I can’t believe I just watched this movie for the first time a few days ago. This is definitely one of my new favorites just everything about it is pure terror and horror mixed with the intense paranoia not trusting anyone vibe.
Huge move buff. Love the chariot race in Ben hur. Best action sequence ever. The thing is the ultimate in story telling. It has all the paranoia combined with stressful weather elements
Who Goes There? (Astounding, August 1938). Who Goes There?, about a group of Antarctic researchers who discover a crashed alien vessel, formerly inhabited by a malevolent shape-changing occupant, was published in Astounding almost a year after Campbell became its editor and it was his last significant piece of fiction, at age 28.
@@whiskeyvictor5703Came here to type this. It's very underrated. The Thing and Invasion are an incredible double bill. Superb film from start to finish.
To this day, whenever The Thing is on, no matter where I start watching it from I watch it all. I have a ritual, to watch the movie on the the night of the first snow of winter. It's my favorite horror movie of all time.
Yep I watch it every year too, it never gets old. Feel the same way about Alien but still like The Thing better because of all the great characters mostly.
Forever is too much a time but I know what you mean well. The zeitgeist was just perfect. Give time time, however, we owe it to the human spirit that moved this superb artists into manifesting these masterpieces we find meaning from. I think True Detective (s1) had just all aligned in this century. The makers almost pulled it off in the third season (to my amazement) but due to perfectly fixable errors ruined the perfection they got so close to. I say that to show that there's always a little flame out there hoping for the right condition to spawn an inferno.
Agreed, absolutely not. As far as horror films are concerned, it's entirely in a school of its own. There'll never be anything like The Thing. Cannot believe it was even hated when it came out in 1982, well actually I can because of how gullible people were even then.
When I was working on "Big Trouble in Little China," during a brief break I introduced myself to John Carpenter and told him how much I enjoyed "The Thing." John was perhaps the nicest person you'd ever want to meet, just a "regular guy." Anyway, being the honest bloke I am, I then asked him why it didn't do so well at the box office, and he gave me this answer: "Bad timing. I happened to release it on the same day Steven Spielberg released something called, "E.T." After we shared a sardonic grin I told him, "I actually saw it 36 times." It was then that he replied, "Would you like to meet the man who shot it?? Hey Dean (Cundy), come over here!! This guy said he watched The Thing 36 times!!" Then Dean looked at me, smiled, and said, "Then you saw it more times than I did."
The Thing is, without a doubt, one of the absolute BEST films I've ever seen and probably will ever see. Forget cgi, puppetry and the other elements are the real deal. I'm not at all surprised by the cult following.
Neither am I. The Thing proved, as Blade Runner also did at the time, that sci-fi films that aren’t instant classics can sometimes earn their best recognition over the years.
The best horror film. Ofc, everyone has their own taste and priorities, but i will never get tired of telling people, that it is the best horror movie of all time, in my opinion.
I’m a little upset they didn’t mention Ennio Morricone as his music really added to that sense of isolation, of an alien presence, and of the inevitability John Carpenter talked about at the end of this documentary.
The soundtrack is incredible, it's subtle, yet powerful. You can hear Carpenter's take on how he wanted it to sound. That kind of heartbeat theme it begins with sends the chills down my spine almost immediately.
Clayton Ikler - have you played Alien: Isolation? The soundtrack to that game is great. Besides being inspired by, and taking cues from the original Alien movie soundtrack, they took inspiration from other horror movies. There’s a track that is very reminiscent of the main theme of The Thing.
@@jennyhotep1983 Agreed. Ennio Morricone seemed genuinely to grasp the appalling disaster that this encounter presaged, if the infection ever got out. Even the string interludes hit exactly the right emotional tones...
I'm from Russia. This movie is still a labour of love in this country. In the 80's and 90's people watched it in the jpeg dub on VHS and still fell in love. Just get that in the mind, this movie has 26 russian dubs (half professionals and half amateur VHS dubs). It's 40 years now, 40th anniversary. Still stands out. Truly a masterpiece. Threatening movie with a lot of layers of suspense and psychological horror, which zoomers will never understand (goddamn fans of gore porn movies).
