I cannot overstate how revolutionary this film was for design, cinematography, and especially tone and atmosphere. And the depiction of these people as workers-not dashing explorers but people just doing a job-was a huge change for the genre.
Another amusing story that I think you will enjoy. I was at a science fiction convention when they were promoting Aliens (when it was about to come out). The guy showed us photos from the set and some shots of the actors and told us some little bits of what to expect in the film. After the presentation - they asked for questions from the audience and a lot of hands went up. The first person called on asked "What about Jonesy?! Is Jonesy OK?!" There was a lot of speculation that the alien had impregnated Jonesy and worry that this was how the alien would return in a sequel. The person at the mic was confused by the question and someone came over to whisper information. Then he said, "Oh... the cat. Yeah, don't worry... Jonesy is fine." There were many sighs of relief. He then asked for the next question. Not a single hand went up.
Fun Fact: During Brett's death scene, they couldn't get Jones to hiss when the alien appeared, so they brought in a German shepherd and had it standing behind a sheet of cardboard. When they pulled it away, revealing the dog, Jones hissed.
One of the most unique aspects to this story, in terms of how space travel was usually portrayed, these were not "astronauts" working for a government, nor were they in some kind of quasi-military organization like star fleet, but just merchant marines, people working for a paycheck. That had never been explored before in a movie featuring space travel. Star Wars was still in a unique category all its own but the element that Star Wars lends to this movie is the idea that spaceships can be dirty and grimy. Star Wars was the first to do that and this film takes that concept to its logical conclusion. Working class people, working in space.
I think one of the best parts of the film is that the titular Alien isn't the antagonist. The Company is. The alien is more like a force of nature the company want to exploit so they put everyone in harms way. Great writing and I love the slow build tension.
That's why I find it mindblowing that Dan O'Bannon, who wrote the first draft, hated this part of the script, added by Ronald Schusett. He wanted only the alien part, no company or androids. He called it a "traffic accident." Personally, I think he might have been jealous that he didn't come up with this himself.
@@henrikmikaelkristensen4784 O'Bannon was similarly pompous over *Total Recall,* saying Arnold Schwarzenegger was miscast, the film needed more comedy and less violence, and that it didn't have a proper ending. He comes off as someone who's needlessly hard to please.
@@henrikmikaelkristensen4784 I kind of agree with Dan myself. The whole company thing was, at its most basic level, injecting politics into a movie where they weren't needed. It's a tired trope anyway, the big evil company. Profits = bad, capitalism = bad, blah blah blah. Just STFU and show me the damn alien eating people's faces.
Yes. And that Ash is not only 'alien' to being truly human but alien to truly sympathising with humans desire to, you know, live. And simply having a 'day job' in space is alien to us.
FUN FACT - When this movie came out, the only big name in it was John Hurt. This movie actually pulls the same technique as Psycho... where they give you John Hurt as the main character... and then KILL him early on in the movie giving you a subconscious sense of uncertainty as you now don't know who to follow... and the presumption is that most people will turn to an authority figure... in this case, the captain. So who gets killed soon after? That's right! Captain is killed... leaving you subconsciously scrambling on who to follow in the film It's a really clever technique to add on to the level of fear in the film.
The Captain is killed off screen, no less. They even make it a point that there was no blood or sign of him. So plenty of the audience at the time thought he'd surely show up last minute to save Ripley and the day. Nope. He's dead.
ANOTHER FUN FACT - The blue mist that hovered above the alien eggs was created with blue lasers borrowed from none other than Pink Floyd, who used them in their concerts at the time.
@@MDestron2282 deleted scene actually shows him being transformed into an egg pod. Ridley Scott clearly didn't see the aliens just as big termites, they were unknowable biomechanical horrors from space.
That last scene of her sleeping. Her hand resting on her chest looks like a face-hugger alien. I notice that when I saw it in the theater but nobody ever comments on it.
Cool production fact, many of the really wide shots of the crew roaming around in their space suits early on, were played by Ridley Scott's young children. Their small size made the practical sets look even grander in scale.
In the book, the conversation with Ash's head is somewhat longer, and in it he reveals that the company had long since intercepted and translated the alien message, and knew exactly what they were getting the Nostromo crew into.
8:45 My favorite part in the movie is when they find the skeleton of a HUGE alien on the other ship. I would love to have an entire room designed just like that!
i think the scariest thing about this movie is the way that the monster seems to be permanently grinning and having such fun terrorisng and slaughtering everybody- the first kill where(in the directors cut) it is merrily swinging waiting for harry dean stanton to fall into its trap-when dallas is killed the alien is waiting happily in the shadows with its arms out as if it has been playing hide and seek with him - then before it kills veronica cartright it stands right next to her just looking in her face seeming to enjoy her terror- and then finally on the shuttle where it just just seems to be waiting in its own good time as if it seems to enjoy her not knowing when the inevitable attack will come-
Ridley Scott knew exactly what he was doing with the trailer in 1979: no showing of any of the actors, no action scenes, no plot points... absolutely nothing. All the trailer did show was an egg; with the title slowly spelled out like the title card at the beginning of the movie, a crack appearing in the egg with eerie green light spilling out of it, and the quote at the bottom of the screen, "In space, no one can hear you scream." Everyone went to the theater completely blind, and got the shock of their lives!
19:38 -- The actors read the scripts, but the first take was shot with multiple cameras to capture their reactions when they saw the chest effect for the first time. Veronica Cartwright didn't expect to get blood in her face and didn't like it. She was surprised and disgusted, so yes, her scream was real. Yaphet Kotto's reaction and facial expression were also real. He wasn't expecting to see that much "blood" busted and be all over the place like that, at all.
Alien is a masterclass of tense scifi horror. Aliens is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of how to make a sequel. The way it builds off of the original, but switches genres a little into more of an action/horror film - just superb.
Although everyone skips over how they have the same beats in the opening and final parts. Both open with slow quiet panning about a spaceship to reveal the actors and set the scene and both end with a huge explosion ( the Nostromo and the Refinery), a fake ending broken by the alien popping back up which leads to the final fight and both aliens being blown out a door into space. Two different takes on the same set up 😃😃
One thing I always appreciated about this, the first page of the script that they used to sell and cast the movie had a paragraph that said that the characters were not written to specify gender or race to allow for whatever direction the casting ended up taking. Ripley wasn't necessarily written as a woman, but when Sigourney Weaver came to their attention they went in that direction. The stuff about everyone ignoring the second officer and letting Kane back on the ship was there, but it took on another layer if Ripley was a woman who everyone kind of disregarded. Yaphet Kotto (Parker) was encouraged to push Weaver's buttons day-to-day so that their interactions became a bit more charged, and they're clearly having a bit of fun with that here and there. He also behaved a bit 'aggressively' toward Veronica Cartwright and made a point of bonding and only hanging out with Harry Dean Stanton, all of which paid off during the group scenes as you can see if you keep an eye out second time through. Weaver and Cartwright decided between them that their characters didn't like each other, and allowed that to inform everything between them. Nobody hated each other or anything like that, and I never heard anything that suggested Kotto or anyone else took any of this beyond acting technique. Hope not, anyway. It's not clear how much Ridley had to do with any of this - he wasn't too experienced with actors at this point beyond hiring great ones and letting them do their thing, which some directors with a lot more experience than he had in the late '70s never learn. The internet tends to give more credit for enlightened gender politics to "Alien" for having Ripley be a woman but I'm not sure it was anything other than finding an amazing performer that they could get cheap and abiding by the 'final girl' thing which had been established in horror movies for a while when this movie was made.
The Ash as a robot I don't think was in the original script idea, but the producers wisely thought the film needed another level of complexity and added it in.
