Alien's Cocoon Scene: Comparing the Original Version to the Director's Cut

Taking a closer look at the legendary cocoon scene from Alien, and the differences between the versions we've seen.

[@skwisgarskwigelf7191]

Dallas: “Kill me!” Brett: *muffled* “Right.”

[@Djaxthebountyhunter]

😂😂😂😂

[@alejandroperez-yy9ym]

🤣 😅

[@Jesse3beards]

Amazing

[@AdamMichalMarkowski]

Underrated comment, lol

[@anon_laughing_man]

🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀

[@matteorapetti3222]

I think that this scene is absolutely important: it shows that the alien is not some slaughtering B movie monster, that its prey is survival material for it and that the prey's destiny is much worse than brutal death. It gives another tone to the movie, it's disturbing in a visceral way

[@Filthy_Larry]

Same. The cocoon is canon. Don’t care what anyone says. Another fact is xenomorphs are not immune to the vacuum of space despite what marvel comics says. Alien and aliens are the only canon films and both times, the xenomorphs don’t want to be in the vacuum as they know they will eventually die.

[@Filthy_Larry]

@@OreoBambino he didn’t survive the vacuum. The vacuum of space won’t kill toy right away. Not even a human. The alien was dying from space. It was desperate to get back in. It thought the engines was an entrance. Ripely couldn’t risk damage to the engines. She vaporized the creature killing it twice.

[@Filthy_Larry]

@@OreoBambino also lv-426 didn’t have a thin atmosphere like mars. It was a atmosphere concentrated by high winds and metals in the air. The air was poisonous to humans and extremely cold. If anything the planet was as poison as Venus and cold as Pluto.

[@growndown3358]

I fully agree and it's a shame they cut this out of the movie and out of canon. I like Aliens, but the sequel basically killed the whole "perfect organism" vibe the xenomorph got in the first movie by not only turning it into a B rated movie monster but into cannon fodder in some of the scenes.

[@BeyondDaX]

@@growndown3358 That's why they tried to fix that with Aliens 3 to which they failed

[@chrismaser82]

Dude I'm always floored by how amazing your breakdowns are. I've seen these films hundreds of times but I always learn something new through this channel!

[@liskeke]

Dude, this isn't metalcore

[@HumanHamCube]

Ive seen Aliens tons of times and just recently noticed the dropship crashes in to the APC on the ridge. There is always something else to discover in these films and Alien Theory brings it!

[@robertstalnaker5728]

Me three

[@tenmilesky7331]

here here

[@auh2o148]

I've always liked the original better - because of the dialogue. However, I like the way the Director's Cut goes to Dallas when Ripley turns around and sees him; the way your eyes are trying to figure out what you're looking at from the low lighting is better than just looking at Ripley's face. As far as the pacing goes - after Ripley found Parker & Lambert dead - 😮in a panic, she should've hurried back to the shuttle; that's when she would see the Alien blocking the entrance, and drop Jonesy; this is where she would wind up in the cocoon room; after seeing Dallas in his state, and torching the place, she regains focus and goes to set the self-destruct; after which she heads back to the shuttle. Problems solved.

[@Finarvas]

Excellent solution

[@TheRealNormanBates]

with the pacing of the original in mind, the way I figured it could work would be to place it after Ripley finds Parker and Lambert. You have a scene that lasts maybe 2 minutes, with her just slumped on the floor, with her hands on her head. You hear Dallas' moans over the intercom, with a close up of Ripley's face/eyes as she looks up. She goes to the intercom, punches some buttons... a small screen shows the location of the voice. A scene with the camera panning as you hear her running down the hallway away from us.. cut to 1st person POV coming onto a ladder well.. cut to her going down. This way, she knows everyone is dead, and the finale is not interrupted. You also put Ripley where the audience is right after seeing the aftermath of Parker and Lambert (what do you do now?).. give them a little hope that she can save someone... only to find out they're gone.. which shifts the focus between Ripley and the Alien for the rest of the film.

[@longjohnsugar]

I still prefer the original version of this scene. The extended take on Ripley descending the ladder, pausing because of the mysterious noise, allowing the viewer to linger on the strange hive material, all builds tension in the audience. The interaction between Dallas and Ripley is perfect, showing that Ripley is still wanting to help him so that she's no longer alone, but Dallas, knowing he's too far gone and in too much constant pain, just wants it to end. It's a scene that definitely speaks to me much more than the later version.

[@ThePitchblue]

it's a short horror movie in itself

[@Wagoo]

3:15 Ron Shusett begging for an hour to be cut just makes me wonder what other footage is out there in a vault

[@CineRanter]

Looking at the interviews, I love how invested Ridley seems to be. Wish he showed as much in his recent ALien films

[@SlayerPDX]

There was nothing wrong with Prometheus or covenant. Cope.

[@Enkarashaddam]

What I love about the egg scene is that it disrupts the pace. It's a pause in the middle of the chaos where you're made to devote all your attention to the aliens alien-ness. It comes literally out of nowhere and smacks you

[@Leondrius]

I didn't even think of it until now, but this scene parallels the scene in Alien Resurrection when Ripley torches her clone.

[@himbourbanist]

I think the director's cut using the wide angle of Ripley spraying the flamethrower takes visual inspiration from the wides of her in Aliens torching the queen's eggs, and I think Resurrection took the same visual inspiration from that scene.

[@richardbaker3216]

I can confirm the part about the maggots and KY jelly. My late Uncle, then worked at Shepperton Studios and had a part in making the mechanical mouth of the main monster. As a young child, I remember visiting the studios and seeing the working mouth part on his work bench. It was also my Uncle's job , to go to the local chemist to buy the KY jelly and also large quantities of condoms. (Which he got a bit of a reputation for at the chemists, As he was ordering a gross of them at a time.) He told me, the put the maggots in the condoms and then covered them in the jelly. To give the cocoon a sense of organic movment. But the heat from the lights caused the condoms to perish quickly. Hence him needing to buy such large numbers of condoms.

