I love the character of the pilot, played very cool and routine. She's done it a million times, just dropping from a spaceship into an alien planet's atmosphere - no biggie, just some chop ahead. But, I am most pleased to know that space pilots in the future still wear aviator sunglasses :)
When it drops out and leans down in space, it looks pretty good, but not so much when it's heading into the clouds below. You can see the ship sort of moving in a crooked line. Near the end, when Bishop is weaving around the structures, there are a couple of seconds where it doesn't look very realistic either. But it's still great. I think my favorite part of the film is when Ripley has had it with Gorman and takes the wheel of the tank and drives into the area where the marines are.
Tony Tyler: As a defense contractor we had special ops people asking if we could make some of the Colonial Marines "toys". We've got guided .50 caliber but still not caseless ammo. Haven't developed a propellant that burns clean enough. There is energy potential in certain molecules but we don't know how to stabilize them. Next they'll have to ask "Major" in "Ghost in the Shell".
For those that have asked, “Five by Five” is a radio systems signal strength and readability report. Strength and Readability are each rated 1 to 5. Thus, 5x5 is optimal on both .
No other possible interpretation? That doesn't exactly make sense in the context it was used. But maybe she was referring to her futuristic navigation instruments?
Old school make-up effects, hand build dioramas, full scale models and miniatures, and animatronics............................ they don't make movies like this anymore!! Stan Winston, when it comes to SFX, you are an absolute genius!!!!
Could not agree more who else besides idiots in marketing would think CGI could really replace physical tactile scene pieces. Amazing the different flavors of Koolaid people consume!
A lot of love and hard work he did in this and every production that called for his expertise in special effects... Aliens was and is the fine example in practical and physical effects, unlike today's CGI-flooded movie making industry... If he was still around, just think of how much more awesome his works would be with today's tech... But it probably likely cost more, as everything is more expensive now... Rest in peace, Mr. Stan Winston... Your magic shall be missed.
@@dezertfox3681. Agreed CGI is too overused these days for generation of backgrounds & environments as well as characters (especially in action & Sci-Fi), but I think CGI can create beautiful space scenery. Id love to see this drop ship scene remastered with planetary approach done in CGI, and wide shots of the drop ship passing through the cloud layers. The old VFX of the ship on approach & the planet look like a model & a matt painting
Yeah, only I don't need them says spumkmeyer as their bio eyes say wtf we even doing here as no life vital signs circling the place! We got 1 kind pick her and dust off this place is DEAD with bishop.
“In the pipe 5x5” is my favorite line ever. Always has been. I have no idea why. Maybe because it sounds so professional idk. I quote it all the time, and most people have no idea what the hell i’m talking about lol.
I was lucky, someone in a training session I met quoted “In the pipe 5x5”, I replied "Aliens" and we both smiled and, we have now been best bros for over 20 years. Aliens is one of the best movies of all time, perfection.
"We are on the pipe" means that the aircraft is following the predetermined pattern or route. "5 by 5" means that the radio signal (either with the mothership or the colony below, I dont know) is both strong and without interference.
@@ALSPEHEIR Yeah I always figured "The pipe" was referring to whatever proper entry cooridor to enter the planet atmosphere without burning up, but that makes sense too.
I was going to say that you could tell the quality of characterisation in this film that even the ones that we didn't see much of were very memorable. The cool-as-all-hell dropship pilot was a favourite from the get-go for me :)
I was the Movie projectionist... If you could hear the crowd's noise through that triple-paned glass... That MOVIE was worth watching from start to finish :)
@@gracien2008 I remember the audience screaming cheers near the end when Ripley confronted the Alien back on the mothership. When the Alien was trying to get at Newt and the bay doors suddenly lifted to show her strapped into that mechanical mover and she said, like a female John Wayne, “get away from that girl, you bitch”, the theater went nuts.
"We're in the pipe" = we're on a direct course to the target. "Five by five" = the target's radio signal is coming in loud (first five) and clear (second five).
This is one of my favourite lines in the movie, and I’d always assumed that it was some slick, made up jargon that was perfectly fitting, I’d no idea that it was based on real life terminology (on reflection, I should have!). Thank you for explaining that.
I recall reading/hearing that James Cameron didn't like any of the sketches or models that the design team kept coming up with, so he went to the store and bought two models (one of them being an Apache helicopter) and combined the pieces until he came up with what's seen in the movie. The guy is a real artist.
The womens' combat roles depicted in Aliens were illegal in the U.S. military in 1986. Women were allowed to fly combat aircraft in 1993 and all combat roles were opened to women in 2013. Science fiction has always been a safe space for taste-testing provocative ideas.
Ripley and Vazquez yes, very well casted but the female pilot is really lousy; scared rat expression, secretary voice, she's better typing letters to her superiors than piloting a marine deploying ship
@Tin Watchman it's okay when the good script is about terror and, incidentally a woman is the only survivor; not when some leftists feminazis made up a story with the sole purpose of creating an irreal female superheroine that has no susbstance on her own (charlie's angels and every other disaster from then on)
Vazquez was a badass without needing to rub it in our faces. We just acknowledged that she was tough as nails. The closest the movie ever came to any kind of pointing out her role as a woman soldier was Hudson asking her if she had ever been mistaken for a man, and she promptly responds with. "No. Have you?" And that was it. Nothing else needed to be said about.
Such a cool scene. Was 15 years old when I saw this at the movies with a bunch of mates. Afterwards in the foyer we all just gaped at each other, slack jawed, trying to process what we had just seen. There really hadn’t been anything like it. Absolutely amazing film from beginning to end. I still watch the directors cut about twice a year…
I was 12 in '86 and I remember seeing the trailer for this when I saw something else at the movies. Just that scared me. I was like "nup, no way I'm gonna see that". When I was 16 me and my school mates loved watching it.
