' Alien ' -- Sci-Fi / Horror Classic : 41st Anniversary Appreciation

' Alien ' is approaching it's 41st anniversary in a couple of months which is somewhat hard to believe.
I can remember vividly lining up for it in Montreal in 1979. Huge lineup. But it was more than worth the wait.
What a fantastic movie.
Dug out my copy and gave it a late night watch last night with headphones. Even though I'd seen it a dozen times it still packed a wallop. Creepy and claustrophobic, scary and sinister.
I liked 'Aliens' ( different movie altigether though ) when it came out years later and some of the other sequels were ok but none of them matched the original.

 

I saw this originally in Philadelphia on a trip my brother's soccer team took up there to play in a tournament. When the thing bust out of John Hurt's chest, that it was it for me. I put my head down and didn't watch for the rest of the movie. I think I was 12, maybe?

Now, I really like it. It's a classic horror movie as opposed to the other sequels. Remember the tag? "In Space No One Can Hear You Scream" (sic)

 

Alien 3 extended cut for the win!!! I find it the most interesting of that trilogy (and yes, I said trilogy and I meant it!), both aesthetically and thematically... everything thereafter is just plain junk; Fiorina 'Fury' 161 is where both Ripley's and the Alien's story ends.

It's also one of the very, very few extended cuts - alongside The Abyss, Kingdom of Heaven, and Dawn of the Dead (1978) - that are genuine improvements over their theatrical counterparts...

 

Alien 3 isn't bad, but I hated it when I saw it in the theater. The camera techniques used were really out there and I found myself getting vertigo sometimes from the shots. I like it much better now.

 

I prefer the extended cut as well. This movie gets bashed unfairly. It may not hold up as well as the first two but it's a masterpiece compared to what followed.

 

Alien is one of the few sci-fi movies that hold up. Last time I watched it was around a year ago, during a dark winter's night, and it was still perfection. Theatrical cut for me, thanks.

Aliens is good, but it's a completely different movie, which is an intelligent move when you're making a sequel to something so special and unique. A fun watch, but not one I need to have.

Alien3 I haven't watched.

Alien IV was a complete joke. I regretted paying for that ticket.

 

One of my favorite films, with a sequel that was just as good. I never tire of watching those two.

I also loved the Alien: Isolation game that came out back in 2014. It was terrifying and thrilling, making you feel like Ripley at the end of the film. I wish we had more like it.

 

Oh ! Horrible.
There's a couple of scenes with the creatures I like but other than that...
And what in the name of Nostromo is Winona Ryder doing in an Alien movie?

 

I love this movie, I watch it every few years and I find that it still holds up fairly well and isn't that dated. The acting is great and the build up + tension really makes it stand above other horror or sci-fi movies. I watched Aliens recently and was struck how dated it was now, I couldn't get through it, but that movie was the bomb back in the day! The only other horror sci-fi movie that I think compares with Alien is The Thing, but it hasn't held up nearly as well, it's still a personal favorite of mine though.

 

Alien and Aliens are a one/two punch set of classics--though for different reasons. The slow build of the original--a horror film set in space--is perfect. Not really getting a full clear view of the creature only adds to the suspense. It's similar to Jaws in that regard.

Aliens is an action movie roller coaster ride in comparison. I love it to death too.

 

You see exactly what the alien looks like when it’s expelled from the airlock. With the “Jaws” shark? Not so much.

 

Yeah...but it's a shark not some freakin' thing from another planet!

 

Good analogy. But, I say any film that exposes more people to Howard Hanson as the original did, has its' own merit.

 

Or for that matter, H.R Geiger.

 

Yes, but that's at the end of movie. For the vast majority of the flick you gets bits and bobs.

 

Like I said earlier , saw this in a theatre...
Now I knew damn well the Alien was in that shuttle craft with Ripley at the end but nevertheless I jumped when its arm came out . The whole theatre crowd jumped. I swear the building shook.

Same thing with that scene in ' Jaws ' when the shark comes out of the water in that scene.

 

Saw it in the theater when it came out. Remains my favorite sci fi film. I always loved how they worked so many profound ideas and experiences into the visuals and audio. None of the sequel films in the franchise were interesting to me except Prometheus, but that was supposed to be a prequel.

 

41st? Interesting anniversary to choose.

Classic film.

 

I thought Prometheus was pretty bad.

 

Same here....in fact, I've been dissatisfied with all the sequels and the two prequels (Prometheus and Covenant).

 

Right. And the Aliens v Predators hybrid off-shoots? Forgetaboutit.

 

Everybody hated it. David Fincher couldn't get work after Aliens 3 because it was such a let down, downer after the "Let's Get "Em, Yanks" bravado of Aliens. He couldn't get work but the producer I worked for admired Aliens 3 and hired him to direct the script we had developed - "Se7en." From there it was uphill. I gotta say, Fincher has a good eye. He wanted me for Joe Doe, but that's another story (which I think I told here. lol).

 

It was awful. They're trying too hard to make it make sense.

 

I actually don't mind those. But they're a totally different kettle of Aliens.

 

What do you think of Alien 3 ?