Would enhancing the VFX in Alien 3 help it?

[LastSurvivor92]

I can't begin to imagine the financial factor involved in trying to revamp all the special effects in Alien 3. But I've always wondered how much improving the puppetry to either practical effects/modern CGI effects could make the Alien more terrifying. With the exception of indistinguishable bald prisoners running around there's really not a whole lot of elements that play into Alien 3 negatively besides all the green screen/vfx stuff.  Everyone I've spoken to mentions how the quality of the film spirals downhill as soon as the silly puppetry and visual effects with the Xenomorph come to fruition within the film. As some have mentioned it's almost like there's more than one Alien in the film once Tom Woodruff leaves the Alien suit and is substituted for miniature Alien.

What exactly would it take to change the VFX in the Alien 3 with today's technology?

[SM]

The "simplest" way would be to recreate each shot with a CG Alien and overlay it over the puppet.

No, I don't think it would improve the movie to any great degree.  Many think it's CG already anyway...

[Local Trouble]

It would be interesting to see if an amateur CG artist could do it for a fan edit.

[Huggs]

The effects don't bother me in the slightest. No more than the dated effects from films like Jason and the Argonauts bother me. They just don't. I'm watching it for the story, and the story is being told just fine.

[SM]

It would be interesting to see if an amateur CG artist could do it for a fan edit.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone could.

CGing around the other issues with the film could be more difficult.

[Elmazalman]

I'm glad none of the miniature rod puppet compositing SFX (as seen in A3) was used in the original film.

The rubber suit and articulated head worked just fine for the adult form.

Perhaps something similar may have been used for the original reveal of the creature in the air shafts with Dallas, if the Director had more time and money.

[OmegaZilla]

I'm glad none of the miniature rod puppet compositing SFX (as seen in A3) was used in the original film.

The rubber suit and articulated head worked just fine for the adult form.

Perhaps something similar may have been used for the original reveal of the creature in the air shafts with Dallas, if the Director had more time and money.

In 79 they just had stop-motion and the best example of that then (arguably) was When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and The Crater Lake Monster, both of which had fixed plates for each stop-mo sequence and slow-moving creatures... go-motion was invented two years after Alien and indeed would've been interesting to see applied to the final ejection scene

[SM]

I'd argue that the pinnacle of stop-motion at that point was probably Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, but either way I think it would've dated the film something chronic - much as the compositing in Alien 3 dated it instantly.

[Elmazalman]

I'd argue that the pinnacle of stop-motion at that point was probably Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.  I think it would've dated the film something chronic - much as the compositing in Alien 3 dated it instantly.

I think if they had gone with miniatures in Alien, it more than likely would've been stop-motion.  The pinnacle of stop-motion at that point was probably Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.  I think it would've dated the film something chronic - much as the compositing in Alien 3 dated it instantly.

I'm thankful the stop-motion outtake footage wasn't used in the 1982 version of The Thing.

[Huggs]

For some reason, I've always found stop motion to add an extra dash of scary to things. There's a sharpness to it that just seems odd, dangerous and otherworldly.

[Elmazalman]

For some reason, I've always found stop motion to add an extra dash of scary to things. There's a sharpness to it that just seems odd, dangerous and otherworldly.

It works perfectly for King Kong (1933) (Kong's bristling fur) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (the skeletons) but I wouldn't want to see it in ALIEN.

[Huggs]

I remember the raptor tests for Jurassic park looked wicked.

[SM]

Calibos and the Medusa gave me nightmares after seeing Clash of the Titans in the theatre.  But even to young eyes it looked hokey and fake.

[Xenomrph]

The "simplest" way would be to recreate each shot with a CG Alien and overlay it over the puppet.

No, I don't think it would improve the movie to any great degree.  Many think it's CG already anyway...

Many think it's bad CGI; I personally don't think the effects look bad, but I could see how modern-day CGI could improve the overall experience.

[Local Trouble]

It would be interesting to see if an amateur CG artist could do it for a fan edit.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone could.

CGing around the other issues with the film could be more difficult.

Alien 3 has other issues?