This film looks like debuted on 1986 but I saw it first time from a local small theater in Korea in the year of 1991 while my vacation from the Army served at that time. Loitering around the city lookin for fun then found this movie from the theater but at glance I thought it was a monster movie but hella shocked after watched the movie.
I watched it last year and it still looks good. Compared to some movies where the special effects look cheesey over time, this movie is great and will always be great to me. Side note. I started making excuses why the computers look so simple and Mother looked ancient, its because the older computers weren’t as sensitive to space subatomic particle noise…. Nerding out in my fantasy.
@Arikm7 I believe Burke saw potential application aka profit in both military & medicine application. Regardless the arrogance of Burke as well as others to think they could easily control & kill this thing proved to be a fatal error. Those things are quite intelligent, multiply fast & deadly so eventually when you capture one they will figure out a way to escape.
Ferro is one tough bitch! And I dont mean Bitch in a derogatory way. I would fight beside her any day. I would just be more than happy she was on our side! Take note, this is a true strong female character. Ferro is just badass. Cool, Calm, Collective, and Effing Badass!
Something Cameron used which also worked great in Alien was the lower-quality video camera views from the ship as they circle the complex (and in Alien it's the helmet-cam shots as they are walking over to the Alien ship) - so you see the scene as in a normal movie but also as it's experienced by the characters IN the movie - this gives the scenario an extra level of reality.
I know this scene is bad ass in all the ways it is. But I also love the technique being used here. It's got the subtle character development/ humanization and some world building, but it's also tone setting the narrative. The reckless fun in "Elevator to hell", to the glib expectation of a cakewalk in "We're in the pipe, five by five," then the low key foreshadowing in "We're in for some chop", down to the eerie setup for the horror side of this movie in, "I can't see the beacon; oh, there it is" with the gloomy reveal of the location - is the danger behind this corner? Nope. So where is it? It simultaneously celebrates the action of the movie while reminding you what setting this story takes place in - confident fun but with a constant pulse of anxiety.
@SongOfChaos1 - Agreed. For me, that part when the pilot asks, "Where's the damn beacon?" Already had me worried before anything scary even happens. It's kinda like an icebreaker, or ' the eerie setup for the horror side of this movie', as you put it.
@@disgruntledpedant2755 Actually it wouldn’t without any thrust. You can’t fall out of an orbiting ship like could out of an airplane. You would need aim your thrusters down, or backwards.
I am a huge Aliens fan. I watch this movie at least once every year. However, the part that doesn’t hold up is the scene with the spaceship over the planet. The way it looks statically is fine but the movement looks phony. I understand it’s the best they could do at the time.
@@Joshua_N-A Lack of experience dealing with this kind of enemy. The LT likely had been trained for counter insurgency operations (CoIn), against enemies that would reveal themselves just prior to attacking. An officer with more experience would've likely taken the solution Ripley and Hicks came to the moment they realized what they were up against: Bug out, take off, and nuke the entire site from orbit.
@@Tank50us had they get out when the readings getting crazy, most of them would've survived. The way Hudson says bug hunt sounds like they're already used to encounter lifeforms on extrasolar worlds besides fighting human enemies.
@@Joshua_N-A tbf, the term 'bug hunt' comes from the book Starship Troopers, and the line is meant to be a reference too that. However, 'bug hunt' can refer to counter insurgency as well, since dealing with insurgent forces can be akin to trying to kill a cockroach. In that if you don't do it right, the infestation continues and gets worse. I believe in Vietnam they used a similar term when looking for the various hide-outs the NVA and Vietcong used. This is not to say that the Marines haven't dealt with hostile organisms before, in fact it's referenced earlier in the film: "Are there any hostile organisms on LV426?" "No. It's a rock. No indigenous life" which clearly indicates that the UEG (or whatever they're called) have had to deal with hostile creatures that threatened colonies. However, they hadn't really dealt with the Xenomorph as we've seen in this film, and despite having a full brief on what they are and how they operate, it can be assumed that the Marines were expecting them to be akin to just a giant bug. Either way, the Marines were not expecting the fight they got, and I'm certain that a more experienced officer would've done far better in this situation than the one they had.
I really liked all the casting in Aliens and how the different marines acted with each other. Apone was solid as a rock, Hicks was cool and collected most of the time, Ferro was the skilled pilot. The were the highest ranked of the marines and it was shown by some little details. Apone died fighting while trying to hold the team together, Ferro immediatley went after her gone insteat of panicing and Hicks later on led the defense when Gorman was incapable of commanding the survivors.
Yes, we must go back there... But hopes for that are really low! I saw Aliens in a theatre in 1986 and it blew my mind. It is still one of my favourite movies of all times. Every new James Cameron film is setting new benchmarks. The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, T2, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar... Even Solaris directed by Steven Soderbergh and "only" produced by James Cameron was great. Sadly Dark Fate was kind of a big disappointment.
@@milaanvigraham8664 Oh, just two seconds of fakeness...wow, ¿CGI is the best then? Noup, CGI tells to your brain that the shit you're watching doesn't exists even for real. Practical effects exists for real, but only in differents scales and with differents lights, camera focusing, etc. etc. then, our brain can be easily deceived (whit good quality practical effects) on buying the realness of the movie. The whole Alien 2 movie is your proof. And Avatar is, also, your proof that CGI never makes you buy the realness of what you're watching.
The actress playing Cpl. Ferro , Colette Hiller, made the most out of the very limited face time she had in the film. From clenching her hands just prior to making the drop to the 'We're in the pipe, 5x5' to seeing the alien enter the cockpit and not hesitating to reach for her firearm she made a huge impression.