I am a zoomer and I love this movie to death. Better than most of the shit we're getting today with all the shitty CGI - nothing wrong with a very well made CGI though, it's just that it holds no weight most of the time.
"I know you gentleman have been through a lot but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter tied to this F'ing couch!" funniest line of one of the most excellent sci-fi films of all time. A heart pounding show stopper from start to finish the least of which is the opening scene with the dog running.
I’m 53 and have watched this movie countless times. I rented it when rentals first appeared in the early 80s over and over again. And to this day that F*cking Couch line still gets a chuckle from me…
Just showed this film to a filmmaker friend of mine for the first time, he's 33 and had never seen it, his constant comment of the film was "What year was this made?" He was blown away, still holds up to this day.
I use to consider Alien the best sci-fi/horror movie ever made but when I first saw The Thing back in 1986 on VHS I was blown away. It truly is the definition of a Masterpiece. And the practical effects still hold up today better than the GCI they put in everything. Everytime I watch it it just gets better. A masterclass in suspense and tension combined with terror..
@joeymerk3706 friend oh yeah The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter is my favorite number 1 sci-fi horror movie and Alien (1979) directed by Ridley Scott is my second favorite sci-fi horror movie and Aliens (1986) directed by James Cameron is my third favorite sci-fi action and horror movie anyway Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) are also both great and they did scare me as a little kid just a little bit but The Thing (1982) it really put fear in my soul and it really scared me a lot when I use to be a little kid more than Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) so I watch The Thing (1982) everyday and I watch Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) every October only just for fun as well:).
Wow, I cannot believe Bottin was 22 when he got that job. Testament to his skill, but also to the incredible trust and confidence that Carpenter had in the people on his team to make this movie what it is.
can people like me even imagine the pain and shocking disappointment of having that beautiful stop motion work ultimately be scrapped? it's like, _hey - everybody still got paid_ . . . but something in me knows very well that it'd be hard to live with something like that. those people are geniuses - the miniature model maker especially. it's gorgeous, gorgeous work. but to _not_ have been a part of what turned out to be a masterpiece has got to sting in ways i'm not prepared to imagine.
it's not something a lot of directors would do. I'm pretty sure there's tons of directors who would just throw it in no matter how much it took you out of the fantasy.
Completely agree. Practical effects are just so much more effective, they're more organic and much more memorable because it's more disturbing. Not like when cgi is used, you instantly know it's fake.
Not only that but in films like The Terminator and Robocop and the two first Evil Dead the stop motion holds up perfectly to this day for adding an unsettling motion that is unnatural in more ways than one.. the pauses work as jump scares of a sort, relentlessly reminding us that what is there is utterly otherworldly. CG get senile before they hit the screen, mostly.
@Valken: Agreed! They were truly _craftsmen_ , those filmmakers and their collaborating crews and casts. In rather large contrast, these days it's been excessive and extreme formulaics, even further heaped up through abject unoriginality. I guess I'm now old enough to say to that: _They don't make 'em like they used to!_ Although I don't think that should be an excuse to slack on good productions, ya know.
i wish we would go back to understanding how good practicle effects are, especialy now days when everyone knows its cgi, and no one really cares it all looks the same because the only difference is the way the initial film is shot, but unfortunately its all shot to be edited so ultimatly it ends up all feeling the same =(
The way they did the opening title scene for revealing the letters is amazing. So simple but looks like a lot of time and money was spent on it. Just took one guy to sit down and think for a bit, get a cool idea, and try it.
This and “Alien” is by far THE best sci-fi movie made in modern history of movie-making in my humble opinion 👏 - Both movies deal with paranoia and fear trapped in a inhospitable place with something so horrific - BRILLIANT ❤
Rob Bottin is a goddamn legend. He did the lounge lizards in Fear & Loathing, something you may not know is he did makeup for the very forgettable Mr. Deeds starring Adam Sandler.
