I think Alien is more popular now than it ever was. I saw it in the movie theater in 1979. I was seven. subsequently, in my teen years (mid 80s) my friends didn't think much of the film because they were watching all the great 80s stuff (which was new at the time) from Lucas, Spielberg, Hooper, etc. as well as all the slasher stuff. So Alien, although popular in the time of its release didn't seem like it was going to continue..until Aliens. I like Aliens but it is very much a product of its time-a American 1980s big budget blockbuster. It lacked subtlety as it played for a commercial audience. Alien I feel was more of an commercial art film, more European in its rendering.
Edit: I agree. Nicely put. Devil's advocate time; Aliens is full to the brim with beautifully nuanced acting and so many people miss the "subtly" that deep down its a story of two loving mothers both suffering grief at the loss of their child (Ripley), children (Xeno Queen) and how they'd do anything to protect their babies. Awwww 😢 its technically a tragedy! They went and stomped all over poor (for all we know endangered) wild-animal-running-only-on baser-instinct mamas eggs and Alien Queen is meant to be the BAD GUY!?!? ;) Its not simply an action/thriller "bughunt" popcorn movie (there's not so hidden depth to it), nor as Cameron unsubtly intended as a critique of American imperialism especially being analogous to their technologically superior forces getting trounced in Vietnam by a lesser technological rival But whadda i know I've watched both so many times soaking up more each time round and too many video essays on them to count My stand out actor was Paul Reiser. Carter Burke sweating like a pig with his dirty secrets got to me. The quieter moments were quality and have some nice acting in them But ive gone full circle, 1 is arthouse, 2 is blockbuster Not all art house is great Not all blockbusters aren't without auteurs Im 47. I probably saw them at aged 11-12. They're indelibly stamped upon my consciousness Oray e the whole sequel was only made for that set up "Queen takes Bishop" and Cameron is the goat of trolling
@@steve-852 easy, was accompanied by a parent or a guardian who's over 17. Probably couldn't find a baby sitter and so just bring the kid along. Movie tickets for children were dirt cheap back then.
My step father took me. There is a video from back then showing a family being interviewed leaving the theater after watching the movie that had a kid my age. th-cam.com/video/_zrxkUxAcsI/w-d-xo.html
Ridley Scott was just a newbie when he directed Alien and it turned out to be one of the greatest horror movies ever. I have seen dozens of documentaries about the making of this film, the level of dedication that went through designing studios, camerawork and sound design is unparalleled. And how can you forget mentioning 'H R Gier' the man who created the most scariest character 'Xenomorph'.
Yup, what Kubrick's 2001 had done for sci-fi movies in general and Lucas had done for space fantasy, Scott did for sci-fi horror movies. Take something that is not exactly new, but make it feel fresh and timeless by making art out of it... Alien is a masterpiece, Scott reached the same heights of his craft with Blade Runner but never again after that, despite making quite a list of really impressing movies by now.
Uhm, he was certainly young at the time, and had not yet made, for better or worse, a great number of films but I would not say a rookie: "The Duellists" was already practically a masterpiece and that let glimpse the abilities of the good Ridley. Of course, it is not that he made only good films, but most of them are the work of a master.
... The audience I was with was. It was hard on the nerves, so the end credit music was so approiate; I think it helped us all ease out of the film and back to reality. LOL!
Yes Alien is the best. Aliens was awesome in its own right but Alien is a masterpiece, hence my no. 1 movie of all time, 40 years after first watching it I've seen it countless times and still love it.
Very simple! Ridley was great in the 80's! Black rain is my favorite movie from him, all considered! In the 90's he started to falter down. Still, there are some good movies from him. After that.. well you know 🙄 Average at best, mediocre most of the time. The Prometheus was the bottom scrape, and I just gave up taking Ridley Scott as serious director anymore. And I couldn't care less about his newer movies 🤷🏼
When it first came out, nobody knew about the Alien itself. The entire concept and universe was fresh and surprising. As the story unfolded, the audience discovered, step by step, the horrifying biological system of the Alien… from the mysterious eggs, to the facehugger, to the chestburster-it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. No other sequel, could replicate that sense of discovery. What also made the first film so unique was that there was only one alien, and it remained mostly unseen, creating fear through anticipation rather than overexposure. The sense of dread was more driven by what you didn’t see than by what you did. These are in my opinion much more relevant reasons than any technical aspect.
And that’s why I so detest the Director Cut of Aliens. The first hour was pure tension and suspense and the anticipation of the reappearance of the creature. The extended cut put that hammy acted colony scene back in and just ruined the pacing. We are now no longer along on the ride with Ripley and the marines but waiting for them to catch up.
All the sequels have done is show how good the original was. It's kinda amazing on the one hand this is 45 years old and kinda depressing that all that can be managed is a 'greatest hits' remaster of this and subsequent films in the form of Alien: Romulus. Not just a landmark but the top of the mountain.
Natural conversational dialogue and dense overlapping audio influenced by Robert Altman's work is also worth mentioning. Something that has been abandoned in the 21 century hollywood cinema, even by R.Scott.
So pleased you say this - I found all the other Alien films lack believability because of the acting and dialogue style. I went to see Romulus and just cringed all the way through at the wooden, on the nose dialogue mouthed by inept teenagers. Such a shame Hollywood dropped the 1970's realism style.
Yes! Not to forget the acting. Usually I can tell film and real dialogue apart but with Alien it's really difficult. They really sound like space truckers complaining about the pay etc. All that contributed to a feeling that these characters could be real.
@@retlwiz The most horrible thing was the line delievery when they wanted to copy some cool line from the original. I cringed so hard I almost prolapsed.
When alien first came out I went to the theater and saw eight different times just wanted to get a better glimpse of the creature. What a fantastic movie I still have my Nostromo cap that I got somehow
No other film in the series ca touch it it was the perfect combination of story, set design, actors direction etc. It respected the power of mystery and true horror of the unknown
I recently watched a Alien Universe timeline video that went over all the movies and Alien: Isolation in chronological order. It immediately stood out to me how superior the 1st Alien movie looks and feel compared to any of the other movies. Even Aliens look cheap in comparison.
Probably ad-libbed by Yaphet Kotto. As another commenter pointed out, the dialogue are more believable, characters talked over one another, they talk to each other in a more realistic manner and they say things to each other that they know the context to without explaining too much to the audience.
When people say they like Aliens more than Alien, basically what they're saying is they like Action Movies more than Horror; that simple. Alien IMO is the best though for sure.
Alien was ghostly story. It breathed slowly , had space for the viewers to assess and wonder deliriously. All the others were action movies skipping like a stone scene to scene.
