How many here saw Alien in 1979?

Hi here there is one. I first saw it in Barcelona in 1979 and up till now I am still in shock :-D. Best Sci-fi horror movie ever. After that it changed my view of what a Sci-fi movie is supposed to be and it set a new standard up, Amazing. 3 years later Scott gave us another gift, Blade Runner..... it has passed 30 years since then...I can´t believe it and also how updated those movies still are. only a genius could make them. And today, 30th May I am going to see the Belgian release of Prometheus. Yes in Belgium we will be the few fortunate country to watch the movie in theaters. I couldn't make it at 11.00am but I have the tickets for 1400. I will post my review ASAP.

I couldn´t see it on the big screen ´cause of my age, but my dad bought it on MCA video library, which came on the old Beta format in 1980. Huge impact on me. I was a fan of the magazines Famous Monsters of Filmland, and then Fangoria, so I knew about all the good stuff, hehe. :)

I was a graduate student at the time at the University of Virginia ... saw it opening weekend at Vinegar Hill Theater in Charlottesville Virginia with a bunch of fellow grad students. We spent hours afterward discussing the theme of the organic vs the inorganic in the film, and the perverse sexuality that runs all through it. Had the "making of" book at the time, wish I still did. EDIT: My earliest SF film memories by the way are seeing the original War Of The Worlds (1953) and Forbidden Planet (1956) with my grandmother, who was a big SF fan and turned me onto it. The monster in Forbidden Planet haunted my dreams for years. Both are real classics, with state-of-the-art effects for that time period. So I'm probably one of the older SF fans in this thread. :)

i was born then so didnt quite catch it in the cinema, and i hate to admit it watched Aliens as a kid back in late 80s and THEN alien...

I cant remember exactly when i saw the movie, i think it was about 1984-1985 but vaguely remembered it, then i saw it again about 1987 and Aliens just after. I would only had been a todler when Alien came out ;)

I remember hearing about it from a friend in school. He mentioned the xeno's mouth and how another set of teeth shot out. That weekend some fellow 13 year old friends and I stood on our toes (it was rated M here, meaning adults for those under 16 iirc) and got in. Blew my mind away. To this day, if I have a dream with monsters, xenos will usually be it.

I was a mere 4 years old in 1979, sadly the cinemas wouldn't have let me in lol!!! I think I first saw it about 10 as my friend smuggled in a vhs copy to school. & it rocked my world!!!! I do remember knowing of Alien earlier as a kid though, 6 or 7 maybe, because my parents had bought the Alien board game by Kenner (anyone else remember that????)

Yup! Saw it as soon as it opened and was blown away.

I had just graduated H.S. and my Physics teacher took me & one other student to see it as a "reward" for scoring 90 or better on the regents exam. Pretty cool guy.

I was too young (13), but read the novel during the summer of 79 and was completely hooked and utterly frustrated. I remember ITV (UK) showing a premiere programme and the clip of Kane looking at the egg. I was even more hooked, so bought up every single book I could find about the making of, Giger's artwork and the comic novel etc. I got to see it a few years later on VCR and was not disappointed. I'm seeing Prometheus this Friday at 6.30pm and it's like I'm back in 79 except I now get to see the film. I've not been this excited about a film in years (is that sad for a 45 year-old dad?)

Egyptian Theater opening weekend, Hollywood...thought it was simply the latest monster movie, a dime a dozen Wrong.

I was negative 8 years old in 1979 lol

I was 12 in 1979. My father and I saw it in Montreal. It made a HUGE impact on me. My parents were obviously OK with it, because I got the 12" Kenner figure the following Christmas. LOL.

Yep, I was there! Saw it when it first came out at the Odeon in Leicester, Uk. Back then it was quite a 'shocking' film too...That level of gore wasn't really commonplace and I can remember all the people fainting and throwing up at screenings of The Exorcist' and 'Jaws' too...!!! They had St John's ambulances outside on standby! lol!!! I was nineteen then, and the years have done nothing to diminish my admiration for Alien and the benchmark it set. It still works on every level for me to this very day, and has stood up better than anything else from that era in my opinion. @ Seven Dreams; Hey, I'm 51 and soon to be a (gasp...) a Grandad....and I'm [b]STOKED[/b][size=200][/size] about Prometheus!!!!. We're not sad, just enthusiastic.....(or something!)

