From u.k. Saw this with my wife to be on release, back in the day. Even now we still say it’s the number one sci fi film! Predator one comes almost level, but nothing beats ALIEN the tension in the cinema was unreal, fantastic!
Those documentaries are pure gold, so many unseen footage and alternate takes! You can also see the beautiful natural colour of the raw film footage - they add those high contrast waxy filter with each re-release (especially with the Blu-ray and 4K versions) now it’s so far way from how it originally looks.
A brilliant film with no CGI , the acting matches the plot and the story and the direction. Still fresh after so many years and still so tense. A perfect storm of perfection.
Great behind the scenes peek at the dynamics involved in creating this cinematic masterpiece.Such a classic inimitable movie,so shockingly new in 1979 and still kicks a punch.
Ian Holm as anyone (or any-thing, in this case) was always a "master-stroke". He was just phenomenal in 'Dance with a Stranger'. A superb King Lear too.
This was the "King Kong" of scifi films in my estimation, the greatest of all time. I remember first seeing it at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood when it debuted, and during the chest bursting scene I remember everyone screaming so loud that it make me nearly start screaming! That's the thing I miss the most about watching a movie in a actual theater, that combined excitement that makes you all feel part of the journey.
I still remember seeing this at the cinema . I don't think you can replicate that feeling, even in a good home theater, because in a cinema you are more exposed - no cushy sofa, no big pillow or a familiar ottoman to prop up your feet. In a dark movie house you are just a little more "vulnerable" to a face-hugger jumping out from anywhere.
I had the pleasure to met Veronica at a playhouse in Hollywood she was nice and let me take a photo with her. Also met Tom on a movie when i was an extra I told him he was great in Alien he said thanks and shook my hand. I remember we saw Alien the first night it premiere. We saw it in Hollywood at the Egyptian theater. Great memories.
I originally went to see _Alien_ in 1979 knowing only a little about it beforehand. A few stills and the teaser trailer, which gave away nothing. Then comes scary scene 1 and scarier scene 2. After that, the audience was thinking "We're only halfway in - what worse is coming?" Ironically, nothing as scary happened later, but we were all waiting for it. What a great tension builder! It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Great story, cast, photography, sound, mood, soundtrack. The only flaw: interplanetary travel and all you have is a flamethrower?
I don’t remember the first time I saw the original Alien, but I do remember the second time. I had praised it to my wife, who hadn’t yet seen it. I told her it was scary and she said she was okay with that, so I took her to the theater. We sat alone in the balcony, and as the title began to form across the screen, one agonizingly slow bar at a time, a feeling of absolute dread gripped me and I thought, “What on earth possessed you to watch this a second time, let alone bring someone to it?” And here’s the thing: it was NO LESS SCARY. Oh, and my wife was, in fact, perfectly okay with that. It goes down in my very short roster of “perfect” films.
And regarding Sigourney Weaver, don’t forget the “possession” scene in the 1984 Ghostbusters: seductive and chilling at the same time, with her “I want you inside me,” and Murray’s perfect response “I think there’s already enough people inside you” (approximately; couldn’t find the clip).
There are 2-disc dvd special editions for the first 3 films, a lot of this great stuff is on the bonus discs, hours of footage. A lot of it didn’t make it on the Blurays
1979-80 N. Miami Beach, mid-week at an afternoon matinee. When the movie ended, the audience stood up cheering and applauding. Afternoon matinee people! THE MOST THRILLING MOVIE I HAD EVER SEEN I was totally enthralled, the mystery of the crashed ship, the huge space traveler in the chair.....all of it. I got startled on cue, held my breath on cue......I was putty in the hands of Ridley's superior direction. Star Wars was out at the same time and, I believe, saw it at the same theater a few weeks later. There was no comparison in my book. I didn't care for it very much and thought it was made for the teenage audience.
I disagree with Tom Skerritt when he says "It was about the alien". Large chunks of this movie feature beautifully written, performed and convincing interactions between human beings. The tensions and disagreements among the crew members, the white-collar versus blue-collar dynamic, the way people react to extremely stressful situations - the xenomorph is the catalyst that drives the human drama. Of course the alien concept and design are terrific, but they're not generally front-and-centre in the film. I do think that Dallas is the least interesting character, though - too much the standard Hollywood hero, and perhaps mostly there to provide the shock of what happens to him so early in the plot.
OK at 8:12 you can see Ripley with the bloody nose; in the movie there is never any reason for her to have a bloody nose; Ash had not touched her at all yet...this has always bothered me...can anybody help me out here?