@@billB101 agreed, not suggesting it’s a bad film. In my opinion none of the others match up to the first in tone and storytelling 😁 but again, this is my opinion, and I’ve never been a big Cameron fan 😱
I find myself watching Aliens more. I've seen it so many times. But of course Alien is the better film. A certified masterpiece. Gorgeous in 4K OLED. Keep up the good works.
Aliens is without doubt in my mind, the best sequel ever made. To take Alien, masterpiece that it was, and to up the ante like that, was a true master stroke. Alien is ofcourse the better film. But Aliens is was and remains an astounding sequel.
I think that the problem, at least for me, is that the "perfect organism" in Aliens is just a little insect that is killed with ease. Yes, they actually kill a lot of marines and all, and I really like the "macho american" approach, don't get me wrong. Is something so cool and from the 80s that you can't just hate on that, but after you loved it, you start to think about it and it's like... Yes... but no. Give the original every single time.
@@EagerSnakeAliens takes the “macho American” trope and flips it. The marines go in cocky and end up fearing for their lives. The only one who survives is Hicks who is more vulnerable and sensitive compared to the others. Hicks is very similar to Kyle Reese without the PTSD.
@@EagerSnake thats the problem with aliens, killing aliens left and right so easily is not scary, and i felt aliens ruined the alien franchise.they sold out and made some hollywood crap that they knew would appeal to the masses.aliens wasn't even an r rated movie like alien was.
@@EagerSnake Ultimately, only Ripley survives. So for me, Aliens demonstrates just how "superior" the aliens are despite the humans having supposed superior fire power and supposed better planning, strategy, and tactics. In the process, Aliens raises the zenomorphs to "almost indestructible". Something that Alien only began to explore.
I actually like all films in the franchise, especially Aliens and Ridley Scott's prequels which I think were masterfully made... But I have to agree with you, the first Alien is the only true MASTERPIECE and perfect film of the bunch, it remains unmatched.
Agreed. There are many more levels on which this is a one of a kind masterpiece... the character of the characters, the selection and skill of the actors...the goal of not focusing on or trying to sensationally impress through tech (even though it is unassumingly impressive). The greatest beauty of this movie is that it's a drama of honest human vulnerability in the face of abandonment. There are issues that the human soul celebrates, yearns or shudders for and over. That's at the center of this movie. Everything else masterfully supports it.
one more thing. since the anamorphic lens wasn't perfect. towards the outside of the left and right frames, the image is slightly stretched even after a de squeeze, leaving a slightly dreamlike state. i replicated this in after effects using non-linear displacement maps and it's pretty interesting how it changes the mood. Also, 5247 had muted colors as well. you can do this in resolve's color splice tool. alien also had better music, sound design, lighting, camera movement, acting, than the other films. Additionally, a telephoto shot will compress the space so it's more claustrophobic.
Bang on wolfie best by far and in my top 20 all time films. It was the slow deliberate build up that made it great for me but alas ive heard quite a few people say the first half was too slow and boring which is nonsense to me. Good vid.
While Aliens is a fantastic film, and one of my favourites, Alien is a an absolute masterpiece. The level of atmosphere this movie conveys is unmatched, and I love its pacing.
Movies like Alien and Blade Runner seem to not be that big blockbuster when released. But, as time passes, people start to take notice. I love Alien for being a true adult horror movie. I love Blade Runner for the story and atmosphere. Today, they stand out above most every movie in its class.
I think Jodorowskys failed Dune magically gathered all the elements for something special to happen. That team were always destined to create something incredible: Alien.
Yes - l agree - and Ridley Scott was the perfect person to corral all of those elements…and wow, wow, wow. Despite a love of directors such as Lean, Tarkovsy and others, this is my favourite film - it simply has everything.
You're wrong about the slow shots at the beginning of the movie. They're not done to build tension - there is no tension to build as no threat or conflict has been established. The slow shots, combined with the lighting and soundtrack, are done to relax and hypnotize the viewer so that the horror scenes, particularly the chest-burster scene have even greater visual and emotional impact.
I disagree. Viewers in 1979 knew they were in a horror movie, and had just experienced the tension-filled intro music as the camera slowly drifts through space. I have seen reactors tense and terrified by the opening shots of Alien because they don't know what is happening and are geared up for a jump scare that never comes.
I viewed Alien when it premiered 1979 ( I was 24 ).The opening scenes of the interior of the Nostromo was the only reprieve from the tension and terror that was to come. How the audience reacted that night was something that I will never experience again, people were screaming at the screen when Ripley ran back to grab Jones the cat : " "Forget the cat! Get out of there!"...lol. The mystery of the derelict ship, and It's pilot, this is what has stayed with me, and always will. Ash : " You have my sympathies..."
Great analysis! Still the best horror film ever made. To state the obvious: Alien is the best from the franchise simply because of it's huge emotional impact it could have on audiences by showing something they had never seen before. No one expected to see such brilliant and terrifying creature design, while also being expertly introduced to the world with the right pacing. You only get to do this once, after that it becomes repetition. The biggest movie hits always play on your emotions which makes them unforgettable. Technical finesse is of course very important in achieving that. Also the fact that Ridley Scott decided to make Ripley female was a genius move in amping up the fear you could instill in audiences. The stakes are just so much higher that way.
I think you're right here. I've always preferred Aliens and I really think this is because it happened to be the first one in the series that I watched. When I watched Alien I probably never experienced that sense of fear because I had seen it before.
Although Kubrick used a Cooke 20-100mm on Barry Lyndon, the main zoom used the Cine-Pro 24-480mm T9, this was created using an Angenieux 15-300 f4.5 zoom for 16mm film with a 1.6x expander to cover the 35mm motion picture frame.
@@johannes914 the Cooke 20-100mm is a standard spherical zoom for 35mm motion picture format. These lenses were often modified using a rear anamorphic adapter which makes the lens a 40-200mm T5.6 Alien was shot using Panavision C-Series and Cooke Varotal lenses - so chances are they used a rear anamorphic adapter on the Cooke zoom.
@@johannes914 back in the 70s there were very few anamorphic zoom lenses. These modded zooms were one of the only choices. Apocalypse Now used Technovision modded Cooke zooms with the same type of rear adapters.
Couldn't agree more. I have just watched Alien again and immediately watched it all the way through the next day, for all the reasons you say. It's gorgeous, beautifully paced, atmospheric and genuinely scary. I have just also watched Aliens, and while it is entertaining, it agree it looks way more dated and clunky. Ripley gets to kick ass a lot more, but I felt they were all much more real people in the original. Prometheus was dull as ditchwater and Romulus was like a kids' film to me - I couldn't get through it.
