I wish we'd gotten to see the inner workings of the towed payload section. The thought of such a vast structure lends itself to the possibility of some awesome visuals.
The PC game Alien Isolation takes place inside not this structure, but one of the same type. I can highly recommend it, it is a very good homage to the movies.
You talking about the standard bluray or 4k edition? I have the 4k bluray edition and the picture and sound are really clear. I compared it to the Alien DVD which I also own (was my very first DVD when the format came out)
I took a hundred mile trip to go see the movie the first year I was on my own. It freaked me out. The next day at work I was shoveling coal in a dark room underneath the mental health hospital where I worked hearing noises behind me all the time. To this day it was one of the scariest work experience I've ever had.
I had the same experience watching _Jaws_ -- _after_ most everyone else had already seen it. I had to sit on my hands to keep from throwing up my arms in fear, while others in the theater pointed and giggled at my plight. Strictly for therapeutic reasons, you understand, I recommend seeing the movie _Session 9_ from 2001....
What I find ironic about the Nostromo being kit-bashed from Star Wars model kits is that those very same Star Wars designs were partly also kit-bashed from other model kits.
Yeah that's a cool way to sign off. Positive words and positive thoughts. It almost seems out of place, because there's not enuff people doing it. Be like water. Stay strong. You're never out of the fight. Somebody loves you...
There's something missing from your list - The Nustromo could dock inside the oil refinery it was pulling. In the film, while patching up the ship they mention "dry docking". This is what the crew is referring to, landing in the refinerys hanger bay to fix the ship without the need of environmental suits - shame it's never shown in the film!
Damn I just finished watching it and was curious what Parker meant by that. Makes sense why we didn’t hear more about it though because no one wanted to do it. And the characters would all know what that means so there’s no reason to explain it to the audience.
@GrizbyK72 Exactly, more natural conversation than having to slip an exploration into the mix. Logically, if their parked inside, then their not outside towing. That's why they're all a bit annoyed of the prospect of dry docking. Spending weeks, maybe month sitting on their butts doing nothing, while they fix the ship. Also means more time before pay day! I suspect Ripley would be the first to walk up to Parker and say "hay, I feel like a fifth wheel around here, is there anything I can do?" 😁
This video appeased my bizzare asperger laden brain, well researched and truly fascinating in depth break down of the ship. Thanks I enjoyed this greatly.
This video is like a B-day gift! Thanks a lot. I adore everything about this franchise. Just hope they will make more interesting Alien films, video games, novels, TV shows in the future
If you want a really excellent video game based in that universe, that captures the feel of ALIEN, look no further than Alien Isolation (PS3/PS4/XBOX360). First person survival horror taking place about 15 years after the original film... featuring Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley's daughter mentioned in the movie tie-in novel, the Director's Cut of the film (and before that, in the extended cut television premiere on CBS back in 1988/89). The set pieces and art design of this game, not to mention it's story, made this game feel like a missing ALIEN sequel film that could have come out in 1981. This is the only video game to give me repeated heebee jeebies. (Well, there was The Exorcist: Legion VR.... but I have not had the courage to pick that game up since I beat the first chapter...LOL!).
Since 1984, i have watched ALIEN (1979) well over 200+ times. I have the film and it's dialog committed to my memory. I had no idea about the meaning of the auto destruct control panel. That is such an intriguing detail to me. I WISH i could see what a brand new, cruiser Nostromo spacecraft would look like. All clean/prestine. Imagine.
As I said a couple months ago. Seldom does anything bring me as much joy in life as the random Whatculture videos that pertain to one of my favorite movies of all time! Alien nerds unite!
Another Conrad connection: The Narcissus, from Conrad's novel which has, in it's title, a word that was perfectly acceptable on publication, but now, is quite rightly seen as objectionable, and completely unacceptable. If you look up a list of books written by Joseph Conrad, you'll find it - but I'm sure as hell not going to write it here. More pleasantly, some of the instrument consoles seen on the Nostromo set, can also be seen in 'The Empire Strikes Back', on Vader's Star Destroyer bridge, and in the Cloud City access corridor where Vader destroys the window, almost killing Luke Skywalker. Additionally, every switch on the Nostromo bridge set was wired up to something, and worked lights, CRT screens, etc.
Another tidbit about the self-destruct sequence is that the instructions to scuttle the ship were in English, but the instructions to stop Auto-Destruct were in French, and (when translated to English) were the exact same instructions to destroy the spacecraft.
@@nasanodia736 , I just think it was interesting. I'm only suggesting that it is a storyline easter egg, not the reason she couldn't stop the self-destruct.
No, they weren't. Some parts are different or absent. Example : "Verify DETONATION ACTIVATED. Repeat for HOLDS 2 ,3 & 4" . Translation (?) : "Verifiez SECURITE du SOMMET NUCLEAR. Verifiez la DETONATION ACTIVE". Or "Activate PUSH BUTTON SWITCH. Replace NUCLEAR HEAD. Verify SECURED". Translation (?) "Verifiez SECURITE du SOMMET NUCLEAR". Come on...
The scene where Brett confronts the Alien and it takes him up into the air shaft: Jones the cat snarls and reacts very badly to the appearance of the Alien. The production crew achieved this by pulling the cloth cover off a cage, off-camera, that contained a large German Shepherd. Clever, eh?
