Synopsis:

This is the director’s cut with some stuff taken out that always bugged me and adding back some stuff back from the theatrical cut. I also fixed the very inconsistent colour grading which varied from shot-to-shot in a few scenes.

Intentions:

I have always wanted a hybrid of the theatrical and extended cuts of each Alien film that had the best parts of both so I no longer had to decide on which one to watch.

Change List:

I strived to not make any edits that have not already been done officially. Any editing change from the director's cut was originally done in the theatrical cut. I ensured that any shots throughout a scene were consistent with their colour timing, as some shots were reframed and recoloured in the director's cut. Cuts and Additions: Cuts: 12:39 - Cut crew listening to transmission scene 1:06:47 - Cut shot of xenomorph hanging up high waiting to kill Brett because it spoils the surprise to come Additions: 1:02:11 to 1:05:58 - used theatrical version for Brett-looking-for-cat scene 49:20 to 50:19 - used theatrical version of Ripley-arguing-with-Dallas scene (adding back Ripley not trusting Ash) Fixes: 14:39 to 14:42 - stabilised shot of Nostromo approaching LV-426 36:08 to 36:48 - regraded shot of Lambert slapping Ripley outside surgery 1:15:50 to 1:15:53 - reframed shot of Ripley looking at Lambert to match the previous shot 1:21:51 to 1:22:04 - regraded shots of Ash’s head being prepped for interrogation 1:25:29 to 1:25:35 - replaced shot of ship being prepped due to last frame turning green 1:40:55 to 1:40:59 - regraded part of shot of ship window as Ripley escapes Nostromo Shots replaced with theatrical transfer: 7:46 to 7:52 - Parker telling Dallas he’s finishing his coffee 9:37 to 9:39 - Lambert in cockpit 12:32 to 12:39 - Dallas asking Parker “you got that?”, Parker responding “yeah” and Dallas saying “we’re going in”. 12:51 to 13:02 - Ash and Dallas on ship 13:10 to 13:16 - Dallas and Ripley on ship 13:29 to 13:31 - Dallas on ship 13:50 to 13:52 - Dallas disengaging ship 14:01 to 14:05 - Dallas starting ship up 23:02 to 23:28 - Ripley on the ship with her cat 24:19 to 24:22 - Ash observing alien ship on monitor 24:25 to 24:29 - Ash observing alien ship on monitor 25:12 to 25:23 - Ash talking to crew and observing alien ship on monitor 25:29 to 25:36 - Ash viewing crew camera footage 25:54 to 25:57 - Ash viewing crew camera footage 29:34 to 30:02 - Ripley telling Ash that Mother deciphered the transmission 36:05 to 36:08 - Dallas and Ash in surgery 36:48 to 36:57 - Dallas and Ash in surgery 36:57 to 37:00 - crew observing surgery 37:00 to 37:31 - Ash and Dallas operating on Kane 41:48 to 45:41 - Ash and Ripley in surgery 45:24 to 45:49 - Dallas being told by Ash to check on Kane 50:43 to 50:48 - Parker and Brett on ship during take off 50:59 to 51:06 - Lambert and Ripley on ship during take off 51:16 to 51:20 - Ripley on ship during take off 51:31 to 51:35 - Parker, Brett and Ripley on ship during take off 51:42 to 51:48 - Parker, Dallas and Ripley on ship during take off 51:57 to 52:54 - Crew discussing what to do with Kane 56:07 to 56:20 - Ash and the crew watching the baby Alien escape after killing Kane 1:05:58 to 1:06:41 - cat about to be caught and xenomorph coming up behind Brett 1:06:58 to 1:07:23 - cat watching after Brett was killed and Parker telling crew what happened to Brett 1:08:30 to 1:08:48 - Lambert and crew being instructed by Dallas 1:14:52 to 1:15:43 - Parker, Ripley and Ash talking after Dallas was killed by alien 1:15:46 to 1:15:50 - Ripley and Lambert looking at each other 1:15:57 to 1:17:45 - Ripley speaking to Mother and Ash surprising her 1:17:45 to 1:18:26 - Ripley trying to escape Ash 1:22:04 to 1:22:07 - Ripley slamming on table to wake up Ash 1:24:41 to 1:27:12 - Ripley, Parker and Lambert prepping for escape 1:40:11 to 1:40:55 - Ripley taking off from Nostromo 1:40:59 to 1:41:02 - Ripley looking at Nostromo 1:41:10 to 1:41:23 - Ripley being blasted with light from the destruction of Nostromo

Additional Notes:

As I got deeper into the edit I realised how terribly inconsistent the colour grading was on the blu-ray. It seemed more apparent in the director’s cut. Basically they reframed quite a few shots and changed the colour grading in the process, so you would have the colour changing as the scene is going. I decided to restore a lot of shots from the theatrical cut and occasionally colour match them myself to keep it as consistent as possible.

Other Sources:

Special Thanks:

I want to personally thank ArtIsDead for being so incredibly patient with me throughout the process of having my first fan edit approved. It has not been an easy road travelled getting a handle on my ADHD whilst helping my pregnant partner who just gave birth to my first child in January 2023.