It was a wednesday, on juny 1982... I just came back home from my taekwondo class... I was 14 yrs old. After dinner my dad for the very first time took me to the movies just the both of us. My older sister and my younger brother stayed at home. We went to see The Thing. I had no idea what the wole thing was about. It blew my mind. One of my top five sci-fi movies. And one of my best memories with my dad. Going together to the movies for the first time without any cousins, siblings, uncles, aunts, grands or grannies... Just he and me tripping our minds away....
@miquelangel5883 I was nine. My father took me to the drive-in. I stood up in the back of his truck and watched it in awe standing up. As we drove away, I slumped down in the truck and said to myself that I wanted to be a filmmaker right then and there. Years later...after years of hard work, I was accepted into the film program at the University of Texas at Austin. The rest is history. I've been an independent filmmaker ever since. I never made the big time...but I did some good work in film school. I owe my life to Carpenter and this film.
@JawsBites my son is into making short animated movies and tried his hand at making his own backing tracks , I told him to look no further than john carpenter...the daddy of making gold on screen mostly from limited budget.
@paulie.walnuts2838 Absolutely. Steer him towards Martin Scorsese to learn on how to correctly edit and use music in a film. I learned a lot watching his films.
I was unlucky and missed it in theaters. I was about 7 when it came on HBO one night about 10pm over the weekend no school so my dad let me stay up and watch it with him. We had a blast. He was laughing on the outside but I know he was creeped out on the inside
Hollywood should make this right. This film should be given a retrospective Oscar, given it’s everlasting impact on the genre. It’s def in my top three films of all time.
Thanks for the video! I could listen to Rob Bottin talk for hours, lol. It's a disgrace that this movie didn't get credit back then for how great it is...
I saw The Thing at the drive-in in the summer of 1982. I immediately decided I wanted to be a filmmaker right then and there. Years later I was in film school making my dream come true. No film has ever had the impact on me like this did.
The Thing's creature design and the potential for the viewer to build their own lore there has always been incredible. This idea that the unrecognisable elements of it are all from alien worlds we could never possibly see or even really hope to fathom is just so eerie and cool. It just makes you wonder about the original biology of the thing and how much of that still comes through in the forms we see in the film.
it is superb. i think an american werewolf in london is up there with it .davids changing scene and jacks makeup are outstanding imo. one of my top ten horrors along with the thing
The many critics who bashed the movie back then should be ashamed of themself. Either they were lying or they were unsuitable for their job and therefore unknowningly lying out of incompetence. This movie is nearly perfect and definitely groundbreaking. You can recommend it today without factoring in its age. It's the best horror sci-fi movie by far and one of the best cosmic horror films. And everyone who worked on it can be very proud of themself and should get the propper recognition they deserve.
I first saw this on VHS in late 82, early 83 and it was absolutely shocking to me, scared the hell out of me...I was 13 at the time. Now it's a perennial favorite, fantastic film.
Rob Bottin is some kind of genius. A kid barely out of his teens, pulling this off? Even today, these special effects still hold up. Even though Halloween is still my favourite John Carpenter film (If there's a more influential horror movie... I'm all ears.), The Thing runs it pretty close.
Have seen this a couple of times on the big screen in the last few years, and it still stands up. It looks better on the big screen, which isn't always the case with horror films. The effects hold up beautifully, and of course then you have the incredible performances. My favorite horror film of all time.
John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the best movies ever made. It is at once Horror, Science Fiction, and tops any Agatha Christie closed room whodunit. To hear JC mention Christie as i wrote this comment was mind blowing.
What came into mind while watching this is while I love a Cult Classic, The Thing from a narrative and production standpoint is above that. It’s something to be taken seriously and not just pop in a physical media player of your choice and just chomp some popcorn to. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s your thing, but it just seems that way to me and I think that’s why it’s being appreciated more now than when it was released. P.S. that spider head scene creeps me out even now.
I watched "the Thing" in a Portsmouth NH movie 🎥 theater and it left ◀️ me with memories I will never forget! I watched the reviews for "the Thing" by Siskel and Ebert and Sneak Previews before seeing the movie 🍿. One of the reviewers recommended having "a cast iron stomach". Great. My brother took me to see 🙈 it with a young woman he was dating at the time. I had no choice about going. We were near the front of the theater 🎭 screen. 😮 I was grossed out but fascinated at the same time. I would bury my face 👀 in my hands when the Thing burst out! There was a four or five year old sitting on his father's shoulders laughing 😅 everytime the Thing appeared. I would look over at my brother and he was making out with his date! I was actually relieved to see Kurt Russell because I liked his acting. I also recognized Willford Brimley and Richard Mauser (One Day at a Time). The music 🎵 with its simplistic heartbeat 💓 and suspenseful beat immediately caught my attention! It contributed to the overwhelming sense of suspense and foreboding to me. Hey, I was a kid who was expecting the worst! I watched the original B&W "the Thing" and I was sort of expecting that with blood. After the movie, my brother ordered a ham and pineapple 🍍 pizza 🍕 to go. I didn't have an appetite! I remember looking up into the night 🌃 sky with a sense of dread. Now, I consider it one of the top 🔝 horror/suspense movies of all time next to " the Exorcist" and "the Shining".