There's an extended with the xenomorph killing Brett more sadistically - making the monster more demonic than animal. In the DVD commentaries, Scott stated the German shepherd was exposed by raising a wooden board in front of it cage - thus scaring the cat
The best science fiction movies usually have a very rich backstory. Star Wars, being a huge influence on the film's industrial vibe, made war time retro with the fittings of old actual military parts, was duplicated by George Lucas' choice of model parts, quite often using military ship model parts to create the exterior of the Imperial Star Destroyers and other models.
If you haven’t watched John Carpenter’s Dark Star, you really should. Dan O’Bannon’s original “truckers in space” movie was both a laugh riot and the germ from which much of Alien was grown.
@@irina1296 Never said it inspired, but O’Bannon brings a lot of ideas with him. An alien in the bulkheads, “truckers in space,” a crew with a mission none of them really understand, undone - largely - by a piece of technology.
This is one of the few movies I ever watched that gave me a nightmare as an adult. I was really into the movie when I saw it, and the characters, directing, cinematography, music, sets...just everything was so spot on it immersed the audience. I've watched it since and have to admit this movie is densely packed with details and nuances that you can only pickup by watching over and over. Alien is a masterpiece, also featuring some of the scifi fx for sound and controls in hommage from O'Bannon's first movie with John Carpenter, Dark Star. Geiger's alien was truly "alien" and I think that lent credence to Ash's response to Ripley about its purity. There are numerous plot lines intertwined that is based on history, experiences and the mission that lead us to the point that starts the movie. I think this kind of story is what made the film so credible to the viewer...it was an information overload, trying to take in what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen all at the same time.
I think the Conrad novel being adapted into Apocalypse Now released same year as Alien was a unique coincidence. Both films, employees travel "up river" into a strange land and encounter the true primal horror of life. I would say the Space Jockey was an ill fated Colonel Kurtz, although obviously Ripleys final showdown with the xeno mirrors Willard and Kurtz, except Captain Willard becomes the "alien" putting on face paint and emerging from the water.
2TB of RAM is pretty common on higher end servers today. About 15 or more years ago, I worked on a really high end Unix mainframe (the p690 from IBM) that I eventually installed 1TB RAM into. That was big memory back then. Big$, too. That machine was over 6' tall, but that much memory is pretty common in a 1U (about 1.5-2 inches high) server today. Truly minedblowing.
The Narcissus launches from the port side of the Nostromo. There is no mention in the movie of a second shuttle on the starboard side. The behind the scenes book Alien Vault calls the starboard shuttle the Salmacis.
@@TheBaconWizard Space Marines. A guns' down to 30 rounds, 25, 20, B guns' right behind it. He should have kept the Sentry Guns full scenes in it. I like it.
Sci-Fi / Horror kinda both.. But the Sci Fi element does come first. Basically, Science in fiction. Lots and lots of Sci-Fi in this film... and hardly any in RIdley's later works Prometheus and Covenant. For some bizzare reason they take their helmets off when entering strange new worlds.. and ignore all protocols (science related)... Whereas at least in Alien it is very much present. Science fiction that evolves into horror. Best way to describe Alien. B movie suspense/horror best way to describe Prometheus B movie action/horror for Covenant. Ridley has lost his way
@@d0nKsTaH It is sci-fi in its first act, but after that it is a slasher film in space - - people trapped in a dark hose by an antagonist that is stalking them. Some versions of this film are more like horror. There's an extended scene in which Brett gets killed by the creature much more sadistically. Making the beast out to be more demonic than animalistic. There's nothing scientifically valid about the xenomorph and it's lifecycle. Prometheus was a flawed masterpiece of sci-fi - - had defects like the one you mentioned (abandoning helmets and other safety factors on a foreign world)
I was unsubscribed from WhatsCulture due to comments and attitudes in previous videos, but Jules comments at the end has garnered him a subscription. Please keep up this kindness, and leave politics out of the channel. Thanks
Ridley Scott did NOT write the story for Aliens. Yes, he had input with making it into a film, but he did not write it. The original story was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shussett (Shussett later went on to co-write the original AvP film) - and their influence was the works of H. P. Lovecraft, where the motives of the unknown creatures were always completely alien to humans. Ridley Scott would later try to get all the credit for the whole series and completely disrespected the influences for the original film by retconning the origins of the Aliens into the wet dream of a malfunctioning android which was made by humans.
The nostromo lives on in my psyche as my goto nightmare. I saw this movie as a teen after a school mate said it was like Star Wars. I’d never seen a horror movie and was totally unprepared. It’s safe to say this movie is NOTHING like Star Wars. If I’ve had the wrong thing to eat or under stress, I dream I’m on that accursed ship every time.
Jules you are an amazing person. You go from making me laugh to always making me cry at the end. Agreed, that this was one of your more clever word plays on how to treat yourself right. List of love. 💜
The movie was shot using what they call a "machinegun" formula, a long period, action, a shorter period, action, even shorter period, action, until you get action, action, action. It worked well. I took my then girlfriend to watch it and she held my hand while watching, at the end I felt like my hand was broken.
