Ridley Scott's Alien (1979)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by mj_patrick, Jun 30, 2014.

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  1. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    By yourself? In the dark?

    I'm scared just thinking about doing that. :eek::p
     
    DrStroganoff likes this.
  2. Good news for all of us as Alien will be release in May on UHD BD for the 40th Anniversary. I can't wait to get it.
    I know the current BD is sourced from a 4K scan what I don't know if the restoration was done at 4K or from a reduction to 2K or 1080p.
     
    Zep Fan, Johnny66 and mdm08033 like this.
  3. i always thought it was a combination of the remains of those “harvested” for the chest bursted and the secretions created by the creature. It’s creepy and icky looking which is the real reason it’s there though that and Giger’s Obsessions
     
  4. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Aliens?
    Watched it again. Production values looking cheap. Another future reboot series in the making.
     
  5. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    Yeah it's really not holding up. Alien still looks pretty damn good though.
     
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  6. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    True.
     
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  7. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Aliens ?
    Loved the cast though.

    For a oldie, Predator 2..holding up better.
     
  8. I liked Aliens but it is different style of movie to Alien. Alien has bags more style and better acting.
     
  9. During a recent discussion about my anticipation at what could be on the cards for the upcoming 40th anniversary of the original, my partner confessed to never watching the Alien series, so we've spent much of the last few days going through the entire collection (for better or worse, this also included the Predator movies, those AVP spin-off titles and Ridley Scott's expansions on the same universe). Being such a phenomenal and influential franchise, it was little surprise to hear that the facehugger or chestburster scenes from the initial installment didn't come as total shocks. On a more personal level, despite being a massive fan of all things Alien and Predator, I found myself inexplicably unable to highly rate Covenant, Predators or Shane Black's latest effort, The Predator - of course, those are probably discussions for another time! What I will say for now is that Alien holds up as a beautiful, slow-burning cinematic masterpiece that probably wouldn't be directed the same way if made today. Also, I'm amazed by the so-called "assembly cut" of Alien 3, since I already happened to enjoy the theatrical version. Still, not even the few peaks of later compare with that brilliant opening chapter. If only I had the means to fully appreciate that new UHD transfer as it should be experienced: in the deceptive comfort of my own home with the lights out...

    P.S. Can I just act like Alien Resurrection and AVP: Requiem never existed?
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2019
  10. Andre Acvedo

    Andre Acvedo Sargento Primero

    Location:
    Mijas
    I always found Aliens indicative of a 80's action film, cheesy and It's dated. Alien Still looks fresh and it's so well shot.
     
  11. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Inexplicably? It's very explicable!
     
    Frederick Mars likes this.
  12. And it still gives me the creeps.
     
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  13. Andre Acvedo

    Andre Acvedo Sargento Primero

    Location:
    Mijas
    Ha! Me too. Always a sign of a timeless movie. It's keeps on giving.
     
    Frederick Mars likes this.
  14. Somewhat Damaged

    Somewhat Damaged Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I think picture quality makes a massive difference on the aesthetic of Aliens (1986). On my DVD it has that slightly grey and grainy 80s look that film stock of that era had. It looks cheap. It gives the whole production a flimsy feel to the extent the sets themselves look like they were quickly and economically knocked together and probably wobbled in the unused takes.

    The Blu-Ray version looks very different. The slightly grey and grainy 80s look was gone. Now it looked smooth and sleek like Alien (1979) with dark and inky blacks. Suddenly the movie looked and felt prestigious and classy. I think in the remastering process they deliberately attacked the film stock issue to consciously make it look more classically cinematic and seductive. I assume they turned the greys black and made the film stock look much less grainy. The sets no longer looked like they might wobble if someone walked too fast. With this ‘improved film stock’ the movie becomes a much better movie. Now I think about it, this might be the most significant remastering of any film I’ve ever seen as it was transformative to the power and quality of the film. The version on Blu-Ray is a better film than the one on DVD as the perceived better production values had a real and noticeable impact on the viewing experience.
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2019
    Frederick Mars likes this.
  15. Interesting points on the grain. I remember reading an interview with Cameron when the Directors Cut of Aliens hit VHS and he claimed the grain was deliberate. I only have the DVD I'll have to check out the Blu-Ray.
     
  16. Speaking of "Aliens", I remember now that the first time I watched it, it was very clear that Lance Henriksen (Bishop) is inside a hole in the floor when he (or his upper half) stretches to save Newt from being sucked out of the spaceship. But I couldn't notice that when I re-watched the film recently. Was that fixed digitally? (or was I just seeing things the first time I watched the movie so long ago?)
     
    Frederick Mars likes this.
  17. Thanks - that's totally blown it for me :oops:
     
  18. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Have the blu ray recently watched it and the sets look cheap, cars made out of cardboard very Gerry Anderson. Again great acting with ensemble cast.
     
    Solaris likes this.
  19. Dr. Funk

    Dr. Funk Vintage Dust

    Location:
    Fort Worth TX
    I've loved Alien since the first time I watched it on HBO around 1982 or so........it's a movie that still holds its own 40 years later. Aliens, Alien 3, and so on.....not so much.
     
  20. nojmplease

    nojmplease Host, You Can't Unhear This

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Not only does it look fresh, it feels much more timeless. Alien is a much deeper film philosophically and thematically - it deals thoughtfully with so many elements (body horror, man vs. machine, gender dynamics, etc). It stays with you for awhile and gets more rewarding with each viewing.

    Aliens is pretty much a shoot-em-up with a thin, dated sub-narrative about maternity shoehorned into the franchise. And far too many lazily recycled images from the first film.
     
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  21. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Looked amazing in the cinema in 1979, groundbreaking stuff.
     
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  22. Johnny66

    Johnny66 Laird of Boleskine

    Location:
    Australia.
    The biggest issue with the 'Special Edition' of Aliens is that the early colony sequence is reinstated - and that's where the miniatures look terrible (not to mention the acting, etc.). The theatrical cut is the only way to watch the film, which rightly excised that entire reel due to time constraints. The film doesn't need it in the slightest, and is poorer because of it.
     
    alexpop likes this.
  23. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I was watching James Cameron‘s preferred version. Sometimes longer doesn’t mean better. Looks like that’s two films the theatrical version is the definitive ( other being Cinema Paradiso).
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2019
  24. In addition of all the 80's cheese on Aliens (action without a real plot, just tons of action, muscle and macho men plus loads of weapons and explosions),it really looks cheap. The mate paintings at the space station (the windows) and at the Sulaco hangar bay, the rear projection when the small transport ship explodes because an Alien got inside and the land vehicles that look like cheap remote controlled cars. Also, the weapons and some of the interiors at the facility at LV-never remember the number look like cheap and hollow plastic, there's no sense of weight on the weapons despite the good cast's acting.
    Anyway, I'm not to be trusted regarding the 80's (and I was a kid and a teenager in the 80's) I see them as all flash and gloss without any substance.
     
  25. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Yes, that describes the '80s perfectly. Well, except The Nightfly and a few other records.

    Aside from the first in the franchise and Prometheus, the rest can be forgotten.
     
    Kiko1974 likes this.
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