It won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, it put Sigourney Weaver on the map, it made $200 million dollars against an $11 million dollar budget, it spawned 3 Sequels, 2 spinoff films, 2 crossover films, video games, comics, novels, toys, board games, novelizations, and an upcoming live action TV series, it's now considered to be one of the scariest motion pictures ever made.
It is a masterpiece. From the very first frame of the movie it begins to fill you with dread and loneliness thanks to Gerry Goldsmith's excellent sound track. Very little music, per se, but mostly just always there in the background with ambiance that instills you with fear. And of course it helps that the actors put real effort into it instead of phoning it in (as is the case with many sci-fi movies both then and now). The final 10 minutes of this movie, from the activation of the self destruct to the finale are among the greatest 10 minutes in all of film if you ask me. I heard that one alternate ending to the movie that was briefly discussed was that Ripley gets killed by the alien in the escape ship, then the alien climbs into the pilot seat and makes a distress call...in Captain Dallas' voice. That would have been wild, for sure.
It's interesting that they didn't seem to take to Alien. This isn't as flashy and effects-heavy as most horror. It's far more sophisticated, it builds the tension by using silence. There's also a lot of psychological thought behind the face huggers, the chest burster, and of course, the Ash sequence might be low-key the most disturbing in the film for some viewers. You also don't see a lot of the deaths on screen, there's a lot that is implied. It does make me wonder if watching Alien in a group, with the lights on, might have made a difference. This isn't really a crowd-pleasing blockbuster type of film.
They’re younger viewers who were likely expecting more CGI-laden effects and a much quicker tempo. _Alien_ is an atmospheric film that starts out slow and builds tension as it moves to it’s conclusion. These viewers will likely enjoy _Aliens_ much more.
That original konami aliens arcade game that released in 1990 is one of the best ever made. It's great that you can actually play as ripley and hicks. Same goes for the 1994 AvP arcade. Thats one of the all time greats too. I still play them now.
Kids grew up with Zeno morphs in every kids cartoon, so it loses it effect on younger generations. It remains the scariest movie i have ever watched. It's right up there with the Thing as the scariest/ grossest horror movies of all time.
The videogame character Samus Aran is based on her. Plus, one of Samus' biggest enemies is a pterodactyl-like alien called Ridley...who is named after the director of the 1979 Alien film...Ridley Scott.
“Why’s it so realistic?!” That’s what makes it so great! No CGI, all real props made with real materials (some even gross animal/organic material) that feels real because it IS real! Combined with a great script and awesome cinematography, you get a timeless classic 👏🏻
@@promnightdumpsterbaby9553 CGI is just as intensive work wise as practical. Given the process of making a digital model vs practical model is still fairly similar just the medium used to do so is different. They both have their strengths and both should be used equally in a production.
@@NZBigfoot Building something with your own 2 hands in a hot dirty effects studio doesn't come close to rendering pixels in a nice air conditioned room in a comfy chair eating cheetos and smoking dope lol
@@meropemerope6096 I'm not really totally sure but I think the only real reaction in that scene, is the girl that got sprayed with the blood they all knew about the baby alien and the blood but she got surprised by the spray amount.
@@meropemerope6096 They didn't know. It was confirmed from everyone in that scene when John Hurt was convulsing on the table that nobody knew what the hell was happening to him. They only knew in the script about an alien that was going to show up but no idea how or from where.
Xenomorphs are considered one of the natural apex predators of their universe (note natural). Their appearance launched them into a legendary status of movie monsters.
But Predator will be your biggest enemy always u know the beef we have as fans Lmao I love it I’m here all for it I love AVP u can’t deny that alien skull in the predators ship was like a Thanos holy fuck marvel moment in that time shit I think what fox did with alien and predator I think they where one of the first film company who did a expanded or share universe before DC or marvel ever did in the big screen that alien skull was iconic because it was the one from aliens 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
The film went over their heads. To think they probably will never watch this movie again, to them its just another film. Just on to the next film for them. Woeful.
@@Youcannotfalter To be fair, I like this movie, but I don't need to see again either. Same with Aliens. Ridley has a habit of making movies that I only need to see once and never bother with again, or outright hating (Gladiator). The only one he's made that I watch again every couple of years is Blade Runner.