This movie has a Star Wars connection. The song that Ripley sings "You are my lucky Star" is from the movie Singing in the Rain and was performed by Gene Kelly and Carrie Fisher's mom Debbie Reynolds.
It's one of the few perfect movies that will forever stand the test of time. It still looks and feels better than most sci-fi movies of modern days. You'll probably like the sequel as well. I'd recommend the director's cut. It adds some important context to understand Ripley's motivation better towards the finale of the movie.
One of the most scariest thing in this movie, is the fact that the Alien is never showed entirely. That is one psychological trick to us, because the human race is scared to the unknown, and the fact we never saw the entire form of the alien in a single shot, adds more psy-horror to every situation. And, of course, this was premeditated.
The entire cast is gold. Veronica Cartwright is in another ‘70’s horror movie: “The Invasion of The Body Snatchers,” with Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum. Funny, everyone nowadays think of Ian Holme as Bilbo, but for us GenX types, he’s always been Ash. Check out the movie trailer for “Alien.” It gives away nothing. When we saw this in the theater in 1979, we had no idea what was coming. Nobody knew who HR Giger was and, of course, the Xenomorph was not embedded in pop culture. This movie scarred and delighted an entire generation.
Congratulations on watching the gold standard for horror/sci-fi. I remember watching this in Jr. High in the early 80's. Talk about mind blowing and life changing. Your next task is to watch the gold standard for action/sci-fi: Aliens. Great reaction.
Didn't realize you had this channel, too! This is awesome. I actually just streamed "Alien: Isolation" last night. If you watch the sequel, "Aliens", also, I highly recommend playing that game after seeing both films. Incredible survival horror game.
I don't know if you'll clock this comment, but I HIGHLY recommend the Director's Cut of the sequel "Aliens" No spoilers; the extra scenes give some excellent context for the story and one of them happens to be my favorite suspenseful scene in SciFi. I will die mad that they left it on the cutting room floor for the theatrical release.
I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie. One of my top three favorite films of all time. When I was in college in the mid-90s, I made my dad watch Alien with me. He didn't say a word or make a sound the entire time, but once the credits started rolling, he looked at me and just said, "GodDAMN!"
The part I find most interesting is that Kane is their XO, so he would have known thr protocols. He starts off feeling dead and negative, but it's only at the very end when his tone changes to be entirely positive just before he dies. There's a constant inversion and juxtaposition of the human and alien, and it always makes me wonder if Kane's hatred and intelligence became a part of the Xenomorph, which is why it was so calculated and effective in taking out the crew.
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a reaction to this film quite as much as yours. Your insight into film combined with your jump skills. Perfection. The sound design from the first moment in this film is wonderful. The ship breathes and there’s always a subtle heartbeat.
Awesome, I never gave thought to Jonesy growling at the end in the shuttle, good catch! Also apparently when the movie came out it was way scarier to men than women for some reason, something about having a creature inside you that comes out or some such, I dunno...
It's not to be understated the importance of ripleys character. There were very little if any female role models or cinematic heroes at this time, ripley was the pioneer in this realm. Before this IF there was any female action scenes with anyone, they were bitches or basically men in a woman's body as if they couldn't conceive of a woman holding her own as a woman. Ripley was the first to be a truly smart born leader who happened to be a woman. She wasn't there bc she was a woman or despite being a woman. Yet she still retained than feminine stand. She was scared, she cried, she didn't always know what to do but she worked it out and did what she had to. On the flip was lambert, who was horrible in a crises and helped get people killed. Watch aliens, the sequel. I think even better and ripley becomes truly a legend.
This film is not only one of the best sci-fi films ever made, but one of the best horror films ever made. 2001 meets Star Wars meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It just gets better every time I watch it!
"God damn it, Ash, what the fuck?! So far he hasn't done a single helpful thing!" I had to actually pause the reaction so I could finish laughing at that comment.
Glad you enjoyed “Alien”. It’s in my top five favourite movies of all time. There is a brilliant “making of” documentary called “The Beast Within” which I can’t recommend highly enough. “Aliens” is an excellent film but “Alien” is a masterpiece. It’s interesting to me that the three most successful movies of the 1970s were “The Exorcist”, “Jaws” and “Star Wars” and “Alien” kind of takes elements from all three. Btw, there exists a Director’s Cut of “Alien” which inserts a couple of deleted scenes but it doesn’t add anything to the original. If anything, it slows down the pace. Ridley Scott admits that the original release is the TRUE Director’s Cut, as he was happy with this version. When they released the version reinstating the missing scenes they called it the Director’s Cut largely because they didn’t have a better name for it.
Actually, birds in eggs *do* have umbilical cords to the web of vessels lining the inside of the egg (that's how they receive oxygen through the egg shell). It's why it's critical to NOT help a bird hatch; if a vessel is cut before the umbilical dries out the bird will bleed out.
Awesome reaction! Roger Christian was the art director on Alien and set designer on A New Hope... very much responsible for SW awesome look. If you haven't already, I bet you would love Christian's book "Cinema Alchemist: Designing Star Wars and Alien"!
I saw this when it first came out in '79 (I was 22). It was terrifying! It's my favorite movie and I've lost track of how many times I've seen it! I really like H.R. Giger's artwork too.
One thing I love most about Aluen is the crew. “The Space Truckers” as they were called. Originally conceived as as military crew(later used in Aliens) it was changed as sort of “road weary” truckers in space looking for salvage contracts to make a living. The cast reflects this mismatch of people who’d never choose to work together. Some are older or smaller or taller, but all feel lived in and real. The bickering is real. The futility of the gig is real. Ridley Scott promoted this air of natural disorder…talking over each other and working the nerves to an authentic effect you never see in films, let alone sci-fi. This was not the case in Alien:Covenant. Oh wow…young pretty millennials in space. It was eye roll inducing.
IIRC The acid blood effect was achieved by dropping a cocktail of corrosive chemicals onto styrofoam that had been done up to look like the decks of the ship. I adore this movie and it is always fun seeing how much it has influenced other sci-fi franchises that I love.
This is an incredible film!! And a great reaction!! Thank you Grizzled Wizard! ;) Absolutely looking forward to your reaction to Aliens (1986)!! please try to get the director's cut!!
@30:58, you ask how did they already know about the alien to send Ash to get it. It was never explained, but remember it only took mother a matter of hours to deciphered the transmission enough so that Ripley could tell it was a warning and not an SOS. Who knows how long the company studied that message before sending them out there. You should watch the sequel, it's really good.
It makes a lot of sense that the creature is ok in space for a while. Even humans can survive in space for short time periods and these creatures are quite a bit tougher.
Thanks, Grizz! Thanks, Nerd Chronic! 👾 If you ever watch the sequels, be prepared that they're less suspense and more action-based. ALIENS is widely considered to be the best sequel from this franchise (I agree with that); opt for the director's cut, if you can. But, as with most controversial properties, even the less-than-superb sequels have moments of brilliance, whether the overall product is ultimately palatable. The prequels are pretty good, too. I think I appreciated them a tad more than the general consensus might suggest. Keep facing your fears and watching stuff that you might normally avoid; that's a most admirable trait. #GrizzledWizard #RidleyScott #Alien
because there are a lot of idiots out there that don't understand movies. These are the same morons that call Die Hard a christmas movie and call Harry Potter fantasy...@@kevinsnazz
Great reaction!! I worked in a theater that summer home from college and it was great to see the reactions of all the audiences that came to see it. Aliens is worth watching, and i also really liked Prometheus (also directed by Ridley Scott) and Alien: Covenant. The actress who played Lambert was Veronica Cartwright, who played the little girl in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. All these actors had storied careers.
