ALIENS EXPANDED

This time, it's a documentary film about James Cameron's 'Aliens'. What surprised me was its runtime—a staggering 282 minutes! This is the ultimate expression of love for Aliens.

The documentary focuses primarily on interviews with the main cast, excluding director/screenwriter James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd (Cameron's spouse at the time), and Bill Paxton (who passed away in 2017).

It was packed with behind-the-scenes stories I had never heard before, making it well worth watching. In particular, the 'Tea Lady Tragedy' recounted by James Cameron himself is linked to his standing in the film industry at the time. Although it was his next project after 'The Terminator', James Cameron's name recognition was almost zero, and since filming took place at Pinewood Studios in London, it was completely away territory for the Canadian director. He talks about how difficult it was at first. That's when the 'Tea Lady Tragedy' occurred. I won't go into details, but the fact that James Cameron, the person involved, doesn't think he did anything particularly wrong speaks volumes about the depth of the problem.

Gale Anne Hurd also mentions that female producers were rare at the time and were often completely ignored. It is valuable testimony that tells of the sexism on film sets in the 80s. Even though 'Aliens' is considered a feminist film, it shows that the production environment was still very much male-dominated.

The testimony from Jenette Goldstein, who played Vasquez, is also full of valuable stories; it's easy to see why her character has so many fans. You can still see traces of her character in the way she speaks.

Of course, the star, Sigourney Weaver, also talks at length. She mentions that she had quite mixed feelings at the time about the sequence where Ripley learns that her real daughter had died while she was in cryosleep being cut entirely.

The long runtime is likely due to the large number of people interviewed. There is no doubt that this is a documentary that any Aliens fan will find irresistible.