The US movies back in the 70s were painstakingly hard to create. You guys are correct in that they used miniatures for some of the shots When the alien came out of his chest, the cast had no idea it would happen so their reactions were genuine
Beautiful things about practical effects is that they give something 'real', with mass, for the actors and environment to interact with and, when done well, age very well. Ps. The reaction of the actors to the first chest buster was real. The actors weren't told exactly what was going to happen so the screams and revulsion weren't acting :) .
Ash is one of the greatest movie villains of all time. He's not just a droid doing what he was programmed to do.He deliberately caused every problem and reveled in the carnage. He could have just put cain into the fridge and accomplished his mission. Instead he chose to let everything playout and help the organism murder his shipmates. That is why he is a villain.
I dont disagree but there are a couple arguments against immediately freezing Kane. If the alien can be frozen, its keeping Kane alive already and freezing them would kill him. If the alien cant be frozen (It has different biology than humans, they cant know if their freezers can actually put it to sleep.) its a security risk.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Not quite. Hal was ordered to lie to his crew. He is a logic computer that is programmed to always tell the truth. These two contradictory factors caused him to malfunction and become paranoid. His decisions weren't entirely his own.
Ash is played by late Sir Ian Holm whom you have seen as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as voicing Chef Skinner in Pixar movie Ratatouille. Late John Hurt plays Kane, who also played "himself" as a parody homage to his role, at the end of Space Balls (a spoof of Star Wars, Alien, Planet of The Apes and other sci-fi series and movies, I recommend you watch it along with other Mel Brooks films, they're hilarious, especially Blazing Saddles, Young Frankensten and Robin Hood: Men in Tights), Olivander in the Harry Potter franchise, the title character of Jim Henson's The Storyteller and voices The Horned King in Disney's The Black Cauldron.
I love how everyone is like what about the cat? You have to remember you have no idea the amount of stress and fear that's running though you. I personally would of ditched the cat. So what if Ripley handles the box roughly there a killer alien on your ass not to mention the ship halfway blowing up. I think she did a great job considering the circumstances.
Funny thing is, as someone that has many cats and has many over the decades, in that situation the only thing id be thinking about would be 'how do i survive the alien' and 'Wheres the cat damn it, I gotta save Jonsey'... the rest would be secondary.
It shows a lack of empathy for the character and lack of imagination. They were not engaged with the film so they couldn't picture themselves in the situation. They're only thinking about stuff in a simplistic way, not really paying attention and not considering the tension of that situation. Ripley did her best with Jones. These reactors just don't get it.
The girl who was sitting on the right and said at the beginning that all sci-fi horror movies are bad, she visibly shook with fear and screamed in terror several times while watching. But at the end, we learned from her that this movie is definitely not one of her favorites😁. By the way, all four girls should only speak in their native language on this channel, their English is absolutely terrible.
This is one of my tops for movie classics! Lt. Ripley was such a badass and the supporting cast was superb in their own performances! Sir Ridley Scott is a phenomenal director and this is by far my favorite Ridley Scott movie, followed closely by Kingdom of Heaven. On a side note, Rest In Peace Harry D. Stanton and may your service to the US Navy be remembered by our younger generations for years to come.
Ripley is only a Warrant Officer (a senior none commissioned officer) in this film, she's not called a Lieutenant until Alien 3 and no reference of the promotion is ever made in the films, if anything she was lucky to not get demoted by WY after her tribunal in Aliens.
You know, ladies, this wasn't a comedy. This movie was a pioneer in many ways, not the least of which made one of the first strong female leads at a time when there weren't any. Back in that day it was always men who saved everyone and was the smartest and most clever. Maybe this movie was too smart for you to follow along because a lot was psychological but with your generation you need constant entertainment and action even if it doesn't mean anything. I personally like the suspense and would rather have moments of building anticipation and horror rather than action for actions sake with no reason. But my generation was different I guess. We didn't need the flashy stuff, we used our imagination when watching movies l, apparently a lost ability. Smh
@@SaRENRampaiger it's also why I hate reactions with multiple reactors. It turns into a party where they try to impress each other with jokes and wit rather than actually pay attention to the movie. You have a youtube channel with purpose to react, not party with friends and make every scene of the movie into a joke. Wonder if saving private Ryan would get same disrespect?