[@LorenHelgeson]

This is what I love so much about your channel. The attention to detail, the breakdown of topics, even those already covered extensively elsewhere, and the little bits picked up along the way. Our defacto curator of all things Alien.

[@Spike-hl2mw]

For me one of the most significant things in the cocoon scene is the line "Kill me." It's actually one of the iconic lines of the whole series: it's in Aliens twice (during Ripley's chestbursting nightmare and when the "live one" infested colonist is discovered by the marines), and it's in Alien Resurrection (I suppose it's also in Alien 3, with Ripley's request to Dillon). Could the line have been included in Aliens in reference to this deleted scene?

[@Mizikame]

It’s also referenced/parodied in Shows/Movies/Pop Culture allll the time

[@nepntzerZer]

in the novelisation i think the verbal exchange goes longer, Dallas indicated Brett stopped making noises. i think this egg morphing is peak body horror slowly being transformed into a face hugger egg lol. awesome. a detailed video into the progression of this process would be good.

[@idiot_city5444]

Just sitting there in total darkness hearing Brett slowly transform and the alien come by every so often, while also slowly transforming as well. Gnarly haha

[@EternalRoman]

When there's the exchange of dialog between Dallas and Ripley, I always wondered what Dallas wailed at her at the end. It was not "Kill me" for he had already said that, but after some obsessing about it I finally understood that he wailed in a very creepy manner saying "Quiiiiicklyyy" and that is what prompted her to torch him. It was in line with what the script and novelization said about Dallas in the border of a scream before Ripley torches him and everything else. It was so haunting the way his voice was and his very slow movements. In the script originally there were many different ideas to what this was instead of "Egg morphing" and instead it was Dallas turning into a spore pod of liquid food for the Alien. In fact, the original script had the captain (with a different name) roughly explain to the Ripley character (also with a different name) when the latter offered to get him out and to the shuttle that it was too late, that the Alien had taken/eaten too much of him. The Alien was eating chunks out of Dallas and that is why in certain shots of the scene Dallas is shown with blood. Also the actors referred to the scene as Dallas being eaten slowly by the Alien when interviewed.

[@ryanmarquez3556]

As an Alien fan, I applaud you for doing this great work, Derek!

[@Revenant_Art]

I saw this disturbing scene first as deleted shots on dvd (then as a part of DC). Honestly it was shocking for me - unsettling, creepy, horrific. especially close up shots with maggots and liquids dropping from egg. With "kill me" part this scene haunts me to this day. I think as a stand alone scene its great as bonus content - food for our thoughts and theories. There was also opinion why this scene felt little bit out of place - color grading - whole movie was "blue" and cocoon scene was "orange"...

[@Chef_Alpo]

Indeed, orange was more of an Alien 3 color, and Resurrection.

[@luvit7567]

100% agree. I was shocked at how scary the scene was.

[@johncataldo5529]

In Aliens the cocooned settler has an egg in front of her that a face hugger has apparrantly come out of and already inplanted an embryo in her. This is the regeneration process we see throughout the series. But this scene in Alien seems to indicate that Dallas and Brett are being turned into eggs themselves.

[@simonfarrell6585]

I love both the director's cut & the original, only problem is the directors cut is missing the dallas/Mother "what are my chances?" scene, I think this is pivotal to the storyline & I definitely think it shouldn't have been ommited from the DC

[@Enkarashaddam]

I prefer Ashes "I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies" instead. To me it gets the point across in a more interesting way.

[@koppsr]

They should've left it in , simply because it shows how adaptive and versatile the Xenomorph really is. That's what Ash meant when he said he admired the conceptional purity: Made to survive.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Its amazing and wonderful that after all these years, these films still spark such interest, discussion and video content on you tube. Keep up the good work. I was too young to see the Alien film in Cinemas in 1979 and only just under legal age for Aliens too. But many hours of watching on Tv, Video, DvD and Bluray to 4K here we are. There are so few modern films that spark this much discussion and interest, these films are unique.

[@nobodysToast89]

Bruh I love you man, thank you for doing everything you do for alien series. I'm glad I was up to see it within 10 mins of it being uploaded. You're the best my dude

[@TeurastajaNexus]

Theatrical is still superior but this scene is still fascinating. The only issue I have with it, is the pacing of the scene.

[@fluffdegoss]

Personally, I love the director's cut. The transitions between scenes were perfect for pacing and I love the fact that you get to at least find out more about the Xeno and it's functions, albeit it still left you scratching your head until Aliens. That being said I love it all the same. Great breakdown. Always enjoy these. Thanks for this.

[@MonsieurJimjams]

I always preferred the longer version of this scene, it always felt shoehorned into the director's cut for me, and I get why it's taken out, but it's still an interesting scene. I love the idea of them morphing into eggs, it's so horrible, and much more interesting than the 'Queen laying eggs' idea in my opinion.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes exactly. What I would have done is have her find the cocoons just before Lambert and Parker get killed. She is so messed up and scared after finding Dallas, then losing the rest of the crew is what tips her over the edge into blowing up the ship and getting out, the ending and pacing etc could have remained the same then, with a sprint to go, Alien in the shuttle, leg it back to shut of the destruct but she is too late, so has to get past the Alien. All of that could have stayed as is then. The only other tiny niggle I always had with every version of the film is Parker's death. You see the Alien, tear into his face and brain and detail. He is dead. Yet when Ripley goes looking for Lambert and Parker, he is on the floor, there is some blood but his face is still intact and in frame for a few seconds. With all the other gore with Kane it seems strange at this point in the film with everything that is happening to shock and scare the audience, they dont show Parker with a mutilated face. Thinking on it, it was probably due to costs, makeup time or the effort involved to build a fake Parker head that was all mauled. Its just the continuity of what happens to him does not match the final time we see him....