Were on the express elevator 2 hell, goin down/ On my mark..54321...Mark! Woooohooo! Great stuff, best movie best part decected for our viewing pleasure, thanx.👍
I love the way the drop ship falls from the U.S.S. Sulaco. It's so dramatic! At the same time, it bugs the hell out of me. If the Sulaco were in orbit (which it would need to be if it were so close to LV-426) then the drop ship is also in orbit. So as soon as she says "mark" and the clamps are released, the drop-ship should appear to float in the launch bay. There's no way it could "fall" towards the planet unless propelled downwards, which basic orbital mechanics 101 tells you would result in the drop ship moving into an eccentric orbit which would actually move it further from the planet's surface. Instead, the drop ship would need to perform a retrograde burn which would reduce its orbital radius until the periapsis intersected with the surface of LV-426. Thumbs up if this is the nerdiest comment you've read!
Ive thought about that for years but I put it down to the Sulacco being in a forced orbit made possible by some kind of artificial gravity system that isnt explained. Based on how the interior of Sulacco has about 1 G of apparent gravity you kind of assume they can generate their own. Once the drop ship leaves whatever field is keeping Sulacco in its orbit the drop ship falls under gravity toward the planet. Its kind of a fudge for Cameron but he obviously wanted the drop to be a shock for Ripley , Burke and Gorman as well as a chance to show how casual the Marines were about it
@@rochskier Haha I learned how to orbit and deorbit the shuttle in a simulator called Orbiter. Fascinated as I’m an aviation geek and private pilot. But no astrophysics degrees. But I’m not sure Scott Manley has any either and nobody would argue with him!
Amen. Really lovely touch. Cameron’s eye for the small, brief subtle stuff always impresses the shit out of me. It’s the cement between his world-building blocks.
I was 11 or 12 years old when I saw this movie for the first time on VHS back in the late 80s with my buddy, who was my best friend at the time. It was awsome!
I loved so much of the engineering of vehicles and equipment in this movie. The drop ship and the APC it carried were all brilliant in their efficiency of space and how they fit together. It wasn't big or flashy but a fine example of maximization of minimal space.
The only complaint I have about the whole scene is the moment the drop ship launches and the it accelerates away to a lower orbit. You actually should spin the craft 180 degrees, hard burn and drop from orbit.
On my mark. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Mark! (Why do the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end when she says that)? Shame she died early on in the movie. She would have been a great character if she’d survived by catapulting to safety during the Alien attack 😊
I think it’s why Aliens is such a great movie....there were SO many great characters, brief and all as their screen time may have been, that you were gutted to see them all being wiped out, and reasonably casually too, given the bad-assery they arrived with.
I was 9 when this came out. Had a major crush on all the women in this movie each had special qualities about themselves. Ferro was for some reason extremely freaking sexy with the helmet and mirrored sunglasses, and just the way she delivered her lines so deadpan. I love this scene with the military marching cadence score in the background.
I love the sound design from 0:21 to 0:31. The changes of the ship’s engine sound effects are amazing and very atmospheric. The sound design is incredible in this whole film tbh. Not to mention that not only the sound design, but the shot itself, is gorgeous. Both ships, the light from the star and the planet look incredible, and the camera placement/movement is just perfect. The sound effects are the cherry on the top. Perfect shot. Cameron has an amazing ability to create beautiful and memorable shots and scenes, he’s a master at that (for example, I still can’t believe how perfectly done and beautiful the entire intro of T2 is). Cinematography and sound design in this film are really one of the best I’ve seen/heard. It simply doesn’t get much better than this.
I remember going to the theater in high school to see this. No other way to see these 80s action films but on the silver screen. Big screen TV doesn't do it justice.
Just next level effects work going on in this scene. Check out those pixelated monitors and how the lights from the colony miniatures streak out on them. I still can't figure out how Cameron made this flick for $17m in '86!!!
Top 5 best sci-fi films ever. THIS is what the streaming services should base a series on... the survival (non-survival) of the colonists, and perhaps a team (that also failed) that came in prior to this one with Ripley - which would be a nice throwback to when Ripley says you'll be safe with the marines to Newt, and she replies, it won't matter.
I lived and studied in Belarus with a girl who was a dead ringer for the pilot. Her name was Lena Tomaschevich! Spitting image! Wonder where she is now?
I saw this on opening day in Pensacola, FL. When the drop ship opened it’s weapons and bared it’s teeth the whole theater was impressed. Still, the fact that no one was outside, that nobody came out on the rooftops to wave at them should have made somebody suspicious. When that didn’t happen I whispered to my date: “They’re too late.”
There's a big contrast to the lv426 approach in Alien compared to this one. In Alien, it's very realistic while also being vast and fantastic. In this one it's kinda cartoony with the goofy characters and military drum track in the background, yet the rising tension somehow saves it and keeps it from getting too corny.
"we're in the pipe five by five" - love that quote
And she was so cool when she said it !
Why is that soooo hot?!
The dropship pilots from Starcraft were all daughters of Ferro, love that fan nod
We’re in for some chop!
Were in a pipe 5 by 5
That's right, man!
I need to play starcraft
StarCraft' inspiration 😁
I love the character of the pilot, played very cool and routine. She's done it a million times, just dropping from a spaceship into an alien planet's atmosphere - no biggie, just some chop ahead. But, I am most pleased to know that space pilots in the future still wear aviator sunglasses :)
Except, this time, she doesn't make it back.
Wearing dark aviators, at night, in low viz...
@G E T R E K T 905 Especially not a death by xenomorph stowaway.
Well, you have to have the cool factor, kinda like Elton John always with his piano.
It's classic still in the future anywhere.