The Nestromo is a hauling vessel, it has a small crew because it's mostly automated, its function is to haul mass from one place to another. If you compare a naval light craft such as a frigate or destroyer, againsta much larger tanker or freighter, you'd find the smaller combat vessel has more crew than the much larger vessel, because the people have more limited responsibilities on day to day basis on the hauling vessel than on a combat vessel. And the combat vessel needs to be fully operational at all times because things can go bad in a moment, while the hauling vessel needs only a handful of people to operate, unless things go bad. Its easier for say, 8 people to work in an emergency for a week, than it is for a like number of people to be at their stations all day and night every day and night for 6 months straight. So a crew of say 50 people can have days off, and have 12 people working at a time for months on end, while a small crew can only operate under such conditions a matter of a few days. But most of the Nestromo's crew has, on a typical journey, maybe a few days of work to do though the journey is years in transit.
So glad you girls got around to this classic masterpiece. The second is just as good or a little better and am looking forward to your reaction on that one too.
What are you laughing about..? This was the most terrifying movies for a long time, when it came out.. and the H.R. Giger alien design one of the best creature designs ever made..!
Well Veronica Cartwright who play's Lambert did not know about the chest burster scene so her reaction was truly authentic. Viki over there laughin-golden. Freaked out at first.
@@corinnevanessa22This is definitely one of those movies where it pays to just sit there and absorb what's going on without talking. But, they are reacters after all and need to give their view. Maybe that could wait until the end of the movie?
I loved when I heard that you thought it didn't lock like a horror movie. I said to myself, hang on ladies. "Alien" is often referred to as a haunted house movie in space. The second one "Alien" is great as well. Then the opinions get more divisive for the other sequels.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) could be familiar for first-time Alien viewers from Ghostbusters, Gorillas in the Mist, Galaxy Quest, Avatar, Paul, Dave, a good number of other movies or even as a ship's computerised voice from Wall-E or Futurama. Dallas (Tom Skerrit) was more a 50s/60s actor but also Viper from Top Gun, and a few other pretty visible roles since. Ash (Ian Holm) is Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings and Priest Cornelius in The Fifth Element and plenty of other roles. Kane (John Hurt) was in literally everything, including regularly narrating with that voice of his. But you might know him as Ollivander from Harry Potter, or his roles in V for Vendetta or the bad Indiana Jones movie, or even reprising this role as a cameo in Spaceballs. Yaphet Koto, Veronica Cartwright and Harry Dean Stanton also worked pretty consistently across the years. A somewhat star-studded cast! Definitely in Sigourney's case, a career-defining role.
Man, you ladies are hilarious. I saw this film when it first came out at the biggest 70mm screen in London with a sold out audience, and I have never experienced anything that came close to this.
When I first saw it as a kid in '79, I was really disappointed at the explosion, especially in comparison to Star Wars. This one was more like the "Beyond the Infinite" sequence in 2001. Which was artistic, but not really explosive. 😛
@@williamjones6031 Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite is the chapter of the movie 2001 that has the trippy visuals, when Bowman travels past the monolith.
The alien was not animatronic. It was played by Bolaji Badejo he was a Nigerian graphic designer from Lagos, in Colonial Nigeria and this was his only acting role he stood 6ft 10 inches in height. He died a few years after the movie at the age of 39 from a disease called Sickle Cell Anemia. There was really not a lot of CGI except for a few background shots. The majority of this film was practical effects, scale models and good acting. Which is why it is consider one of the greatest sci-fi movies. These days everyone depends too much on CGI and it ruins what could possibly be a great film.
Imo,...the girl on the right is oblivious to fine film making..in fact, I think the only one who really got it was center right....the two on the left are simply into each other to notice the movie...or get it.