[@NotMorganFreeman.]

@@Simon-xc5oy I can't remember where I read/saw/heard it from after seeing countless documentaries and extras, but I believe that when Parker get's his head pierced by the alien, it is actually the head created for Brett's scene. Over the years I just imagine that Parker's head injury is on the side facing away from the camera.

[@aakuster]

Queen is wwwaaayyyy better😅

[@TheKain202]

@@aakuster Hard no. The addition of the Queen turns the incomprehensible, walking gRape metaphor into a disposable bug being mass produced. Neat for a mook baddie in an action movie, but it makes the Alien mundane. Aliens is a perfect movie, but things like this show it wasn't originally an Alien sequel and only became one in the rewrites, once JC secured the rights to make a sequel to Alien. Fun fact: When Aliens was still named Mother, the action took place on Venus, and the design for the drones returned over twenty years later as Viperwolves in Avatar.

[@aakuster]

@@TheKain202 I think humans turning into eggs is stupid and makes no sense.

[@daveruda]

The directors cut is a little bit too short imo. The first part is better with the wide shots of her descent. Could do with a bit more footage of her searching the room before finding Dallas and Brett. And more of the dialouge between them. The whole pacing issue is a bit overblown imo. Especially if they put the scene where it should be: after she finds Parker and Lambert dead. This is supposed to be the final straw that makes Ripley destroy the ship. After that its all a race to escape to the shuttle and pacing is important.

[@elroberto4051]

I think it is more terrifying to leave it unknown what happens to Dallas. Imagination is sometimes way more horrifying than what is shown to you.

[@filmsbydiek7316]

agreed. The fact that he's just gone from the ducts and the communicators go silent is terrifying. Was he killed and eaten, or...??? And the survivors are left wondering who is next. Not knowing how and why the alien behaves the way it does also makes it scarier.

[@paulbrown6464]

Also when it is revealed in Aliens where the eggs actually come from, so this egg morphing makes no sense

[@Strixx23]

@@paulbrown6464but that’s because there was no mention of a Queen in Alien, that was James Cameron’s idea to make sense of why there were so many eggs but, sort of, reduces the Alien down to just an insect. The original life cycle is something we don’t really see in nature so is more alien to what we know.

[@MostlyBuicks]

If your imagination is more horrifying than Dallas being morphed into a an egg alive, then you are one scary individual.

[@keithwilliams744]

I think the tight shots if Dallas and Bret work better as it’s in keeping with the rest of the film. The film is better with the cocoon scenes in it. This pushes the imagination in directions no one could think of.

[@mxmxpr]

I edited the sequence as it appeared on Laserdisc. There was no finished version of the scene prior to that. In work-print it had been cut down to leave out Dallas entirely and just include Ripley finding Brett and the hive, and torching it. The purpose of putting the scene together was to show it as a separate supplemental piece. It was not based on anything that was attempted for the movie in '79. However, when I showed it to Terry Rawlings in his editing room for Alien 3, his response was, "If I'd known it could've been that good, we might have kept it in." For some reason, the raw film of the print takes that were transferred for Laserdisc didn't get filed properly, so when the time came for the 2003 release, there was no option other than to use the non-print takes that had not been transferred ten years earlier. That was one problem, but another was that it was inserted into the wrong spot. The scene is meant to come right after Ripley finds Brett and Lambert, and it's followed by Ripley's POV down the corridor to set the self-destruct. There should not be alarms sounding in the background during the sequence.

[@Dead_Again1313]

I assumed it was just too dark (thematically) for the big screen. Dallas is obviously in huge pain and the idea of being morphed alive is sick. So sick that one would beg for death by flamethrower, which is scary as hell to imagine.

[@The_Punisher]

Definitely one of the reasons to watch the Directors cut over the theaterical

[@Filthy_Larry]

Yup. Fans have weighed in and Ridely lost this battle lmao. We chose the cocoon as part of their life cycle. Ridley can fight me on it if he wants. I know karate. I’m a green belt.

[@RileyConn]

I have been a fan of this series since I first saw Alien as a kid and I really enjoy your explanations and analogies. Especially the stuff on LV-426.

[@Krimson7735]

Getting 2 see these films in the cinema when they were re released with the directors cuts was absolutely incredible and a memory I will cherish forever

[@jimlaw8199]

Great breakdown, my man. That Ripley walking away shot is not reversed though, judging by the action of the flame. In your custom reversed snippet the flame is going back into the burner.

[@trustymilkshake]

I still prefer the egg morphing method over the queen laying eggs. Notice how in the derelict the eggs were in different sections. Its quite possible that each row contained a separate species of xenomorph, with a different method of reproducing eggs. This would also explain why the Cameron Aliens looked so different from the Giger Drone.

[@Streetrocker28]

I like em both

[@matteorapetti3222]

I always thought that it's a survival strategy: when the alien is alone and there's no queen he can produce eggs in this way. Also, these eggs will probably generate a queen. The two scenes - in Alien and Aliens - with the eggs displaced on the ground in a regular pattern both suggest the existence of a queen

[@PygmalionFaciebat]

@@matteorapetti3222 In a biological sense a queen doesnt make sense, when other beeings of a species can produce eggs anyway. Nature doesnt work like that. When there is no reason or benefit , nature deletes that part. There are species on earth where there are no males. And guess what: they dont have a penis. Because there is no need for it for reproduction in that species.