That shot at the beginning when the Sulaco’s doors open out onto the planet below looks absolutely incredible. So convincing.
Not really. I mean, back then, it was amazing, but you can clearly see it's an green screen overlay.
When it drops out and leans down in space, it looks pretty good, but not so much when it's heading into the clouds below. You can see the ship sort of moving in a crooked line. Near the end, when Bishop is weaving around the structures, there are a couple of seconds where it doesn't look very realistic either. But it's still great. I think my favorite part of the film is when Ripley has had it with Gorman and takes the wheel of the tank and drives into the area where the marines are.
It's a visual shoutout to the bombing run scene in Dr. Strangelove. Music matches pretty well too.
It’s amazing how influential this film was. From Halo to StarCraft to just random references here and there.
I just noticed it all Terran words
Yup. The OG Dropship and all her phrases were taken from this masterpiece.
REDEEMER
Terrans were my favorite!
Tony Tyler: As a defense contractor we had special ops people asking if we could make some of the Colonial Marines "toys". We've got guided .50 caliber but still not caseless ammo. Haven't developed a propellant that burns clean enough. There is energy potential in certain molecules but we don't know how to stabilize them. Next they'll have to ask "Major" in "Ghost in the Shell".
"Aliens" is a masterpiece. Period.
It's the greatest sequel ever made. Better even than Empire Strikes Back.
yeah, but seriously....it's low IQ to leave the orbital spacecraft unmanned. Around 2 crew should be there for emergencies, contingencies, etc.
They didnt expect Zerg's expasion there
Paxton was the only guy that met terminator, alien and predator. Greatness
and Henriksen
And an F5 tornado
And he was an officer on Titanic!
@@maksphoto78 pas un officier, il cherche le diamant
"CHET"
For those that have asked, “Five by Five” is a radio systems signal strength and readability report. Strength and Readability are each rated 1 to 5. Thus, 5x5 is optimal on both .
No other possible interpretation? That doesn't exactly make sense in the context it was used. But maybe she was referring to her futuristic navigation instruments?
hektik : I’m just telling people where the phrase originated. No more. No less.
@@gregjennings9442 Just thought you might have some insight
hektik : It has come to be used as “Things Are Great!”. I would guess that’s how the pilot is using it.
I love the "seven zero ninER" to avoid confusion with "five". That's the kind of detail that makes this movie so "real"
Somebody wake up Hicks
Let him sleep.
Apone was the man lol
@Arikm7 😂
@John Coffee Michael Biehn kick Arnold in Terminator
@John Coffee That's Hudson, sir! Hicks is Kyle Reese!
We're In The Pipe. Five By Five.
Cicero That, is the only reason I'm here
Cicero hahaha ! All Starcraft’s veterans know what this is all about !! ;)
Switch to DCS ranging...
... on my mark! 😑
One of the many lines that make this flic amazing
Love the ensemble casting in this film, every actor played their role perfectly
Vasquez was the best.
@hardstyle905Did she ever get mistaken for man?
No, did you?
Old school make-up effects, hand build dioramas, full scale models and miniatures, and
animatronics............................ they don't make movies like this anymore!!
Stan Winston, when it comes to SFX, you are an absolute genius!!!!
You might want to watch Duncan Jones' "Moon"
@@doxielain2231 Great movie!
Could not agree more who else besides idiots in marketing would think CGI could really replace physical tactile scene pieces. Amazing the different flavors of Koolaid people consume!
A lot of love and hard work he did in this and every production that called for his expertise in special effects... Aliens was and is the fine example in practical and physical effects, unlike today's CGI-flooded movie making industry... If he was still around, just think of how much more awesome his works would be with today's tech... But it probably likely cost more, as everything is more expensive now... Rest in peace, Mr. Stan Winston... Your magic shall be missed.
@@dezertfox3681. Agreed CGI is too overused these days for generation of backgrounds & environments as well as characters (especially in action & Sci-Fi), but I think CGI can create beautiful space scenery. Id love to see this drop ship scene remastered with planetary approach done in CGI, and wide shots of the drop ship passing through the cloud layers. The old VFX of the ship on approach & the planet look like a model & a matt painting
can we all agree that this is the coolest dropship ever created
You should have HEARD that damn thing flying thru the clouds in the movie theatre!
@@gracien2008 I did!
Totally unrealistic but damn cool.
the way those huge rocket pods just unfold from the fuselage. SICK!
No. It's cool, but not the coolest.
This scene, like so many in this movie, is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold
LADY GAGA WAS A HELL OF A PILOT!
She is Colette Hiller
😂
hahaha thats a nice one
Ask her for the remake of aliens. 👍🏻👍🏻
I can see it before u can were outa here there all dead.
Love the reflection on Ferro's sunglasses
WOW! You're good!
Love her lips))
Я это the Alien that got into the cockpit with her probably thought so too.
Yeah, only I don't need them says spumkmeyer as their bio eyes say wtf we even doing here as no life vital signs circling the place! We got 1 kind pick her and dust off this place is DEAD with bishop.
“In the pipe 5x5” is my favorite line ever. Always has been. I have no idea why. Maybe because it sounds so professional idk. I quote it all the time, and most people have no idea what the hell i’m talking about lol.
Agreed!
I was lucky, someone in a training session I met quoted “In the pipe 5x5”, I replied "Aliens" and we both smiled and, we have now been best bros for over 20 years. Aliens is one of the best movies of all time, perfection.
That’s awesome! And I totally agree.
"We are on the pipe" means that the aircraft is following the predetermined pattern or route.
"5 by 5" means that the radio signal (either with the mothership or the colony below, I dont know) is both strong and without interference.
@@ALSPEHEIR Yeah I always figured "The pipe" was referring to whatever proper entry cooridor to enter the planet atmosphere without burning up, but that makes sense too.