Props to Viki, she was the only one to figure out that we,Humans were the attackers and not the other way around. As for those who called "annoying" , to the still to date considered the most bad ass female character of all time.....I rather make no comments.... Ripley should pay them a visit.😂😂
This came to tv in 1981; me & my room mates just loved it! The alien concept of chest burster is based on fact: there’s a wasp species that stings a caterpillar. Then the wasp lays her eggs inside. Then as the caterpillar is alive, the babies eat their way out 🎃
Such a great timeless movie, of all the Alien franchise it as certainly aged the best too as it still looks stunning cinematically. Sad to think four of the main cast are no longer with us, RIP Yaphet, John, Harry and Ian.
@@stevesheroan4131 way ahead of you mate, I spotted it as soon as I posted it and did a quick edit. I always thought HD Stanton would outlast the planet earth!
At the time I needed an adult to go with me to see this, had an R rating,..I got busy with working, going to college, few years later, and got a membership to video store, VHS, and saw it, and there were wispers of a sequel, so I was like ohh man I can see it now, all grown up, but when it came out, there were these terrifying trailers,..the previews alone, terrified me, you should check them out too, they start off so quiet, and just sound, then the horrible screams, and when I saw the movie, realized the scene where Lambert is being huh, stalked, then killed by Alien, is the sound they were playing in the trailer, just the trailers , long before I saw the movie had me scared, gave me nightmares,..the chest burst scene was a real shock to the actors, I don't know exactly what Scott told them to react to, but most likely it was to react as if John Hurt(Rip), was having a seizure,, you saw they had the tongue depressor,..directors always look for something to get as genuine a reaction from actors as possible, makes the audience believe it all the more, Hitchcock, Kubrick, many have done that,..do keep going, if you haven't, check Aliens,.it's superb, Godspeed, Peace ✌
I can't believe the lack of perception, taste, understanding of this masterpiece by the girl second from the far left. At the second the movie ended she mumbled, " Not good, not bad.". Seriously? I guess there's no accounting for taste. What a completely off the mark comment about this iconic film. Shame. She has no clue. Wow.
Lol I do love salty comments like this one. It is a great movie, but one I would never go out of my way to watch twice. Same with Aliens. The only movie Ridley ever made that I would watch, and have watched multiple times, is Blade Runner. Ridley is one of those filmmakers I don't gel with too much. I hated Gladiator.
I remember reading an old issue of American Cinematographer magazine which came out around that time that indicated that Ridley Scott had no interest in science fiction films. Which is surprising for someone who has directed two of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. As to why he directed Alien, perhaps he was simply hired by the studio.
For a film that is almost 45 years old, "Alien" still hold up pretty well. Oh, I'm also legally required by the rules of internet to post that the actor who plays the android Ash also played Bilbo in Lord of the Rings.
24:45 About the Alien life cycle: Alien has a hive-like life hierarchy (similar to bees) and several stages/cycles of life. The first cycle are the eggs "ovomorphs", whitch are layed by Alien/Xenomorph Queen. The eggs can remain in "standby mode" as long as necessary, they "come alive" when they sence a life-form in their vicinity. The eggs contain the 2nd cycle: "the facehugger" whitch jumps from the egg as a parasite latching itself to the nearby life-form, whitch from that moment acts as a host for the 3rd cycle: "the chestburster", actually a baby Alien whitch grows inside a host, and bursts its way out when they grow to a certain size. When the chestburster bursts out, it grows to the last cycle: a full sized Alien "The Xenomorph" at a very fast rate (whitin a few hours) to the size of 2.15-2.75m high and 180-275kg (these are Human fenotype dimensions: if the host is a human).
When I was five, my cousins were babysitting me. They wanted to see Alien, so they smuggled me into the drive-in theater by putting me in the car's trunk. After years of therapy, Alien and Aliens are my favorite movies.
You're one of the few reactors who noticed there was a clue about what would happen to Kane earlier with the other alien (the giant one), which also had a baby burst out of its chest. That's why there was a hole in its rib cage, with the rubs bent outward. The giant alien was not the same species at all--just another victim of the main Alien of the title, and the one who sent out the warning.