"Ash why did you stop them from killing it?" Well, at that point you have to remember you can't just stab the thing the way Parker wanted to, or you would compromise the hull and vent your air out into space.
Ah, Alien. An entire franchise dedicated to the concept that human beings, when you get right down to the soul and centre of them, are *phenomenally* stupid.
It's not about that. The Company are human beings and they're greedy, remorseless, and inquisitive. They're not stupid. The prisoners in Alien3 weren't stupid (at least some weren't). They were unlucky to be near the alien. If anyone's stupid, it's Ripley herself for choosing to get close to the alien again in Aliens. I appreciate that characters in Prometheus were stupid though. But it's a series more about not putting your trust in those who have power over you, and the psychopathic yet organised viciousness of nature red in tooth and claw that can render you powerless.
My first real horror film that I saw a few years ago. Started watching at night. Worst decision. Stopped halfway through and watched the rest in the morning. Terrifying.
When you hear Ripley whispering something hard to understand at the end, she is actually saying "you are my lucky star" over and over. At the theater, they gave away buttons with that written on them. Still have mine!
One of the very nice (horrifying) touches is when the chest burster punches through and you hear the distinct crunch of the sternum fracturing. Terrifying.
Bear in mind this was Ridley Scott's second movie he directed Alien (1979) followed by another iconic masterpiece movie ''Blade runner''1980, however before all that, he directed ''The duelist'' (1977) a most underrated film, never quite made it successfully and financially on the audience, that does not in anyway slights the film, his previous work was in advertising TV . commercials so this was his first ever hollywood movie, a period drama, set in the napoleonic times, the film is about two warring french cavalry officers, with the antagonist who won't let up after a slur against his honor was made, keeps challenging the other officer to duels forbidden by Napoleon, based on a true story starred Keith carradine and Harvey keitel(antagonist) both actors when initially approach for the role, were very reluctant to play a 19th century french cavalry officers, because being american might not pull it off and look ridiculous, however both actors pulled it off, one of the most interesting aspects of the movie , is how much he went to town on getting it right, the setting, the uniforms etc. Ridley scott being Ridley scott , went for authenticity big style , ridley spent thousands of dollars on commissioning the correct uniforms of the time period, the correct cavalry reigment both french officers served in , a company in italy produced the uniforms correct in every detail including the sabers they were real weapons of the time, not ''copies'' or stage props , a deal was struck , ridley scott later did a reaction to this movie years later, and he explained the deal with italian company that made the uniforms, but to cut though that scott handed over the uniforms back to the company that produced them i would strongly recommend this movie also , talking of ridley scott films, he has just released details of his latest film, and ironically this is set in the 19th century, the story of Napoleon himself .
One of the cooler production details is that they made the sets almost entirely practical in terms of interaction- almost every button, switch and lever could be pushed/pulled/flipped/physically interacted with (and often actually did something, like turn a light on or off, etc). They weren't just dummy molds and set decorations glued into place. Lent things a sense of functionality to both the viewer and the actors in their performance.
Also the set was built so that it was laid out exactly like it would be for real. Corridors were linked and there was only one entry and exit to the set. Gave the actors the feeling they were really in a spacecraft. This film is always in my top three best films ever made. A true masterpiece of cinema and a great story. The special effects still look amazing today.
Not true at all. They were fully aware of what was in the script and had seen the chestburster puppet. What they didn't know was *how* the effects were going to be done, and how much animal blood and guts would be used in the scene. What freaked them out was the smell and having the blood fountains aimed right at them and getting hosed with it.
@@reidmason2551 Yeah, there's an uncut version of that scene where you can clearly see Veronica Cartwright stumbling backwards and falling on her ass (just after her reaction "Oh God" you see in the final cut) because she got hit right in the face by one of the blood jets
A seen-it-all viewer is boarding the "Nostromo." This movie makes you "jumpy," even though you're a Horror fan? You are in for a ride, Mr. I-know-the-Seventies SF.;) The Company is sending the equivalent of a freighter crew to "do science" on an unexplored planet! 8:30 The Space Jockey, a mystery for decades. 10:56 Second Officer Kane = Zapp Brannigan. 11:56 Just raised eyebrows? For other first-timers, this is a genuine jump scare 12:20 This conversation has become iconic, due to recent events. 13:12 The Face Hugger, grossing out audiences for years. 14:19 This answers the "why don't you just cut off him?" question. 17:19 A Props dept. work of ART, made of sea animals. 18:40 Kane's last meal. 19:50 The Xenomorph, scaring audiences for over 40 years. 22:52 Say hello to Bolaji Badejo. 25:53 You're in command, Third Officer Ripley. 28:11 In 1979, this was my "WTF? Ash ISN'T Human!?" moment. 29:58 Most didn't see this coming. 33:45 I've read that Lambert is standing in for us, the audience. 36:00 Escape route cut off, stop Destruct to gain time for Plan B. 39:22 Sigourney Weaver was OK with "going natural," but that would have raised the rating to X. 40:48 Tonight's entree on the shuttle "Narcissus" is Steamed Xenomorph in Shell. 41:47 Correction, Char-Broiled Xenomorph. This and the next movie made newcomer Sigourney Weaver a major movie star. Along with Linda Hamilton, they became Action movie Badasses. "Jennifer Lawrence?" Who is that? Uh-oh, you haven't officially reacted to "The Terminator" (1984)?
These first two movies in this franchise are easily my favorite two movies, the world and atmosphere they build are incredible and the lore is just as incredible…. Unfortunately the rest of the movies after…. Definitely exist..
Fun fact: the crew's reaction to the chestburster scene is genuine. To make the surprise look authentic the actors deliberately weren't told how and when exactly the alien would erupt. Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) was especially horrified by the ordeal and stated in an interview that it was shot in one take. Anyway this remains one of my all-time favourite scifi movies. Ridley Scott did an excellent job with the character writing, the atmosphere and suspense build up. Not to mention how it incorporated H.R. Giger's bizarre biomechanical artwork into the story. And Sigourney Weaver truly shines as Ripley. She manages to display a wide range of authentic emotions, competent behaviour and skills throughout the film. All while not forgetting about Jonesy lol! Such a memorable and capable female lead.
Not a fact. The whole _”they didn’t know what was gonna happen!!”_ thing is totally exaggerated. They read the script, they were on the set with everyone getting it ready and they were given direction. They definitely knew it would happen and when. What they weren’t expecting was the large amount of fake blood and gore that was projected all over the place. That’s where some of the genuine surprised reactions come from when it erupted far more violently than they thought it would. Nothing more.
@@Gunnar001 I never said the actors didn't known _what_ was gonna happen. Of course they read the script describing the scene beforehand-I didn't claim otherwise. It so happens that some had even witnessed the mechanics of the alien prop during a seperate testrun. However none of the cast knew how the thing would look and function on a person. That was kept under wraps. Rehearsal didn't feature the prop on display nor John Hurt excruciatingly screaming his lungs out-he intentionally toned downed his performance. This was stated in an interview with Veronica Cartwright. It took the crew hours to properly attach and hide the prop on the actor before the scene was shot. None of the actors were allowed to see him in that time. When Hurt finally came on set only a select few had knowledge how the prop would work on him. So sure, on paper the how and when was mentioned. Scene direction was obviously given by Scott. But the actors weren't aware or ready for Hurt's full-on performance. This was their first time being exposed to a working alien prop bursting from his fake chest, spewing blood. Hence their facial expressions and even some of the shocked responses after the camera stopped running. The fact in my statement is that their reactions _were_ one of genuine surprise. That's it.