Acctually I did know a lot of this. I mean considering the title saying "You Didn't Know". 😉 Even that *Brian Johnson* who was also part of *"2001: A Space Odyssey",* as well as *"Space: 1999"* and *"The Empire Strikes Back"* effects were involved (at least during the phase were nostromo was painted yellow, then he had to go and work on the empire strikes back). Just like *Martin Bower* was involved. They were also behind all the awesome designs of the spaceships in "Space: 1999", like *The Eagle(s), Mk IX Hawk* etc. Some of my favourite sci-fi ship designs of all time. I also knew that (among many parts) one part being used was a piece of the upper part/hull (without the gun turret) of a WWII Sherman Tank plastic model kit. Plus a lot of other stuff, like the parts of Lunar landing plastic model kit, as well as that R2D2 piece used in the monitor which was acctually used in a small scene in *Blade Runner* as well, as one of the hovering cars were landing at a landing platform etc. Very funny and interesting stuff from the glory days of cool looking sci-fi spaceship designs. I think having to design them and then building them in physical form back then was part of why they looked so great. It's a big difference holding and seeing a design and building it in physical form, rather than just 3D rendering a cgi model from start to finish. You more easily get a feel for if the designs works and looks good. It's most likely why so many more modern sci-fi ships looks so generic in deisgn. Like a dime of dozen space shooter pc game spaceship designs. Or possibly that modern cgi designers lack that background in building physical models. Some manage decent, like for example in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, at least with the Colonial Fleet and Viper designs, but that was mostly due to them building and tweaking upon existing old designs. The totally new cgi Cylon ship designs were not as great. It was better in Blood and Chrome were they again just tweaked the old Cylon ships a little bit. Also I was so impressed with the restoration work done by the model shop at *"Grant McCune Design"* for the *"Prop Store"* auction. What an amazing care to detail. They even took in *John Eaves,* the legendary *Star Trek* ship designer, for the restoration. The team made such an excellent job restoring it. *Martin Bowman* sending them photos he took of the studio model back in the days and such for reference. Great that people makes these kinds of videos, so that all this info and knowledge isn't lost and can be passed on to newer generations, for those who might be interested of course. I really like watching videos like this. Keep up the good work. **thumbs up**
Great video! One question I have always had is in their world is life on other planets a common thing? Did they previously have first contact? Or is this the first encounter with an alien species?
The self-destruct panel contains two names from the Star Wars prequels: Padme and Shak Ti. Did Lucas get the names from Alien or was this just a coincidence?
@@loopymind I have no doubt it was done on purpose. I have the photo novel, however. It’s great for research, it’s even better sometimes for catching continuity errors.
I have a copy of the screen play from this movie. In Scene 19 (page 8) the Nostromo is, and I quote, "... One and one half kilometers" in length. That would be 1500 meters and not 334 meters as your video claims. So it is much bigger than your source materials claim.
I think I met Ridley Scott without even realizing it! If I had known what he looked like at the time, I probably would have freaked out. I was working as a contractor for this motion picture camera company that makes 3D cameras: Element Technica, Culver City. I made some kind of remark that he reacted to, but the gentleman was sympathetic at my comment (talking about "movies" in general). I forgot what we said. It was only years later that I recognized him in an interview. I was just reminded of him seeing him again in this documentary.
It's a bit irresponsible to build a space ship that needs a crew of at least 7 but to have an escape shuttle that can carry fewer than 4 people. You'd think lessons learned two centuries earlier from the Titanic would inform their building plan.
According to the Schematics I found in the Alien Vault (a making-of book), the other shuttle was named the Salmacis. It was still docked aboard the Nostromo with the Narcissus, but was unusable and in need of repair. Given that the shuttles are identical, it would be easy to imagine Captain Dallas hanging out in the Salmacis listening to classical music to keep the Narcissus clear in the event of a sudden emergency.
At least something more calm and usual from the universe when? Not always you need the around-life and territories as only decorations for the main character/s. It always wants to kill/infect the other main characters here :)
Me and my best Buddy from HS went to see the movie and sat in the front row. Quite an unnerving experience. To this day one of my favorite movies. It really has stood the test of time. Wouldn’t be near as good if made today!!
The button "Agaric Fly" = "Fly Agaric" - an hallucinogenic mushroom historically used to induce shaman vision quests and a component of witches flying potions. It's the red mushroom with white dotes on prevalent in fairy stories.
There was originally an 8th member of the crew called Fazio, who was the ship's security officer. He gets killed by the Alien between Kane and Brett's death. His character was dropped early on in production.
You think Lockheed Martin and Rolls Royce being around 100 years later is surprising? Look into the work of BattleTech, and you'll find that in 2700 and onwards, both Nissan and General Motors are still in operation - still making their usual stuff, but now also engines for BattleMechs =O There's no information about what Nissan is actually doing apart from that, but General Motors are described as being involved in developing the first self-sustaining fusion reactor - instrumental in the extreme amounts of energy and manufacture needed to support the constant warfare of the franchise.
My question is who in the "company" knew about the derelict alien ship and knew that a specimen would be collected? How did they know about the ship and its xenomorph aliens that were there? Its obvious that in Aliens whomever sent the Nostromo on that mission was no longer there. The colonists only found out about the derelict ship when Burke sent them there. Very cool video by the way.
Is there evidence in the movie (or elsewhere) that the company knew about that _specific_ alien ship and its life-form(s)?, or is it simply that they had a (secretive) protocol (embedded in the on-board AI-forms) that regarded any advanced/diverse extraterrestrial life and technology as (military-repurposable) "treasure above all other"? As some assume to be the case with (assumed) actual UFO capture/crash incidents here in the "real world" (I phrase it that way so as not to take sides).