@@stephenpriest2766 I just will always be one of the ones who saw it when it first came out and it floored me then despite the negative reviews. I always stood by it and I feel vindicated today knowing how uniquely special this film is.
*It made my top 10 list. I always wished I had had a more definite ending but failing this, I believed Childs and MacReady were both human but froze to death in the end. I am 76 and it took me a lifetime to learn that we can always make the mistake of trusting someone who turns out to be an enemy. **_The Thing_** dramatises well that for some of us our life story is that we are alone.*
The year this came out Louisiana was in a full depression with 20% unemployment in my area . I did not get anything not absolutely needed AND on sale those days . So I never saw the movie until I was in my thirties. Wth ? This should have been a huge success . It was far more entertaining than was E.T.
I miss the practical creature effects. There's an authenticity to it that doesn't really come through even with present day cg. I would read fangoria growing up (and hiding my collection from my mom) and seeing how they did the various effects like the exploding head in scanners was almost more entertaining than watching the effect itself
As kids we borrowed this on permanent from a video store, still have the VHS and beta Max. The beta max soooo much better quality. Yes watch them every family reunion in the basement!
Back in the 80's, they didn't realize that the 'Uncanny Valley" is hard wired into our ANCIENT brains. The real question is WHY is it hard wired into our brains. This should terrify you in reality. What 'kind of' human had we evolved to reject? That is the question.
@@ericsanger4408 It reminds me of why we all cringe when we hear a chalkboard scratch. Some say it goes back to the screeching sound our ancestors may have made when frightened or attacked.
@@JawsBites absolutely, just thought they'd have chatted more about that in the doc, loved it though, very indepth, I remember from the special features in the 90's
John Campbell, the author of "Who Goes There?", the novel which the movie "The Thing" is based on, was considered an anti-s. And yes, the novel is an allegorical science-fiction pamphlet about how j infiltrate societies of men and destroy them from within. I don't think that J. Carpenter was unaware of that fact. Great movie !
@@hpbecraftTH-cam monitors words it deems to be inflammatory and deletes posts with them in. If you can’t work out what those letters stand for, you’re a bit of a r.
It was a wednesday, on juny 1982... I just came back home from my taekwondo class... I was 14 yrs old. After dinner my dad for the very first time took me to the movies just the both of us. My older sister and my younger brother stayed at home. We went to see The Thing. I had no idea what the wole thing was about. It blew my mind. One of my top five sci-fi movies. And one of my best memories with my dad. Going together to the movies for the first time without any cousins, siblings, uncles, aunts, grands or grannies... Just he and me tripping our minds away....
@miquelangel5883 I was nine. My father took me to the drive-in. I stood up in the back of his truck and watched it in awe standing up. As we drove away, I slumped down in the truck and said to myself that I wanted to be a filmmaker right then and there. Years later...after years of hard work, I was accepted into the film program at the University of Texas at Austin. The rest is history. I've been an independent filmmaker ever since. I never made the big time...but I did some good work in film school. I owe my life to Carpenter and this film.
@JawsBites my son is into making short animated movies and tried his hand at making his own backing tracks , I told him to look no further than john carpenter...the daddy of making gold on screen mostly from limited budget.
@paulie.walnuts2838 Absolutely. Steer him towards Martin Scorsese to learn on how to correctly edit and use music in a film. I learned a lot watching his films.
I was unlucky and missed it in theaters. I was about 7 when it came on HBO one night about 10pm over the weekend no school so my dad let me stay up and watch it with him. We had a blast. He was laughing on the outside but I know he was creeped out on the inside
Hollywood should make this right. This film should be given a retrospective Oscar, given it’s everlasting impact on the genre. It’s def in my top three films of all time.
It's a masterpiece. Full stop. Top 10 all time movies for me.
First, I saw the movie. Then, I read the story. Carpenter's attention to detail was stunning! "The Thing" will never die!😎
Thanks for the video! I could listen to Rob Bottin talk for hours, lol. It's a disgrace that this movie didn't get credit back then for how great it is...
This movie is a masterpiece! It's one of my favorites!
Thanks for uploading this documentary.
@@GhostofPerdition-100 You're welcome.
Mine too!
