Alien vs Aliens

Comparing Jason X to Alien made my night =) I do get your point, but that is like comparing Rambo part II to Apocalypse Now! You can find similarities between all kinds of trash (I did enjoy Rambo though) and serious films. It doesn't make the movies comparable. I LOVE "Aliens" (hence my name). You just have to enjoy it for what it is...a perfectly executed James Cameron movie...interesting story and characters (definitely very similar to Alien in the whole rescue/overheating countdown explosion area), perfect production...keeps your eyes glued and knuckles white! With that said, Alien makes you think, wonder, obsess... It is dated and clunky at times, but still just as unsettling as ever. It drives you crazy that he doesn't show or explain more, but that was the genius behind it, as everyone here knows. The irony is that even though you can find similarities in plot structure (horror/androids) to Jason X, you couldn't find two movies that are more different, or further apart in quality or approach. Alien = a horror movie in space taking itself VERY seriously Jason x = a spoof of a horror movie in space, winking it's eye as it makes fun of itself Alien = amazing, never before seen visuals and ideas Jason x = cheap, seen a million times effects, again to make fun of itself Alien = a B movie upgraded to a serious film that still shakes people Jason x = a spoof of a B movie Aliens = a great movie by a great director with characters and guns that people fell in love with while clenching their teeth and covering one eye.

Comparing Jason X to Alien made my night =) I do get your point, but that is like comparing Rambo part II to Apocalypse Now! You can find similarities between all kinds of trash (I did enjoy Rambo though) and serious films. It doesn't make the movies comparable. I LOVE "Aliens" (hence my name). You just have to enjoy it for what it is...a perfectly executed James Cameron movie...interesting story and characters (definitely very similar to Alien in the whole rescue/overheating countdown explosion area), perfect production...keeps your eyes glued and knuckles white! With that said, Alien makes you think, wonder, obsess... It is dated and clunky at times, but still just as unsettling as ever. It drives you crazy that he doesn't show or explain more, but that was the genius behind it, as everyone here knows. The irony is that even though you can find similarities in plot structure (horror/androids) to Jason X, you couldn't find two movies that are more different, or further apart in quality or approach. Alien = a horror movie in space taking itself VERY seriously Jason x = a spoof of a horror movie in space, winking it's eye as it makes fun of itself Alien = amazing, never before seen visuals and ideas Jason x = cheap, seen a million times effects, again to make fun of itself Alien = a B movie upgraded to a serious film that still shakes people Jason x = a spoof of a B movie Aliens = a great movie by a great director with characters and guns that people fell in love with while clenching their teeth and covering one eye.

oh no.......not another alien vs aliens rant....yawwwwwwn

I'm gonna come out of lurking just to have a crack here.. "Alien is not the masterpiece you think it is and lacks the depth of Camerons film" Get out your copy of Aliens and watch the approach to the derelict ...Take note of the camera work .The atmospherics ..The lighting..The quality of design and set building...The music , the dialogue and the acting.. Now watch the same aproach to the derelict in Alien...Which has more depth? The chest burster...Or any of the individual death scenes...which has more depth..More attention to detail?...To human response? A subplot or scene can be presented in the most obvious terms to generate an immediate upfront response in the viewer ... Or, it can be more genuine or abstracted and work on a more subtle level.. Again..which is deeper? The flaws of Alien are technical....All effects pitfalls if you notice.. These are all a result of a lack of funds ,time and resources.. No motion control rigs etc.. Aliens whilst being a great film is flawed in a different way.. The flaws are generic.. They are to do with Artistry..The script,dialogue and a glib disregard for the complexity of the alien itself and the reality the characters find themselves in .. So Alien is a masterpiece...It is as good as it could possibly be within the confines of what was technically avaidable to the people who made it...