It's nice to see a video saying how good this film is, it will always be the number 1 film in the alien franchise for me. I love the tension and suspense, plus they have to deal with the alien without weapons. I also think the terminator is the same because it's a dark film. Sequel's very rarely hold up for me.
Of all of them it has the best cinematography, best film stock, best lighting, the most tension, best acting (although the acting in Aliens was good too), most detailed Xenomorph, best gore, and the most innovation.
I'm jealous. I can't believe I wasted nearly 4 hours watching Aliens and Alien 3, cuz I hated them. Only watched about the first 15 minutes of Alien Resurrection before I shut it off and promised myself never to watch another Alien film again. The first film is a masterpiece! Never needed sequels.
I only films in the Alien Franchise that I like are the ones directed by Ridley Scott; "Alien" (1979), "Prometheus" (2012), and "Alien: Covenant" (2017)
And that`s why the Aliens as a sequel is the other great film in the series. Instead of trying to repeat the recipe Cameron completely switched into different genre.
Aliens succeeded because the mystique of the creature was still there and not so overexposed and over analyzed. In fact the first half of Aliens was built on the dreadful anticipation of seeing the creatures again. This was totally ruined by the Directors Cut when they put the deleted colony scene back in.
“Cartoonish Americans in space.” You completely missed the themes of motherhood, PTSD, and the Vietnam War analogy did you? Alien isn’t cosmic horror, but had lovecratian elements.
@@bernardstrauss1183 Elaborate? My overall point is that Aliens isn’t just typical 80s action romp. It has a little something more to it. If you’re referring to Alien being “cosmic horror,” the existence of the Xenomorphs and what it means to the greater universe and the disturbing unknowable truths within it, is relatively non-existent in the film. Space horror ≠ cosmic horror.
Seen so much ' Aliens' in the past days leading up to Romulus's release..i dont remember much of the og film. But Aliens is fun still and it holds up!!
You are so right. Many of Alien's cuts and set ilumination could have been on one luxury TV commercial. Ecverything in Alien is amazing and to some extent in Alien 3, to me at least.
It's also the writing, the producers believing in the material, and Ridley, taking the material seriously, and the fact that they had a good long time to develop it and hone it before the movie got green-lit completely. It wasn't in development hell, it had some bumps along the way, but then they were given the rare time to polish it and perfect it. It almost became a bad Roger Corman quickie, and thank God it didn't. Also the influence of Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Conrad are all key elements. And of course, Heavy Metal, etc.
There are those who, obviously prefer 'action', and therefore will say Aliens is the better film. I do find though that I'm more inclined to rewatch Alien to any other movie in the series because it's just so damned good. None of the sequels/prequels has captured that same atmosphere or realism. On a side note, if you haven't seen Ridley Scott's debut feature film The Duellists you should check it out. I saw it for the first time this year, it's a fantastic film, he did an amazing job on such a low (and apparently it was really, really low) budget. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel are terrific, as are the rest of the cast. Well worth seeing.
I agree with this. Alien (1979) was visually beautiful and cinematically breathtaking. The new Alien Romulus is seems to be focusing too much on nostalgia and fan tribute making it feel hollow. I find it underwhelming as they nerfed the Xenomorph and the facehuggers. In the original, it only took 1 face hugger and one Alien to take out most crew of the Nostromo. In Alien Romulus, The facehugger seems to have stormtrooper aim and the Alien is taking itself a lot of time to attack and just basically waiting for the script. It was a disappointment to original fans however, with its box office success, we can hope that they can make the next movies better and much more surprise.
Alien is the perfect film. It is perfectly paced, precisely constructed but feels so organic and comprehensive as a story. It’s a simple premise - haunted house in space but there’s so much to think about without it being shoved down your throat. Compare the hamfisted approach to class consciousness in Romulus which has to smack you in the face and then it’s completely forgotten whereas the class dynamics pervade Alien throughout the film. The closest creation in terms of perfection is the Alien Isolation video game. It’s a decade old but still feels new and exciting. Fede Alvarez loved the game and you can see it in the set design. The story is also really good - they should have made that instead. Unfortunately with Disney I don’t think we will ever get a slow burn horror like Alien but more of the Avengers blockbuster schtick.
I went into Romulus with low expectations and knowing little to nothing about the film and was pleasantly surprised. Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than most movies in the franchise? Definitely. I could tell Fede Alvarez was passionate about the originals, even though he doesn’t surpass or even equal them, but thats fine. I did not like the callback to that Aliens line though. That will take me out of the film if I decide to watch in between Alien and Aliens.
In the latest Fandango interview for Alien: Romulus w Ridley and Fede , Ridley said he shot ALIEN w mostly '65 mil' anamorphic lenses since Doug Trumbull told him "human vision was nearest to 65 mil not 50 so in essence the camera is your eyesight". Fede, sitting next to him, said "brilliant" and looked deep in thought from this bit of info. (PANAVISION C Series only has a 60 and 70 but no 65 but I would guess he used various for different scenes)
As the first matrix eclipses the following ones, because there is a before and after such films, the sequels or prequels or spin-offs are only the subsequent chapters. There are exceptions in which the subsequent chapter can surpass the original, the first that come to mind, but I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, are the godfather, indiana jones, blade, oldboy (it's not a real saga, but it's the second chapter of a trilogy). But generally speaking, in my opinion, the one who opens the dance is usually the best.
The sets look lived in, gritty and threatening - it's not this polished Hollywood effort that most sci-fi is known for. And who can forget the shots of the derelict? When i first saw it...i thought "it's real...that ship has come from other side of the universe...and it has been in that state for thousands of years". Beautiful in how it's so convincing. I don't think anything else comes close to the feeling that Alien gives.
Compared with Romulus…well, there is no comparison. Re lighting..YES! As I watched(?) Romulus I constantly ranted that in Alien you can actually see the scene, in Romulus it’s simply dark.
Alien is the masterclass to be sure. It bugs me that most completely dismiss Alien 3. The Assembly Cut of that movie really puts it in a new light for me. The series was a trilogy and should have remained that way. Also, does everyone just forget the ridiculous dialogue of the marines in Aliens prior to the first encounter with the Xenomorphs? It's like every 80's cliche action script greatest hits! How many times do they say Bad Ass?!? Anyway, great video.
I love Aliens, but watching Alien again on an modern OLED TV with Dolby surround sound (on an Apple TV) was a revelation. It looks and sounds incredible, and hasn't aged a bit. (well apart from some of the models..but that's being picky.) Alien is probably the better film, but Aliens is more enjoyable.. can't go wrong with either.
