I shake my head whenever someone says something along the lines of "It still holds up today" , when it's clearly today that doesn't hold up to back then.
Ill never forget my mom kicking me out of the living room when the baby face hugger exploded out of the stomach lol. I think I was 7 or 8 and my dad was watching it on cable TV I was hooked immediately, I had to know what happened to Ripley and the crew after that scene and i snuck watched the rest when she wasn't home. I lacked the vocabulary at the time, but Sigourney stole my heart and looking back now, I really liked how strong she was portrayed, her being a woman had little bearing in the story. Thanks for covering one of my all time favorites 😊
Fun fact: Chris Foss, Jean "Moebius" Giraud, and HR Giger were original hired to do Alejandro Jodorowsky's adaptation of DUNE, until that project was cancelled and the three of them used their original art concepts of Dune and used them for the final cut of the movie.
I bought this one on Blu-ray a few years ago, watched it on my 50 inch screen tv, in the dark, with surround sound. Awesome experience, since I was far too young to have seen it in the theater.
It's often back in cinema on Alien Day, 4-26. April 26. I've seen it twice in cinema in the last few years. More likely than most years now there's a new Alien movie coming. Keep checking cinema listings!
ALIEN is a masterpiece. It's hard to fault this movie. The way it looks, the way it's shot, the way it's lit, the music, the story, acting, the tension, etc. People will say ALIENS is better but I don't think it beats this film.
1:15 I wouldn't call Ripley a final girl and I wouldn't classify Alien as a slasher. It's like saying Jaws is a slasher but as we know Alien was coined 'Jaws in space' by it's screenwriters. Final girls are in trope horror slashers being the sole survivor ascribed some sort of moral superiority compared to other victims. It's specifically written for the female. Ripely's character was written unisex as you mentioned and was suppose to be a male casting until very late, which is why it's such a great 'female' character because there are no stupid gender role tropes written in. The biggest mistake movies make when trying to write great powerful female leads in action or horror is they try to write powerful female leads instead of just writing a great lead regardless of gender.
One thing I’ve always wondered (and there may not even be an answer): How long does a facehugger egg last after it’s laid? They have to go dormant at some point.
ALIEN has always been a top ten film for me but within the last couple years i been obsessing over it more and more. I have it in my blue ray right now. JAWS is my all time favourite film and will remain but i think ALIEN has risen up to my top 3 or 4.
I’m not sure if ‘astronauts’ is the right term for the Nostomo crew. The phrase which hits home is ‘Truckers in Space’, and as someone who, as a kid, went with his truck driving uncle driving all over NY, I can see the similarities. Also, It’s ‘chestburster’.
Alien (1979) is 45 years old! It remains an instant classic in the genre of science-fiction and horror This was the movie that put director Ridley Scott on the map making $184 million Ultimately it made unknown actress Sigourney Weaver into a household name while also bringing one of the most iconic creatures into mainstream culture The alien or Xenomorph itself is one of the scariest designs ever coming from inspiration of famous sketch artist HR Geiger; his creations are a cross between something nightmarish and sexually suggestive And the creature doesn’t show up until after one hour and you can tell its limited movement due to budgetary reasons Still it makes for a brilliant monster being over 6 feet tall, moves around like a reptile, has acid for blood, and uses its tongue as a projectile weapon to kill its prey acting as a primal fear of the unknown The film works immensely thanks to its cast, sharp suspense, intense scares, wonderful elaborate set designs particularly with the mysterious Space Jockey, a sense of dread and genuine fear thanks to the dark corners of the ship mixed with the strobe lighting, and an effective score by Jerry Goldsmith There's also no shortage of violence and gore with Scott showing the true terrors of being trapped in space with a deadly extraterrestrial The chestburster scene is still one of the most shocking moments in cinema Weaver makes for one of the best scream queens too being that at the beginning she's not the main focus but acts as the concerned voice of reason This was ahead of its time but also a product of the post-Vietnam war era inspiring decades of aspiring filmmakers It's amazing too that it spawned 6 sequels and two spin-offs, video games, comics, clothing, toys, and celebrated at fan conventions The fact that this franchise has made $1 billion thanks to rereleases to this day is an impressive feat What 'Jaws' did for the ocean this does its job amazingly in the outer reaches of space A brilliant blend of suspense and good old fashioned claustrophobic scares, 'Alien' remains a study of artistic precision
When deconstructing 80s movies one has to also account for the smooth camera action, wide and long shots and down to earth dialogue which is completely lacking in modern movies - Theres something about modern scriptwriting that comes off as completely fake and the effects are most of the time a blurry ravefest
Unpopular opinion, but I love Alien leaps and bounds over Aliens. Aliens has a great second and third act with all the aliens wreaking havoc, but I really can’t stand the first act. It’s too much with the hardcore, 80’s military soldiers. It feels too goofy to me. It’s too inconsistent from the first one. Too much of a military action movie. I love Alien for the dark, isolated, and horrifying aesthetic. They are two completely different movies, and I stand by the first one all day long.
