Alien

[sharkythesharkdogg]

So I had pumpkin sit down and watch the theatrical release version of Alien over the weekend. Y'know, because romance. I still really like the film, and thought I'd share some observations.

The music is great.

The opening sequence with the title of the movie all the way up until they make planet-fall is really well done.

The pan back shot to reveal the Space Jockey is still one of my favorite shots in cinematography.

I found myself chuckling at how they still managed to have horror movie tropes in such a towering, famous movie. Specifically things like "Okay, we'll form teams of two, and stick together." "Fine, but first I'm going below decks by myself to refill this weapon that is out of ammo." "Sounds good."

I thought the way Space Balls had the chest buster run across the lunch counter was specifically made a little more hockey looking, but no that was actually about how realistic it looks in the original movie.

I still think a lot of the practical effects and sets look really, really good even by today's standards.

9/10, would watch again any time.

Also, hats off to Alien: Isolation. I noticed a lot of what they did playing the game the first time, but going back and watching the movie, I saw so many other things they acknowledged from the film. Those guys did a great job making the game.

[charliepanayi]

It's amazing. Aliens is almost as good. There are no other films in the series after that.

[Bubba]

Yeah, the chest-burster alien scene hasn't aged well at all. I think in hindsight they shouldn't have shown it running/skating across the table at all. They should have done it using sound similar to how Spielberg did it in Gremlins where all you see is a tail disappearing through a vent.

Alien is an amazing film though and I agree it just edges the second one for me. Aliens is an amazing film too.

Now this thread has made me want to play Alien:Isolation. It passed me by on its release.

[Pumpkin]

The game was much, much scarier, and they smoked a lot in space.

It was alright. Not too bad. Jonesy best character

[Crop]

Yeah, the chest-burster alien scene hasn't aged well at all. I think in hindsight they shouldn't have shown it running/skating across the table at all. They should have done it using sound similar to how Spielberg did it in Gremlins where all you see is a tail disappearing through a vent.

Alien is an amazing film though and I agree it just edges the second one for me. Aliens is an amazing film too.

Now this thread has made me want to play Alien:Isolation. It passed me by on its release.

While I can agree that the skating across the table part looks stupid now, the rest of that scene still holds up incredibly well and is still one of my favourite movies scenes of all time.

Also can't recommend Isolation highly enough. Drags a little at the end, but is otherwise a perfect Alien game.

Edit: Aliens is the superior film...just

[Ayen]

Alien and Aliens are my favorite from that movie franchise. I can't decide which I like better as it tends to alternate based on my mood. I plan to look at Alien: Isolation in March. Saw Markiplier do a Let's Play of it and loved it!

[Bubba]

Yeah, the chest-burster alien scene hasn't aged well at all. I think in hindsight they shouldn't have shown it running/skating across the table at all. They should have done it using sound similar to how Spielberg did it in Gremlins where all you see is a tail disappearing through a vent.

While I can agree that the skating across the table part looks stupid now, the rest of that scene still holds up incredibly well and is still one of my favourite movies scenes of all time.

I should have been more specific. The scene itself is amazing. I was more specifically referring to the creature effects.

[Wolf Kanno]

As a child, I always preferred the more actiony Aliens over the slow thriller Alien, but coming back to the films when I got older, I must say I prefer Alien. It's the superior film in it's execution and how it tells you things without actually saying things. Aliens on the other hand has slipped down a bit since it's basically "Vietnam in Space" as some people have described it. I don't know, as I get older, I seem to like James Cameron's work less and less.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Yeah, the chest-burster alien scene hasn't aged well at all. I think in hindsight they shouldn't have shown it running/skating across the table at all. They should have done it using sound similar to how Spielberg did it in Gremlins where all you see is a tail disappearing through a vent.

Alien is an amazing film though and I agree it just edges the second one for me. Aliens is an amazing film too.

Now this thread has made me want to play Alien:Isolation. It passed me by on its release.

I was really impressed with how similar in feel the game is in feel to the movie in regard to aesthetics, sounds, music, several other key things. It's not perfect, but it does a really good job of putting you in the role of a sole survivor being hunted by the xenomorph.

The game was much, much scarier, and they smoked a lot in space.

It was alright. Not too bad. Jonesy best character

I told her from the beginning that there was a cat, and that the cat got straight up murdered, just to add to the suspense. Oh ho ho ho.

[Midgar Mist]

So I had pumpkin sit down and watch the theatrical release version of Alien over the weekend. Y'know, because romance.

Tis typical man style romance, I am familiar with it. Otherwise I would never have seen the romantic classics that are the Halloween franchise and Freddy vs Jason.

The Alien Quadrology was a dvd set I watched at my second boyfriends house. I liked the first and second ones, but the franchise lost its magic in Alien 3. The fourth one was an improvement.

And Kanno are you saying that the Alien films are James Cameron? Because they are Ridley Scott films.

[Wolf Kanno]

And Kanno are you saying that the Alien films are James Cameron? Because they are Ridley Scott films.

Sorry, I should have been clearer, I mean that I prefer Ridley Scott's take than Cameron. My line had more to do with a conversation I had with a coworker about how I used to like Cameron, but as I got older, he just seemed more focus on special effects than telling a good story with it. Like I prefer his almost B-Movie style The Terminator, over the more actiony Hollywood -esque Terminator 2. Avatar itself was a boring and mostly forgettable movie if it wasn't for the CGI.

I'm still annoyed he has the rights to Battle Angel Alita, since he probably would have done a better job with it twenty years ago than he could now, if he ever gets around to making it in the first place...

Yeah, Ridley Scott did a better job.

[krissy]

one of my fave movies

[Bubba]

The funny thing is about Alien 3, they actually picked the best possible director for the job: David Fincher. The studio interrupted production so much though that he ended up disowning the film. The script was re-written to all hell. Fincher didn't even stick around for the edit once filming had finished.

If they'd given him more of a free reign it could have been one of the greatest trilogies of all time.