New Replies (Page 4,681)

@Rizzle - I'm with you on insidious deaths rather than out and out dismemberment. Something that would 'tear the soul apart' to quote another much lauded film and give you nightmares or at the very least something to mull over for a long time afterwards. @CBT - forgot about Gladiator (not seen Black Hawk Down yet) you're so right and I didn't know that was a PG13, mmmm.....

For me i'm far more impressed with deep intrigue and unique concepts of the perverse /unusually bizarre, as opposed to the shock value of horror. What i hope this film does is to restore the true meaning of the word alien back into our Conscience. The reason the sequels are less impactful for me then the original is because we have familiarised ourselves to the xenomorph concept through over analysis and familiarity ( which is natural for us humans) but what im hoping for is film that poses more questions than answers and introduces us to something we cant fully understand or recognise ...( the unspeakably alien) in anything else we normally associate with on this blue planet. What i really want to see is a deep philosophical epic scfi that recaptures the mystery and excitement that i felt in79 when i experienced the original. So can ridley pull of a triple and make yet another scfi classic at the very least im keeping my fingers crossed we will have a first class highly entertaining sc fi film that will deliver a profound, thought provoking, film that stays long in the memory long after the popcorn has digested and something that inspires as much debate after the event as it has before the release.

What i'm hoping for in this film is a restoration of the true meaning of the word alien in as much that through the sequels we have lost the impact of the original through over analysis of the xenomorph concept and familiarised ourselves to the point that it has lost all of its intrigue. For me im hoping for a return to the unspeakably alien concept where we dont fully understand what we are witnessing and experiencing and therefore pose more questions then answers. I really want to experience the mystery and bizarre perverse world of a unique alien culture/ civilization perverse as in the profoundly unusual. So can ridley pull of a triple feat as in create yet another instant classic to our favourite film genre ? .. fingers crossed he can or at the very least produce a first class film that will leave a great impact on all its viewers and leave a lasting impression in the memory long after the popcorn has digested. What i really hope to see is a profound deep epic scfi that scintillates the senses , fear/ terror, intriguing, alien, humane, exciting, moving, emotional, mysterious, revelatory and satisfying....If a film can tick those boxes then i reckon you got a masterpiece on your hands .

I really hope this film will return to the concept of the truly unspeakably alien. For me the concept of the xenomorph is...(as expected after all this time ) been over analysed/familiarized and debated in popular culture to the point that it no longer has any impact in so much that the concept is no longer alien. What i want from this film is a return to the intriguing bizarre concepts that propelled the original into the public conscience. I'm hoping for a film that explores the notion of a deeply perverse and bizarre alien culture/civilization to the point that you can't really understand fully what your witnessing or experiencing this will drive the intrigue and will hold my attention a lot more then simply titillating us with shock value/gore. So the question is can ridley do the triple and provide us with a profound deep sc fi classic for a third time ? At the very least i'm hoping for a first class entertaining film that will spark debate long after the popcorn has digested and will be retained in the memory long after its general release. What i hope is that the film will be epic , exciting , one that inspires more questions than delivers answers, and has all the elements that make for a terrific film ie profound, bizarre, alien, humane, emotional, terrifying, exhilarating, mysterious, and satisfying . If the film can tick all those boxes then i feel we could have yet another classic added to our favourite genre.

@CBT1979 RE: GLADIATOR & BLACK HAWK DOWN [i]both movies are pg-13. [/i] Both movies are R-rated, hard R. There are harrowing scenes of decapitations in both movies. The violence in both movies are hard-hitting & definitely not shot to please thrill-seekers. The Roman Empire is depicted as a culture of cruelty. Gladiators are meant to be games of death for the folks of Rome. I am sure you have heard of the decadent exploits of Caligula. It's like UFC, only people fight until they are DEAD. With BLACK HAWK, Scott's intention is to draw the parallel between the ancient Roman world & the modern one where such destructive contest of might is still being carried out. Why they think we need violent contests for amusement, for mass control, for whatever reasons, I don't know. The thing about GLADIATOR is that the fight scenes are actually very entertaining to watch. And you cheer & hoot & clap, you become part of the Roman mob Scott is criticizing.

Of course ridley also stated that in reality the things that went on in the gladiatorial arena were far worse then he was able to show and far more harrowing probably referring to the slaughter of Christians along with even worse atrocities . There was a scene where they were going to film Christians being fed to lions but was dropped along with a scene that was story boarded for a fight with a rhino, that would of been good and its a shame it didn't make it into the film due to budget constraints.

Did not know that! I'll have to look that up now. Interesting!

I read Solaris long time ago and to be honest I completely forgot about spaceship called Prometheus. Anyway, its just a name of spaceship by which the main character, Kris Kelvin, arrived from Earth to the space station studying the planet Solaris. From Wikipedia: Solaris is a 1961 Polish science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. It is about the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species. Solaris is one of Lem’s philosophic explorations of man’s anthropomorphic limitations.