For me Rob Bottin was a lot of the genius behind this film. A 22 year old with this kind of talent is incredible.
Still one of the greatest psychological and sci-fi horror films
One of my favourite movies of all time. Saw in 81 at 12 years old and still watch it a few times a year .
I just watched this movie again yesterday!!! one of my favs.
This was on the original dvd release. Loved this as a 12 year old kid obsessed with movies
I saw The Thing at the drive-in in the summer of 1982. I immediately decided I wanted to be a filmmaker right then and there. Years later I was in film school making my dream come true. No film has ever had the impact on me like this did.
The Thing's creature design and the potential for the viewer to build their own lore there has always been incredible. This idea that the unrecognisable elements of it are all from alien worlds we could never possibly see or even really hope to fathom is just so eerie and cool. It just makes you wonder about the original biology of the thing and how much of that still comes through in the forms we see in the film.
I first saw An American Werewolf in London and then this. My all-time two favorite movies!!!
@@Sawlon I love American Werewolf. My two favorite horror films are The Thing and the original Dawn of the Dead.
This is such a great gift for the holidays. Thank you so much!
@@Icelandlover You're welcome.
All their efforts paid off. It's a truly fine SF/suspense masterpiece.
Defibrillator scene is simply superb, and has not been matched in practical effects sense.
Nobody can top The Thing. It's a perfect film.
I go back and forth on the teeth in the effect- the jagged solid plate looks a little odd, but who knows.
it is superb. i think an american werewolf in london is up there with it .davids changing scene and jacks makeup are outstanding imo. one of my top ten horrors along with the thing
The many critics who bashed the movie back then should be ashamed of themself. Either they were lying or they were unsuitable for their job and therefore unknowningly lying out of incompetence. This movie is nearly perfect and definitely groundbreaking. You can recommend it today without factoring in its age. It's the best horror sci-fi movie by far and one of the best cosmic horror films. And everyone who worked on it can be very proud of themself and should get the propper recognition they deserve.
Yes! I own the Blu-ray. And the DVD. And I’ve seen this feature documentary on both! Yet, here I am!😊
I first saw this on VHS in late 82, early 83 and it was absolutely shocking to me, scared the hell out of me...I was 13 at the time. Now it's a perennial favorite, fantastic film.
Didn’t even know I wanted this. Thanks man!
One of the best horror soundtracks ever
Wow, I always wondered who did the SFX on The Howling, amazing
My number 1 movie of all time. Always will be
Rob Bottin is some kind of genius.
A kid barely out of his teens, pulling this off? Even today, these special effects still hold up.
Even though Halloween is still my favourite John Carpenter film (If there's a more influential horror movie... I'm all ears.), The Thing runs it pretty close.
Have seen this a couple of times on the big screen in the last few years, and it still stands up. It looks better on the big screen, which isn't always the case with horror films. The effects hold up beautifully, and of course then you have the incredible performances. My favorite horror film of all time.
I saw the movie in the theater and it disturbed me as a 12 year old. It's a great and powerful movie.
@gregniel I was nine and it floored me. My second favorite horror film next to Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the best movies ever made. It is at once Horror, Science Fiction, and tops any Agatha Christie closed room whodunit. To hear JC mention Christie as i wrote this comment was mind blowing.
What came into mind while watching this is while I love a Cult Classic, The Thing from a narrative and production standpoint is above that. It’s something to be taken seriously and not just pop in a physical media player of your choice and just chomp some popcorn to. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s your thing, but it just seems that way to me and I think that’s why it’s being appreciated more now than when it was released.
P.S. that spider head scene creeps me out even now.
love it 2025 and i still have it on DVD
Thank you
Thanks for the upload. Haven't seen this in years (this documentary, not the film, I watch that 2 or 3 times a year)
@@andyking7621 I've been watching the film all winter. It's like cinematic comfort food.
Watched it last night to.see the new year in. With a couple of glasses of nice whiskey, NOT J&B, nice whiskey.
I watched "the Thing" in a Portsmouth NH movie 🎥 theater and it left ◀️ me with memories I will never forget!
I watched the reviews for "the Thing" by Siskel and Ebert and Sneak Previews before seeing the movie 🍿. One of the reviewers recommended having "a cast iron stomach". Great.
My brother took me to see 🙈 it with a young woman he was dating at the time. I had no choice about going. We were near the front of the theater 🎭 screen. 😮 I was grossed out but fascinated at the same time. I would bury my face 👀 in my hands when the Thing burst out!
There was a four or five year old sitting on his father's shoulders laughing 😅 everytime the Thing appeared. I would look over at my brother and he was making out with his date!
I was actually relieved to see Kurt Russell because I liked his acting. I also recognized Willford Brimley and Richard Mauser (One Day at a Time).