[@Marcatolegato]

The extended bootleg Cut of ALIEN seems to suggest that the rest of the crew in the derelic might have become the eggs

[@davidpar2]

I like the way the director’s cut shows her backing away after burning the cocoon with the expression leaving her face, as it shows her moving on and getting back on task. That part was always my favorite of this scene

[@ObiClon]

No matter how many times I hear about it, it's a fascinating scene

[@IronMan3582]

I remember an interview on E! or Entertainment Tonight with the cast leading up to the theatrical release of the directors cut in 2003, where Sigourney Weaver said the cocoon scene gave her nightmares for years after filming had concluded

[@stephendevore9926]

The Dialog in the scene with Dallas is very powerful and it gives the viewer the unfortunate reality that Ripley wanting to help Dallas was not possible. The scene does give a future scene in Aliens when Ripley sees through the TV screen the same seen of kill me in Aliens brings back Dallas cocoon reality to Ripley and shows why it was not possible to literally save anyone who had been attacked by the face hugger. I'm 50/50 on how they did the scene from the original. But I see also Ridley's point of integration with more editing to increase the scenes flow. But still glad it is in the film either way It is Good Scene with extra tweaks to allow again the flow to not slow the film down Good Video 😎

[@MechaDot1]

Cocoon scene should've been there originally. It establishes Alien as something more than just a horrifying killer. You'd be lucky if it just kills you, being morphed into egg while still alive is more horrific. It could be considered being used as energy/food material for the egg creation process, end result is still same. While Brett is already dead and still being cocooned, it's possible that fresh enough corpse will do fine. As the Alien matured, it realized no need to kill the victim for egg process. James Cameron referred to that scene and called it stupid, hence his queen creation. Considering his Avatar movies and Aliens, seems like he can't understand anything totally alien, so he proceeds to naturalize/humanize such elements. Original script described the life cycle and the cocoon scene perfectly. That way even a single Alien would be more dangerous than what is initially apparent.

[@ChristinaAguileraTV01]

Still several other elements of the alien life cycle are Earth-naturalized/humanized and fall into contradiction, the main one being that the alien needs a host in order to achieve its metamorphosis to its final form, why would the facehugger stage need to go through all that burden if it could just grow and morph by itself into its final form without the need of a host? I mean if within the films the alien is tagged as "the perfect organism", then it doesn't seem so perfect if it needs a host in order to survive and morph into its next phase of its life cycle, that and several other contradictions in the films that simply don't add up

[@Imylover]

What has truly always fascinated me about this scene is that it sparked the returning words/plea of "Kill me!" that Cameron used in Aliens & it has at times showed up again in later entries of the franchise. Not bad for a deleted scene that only appeared over a decade later at first on laser disc. I guess we could thank super nerd James Cameron for that, for having such knowledge of Alien that he used as much as he could again for his sequel, including things no one outside of Fox had seen at that time. The line "Kill me!" is not at all as famous as many of the returning lines in SW for example but it still is an iconic line if you ask me & I am very glad of knowing its true origin. This is a unique one of a kind situation when a line got famous even if no one heard the line until more than a decade after the original release & it already by then was famous in its first sequel.

[@benjamincholak4634]

For some reason " what did it do to you?" Always terrified me

[@BulletTooth504]

I've never been a big fan of the cocoon re-integration. There is no in-movie explanation for this sudden side quest and still looks like they never shot the entire scene. I hadn't thought about the final shot of Ripley being reversed footage, but it had always seemed a bit off. The room had clearly not just been set ablaze and she is way too calm about it. Ruins it even further; thank you for that Alien Theory. It's an interesting scene with creepy, cool alternate spin on the Alien's life cycle, but I'll stick with the theatrical cut.

[@davidnicholls5303]

It's never explained in the film why Ripley descended into the landing leg room, but in the novelisation it's because she hears weeping-how she can hear this is a bit of a stretch and is another reason why the scene was rightly removed. Ridley only put it back in for the DC at the studios insistence as he considers the theatrical cut to be the definitive version, and I'm in agreement with him on that

[@bernardstrauss1183]

In an alternate universe the cocoon scene was never cut out and prevented the creature to be turned into a glorified termite by Cameron.

[@MrUndersolo]

And this is why I'm a sub! Fantastic job, sir! So, on September 25, 1978, this was shot... and I turned five years old! Nice to have that in my head now...

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

11:55 if you watch the flame in front of Ripley, you can see it's trailing up as she backs away, whereas her moving forward (when the footage is reversed) you see the flame unnaturally descend. I think the footage was shot as she backed away.

[@Imylover]

I really love the cocoon scene because it's a classic example of show & don't tell for any film making. I am an alien Queen fan just like everybody else but I am also all for the alternative possibility of the Xeno's to be able to eggmorph in the absence of any queen at the current time, showing just how resilient the Xeno's are. Ash had every right to admire them & call them survivors. The decision to have it removed entirely, & later on trimmed down, was still a right decision in my book. It is a very fascinating scene by itself, no matter if it looked cheap at the time or not. The only true issue is indeed the pace. And that is not really that Ripley is now on her own but rather that she has at this time started the countdown. And even in the 2003 version that is shorter you feel that the counting minutes no longer make sense. Ripley is out of time easily if this scene is included. Still I personally prefer the 2003 version for many other reasons, it has more goodies than just this scene. So I still watch it & when I get to this point in the film I simply accept & ignore that the countdown no longer matches what I am seeing & just enjoy the moment. Finding Bret & Dallas like this, seeing the start of the lair & seeing Ripley actually using the flamethrower wins over the countdown no longer matching. No movie on Earth is 100% perfect no matter how much you edit, cut & paste.

[@rangda_prime]

Great thoughts, but not everyone is an alien queen fan. I much prefer the cosmic horror idea of the Xenomorph being like an infection spreading through the means of more than just the eggs. The resinous extrusions here to me becomes something that seems to have a function, like some medium which eats and distorts the metal it grows on, producing some biomechanical machine which in turn creates the enzymes and viral gene editing compounds which transform trapped biological creatures into the next generation of eggs. It id far more in line with Giger's visions of human bodies entrapped in horrifying machinery, transformed through processes akin to both industrial refinery and sexual reproduction. The queen is a magnificent design and an incredible film monster for the ages, but I don't exactly like where it took the mythos/lore of the Xenomorphs. To me it shifted them from something outside of ordinary human experience of life and death into just another dangerous animal. I also would have loved to see an alternate cut with the scene where the Xenomorph mimics Ripley of Dallas's voice to ask for a ship to come to it. Is it intelligent in a fashion to know the contents of its call, or is it just a "Chinese Room", being able to use human communication without really understanding it? Do Xenomorphs have self realized consciousnesses or are they philosophical zombies? All of this speculation is kind of still born with the angry space hornet path the franchise went down. No wonder Scott says "the beast is cooked".