There was a scene that was never filmed that would have been between Dallas' death and her confrontation with Ash, and you can read it in Alan Dean Foster's novelization. Ripley is caught on a decompressed lower deck after a failed attempt to vent the alien out of an airlock. One of its arms gets crushed in the outer airlock door and the acid eats through the bulkhead. Ripley passes out from the decompression trying to rescue Parker, hence the nosebleed. They didn't have the technology to film some of the more elaborate scenes Ridley wanted, and the movie is no doubt better for it.
@@NuntiusLegis People are viley jealous and attempting to ruin the lives of obviously more talented and kind-hearted people or aiming to gain advantages over them by constantly gaslighting and trying to wear them down ...
I can't get over it! Sigourney Weaver was yelled at by Ridley Scott. When it was meant for John Hurt. Scott apologized to her. I get making movies is hard work. The alien is the star of the show. I would love to set one lose on the county I live in. Good old Fairfax County.
@@farerse when Ripley is turning Ash on, his fake head wobbles, she adjusts it, and then there's an edit with Ian Holm's head sticking through the table. They could have easily made an edit with Ripley moving in front of the camera when repositioning Ash's head. she moves out of the way and it's Ian.
I agree the transition is a little clunky. From my perspective, what is wrong is Ash's head sticking through a hole in the table is not very convincing. It doesn't match the prop head and I can think of a few techniques that would have helped carry the illusion of a severed head sitting on a table. The flap of torn skin around the base of his neck should not be plastered flat to the table. This is unnatural looking and it shows something is clearly being hidden. It should be lifted slightly off the table in the way it appears just before the jump cut without showing the actors real neck sticking through a hole. The actors neck needed to be extended as far as possible through the hole so as to confuse the viewer to the position of the actors shoulders just below the table. This would have helped the illusion of his head no longer being attached to the body. As it is, Ash's head looks kind of squashed down on the table while the prop head just moments before his almost hovering above the table.
@@Lethgar_Smith What bothered me more is that, as the head gets torched, it very obviously does not have the inner workings an actual android head would have... that and the fact that the alien baby skateboards out of the refectory...
Now I'm interested , I've never heard the film critiqued on these points. How would adding light have improved the film? *Most of the smoke appeared as the Nostromo was entering its self - destruct phase. Are those the scenes you think had too much smoke? *Who was the basket case , Sigourney Weaver or Ellen Ripley? If you mean the actress herself , how did her emotional state impact her performance?
i remember seeing a version of alien 79 where ripley was on the narcissist and when she locked herself in the spacesuit compartment she weed herself saw it on tv in the 80s
There was a scene similar to the one you describe in 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', where Candy Clark is so scared after seeing David Bowie in his alien form that she pees her pants. Perhaps this explains it?
Truly a 10/10 masterpiece. Some 45 years on and the experience of watching it in 2024 still feels like it was shot yesterday!
My sentiments exactly!! This film holds up so well that it blows my mind.
45 years after its first release and it remains one of the best sci fi movies ever. These behind the scenes peeks are superb. 👌
From u.k.
Saw this with my wife to be on release, back in the day.
Even now we still say it’s the number one sci fi film!
Predator one comes almost level, but nothing beats
ALIEN the tension in the cinema was unreal, fantastic!
Those documentaries are pure gold, so many unseen footage and alternate takes! You can also see the beautiful natural colour of the raw film footage - they add those high contrast waxy filter with each re-release (especially with the Blu-ray and 4K versions) now it’s so far way from how it originally looks.
Yep so true. I wish they'd just leave them alone. I'm fine with the original grain,etc.
I still have the original 1999 dvd release, looks very different
A brilliant film with no CGI , the acting matches the plot and the story and the direction. Still fresh after so many years and still so tense. A perfect storm of perfection.
Mr. Giger's creation was one for the ages. The coolest looking "thing" ever put on the silver screen.
Greatest sci-fi ever made
Brilliant, just brilliant, and made in 1979.
Nothing since, IMO, has ever surpassed it.
This masterpiece plays like a feverish dream. Every behind the scenes moment is like to gold to its fans.
Funny how the crew felt Sigourney wasn’t up to the challenge of playing Ripley. I can’t imagine the Aliens franchise without her.
She had this awkward habit of looking at the camera.
She wasn't up to it, she would break out crying for any little thing. Total basket case!
Toxic machismo at play there I have the impression. Just imagine that bizzarre aggressive beaviour of Scott Weaver is reporting here.
@@RoaryUK So true! Ridley had to constantly remind her not to look at the camera...
@@michaeljordan5639 poor girl; what a difficult role to have to play in your very first movie!
Great behind the scenes peek at the dynamics involved in creating this cinematic masterpiece.Such a classic inimitable movie,so shockingly new in 1979 and still kicks a punch.