The music 🎵 with its simplistic heartbeat 💓 and suspenseful beat immediately caught my attention! It contributed to the overwhelming sense of suspense and foreboding to me. Hey, I was a kid who was expecting the worst! I watched the original B&W "the Thing" and I was sort of expecting that with blood.
After the movie, my brother ordered a ham and pineapple 🍍 pizza 🍕 to go. I didn't have an appetite! I remember looking up into the night 🌃 sky with a sense of dread.
Now, I consider it one of the top 🔝 horror/suspense movies of all time next to " the Exorcist" and "the Shining".
@@stephenpriest2766 I just will always be one of the ones who saw it when it first came out and it floored me then despite the negative reviews. I always stood by it and I feel vindicated today knowing how uniquely special this film is.
Thanks for posting! This was a really superior documentary, about an absolute classic. 👍
*It made my top 10 list. I always wished I had had a more definite ending but failing this, I believed Childs and MacReady were both human but froze to death in the end. I am 76 and it took me a lifetime to learn that we can always make the mistake of trusting someone who turns out to be an enemy. **_The Thing_** dramatises well that for some of us our life story is that we are alone.*
Top 10 greatest movies of all time
Wow!!! This stuff..... I forgot how crazy this is. Thank you!!
@@jerryoutlaw3396 You're welcome.
Wow...thanks for posting. I read about the making of in cinefastiquewaay back. Some craftsmen giving a how to lesson also. great vid!
Excellent, although I wish they'd had something in it covering the sound design.
Masterpiece ❤👍
Watch this THING at least once a year.
Saw at the 41 Twin Drive In Theater in Oak Creek, WI
Wow!!!! thank you very much!!!
@@robertoferrigato67-re1kh You're welcome.
The year this came out Louisiana was in a full depression with 20% unemployment in my area . I did not get anything not absolutely needed AND on sale those days . So I never saw the movie until I was in my thirties. Wth ? This should have been a huge success . It was far more entertaining than was E.T.
@ApothecaryGrant I agree. I saw both films in '82. The Thing was far superior to E.T.
Damn 20% unemployment? That's banana republic type of shit right there 😮
I miss the practical creature effects. There's an authenticity to it that doesn't really come through even with present day cg. I would read fangoria growing up (and hiding my collection from my mom) and seeing how they did the various effects like the exploding head in scanners was almost more entertaining than watching the effect itself
I just realized... John Carpenters hairdo will be Kurt Russels hairdo in 30 years time
Such a great movie. Before its time. James Cameron ripped lots of elements from The Thing on Aliens.
Saw it maybe four times in theaters we were 12 it was a life changer for me
Screw ET
As kids we borrowed this on permanent from a video store, still have the VHS and beta Max. The beta max soooo much better quality.
Yes watch them every family reunion in the basement!
I think I'm close to 40 views having this as a go to as I sleep. ❤
My favorite movie.
Mine too...I love so many films, but this one is special to me.
The Thang.🤟🏻
34:59 ..conjures images of a Diddy “freak-off” party
This rules
Thought it was the Expanded edition 😅
Back in the 80's, they didn't realize that the 'Uncanny Valley" is hard wired into our ANCIENT brains. The real question is WHY is it hard wired into our brains. This should terrify you in reality. What 'kind of' human had we evolved to reject? That is the question.
@@ericsanger4408 It reminds me of why we all cringe when we hear a chalkboard scratch. Some say it goes back to the screeching sound our ancestors may have made when frightened or attacked.
No real mention of the music score sound score or sound effects
@@Jimbo.jack47 The score was done by Ennio Morricone. Carpenter added some sound "carpet" with certain scenes like when Bennings is incinerated.
@@JawsBites absolutely, just thought they'd have chatted more about that in the doc, loved it though, very indepth, I remember from the special features in the 90's
John Campbell, the author of "Who Goes There?", the novel which the movie "The Thing" is based on, was considered an anti-s.
And yes, the novel is an allegorical science-fiction pamphlet about how j infiltrate societies of men and destroy them from within.
I don't think that J. Carpenter was unaware of that fact.
Great movie !
Well he wasn't wrong
anti-s? how "j" infiltrated, what is j? Also, it's a short story at best. Why be so esoteric?
@@paulie.walnuts2838
Clearly @hpbecraft doesn't know the world we're living in.
Yappy new 2025 Paulie!
@@hpbecraft I know, right? WTF is he talking about? 🤷🏻♂🤷🏻♂
@@hpbecraftTH-cam monitors words it deems to be inflammatory and deletes posts with them in. If you can’t work out what those letters stand for, you’re a bit of a r.
…”you know”
Right
Like
@@ApothecaryGrant 😂
Movie too good to watch a documentary aboit it sorries