[@ParaSytius]

At the 11:55 mark where our host thinks the film is reversed doesn't work for me, just looking at the flame shows that Sigourney did indeed walk away as the forward movement has the flame travelling back into the thrower.

[@Concreteowl]

I would have moved the scene to just before Lambert and Parker are killed.The garage and the landing foot room are connected as we see when Brett is taken. She could then hear Lambert cry out and cut to that scene.

[@brucehodges9926]

Thanks for this... I wasn't aware of the eariler laser disc version releases of this scene. Interesting to see the differences. To me the big problem with the inclusion of the scene in the special edition is - it just doesn't make any sense time wise. It's placed after Ripley has started the destruct countdown, and we've learnt that the destruct over-ride option expires in 5 minutes - and as pointed out the scene takes at least 2 minutes to play out. Yet somehow this scene plays through, then Ripley leaves, climbs back to the shuttle deck and makes her way along the corridors to the shuttle, before we get an announcement that the over-ride will expire in 3 minutes. It siimply doesn't fit into the time frame, never mind the question of why Ripley would choose to go off slowly exploring some random room after she's already started the countdown timer. The placement of the scene in the Foster novel (which was based on an earlier verison of the screenplay I believe) made more sense in this regard, as it put it right after Parker and Lambert's death, but before Ripley started the destruct countdown.

[@keeponplaying]

Yes I pointed this out a while back. The placement is the same in the shooting script as well, right after she finds Parker and Lambert, For the director's cut they placed it somewhere different that doesn't make much sense time-wise. This information could have been included in this video.

[@nickmarinelli5291]

Good video! Love to see these hidden gems. What I really want is the four hour cut of "Aliens." Can you imagine all the extra hibe scenes?

[@NeilBulk]

Thank you for this video. There are some other details about this scene worth discussing. The scene was scored by Jerry Goldsmith back in 1979 and this music is on the expanded album from Intrada Records (disc 1, track 18 "The Eggs"). The liner notes point out the scene didn't have dialogue or Dallas in 1979 and the 2003 version puts the scene in a different spot than originally intended. In 1979 the scene was meant to occur before the auto-destruct was set and the cue ends on the cut to the plate that says "Emergency." Goldsmith's music for this scene is not what's used in the 2003 version.

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

I love that bit of classical at the end of the film. Lovely bit of music that is.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks for the breakdown, never knew about the alternate longer version. I enjoy the Director's Cut as a curiosity, but the original theatrical version to me is still perfect.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Awesome breakdown :D As a huge fan of the movie myself, i first only saw this scene when it was part of the bonusmaterial of the very first DVD release Box set, as well as the other deleted scenes where Lambert gives Ripley a bitchslap for almost letting them die outside of the Ship. Once you watched the Directors Cut with the scene in it, you kinda don't wanna watch it without the cocoon scene anymore. Even though time was running out when Ripley started the self destruct, there was still enough time left for this scene to actually take place. At least with the edits done for the Directors Cut it does work. Back in 2014, when i was starting to collect laserdiscs after having gotten a few on a fleamarket and also had gotten a Multiformat LD player, this 1992 release, as well as the 1997 THX remaster release, were of course a must have. The Interview bits are a treat to watch on the 1992 CAV Laserdisc release (even subsequently uploaded all of the interview bits to YT). And actually the whole package including the foldable Pamphlet is amazing and really a fantastic Laserdisc release. Some batches seem to be affected by slight disc rot but my copy was still fine.

[@bryangraziano5926]

I like the Director's Cut for sure. You keep doing a great job

[@dantespimp]

I dunno, but part of the original 70s version feels scarier than the Director's cut. I didn't think much of the Director's Cut since it goes by so quickly, it made it feel even more out of place to me. But now that I get to see the original 70s version, I actually like the build up more. Plus, that close-up shot of Brett SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME!!! 😱😱😱 Holy shit, i wished Ridley kept that close-up shot since it really nailed home the cosmic horror feel of Alien. In contrast, the wide shot in the Director's Cut loses so much of that gory detail - it becomes a blink and you'll miss it moment.

[@wingflanagan]

I made a fan edit combining the theatrical cut and the new material from the alternate cut. The pace is slower, but I think it works pretty well. I also restored all of Jerry Goldsmith's original music, editing where needed. The cocoon scene was especially challenging because Goldsmith's cue was matched to the previous version, rather than the version in the alternate cut. I did this many years ago in SD, and am thinking about doing it again in HD. With advances in the kind of video processing now available, perhaps it would be possible to go back to the original cut of the cocoon scene. It would make for an interesting experiment...

[@Kalaida]

I believe a big factor as to why the scene works as presented in The 'Director's Cut' has a lot to do with the sound mix. The original sequence only used the background noise (Heartbeat, dangling chains) in the background while this new sequence is totally revamped. It starts with the ships alarms and the feint sound of Mother continuing her announcement of the countdown. Than the big nest reveal happens and Jerry Goldsmith's score picks up. This part is a treat since we get to hear more of Goldsmith's score with alternate takes and portions of used music that were cut from the main body of the film. It really fits well.

[@Hollywoodvampire]

I obtained a rough cut from a convention years ago. Sometimes I'll watch that one because of this scene. I don't mind it pausing the action for this moment. It's nightmarishly great.