I love this movie. It really stands the test of time and is one of the few movies where the sequel, while setting a different tone, is just as good. If you had watched the extended cut, you'd have seen Dallas was cocooned in the bowels of the ship. That's always really creepy. I'm also a huge fan of H R Giger by the way. I did my art finals based on his work. 😊 I hope you stick with full movie reactions like this. You're good at it. Anyway, I've subscribed and looking forward to more. ❤ Edited to add: I see you like gaming too (love me some Baldur's Gate 3). You should really play Alien Isolation. It captures all the anxiety of this first movie perfectly and the set designs are just like this.
30:45 Eh, to be honest, this particular issue works best when it's ambiguous. Sure, it's obvious that the company knew that *something* was out there, enough to assign Ash to the Nostromo to make sure that a specimen was retrieved, but it remains unclear how much they really knew about the creature or its origins, or for how long they've known.
i think it's most likey androids were on all ships - planted secretly to protect the company's interests. in the script it's noted that BOTH Ash and Ripley were last minute replacements on the ship. which kind of explains the tension between Ripley and the rest of the crew. Ripley and Dallas are also sleeping together... this was mostly cut from the movie... but there's subtle hints to their courting as Dallas and Ripley talk to each other and argue almost like a married couple. Dallas is also protective of Ripley and she genuinely seems to care for him deeper than just a co-worker.
It is heavily implied that they knew that the transmission was of alien origin (possibly picked up by previous long haul missions) and they planted the android on board to ensure the return of samples.
I loved your reaction. I particuarly liked that you recognised that the Nostromo is a tug and not the entire spaceship we see in the opening. I think that you're the first reactor to regonise this? One of the things that I think make this movie such a success is that the crew are all ordinary Joes; you or I. ANd they react and try and deal with the situation as best they can. Most of us (me certainly) would be Lambert. Will you do the sequel "Aliens"? It's a completely different style of movie from this one but very good in its own right. Whatever you do, don't watch Alien III (as it shits on the ending of Aliens from a great height, and ruins it - at least, imo). In fact do9n't bother with any of the other Alien franchise movies. Love your other reactions btw; particularly the SW ones. Please keep on poruding more vids for us to enjoy 👍👽😀
Just want to say... It's interesting that you noted how Scott "resisted the urge" to mimic the A NEW HOPE opening with the Star Destroyer when in fact the whole inspiration he had to get into big budget theatrical film making and indeed doing some project like ALIEN (A space based sci fi film) was him being in a theater and watching Star Wars for the first time and being blown away by the opening Star Destroyer fly by shot. He's talked about this in a few interviews which I am sure you can find.
BTW, the scene in the mess hall where the alien erupts from Kane's chest was done blind. The rest of the cast were not informed about the chestburster prior to filming so their reactions would be genuine.
If you live near a downtown restored theater, they will often do a classic movie night and a double-feature of 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. The movie plays really well on the big screen in a dark theater so it is worth the immersive experience.
Correction: We’ve known that AI can’t be trusted since 1968. Go and watch “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It was a revolutionary film that influenced every movie about outer space that followed it.
Looking forward to the sequel(s)! Just make sure you watch the _Special Edition_ since the theatrical version cut out some very good parts that developed the characters. Both Weaver and Cameron didn't like to cut down for the theatrical version, so they both prefer the Special Edition. If you're a bit of a gamer, try _Alien: Isolation_ once you've watched _Aliens_ . It captures the feeling of both movies really well and it's well-received, garnering a reputation as one of the most tense games. Just don't look it up until you've seen _Aliens_ due to some spoilers. According to some other people Ridley Scott apparently asked Parker to annoy her off-set to make her annoyance towards him more natural and fierce in her acting. You can see that escalation in her reaction when they're discussing what to do after Dallas dies for instance. I just hope Parker or Scott told her afterwards ;) In terms of what you've "missed", throughout the entire movie you'll see how Ripley's constantly being overruled or not taken seriously by most of the cast. My personal opinion is that Ripley's one of the newer crew mates so she doesn't have the respect yet. Dallas dismissed her when she asked him about Ash. Dallas also tried to command her to open the airlock to let them in and he overruled her when she wanted to go into the vents, taking that role himself. Ash opened the airlock, but he had ulterior motives, so that doesn't quite count. The entire crew is practically gaslighting her constantly, which is a bit of a trope in horror movies, to dismiss the rational thinker. It could also be a bit of a social commentary of women not being valued as much. You also see how Lambert is mostly being ignored or belittled, so Ripley not getting the respect may be a similar thing. Sure this was a wide-spread thing back in the 70s and 80s, but now it's something that people start pointing out in the media. Perhaps Ridley Scott was ahead of his time or I may be completely wrong on that and it's all just a coincidence to make the story work. Still, for a movie to have a female bad-ass protagonist, it was pretty unheard of. I believe Ripley and Sarah Connor are the ones that have laid the groundwork for female bad-ass protagonists in current movies.
I really enjoyed your reaction. Alien is phenomenal. And the most important thing is that the cat survived :) I understand you noticed the references from Alien in Mandalorian [eggs opening on the icy spiders planet and Grogu having a facehugger in the stew on the planet where Mando met Bo Katan]. Looking forwad to your reaction to Aliens!
Alien was written by Dan O'Bannon who would in 1985 direct one of the greatest zombie movies of all time The Return of the Living Dead, which you should definitely react to.
From a certain perspective, 'Alien' is simply a story about saving a cat.
I cannot overstate how revolutionary this film was for design, cinematography, and especially tone and atmosphere. And the depiction of these people as workers-not dashing explorers but people just doing a job-was a huge change for the genre.
@@moon-moth1 And Parker _didn’t_ die first!
"...but you have my sympathies!" that little smirk/smile..... Brilliant writing and acting.
Q: "Why would you stop him from killing it?" - Grizzled Wizard
A: "Acid for blood" - Every Alien fan ever
Another amusing story that I think you will enjoy.
I was at a science fiction convention when they were promoting Aliens (when it was about to come out). The guy showed us photos from the set and some shots of the actors and told us some little bits of what to expect in the film.
After the presentation - they asked for questions from the audience and a lot of hands went up. The first person called on asked "What about Jonesy?! Is Jonesy OK?!" There was a lot of speculation that the alien had impregnated Jonesy and worry that this was how the alien would return in a sequel. The person at the mic was confused by the question and someone came over to whisper information. Then he said, "Oh... the cat. Yeah, don't worry... Jonesy is fine."
There were many sighs of relief.
He then asked for the next question.
Not a single hand went up.
Fun Fact: During Brett's death scene, they couldn't get Jones to hiss when the alien appeared, so they brought in a German shepherd and had it standing behind a sheet of cardboard. When they pulled it away, revealing the dog, Jones hissed.
One of the most unique aspects to this story, in terms of how space travel was usually portrayed, these were not "astronauts" working for a government, nor were they in some kind of quasi-military organization like star fleet, but just merchant marines, people working for a paycheck. That had never been explored before in a movie featuring space travel.
Star Wars was still in a unique category all its own but the element that Star Wars lends to this movie is the idea that spaceships can be dirty and grimy. Star Wars was the first to do that and this film takes that concept to its logical conclusion. Working class people, working in space.
I think one of the best parts of the film is that the titular Alien isn't the antagonist. The Company is. The alien is more like a force of nature the company want to exploit so they put everyone in harms way. Great writing and I love the slow build tension.
SPOILER ALERT: That’s true of the sequel as well.
That's why I find it mindblowing that Dan O'Bannon, who wrote the first draft, hated this part of the script, added by Ronald Schusett. He wanted only the alien part, no company or androids. He called it a "traffic accident." Personally, I think he might have been jealous that he didn't come up with this himself.