#8 is pure nonsense that some comic book or novel writer made up after the fact. The only canon in Alien is the canon of the movies. The Nostromo was always a cargo hauler.
Looks like the Nostromo (space-tug) "pulled" from the front of the refinery by virtue of propellant (water plasma?) carrying/vectoring pipes presumably running within its whole length, that the Nostromo's engine nozzles each mated with. Is that right? To do that they'd presumably have to be not just dumb pipes but sustain magnetic containment fields, as in some current-day fusion reactors.
Thanks for the end message Jules - it’s a very lonely time in life for me but at least I am finally getting these two boxes of Grey Knights Terminators built and a bunch of Astartes for my personal chapter as well. I have a ton of Chaos guys ((Nurgle and Khorne though I prefer either Word Bearers undivided aesthetic over Khorne try hards any day) I have a huge pile of shame to get through though in my defense a lot (I mean a lot a lot) of these kits were bought or traded for to just get parts for a lot of conversion and kit bash work to still do - time to place those Kromlech, Spellcrow; Puppetswar and mainly Anvil Industries just to get a lot of my character and officer characters finally built)
I wish we'd gotten to see the inner workings of the towed payload section. The thought of such a vast structure lends itself to the possibility of some awesome visuals.
The PC game Alien Isolation takes place inside not this structure, but one of the same type. I can highly recommend it, it is a very good homage to the movies.
The Blu-ray of this film looks unbelievably gorgeous. Can't recommend it enough.
You talking about the standard bluray or 4k edition? I have the 4k bluray edition and the picture and sound are really clear. I compared it to the Alien DVD which I also own (was my very first DVD when the format came out)
Good to know, thanks
The 4K somehow looks even better.
I took a hundred mile trip to go see the movie the first year I was on my own. It freaked me out. The next day at work I was shoveling coal in a dark room underneath the mental health hospital where I worked hearing noises behind me all the time. To this day it was one of the scariest work experience I've ever had.
Man. mental health hospitals are way more scarier than the Nostromo...
Balls of steel!
Thank you for your service towards Global warming.
Always glad to do my part.
I had the same experience watching _Jaws_ -- _after_ most everyone else had already seen it. I had to sit on my hands to keep from throwing up my arms in fear, while others in the theater pointed and giggled at my plight.
Strictly for therapeutic reasons, you understand, I recommend seeing the movie _Session 9_ from 2001....
What I find ironic about the Nostromo being kit-bashed from Star Wars model kits is that those very same Star Wars designs were partly also kit-bashed from other model kits.
Thank you so much for the kind words you have at the end of each of your videos, Jules! They are very much appreciated!
Yeah that's a cool way to sign off. Positive words and positive thoughts. It almost seems out of place, because there's not enuff people doing it. Be like water. Stay strong. You're never out of the fight. Somebody loves you...
Alien is one of my favorite movies. I have seen it a million times. I never realized the mining refinery wasn't the ship.
Me too.
Same. I never got it that the refinery was towed.
I don't know what was better... The video itself, or the outtro? Thank you for both!
I never tire of Alien videos. And to learn something I didn't already know? Fantastic!!
Jules. Well played on the message at the end of this video. Takes a real man to hold others up. Props due my brother. Props due 😎👊🏼
Seriously though, Jules, good on you!
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that ending, wellbeing is so important right now. 👍
Yeah, Jules... You're positive messages at the end of your videos made subscribe.
It meant something, because it seemed heartfelt.
@@lewischarles5470 me too... awesome video with an awesome message at the end; thanks Jules
There's something missing from your list - The Nustromo could dock inside the oil refinery it was pulling. In the film, while patching up the ship they mention "dry docking". This is what the crew is referring to, landing in the refinerys hanger bay to fix the ship without the need of environmental suits - shame it's never shown in the film!
Damn I just finished watching it and was curious what Parker meant by that. Makes sense why we didn’t hear more about it though because no one wanted to do it. And the characters would all know what that means so there’s no reason to explain it to the audience.
@GrizbyK72
Exactly, more natural conversation than having to slip an exploration into the mix.
Logically, if their parked inside, then their not outside towing. That's why they're all a bit annoyed of the prospect of dry docking. Spending weeks, maybe month sitting on their butts doing nothing, while they fix the ship. Also means more time before pay day!
I suspect Ripley would be the first to walk up to Parker and say "hay, I feel like a fifth wheel around here, is there anything I can do?"
😁
'Bay 12 please'
@@markbarrett4440
Right-on!
This video appeased my bizzare asperger laden brain, well researched and truly fascinating in depth break down of the ship. Thanks I enjoyed this greatly.
This video is like a B-day gift! Thanks a lot. I adore everything about this franchise. Just hope they will make more interesting Alien films, video games, novels, TV shows in the future
Don't hold your breath. Disney bought Fox, ans locked the whole franchise up in their vault on Epsteins island.
If you want a really excellent video game based in that universe, that captures the feel of ALIEN, look no further than Alien Isolation (PS3/PS4/XBOX360). First person survival horror taking place about 15 years after the original film... featuring Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley's daughter mentioned in the movie tie-in novel, the Director's Cut of the film (and before that, in the extended cut television premiere on CBS back in 1988/89).
The set pieces and art design of this game, not to mention it's story, made this game feel like a missing ALIEN sequel film that could have come out in 1981.