Ferro is an underrated character in this movie. But I love this scene! She is amazing here. Badass in space.
Great ensemble . Even the lesser characters are memorable..
That`s Corporal Ferro to You!
Less is more.
I was going to say that you could tell the quality of characterisation in this film that even the ones that we didn't see much of were very memorable. The cool-as-all-hell dropship pilot was a favourite from the get-go for me :)
If Spunkmeyer had kept the door shut they’d have just nuked from orbit.
If you didn't experience this in the theaters back in 1986, then you seriously missed out!!! What an amazing scene!!!!
I was the Movie projectionist... If you could hear the crowd's noise through that triple-paned glass... That MOVIE was worth watching from start to finish :)
@@gracien2008 I remember the audience screaming cheers near the end when Ripley confronted the Alien back on the mothership. When the Alien was trying to get at Newt and the bay doors suddenly lifted to show her strapped into that mechanical mover and she said, like a female John Wayne, “get away from that girl, you bitch”, the theater went nuts.
Unfortunately I was still stuck in my fathers ballsack when this came out.
I wasn't even born 😭
I was 11 back then...
I had the same "Fly Me Friendly" on my helmet when I was a flyer in the Navy. When someone recognized it I always got a thumbs up.
"We're in the pipe" = we're on a direct course to the target.
"Five by five" = the target's radio signal is coming in loud (first five) and clear (second five).
This is one of my favourite lines in the movie, and I’d always assumed that it was some slick, made up jargon that was perfectly fitting,
I’d no idea that it was based on real life terminology (on reflection, I should have!).
Thank you for explaining that.
@@thedudeabides3138 Older terminology but there are still five bars on your cellphone if you look...
ok captain obvious ...
Starcraft 1 Terran Dropship uses this quote ))) same goes to "hang on we're in for some shop"
@@superbmediacontentcreator
My cell phone only has four bars.
But all signal strength meters back from then we usually five bars. Or 0-5 meter.
The UD-4 Cheyenne dropship was and is one of my favorite sci fi ships of all time.
Abrxas01
Space 1999 Eagle 🤤
@@moparchallenger749 Not my style, but I understand.
Why this Cheyenne dropship cannot been Alien 4 ?
I recall reading/hearing that James Cameron didn't like any of the sketches or models that the design team kept coming up with, so he went to the store and bought two models (one of them being an Apache helicopter) and combined the pieces until he came up with what's seen in the movie.
The guy is a real artist.
Im more of a USS SULACO MAN MY SELF
It's weird how empowered female characters in movies were actually cool when nobody got all smug about how that was some kind of civil rights victory.
The womens' combat roles depicted in Aliens were illegal in the U.S. military in 1986. Women were allowed to fly combat aircraft in 1993 and all combat roles were opened to women in 2013. Science fiction has always been a safe space for taste-testing provocative ideas.
Ripley and Vazquez yes, very well casted but the female pilot is really lousy; scared rat expression, secretary voice, she's better typing letters to her superiors than piloting a marine deploying ship
It works because it's normal and not made out to be some big woke virtue-signalling moment.
@Tin Watchman it's okay when the good script is about terror and, incidentally a woman is the only survivor; not when some leftists feminazis made up a story with the sole purpose of creating an irreal female superheroine that has no susbstance on her own (charlie's angels and every other disaster from then on)
Vazquez was a badass without needing to rub it in our faces. We just acknowledged that she was tough as nails.
The closest the movie ever came to any kind of pointing out her role as a woman soldier was Hudson asking her if she had ever been mistaken for a man, and she promptly responds with.
"No. Have you?"
And that was it. Nothing else needed to be said about.
Such a cool scene. Was 15 years old when I saw this at the movies with a bunch of mates. Afterwards in the foyer we all just gaped at each other, slack jawed, trying to process what we had just seen. There really hadn’t been anything like it. Absolutely amazing film from beginning to end. I still watch the directors cut about twice a year…
Wish I'd been old enough to see this on the big screen, unfortunately I was only 6 in 1986 and wasn't even aware of this film.
I was 12 in '86 and I remember seeing the trailer for this when I saw something else at the movies. Just that scared me. I was like "nup, no way I'm gonna see that". When I was 16 me and my school mates loved watching it.
when i was 15 or 16 i saw this movie once a day for about a month or 2, this never gets old, awesome movie
This film looks like debuted on 1986 but I saw it first time from a local small theater in Korea in the year of 1991 while my vacation from the Army served at that time. Loitering around the city lookin for fun then found this movie from the theater but at glance I thought it was a monster movie but hella shocked after watched the movie.
I watched it last year and it still looks good. Compared to some movies where the special effects look cheesey over time, this movie is great and will always be great to me.
Side note. I started making excuses why the computers look so simple and Mother looked ancient, its because the older computers weren’t as sensitive to space subatomic particle noise…. Nerding out in my fantasy.
Look at Ripley squirming as they drop, clearly was the most fragile person at the start of this journey but grew up to be the toughest at the end.
@Arikm7 I believe Burke saw potential application aka profit in both military & medicine application. Regardless the arrogance of Burke as well as others to think they could easily control & kill this thing proved to be a fatal error. Those things are quite intelligent, multiply fast & deadly so eventually when you capture one they will figure out a way to escape.
jakep1979 fine example was in Alien Resurrection... Dang Zenos sacrificed one of their own to escape captivity.
That's perfect character arc writing
Just like in Alien.
I'm on a serious Alien videos binge.
maybeonemore you and I are in the pipe. 5 by 5.
You should stop after the first two. The series is all downhill from there.
This is the sexiest Military Sci-Fi scene ever put to film. Nearly 40 years now, and still unequaled.