@@henrikmikaelkristensen4784 O'Bannon was similarly pompous over *Total Recall,* saying Arnold Schwarzenegger was miscast, the film needed more comedy and less violence, and that it didn't have a proper ending. He comes off as someone who's needlessly hard to please.
@@henrikmikaelkristensen4784 I kind of agree with Dan myself. The whole company thing was, at its most basic level, injecting politics into a movie where they weren't needed. It's a tired trope anyway, the big evil company. Profits = bad, capitalism = bad, blah blah blah. Just STFU and show me the damn alien eating people's faces.
Yes. And that Ash is not only 'alien' to being truly human but alien to truly sympathising with humans desire to, you know, live. And simply having a 'day job' in space is alien to us.
FUN FACT - When this movie came out, the only big name in it was John Hurt. This movie actually pulls the same technique as Psycho... where they give you John Hurt as the main character... and then KILL him early on in the movie giving you a subconscious sense of uncertainty as you now don't know who to follow... and the presumption is that most people will turn to an authority figure... in this case, the captain. So who gets killed soon after? That's right! Captain is killed... leaving you subconsciously scrambling on who to follow in the film It's a really clever technique to add on to the level of fear in the film.
The Captain is killed off screen, no less. They even make it a point that there was no blood or sign of him. So plenty of the audience at the time thought he'd surely show up last minute to save Ripley and the day. Nope. He's dead.
ANOTHER FUN FACT - The blue mist that hovered above the alien eggs was created with blue lasers borrowed from none other than Pink Floyd, who used them in their concerts at the time.
@@MDestron2282 deleted scene actually shows him being transformed into an egg pod. Ridley Scott clearly didn't see the aliens just as big termites, they were unknowable biomechanical horrors from space.
That last scene of her sleeping. Her hand resting on her chest looks like a face-hugger alien. I notice that when I saw it in the theater but nobody ever comments on it.
Cool production fact, many of the really wide shots of the crew roaming around in their space suits early on, were played by Ridley Scott's young children. Their small size made the practical sets look even grander in scale.
In the book, the conversation with Ash's head is somewhat longer, and in it he reveals that the company had long since intercepted and translated the alien message, and knew exactly what they were getting the Nostromo crew into.
8:45 My favorite part in the movie is when they find the skeleton of a HUGE alien on the other ship. I would love to have an entire room designed just like that!
i think the scariest thing about this movie is the way that the monster seems to be permanently grinning and having such fun terrorisng and slaughtering everybody- the first kill where(in the directors cut) it is merrily swinging waiting for harry dean stanton to fall into its trap-when dallas is killed the alien is waiting happily in the shadows with its arms out as if it has been playing hide and seek with him - then before it kills veronica cartright it stands right next to her just looking in her face seeming to enjoy her terror- and then finally on the shuttle where it just just seems to be waiting in its own good time as if it seems to enjoy her not knowing when the inevitable attack will come-
Ridley Scott knew exactly what he was doing with the trailer in 1979: no showing of any of the actors, no action scenes, no plot points... absolutely nothing. All the trailer did show was an egg; with the title slowly spelled out like the title card at the beginning of the movie, a crack appearing in the egg with eerie green light spilling out of it, and the quote at the bottom of the screen, "In space, no one can hear you scream."
Everyone went to the theater completely blind, and got the shock of their lives!
H. R. Giger. That's all that needs to be said. He pioneered the "bio-mechanical" style.
A perfect combination of artists - Giger, Ridley Scott, Weaver.
19:38 -- The actors read the scripts, but the first take was shot with multiple cameras to capture their reactions when they saw the chest effect for the first time. Veronica Cartwright didn't expect to get blood in her face and didn't like it. She was surprised and disgusted, so yes, her scream was real. Yaphet Kotto's reaction and facial expression were also real. He wasn't expecting to see that much "blood" busted and be all over the place like that, at all.
Alien is a masterclass of tense scifi horror. Aliens is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of how to make a sequel. The way it builds off of the original, but switches genres a little into more of an action/horror film - just superb.
Although everyone skips over how they have the same beats in the opening and final parts. Both open with slow quiet panning about a spaceship to reveal the actors and set the scene and both end with a huge explosion ( the Nostromo and the Refinery), a fake ending broken by the alien popping back up which leads to the final fight and both aliens being blown out a door into space. Two different takes on the same set up 😃😃
One thing I always appreciated about this, the first page of the script that they used to sell and cast the movie had a paragraph that said that the characters were not written to specify gender or race to allow for whatever direction the casting ended up taking. Ripley wasn't necessarily written as a woman, but when Sigourney Weaver came to their attention they went in that direction. The stuff about everyone ignoring the second officer and letting Kane back on the ship was there, but it took on another layer if Ripley was a woman who everyone kind of disregarded.
Yaphet Kotto (Parker) was encouraged to push Weaver's buttons day-to-day so that their interactions became a bit more charged, and they're clearly having a bit of fun with that here and there. He also behaved a bit 'aggressively' toward Veronica Cartwright and made a point of bonding and only hanging out with Harry Dean Stanton, all of which paid off during the group scenes as you can see if you keep an eye out second time through. Weaver and Cartwright decided between them that their characters didn't like each other, and allowed that to inform everything between them. Nobody hated each other or anything like that, and I never heard anything that suggested Kotto or anyone else took any of this beyond acting technique. Hope not, anyway. It's not clear how much Ridley had to do with any of this - he wasn't too experienced with actors at this point beyond hiring great ones and letting them do their thing, which some directors with a lot more experience than he had in the late '70s never learn.
The internet tends to give more credit for enlightened gender politics to "Alien" for having Ripley be a woman but I'm not sure it was anything other than finding an amazing performer that they could get cheap and abiding by the 'final girl' thing which had been established in horror movies for a while when this movie was made.
The Ash as a robot I don't think was in the original script idea, but the producers wisely thought the film needed another level of complexity and added it in.
How the hell has UA-cam just now recommended this channel to me? Been on your Kyle Katarn channel for years!
This movie has a Star Wars connection.
The song that Ripley sings "You are my lucky Star" is from the movie Singing in the Rain and was performed by Gene Kelly and Carrie Fisher's mom Debbie Reynolds.
Out of all the connections to Star Wars you pick that one.
It's one of the few perfect movies that will forever stand the test of time. It still looks and feels better than most sci-fi movies of modern days. You'll probably like the sequel as well. I'd recommend the director's cut. It adds some important context to understand Ripley's motivation better towards the finale of the movie.
As a 27 year old I noticed this too
One of the most scariest thing in this movie, is the fact that the Alien is never showed entirely. That is one psychological trick to us, because the human race is scared to the unknown, and the fact we never saw the entire form of the alien in a single shot, adds more psy-horror to every situation. And, of course, this was premeditated.
The entire cast is gold. Veronica Cartwright is in another ‘70’s horror movie: “The Invasion of The Body Snatchers,” with Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum.
Funny, everyone nowadays think of Ian Holme as Bilbo, but for us GenX types, he’s always been Ash. Check out the movie trailer for “Alien.” It gives away nothing. When we saw this in the theater in 1979, we had no idea what was coming. Nobody knew who HR Giger was and, of course, the Xenomorph was not embedded in pop culture. This movie scarred and delighted an entire generation.
i love how the subtitles have Parker's last words to Lambert as "Get ready to roll!"
I can’t believe this is your first time seeing Alien!
Really hope you had a good time mate :)
You're the FIRST PERSON I've watched who watched this who took note of Jones hissing and such and realized what it might mean!!!! Good on you!!!
my stepfather took me to the movie theater to see this when I was only 5 yrs old. I'll never forget this movie
Congratulations on watching the gold standard for horror/sci-fi. I remember watching this in Jr. High in the early 80's. Talk about mind blowing and life changing.