The man who played the alien,is a 7 foot tall man from Nigeria,who was at Oxford,attending engineering school.h.r.giger,who designed the"alien"built the suit around him
Love you guys, but you didn't really seem to appreciate just how good this movie is, in terms of: what the director achieved, how influential the film was, the superb acting, and the the excellent practical effects. Also you guys are the only reactors to this movie I've seen who haven't appreciated that Ripley is one of the greatest female badass characters of all time. You all seemed a bit distracted and chatting dissolves the slow build up of tension. Never mind. I still love you all and all of your great reactions. I hope you watch the sequel Aliens. It's more adventure oriented and faster paced so you may enjoy it more. ♥
This is my all time favorite horror movie. There are very few classic movie reactions I look forward to as much as Alien. Especially from people who have absolutely no idea what the Xenomorph’s are or what they can do. I saw it when I was WAY too young at age 11. The Xenomorph was literally the embodiment of my nightmares throughout my childhood. Fun/Scary Fact: The Xenomorph is actually based on a real life insect, the Tarantula Hawk which is a wasp from the southwest United States. It reproduces by hunting tarantulas, paralyzing them with it’s stinger, dragging them into the spiders hollow, laying an egg on the spiders belly, then the egg hatches and the larvae devours the spider from the inside out.
Movies with benevolent aliens: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Arrival (2016) Contact (1997) The Man Who Fell to Earth (1977) Cocoon (1985)
I know you guys didn't love this but that shouldn't stop you from watching Aliens. It's a much different movie and Ripley becomes a total badass. It's directed by James Cameron (who did Avatar).
here ya go Viki. some good and not so evil aliens: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951); E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982); Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977); Starman (1984); The Brother From Another Planet (1984); The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005); District Nine(2009).
Fun fact: Ridley Scott show the chest burster scene with multiple cameras, and never told the actors precisely what was going to happen during scene.It was extremely vague in the script. When the action happened, the reactions from the actors were real. Veronica Cartwright took a face full of blood, and that look of revulsion on her was real. Another fun fact: The script was written as gender neutral, so that either men or women could play any role. I just happened that Ripley turned out to be a woman. Also, John Hurt was the original actor to play Kane. He came in as a replacement, as the original actor got extremely ill early on in the production from undiagnosed diabetes. Of course not, you can't even imagine another actor playing that role.
Veronica Cartwright and her character of Lambert was supposed to be the lead female character, but they switched it to Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley.
So the egg spawn alien is the first stage in the phases of the zenomorph.(the type of alien this is). The Face-hugger is the genetic splicer that takes dominant sections of DNA and inserts it into a parasitic embryo, then it inserts it into the stomach of the host using a proboscous which also supplies the host with outside air to keep you alive. Then after the embryo is created and inserted, the face-hugger dies. The embryo gestates in the stomach acid(hence the acidic blood) and bursts out to become a hybrid of the alien and host which now might have wings, extra legs, poison, etc.
Well, the Alien was blocking Ripley from Jones and the shuttle. That's why she had to run back to turn off the self-destruct, but that couldn't be done. So, left with no other choice, she went back to the shuttle, and the Alien was gone, so she grabbed Jones and they escaped in the shuttle. Of course, the Alien also escaped in the shuttle. It figured out what she was doing, and decided to hide in the shuttle. That's a pretty intelligent life form--perhaps not of human intelligence, but close.
The ship is neither a passenger ship nor a warship. It is a cargo ship, and like cargo ships in real life, it only has a minimal crew. A cargo ship in real life would have about 20-30 crew members, but that includes cooks, while in space the crew probably eats pre-prepared meals. And in the future, they might well have more functions automated, and require less maintenance. The International Space Station can remain functional with a crew as small as 2-3, although with more crew members, more scientific work can be done.
Also, there’s an old seafaring idea that a ship needs at least one cat. It’s not purely an emotional support animal. It (or they) manages vermin that eat supplies.
23:35 It is, the 'face-hugger' hatches from the eggs and implants the 'chest-burster' into a host. The face-hugger cannot produce more face-hugger eggs and the chest-burster cannot create more of its kind itself, only via face-huggers. There are a few insects that reproduce in a similar way, but it is rare.