So many great elements to Alien, love Mollo’s uniforms and detailing…..the set design….just makes it such a believable world….and with NO cgi. These people were masters of their craft…..I just can’t believe how bad Scott’s later “Alien” movies are in comparison to his work on Alien/Bladerunner. The only thing he’s been involved with lately that gets close is Raised by Wolves and sadly that got cancelled. I thought Romulus was relatively poor.
If this movie didnt have a 'monster' in it then maybe it would of beaten Kramer vs Kramer and be talked about more than Apocalypse Now. It really is that good.
I really like your videos; they're universally relevant and superbly produced; that's certainly true of this video. In your narration you talked about the telephoto effect that anamorphic lenses created in Alien. Do you think Alien's look could be created without anamorphic lenses? (I don't like anamorphics and I'd prefer to avoid using them.) Thanks much!
Although Alien is mostly seen as a horror film with the way the Xenomorph stalks the crew like an evil slasher. But because of it's sci-fi aspect it never felt like one to me. Partly because of the way it perfectly blends the 2 genres but also because of the way that it doesn't feel like there's just gore for gores sake which makes me hate horror movies. It never really feels like there's much to them other than that and maybe a few jump scares which unless done really well are usually predictable as hell anyway, which Alien never is.
Insterestingly, Alien was never a horror movie to me. "Just" a brilliant and one/the of the best, scifi movie. It surprised me that it is seen as a horror movie.
I agree that Alien is the best of the franchise. It's the most atmospheric, creepiest, and scariest, and we didn't know what was coming. I was convinced the Alien was getting bigger and bigger throughout the film, and I don't think I'm alone in that. I also never trusted the cat. I expected an alien to pop out of it, or for it to be in league with the Alien. However Aliens is one hell of a sequel. I don't think it's dated. Sure Cameron has riffed on it endlessly ever since, but I don't think he's ever bettered it. Some of the visual effects don't stand up, but you have to remember that Aliens was done on a much tighter budget, and Cameron squeezed out an awful lot from a limited amount of money. Aliens made it a franchise. If we had just gone straight to something like Alien 3 then I think that film would have sunk it.
While Alien did bring sci-fi horror to a new level it still had the formulaic tropes like having to go down a vent to fix something etc. I think Aliens is the better film because its all very believable in the characters reactions to situations. (Pill Paxton did over do it a bit for his character)
Aliens has plenty of tropes too: Strapping on the guns like Rambo and going back to save someone, incompetent command officer, dude with tons of bravado who later gets demoralized, a kid, and a bunch of stuff ripped from famous Vietnam war films. To be clear though, I like both movies.
@@Nebulous6 Yeah, it does have all those things. While they are exaggerated in places, they are still more realistic situations than the more contrived horror plots to split up the characters and pick them off one by one. Of course I like Alien for Giger's original designs.
I was familiar with the Xenomorph first before the movie because it was painted on my cousin's PC case, then I watched the film when I was 6 and I'm pretty sure it's the first film I've ever loved. I agree with everything you said but different directors have different approaches to express a same thing. So I don't think putting the original on such high pedestal while diminishing other entries in the franchise is a good discourse. I saw similar things to Godzilla.
I love both 2 and 4 as well. Cameron's aliens look great too, just different. 4 on the other hand has some of the french grotesque feel, also very interesting. I wouldn't dismiss them. Fincher's one is the weakest in the bunch, probably due to bad cg use and production issues.
If we’re talking about Alien as a franchise, I think Dark Star, the precursor by John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon, may not have the cinematography, but was a lot more fun.
Alien is perfect. But Aliens deserves a bit more credit-- it's a great looking movie in its own right, and it's much more respectable than most big-budget sequels, both in its visual approach and storytelling.
I think Alien and Aliens are on par with each other. Often your preference for one over the other depends on whether you lean more towards action or horror. Personally, I can't seperate the first two movies in the series. They're pears to me.
Because Alien was Art. Not franchise.
Pulling in Gieger was absolute genius.
Exactly.
Well said.
How it was shot is only half of it. Was also a great script with believable characters. Romulus was trash pretty much once they got to the station.
Every movie is art, even franchise movies lol
I think Alien is more popular now than it ever was. I saw it in the movie theater in 1979. I was seven. subsequently, in my teen years (mid 80s) my friends didn't think much of the film because they were watching all the great 80s stuff (which was new at the time) from Lucas, Spielberg, Hooper, etc. as well as all the slasher stuff. So Alien, although popular in the time of its release didn't seem like it was going to continue..until Aliens. I like Aliens but it is very much a product of its time-a American 1980s big budget blockbuster. It lacked subtlety as it played for a commercial audience. Alien I feel was more of an commercial art film, more European in its rendering.
Edit: I agree. Nicely put.
Devil's advocate time; Aliens is full to the brim with beautifully nuanced acting and so many people miss the "subtly" that deep down its a story of two loving mothers both suffering grief at the loss of their child (Ripley), children (Xeno Queen) and how they'd do anything to protect their babies. Awwww 😢 its technically a tragedy!
They went and stomped all over poor (for all we know endangered) wild-animal-running-only-on baser-instinct mamas eggs and Alien Queen is meant to be the BAD GUY!?!? ;)
Its not simply an action/thriller "bughunt" popcorn movie (there's not so hidden depth to it), nor as Cameron unsubtly intended as a critique of American imperialism especially being analogous to their technologically superior forces getting trounced in Vietnam by a lesser technological rival
But whadda i know
I've watched both so many times soaking up more each time round and too many video essays on them to count
My stand out actor was Paul Reiser. Carter Burke sweating like a pig with his dirty secrets got to me. The quieter moments were quality and have some nice acting in them
But ive gone full circle, 1 is arthouse, 2 is blockbuster
Not all art house is great
Not all blockbusters aren't without auteurs
Im 47. I probably saw them at aged 11-12. They're indelibly stamped upon my consciousness
Oray e the whole sequel was only made for that set up "Queen takes Bishop" and Cameron is the goat of trolling
Alien basically redefined the sci fi horror genre and peaked it. No other film in the same genre came close.
How on earth did you get into the movie theatre to see a movie like alien AGED 7?!?
@@steve-852 easy, was accompanied by a parent or a guardian who's over 17. Probably couldn't find a baby sitter and so just bring the kid along. Movie tickets for children were dirt cheap back then.
My step father took me. There is a video from back then showing a family being interviewed leaving the theater after watching the movie that had a kid my age.
th-cam.com/video/_zrxkUxAcsI/w-d-xo.html
Ridley Scott was just a newbie when he directed Alien and it turned out to be one of the greatest horror movies ever. I have seen dozens of documentaries about the making of this film, the level of dedication that went through designing studios, camerawork and sound design is unparalleled. And how can you forget mentioning 'H R Gier' the man who created the most scariest character 'Xenomorph'.
