1. Alien 3 (1992)
Directed by David Fincher, his 1992 debut movie is essentially an arthouse study in existentialism which is officially the most hated movie in the Alien franchise, even by the director himself. Being a contrarian, it is one of my favourite films of all time. The shoot 'em up sensibilities of James Cameron's theatrical cut of Aliens, didn't work for me. It may as well have had Bruce Willis running around in a vest, or Arnold Schwarzenegger mangling corny one-liners in a heavy Austrian accent. The tone of Alien 3 is much more in keeping with Ridley Scott's original. It looks incredible. It sounds amazing (Elliot Goldenthal's atmospheric score melds seamlessly with the audioscape, it's difficult to tell where the score starts and the atmosphere finishes). It's adult. It's provocative. It's arty. It asks the audience to empathise with a bunch of rapists and murderers. It poses questions about sacrifice and redemption. Rarely for a summer blockbuster it credits you with a brain and allows you to appreciate the long, slow burn to the climax. Behind the scenes the production difficulties centred on the age old Art vs. Commerce debate. Back then Mr. Fincher was only known for the music videos he'd made for Madonna and Aerosmith and his sneaker ads for Nike, so whenever he insisted on his vision in an attempt at something gloriously ambitious he was summarily belittled by the studio: What are you listening to him for? Hes a shoe salesman! It's exhilarating that in a medium where the prime motivator is the selling of overpriced popcorn and fizzy drinks David Fincher attempted to create a beautiful, delicate china cup in a field full of beer mugs. His subsequent filmography vindicates his every decision on this movie.
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