This is the only video game to give me repeated heebee jeebies. (Well, there was The Exorcist: Legion VR.... but I have not had the courage to pick that game up since I beat the first chapter...LOL!).
Since 1984, i have watched ALIEN (1979)
well over 200+ times. I have the film and
it's dialog committed to my memory.
I had no idea about the meaning
of the auto destruct control panel.
That is such an intriguing detail to me.
I WISH i could see what a brand new,
cruiser Nostromo spacecraft would look like.
All clean/prestine. Imagine.
As I said a couple months ago. Seldom does anything bring me as much joy in life as the random Whatculture videos that pertain to one of my favorite movies of all time! Alien nerds unite!
A friend saw Alien when it was first released. He said movie ended, credits ended, cinema lights came on and no one had made a move to leave.
I just realized that the refinery looks a LOT like Star Command from the series Space Academy and Jason of Star Command.
Another Conrad connection: The Narcissus, from Conrad's novel which has, in it's title, a word that was perfectly acceptable on publication, but now, is quite rightly seen as objectionable, and completely unacceptable. If you look up a list of books written by Joseph Conrad, you'll find it - but I'm sure as hell not going to write it here.
More pleasantly, some of the instrument consoles seen on the Nostromo set, can also be seen in 'The Empire Strikes Back', on Vader's Star Destroyer bridge, and in the Cloud City access corridor where Vader destroys the window, almost killing Luke Skywalker. Additionally, every switch on the Nostromo bridge set was wired up to something, and worked lights, CRT screens, etc.
Thanks for sharing those extra tidbits and good call on not sharing that title.
What the "N" word?... True fans all know of the origin, but the horrid word bears no fault on Scott or any of the writers.
Another tidbit about the self-destruct sequence is that the instructions to scuttle the ship were in English, but the instructions to stop Auto-Destruct were in French, and (when translated to English) were the exact same instructions to destroy the spacecraft.
That's really interesting because Ripley was unable to stop the self-destruct sequence.
@@johnvaldez8830 but that really was just because she was too late to pull-up the four reactor inhibitor levers up in time.
@@nasanodia736 , I just think it was interesting. I'm only suggesting that it is a storyline easter egg, not the reason she couldn't stop the self-destruct.
@@johnvaldez8830 ah, ok👍
No, they weren't. Some parts are different or absent. Example : "Verify DETONATION ACTIVATED. Repeat for HOLDS 2 ,3 & 4" . Translation (?) : "Verifiez SECURITE du SOMMET NUCLEAR. Verifiez la DETONATION ACTIVE". Or "Activate PUSH BUTTON SWITCH. Replace NUCLEAR HEAD. Verify SECURED". Translation (?) "Verifiez SECURITE du SOMMET NUCLEAR". Come on...
The scene where Brett confronts the Alien and it takes him up into the air shaft: Jones the cat snarls and reacts very badly to the appearance of the Alien. The production crew achieved this by pulling the cloth cover off a cage, off-camera, that contained a large German Shepherd. Clever, eh?
Thank you for this. I always wondered how they did that.
". . .one cat was psychologically traumatized in the making of this film." said no movie producer ever.
There's an extended with the xenomorph killing Brett more sadistically - making the monster more demonic than animal.
In the DVD commentaries, Scott stated the German shepherd was exposed by raising a wooden board in front of it cage - thus scaring the cat
F@ck no!
Always enjoy when Jules narrates, always feel better after watching one of his videos... THANK YOU!
The best science fiction movies usually have a very rich backstory. Star Wars, being a huge influence on the film's industrial vibe, made war time retro with the fittings of old actual military parts, was duplicated by George Lucas' choice of model parts, quite often using military ship model parts to create the exterior of the Imperial Star Destroyers and other models.
Wow, fantastic closing message and perfect for the time. Well done What Culture...well done
If you haven’t watched John Carpenter’s Dark Star, you really should. Dan O’Bannon’s original “truckers in space” movie was both a laugh riot and the germ from which much of Alien was grown.
@@AtheistOrphan When I brought you on this ship, I thought you were cute.
I love Dark Star but you can't be serious with the "DS inspired Alien" thing. That's ridiculous
@@irina1296 Never said it inspired, but O’Bannon brings a lot of ideas with him. An alien in the bulkheads, “truckers in space,” a crew with a mission none of them really understand, undone - largely - by a piece of technology.
@@persecutor96 Good point indeed but It The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) had those ideas before both films then
@@irina1296 But Dan O’Bannon wrote both Dark Star and Alien. Not sure he’d even seen The Terror Beyond Space.
Great presentation - THANKS FOR THE PSA AT THE END! VERY COOL!
Jules, you're my favorite on this channel. I always love hearing your message of support and encouragement at the end. Keep it up, you legend!
This is one of the few movies I ever watched that gave me a nightmare as an adult. I was really into the movie when I saw it, and the characters, directing, cinematography, music, sets...just everything was so spot on it immersed the audience. I've watched it since and have to admit this movie is densely packed with details and nuances that you can only pickup by watching over and over. Alien is a masterpiece, also featuring some of the scifi fx for sound and controls in hommage from O'Bannon's first movie with John Carpenter, Dark Star. Geiger's alien was truly "alien" and I think that lent credence to Ash's response to Ripley about its purity. There are numerous plot lines intertwined that is based on history, experiences and the mission that lead us to the point that starts the movie. I think this kind of story is what made the film so credible to the viewer...it was an information overload, trying to take in what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen all at the same time.