Yup, what Kubrick's 2001 had done for sci-fi movies in general and Lucas had done for space fantasy, Scott did for sci-fi horror movies. Take something that is not exactly new, but make it feel fresh and timeless by making art out of it... Alien is a masterpiece, Scott reached the same heights of his craft with Blade Runner but never again after that, despite making quite a list of really impressing movies by now.
Uhm, he was certainly young at the time, and had not yet made, for better or worse, a great number of films but I would not say a rookie: "The Duellists" was already practically a masterpiece and that let glimpse the abilities of the good Ridley. Of course, it is not that he made only good films, but most of them are the work of a master.
"Giger"
Imagine seeing that for the first time in theaters in 1979. They must have been blown away.
I was lol.
... The audience I was with was. It was hard on the nerves, so the end credit music was so approiate; I think it helped us all ease out of the film and back to reality. LOL!
@@oddcosmosanthology9362 yes, it was really gentle and kind of said. “well done, you survived”
Yes Alien is the best. Aliens was awesome in its own right but Alien is a masterpiece, hence my no. 1 movie of all time, 40 years after first watching it I've seen it countless times and still love it.
No cgi-everything seemed & felt REAL.
Except the explosion at the end
It’s fun to watch the series of shots from Alien that make up this video. Each shot drives home just how visually immaculate the movie is.
Alien is the greatest. No contest.
Just watched this video and your piece on “Rear Window.” Both are so incredibly good and informative. I’m a fan.
Agree 100%. I wonder how a director that can make this masterpiece, and Blade Runner, can also make a turkey like Napoleon.
Very simple! Ridley was great in the 80's!
Black rain is my favorite movie from him, all considered!
In the 90's he started to falter down. Still, there are some good movies from him.
After that.. well you know 🙄
Average at best, mediocre most of the time.
The Prometheus was the bottom scrape, and I just gave up taking Ridley Scott as serious director anymore. And I couldn't care less about his newer movies 🤷🏼
Because we all don't get better with age. Truth is we all have an expiration date and Scott is way past his prime.
When it first came out, nobody knew about the Alien itself. The entire concept and universe was fresh and surprising. As the story unfolded, the audience discovered, step by step, the horrifying biological system of the Alien… from the mysterious eggs, to the facehugger, to the chestburster-it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
No other sequel, could replicate that sense of discovery.
What also made the first film so unique was that there was only one alien, and it remained mostly unseen, creating fear through anticipation rather than overexposure. The sense of dread was more driven by what you didn’t see than by what you did.
These are in my opinion much more relevant reasons than any technical aspect.
And that’s why I so detest the Director Cut of Aliens. The first hour was pure tension and suspense and the anticipation of the reappearance of the creature. The extended cut put that hammy acted colony scene back in and just ruined the pacing. We are now no longer along on the ride with Ripley and the marines but waiting for them to catch up.
All the sequels have done is show how good the original was. It's kinda amazing on the one hand this is 45 years old and kinda depressing that all that can be managed is a 'greatest hits' remaster of this and subsequent films in the form of Alien: Romulus. Not just a landmark but the top of the mountain.
No mention of Giger and set design? The frames in Alien are oozing with detail and I'm a sucker for the symmetry.
I will always love Ian Holm’s acting. For me, he was the standout performer in this movie.
Natural conversational dialogue and dense overlapping audio influenced by Robert Altman's work is also worth mentioning. Something that has been abandoned in the 21 century hollywood cinema, even by R.Scott.
Yes. Even Spielberg was up to such auditory realism in pivotal scenes of JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. The '70's were the apex of classical cinema.
So pleased you say this - I found all the other Alien films lack believability because of the acting and dialogue style. I went to see Romulus and just cringed all the way through at the wooden, on the nose dialogue mouthed by inept teenagers. Such a shame Hollywood dropped the 1970's realism style.
Yes! Not to forget the acting. Usually I can tell film and real dialogue apart but with Alien it's really difficult. They really sound like space truckers complaining about the pay etc. All that contributed to a feeling that these characters could be real.
@@retlwiz The most horrible thing was the line delievery when they wanted to copy some cool line from the original. I cringed so hard I almost prolapsed.
When alien first came out I went to the theater and saw eight different times just wanted to get a better glimpse of the creature. What a fantastic movie I still have my Nostromo cap that I got somehow
You got a cap???
No other film in the series ca touch it it was the perfect combination of story, set design, actors direction etc. It respected the power of mystery and true horror of the unknown
Excellent technical analysis. You put words to things I had recognised intuitively but couldn't explain if you paid me. Great video!
I recently watched a Alien Universe timeline video that went over all the movies and Alien: Isolation in chronological order. It immediately stood out to me how superior the 1st Alien movie looks and feel compared to any of the other movies. Even Aliens look cheap in comparison.
They had a tiny budget by today's standards and they worked really hard within that limitation to make it great.
"Can I finish my coffee?...it's the only thing that's good on this ship."---Parker, best line in all the Alien movies.
Probably ad-libbed by Yaphet Kotto. As another commenter pointed out, the dialogue are more believable, characters talked over one another, they talk to each other in a more realistic manner and they say things to each other that they know the context to without explaining too much to the audience.
"God Parker, the way you pound down the stuff like there's no tomorrow" LOL Lambert.....the horrible synth food.
By far my fav movie ever. I cant tell you how many times I've seen. The cinematics are just fascinating to me.
Maybe a close second to "The Thing?" 😉
When people say they like Aliens more than Alien, basically what they're saying is they like Action Movies more than Horror; that simple. Alien IMO is the best though for sure.
Then again, it’s harder to make a horror movie than an action movie.
Alien was ghostly story. It breathed slowly , had space for the viewers to assess and wonder deliriously.
All the others were action movies skipping like a stone scene to scene.
Absolutely spot on. It really annoys me when people say Aliens is one of the few sequels to outshine the original.
Agreed! I never understood when people said that…
Forgive me but I'm one of them.
@@diethermanicat hey, to each their own ✌🏻
I do like Aliens though, it's a great film.
@@billB101 agreed, not suggesting it’s a bad film. In my opinion none of the others match up to the first in tone and storytelling 😁 but again, this is my opinion, and I’ve never been a big Cameron fan 😱
Been following you since the Nikon Z6 days. Love your stuff man.
Thank you!
Alien and Aliens are the two films that are tied together immaculately. I think they are on par.