[@expeditionbuster]

I think every version of these films has a place. I've seen process cut fan edits with Lambert falling over from the blood in the chestburster scene and smaller other longer elements. I've also obviously seen the original cut. I think it would be interesting to take the longest versions of all the footage that is known to exist in the fan community and to do a massive "everything we have" cut, but also to do a "Fan Special Edition" that takes all of that footage and creates some kind of new "ideal" from them. What parts of scenes would add actual VALUE to the film if added? Maybe not even a whole scene, what individual SHOTS might add value if added or removed? Ultimately, the original cut was Scott's vision, timing, editing, etc. As fans we can imagine all sorts of different versions, and I think that is a great thing. That said, between the two cocoon scenes, I have a bias toward the Director's Cut version because I never even knew there was a longer version until today. I think some shots could be exchanged between the two in order to add more emotion, but does it fit the overall timing and mood of the moment in the course of the film itself? I can't say.

[@markstirton]

I don't think you're right about the reversed shot. The flames look right when she's backing away, but look reversed when you reverse it. Backwards fire is very easy to spot.

[@rlewis5696]

I actually like the shorter enhanced version. I am very impressed with your channel

[@festol1]

Aliens 2 arrived with a Starship Troopers (the book) take: the militarism. Added to ir, Mr Cameron action over horror. The cocoon in the first movie, in my opinion, should had kept. Horror, one creature, the mechanic aspect of the creature, the slender and slow movements. The queen, the profusion of a hive, the so called "high metabolism', the brute force deviated from a movie and creature in which is a masterpiece. Today, all it is left is art becoming profanated and raped for money and studio/producers interests. Just like the real creature did with humans in space.

[@jaymanuel3396]

I always felt that Scott inserting this scene in AFTER Ripley had started the destruction system, was a dumb choice. She doesn’t have much time to stop and investigate, weird noises at this point. It would have been smarter to put it in, after she finds Parker and Lambert’s remains. The alien took a huge bite out of Brett’s skull, but you don’t see a hole in his head, in his cocoon form. Also, why would the alien morph a dead body? I always thought it needed live prey, to incubate alien babies. I didn’t like how she torches the cocoon room, but it doesn’t appear to be burning after, just a few crackle and pops on the soundtrack. Also, how did she hear Dallas’s faint moans, over the sirens?

[@oddz313]

2003 directors cut is one of My favourite cocoon scene version for 1979 Alien movie. Funny enough Me & My younger bother are so lucky enough to watch Alien & Aliens Directors cut's in movie theatres in Hoyts Australia ACT Belconnen mall in 2020 when after covid-19 lock down. That time my dream have come true watch one of my favourite classic movies on the big screen. That only happens one's for life time.

[@INFAMOUSLSG]

I overall prefer the horror of the eggmorphing scene over the queen. With that being said I have no issue with them cutting this scene from the theatrical release, as it didn't leave any weird confusing continuity errors. You would often watch a film and is confused as to why a character said this and why they did that and the reason is on the cutting room floor. You don't get that with the omission of this scene so, no problems.

[@edwardtoyebo9690]

The fact they cut The Original Cocoon Scene and gave us an Alternate Cut Cocoon Scene was infuriating. We all saw how dramatic the Original was. That additional dialogue really helped pack the emotional punch needed to warrant how the scene interrupts with the timing. Also, that lingering shot on Ripley before we see Dallas was far more effective. If you're going to interrupt the flow of your movie, make it worthwhile. The Alternate Cut Cocoon should never have been released.

[@GeorgeSpiggot]

The scene is in the wrong place in the directors cut. It should be immediately after finding Lambert and Parker. In the original version of the cocoon scene Ripley is cautiously looking for the self destruct and the original sound and lack of emergency alarm confirms this as does the final script. It also makes more sense.

[@rickpeterson8825]

You made me a fan even more so than I already was. You do excellent work on these videos.I have been collecting the recent Marvel Alien series and the first two Volumes ( 12 issues each for 1 n 2 and then 6 issues for Volume 3) were really good although the first two, scribed by Philip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Salvador Larocca are really well done! I've also collected a large portion of the DHP Alien series ( Dark Horse Presents), which are really important to the comics fan who will obviously 5 really into these comics! My question to you, if you don't mind, are these comics considered "cannon" if you will!If you could shed light on these questions I would be most grateful, Thanks! And of course, keep up the great work!

[@cassgrey963]

Your last vid got me thinking. At the end of Aliens if the xenos didn’t interrupt would Ripley have let Hicks kill Burke? And if so what would happen, also what would it say about Ripley as character.

[@Tomurow]

Yep, I remember seeing it integrated into the movie and thought the pacing came to a halt. So that makes sense. I love the idea - but understand why people weren't satisfied with the effect. There was probably another design choice that could have been taken to make it look more natural, maybe reflecting how they found the eggs in the derelict ship in the first place. This would make it easier for the audience to understand through rhyming imagery. Imagine if Ripley sees the silhouette of Dallas sitting alone on the misty floor of the abandoned level. As she approaches she realises that he is transitioning to egg form - as evidenced by Brett-egg nearby. The stylised resign secretion everywhere becomes apparent through the smoke. Creepy... especially as Brett-egg seems to have something growing in his translucent belly! Aaaaagh!

[@zenquantum1246]

The director’s cut is so much stronger, but I agree that Weaver’s performance remains gut-wrenching in the original cut. Fascinating how much debate the caused during production. So curious as to the classic question about what impact this scene would have had on Cameron’s sequel if it had been included theatrically

[@LanceVanceDance84]

I think it possibly may have hindered his whole 'queen alien that lays eggs' approach, which, for as much as I love Aliens, I've personally always found the eggmorphing concept to be much more interesting and, well..."alien". Not to mention the mere thought of how long and torturous of a process it must be to suffer through is absolutely terrifying.