Your next task is to watch the gold standard for action/sci-fi: Aliens.
Great reaction.
The sound design won an Oscar
Didn't realize you had this channel, too! This is awesome. I actually just streamed "Alien: Isolation" last night. If you watch the sequel, "Aliens", also, I highly recommend playing that game after seeing both films. Incredible survival horror game.
I don't know if you'll clock this comment, but I HIGHLY recommend the Director's Cut of the sequel "Aliens"
No spoilers; the extra scenes give some excellent context for the story and one of them happens to be my favorite suspenseful scene in SciFi. I will die mad that they left it on the cutting room floor for the theatrical release.
Please watch aliens also, make sure to watch the directors cut if you can, it adds some great details to the movie :)
I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie. One of my top three favorite films of all time. When I was in college in the mid-90s, I made my dad watch Alien with me. He didn't say a word or make a sound the entire time, but once the credits started rolling, he looked at me and just said, "GodDAMN!"
“Seeing Bilbo Baggins playing a sociopath android is everything.” 😂😂😂😂😂
One of my top 5 favorite movies. No other movie handles sustained suspense so well.
And the technical filmmaking is superb.
Does anyone remember the tag line when the movie came out?
"In space, no one can hear you scream." Perfect IMO.
4:57 That's what I love about 80s/90s Star Trek, the heavy use of physical models and matte paintings just has a certain quality to it.
The part I find most interesting is that Kane is their XO, so he would have known thr protocols. He starts off feeling dead and negative, but it's only at the very end when his tone changes to be entirely positive just before he dies. There's a constant inversion and juxtaposition of the human and alien, and it always makes me wonder if Kane's hatred and intelligence became a part of the Xenomorph, which is why it was so calculated and effective in taking out the crew.
That makes sense, especially since, technically, the alien is half human. And Ash does refer to the alien as "Kane's son."
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a reaction to this film quite as much as yours. Your insight into film combined with your jump skills. Perfection. The sound design from the first moment in this film is wonderful. The ship breathes and there’s always a subtle heartbeat.
Alien is so scary 😱😭❤️
Awesome, I never gave thought to Jonesy growling at the end in the shuttle, good catch! Also apparently when the movie came out it was way scarier to men than women for some reason, something about having a creature inside you that comes out or some such, I dunno...
It's not to be understated the importance of ripleys character. There were very little if any female role models or cinematic heroes at this time, ripley was the pioneer in this realm. Before this IF there was any female action scenes with anyone, they were bitches or basically men in a woman's body as if they couldn't conceive of a woman holding her own as a woman. Ripley was the first to be a truly smart born leader who happened to be a woman. She wasn't there bc she was a woman or despite being a woman. Yet she still retained than feminine stand. She was scared, she cried, she didn't always know what to do but she worked it out and did what she had to. On the flip was lambert, who was horrible in a crises and helped get people killed. Watch aliens, the sequel. I think even better and ripley becomes truly a legend.
This film is not only one of the best sci-fi films ever made, but one of the best horror films ever made. 2001 meets Star Wars meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It just gets better every time I watch it!
"God damn it, Ash, what the fuck?! So far he hasn't done a single helpful thing!" I had to actually pause the reaction so I could finish laughing at that comment.
Glad you enjoyed “Alien”. It’s in my top five favourite movies of all time.
There is a brilliant “making of” documentary called “The Beast Within” which I can’t recommend highly enough.
“Aliens” is an excellent film but “Alien” is a masterpiece.
It’s interesting to me that the three most successful movies of the 1970s were “The Exorcist”, “Jaws” and “Star Wars” and “Alien” kind of takes elements from all three.
Btw, there exists a Director’s Cut of “Alien” which inserts a couple of deleted scenes but it doesn’t add anything to the original. If anything, it slows down the pace.
Ridley Scott admits that the original release is the TRUE Director’s Cut, as he was happy with this version. When they released the version reinstating the missing scenes they called it the Director’s Cut largely because they didn’t have a better name for it.
Actually, birds in eggs *do* have umbilical cords to the web of vessels lining the inside of the egg (that's how they receive oxygen through the egg shell). It's why it's critical to NOT help a bird hatch; if a vessel is cut before the umbilical dries out the bird will bleed out.
Oh yes! This reaction was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one ;)
Awesome reaction! Roger Christian was the art director on Alien and set designer on A New Hope... very much responsible for SW awesome look. If you haven't already, I bet you would love Christian's book "Cinema Alchemist: Designing Star Wars and Alien"!
and then he directed Battlefield Earth 😭
@@penoyer79 nobody's perfect! :)
@@penoyer79 In fairness to Christian, John Travolta was calling the shots on that movie. Christian was a hired gun at best.
Luckily, it's one of the rare films that only gets better with age!
I saw this when it first came out in '79 (I was 22). It was terrifying! It's my favorite movie and I've lost track of how many times I've seen it! I really like H.R. Giger's artwork too.
If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend "American Werewolf In London" and "Altered States".
One thing I love most about Aluen is the crew. “The Space Truckers” as they were called. Originally conceived as as military crew(later used in Aliens) it was changed as sort of “road weary” truckers in space looking for salvage contracts to make a living. The cast reflects this mismatch of people who’d never choose to work together. Some are older or smaller or taller, but all feel lived in and real. The bickering is real. The futility of the gig is real. Ridley Scott promoted this air of natural disorder…talking over each other and working the nerves to an authentic effect you never see in films, let alone sci-fi. This was not the case in Alien:Covenant. Oh wow…young pretty millennials in space. It was eye roll inducing.
Alien. I misspelled the damn title of the movie. Forgive me, dearest Wizard.
have you seen the sequel to this? Aliens, yes looking forward to your reaction to it
IIRC The acid blood effect was achieved by dropping a cocktail of corrosive chemicals onto styrofoam that had been done up to look like the decks of the ship.
I adore this movie and it is always fun seeing how much it has influenced other sci-fi franchises that I love.
This is an incredible film!!
And a great reaction!!
Thank you Grizzled Wizard! ;)
Absolutely looking forward to your reaction to Aliens (1986)!! please try to get the director's cut!!
Aliens the sequel is in my top 5 movies of all time but Alien is still a phenomenal movie and I’m glad you checked it out 🙂
@30:58, you ask how did they already know about the alien to send Ash to get it. It was never explained, but remember it only took mother a matter of hours to deciphered the transmission enough so that Ripley could tell it was a warning and not an SOS. Who knows how long the company studied that message before sending them out there. You should watch the sequel, it's really good.
Dude if you liked Alien you will love Aliens, up next surely 🙏
I love the greater variety of reaction content. I've been subbed to your channels for SW and Avatar, and seeing you react to more stuff is great.
It makes a lot of sense that the creature is ok in space for a while. Even humans can survive in space for short time periods and these creatures are quite a bit tougher.
Thanks, Grizz! Thanks, Nerd Chronic! 👾 If you ever watch the sequels, be prepared that they're less suspense and more action-based. ALIENS is widely considered to be the best sequel from this franchise (I agree with that); opt for the director's cut, if you can. But, as with most controversial properties, even the less-than-superb sequels have moments of brilliance, whether the overall product is ultimately palatable. The prequels are pretty good, too. I think I appreciated them a tad more than the general consensus might suggest. Keep facing your fears and watching stuff that you might normally avoid; that's a most admirable trait. #GrizzledWizard #RidleyScott #Alien
Alien is one of my all time favorites. A great horror movie as well as a great science fiction movie, two genres I love.