Agreed..although I'm one of them who saw aliens first like alotttttt of ppl and I still give aliens the edge bcuz of my preference
I find myself watching Aliens more. I've seen it so many times. But of course Alien is the better film. A certified masterpiece. Gorgeous in 4K OLED. Keep up the good works.
Aliens is without doubt in my mind, the best sequel ever made. To take Alien, masterpiece that it was, and to up the ante like that, was a true master stroke. Alien is ofcourse the better film. But Aliens is was and remains an astounding sequel.
I think that the problem, at least for me, is that the "perfect organism" in Aliens is just a little insect that is killed with ease. Yes, they actually kill a lot of marines and all, and I really like the "macho american" approach, don't get me wrong. Is something so cool and from the 80s that you can't just hate on that, but after you loved it, you start to think about it and it's like...
Yes... but no. Give the original every single time.
@@EagerSnakeAliens takes the “macho American” trope and flips it. The marines go in cocky and end up fearing for their lives. The only one who survives is Hicks who is more vulnerable and sensitive compared to the others. Hicks is very similar to Kyle Reese without the PTSD.
@@EagerSnake thats the problem with aliens, killing aliens left and right so easily is not scary, and i felt aliens ruined the alien franchise.they sold out and made some hollywood crap that they knew would appeal to the masses.aliens wasn't even an r rated movie like alien was.
@@EagerSnake Ultimately, only Ripley survives. So for me, Aliens demonstrates just how "superior" the aliens are despite the humans having supposed superior fire power and supposed better planning, strategy, and tactics. In the process, Aliens raises the zenomorphs to "almost indestructible". Something that Alien only began to explore.
I actually like all films in the franchise, especially Aliens and Ridley Scott's prequels which I think were masterfully made... But I have to agree with you, the first Alien is the only true MASTERPIECE and perfect film of the bunch, it remains unmatched.
because it's adult, it's serious, it's art. The rest...well...it's the rest!
Agreed. There are many more levels on which this is a one of a kind masterpiece... the character of the characters, the selection and skill of the actors...the goal of not focusing on or trying to sensationally impress through tech (even though it is unassumingly impressive). The greatest beauty of this movie is that it's a drama of honest human vulnerability in the face of abandonment.
There are issues that the human soul celebrates, yearns or shudders for and over. That's at the center of this movie. Everything else masterfully supports it.
Aliens is a great action movie. But Alien is an absolute timeless classic. Nothing comes even close to its brilliance
The CGI use by Cameron in Aliens let it down IMO. The reason it did well was because it was because of the weapons and multiple Aliens.
This is what you get when have fun creating something without producers thinking how to create and sell 10 more of those movies.
one more thing. since the anamorphic lens wasn't perfect. towards the outside of the left and right frames, the image is slightly stretched even after a de squeeze, leaving a slightly dreamlike state. i replicated this in after effects using non-linear displacement maps and it's pretty interesting how it changes the mood. Also, 5247 had muted colors as well. you can do this in resolve's color splice tool. alien also had better music, sound design, lighting, camera movement, acting, than the other films. Additionally, a telephoto shot will compress the space so it's more claustrophobic.
I love Aliens, but the original is my favourite, great cast, and Ridley really got the atmosphere spot on 👌
Bang on wolfie best by far and in my top 20 all time films. It was the slow deliberate build up that made it great for me but alas ive heard quite a few people say the first half was too slow and boring which is nonsense to me. Good vid.
seen it as a teenager in 1979, scared the hell out of me. What a great, great movie !! Thanks for the explanations!
While Aliens is a fantastic film, and one of my favourites, Alien is a an absolute masterpiece. The level of atmosphere this movie conveys is unmatched, and I love its pacing.
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Movies like Alien and Blade Runner seem to not be that big blockbuster when released. But, as time passes, people start to take notice. I love Alien for being a true adult horror movie. I love Blade Runner for the story and atmosphere. Today, they stand out above most every movie in its class.
They had less in common with commercial science fiction films of their kind and more art films.
It still looks GREAT. The set design and the music!
Alien and Aliens are both amazing, but in completely different ways as we all know 🎉
I think Jodorowskys failed Dune magically gathered all the elements for something special to happen. That team were always destined to create something incredible: Alien.
Yes - l agree - and Ridley Scott was the perfect person to corral all of those elements…and wow, wow, wow. Despite a love of directors such as Lean, Tarkovsy and others, this is my favourite film - it simply has everything.
You're wrong about the slow shots at the beginning of the movie. They're not done to build tension - there is no tension to build as no threat or conflict has been established. The slow shots, combined with the lighting and soundtrack, are done to relax and hypnotize the viewer so that the horror scenes, particularly the chest-burster scene have even greater visual and emotional impact.
I disagree. Viewers in 1979 knew they were in a horror movie, and had just experienced the tension-filled intro music as the camera slowly drifts through space. I have seen reactors tense and terrified by the opening shots of Alien because they don't know what is happening and are geared up for a jump scare that never comes.
The music at the beginning is very eerie.
Brilliant analysis. Love this film
1. Great transatlantic cast 2. HR Giger sets 3. Ridley Scott pulling out all the stops in his early Directorial career 4. Careful choice of music
I viewed Alien when it premiered 1979 ( I was 24 ).The opening scenes of the interior of the Nostromo was the only reprieve from the tension and terror that was to come. How the audience reacted that night was something that I will never experience again, people were screaming at the screen when Ripley ran back to grab Jones the cat : " "Forget the cat! Get out of there!"...lol.
The mystery of the derelict ship, and It's pilot, this is what has stayed with me, and always will.
Ash : " You have my sympathies..."
Great analysis! Still the best horror film ever made. To state the obvious: Alien is the best from the franchise simply because of it's huge emotional impact it could have on audiences by showing something they had never seen before. No one expected to see such brilliant and terrifying creature design, while also being expertly introduced to the world with the right pacing. You only get to do this once, after that it becomes repetition. The biggest movie hits always play on your emotions which makes them unforgettable. Technical finesse is of course very important in achieving that.
Also the fact that Ridley Scott decided to make Ripley female was a genius move in amping up the fear you could instill in audiences. The stakes are just so much higher that way.
I think you're right here. I've always preferred Aliens and I really think this is because it happened to be the first one in the series that I watched. When I watched Alien I probably never experienced that sense of fear because I had seen it before.
Totally agree...the first had the shock, the surprise, the cinematography, and the originality.
Veronica Cartwright is owed a debt of gratitude for helping scare the crap out of me when I saw it in the theatre.
Thanks for the great work!
You’re welcome!
Although Kubrick used a Cooke 20-100mm on Barry Lyndon, the main zoom used the Cine-Pro 24-480mm T9, this was created using an Angenieux 15-300 f4.5 zoom for 16mm film with a 1.6x expander to cover the 35mm motion picture frame.