Hey Altered, Here is a good read on xeno perception: There are several striking features that stand out when examining the adult form of I. raptus. The first, and perhaps the most prominent, is the head. Its seemingly disproportionate size indicates that there is a structural reason for this development. Its size could be due to an enlarged brain. This would not necessarily indicate a greater intelligence, but perhaps a more complex/sensitive brain that is designed to work not only as a means of assessing and thinking, but as an organ designed for extremely accurate sensing abilities. The idea of an enlarged brain has recently fallen under much speculation and debate within the scientific community - the idea as to whether or not the cranium is strictly for housing a brain may not be accurate. A great many researchers believe that the cranium houses only a moderately sized brain - perhaps only occupying one quarter to one third of the head. The remaining portions of the cranium are believed to house complex nerve centers that aid in collecting and processing sensory acquired stimuli, pheromone glands, an array of communicative emitters, adrenal glands, and a compression chamber for use when striking with the secondary jaws. It is the general belief that the majority of the cranium's volume is geared towards the processing and interpretation of sensory acquired stimuli as well as the emission of various signals designed for the purpose of communication. Aside from the maintenance of the hive structure, and tending to the producing Queen, the primary role of an adult is that of a forager - acquiring food and host material to further the hive. With such a specific role it would logically follow that the Alien would rely heavily on its senses for the location and acquisition of prey, and understanding it's environment. This being said it is then the general belief that the head represents the center of sensory reception and communication for the Alien. The working model for stimuli reception is as follows: The head is covered with pore-like receptors - each dedicated to a specific stimuli - Olfactory/biochemical reception (i.e. - pheromones), thermal detection, bioelectric detection, and auditory reception. The pores gradate from back to front, meaning that there is a higher concentration of sensory receptors at the domed anterior portion of the head as compared to the back. This gives I. raptus 360° lateral sensory ability, and approximately 180° vertically with the area of optimal overall clarity being at the front. It is estimated that the total range of optimal clarity is 100 degrees radiating 50° on either side of the center-front of the cranium laterally, as well as 70° radiating vertically from the same point. This then puts the remainder of stimuli within varying degrees of peripheral reception. Next to the head it is believed that the hands and feet are responsible for the second largest amount of sensory input. The pads that cover potions of these extremities are believed to be the primary receptors of auditory vibration through substrate as well as additional biochemical reception. It is thought that the latter is designed for identification and recognition hive mates and pheromone trails. The head may represent the center of sensory reception, but it also believed to the center of communicative emission. Going under the belief that I. raptus utilizes bioelectric radiation and ultrasonic emission as primary means of communication with a secondary means being biochemical the head becomes the focal point for the majority of this activity. It is not clear if ultrasonic emission as released via the mouth, or through pore-like emitters similar to those used in receiving stimuli, but the current assumption is that it is produced within the head and emitted in a radiating pattern from the surface of the cranium. The same principle also applied to the emission and radiation of bioelectric signals. Taken from Anchorpoint. Regards, Rick

This may be a shock; the alien doesn't have eyes. I think they possibly sense their surroundings through acoustic feedback. There may be a set of muscles attached to something akin to an otolith surrounded by some fleshy tissue. It would be similar to what whales and dolphins have with the melon on the cranium of their skulls. The difference here is there needs to be some type of reception that can pick up the ultrasonic vibrations through air. This also could lead to an advantage to detecting prey items, it could hear the prey coming and then could make the necessary adjustments in their stalking pattern to surprise their victims without having to expend much energy terminating their food. There nervous system is probably cephalic, with some ganglion similar to what you would find with most arthropods, it would seem that there could be some form of higher perception with regards to decision making, however many predators have an ability to, or seem to, make complex decision when stalking their prey; leopards do this. Since this particular organism seems to do this, I would argue it only responds to its current environment with minimal olfactory input and a very large amount of auditory input. If there is another determining factor, such as a colony, the perceptive capacity of the organism is not really known. It could be responding to very specific chemical signals, ants and termites are examples, moving and responding to the colony's need, or if in a singular situation it could only be responding to its known surroundings. The organism could be keyed into only a few signals that initiate it to act. To sum this up, the organism responds to auditory cues first, then some territorial markers to help position it self in a home range to determine its distance from its nesting area, finally with the combination of the two it will react to what ever comes its way; it must sound a certain way and then smell a certain way for it either to kill a prey item or commune with a colony sister. I don't think they really have other perceptions beyond this, generally animals have very simple decision making abilities this would explain the tight hunting patterns exhibited by the [i]Xenomorph[/i].

Didn't they show the Alien POV a little bit in A3?

If you want the POV of the Alien just play the Original PC game Aliens VS Predator.

i would love a gif of the clip where brett is killed, jonsey and all !!! ill reach 100 but this is my official 1st.

Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks

Thanks Craigamore I knew there was a quote out there somewhere. But, Queen and insect ideas aside I think the OP shows that the Xenomrphs in the sequel where actually more intelligent than the one in Alien, despite claims by some fans that the sequels dumbed the creature down, into a typical monster.

i Absolutely loved/love the insect IDEA's {plural-The spaiths imposter's script had some really really good ones as did Jean Pirerre Jeunet for resurrection's special edition Intro. Also, I never for even one second thought of the XENO's as dumb, and as an exampkle of this in "Aliens", too me any species that can have warriors which communicate telpathically is a very frightening and intelligence suggesting idea, case in point, when Ripley carrying Newt enters the Queen's lair and they have an enitre dialog as does the Chief Bitch with her Drones without making a sound. These Ideas Rocked and Made Aliens Unique unto itself.

Weird I wonder if this will end up being connected to Prometheus like "It the terror from Beyond Space" is connected to alien. The plot reviews make it sound like it could.

Sparty, Sparty, you do get over excited. I have the wonderful alien vault also, and let's just get this straight, the four day lifespan was an idea of scotts but was not something that he set in stone, it was just a thought he passed on as been a possibility. Just as he did the ludicrous biting off head, speaking in ripleys voice crap. Lots of ideas pass through the synapses dude.

sorry, not to be confrontational at all "THP", but on the commentary included on the Quadrilogy DVD set he CLEARLY states it was a written ACT that FOX refused to let him shoot. They refer to that scene as "The Final Act" and it is in fact a FACT that it was written as I mentioned, but sadly IMO never shot.

LOL Craigo you never like it

Nope....sorry Ricky...........

Well for me the whole series got bogged down with the reliance on the ripley character which seemed to focus on her as the essential ingredient of any sequel which for me is nuts. By the time they got to four it all became a bit stale in the sense of the studio insisting that ripley was the draw for the audience i never felt that way about any character of any film except dirty harry or a film that focuses on a particular character to drive a story. The whole draw for me was ridley scott and Giger and the endless possibility's the story could have taken without the need for repeating ripleys saga. Having said that the whole avp thing was just a step way to far in the wrong direction and i lost interest after alien 3. Hopefully and rightly so ridley will give us the film we should of had years ago. And at the time i wasn't keen on 3 either but i've mellowed with age and find it ok now the directors cut being significantly better than the cinema release but still i'm not bowled over by any of the sequels.

Personally, Alien 3 was my favorite. The dark tone, and the ending where Ripley makes the ultimate sacrifice is just so great to me. I don't know guys, say what you want. 3 was the best next to Alien.

Ummmmmmmmm.......... I don't think Lance Henriksen was 'killed' by all 3 though....... The queen just ripped him in two..... He still functioned (I can't help but think of Megatron there :-P) A big ass EEV crash is what eventually did him in..... Even then Ripley brought him back to life for a couple minutes and he insisted on being shut down for good.......... Because he'd never be top of the line again...... Just sayin'

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It works both ways craigamore as your probably aware the final edit of blade runner is significantly improved from the theatrical release as is fincher's alien3 and kingdom of heaven directors cut is a completely different film and is all the better for it. A good editor is crucial to the success of a film as is most of the major departments props, costume, sound design, score, and the gamut of film production staff in general all contribute. I always fancied being a casting director, or cinema photographer, hell i would consider being a dolly grip on one of ridleys productions if given the chance lol. Anyone for best boy.

What exactly does a Best Boy do on set? I've always wondered.........

I never noticed the times with the pacing, but you're right. I personally would love to see the 3-hour cut of the original. I can imagine that it might be a little tedious, but would still be interesting to see what they cut, especially the scenes involving the alien.

I never paid much attention to the specific pace of Alien, but you're right. Mr. Scott does know how to ramp it up. I personally would have liked to see the 3-hour cut of the original. I can only imagine how tedious it might be, but would be very interesting to see what they cut--especially scenes involving the alien, itself.

the scenes with the alien they cut, they cut for a reason, you see it was hard to do things back then ans so at one point the alien was supposed to crab walk across the floor like an insect and they filmed it and looked like crap, here is a [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR5jYeIMBKk]link[/url] i bet all of the deleted footage looked bad like that, that's why they were deleted :( i do see what they were going for with this, but this is to silly looking, if it was in the movie i would not like it :/

A Best Boy, @Cypher, holds one of two positions...he or she works in either the lighting department or as a grip.....In either case the position is a second in command type position for the respective department. In lighting, he or she reports directly to the Gaffer, who is in charge of directing the placement of all electrical equipment, including lights, as the Director of Photography instructs. As a grip, or rigger, he or she reports directly to the Key Grip in the rigging of lights and, well, anything at all that needs placement on a set.

It's a bit of the suit falling off?

no it looks like a blade appendage, like a scythe

Hey guys, I think its the suit falling a part. If you look at the lower tubercle just behind that arm on the back it completely falls off when it stands up out of the water. Rick

I have heard this before, but it looks a little too well formed to be a damaged part of the suit IMO

Aliens 1986; Alien Warrior Costume [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krmvmsEuLG1qa1o5zo1_500.jpg[/img]

I will scour the info database in the BatCave and see what I can come up with, very interesting.

I wander if it's something to do with the lifting mechanism to haul it out of the water; it must weigh a tonne and would need some pretty good engineering to make it stand....

Stunt guys arm?