Once upon a time, I made a lifelong friend because for the longest time they were the only other person I knew who had seen the weird cut with the automated pulse rifles scene. No one else would believe us that it existed for years. I guess until the interwebs.

that's a good friend to have.

I will never understand why the sentry gun scene was cut. Never. Or the meeting with Burke about the fate of her daughter which is so utterly crucial to explain her immediate attachment to Newt later. It's like a two minute scene, and it explains so much.

I love this movie so much. It's easily in my top five. They don't make them like this anymore.

just don't ask Rex Pickett what he thinks about it

I don't run into him much, so I should be safe.

Awesome picture though!

Yet another excellent airlock scene. Somebody really ought to start up a podcast about that.

there's four or five of these across the franchise. Makes you wonder if it is really that hard to come up with anything else

it has this accidental renaissance vibe

The Dungeons and Daddies guys fell down a rabbit hole on the latest patreon episode and got excited about all the different hangar scenes in sci-fi.
There are a lot in Star Wars, and DS9 came up but was shot down for being more of an arcade with occasional hangars and not just one big round hangar.
What's the fantasy version of hangar scenes? They posit: throne room scenes.

I was fine with them cutting out the beginning with the colonists and Newt's parents, to be honest.

All of that is explained effectively and visually by the marine's first entering the base and doing their recon, and then later with the revelation that Burke sent them there when Ripley confronts him. The whole first part was redundant because other than Newt they're only purpose is to tell the audience what we already know.

damn. that's fascinating. gotta check it out. thanks

This is how I feel.
I can do without the colony scene but the daughter scene tells so much story and makes Newt calling her mommy at the end so meaningful.
The turret scene really added more tension and nuance to the aliens and the situation. It was short, but really emphasized the threat.

Such an amazing actor.

Agreed on all counts. But apart from being a master class in tension, the sentry gun scene has another valuable component that I personally think should have secured its inclusion on its own: The ruggedized remote-control laptops have what I consider to be the absolutely best example of UX ever made for a movie. Not only because it makes the unfolding situation clear to the viewers, but also because it's exactly what I'd expect from a military interface upon which lives literally depend and which is designed to be operated by Private Schmuck in the field: Functional, clear and concise. It's the perfect antidote to the ludicrous meaningless greeble seen in most other sci-fi, and a sharp contrast to the over-complicated and visually confusing mess seen in Prometheus onwards. It's a big part of what I generally admire about the OG Alien aesthetic: Pragmatism. These people are there to work. Their tools aren't made to look pretty. They're there to get the job done.

her range is insane - she can do horror, comedy, drama and make it look easy

And Sigourney isn't half bad, either. ;)

damn, you got me!