Alien isn't a horror movie...
@@Spottedfeather uh, yeah it is.
not even close. It is a sci fi monster movie just like Godzilla. You wouldn't call Godzilla horror, so why call Aliens horror ?@@kevinsnazz
@@Spottedfeather then why is it considered horror? He isn’t watching sci fi films for the month of October.
because there are a lot of idiots out there that don't understand movies. These are the same morons that call Die Hard a christmas movie and call Harry Potter fantasy...@@kevinsnazz
Great reaction!! I worked in a theater that summer home from college and it was great to see the reactions of all the audiences that came to see it. Aliens is worth watching, and i also really liked Prometheus (also directed by Ridley Scott) and Alien: Covenant. The actress who played Lambert was Veronica Cartwright, who played the little girl in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. All these actors had storied careers.
"Ash why did you stop them from killing it?"
Well, at that point you have to remember you can't just stab the thing the way Parker wanted to, or you would compromise the hull and vent your air out into space.
Fun fact. To make the outside elevator of the Nostromo look much bigger, the used 3 children in little space suits instead of full sized adults 😉
Ah, Alien. An entire franchise dedicated to the concept that human beings, when you get right down to the soul and centre of them, are *phenomenally* stupid.
It's not about that. The Company are human beings and they're greedy, remorseless, and inquisitive. They're not stupid. The prisoners in Alien3 weren't stupid (at least some weren't). They were unlucky to be near the alien. If anyone's stupid, it's Ripley herself for choosing to get close to the alien again in Aliens. I appreciate that characters in Prometheus were stupid though. But it's a series more about not putting your trust in those who have power over you, and the psychopathic yet organised viciousness of nature red in tooth and claw that can render you powerless.
My first real horror film that I saw a few years ago. Started watching at night. Worst decision. Stopped halfway through and watched the rest in the morning.
Terrifying.
When you hear Ripley whispering something hard to understand at the end, she is actually saying "you are my lucky star" over and over. At the theater, they gave away buttons with that written on them. Still have mine!
One of the very nice (horrifying) touches is when the chest burster punches through and you hear the distinct crunch of the sternum fracturing. Terrifying.
Greatest horror movie ever made. All of the terror and suspense of Texas Chainsaw married to the cosmic hopelessness of H.P. Lovecraft.
Bear in mind this was Ridley Scott's second movie he directed Alien (1979) followed by another iconic masterpiece movie ''Blade runner''1980, however before all that, he directed ''The duelist'' (1977) a most underrated film, never quite made it successfully and financially on the audience, that does not in anyway slights the film, his previous work was in advertising TV . commercials so this was his first ever hollywood movie, a period drama, set in the napoleonic times, the film is about two warring french cavalry officers, with the antagonist who won't let up after a slur against his honor was made, keeps challenging the other officer to duels forbidden by Napoleon, based on a true story starred Keith carradine and Harvey keitel(antagonist) both actors when initially approach for the role, were very reluctant to play a 19th century french cavalry officers, because being american might not pull it off and look ridiculous, however both actors pulled it off, one of the most interesting aspects of the movie , is how much he went to town on getting it right, the setting, the uniforms etc.
Ridley scott being Ridley scott , went for authenticity big style , ridley spent thousands of dollars on commissioning the correct uniforms of the time period, the correct cavalry reigment both french officers served in , a company in italy produced the uniforms correct in every detail including the sabers they were real weapons of the time, not ''copies'' or stage props , a deal was struck , ridley scott later did a reaction to this movie years later, and he explained the deal with italian company that made the uniforms, but to cut though that scott handed over the uniforms back to the company that produced them i would strongly recommend this movie also , talking of ridley scott films, he has just released details of his latest film, and ironically this is set in the 19th century, the story of Napoleon himself .
One of the cooler production details is that they made the sets almost entirely practical in terms of interaction- almost every button, switch and lever could be pushed/pulled/flipped/physically interacted with (and often actually did something, like turn a light on or off, etc). They weren't just dummy molds and set decorations glued into place. Lent things a sense of functionality to both the viewer and the actors in their performance.
Also the set was built so that it was laid out exactly like it would be for real. Corridors were linked and there was only one entry and exit to the set. Gave the actors the feeling they were really in a spacecraft. This film is always in my top three best films ever made. A true masterpiece of cinema and a great story. The special effects still look amazing today.
They couldn't stab it because it has acid for blood. That's why Ash stopped Parker...besides his nefarious reasons of course.
I can’t overstate how stumped i am with the fact that you haven’t seen Alien, one of the most iconic and revolutionary sci-fi horror films ever made.
The cast wasn’t given a script. When the alien came out, they had no idea. True reactions
Not true at all. They were fully aware of what was in the script and had seen the chestburster puppet. What they didn't know was *how* the effects were going to be done, and how much animal blood and guts would be used in the scene. What freaked them out was the smell and having the blood fountains aimed right at them and getting hosed with it.
@@reidmason2551 Yeah, there's an uncut version of that scene where you can clearly see Veronica Cartwright stumbling backwards and falling on her ass (just after her reaction "Oh God" you see in the final cut) because she got hit right in the face by one of the blood jets
A seen-it-all viewer is boarding the "Nostromo." This movie makes you "jumpy," even though you're a Horror fan? You are in for a ride, Mr. I-know-the-Seventies SF.;) The Company is sending the equivalent of a freighter crew to "do science" on an unexplored planet! 8:30 The Space Jockey, a mystery for decades. 10:56 Second Officer Kane = Zapp Brannigan. 11:56 Just raised eyebrows? For other first-timers, this is a genuine jump scare 12:20 This conversation has become iconic, due to recent events. 13:12 The Face Hugger, grossing out audiences for years. 14:19 This answers the "why don't you just cut off him?" question. 17:19 A Props dept. work of ART, made of sea animals. 18:40 Kane's last meal. 19:50 The Xenomorph, scaring audiences for over 40 years. 22:52 Say hello to Bolaji Badejo. 25:53 You're in command, Third Officer Ripley. 28:11 In 1979, this was my "WTF? Ash ISN'T Human!?" moment. 29:58 Most didn't see this coming. 33:45 I've read that Lambert is standing in for us, the audience. 36:00 Escape route cut off, stop Destruct to gain time for Plan B. 39:22 Sigourney Weaver was OK with "going natural," but that would have raised the rating to X. 40:48 Tonight's entree on the shuttle "Narcissus" is Steamed Xenomorph in Shell. 41:47 Correction, Char-Broiled Xenomorph. This and the next movie made newcomer Sigourney Weaver a major movie star. Along with Linda Hamilton, they became Action movie Badasses. "Jennifer Lawrence?" Who is that? Uh-oh, you haven't officially reacted to "The Terminator" (1984)?
These first two movies in this franchise are easily my favorite two movies, the world and atmosphere they build are incredible and the lore is just as incredible…. Unfortunately the rest of the movies after…. Definitely exist..
I adore the first two. I agree the others exist 😂
Well I at least love the new version of the Alien from 3
Fun fact: the crew's reaction to the chestburster scene is genuine. To make the surprise look authentic the actors deliberately weren't told how and when exactly the alien would erupt. Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) was especially horrified by the ordeal and stated in an interview that it was shot in one take.
Anyway this remains one of my all-time favourite scifi movies. Ridley Scott did an excellent job with the character writing, the atmosphere and suspense build up. Not to mention how it incorporated H.R. Giger's bizarre biomechanical artwork into the story. And Sigourney Weaver truly shines as Ripley. She manages to display a wide range of authentic emotions, competent behaviour and skills throughout the film. All while not forgetting about Jonesy lol! Such a memorable and capable female lead.