I'm gonna come out of lurking .. "Alien is not the masterpiece you think it is" Ok we'll talk about this on a technical level as there is no accounting for taste.. The design for Alien is absolutly unique when one considers the time frame.. There are similarities to the interior of the millenium falcon but thats it.. The script is very well rounded as a story...The subtext are complex and rooted in sexual psycology betrayal and fear... The camera work is flawless.The lighting is second to none.. The music is haunting and evocative..The acting is first class.The dialogue is realistic...The effects are nothing short of amazing considering the resources avaidable to the crew...The set pieces are intense in thier level of detail and pace. consider in both films the approach to the derelict or the camera track around the sleeping ships .. Alien actually meditates on what it means to be alone in space..To wake from hypersleep.. to approach an alien ship .. I disagree that the characterisation is bad .. Every member of the ship is personified perfectly .. There is no doubt who is who and the humanity of each is acted superbly by each of the cast .I actualy forgot who some of the characters were in Aliens and they way the marines conducted themselves annoyed me with thier incompetence The flaws of Alien are technical... The result of a shortage of time and money..This has been documented many times and admitted by the producers.. More cash = better explosion at the end of the film and a motion control rig.. Aliens flaws are based in it's lack of Artistry,dialogue and script.. A glib disregard for for the concepts behind the subject matter and the reality the characters find themselves in.. It is expertly handled in otherways however..But the exact same problems have found thier way into every single Cameron film .. So to conclude ..Imo Alien is a masterpiece for a simple reason.It is as good as it possibly could be within the constraints given to the people who made it..

I'm gonna come out of lurking .. "Alien is not the masterpiece you think it is" Ok we'll talk about this on a technical level as there is no accounting for taste.. The design for Alien is absolutly unique when one considers the time frame.. There are similarities to the interior of the millenium falcon but thats it.. The script is very well rounded if in no way original as a story...The complexities and originality are left to subtext never to fall foul of sentimentality... It's uniqueness as a script revolves around the birth scene which realy has to be seen in the context of when the film was made to appreciate it's impact.. The camera work is flawless.The lighting is second to none.. The music is haunting and evocative..The acting is first class.The dialogue is realistic...The miniatures are top notch...The effects are nothing short of amazing considering the resources avaidable to the crew...The set pieces are intense in thier level of detail and pace. Consider in both films the approach to the derelict or the camera track around the sleeping ships .. Alien actually meditates on what it means to be alone in space..To wake from hypersleep.. to approach an alien ship ..To die at the hands of something unknown.. I disagree that the characterisation is bad .. Every member of the ship is personified perfectly .. There is no doubt who is who and the humanity of each is acted superbly by each of the cast .I actualy forgot who some of the characters were in Aliens and wasn't even aware when they died..The way the marines conducted themselves annoyed me with thier incompetence and stupid one liners.. They cheapened the whole concept of alien life by making references to Arturians etc.. The flaws of Alien are technical... The result of a shortage of time and money..This has been documented many times and admitted by the producers.. More cash = better explosion at the end of the film and a motion control rig.. Aliens is a great movie but it's flaws are based in it's lack of Artistry..(Giger),dialogue and script.. A glib disregard for for the concepts behind the subject matter and the reality the characters find themselves in is actually pretty bizarre when you consider the oppertunity given by the source material.. It is expertly handled in otherways however..But the exact same problems have found thier way into every single Cameron film .. CHEESE! So to conclude ..Imo Alien is a masterpiece for a simple reason.It is as good as it possibly could be within the constraints given to the people who made it..

well, thanks for being understanding everyone, and not being mean lol

We came at it from different directions gritty, but I entirely agree.

Hey invaderzim42....we're here to converse, discuss the finer points of something we're all passionate about and have some fun. You and I can disagree and we obviously do, but there's no ill will there, I hope you know, and I just enjoy getting into it will all you guys. In the non-digital world, I have one friend who truly appreciates and identifies with my love for 'Alien' and my anticipation of 'Prometheus'....and we've discussed it all to death. Who else can I share this wonderful insanity with but all of you? invaderzim42......hats off man...

Agreed craigamore this site is not conceived to tolerate the kind of nonsense that gets debated on you tube and other forums where its used as an excuse to hurl abuse at one another. It has been a pleasure for most of us to debate ideas and thrash out opinions without the need for that kind of stupidity and a lot of us are getting to long in the tooth for that kind of unconstructive waste of energy . After all those of us that were around when the first movie was released are in our mid to late forties and beyond lol. We can agree to disagree and speculate openly without the need for conflict .

From what I heard Die Hard 5 is set in russia and stars john mcclane and his son

Russia? very interesting....

