Alien (1979) discussion

[Mr.Marion]

I picked up the Blu ray holy s*** did it look amazing. I'll admit I've never really been a huge fan but I'm glad I gave it a second viewing. The visuals were way ahead of their time and they used real characters in a plausible setting. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the film and stories of when it first came out.

[Bruce Banner]

Alien will always be one of my favourite movies. I remember reading all the articles about it in the magazines as a kid, and getting really psyched up about it.
Managed to get hold of one of the giant Kenner figures from Zellers when they went on clearance around xmas 1980, too.

I also like the Director's Cut version, which actually runs shorter than the original theatrical cut, IIRC.

[Iron Mego]

I remember reading a picture book that came out shortly after the movie did and being incredibly fascinated by it (I was only 10 I think, so there's NO way I was going to be seeing it in the theatre!). I can't remember when I finally saw it, but it's long been a favorite of mine. It's on cable a lot, and it is one of those movies I'll watch whenever I catch it. I think it holds up because they didn't get super techy and over the top with the sci-fi aspect of it. Makes it much more realistic.

[Hedji]

I loved it as a kid. Then I found it difficult to enjoy on VHS for many years. The darkness and murky picture quality, and the pan and scan cropping of the frame, severely hurt it in my opinion. Then when the DVD came out, I fell in love with it all over again. It is just a gorgeous, beautifully made film.

[enyawd72]

A masterpiece for sure. To me, it's the quintessential film that proves less is more.

[Nostalgiabuff]

yeah, I have the bluray set of the original 4 movies. the first is definitely the best in terms of suspense but I always loved Aliens more.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

great movie that terrified my mom, my sister and I when we first saw it on HBO back in the day. the mix of lo tech and hi tech was and still is brilliant.
an interesting side note (or two)
Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires" was a huge inspiration for ALIEN. very similar production design in certain scenes and even some sequences.
The documentary on Jodorowsky's DUNE (sadly never made) explained how the creative team he assembled for his would-be epic (Dan O'Bannon, Jean Giraud and H.R. Giger especially) went on to create ALIEN.

[Gorn Captain]

I have a question about the Facehugger in Alien.
It only bleeds acid when cut, right?

How come the first one burns its way into Kane's helmet (through the helmet's visor), seemingly by just jumping onto the astronaut (and not having any cuts)?

[thunderbolt]

great movie that terrified my mom, my sister and I when we first saw it on HBO back in the day. the mix of lo tech and hi tech was and still is brilliant.
an interesting side note (or two)
Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires" was a huge inspiration for ALIEN. very similar production design in certain scenes and even some sequences.
The documentary on Jodorowsky's DUNE (sadly never made) explained how the creative team he assembled for his would-be epic (Dan O'Bannon, Jean Giraud and H.R. Giger especially) went on to create ALIEN.

Was It! The Terror From Beyond Space ever officially acknowledged as an influence? Very similar, right down to the airlock getting rid of the monster.

[Mikey]

Loved Alien until Aliens was released, after that Alien seemed very slow and kinda hard to watch.

One thing that makes Alien stand out was everybody was a movie star EXCEPT the movie's star

[megoapesnut]

One of my top 5 favorite flicks and I am not in the camp that Aliens was better. I love the slow build up and pacing of the original. It's one of those RARE movies that actually gets better with time. And yes, the blu-ray looks awesome.

[torgospizza]

I think the thing I like best about Alien was that everyone just looked like normal people going about their lives, and we don't see that a lot in films. If it were made today with our sensibilities, they'd cast Emma Stone as Lambert and Cumberbatch as Kane or some such nonsense...James Franco as Brett, Tyrese Gibson as Parker.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

Was It! The Terror From Beyond Space ever officially acknowledged as an influence? Very similar, right down to the airlock getting rid of the monster.

Interesting.
I've never heard that, but now I want to see It!

[drquest]

There's not a lot I didn't like about the original Alien movie. Intense, great effects, dark hallways, etc... Top notch movie!

[Bruce Banner]

There are definite similarities between Alien and It! The Terror From Beyond Space.
But the makers of Alien claim they weren't inspired by the movie.

"Alien" Producer David Giler: “We only began to hear about ‘It!’ toward the end of production. I haven’t seen it, but t I know of the film. We were convinced we were doing something new stylistically, even if the basic outlines were the same. I gather the alien-hiding-on-a-spaceship idea is pretty much a classic premise with science fiction writers, like the gunfight in the Western. So the similarities didn’t bother us.”