My father showed me The Thing way earlier than I should have seen it! I was 7 or 8(?) and wanted to see a horror movie that would actually scare me. It was a challenge I put to my father - show me a movie that’s really scary. The alien series were chilling but didn’t scare me. The nightmare series were great but again, didn’t scare me. Many other singular movies or series just didn’t scare me. Then he got out The Thing… the challenge ended that day. It scared me in such a profound manner - not due to jump scares, not due to the fear of what’s hiding in the dark or around a corner but a deep fear of anyone or anything turning against me. “He’s my friend, I’ve known him for 20 years!” Now I watch it once a day, every day from the 24th of October to Halloween! Such an amazing movie, still my all time favourite horror!
Excellent story. Family and I watch it pretty frequently I'm thinking I start making a tradition like the first snow of the year type of thing We live in Colorado
Never mind that it didn't blow the roofs off of theatres, the sheer miraculous genius that went into its creation shows in every frame. QUALITY never goes unappreciated. And every aspect of "THE THING" radiates pure QUALITY.
Dont Forget this Great Soundtracks......I Remember in late 80er me and my Buddy Watching this in a Night of Thunderstorm....My Buddy want to go Home After this....
A practical effect when done correctly can sell way better than a CG effect. The brain just has a way of telling minutia detail. You almost feel insulted by the makers of the movie when so much CG is used. The effects in The Thing (82) were so memorable because of how gooey and real they seemed. The lighting of CG monsters or creatures (Star Wars) sometimes never seems natural.
the thing remake has good cgi. much better than star wars prequels, or even the Disney trash star wars cgi, which just looks like a unicorn bukakke of color all over the screen sometimes.
In winter 1985, I worked up in northern B.C on a camp similar to this movie, and not far from where they shot the movie. I installed carpets for the native indians that lived in that area. Gov't funded project forced on them. They couldn't have cared less about getting new carpets. . We took a plane to get in there and were totally snowed in. We would watch 'The Thing' on TV with the other camp workers. One morning, I am eating breakfast and one of the camp guys tells us that a native kid had died the previous night from inhaling glue, glue which he had stolen from us. (we had glue cans for the carpets). He then went on to describe how this kid was lying dead on the same breakfast table I was currently eating from. I almost got sick while they made jokes about using his toes for candle holders. The entire atmosphere of the camp and the workers was exactly like the movie, except we were dealing with actual terror. We finished the job, and were the first to leave the camp. We had 20 minutes to fly out through a small, quickly closing hole in the clouds and the tiny plane was hitting so much turbulence, I was being thrown around the back of it, completely freaking out. The pilot then yells out, "What's that smell?" Fumes! I thought we were going down only to discover a container of solvent had fallen over and opened up. Put some Morricone on that soundtrack.
Its always nice get a glimpse behind the scenes and the amount of effort put into a movie like the Thing by so many talented people. Upon my first viewing its the special effects by Rob Bottin that immediately stood out, but this movie has so many layers to it and that's why I think it stands the test of time. The atmosphere of being in a hostile environment like the Arctic adds another one of those layers and the psychological element that anyone can be the Thing adds another layer of dread.
This movie was so ahead of its time which was probably why it didn't do well initially. Rob Bottin and Stan Winston came up with some of the most imaginative and gory creature effects I've ever seen.
I feel such admiration for all the people on this movie because they all cared enough to put their hearts and souls into what they did and get it so right.
John Carpenter has NEVER had a better DP than Dean Cundey. The five films they did together were the BEST John Capenter has EVER done. It is a shame they didn't do more films together. They brought out the best in each other. A great team.
Apart from Rick Baker for An American Werewolf in London I can't think of any special effects artist who got a rightful amount of praise for their work in one movie than Rob Bottin. Such a creative mind with the practical nous to boot
I’m 37 years old as I write this comment, I first seen this movie when I 26 years old. I was up late on a Friday night because I had nothing to do that night and no work until the next Monday and I caught this on tv at 2am in my dark room in the middle of winter by myself pitch black and freezing outside and it was the perfect way to experience this movie. Since then “The Thing” has been one of my favorite movies of all time, easily in my top 3. It’s a absolute masterpiece of filmmaking by everyone involved.
Awesome documentary. Seen this movie so many times; never gets old. After all these years to hear the developers and some of the actors speak about their experience has been icing on the cake of understadning "The Thing" itself.