There were supposedly scenes removed from the original recording where she finds 2 staff members getting "prepared"... also the scene where the alien slowly kills the girl off camera... it was edited a bit in the final cut supposedly... it played with her a bit before killing her painfully.
To borrow a quote from another famous horror/suspense movie from the 70's......"You're gonna need a bigger couch." Great vid, guys! P.S. .....that puppy dawg has THE best life. Hangin' out with 4 cute girls and watching tons of movies. What a life!
Great movie. Kind of hard to get involved in it when they're packed in like sardines, and petting a doggo. Are they really listening with one ear? I couldn't hear a thing from the film. Other than that it was OK.
Most of the deaths were horrible but the one that really got to me was Parker then Lambert. Parker was a big, strong capable man and the Xenomorph pinned him to the wall like he was nothing. He was powerless. Then Lambert died in awful terror.
Ellie, the reason why there is only a small group of crew on that gigantic ship, is because it is a cargo ship, not a passenger ship. And it is assisted by a flight computer called "mother". Today it is the same, think of a long truck, with trailer and 18 wheels, which is driven by a single person and maybe accompanied by his pet, nothing more.
'Did the cat eat it?' is the best reaction to the mini-alien skin ever. That should have been a 'How it Should Have Ended' sketch. Totally different movie. I'm pretty sure my old cat would've done it.
Sometimes I wonder how it's possible that you haven't seen all these iconic films yet. But on the other hand, thats good because now we can watch your first time reactions to them :p
@@MrMichaellee5353 Well if it is that obvious then why write the orginal comment in first place? Not everyone in Bulgaria or Southeastern Europe watches or is familiar with old "classic" Hollywood movies. 🤦
At the theater release we didn't know that Sigourney Weaver was the real star of the movie until the last 20 minutes. She was relatively unknown at the time and wasn't given top billing. Now that she's a big star I don't see how this movie can have the same impact that it did back then. We know that they aren't going to kill Sigourney.
Someone else has probably already mentioned this, but for the chest-burster scene they didn't tell the other actors what was going to happen (only John Hurt knew obviously) and so their reactions are genuine. Veronica Cartwright (Lambert)'s reaction is the best because she got the "blood" squirted on her. For some of the shots on the planet surface they used children because then it would seem like the stage was larger than it really was. This movie is also known to have one of the greatest sequels of all time, Aliens. Both of them are 5 star movies but for different reasons. This one is a masterpiece, slow burn horror whereas the second one is more of a straight up action movie with horror elements. Both excellent. Don't waste your time on any of the others, in my opinion.
Good aliens - Cocoon, ET, Arrival, Close Encounters. Dallas (Tom Skerrit) plays Viper in the original Top Gun. Ian Holm (Ash) plays Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings.
Just for conversation...It seems like we all accept this, but I don't think Ripley really has authority to disregard or disobey the order from Dallas to open the airlock door... "When Dallas and Kane are off the ship, I'm Senior Officer..." She says to Ash later. Yes, that may well be, but when Dallas and Kane have returned and are in the airlock, they're clearly not "off the ship," and Dallas IS still the Captain. Although it's potrayed as wrong or bad behavior, maybe Ash is actually right in obeying the order, from Dallas, to open the door. DALLAS may be wrong in ordering the door opened, but he's the Captain of the ship, he has the prerogative to be wrong. I suppose it's a useful plot device to let you know that Ripley is smart, and Ash...well, there's something suspicious about him... Also, of course...it's a MOVIE, and the PLOT requires this somewhat bad decision. Otherwise, what do you have...maybe the baby alien emerging outside the ship and finding its way in, I dunno...
If there is a law Ripley refers to then she was entirely in the right. Dallas cannot just go around breaking laws as he sees fit. Unless he is a liberal, of course. Then he can break laws all he wants.
I don't remember people having emotional support animals back then. Maybe there was such a thing for a few people, but nothing like now. Usually there was a cat on ships (on the ocean) to help keep the mouse/rat population under control, to be a mascot, and eventually it became a tradition. But I didn't see people with emotional support animals or hear about any such thing until more than a decade later.
