Why was the cocoon scene edited out of Alien?

I thought the cocoon scene in the original Alien movie was pretty powerful and you really feel Ripley's fear and uncertainty. In the scene Ripley finds alien castings in the hold of the ship and the captain, Dallas, enmeshed in a cocoon with only his head showing.

This scene was cut from the original theatrical release. Why did they edit out such a powerful scene from the movie?

Best Answer

As explained on the Xenopedia wikia:

Eggmorphing was originally to be witnessed during the climax of Alien, when Ripley discovers Dallas and Brett cocooned in the Nostromo's hold, with Brett being transformed into an Egg. The entire sequence was cut as director Ridley Scott felt it slowed down the final act of the film. However, the scene did appear in the movie's novelization, and was referenced in the novelizations of the sequel films.

As its source for this explanation, the wikia refers to The Alien Legacy:

The Alien Legacy is a 1999 making-of documentary directed by Michael Matessino that details the production of the 1979 film Alien. Created for the Alien Legacy DVD box set, it uses interviews with the film's crew, as well as behind the scenes images and clips, to detail the development, filming and release of the movie.

The relevant part is in the "Alien on Board" part:

The seventh and longest chapter goes into the filming of the titular creature, in particular focussing on the infamous Chestburster scene and the decision to show as little of the Alien as possible throughout the film. Notably, the documentary also shows the deleted Eggmorphing scene almost in its entirety.

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Why was the cocoon scene deleted Alien?

The sequence was cut because it showed too much of the Alien, and clearly revealed the creature to be a man in a suit. Availability: The Alien Legacy box set.

How did they do the alien chest scene?

The effect was achieved by placing Hurt, from the neck down, below a table, with a false torso on top of it. Scott said the scene was captured by multiple cameras, and only once, \u201cbecause once I blew blood all over that set there was no cleaning it up\u2026

What was Ash looking at on the monitor?

I always felt that the little circular object in the screen was the developing xenomorph embryo, and Ash is watching over its growth like a mother hen protecting her brood--hence he shuts the screen off when Ripley shows up.

Alien: Deleted Scene The Cocoon Sequence Complete

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