This amount of badassary is enough for a lifetime.
nah must watch also Predator Intro
Ferro is one tough bitch! And I dont mean Bitch in a derogatory way. I would fight beside her any day. I would just be more than happy she was on our side! Take note, this is a true strong female character. Ferro is just badass. Cool, Calm, Collective, and Effing Badass!
Lets go Marines
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Something Cameron used which also worked great in Alien was the lower-quality video camera views from the ship as they circle the complex (and in Alien it's the helmet-cam shots as they are walking over to the Alien ship) - so you see the scene as in a normal movie but also as it's experienced by the characters IN the movie - this gives the scenario an extra level of reality.
He is relying on an old horror film technique. Show some detail and let the viewer fill in the rest. Works a treat for building suspense.
No sci-fi movie has beaten this scene up to now!!!
Agreed this sequence has been emulated and copied in dozens of sci fi movies and video games
Prometheus
why are you yelling?
I know this scene is bad ass in all the ways it is.
But I also love the technique being used here. It's got the subtle character development/ humanization and some world building, but it's also tone setting the narrative. The reckless fun in "Elevator to hell", to the glib expectation of a cakewalk in "We're in the pipe, five by five," then the low key foreshadowing in "We're in for some chop", down to the eerie setup for the horror side of this movie in, "I can't see the beacon; oh, there it is" with the gloomy reveal of the location - is the danger behind this corner? Nope. So where is it?
It simultaneously celebrates the action of the movie while reminding you what setting this story takes place in - confident fun but with a constant pulse of anxiety.
And the music is terriifcally effective in establishing a foreboding chill in the viewer.
God, you're dull.
@SongOfChaos1 - Agreed. For me, that part when the pilot asks, "Where's the damn beacon?" Already had me worried before anything scary even happens. It's kinda like an icebreaker, or ' the eerie setup for the horror side of this movie', as you put it.
"We're on the express elevator to hell. Going down!"
Game Over Man, Game Over!
Knock it off, Hudson
My kids get mad at me because I say that everytime we ride a roller coaster and get to the top of the main hill...
Why/how would it go "down?"
@@disgruntledpedant2755
Actually it wouldn’t without any thrust.
You can’t fall out of an orbiting ship like could out of an airplane.
You would need aim your thrusters down, or backwards.
When just a single scene from the movie is better than the entire sum of all sequels...
Move it Spunkmeyer, we're rollin'
They must have rolled about like kids when they dreamt up that name.....na we will get away with it. Lol class.
"We're in the pipe ... five-by-five." Why does that sound so damn cool? And I like the way she sees the beacon when none of us can see it.
You have to be wearing aviator sun glasses in the fog.
@@majerstud also when theres no windshield wipers on your rocket
Those are special aviators glasses that can penetrate the fog. ...
Comin' around for a seven, zero, niner!
This movie is 36 years old and still looks amazing to this day
Cameron movies tend to do that
I am a huge Aliens fan. I watch this movie at least once every year. However, the part that doesn’t hold up is the scene with the spaceship over the planet. The way it looks statically is fine but the movement looks phony. I understand it’s the best they could do at the time.
Back when you couldn’t rely on CGI. You actually had to work to make your effects look real.
i really wished for an ending that this badass pilot survived :c
Same here, she was great!
So many scifi landings over the years. This one still the best. Just the opening of the doors and the view of the cloudy planet.
Just me or is Ferro absolutely badass, cool and sexy as hell?
Same here - from childhood ❤️
Was obsessed with her when I first started watching this movie. Around 10/11 yrs old.
she is kind of cute in a way
Ultimate Badass Movie
"How many drops is this for you, Lt?"
"38...simulated".
"How many combat drops?"
"Uh...2...including this one"😐
Perfect person that Lt. to screw it all over )
Was it due to lack of frontline combat or wars that made the officer look incompetent?
@@Joshua_N-A Lack of experience dealing with this kind of enemy. The LT likely had been trained for counter insurgency operations (CoIn), against enemies that would reveal themselves just prior to attacking. An officer with more experience would've likely taken the solution Ripley and Hicks came to the moment they realized what they were up against: Bug out, take off, and nuke the entire site from orbit.
@@Tank50us had they get out when the readings getting crazy, most of them would've survived. The way Hudson says bug hunt sounds like they're already used to encounter lifeforms on extrasolar worlds besides fighting human enemies.
@@Joshua_N-A tbf, the term 'bug hunt' comes from the book Starship Troopers, and the line is meant to be a reference too that. However, 'bug hunt' can refer to counter insurgency as well, since dealing with insurgent forces can be akin to trying to kill a cockroach. In that if you don't do it right, the infestation continues and gets worse. I believe in Vietnam they used a similar term when looking for the various hide-outs the NVA and Vietcong used.
This is not to say that the Marines haven't dealt with hostile organisms before, in fact it's referenced earlier in the film:
"Are there any hostile organisms on LV426?"
"No. It's a rock. No indigenous life"
which clearly indicates that the UEG (or whatever they're called) have had to deal with hostile creatures that threatened colonies. However, they hadn't really dealt with the Xenomorph as we've seen in this film, and despite having a full brief on what they are and how they operate, it can be assumed that the Marines were expecting them to be akin to just a giant bug.
Either way, the Marines were not expecting the fight they got, and I'm certain that a more experienced officer would've done far better in this situation than the one they had.
I really liked all the casting in Aliens and how the different marines acted with each other. Apone was solid as a rock, Hicks was cool and collected most of the time, Ferro was the skilled pilot. The were the highest ranked of the marines and it was shown by some little details. Apone died fighting while trying to hold the team together, Ferro immediatley went after her gone insteat of panicing and Hicks later on led the defense when Gorman was incapable of commanding the survivors.