I agree. The first Alien had a great sense of dread and ambiance that made it truly scary. Aliens is fun on its own but those space marines were so cliché and annoying. Definitely stand by the original. 👍
The thing you have to understand about "Aliens" is that they completely switched genres, which was a great decision. "Alien" was a horror flick. "Aliens" was an action flick. You can't judge "Aliens" as if it were a horror movie.
To me both movies are examples of the best of each genre they each represent. Alien is one of the best horror movies ever made, whereas Aliens is one of the best in sci-fi action
Deconstruct The Deadly Spawn, Killer Klowns from outta space or Wolfen, 3 great monster flicks that never get enough love IMO :) Also, Superstition A.K.A The witch is a classic no one ever seems to mention, I don't know why because it's awesome.
The "Alien" series follows my 'inarticulate monster movie' law. You can get one, maybe two, good movies out of an inarticulate monster (well, most monsters are), then you hit the dregs. The first two "Alien" movies are just great. After that there is a decided and steep fall off. Only a lifetime movie exec can decide to kill off Newt and Hicks two of the most popular characters from Aliens. Stupid. I think whoever came up with that idea used to work in the Red Sox front office.
Instead of having "a slightly upgraded Bender Bending Rodriguez" making the Xenomorph, how about a trip to the Alien home planet? Anything less is "fapping in the dark." (Sigh.) Speaking of darlness, "modern directors" think i'ts daring to "lose the details in the dark." These "Princes of Darkness" should be tossed into Sensory Deprivation tanks to see what we, the audience, don't see when they do that. Turn On The Lights! (We will finally see the stellar jobs that stunt performers do, at last!;)
Yaphet was Parker, not Peter. And bruh, please its pronounced Gee-ger. Your showing stills from the documentary Beast Within that even has the correct pronunciation. Bruuuuh, and Ron Shusett was TOTALLY given story credit along with O'Bannon.
Yaphet Kotto was Parker. Not "Peter". Nostromo crew is more readily recognized by the fandom as "Space Truckers" and not proper astronauts... Thanks! 😉
I still say Alien suffers from the same issue as all suspense thrillers. It's not nearly as timeless as it could be. The rewatch value isnt there. Not like Aliens. After the first time, we know when the monster is coming. We know what the monster looks like. We're not nearly as invested in these shallow characters like Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Hudson in Aliens. And even Vasquez. That's what keeps me coming back for more.
Exactly. (I do love the first one still.) However, after they went Avengers (sort of) with Aliens it's hard to go back from that. Obviously people wanted more with these characters. (magazines, action figuers, soo much merch...and that doesn't give anyone at Fox a clue how much people loved it?) That's why Alien 3 would be totally fine as a stand alone movie, but is quite a disaster as a follow up. Personally I don't buy, "the perfect ending of Ripleys story" argument. It also makes too many of the events in Aliens totally in vain. And after...they keep starting over with new characters over and over again, with the same underwhelming results. Even if Blomkamp hadn't made a great movie, I think I still would have prefered it before everything that has been released after Aliens. Ok...David is well played, but that's about it really.
It's a good movie, but it's flawed from the Lambert and Parker scene on. Parker sacrificing himself for Lambert instead of taking the only shot they'd ever get to hit the xenomorph is ridiculous. Ripley saving the cat and the xenomorph resting on her lifeboat is the other ridiculous thing.
I hate to be that guy, but it’s my cosmic duty to inform you that “Giger” (GEEGER) is not pronounced the same as “Geiger” (GYGER) and it harms your credibility not to know this.
Not sure why you're calling Alien a slasher film. There's no one running around in the ship with a bladed weapon killing off the crew. This was a monster horror movie set in space that's really about rape and paranoia.
I wonder if kids in junior high/high school just really know how great alien, aliens really is. If a 45 year old movie is then why wouldn't a 45 year band/song then be lame or corny in 2024?