Almost 40 plus years on and I'm still obsessed with the most brilliant sci-fi/horror film ever made.
This coastal Alabama gal is in heaven,all weekend the FX channel is showing an "Alien" marathon of all movies 🎬 so far! Simply spectacular!
Alien and Blade Runner…..what a visual visionary🎉
Ian Holm as Ash was the second master stroke of this movie.
Ian Holm as anyone (or any-thing, in this case) was always a "master-stroke". He was just phenomenal in 'Dance with a Stranger'. A superb King Lear too.
Incredible horror sci fi that set a very high mark considering it's small budget Vs other much bigger films of the time
This was the "King Kong" of scifi films in my estimation, the greatest of all time. I remember first seeing it at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood when it debuted, and during the chest bursting scene I remember everyone screaming so loud that it make me nearly start screaming! That's the thing I miss the most about watching a movie in a actual theater, that combined excitement that makes you all feel part of the journey.
Sigourney / Ripley , to this day, is the best heroine EVER in a movie. so believable. so inspiring. SO REAL.
Sarah Connor was pretty damn good too
not
You have my sympathies. Best line of the movie.
I still remember seeing this at the cinema . I don't think you can replicate that feeling, even in a good home theater, because in a cinema you are more exposed - no cushy sofa, no big pillow or a familiar ottoman to prop up your feet. In a dark movie house you are just a little more "vulnerable" to a face-hugger jumping out from anywhere.
My all time favorite thriller movie! I just saw Ridley Scott’s Hollywood star in Hollywood this week😊
I had the pleasure to met Veronica at a playhouse in Hollywood she was nice and let me take a photo with her. Also met Tom on a movie when i was an extra I told him he was great in Alien he said thanks and shook my hand. I remember we saw Alien the first night it premiere. We saw it in Hollywood at the Egyptian theater. Great memories.
I like the Aliens movie more, but this is film art and a gigantic milestone in cinema.
Fell for Sigourney Weaver big time watching this movie….tremendous actor and a beautiful woman
you have my sympathy :-)
2:06 imagine having served or even seeing the cast of Alien at a pub? Lol. That's a Family Guy skit or something.
Absolute badasses😂❤👽
On of the best films in history.
I originally went to see _Alien_ in 1979 knowing only a little about it beforehand. A few stills and the teaser trailer, which gave away nothing. Then comes scary scene 1 and scarier scene 2. After that, the audience was thinking "We're only halfway in - what worse is coming?" Ironically, nothing as scary happened later, but we were all waiting for it. What a great tension builder! It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Great story, cast, photography, sound, mood, soundtrack. The only flaw: interplanetary travel and all you have is a flamethrower?
Well....they are essentially Truckers in Space. Why would anyone issue Truckers with weapons?
When two geniuses, Giger and Ridley Scott, decide to collaborate that gives a masterpiece : Alien.
One of a kind wasn't it. An exceptional piece of film making that will never be surpassed.
You care about this crew as the film progresses.
I love Ripley in the alien movie's because she has to kick ..s when it comes to fighting against those horrible monsters.
I don’t remember the first time I saw the original Alien, but I do remember the second time. I had praised it to my wife, who hadn’t yet seen it. I told her it was scary and she said she was okay with that, so I took her to the theater. We sat alone in the balcony, and as the title began to form across the screen, one agonizingly slow bar at a time, a feeling of absolute dread gripped me and I thought, “What on earth possessed you to watch this a second time, let alone bring someone to it?” And here’s the thing: it was NO LESS SCARY. Oh, and my wife was, in fact, perfectly okay with that. It goes down in my very short roster of “perfect” films.
And regarding Sigourney Weaver, don’t forget the “possession” scene in the 1984 Ghostbusters: seductive and chilling at the same time, with her “I want you inside me,” and Murray’s perfect response “I think there’s already enough people inside you” (approximately; couldn’t find the clip).
There are 2-disc dvd special editions for the first 3 films, a lot of this great stuff is on the bonus discs, hours of footage. A lot of it didn’t make it on the Blurays
1979-80 N. Miami Beach, mid-week at an afternoon matinee. When the movie ended, the audience stood up cheering and applauding. Afternoon matinee people!
THE MOST THRILLING MOVIE I HAD EVER SEEN
I was totally enthralled, the mystery of the crashed ship, the huge space traveler in the chair.....all of it. I got startled on cue, held my breath on cue......I was putty in the hands of Ridley's superior direction.
Star Wars was out at the same time and, I believe, saw it at the same theater a few weeks later.
There was no comparison in my book. I didn't care for it very much and thought it was made for the teenage audience.