Thanx, especially for your message toward at the end
I think the Conrad novel being adapted into Apocalypse Now released same year as Alien was a unique coincidence. Both films, employees travel "up river" into a strange land and encounter the true primal horror of life. I would say the Space Jockey was an ill fated Colonel Kurtz, although obviously Ripleys final showdown with the xeno mirrors Willard and Kurtz, except Captain Willard becomes the "alien" putting on face paint and emerging from the water.
Great theory, don't even get me started on 'The Nigger Of The Narcissus' symbolism tonight 🙄
There is absolutely no reason why an ore carrying space "tow truck" should have a self-destruct device.
Corporate piracy
The Conrad connection should also include The Narcissus, but I can see why you omitted it.
Yes, I spotted The N_____ Of The Narcissus omission too.
@@markbarrett4440
Parker?
Shakti and Padme - now where did we see these names? This is now my new movie trivia!
LOL, Star wars. the prequels.
2TB of RAM is pretty common on higher end servers today. About 15 or more years ago, I worked on a really high end Unix mainframe (the p690 from IBM) that I eventually installed 1TB RAM into. That was big memory back then. Big$, too. That machine was over 6' tall, but that much memory is pretty common in a 1U (about 1.5-2 inches high) server today. Truly minedblowing.
Love that space theme at the end of the video
I still got PTSD from Alien: Isolation
....word.
I still cant hide in a woman room locker......
Have you had the chance to play it in VR?
@@loopymind No, I get motion sick in most VR games unfortunately
@@yourstruly4817 motion sickness is the least of your problems in Isolation 🤣🤣🤣 it's just to scary
Great video - awesome message at your closing!
That's was beautiful what you said at the end. Kudos. Right back at you.
The Narcissus launches from the port side of the Nostromo. There is no mention in the movie of a second shuttle on the starboard side. The behind the scenes book Alien Vault calls the starboard shuttle the Salmacis.
And it was on maintenance or something, so not operatinal.
huh, i actually just watched this movie for the first time today :)
:O WOOOT??? Ok, you definitely should also see Cameron's sequel too. I don't recommend any others in the franchise, but that one is excellent.
@@TheBaconWizard Space Marines. A guns' down to 30 rounds, 25, 20, B guns' right behind it. He should have kept the Sentry Guns full scenes in it. I like it.
@@orbitalair2103 Yep, agree.
ALIEN is primarily a horror film, not sci-fi
Sci-Fi / Horror kinda both..
But the Sci Fi element does come first. Basically, Science in fiction.
Lots and lots of Sci-Fi in this film... and hardly any in RIdley's later works Prometheus and Covenant.
For some bizzare reason they take their helmets off when entering strange new worlds.. and ignore all protocols (science related)...
Whereas at least in Alien it is very much present.
Science fiction that evolves into horror. Best way to describe Alien.
B movie suspense/horror best way to describe Prometheus
B movie action/horror for Covenant.
Ridley has lost his way
@@d0nKsTaH It is sci-fi in its first act, but after that it is a slasher film in space - - people trapped in a dark hose by an antagonist that is stalking them.
Some versions of this film are more like horror. There's an extended scene in which Brett gets killed by the creature much more sadistically. Making the beast out to be more demonic than animalistic.
There's nothing scientifically valid about the xenomorph and it's lifecycle.
Prometheus was a flawed masterpiece of sci-fi - - had defects like the one you mentioned (abandoning helmets and other safety factors on a foreign world)
If I remember right the scene were Ripley is setting the self destruct was actually done a year earlier. The magic of movies. Good Video 😎
I hate that when you say "and say it with me kids" i cant control myself. I do it. 🤣
I was unsubscribed from WhatsCulture due to comments and attitudes in previous videos, but Jules comments at the end has garnered him a subscription. Please keep up this kindness, and leave politics out of the channel. Thanks
Ridley Scott did NOT write the story for Aliens. Yes, he had input with making it into a film, but he did not write it.
The original story was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shussett (Shussett later went on to co-write the original AvP film) - and their influence was the works of H. P. Lovecraft, where the motives of the unknown creatures were always completely alien to humans. Ridley Scott would later try to get all the credit for the whole series and completely disrespected the influences for the original film by retconning the origins of the Aliens into the wet dream of a malfunctioning android which was made by humans.
Even John Carpenter is an inspiration since Dark Star was a comedic first run of Alien
The nostromo lives on in my psyche as my goto nightmare. I saw this movie as a teen after a school mate said it was like Star Wars. I’d never seen a horror movie and was totally unprepared. It’s safe to say this movie is NOTHING like Star Wars. If I’ve had the wrong thing to eat or under stress, I dream I’m on that accursed ship every time.
Very informative one of my favorite life movies a true classic
What is that music you have in the background?
The thing is big aerospace companies are set in stone for centuries some markets are that wayy
Loved this! Thanks!
Jules you are an amazing person. You go from making me laugh to always making me cry at the end. Agreed, that this was one of your more clever word plays on how to treat yourself right. List of love. 💜
The movie was shot using what they call a "machinegun" formula, a long period, action, a shorter period, action, even shorter period, action, until you get action, action, action. It worked well. I took my then girlfriend to watch it and she held my hand while watching, at the end I felt like my hand was broken.