I just wanted to share a personal impression of both films they very first time i saw them. For Alien, my parents and some friends told me about the movie, I was 6 back then. It is funny how I imagined in terms of visuals, something completely different to the actual production design. I was thinking more of a 50's -60's b movie ( i also remember Planet of the Vampires ). For Aliens, Now a 12 year old kid, I went to the premiere at Christmas Eve ( here in Mexico ) with my parents; and of course the thrill and suspense I felt was matchless. Now that I own both movies in Blue Ray, and having a chance to see them without any disturbance; I can see all the flaws and mistakes you guys mention of both movies.

If movie-makers are expecting me to pay to see what they are churning out, I expect a good story as well as good visuals and a sense of believe-ability..... Not a load of crap that has me constantly questioning the scenario. The new Thing movie had some horrible glaring continuity issues that made me feel that all of the effort that went into it was just flushed down the toilet. The dog. Looked NOTHING AT ALL LIKE THE DOG IN THE ORIGINAL. The cavern the ship was in. The Norweigans blew it up in the original didn't they? Not according to the new movie, the ship starting up was the cause of the cavern collapsing............... Over-use of CGI when they had some far better practical effects made and ACTUALLY shot. Covered over with that ridiculous SanderCGIThing at the end. Fucking Hollywood.

All good debates. I like how consistent all of the sets and props are in Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3. The dialog in those three were all believable to me. Alien and Aliens were good enough for me to the point where I never paid attention to the fact that there was gravity on the ships. Yeah, the airlock scene in Aliens was unrealistic. I'm no astronaut, but you don't have to be to know that the vacuum of space would would take the air right out of your lungs damn near instantaneously. Everyone has their notion of how the Alien should be portrayed. I personally hate the hive idea, but on a planetary scale, that's pretty threatening. I've always thought the fact that a single alien's ability to decide whether or not you die simply by being present...wherever, is more terrifying. It's like the antithesis of humankind. It's existence based on killing...it never really "ate" anyone or seemed to have any other purpose. It's reproduction is still in the air for me. The idea of being restrained to be raped and the mutagen induced transformation into an egg are both vile and horrible ways to die. Imagine your body slowly changing on the DNA level...makes me sick and almost makes me ache to think about it. Then, you have the Alien Resurrection portrayal, which to me, likens the Aliens to the velociraptors in Jurassic Park or something. Might as well be running from the lions in 'Ghost in the Darkness'. I'll take the former over the latter, ha. The whole character development issue people have with 'Alien'...the story takes place in 24 hours. What do you want, back story on each person or the events that make the movie? I haven't seen a movie since 'Alien' that had more "human" characters in it. The cast were all emotional wrecks. Call me a bitch, but even if I had weapon, I'd be pissing on myself! On top of it all, as it has been said already, Ridley couldn't have realized half of what he (and all of us) wanted to 30 years ago. Alien is a masterpiece because I haven't stopped thinking about it for 24 years. It feels good to be able to talk to other people about this "thing" that has scarred me since I was a kid! Cheers!

Totally agree Cypher, THE THING 2011 is a total proof of hollywood nonsense. Why do all of the supposed hard work of working in reverse some scenes if they drop the ball in the most important stuff like the story and effects. The only thing that worked on me in terms of marketing was Mary Elizabeth Winstead. But really, the THING 2011 is perfect example of what Prometheus should not be and why Sir Ridley does not intend to handle like a direct prequel.

As I was getting to the end of page 3 of this thread, with its enthusiastic, sometimes lengthy (but ARTICULATE) posts by all involved, I was thinking, 'I need to chime in again about how much I enjoy this forum,' particularly because of the consistent level of civility! But then you guys went ahead and beat me to that point too. Here's looking fwd to nekid push ups (or not nekid, I mean it IS Charlize Theron) and extraterrestrial civilizations doing decidedly uncivilized things! -sg1054

"i seriously just wrote this huge thing, and it took me so long that when i posted it the page had to reload and i was signed out, so now i need to re type it " HA!

@invaderzim42..When i go off on a rant(which occurs more often),ill type out a huge reply,but i copy befor i post so if its gets wiped out(cuz i gotta sign back in..ugh)i paste it back in the box on the next go round..been there.