Amazing , Look better than computer CGI, you can feel the realness
We must go back
Yeah the "CGI" was just a wooden model with the edges painted I think. same thing that they did on escape for NY to get the wire-frame model look.
Yes, we must go back there... But hopes for that are really low!
I saw Aliens in a theatre in 1986 and it blew my mind. It is still one of my favourite movies of all times. Every new James Cameron film is setting new benchmarks. The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, T2, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar... Even Solaris directed by Steven Soderbergh and "only" produced by James Cameron was great. Sadly Dark Fate was kind of a big disappointment.
This looks fake as hell, what's wrong with you... look at the part from 00:40
@@milaanvigraham8664 Oh, just two seconds of fakeness...wow, ¿CGI is the best then? Noup, CGI tells to your brain that the shit you're watching doesn't exists even for real. Practical effects exists for real, but only in differents scales and with differents lights, camera focusing, etc. etc. then, our brain can be easily deceived (whit good quality practical effects) on buying the realness of the movie. The whole Alien 2 movie is your proof. And Avatar is, also, your proof that CGI never makes you buy the realness of what you're watching.
@@SebaMillonario Force Awakens did CGI too. Not just practical effects. And it looked very real thank you very much. Better than this evident toy
This movie still has it all for me, fantastic atmosphere, action fucking love it!
This scene was so badass. I get goosebumps every time. It almost made me want to apply for the military someday.
I loved watching this movie at 16, when I wanted to be an astronaut. Watching it now makes me feel I really should've applied for the Air Force at 21.
Worst mistake a person could make is the enlist in the US military based on a movie.
@@TheTallMan50 lol
@@TheTallMan50 I almost applied for the RAAF based off of Top Gun.
When she says "wheres the Beacon" thats so realistic. She knew it should be visible but the fog was too thick the little details really sell it
Remember how this lady pilot did not hesitate to pull her gun when she saw alien. She was cool definitely.
That was my crush back in the day. I had a thing for those Jewish girls. 😁
one of the best movies ever made. I love the corps. R.I.P Bill
What I usually say when taking a dump....'we're in the pipe, five by five!'
And when you wipe . . . "Coming around for a seven zero niner".
@@jackgrimaldi8685 when you miss the wipe : "where's the damn beacon?"
@Maxwell Smart some object as large as the dwarf planet ceres passed through uranus
The actress playing Cpl. Ferro , Colette Hiller, made the most out of the very limited face time she had in the film. From clenching her hands just prior to making the drop to the 'We're in the pipe, 5x5' to seeing the alien enter the cockpit and not hesitating to reach for her firearm she made a huge impression.
Were on the express elevator 2 hell, goin down/ On my mark..54321...Mark! Woooohooo! Great stuff, best movie best part decected for our viewing pleasure, thanx.👍
MatC1978 it is I use that as an intro when ever I have a teenagers gig or edm
"In the pipe...Five by five." Coolest line ever...
Star Craft!
@@romankonstantinovich2584 exactly, weird no one else mentioned that!
I love the way the drop ship falls from the U.S.S. Sulaco. It's so dramatic! At the same time, it bugs the hell out of me. If the Sulaco were in orbit (which it would need to be if it were so close to LV-426) then the drop ship is also in orbit. So as soon as she says "mark" and the clamps are released, the drop-ship should appear to float in the launch bay. There's no way it could "fall" towards the planet unless propelled downwards, which basic orbital mechanics 101 tells you would result in the drop ship moving into an eccentric orbit which would actually move it further from the planet's surface. Instead, the drop ship would need to perform a retrograde burn which would reduce its orbital radius until the periapsis intersected with the surface of LV-426. Thumbs up if this is the nerdiest comment you've read!
Ive thought about that for years but I put it down to the Sulacco being in a forced orbit made possible by some kind of artificial gravity system that isnt explained. Based on how the interior of Sulacco has about 1 G of apparent gravity you kind of assume they can generate their own. Once the drop ship leaves whatever field is keeping Sulacco in its orbit the drop ship falls under gravity toward the planet.
Its kind of a fudge for Cameron but he obviously wanted the drop to be a shock for Ripley , Burke and Gorman as well as a chance to show how casual the Marines were about it
Tell me about your astrophysics degrees.
But it looks so badass, it's insane !
@@rochskier Haha I learned how to orbit and deorbit the shuttle in a simulator called Orbiter. Fascinated as I’m an aviation geek and private pilot. But no astrophysics degrees. But I’m not sure Scott Manley has any either and nobody would argue with him!
I love it when you talk nerdy. 😎
I love the detail of her hand fixing twice before touching the button.
When they opened up the drop bay doors, and you're looking down on the upper atmosphere...oooh.
Amen.
Really lovely touch.
Cameron’s eye for the small, brief subtle stuff always impresses the shit out of me.
It’s the cement between his world-building blocks.
I was 11 or 12 years old when I saw this movie for the first time on VHS back in the late 80s with my buddy, who was my best friend at the time. It was awsome!
This looks so crisp, it’s almost as if it was shot yesterday
If im ever on an airline and it starts shaking violently, HER voice is what I want to hear..."we're in for some 'chop', " nonchalantly...
Ha ha! "Ladies and gentlemen, we've picked up some hull ionization so I'm going to keep the seatbelt lights sign on."
Never understood how the drop ship falls out of the starship that’s in orbit, but still a great movie! 👍
Exactly. Same as that "Gravity" joke of a movie - let go of the orbiting station and somehow you drop like a stone...
When I was a kid, I wish I have that plane modeling.
I loved so much of the engineering of vehicles and equipment in this movie. The drop ship and the APC it carried were all brilliant in their efficiency of space and how they fit together. It wasn't big or flashy but a fine example of maximization of minimal space.