Not a fact. The whole _”they didn’t know what was gonna happen!!”_ thing is totally exaggerated. They read the script, they were on the set with everyone getting it ready and they were given direction. They definitely knew it would happen and when.
What they weren’t expecting was the large amount of fake blood and gore that was projected all over the place. That’s where some of the genuine surprised reactions come from when it erupted far more violently than they thought it would. Nothing more.
@@Gunnar001 I never said the actors didn't known _what_ was gonna happen. Of course they read the script describing the scene beforehand-I didn't claim otherwise. It so happens that some had even witnessed the mechanics of the alien prop during a seperate testrun. However none of the cast knew how the thing would look and function on a person. That was kept under wraps. Rehearsal didn't feature the prop on display nor John Hurt excruciatingly screaming his lungs out-he intentionally toned downed his performance. This was stated in an interview with Veronica Cartwright.
It took the crew hours to properly attach and hide the prop on the actor before the scene was shot. None of the actors were allowed to see him in that time. When Hurt finally came on set only a select few had knowledge how the prop would work on him.
So sure, on paper the how and when was mentioned. Scene direction was obviously given by Scott. But the actors weren't aware or ready for Hurt's full-on performance. This was their first time being exposed to a working alien prop bursting from his fake chest, spewing blood. Hence their facial expressions and even some of the shocked responses after the camera stopped running.
The fact in my statement is that their reactions _were_ one of genuine surprise. That's it.
I love this movie. It really stands the test of time and is one of the few movies where the sequel, while setting a different tone, is just as good. If you had watched the extended cut, you'd have seen Dallas was cocooned in the bowels of the ship. That's always really creepy. I'm also a huge fan of H R Giger by the way. I did my art finals based on his work. 😊
I hope you stick with full movie reactions like this. You're good at it. Anyway, I've subscribed and looking forward to more. ❤
Edited to add: I see you like gaming too (love me some Baldur's Gate 3). You should really play Alien Isolation. It captures all the anxiety of this first movie perfectly and the set designs are just like this.
Thoroughly enjoyed your review! I saw 'Alien' opening weekend in NYC 1979. Folks actually applauded the 'chestbursting' scene! It was wild!!😁
30:45 Eh, to be honest, this particular issue works best when it's ambiguous. Sure, it's obvious that the company knew that *something* was out there, enough to assign Ash to the Nostromo to make sure that a specimen was retrieved, but it remains unclear how much they really knew about the creature or its origins, or for how long they've known.
i think it's most likey androids were on all ships - planted secretly to protect the company's interests.
in the script it's noted that BOTH Ash and Ripley were last minute replacements on the ship.
which kind of explains the tension between Ripley and the rest of the crew.
Ripley and Dallas are also sleeping together... this was mostly cut from the movie... but there's subtle hints to their courting as Dallas and Ripley talk to each other and argue almost like a married couple. Dallas is also protective of Ripley and she genuinely seems to care for him deeper than just a co-worker.
It is heavily implied that they knew that the transmission was of alien origin (possibly picked up by previous long haul missions) and they planted the android on board to ensure the return of samples.
Imagine seeing this in a theater in 1979!!!! Holy fuck it was 100 times scarier cause people weren't used to this kind of stuff!
Aliens is amazing. not exactly the same type of movie as Alien, it's more action oriented but a classic anyway.
I loved your reaction. I particuarly liked that you recognised that the Nostromo is a tug and not the entire spaceship we see in the opening. I think that you're the first reactor to regonise this?
One of the things that I think make this movie such a success is that the crew are all ordinary Joes; you or I. ANd they react and try and deal with the situation as best they can. Most of us (me certainly) would be Lambert.
Will you do the sequel "Aliens"? It's a completely different style of movie from this one but very good in its own right. Whatever you do, don't watch Alien III (as it shits on the ending of Aliens from a great height, and ruins it - at least, imo). In fact do9n't bother with any of the other Alien franchise movies.
Love your other reactions btw; particularly the SW ones. Please keep on poruding more vids for us to enjoy 👍👽😀
Just want to say... It's interesting that you noted how Scott "resisted the urge" to mimic the A NEW HOPE opening with the Star Destroyer when in fact the whole inspiration he had to get into big budget theatrical film making and indeed doing some project like ALIEN (A space based sci fi film) was him being in a theater and watching Star Wars for the first time and being blown away by the opening Star Destroyer fly by shot.
He's talked about this in a few interviews which I am sure you can find.
BTW, the scene in the mess hall where the alien erupts from Kane's chest was done blind. The rest of the cast were not informed about the chestburster prior to filming so their reactions would be genuine.
He didn't resist. The "Flyover Top shot" is there, right at the beginning. :)
They deleted the scene in which Jones tells the Alien, Dude your f*cked, you better get on the shuttle .... 😂😂😂
If you live near a downtown restored theater, they will often do a classic movie night and a double-feature of 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. The movie plays really well on the big screen in a dark theater so it is worth the immersive experience.
Alien and The Thing are the Best Sci-Fi Horror Movies ever made.....Great Reaction.
As someone once described the movie, "haunted house in space." Love it.
Correction: We’ve known that AI can’t be trusted since 1968. Go and watch “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It was a revolutionary film that influenced every movie about outer space that followed it.
Looking forward to the sequel(s)! Just make sure you watch the _Special Edition_ since the theatrical version cut out some very good parts that developed the characters. Both Weaver and Cameron didn't like to cut down for the theatrical version, so they both prefer the Special Edition.
If you're a bit of a gamer, try _Alien: Isolation_ once you've watched _Aliens_ . It captures the feeling of both movies really well and it's well-received, garnering a reputation as one of the most tense games. Just don't look it up until you've seen _Aliens_ due to some spoilers.
According to some other people Ridley Scott apparently asked Parker to annoy her off-set to make her annoyance towards him more natural and fierce in her acting. You can see that escalation in her reaction when they're discussing what to do after Dallas dies for instance.
I just hope Parker or Scott told her afterwards ;)
In terms of what you've "missed", throughout the entire movie you'll see how Ripley's constantly being overruled or not taken seriously by most of the cast. My personal opinion is that Ripley's one of the newer crew mates so she doesn't have the respect yet.
Dallas dismissed her when she asked him about Ash. Dallas also tried to command her to open the airlock to let them in and he overruled her when she wanted to go into the vents, taking that role himself. Ash opened the airlock, but he had ulterior motives, so that doesn't quite count. The entire crew is practically gaslighting her constantly, which is a bit of a trope in horror movies, to dismiss the rational thinker.
It could also be a bit of a social commentary of women not being valued as much. You also see how Lambert is mostly being ignored or belittled, so Ripley not getting the respect may be a similar thing. Sure this was a wide-spread thing back in the 70s and 80s, but now it's something that people start pointing out in the media. Perhaps Ridley Scott was ahead of his time or I may be completely wrong on that and it's all just a coincidence to make the story work.
Still, for a movie to have a female bad-ass protagonist, it was pretty unheard of. I believe Ripley and Sarah Connor are the ones that have laid the groundwork for female bad-ass protagonists in current movies.
I really enjoyed your reaction. Alien is phenomenal. And the most important thing is that the cat survived :) I understand you noticed the references from Alien in Mandalorian [eggs opening on the icy spiders planet and Grogu having a facehugger in the stew on the planet where Mando met Bo Katan]. Looking forwad to your reaction to Aliens!
Amazing movie
"Aliens" is even better. Can't wait for THAT reaction!
The alien wasn't hunting them, they were hunting it.
Alien was written by Dan O'Bannon who would in 1985 direct one of the greatest zombie movies of all time The Return of the Living Dead, which you should definitely react to.