This movie is paused at the beginning on my DVR right now. I thought it would be fun to get some behind the scenes insight before I watch it for the 100th time. lol Truly one of my all time favorites!
Can i just say.Massive respect to albert whitlock.Who fooled all of us fans with his incredible artwork.Which helped make the thing.What it is today.LEGEND.
The Thing is a horror/science fiction cinematic masterpiece, Its takes you on an eerie journey that shocks, repulsies and scares the living hell out of you , not matter how many times you see it. The isolation and desperation of the men is unbearable, as the unspeakable horror of it all unfolds before them in the most hideously graphic way. It's a brilliant movie on many levels, and a timeless Classic that is up there with the best that as EVER been made.
To this day this is still my favorite horror movie of all time and my favorite movie of all time. Excellent cast and acting, brilliant story, scary but not over the top, amazing art design and effects. Just all around a superb film.
When I turned 8 my dad told me to watch this movie cause I loved horror movies, and Halloween is my ALL-Time Favorite and with john carpenter directing it, it was an added bonus from halloween..the thing is a classic, no matter what I'm watching on tv, and the Thing is on, I HAVE to finish watching it no matter what.. Watching this video and seeing the people who created this MASTERPIECE I'm just in awww.. I'm 34 now and I will continue to watch this movie for the rest of my life... Thank You
@@kelvincasing5265 Still going according to the film if we go by the Director's Cut. R.I.P. to John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton and Ian Holm as well as H.R. Giger and Bolaji Badejo.
Yes, the original short story, was years ahead of its time. I well remember the Movie scaring me, too. But the short story that Campbell wrote, left me with nightmares for weeks. 💯👍
The world didn't get it at the time and bad timing made it a box office flop, now heralded as one of the best, most outrageous sci-fi horror masterpieces of all time 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻❤️❤️❤️
One school night I watched this on Grainy Betamax in mono, and second only to Alien, for me, years later remains one of the most terrifying films ever made. Jaws made me scared of the sea, 'The Thing' made me scared of snow!!
If you dig Rob Bottin's work, then I suggest seeing a documentary called THE FRANKENSTEIN COMPLEX. It's a love letter to visual effects artists like him.
After watching horror films for well over 60 years only 2 have ever made me jump in my seat. The scene from alien when John Hurt has tummy problems and The thing when the problem tummy bites his wrists off.
I am a big fan of The Thing. In fact I`m watching on television as I watch this video. The things within this video move me like no other movie. It changed my movie watching life! One thing is missing from this video that I think is sorely missed. The MUSIC and sound affects!! Ennio Moricone is a musical genius that could have and maybe should have been added to this video. Chilling stuff!!! The wind blowing, explosions and creature sounds was moving also. Thank you for this video. I watched it twice.
The Thing is one of my favourite movies of all time, in my top 10 for sure. I think besides Empire Strikes back, The Thing was the only movie I had seen (at the time I first watched it) where the good guys lose and the bad guy may have actually won. It had me guessing the whole way through the movie who was an alien and who was still human. One very well made film.
I saw this in a theater when it came out. It instantly became, and still is, the gold standard by which I rate all sci-fi/horror films. I can't believe it ever got bad reviews.
Whomever all disliked this video doesnt respect that this is one of the greatest Sci Fi Horror movies of all time. The best use of practical effects and the best book adaptation ever. This movie set standards that todays industry should follow. Exact same iconic status as Alien.
Thanks for the upload! I'm old enough to have seen The Thing when it was originally released in theatres. I was about twenty and went with a friend. At the end of the film, we turned to each other - our mouths literally agape (it hasn't happened since, btw) - and we stood and applauded. To think this timeless classic was was not well received upon release. Damn, it was a great time to be a fan of horror.
The 27 people (as of 10/30/2018) who downvoted this are abject morons. This film was made during a golden era of movie making that will never come again, an age before over used cartoonish and embarrassingly cheesy CGI started to dominate film, when hand crafted ART and painstaking craftsmanship ruled the Hollywood hills...Rob Bottin, John Carpenter, Albert Whitlock and the entire crew will forever be enshrined in filmmaking history as having created one of the most impressive and timeless horror films ever made...CGI gets dated and becomes laughable, genius level hand made effects such as these only look better as time passes in comparison.
