Alien 3 Special Edition Cut

Alien 3 Special Edition Cut 

I re-watched the Alien 3 Extended/Special Edition on HBO last night.  I remember watching this newer cut years ago and really enjoying it.  I couldn't believe how much better this version plays compared to the theatrical cut.  Due to the production problems on set, the studio forced their cut of the movie onto the director and released a half-baked film that dropped storylines mid-movie.  Fincher disowned the movie and never looked back.  Some producers got together and cut together an alternative take of Alien 3 and it is a completely different movie.   

Never has a movie seemed so different from the two cuts of this movie. This Special Edition reveals there were tons of re-shoots as well as scenes being cut out.

-The religious stuff plays a bigger role in the movie.  Charles S Dutton character has more religious speeches and there are more prisoners observing their religious beliefs.  This cut does tie into the notion that people from Earth, in the alien universe, look down on religion like they do in Alien Covenant.   

-Charles S Dutton plays a bigger role in the movie:  There are or moments with him in the newer cut.   

-The crash landing of the pod is much more brutal and damaging:  The beginning of the movie completely changes how Riley is found. She is discovered on the beach blackened and knocked out by Charles Dance's character,  Her body takes more of beating in the new opening.  Why did they reshoot the scenes for the theatrical cut?  It makes no sense to replace the beach scene.

-Ox vs Dog:  In the special edition, the alien emerges from an Ox instead of a dog.  The dog is completely removed from the SE cut.   

-Way more interactions between the prisoners:  We get more into the lives of the prisoners in this cut.   

-The prisoners actually CATCH the alien in the special edition!:  Yes, an entire second act is removed from the theatrical cut.  When the tunnels are set ablaze by accident, their plan still works.  The inmate that attempted to rape Ripley gives her an apologetic nod and lures the alien into the trap and gets killed.  The alien is actually trapped and contained for a good 15-20 minutes.  This completely changes the way you view the prisoners because their first plan works, despite losing a lot of people.  Why would the studio completely cut this story element out of the movie?   

-Golic releases the alien from captivity:  This character is important to this extended cut. He sees himself in the alien and wants to see it again. He even murders another person to free it.

-This Bishop is human:  Despite the robotic way Lance plays him, the character is clearly human in this version.  In the theatrical cut, it isn’t made clear if he is an android or not.  Here, we see he is in great pain because his ear is about to fall off his head.  Was this a different take from the theatrical cut?  

After watching the movie in the extended state, I can see why the theatrical version left so many people with a bad taste.  However, the movie is still a dower no matter which version you watch.  It is not a hopeful movie in any form.  One person lives through the movie and even the star dies.  And, I still can’t forgive the movie for killing off three of the surviving characters from the second movie.  Knowing the strange manner this movie came to fruition, it is amazing this movie was even completed or makes any sense.  The Special Edition is just a far better movie and I think would have gotten praise from the critics of its time.  Heck, this premise could have worked as a mini-series on HBO.   

Why in the hell was this movie messed with so much?