Acctually I did know a lot of this. I mean considering the title saying "You Didn't Know". 😉 Even that *Brian Johnson* who was also part of *"2001: A Space Odyssey",* as well as *"Space: 1999"* and *"The Empire Strikes Back"* effects were involved (at least during the phase were nostromo was painted yellow, then he had to go and work on the empire strikes back). Just like *Martin Bower* was involved. They were also behind all the awesome designs of the spaceships in "Space: 1999", like *The Eagle(s), Mk IX Hawk* etc. Some of my favourite sci-fi ship designs of all time. I also knew that (among many parts) one part being used was a piece of the upper part/hull (without the gun turret) of a WWII Sherman Tank plastic model kit. Plus a lot of other stuff, like the parts of Lunar landing plastic model kit, as well as that R2D2 piece used in the monitor which was acctually used in a small scene in *Blade Runner* as well, as one of the hovering cars were landing at a landing platform etc. Very funny and interesting stuff from the glory days of cool looking sci-fi spaceship designs.
I think having to design them and then building them in physical form back then was part of why they looked so great. It's a big difference holding and seeing a design and building it in physical form, rather than just 3D rendering a cgi model from start to finish. You more easily get a feel for if the designs works and looks good. It's most likely why so many more modern sci-fi ships looks so generic in deisgn. Like a dime of dozen space shooter pc game spaceship designs. Or possibly that modern cgi designers lack that background in building physical models. Some manage decent, like for example in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, at least with the Colonial Fleet and Viper designs, but that was mostly due to them building and tweaking upon existing old designs. The totally new cgi Cylon ship designs were not as great. It was better in Blood and Chrome were they again just tweaked the old Cylon ships a little bit.
Also I was so impressed with the restoration work done by the model shop at *"Grant McCune Design"* for the *"Prop Store"* auction. What an amazing care to detail. They even took in *John Eaves,* the legendary *Star Trek* ship designer, for the restoration. The team made such an excellent job restoring it. *Martin Bowman* sending them photos he took of the studio model back in the days and such for reference.
Great that people makes these kinds of videos, so that all this info and knowledge isn't lost and can be passed on to newer generations, for those who might be interested of course. I really like watching videos like this. Keep up the good work. **thumbs up**
Great video! One question I have always had is in their world is life on other planets a common thing? Did they previously have first contact? Or is this the first encounter with an alien species?
No.8 This means for the thousands of people watching this, there could be a sizable of us that will live to the day it's built
The self-destruct panel contains two names from the Star Wars prequels: Padme and Shak Ti. Did Lucas get the names from Alien or was this just a coincidence?
That was done on purpose, the production team didn't think it would be visible :)
@@loopymind I have no doubt it was done on purpose. I have the photo novel, however. It’s great for research, it’s even better sometimes for catching continuity errors.
@@Cydonia2020 The Avon Photo-Novel?... Mine is a personal grail piece!
@@nasanodia736 Yes. I inherited it from a late friend. It will be an excellent resource when I build my Nostromo kit.
@@Cydonia2020 nice, good luck.
the wind on planet gives me a creep. thes sound of death and powerfoul winds.
Hi Jules! Etlast! I heve missed you!!! Thank you as always! Great work. And at the 3nd every time you thinking of us. You are AWSOME too!
I have a copy of the screen play from this movie. In Scene 19 (page 8) the Nostromo is, and I quote, "... One and one half kilometers" in length. That would be 1500 meters and not 334 meters as your video claims. So it is much bigger than your source materials claim.
Of all time ive seen it so many times i feel like im a crew memeber now also i collect the colletables haha
I think I met Ridley Scott without even realizing it! If I had known what he looked like at the time, I probably would have freaked out.
I was working as a contractor for this motion picture camera company that makes 3D cameras: Element Technica, Culver City.
I made some kind of remark that he reacted to, but the gentleman was sympathetic at my comment (talking about "movies" in general). I forgot what we said.
It was only years later that I recognized him in an interview. I was just reminded of him seeing him again in this documentary.
"Oh really? Symbology? I'm sure the word you were looking for is symbolism." Willem Defoe as Paul Smecker, Boondock Saints.
The last time I came this early, my wife was severely disappointed. Please come back I miss the kids
Please tell me there were dolphins on it somewhere
THe first thing i thought of when I saw the Mother room was the porgram storage room for the HAL 2000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
So, a Giant Refinery needs no personnel to run it!! Wait until I tell Exxon-Mobil
So, the Nostromo was a galactic Tugboat...
Yes. At the very start of the movie you can read "Commercial towing vehicle The Nostromo"...
Essentially that.
Funny you should mention Blade Runner since both of them are in the same timeline.
Well, same universe. Yeah, I see what you mean...the same sequential, linear timeline.
Thank you for that outro.
Good stuff, always nice to hear new Alien lore
Still Scott's best film
The refinery's inspired by a cathedral, huh?
The Imperium of Man approves.
it's actually more of a multi-purpose Auditorium unit the Billy Graham traveling Road Show still uses it when it's back at Earth
For many years I had no idea what The Nostromo looked like. It's never shown clearly in the film and the pre-internet there wasn't much info.
The Nostromo's fate: It was self-destructed after the xenomorph creature killed off almost every crew member.
And it destroyed few more eggs possibly able to spread the infection. GJ, E.Ripley.
Built in 2101? That's 80 years away!
Look at tech from 1941 and compare it to the current tech....makes this actually seem feasible in another 80 years now...lol
Elon will be hardpressed timewise to get one built.