Well said! Also, I hate how everything is on a sound stage. Take for instance Kingdom of the Crystal Skull vs. Temple of Doom/Raiders/Last Crusade. Look at how raw, natural, real the first three are because lots of it was filmed out of doors, in nature. Then compare KotCS, the night/jungle scene with the campfire going is the complete opposite. Filmed indoors, everything fake, it's unnaturally quiet, no bugs, no noise, no wind........that crap alone just destroys a film right there. And I like KotCS, besides the fact that it wasn't done like the previous three.
The Thing debuted in the movie theaters on the SAME DAY as Blade Runner, June 25th (Friday), 1982. Two of the best sci-fi movies of all-time (Blade Runner being better in my opinion).
The Thing's a true classic. The fact that it's a horror film shouldn't detract from it as a unique work of art. After all these years it remains at the pinnacle, far superior even to the sequel (prequel).
terminator. indiana jones. casino. apocalypse now. FMJ. no country for old men. jurassic park. minority report. casablanca. taxi driver. the matrix. the shining. boogie nights. kill bill. star wars. star trek. watchmen. platoon. v for vendetta.... and many many more.....
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Godfather part 1&2 (fuck 3), Kauffman’s version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (that movie kept me up all night for a week), Chinatown, The Fly (1986)
I'm always a little sad that David Clennon doesn't really participate in these kind of things. Palmer has always been my favorite character, especially because it was not his typical type of role.
Really early this year, it started snowing REALLY badly, to the point that my university closed practically entirely. Around that time, I took a lot of strolls around the nearby forest. I found like the frozen remains of a picked-apart beaver, and the main score of this film just started blaring in my head.
The casting, the suspense, the practical effects and the score are things that will keep this movie in my top 5 for all time. A true masterpiece of a motion picture. And how about a drinking game: everytime Rob Botin says "You know?", take a shot!!!
Thank you monstrously for this. The absence of unnecessary and very often quite distracting fx in this serves everyone really well, highlighting what's important instead of the documentarist. As such, it seamsly, organically (sure, another pun) brings it all back to life as it should. Absolutely ingenious young man that nearly killed himself for this magnificent film. He literally gave it his blood. Stunning painter that old deep voice man (his voice would be at home in a mafia movie then, it's chilly as f-). The best cinema has the background stories just as unbelievable, otherworldly and at times scary as their outcome art. I saw TT for the first time on TV on a Saturday night and it obliterated all reason. From the moment the Stan Winston dog happened (I had absolutely no idea what the piece was all about and the first shot got me going till that reveal) I was scared to after death. What a fantastic work.
I scared the crap out of my fiancee with this movie, he screamed and shook like a little girl, He was 40ish, 6'4", and a muscular 300 lb truck driver....... I'll never forget that!!! ROTFLOL....... oh it was the scene of the dogs in the kennel!!!!
John Carpenter's best film, the special effects far ahead of its time, the script, the performances, the music, a misunderstood film that is now a masterpiece of cinema.
As far as I'm concerned this is the best movie ever made. Godfather is alright, Titanic is alright, Citizen Kane is alright, but the amount of work that went into this movie hasn't been done before and will never be done again.
Rob bottin is the most underrated special effects artist ever. I was thrown back in my seat when I first saw the howling werewolves. That's was the first up right walking werewolf on film for me. Oh and where can I get a model of the things ship and the model maker. 😍
at 10:44 Carpenter on the shapes of the thing: the movie reveals all the creatures throughout the universe that the thing ever imitated - I never realized this! very cool! the message, of course, is that the universe is teeming with life, mostly scary looking life!!!
John Carpenter's The Thing set the new bar for Scifi-Horror film genre. It's one of the timeless films that you can watch again and again, with popcorns and coke, and like-minded folks.
That horror film fan stereotype is exactly what ruins the art of cinema by turning it into a fast film junk. Films are to be watched not eaten. Eat well first and pay the f- attention to the work. Or we're going to have to endure yet a whole new generation of senile superheroes. Please, art isn't shallow entertainment. We should be paying attention to this film tale because somewhere out there something like that may happen. Nature is damn scary.
