I got a chance to watch the single disk edition of Aliens vs Predator: Requiem last night. This movie doesn't come out on DVD and Blu Ray disk until next week, but I work at a library, and we're always able to get things earlier than retail outlets.
The version I watched was the single disk, R-rated version, of Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. The disk had but one bonus feature, a commentary track featuring directors Colin and Greg Strause, as well as producer John Davis.
Personally, I did not like the movie at all. I didn't enjoy it when I saw it in theaters last December, and watching it in the comfort of my own home didn't change my opinion, either. To be fair, the movie seems even darker (as in, it's hard to see what's going on) than it was in the theater, and I always have my screen set to the brightest resolution.
But then I listened to the commentary track. And while I won't get into everything that was discussed, I just want to say that it is absolutely worth listening to. My harsh criticsm of the movie has softened since listening to the commentary track. Listed below are some highlights.
-- Early in the film, the Strause Brothers point out that, during the first few minutes of the movie in which a scene takes place in the skull trophy room of the Predators' ship, a Space Jockey skull (or cousin of the Space Jockey) can be seen off to the right. Personally, I couldn't make it out; since the screen was so dark, a lot of the skulls looked the same to me. However, one skull off to the left that I did miss when watching the movie in the theater is a Triceratops skull. I found this amusing since this implies that the Predator species has thrived for, at least, 65 million years. I did get a hoot out of that.
-- Shane Salerno, one of the writers of the first Aliens vs Predator film (and sole writer of the second), was set to be a part of the commentary track, as well. However, the commentary was made during the Writers' Strike, and Mr. Salerno was not allowed to be a part of it.
-- Producer John Davis' favorite scene of the whole movie is when the chestburster bursts out of the kid's chest early on in the film. I found that to be a bit disturbing, but there you go.
-- The Predalien was nicknamed Chet on set during the movie's production. All three men refer to the Predalien as Chet repeatedly throughout the commentary.
-- One scene that never made it into the movie was a skinning scene that involved the Predalien skinning the other Predators alive and leaving them to hang from the ceiling inside the crashed ship. When the Wolf Predator sees this, he flies into a rage. This was meant to show how the Predalien takes characteristics from its hosts, as the Predator species has been known to skin their victims alive and leave them hanging from somewhere.
-- Because of budget restrictions, the Strause Brothers only had 52 days to shoot their movie.
-- When talking about trying to find the right mix in creating the Predalien, John Davis said it came out to be 1/3 Alien, and 2/3 Predator. The Strause Brothers immediately corrected him and said the Predalien was 2/3 Alien and 1/3 Predator. Ooookay.
-- The Strause Brothers openly admit that they knew a lot of Alien fans were going to hate them, as well as the movie, based on the fight sequences alone. The Wolf Predator pretty much has his way with the Aliens in the movie, and he made them seem awfully weak by comparison. An example of this, the brothers noted, was when the Wolf Predator stomped on the head of one of the Aliens and smushed it.
-- Another feature of the movie that was cut -- again, due to budget restrictions -- was a point-of-view reference from the Predalien, especially when he was scoping out female victims. The Strause Brothers wanted to imply that the Predalien was actually attracted to women because they carry a uterus, but that it was especially drawn to pregnant women, because all those unborn children provided extra food for the Predalien's babies. The Strause Brothers called the Predalien's offspring bellybursters.
-- In the scene where the blond girl strips down to her panties, this was meant as an homage of sorts to Sigourney Weaver's character in the first Alien film, and another nod to the actress who was seen in a thong in Alien Resurrection. The men talked, especially, about how long the camera lingered on the actress's butt during the scene.
-- In the scene where the little girl looks through the night-vision goggles and sees an Alien approaching outside where bedroom window, the Strause Brothers told a funny story about the guy in the suit, Tom Woodruff. They were battling to get the scene done before sunrise, and Tom Woodruff was having trouble seeing through the suit. Plus, he was getting all scratched up because of the thorns in all the rose bushes. Apparently, he completely trampled a local resident's rose garden during the scene.
-- The cast and crew had to worry about getting hypothermia during the rain scenes because it was so cold in Vancouver, Canada, at the time.
A theme that played over and over and over and over during the commentary track was the film's limited budget. So many things -- story, action sequences, special effects, you name it -- had to be scaled back or cut out altogether because FOX wouldn't give them more money. It made me wonder how much better the Strause Brothers' vision of the movie could have been had FOX given them the resources they wanted to make the film they wanted. I'm not joking when I say that a lot of things that didn't make sense to me in the movie made total sense when I listened to the commentary track. The Strause Brothers openly admit that story, action sequences, special effects, you name it -- things that could have fleshed out the movie -- were simply excluded because FOX wouldn't give them anymore money.
Although I still think the movie is a stinker, I don't think as harshly of it now after having listened to the commentary track. I think about what could have been, and I'm angry with FOX for screwing over, not only the film-makers, but the fans, who've made these franchises what they are and deserve more than what we're getting.
Positively, absolutely, give the commentary track a listen when you purhase or rent Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. I only scratched the surface here of all the things that were discussed.