Barry Lyndon was shot on flat. Shouldn't be the zoom lens different?
@@johannes914 the Cooke 20-100mm is a standard spherical zoom for 35mm motion picture format.
These lenses were often modified using a rear anamorphic adapter which makes the lens a 40-200mm T5.6
Alien was shot using Panavision C-Series and Cooke Varotal lenses - so chances are they used a rear anamorphic adapter on the Cooke zoom.
@@flyingfox2005 Thanks for the precious information
@@johannes914 back in the 70s there were very few anamorphic zoom lenses. These modded zooms were one of the only choices. Apocalypse Now used Technovision modded Cooke zooms with the same type of rear adapters.
@@flyingfox2005 zooms went out of fashion in the eighties anyway. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Couldn't agree more. I have just watched Alien again and immediately watched it all the way through the next day, for all the reasons you say. It's gorgeous, beautifully paced, atmospheric and genuinely scary. I have just also watched Aliens, and while it is entertaining, it agree it looks way more dated and clunky. Ripley gets to kick ass a lot more, but I felt they were all much more real people in the original. Prometheus was dull as ditchwater and Romulus was like a kids' film to me - I couldn't get through it.
Tension. Set design. Acting. That’s why it’s the best.
Super interesting - great job!
It's nice to see a video saying how good this film is, it will always be the number 1 film in the alien franchise for me. I love the tension and suspense, plus they have to deal with the alien without weapons. I also think the terminator is the same because it's a dark film. Sequel's very rarely hold up for me.
Of all of them it has the best cinematography, best film stock, best lighting, the most tension, best acting (although the acting in Aliens was good too), most detailed Xenomorph, best gore, and the most innovation.
Biiiiig thumbs up, great content.
Never seen this analysis of Alien before.
Alien is a great film, but Aliens is certainly the best of the sequels.
Spot on. It's always in my top 10.
Fantastic video sir
I've never seen any of the sequels (and I'm old enough to see the _Alien_ opening as an adult).
I'm jealous. I can't believe I wasted nearly 4 hours watching Aliens and Alien 3, cuz I hated them. Only watched about the first 15 minutes of Alien Resurrection before I shut it off and promised myself never to watch another Alien film again. The first film is a masterpiece! Never needed sequels.
I only films in the Alien Franchise that I like are the ones directed by Ridley Scott; "Alien" (1979), "Prometheus" (2012), and "Alien: Covenant" (2017)
There's no way to repeat the mystery of first movie, and I do not expect it to be a good movie today unless compared to current year crap.
And that`s why the Aliens as a sequel is the other great film in the series. Instead of trying to repeat the recipe Cameron completely switched into different genre.
Aliens succeeded because the mystique of the creature was still there and not so overexposed and over analyzed. In fact the first half of Aliens was built on the dreadful anticipation of seeing the creatures again. This was totally ruined by the Directors Cut when they put the deleted colony scene back in.
I totally agree.... this film should have been the only one ...
Defo in my top 3 of all time
Alien is a Cosmic Horror masterpeice. Aliens is simply cartoonish Americans in space...so overrated.
That's the stupidest comment I have ever read.
“Cartoonish Americans in space.” You completely missed the themes of motherhood, PTSD, and the Vietnam War analogy did you? Alien isn’t cosmic horror, but had lovecratian elements.
@@tiger_lord305 You just reinforced his point, bravo.
@@bernardstrauss1183 Elaborate? My overall point is that Aliens isn’t just typical 80s action romp. It has a little something more to it. If you’re referring to Alien being “cosmic horror,” the existence of the Xenomorphs and what it means to the greater universe and the disturbing unknowable truths within it, is relatively non-existent in the film. Space horror ≠ cosmic horror.
Seen so much ' Aliens' in the past days leading up to Romulus's release..i dont remember much of the og film. But Aliens is fun still and it holds up!!
You are so right. Many of Alien's cuts and set ilumination could have been on one luxury TV commercial. Ecverything in Alien is amazing and to some extent in Alien 3, to me at least.
100% agree with you man!
It's also the writing, the producers believing in the material, and Ridley, taking the material seriously, and the fact that they had a good long time to develop it and hone it before
the movie got green-lit completely. It wasn't in development hell, it had some bumps along the way, but then they were given the rare time to polish it and perfect it. It almost
became a bad Roger Corman quickie, and thank God it didn't. Also the influence of Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Conrad are all key elements. And of course, Heavy Metal, etc.
There are those who, obviously prefer 'action', and therefore will say Aliens is the better film. I do find though that I'm more inclined to rewatch Alien to any other movie in the series because it's just so damned good.
None of the sequels/prequels has captured that same atmosphere or realism.
On a side note, if you haven't seen Ridley Scott's debut feature film The Duellists you should check it out. I saw it for the first time this year, it's a fantastic film, he did an amazing job on such a low (and apparently it was really, really low) budget. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel are terrific, as are the rest of the cast. Well worth seeing.
I agree with this. Alien (1979) was visually beautiful and cinematically breathtaking. The new Alien Romulus is seems to be focusing too much on nostalgia and fan tribute making it feel hollow. I find it underwhelming as they nerfed the Xenomorph and the facehuggers. In the original, it only took 1 face hugger and one Alien to take out most crew of the Nostromo. In Alien Romulus, The facehugger seems to have stormtrooper aim and the Alien is taking itself a lot of time to attack and just basically waiting for the script. It was a disappointment to original fans however, with its box office success, we can hope that they can make the next movies better and much more surprise.
Alien is the perfect film. It is perfectly paced, precisely constructed but feels so organic and comprehensive as a story. It’s a simple premise - haunted house in space but there’s so much to think about without it being shoved down your throat.
Compare the hamfisted approach to class consciousness in Romulus which has to smack you in the face and then it’s completely forgotten whereas the class dynamics pervade Alien throughout the film.
The closest creation in terms of perfection is the Alien Isolation video game. It’s a decade old but still feels new and exciting. Fede Alvarez loved the game and you can see it in the set design. The story is also really good - they should have made that instead. Unfortunately with Disney I don’t think we will ever get a slow burn horror like Alien but more of the Avengers blockbuster schtick.
I went into Romulus with low expectations and knowing little to nothing about the film and was pleasantly surprised. Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than most movies in the franchise? Definitely. I could tell Fede Alvarez was passionate about the originals, even though he doesn’t surpass or even equal them, but thats fine. I did not like the callback to that Aliens line though. That will take me out of the film if I decide to watch in between Alien and Aliens.