[@zenquantum1246]

@@LanceVanceDance84 the best narrative thing about the discovery of the egg-morphing cycle during “Alien” is that it actually raises the stakes for Ripley from “you might die” to “you’ll slowly be erased while becoming and perpetuating the very thing you fear”. It really drives home the underlying themes of sexual abuse and gives the final act so much more tension

[@LanceVanceDance84]

@@zenquantum1246 Exactly. It's much more psychologically terrifying in that sense, and as you put it, adds an extra layer of tension to Ripley's attempt at escape. In addition to that, it also keeps the alien itself (I refuse to refer to it as a "Xenomorph", as that was never the name intended for it) mysterious and 'alien-like' rather than turning it into a glorified insect.

[@zenquantum1246]

@@LanceVanceDance84 yeah, while I think of Cameron’s Queen and hive as more of an addition to the alien’s lore (an environmental response to being among a population of its own) than the negation of the egg-morphing cycle, it is far more alien to have a creature rewrite your very DNA for its own purposes. And the term “xenomorph” is great as a Sci-Fi name, but it’s not really descriptive of what the actual creature is. You could call almost any extraterrestrial animal with different appearances during its life cycle an “alien changer”

[@bxbriant01]

Alien franchise was a inspirational picture when I was a kid I was first introduced to Aliens then came Alien for me, lol. when I saw part 2 first I was captivated by the aliens life style knowing how it worked and what it did to the hosts in the hive. then I saw Alien. and was thrown off and wondered about a hive. but it was a single creature. I knew their must me a deleted scene somewhere …. Then the directors versions came out and saw the the Egg Morphing scene. I loved the darker version. Made you wonder what she’s looking at and the wider shots of the hive surrounding both Brett and Dallas. all the deleted scenes I felt have a spot in the finished picture. Maybe a longer film. But so worth it. Seen this franchise over 100+ time. I’m watching it again.

[@dylanmonstrum1538]

Ever since I watched these movies like... 5/6 years ago, the "blue collar space workers" kind of movies have been my faaavourite

[@mrmrgaming]

The footage that I remember hearing about in the '90s (it maybe has since come to light by now?) was missing scenes with Ian Holm. I know when the Lasser disc came out, it was said that Ian would not give his permission and some of the deleted stuff with him was missing.

[@ray8413]

We need a complete cut for every all movie (every delete unless the scene contradicts the story )

[@pedrosanchezdelmonton9995]

I almost can't bear the image of Brett being ovomorphed (advanced). Please could you describe the process? If you have an iphone with you, this device will be also ovomorphed???

[@Strixx23]

Was there any footage of the end of credits idea? I read that the off tune element in the end credits score was where there would be a shot of an egg secreted in the life pod, (I guess put there prior to the Alien blocking Ripley’s route).

[@VHDT10]

Loved the video. Amazing observations. I think, when the video went backwards, the fire seemed to move backwards, as well

[@leonidas3197]

Absolutely! enjoyed the side by side panels and details behind the scenes.

[@scrappydoo7887]

Great stuff in excellent detail as always AT 👍

[@hecatomb2565]

I actually think the movie is better without the cocoon scene. The inexplicable nature of the alien is part of what makes it so terrifying, and having no idea what ultimately happened to Brett and Dallas makes the film that much scarier. In the theatrical version, we see enough to suggest that Brett was probably killed, but we don't know for sure. And Dallas just disappears. As Parker says, there was "no blood, no Dallas, nothing." Just as with the mystery of Lambert's fate, it is more frightening when we don't understand the alien at all. We don't know what it is, we have no idea what it's trying to do and why, and we don't know what happens to its victims.

[@claytonbarnes]

I actually think it’s better with this scene. Everyone has different opinions.

[@HumanHamCube]

Ridleys deleted beard 2:36

[@TheNakedSilo]

I've always found the pathetic, pained noises Dallas makes in this scene chilling, horrifying, disturbing, and sad. I do very much like the idea of a queen laying eggs, but turning a human into an egg is extremely horrifying.

[@stevejordan7275]

0:40 It wasn't "adapted into the novel," the "tie-in" novel by A.D. Foster was written based on the shooting script; copies of it were probably heading for bookstores before the movie released, and that's why the scene was even there to see after being edited out.

[@alexandraw.4012]

So f*****g cool! My favorite movies and my favorite KZbin channel. I never get enough of this content!

[@chaz32]

I love the way the making of Alien involved maggots, a human skull and Nottingham lace. Gnarly. I'm sure there's a lot of digital touch-ups going on with Director's Cut.

[@andrewkerr3836]

This answers a number of questions i had above this movie, thank you. 👍

[@Uulfinn]

I actually like the version of the reveal where ripley says dallas' name before the audience sees him.

[@GazB85]

Hey AT great video! What do you think of the latest Alien video game?

[@Scoobydcs]

is there a hi res image of the opening shot here?? i want it as my desktop background

[@karenrudd213]

I’ll have to include that it actually took me a few years to view Alien 3 without bias. I was one of those that purchased and kept up with the releases of the Alien graphic novels. My disappointment was too great viewing Alien 3 in the theater. Newt (Rebecca) and Hicks “lived” on in the graphic novels. But again, the more I gave it time & just let go of the graphic novel version of the story, I actually started viewing Alien 3 with less & less bias. Even to a point of actually appreciating the work that went into it. Especially considering how many delays and production troubles that it had. It’s actually something that they managed to deliver what they did. Interestingly enough, after so many years I personally have come to the conclusion that Alien 3 has aged relatively well. It’s actually gotten better.

[@Derpy1969]

Editors will complain about pacing. Creators will complaint about quality. Both reasons are perfectly valid.

[@rickbone3906]

so today and sunday they playing alien on the big screen, any idea if its the directors cut? or the original? also curious to see if they release a new trailer on alien day today?

[@joseantoniomillabrito2764]

I saw Aliens with all deleted scenes and most of them were dragging the pace. The scene where Ripley finds out her daughter is dead an older woman will be sorely missed from the theater release...but you can always press the skip button. As far as this movie goes (alien), the extended cut adds to the story and doesn't mess with the pacing. Gold.

