97%) and Aliens (100%). It has a a score of 6.0 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database, the lowest of the Alien franchise. With a budget of roughly $70 million, it grossed only $47.8 million domestically in the US but a total of $161.3 million worldwide.^[1][3] However, Winona Ryder won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for her role in the film.^[4] Screenwriter Joss Whedon was unhappy with how the final product differed from the script he had written.^[5]

Alternate version

In the 2003 Alien Quadrilogy DVD box set, Jeunet included an alternative version of the film with different opening and closing scenes. The deleted scenes included references to the character Newt from Aliens, Vriess making a joke to Call, Ripley waking up in the middle of her operation, and extended dialogue between Call and Ripley's clone in the chapel scene.

References

External links

• Alien: Resurrection at the Internet Movie Database
• Alien: Resurrection at All Movie Guide