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In the latest Fandango interview for Alien: Romulus w Ridley and Fede , Ridley said he shot ALIEN w mostly '65 mil' anamorphic lenses since Doug Trumbull told him "human vision was nearest to 65 mil not 50 so in essence the camera is your eyesight". Fede, sitting next to him, said "brilliant" and looked deep in thought from this bit of info. (PANAVISION C Series only has a 60 and 70 but no 65 but I would guess he used various for different scenes)
Concise and insightful, even if I don't understand most of the technical terminology lol
Nomenclature, fake it till you make it... "I just got these 90mm spannermoronic dual monitor lenses" or some such.
As the first matrix eclipses the following ones, because there is a before and after such films, the sequels or prequels or spin-offs are only the subsequent chapters. There are exceptions in which the subsequent chapter can surpass the original, the first that come to mind, but I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, are the godfather, indiana jones, blade, oldboy (it's not a real saga, but it's the second chapter of a trilogy). But generally speaking, in my opinion, the one who opens the dance is usually the best.
I could never have explained why, but for me, Alien was the only one ever worth watching.
The sets look lived in, gritty and threatening - it's not this polished Hollywood effort that most sci-fi is known for. And who can forget the shots of the derelict? When i first saw it...i thought "it's real...that ship has come from other side of the universe...and it has been in that state for thousands of years". Beautiful in how it's so convincing. I don't think anything else comes close to the feeling that Alien gives.
You should see the uncut version. It's a whole new movie.
Compared with Romulus…well, there is no comparison. Re lighting..YES! As I watched(?) Romulus I constantly ranted that in Alien you can actually see the scene, in Romulus it’s simply dark.
Alien is the best space horror. Alien II is the best action movie - it´s masterfully told.
Alien is the masterclass to be sure. It bugs me that most completely dismiss Alien 3. The Assembly Cut of that movie really puts it in a new light for me. The series was a trilogy and should have remained that way. Also, does everyone just forget the ridiculous dialogue of the marines in Aliens prior to the first encounter with the Xenomorphs? It's like every 80's cliche action script greatest hits! How many times do they say Bad Ass?!? Anyway, great video.
Excellent.
I love Aliens, but watching Alien again on an modern OLED TV with Dolby surround sound (on an Apple TV) was a revelation. It looks and sounds incredible, and hasn't aged a bit. (well apart from some of the models..but that's being picky.)
Alien is probably the better film, but Aliens is more enjoyable.. can't go wrong with either.
So many great elements to Alien, love Mollo’s uniforms and detailing…..the set design….just makes it such a believable world….and with NO cgi. These people were masters of their craft…..I just can’t believe how bad Scott’s later “Alien” movies are in comparison to his work on Alien/Bladerunner. The only thing he’s been involved with lately that gets close is Raised by Wolves and sadly that got cancelled. I thought Romulus was relatively poor.
If this movie didnt have a 'monster' in it then maybe it would of beaten Kramer vs Kramer and be talked about more than Apocalypse Now. It really is that good.
I really like your videos; they're universally relevant and superbly produced; that's certainly true of this video. In your narration you talked about the telephoto effect that anamorphic lenses created in Alien. Do you think Alien's look could be created without anamorphic lenses? (I don't like anamorphics and I'd prefer to avoid using them.) Thanks much!
You could film with a full frame sensor (36 mm x 24 mm) to get a somewhat similar compression.
Although Alien is mostly seen as a horror film with the way the Xenomorph stalks the crew like an evil slasher. But because of it's sci-fi aspect it never felt like one to me. Partly because of the way it perfectly blends the 2 genres but also because of the way that it doesn't feel like there's just gore for gores sake which makes me hate horror movies. It never really feels like there's much to them other than that and maybe a few jump scares which unless done really well are usually predictable as hell anyway, which Alien never is.
Insterestingly, Alien was never a horror movie to me. "Just" a brilliant and one/the of the best, scifi movie.
It surprised me that it is seen as a horror movie.
I’ve seen it on a massive screen in 79. It was pure art.
I agree that Alien is the best of the franchise. It's the most atmospheric, creepiest, and scariest, and we didn't know what was coming. I was convinced the Alien was getting bigger and bigger throughout the film, and I don't think I'm alone in that. I also never trusted the cat. I expected an alien to pop out of it, or for it to be in league with the Alien.
However Aliens is one hell of a sequel. I don't think it's dated. Sure Cameron has riffed on it endlessly ever since, but I don't think he's ever bettered it. Some of the visual effects don't stand up, but you have to remember that Aliens was done on a much tighter budget, and Cameron squeezed out an awful lot from a limited amount of money. Aliens made it a franchise. If we had just gone straight to something like Alien 3 then I think that film would have sunk it.
While Alien did bring sci-fi horror to a new level it still had the formulaic tropes like having to go down a vent to fix something etc.
I think Aliens is the better film because its all very believable in the characters reactions to situations. (Pill Paxton did over do it a bit for his character)
Aliens has plenty of tropes too: Strapping on the guns like Rambo and going back to save someone, incompetent command officer, dude with tons of bravado who later gets demoralized, a kid, and a bunch of stuff ripped from famous Vietnam war films. To be clear though, I like both movies.
@@Nebulous6 Yeah, it does have all those things. While they are exaggerated in places, they are still more realistic situations than the more contrived horror plots to split up the characters and pick them off one by one. Of course I like Alien for Giger's original designs.
I would agree with your thesis...if only Aliens didn't exist.
I was familiar with the Xenomorph first before the movie because it was painted on my cousin's PC case, then I watched the film when I was 6 and I'm pretty sure it's the first film I've ever loved. I agree with everything you said but different directors have different approaches to express a same thing. So I don't think putting the original on such high pedestal while diminishing other entries in the franchise is a good discourse. I saw similar things to Godzilla.
“click to bathe” lmfao 😂😂😂
Except that there isn't any alien "franchise" there is a single good movie and that's it.
Thank you!!
I love both 2 and 4 as well. Cameron's aliens look great too, just different. 4 on the other hand has some of the french grotesque feel, also very interesting. I wouldn't dismiss them. Fincher's one is the weakest in the bunch, probably due to bad cg use and production issues.
If we’re talking about Alien as a franchise, I think Dark Star, the precursor by John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon, may not have the cinematography, but was a lot more fun.
I like Dark Star!
Please make a video on Aliens. i prefer it little bit more.
Alien is perfect. But Aliens deserves a bit more credit-- it's a great looking movie in its own right, and it's much more respectable than most big-budget sequels, both in its visual approach and storytelling.
I think Alien and Aliens are on par with each other. Often your preference for one over the other depends on whether you lean more towards action or horror. Personally, I can't seperate the first two movies in the series. They're pears to me.