Great!!!!!!!!
5:07 she’s wearing an iWatch! 😅
I was more afraid of the cyborg than the alien 😂
All aliens and cyborgs watching the movie are more afraid of Ripley.
What a great study in actor interaction and character development.
Best alian movie
cool
I disagree with Tom Skerritt when he says "It was about the alien".
Large chunks of this movie feature beautifully written, performed and convincing interactions between human beings. The tensions and disagreements among the crew members, the white-collar versus blue-collar dynamic, the way people react to extremely stressful situations - the xenomorph is the catalyst that drives the human drama. Of course the alien concept and design are terrific, but they're not generally front-and-centre in the film.
I do think that Dallas is the least interesting character, though - too much the standard Hollywood hero, and perhaps mostly there to provide the shock of what happens to him so early in the plot.
Sigourney made the film. I totally believed in her role playing. She was rivetting to watch.
OK at 8:12 you can see Ripley with the bloody nose; in the movie there is never any reason for her to have a bloody nose; Ash had not touched her at all yet...this has always bothered me...can anybody help me out here?
There was a scene that was never filmed that would have been between Dallas' death and her confrontation with Ash, and you can read it in Alan Dean Foster's novelization. Ripley is caught on a decompressed lower deck after a failed attempt to vent the alien out of an airlock. One of its arms gets crushed in the outer airlock door and the acid eats through the bulkhead. Ripley passes out from the decompression trying to rescue Parker, hence the nosebleed.
They didn't have the technology to film some of the more elaborate scenes Ridley wanted, and the movie is no doubt better for it.
Ripley
Ridley
Just got it.
Sigourney seemd to be a soo sensitive girl, lovely!
No wonder with the mean treatment she received from the director and co actors.
@@NuntiusLegis People are viley jealous and attempting to ruin the lives of obviously more talented and kind-hearted people or aiming to gain advantages over them by constantly gaslighting and trying to wear them down ...
And then Ridley had to ruin it with Prometheus.
It was ruined by Alien 3.
9:22 lol
I can't get over it! Sigourney Weaver was yelled at by Ridley Scott. When it was meant for John Hurt. Scott apologized to her. I get making movies is hard work. The alien is the star of the show. I would love to set one lose on the county I live in. Good old Fairfax County.
What a bizzare asshole move by Scott.
Is the standard for modern day science fiction.
👽 🥚 🐣 🦀 👨 👩 👩👧
Still wanna ask Ridley Scott why he included that jarring jump cut of Ash’s head in the film. It so didn’t and doesn’t work..
what jump cut?
@@farerse when Ripley is turning Ash on, his fake head wobbles, she adjusts it, and then there's an edit with Ian Holm's head sticking through the table. They could have easily made an edit with Ripley moving in front of the camera when repositioning Ash's head. she moves out of the way and it's Ian.
@@TheRealNormanBates it's the best they could do with the methods & technology at the time.
I agree the transition is a little clunky. From my perspective, what is wrong is Ash's head sticking through a hole in the table is not very convincing. It doesn't match the prop head and I can think of a few techniques that would have helped carry the illusion of a severed head sitting on a table. The flap of torn skin around the base of his neck should not be plastered flat to the table. This is unnatural looking and it shows something is clearly being hidden. It should be lifted slightly off the table in the way it appears just before the jump cut without showing the actors real neck sticking through a hole. The actors neck needed to be extended as far as possible through the hole so as to confuse the viewer to the position of the actors shoulders just below the table. This would have helped the illusion of his head no longer being attached to the body. As it is, Ash's head looks kind of squashed down on the table while the prop head just moments before his almost hovering above the table.
@@Lethgar_Smith What bothered me more is that, as the head gets torched, it very obviously does not have the inner workings an actual android head would have...
that and the fact that the alien baby skateboards out of the refectory...
Movie was filmed way to dark, with an overuse of smoke. Weaver was an emotional basket case.
Now I'm interested , I've never heard the film critiqued on these points. How would adding light have improved the film?
*Most of the smoke appeared as the Nostromo was entering its self - destruct phase. Are those the scenes you think had too much smoke?
*Who was the basket case , Sigourney Weaver or Ellen Ripley? If you mean the actress herself , how did her emotional state impact her performance?
4:12 I mastrubate thousand times as teenager to this scene
i remember seeing a version of alien 79 where ripley was on the narcissist and when she locked herself in the spacesuit compartment she weed herself saw it on tv in the 80s
There was a scene similar to the one you describe in 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', where Candy Clark is so scared after seeing David Bowie in his alien form that she pees her pants. Perhaps this explains it?
Sounds more like a weird dream you had. 😉