Thanks for the lovely message at the end 😃🖒
Lang ist es her aber icvh muss mir diesen Film mal wieder anschauen. ;-)
Thanks for the advice
Always enjoy your videos, and your personal message at the end was fantastic!
It's a bit irresponsible to build a space ship that needs a crew of at least 7 but to have an escape shuttle that can carry fewer than 4 people. You'd think lessons learned two centuries earlier from the Titanic would inform their building plan.
It actually had 2 escape shuttles. One was removed as a 'cost savings' by the Company.
@@khyronthethunderhawg6577 Not something you’d know from just watching the movie, though.
According to the Schematics I found in the Alien Vault (a making-of book), the other shuttle was named the Salmacis. It was still docked aboard the Nostromo with the Narcissus, but was unusable and in need of repair. Given that the shuttles are identical, it would be easy to imagine Captain Dallas hanging out in the Salmacis listening to classical music to keep the Narcissus clear in the event of a sudden emergency.
Um...Alien is actual horror, rather than sci-fi. But I totally get it.
But science.
@@nathanxxvii yeah yeah. Outer space.
At least something more calm and usual from the universe when? Not always you need the around-life and territories as only decorations for the main character/s. It always wants to kill/infect the other main characters here :)
Fly Agaric is a hallucinogenic mushroom. Naturally it's right next to the "Trip" button. Well played.
Great vid well done.
Alien is 42 years old now. 😳
42 years, God I feel old
from an era when Special Effects actually involved Models ect.. and not CGI
And the film hasn't dated at all
Me and my best Buddy from HS went to see the movie and sat in the front row. Quite an unnerving experience. To this day one of my favorite movies. It really has stood the test of time. Wouldn’t be near as good if made today!!
PS. In 1979 I think.
4:35 - SHAKTI EXCESS is the final self-destruct code for the Katanga in Aliens Fireteam Elite. Now I know where it came from.
In the interface room, are the panels of blinking lights covered with glass? Never noticed this.
The button "Agaric Fly" = "Fly Agaric" - an hallucinogenic mushroom historically used to induce shaman vision quests and a component of witches flying potions. It's the red mushroom with white dotes on prevalent in fairy stories.
Where's your proof?!
There was originally an 8th member of the crew called Fazio, who was the ship's security officer. He gets killed by the Alien between Kane and Brett's death. His character was dropped early on in production.
There was Fazio's Dept. store back in the 80's.
And usually HSCC was fitted with only 7 places sleeping module, so...
You think Lockheed Martin and Rolls Royce being around 100 years later is surprising? Look into the work of BattleTech, and you'll find that in 2700 and onwards, both Nissan and General Motors are still in operation - still making their usual stuff, but now also engines for BattleMechs =O There's no information about what Nissan is actually doing apart from that, but General Motors are described as being involved in developing the first self-sustaining fusion reactor - instrumental in the extreme amounts of energy and manufacture needed to support the constant warfare of the franchise.
Blade Runner tells me Atari will still be around.
Remember seeing it for the first time. Outstanding . Shat my knickers at 12
My question is who in the "company" knew about the derelict alien ship and knew that a specimen would be collected? How did they know about the ship and its xenomorph aliens that were there? Its obvious that in Aliens whomever sent the Nostromo on that mission was no longer there. The colonists only found out about the derelict ship when Burke sent them there. Very cool video by the way.
They just knew man, they just knew...
Is there evidence in the movie (or elsewhere) that the company knew about that _specific_ alien ship and its life-form(s)?, or is it simply that they had a (secretive) protocol (embedded in the on-board AI-forms) that regarded any advanced/diverse extraterrestrial life and technology as (military-repurposable) "treasure above all other"? As some assume to be the case with (assumed) actual UFO capture/crash incidents here in the "real world" (I phrase it that way so as not to take sides).
Enjoyed that cheers.
6:38 the Marines... WHAT? 😟
Kubrick, don't forget used the Hilton logo in 2001 as a modern day future reference ...G...
#8 is pure nonsense that some comic book or novel writer made up after the fact. The only canon in Alien is the canon of the movies. The Nostromo was always a cargo hauler.
Thank you for doing gods work
Great video ! How about a video about the crashed Alien ship which was found on LV-426 ?
I saw the movie in high school...a woman sitting in front of me let out a classic horror movie scream whenever the alien would appear...
Looks like the Nostromo (space-tug) "pulled" from the front of the refinery by virtue of propellant (water plasma?) carrying/vectoring pipes presumably running within its whole length, that the Nostromo's engine nozzles each mated with. Is that right? To do that they'd presumably have to be not just dumb pipes but sustain magnetic containment fields, as in some current-day fusion reactors.
3:45 looks like a Y-wing
Thanks for the end message Jules - it’s a very lonely time in life for me but at least I am finally getting these two boxes of Grey Knights Terminators built and a bunch of Astartes for my personal chapter as well. I have a ton of Chaos guys ((Nurgle and Khorne though I prefer either Word Bearers undivided aesthetic over Khorne try hards any day) I have a huge pile of shame to get through though in my defense a lot (I mean a lot a lot) of these kits were bought or traded for to just get parts for a lot of conversion and kit bash work to still do - time to place those Kromlech, Spellcrow; Puppetswar and mainly Anvil Industries just to get a lot of my character and officer characters finally built)
But yellow?! I wasn't expecting that lol.