The only complaint I have about the whole scene is the moment the drop ship launches and the it accelerates away to a lower orbit. You actually should spin the craft 180 degrees, hard burn and drop from orbit.
@@glenchapman3899
That’s always bothered me a little bit too. Unless it was ejected from the main ship with some momentum.
35 years and still noone can create this level of Sci-fi?! What a tragic.
its past 34 years and its rocks
Is it really!! 👉🇬🇧👈
On my mark. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Mark! (Why do the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end when she says that)?
Shame she died early on in the movie. She would have been a great character if she’d survived by catapulting to safety during the Alien attack 😊
datathunderstorm I've always liked the way she flexes her fingers before taking the controls.
I think it’s why Aliens is such a great movie....there were SO many great characters, brief and all as their screen time may have been, that you were gutted to see them all being wiped out, and reasonably casually too, given the bad-assery they arrived with.
I was 9 when this came out. Had a major crush on all the women in this movie each had special qualities about themselves. Ferro was for some reason extremely freaking sexy with the helmet and mirrored sunglasses, and just the way she delivered her lines so deadpan. I love this scene with the military marching cadence score in the background.
@@trueobservers
I think the same way about her as you.
i still remember about this moment, excepting that i was 10 at the time ! Such a great movie,
We're in the pipe, five by five, one of the best bits of dialogue ever 😉👍
I love the sound design from 0:21 to 0:31. The changes of the ship’s engine sound effects are amazing and very atmospheric. The sound design is incredible in this whole film tbh.
Not to mention that not only the sound design, but the shot itself, is gorgeous. Both ships, the light from the star and the planet look incredible, and the camera placement/movement is just perfect. The sound effects are the cherry on the top. Perfect shot. Cameron has an amazing ability to create beautiful and memorable shots and scenes, he’s a master at that (for example, I still can’t believe how perfectly done and beautiful the entire intro of T2 is).
Cinematography and sound design in this film are really one of the best I’ve seen/heard. It simply doesn’t get much better than this.
I remember going to the theater in high school to see this. No other way to see these 80s action films but on the silver screen. Big screen TV doesn't do it justice.
Sigourney is a legend, great actor and respected for that, one of the best!
Proof that a sequel CAN be just as good as the first one if not better.... 😏
If done right
It is the James Cameron magic. Just like how T2 was awesome after T1.
@@ElBandito Unfortunately, "Way of Water" was not much of an improvement on Avatar.
Always love Hudson's line at 0:09. We're on an express elevator to Hell. Going down!
"Where's the damn beacon?" - That line already had me worried, before anything scary even happens
"Oh, I see it" *eerie music creeps in* 😨😰
One of my favorite cinema memories
"Someone wake up Hicks! LOVE IT!
I love the way the missile pylons deploy on the UD 4 Dropship.
👽💚
0:25 ten years after, the intro of videogame “Quake II”
This movie is timeless!
That ship does a good job of navigating through the atmosphere with no control surfaces (wings).
State of the Badass Art!
Just next level effects work going on in this scene. Check out those pixelated monitors and how the lights from the colony miniatures streak out on them. I still can't figure out how Cameron made this flick for $17m in '86!!!
Corporal Ferro flew the shit out of that aircraft!
Love u Ferro 😍
do you wear sunglasses in a planete when it's totally dark at night ?...in this squadron they do XD.
This scene really shows how the colony complex was HUGE. It makes you wonder how much of it was already infested by the xenomorphs.
I love watching this scene and riding the drop with these guys. Love this movie.
Top 5 best sci-fi films ever. THIS is what the streaming services should base a series on... the survival (non-survival) of the colonists, and perhaps a team (that also failed) that came in prior to this one with Ripley - which would be a nice throwback to when Ripley says you'll be safe with the marines to Newt, and she replies, it won't matter.
To me, Aliens is the best sci-fi ever made
Does anyone else think the pilot has a lady gaga look going on? Btw I know this film is way before lady gaga.
I have no opinion on the matter.
lol she does
I lived and studied in Belarus with a girl who was a dead ringer for the pilot. Her name was Lena Tomaschevich! Spitting image! Wonder where she is now?
Anyone else think Lady Gaga has a Cpl. Ferro thing going on?
More like Gaga is the copycat of Col Ferro look.
I saw this on opening day in Pensacola, FL. When the drop ship opened it’s weapons and bared it’s teeth the whole theater was impressed. Still, the fact that no one was outside, that nobody came out on the rooftops to wave at them should have made somebody suspicious. When that didn’t happen I whispered to my date: “They’re too late.”
And then you bit her on the neck?
Then you leave your ship's door wide open with no guard in an unknown situation..............
I saw this movie in movie theatre , this drop scene itself was scary - and the aliens hadn't even shown up yet , JC is just nuts
What a massive masterpiece this movie is, it can’t be said enough.
We're in for some chop.
"Where's the damn beacon?"
Well, its night outside, its raining, and you have fucking sunglasses on.
So did Jake and Elwood!
And they don't have windscreen wipers to.
But she still saw it before any of the rest of us. 👍
2 minutes of one movie still most incredible and exciting than all transformers and avengers movies combined.
40 years on this still looks and sounds impressive ❤
Where’s the damn beacon?
There's a big contrast to the lv426 approach in Alien compared to this one. In Alien, it's very realistic while also being vast and fantastic. In this one it's kinda cartoony with the goofy characters and military drum track in the background, yet the rising tension somehow saves it and keeps it from getting too corny.
I really loved that filum when it came out all those years ago. Ripley was tough AF.
I loved this movie when i was a young teen scared thew crap out of me still watch it from time to time