[@alexandrecorelli7179]

Thank you for the video ! I always wondered why this scene had been deleted, but I agree with Ridley Scott : The end of the film is going so fast, with the voice of the computer counting down the time left to the explosion, that it sounds surrealistic to see Ripley telling Dallas she is going to take him out of here !

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

In the novelization, it's even worse - she wants to take him up to the medlab!! ("We'll crank up the autodoc...") The novelization also hints that Dallas had been about to scream, so maybe he had a chestburster in him.

[@XenoTronusWeePoo850]

​@@Ensign_Cthulhu wouldn't have made sense for a chestburster to be inside him imo

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

@@XenoTronusWeePoo850 Not as the second movie codified the life cycle, no; but in the original movie they're dealing with something whose ways and means nobody has any idea about, so anything was still technically possible. Plus, "Kill me" in this universe has pretty much only one context.

[@XenoTronusWeePoo850]

@@Ensign_Cthulhu I think Dallas had been about to scream simply because of the pain he was in or something. If he was morphing into an egg then that must mean he's morphing into an egg that'll have a facehugger inside. For a chestburster, you need a facehugger. When Dallas said "kill me" he could've simply meant for Ripley to kill him because of how painful the morphing process was. This is just what I think, it might have been possible for Dallas to have a chestburster inside him maybe. Perhaps the idea of egg morphing in the original movie was to create chestbursters but if that's the case then shouldn't chestbursters need living hosts? Because Brett was also morphing but he was dead. Maybe in the original movie the idea of chestbursters was that they didn't need living hosts. If that's the case then I'm surprised a chestburster didn't come out of Brett yet.

[@xenobabavids]

The change in Ripley's expression as she discovers Dallas is fantastic acting from Sigourney Weaver any way you cut it. But in the DC, showing Dallas to the audience first and then seeing her expression abruptly change midway through the following shot gets this gut-wrenching emotional response out of me that the original doesn't. Maybe seeing her reaction to what we already know, rather than experiencing that shock alongside her, makes it more sympathetic. Or maybe it just gives the audience more of a window to appreciate the performance. Either way, it's goddamn chilling.

[@RANDYJR72]

They need to hire you for all future Alien projects since the studios lost there way years ago.

[@miyahollands6136]

Cutting it, because its a calll-back to earlier scene, with a romantic connection between the two characters isn't good enough in my book. These are long-term friends, who have shipped out many times before. So, this can still be shocking, without ever hinting to a romantic relationship. I agree with the pace argument, but that is because it's in the wrong place - let me explain why I say this! the director's cut: This scene happens just after Ripley has just tried to board the shuttle, but is stopped by the presence of the alien. Ripley leaves Jones behind and is rushing back to switch the cooling unit back on, when she is distracted by strange noises coming from the shadows! The four reasons for saying this is the wrong place are: 1 - Surely, the cooling unit would have been a much higher priority than investigating any strange noises. If the cooling unit doesn't happen soon, then strange noises in the shadows are the least of her worries! 2 - We all know where the alien is, its back at the shuttle. so we therefore know that these strange noises coming from the shadows is not the alien. 3 - Ripley hasn't stopped to see if the alien is in pursuit, so the worst thing to do is stop moving! 4 - Most importantly, the film has already established Ripley as being the last remaining crew member, so the focus is all on her - survival, will she and how? This is why the pace argument exists. Out of the two versions, the latter director's cut version is my preferred version, but it is still a bit too slow for where it is in the film. For me, a much better location would be right after Ripley discoverers Parker and Lambert have been killed. Ripley is down in the lower decks and this ponit would have a better match of pace. Ripley is already disturbed by seeing Parker have Lambert, which further justifies an emotional response after seeing Dallas and Brett cocooned. Being distracted by some strange noises coming from the shadows, at this very point, would be a great way of adding tension - is it the alien? at this point we don't know where the alien has gone, or is it still there....? you can just imagine how the audience in the cinema would react to her attention being drawn away suddenly - I bet there would have been plenty of "Ooooh sh....!" moments! At this point, it serves to underline the notion that Ripley is on her own, its now one-on-one. So, some of her emotional response is to the realisation of this fact. She now knows that she will be next! so, this would only serve to add even more tension to her journey back to the shuttle. It would also add sufficient time for the alien to travel through the ship, to be at the shuttle ready for its part in the BOO! moment. While Ripley is investing strange noises, the alien is back searching for Ripley elsewhere. the BOO! moment, outside the shuttle, has always had a "now the alien is suddenly in a completely different part of the ship!" feel to it. this would remove this, slight continuity issue. the latter part of the film does a very good job of masking a major plot point, making it feel lower down the order than it actually is. using Ripley preparation of the shuttle, her search to find Jones, and Parker and Lambert's death, to push the fact that Ripley's first task was to shut down the cooling system and start the timer, that's being playing away in the background all along. the addition of the cocoon scene would be another layer of the masking, making her desperate act of trying to turn it back on even more intense.

[@SmartCookie2022]

I much prefer the otherworldly metamorphosis of human-to-egg concept in the original movie rather than what James Cameron gave us in _Aliens_ with the queen xenomorph just laying larvae eggs like some huge space bug.

[@boikoboichev4875]

It was 20th Century Fox who wanted to restore the deleted scenes back into the film. Scott had to come in and completely recut the whole movie in order to keep the pace. "Upon viewing the proposed expanded version of the film, I felt that the cut was simply too long and the pacing completely thrown off. After all, I cut those scenes out for a reason back in 1979. However, in the interest of giving the fans a new experience with Alien, I figured there had to be an appropriate middle ground. I chose to go in and recut that proposed long version into a more streamlined and polished alternate version of the film. For marketing purposes, this version is being called "The Director's Cut."