Rank your favorite ALIEN.

[a-dev]

A great thing about the first film, dunno if it was deliberate, is that in many scenes it seems like its unscripted and all improv by the actors. Such as the breakfast/dinner scenes - its like Ridley just got them to talk amongst themselves and he filmed it. You have people talking over eachother, some louder than others - just like real conversation sounds in a crowded room. Not like where actor A says his line, then actor C comes in with his line and then actor B takes his turn. It all came across very natural and reinforced the feeling that these are normal people albeit space-miners.

I suppose that got lost to varying degrees in the sequels, particularly by the time you get to Alien Resurrection with its comic book characters. Aliens probably started the trend towards crowdpleasing one-liners but it also had a lot of more normal but good dialogue too to balance out.

 

[prefused]

A great thing about the first film, dunno if it was deliberate, is that in many scenes it seems like its unscripted and all improv by the actors. Such as the breakfast/dinner scenes - its like Ridley just got them to talk amongst themselves and he filmed it. You have people talking over eachother, some louder than others - just like real conversation sounds in a crowded room. Not like where actor A says his line, then actor C comes in with his line and then actor B takes his turn. It all came across very natural and reinforced the feeling that these are normal people albeit space-miners.

I suppose that got lost to varying degrees in the sequels, particularly by the time you get to Alien Resurrection with its comic book characters. Aliens probably started the trend towards crowdpleasing one-liners but it also had a lot of more normal but good dialogue too to balance out.

you got it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/trivia?tr0744528

much of the dialogue was ad-libbed. and the scene where Lambert slapped Ripley was a real slap and Sigourney was genuinely shocked by it. not many directors can make scifi movies like that.

 

[Hex]

IMDB is a great resource but I'm not so sure about the accuracy of all the info.

 

[prefused]

IMDB is a great resource but I'm not so sure about the accuracy of all the info.

believe what you want, it's in the dvd commentary too.

 

[Reaktwon]

They couldn't have picked a better cast for Alien.

 

[prefused]

They couldn't have picked a better cast for Alien.

speaking of which, John Hurt almost didn't get the role and Veronica Cartwright was originally gonna be Ripley. Ash wasn't even in the original script. would've been a very different movie.

 

[furystorm]

As I remember Hurt was called up when another actor who had already shot a few scenes became ill. Right? I think Cartwright and Weaver's characters were somewhat interchangeable and the script was open to keep the actors guessing and truly acting as if the film was reality. Could have gone either way with those two, and there was supposed to be some sexual tension, like a triangle with both of them and Dallas too. I know some scenes never made it through Scott's process involving Ripley and Dallas.

Funny, I actually have Alien playing in the bluray player now. Probably will have the first three blus playing on a loop for at least a month...

 

[prefused]

As I remember Hurt was called up when another actor who had already shot a few scenes became ill. Right?

yeah, i can't remember his name, but that's who the HT Kane figure sculpt is supposed to be. i'm still gonna pretend it's Freddie Mercury though.

 

[furystorm]

Jon Finch: (I ripped this from wikipedia)

Hurt was Scott's first choice for the role but was contracted on a film in South Africa during Alien's filming dates, so Jon Finch was cast as Kane instead. However, Finch became ill during the first day of shooting and was diagnosed with severe diabetes, which had also exacerbated a case of bronchitis. By this point, Hurt was in London, his South African project having fallen through, and he quickly replaced Finch. His performance earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

 

[goneja]

Aliens...

Don't get me wrong, Alien is classic but I don't like the weird skull-eyes-inside-the-crown thing. I like the blue coloring of the aliens warrior alien and the ridges i like as a "more mature alien" thing or whatever.

The blu-ray really shows that blue off on the queen especially

 

[Hex]

The Blu-ray looks fantastic on a Goldmund, that's for sure.

 

[Reaktwon]

^The Blueray is good, but I like the slightly fuzzy look of the original as it was in 79.

 

[Reaktwon]

Just watched the Bluray of A3 and it sounds and looks amazing!

 

[furystorm]

I'm doing that tonight myself, glad to hear it looks and sounds impressive. I know they brought back some actors to rerecord the dialog for the reinserted footage, and I'm really looking forward to the viewing, because I have held off for years on watching the pseudo director's cut version of Alien3, waiting on what I have no idea, until the blurays were announced, which finally gave me an excuse to keep on holding out. This is likely my last bit of undiscovered viewing with regard to the original films, and I don't care much for A:R, so...

Looking forward to it.

 

[furystorm]

I'm currently only about one third of the way through the film, A3. But I had to come up and put a few thoughts down because it is simply amazing me this evening. And I have not even opened the wine yet.

This director's cut version is leaps and bounds better than the released studio version. I really can not believe that I have waited this long to view the film this way. If I knew before what I know now about how much more I prefer the film, there is no way I would have waited for the blurays. And I call myself an Alien fan. Wow. This is a great film. Of course, I hope the changes keep me going through the next two acts.

I will say that currently, this version makes A3 my second favorite Alien film, nocking Aliens out of that spot. I like it that much.


More later...

 

[Reaktwon]

It absolutely rocks! Glad you are enjoying it so much, I couldn't believe it either the first time I saw it.

 

[a-dev]

Jumping in with some positivity I agree, the alien 3 special edition is excellent. Pity Resurrection can't be redeemed by anything.

 

[furystorm]

Final critique:

The (new to me) Alien3 director's cut is likely the only way I will view this film for the forseable future. It has officially become my second favorite Alien film.

Astounding! Bravo David Fincher.

 

[Hex]

I love that version too, I can't watch the original version anymore. I like the fact that the alien emerged from an ox rather than a dog.

 

[Hex]

About to watch A3 on blu-ray right now! These are the facts!