So, does this make me one of the oldest members of this lovely forum then.....eeekkk! [img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mayHJK7HWOE/T2tlCkZ3SlI/AAAAAAAADjs/kArGKJImOfs/s1600/thedeadlyyearshd1177.jpg[/img]

I was 11 in 1979. I could only get in to see an R-rated film with an adult, so I talked my older sister into taking me. She nearly hurled during the chestburster scene! I was expecting something like Star Wars, but with a little bit of blood and a few 4-letter words thrown in for good measure. I was in for a rude awakening! The film was shockingly awesome. Loved it then, and I love it now.

Can't resist the temptation to answer... Yes I was 12 when I saw it. I will never forget it! A life-changing experience for me.

That's awesome, I was One, and i think that if my parents had brought be to that then i still would be peeing my bed today! and a great deal of my paycheck would be going to Psychologists lol

I was 10 when the movie come out but my Dad's a huge sci fi/horror buff (which I am now) and he had all the books and posters and went in to see it with my mum (she was not amused). I sat for hours enthralled with the stories he told about the film and talked me through the various books (which are all mine now). But when he managed to get a Super 8 copy and I sat totally mesmerised by the whole thing, the Derelict, The Space Jockey, The Facehugger...I was hooked from there on and the original is still one of my all time favourite films. I'm a dad now to two girls who have absolutely no interest in sci fi whatsoever, so I'm taking my dad into see Prometheus on Friday, It'll be like I'm 10 all over again (I don't know who's the more excited by this film, me or my dad??)

Hi, I saw Alien upon it's initial release. I was a senior in high school in the San Francisco bay area. I saw Aliens in 1986 when it was released. I saw it in San Antonio Texas as I had just enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. I will add Prometheus to this list when on June 8 I will take my family to see it.

I saw it at the Egyptian in Hollywood in '79 (I was probably about 9 years old). My dad had already seen it on a business trip and told me about it. I went and bought all the books (novel, graphic novel, comic book) and ate it all up. I kept pestering my parents to let me see the movie, so my dad took my mom to get her opinion of whether or not I could handle it. They agreed to take me the next weekend. I knew everything that was going to happen from scouring the books thoroughly, but still covered my eyes during the intensive scenes. What a silly kid I was.

I was there opening night. Lines were out the door and that was a first for me. I was so high and we stood in line for over an hour waiting to get into the theater. One thing that sticks out in the movie was after the chestburster scene ended the place was so quite you could hear a pin drop. Then all of sudden this guy burts out laughing and people all around the theater were in shock. Ridley Scott delivered that night. Scared the shit out of me but I still went back to see it 5 more times. So looking forward to seeing this movie.

I saw it in '79 in my senior year in High School. Even though a girl I knew let slip the spoiler about the chestburster it was still an awesome experience. No one could have "spoiled" the atmosphere, pacing, acting etc. It was a landmark film but back then the world felt smaller because we didn't have the 'net. You had the trailer on TV and that was it. People made less of a big deal about everything then.

I was 3 so...no.

"the world felt smaller because we didn't have the 'net." Yeah, that's my feeling too. It was nice to be able to go in "stone cold" and appreciate the film for what it was, with no preconceived notions. Even with all that I've read online, I'm still determined to go in with a positive attitude towards Prometheus. I'm not going in with high expectations though, because this film can't be the be-all/end-all Alien film to each and every one of us fans. I'm convinced we'll all come away with some sense of continuity with the film that started it all.

I was 9 years old, and of course, my parents thought I was 'mature' enough to handle [i]Alien[/i], so they took me to see it. I had nightmares for weeks. :( Then again, we're talking about parents who [b]ALSO[/b] thought I was mature enough to see "Jaws" in the movies at 5 years old (I kid you not). Now that I think back, it all might explain a few things...

In a strange way, I can't help but be somewhat envious of those (but few) moviegoers who have never seen one of the Alien films. To be able to "start" the Alien film journey with Prometheus is really a gift.

I saw it in 79 when I was 5. The family was vacationing and the hotel had HBO (back when they played movies that were still in the theater) My parents ordered the movie one night and for some reason, let me watch. I was terrified afterwards but in a good way....I loved it!! that movie is what started my love of sci-fi.

The year I was born

saw it in college gym freshman year '80. f'n thing was out of focus most of the time

I saw it with my dad in the theatre when I was 12. I remember thinking the space jockeyb was the Alien, and when the Nostromo lifted off, I thought, "wait that's it?" So the chestburster caught me completely off guard. The most fear I remember was waiting for Ripley to take off, and Mother doing the countdown. I really was on the edge of me seat thinking "GO ON! GOOOOO!!" Very cool. No matter what the plot of Prometheus turns out to be, I am really looking forward to the visuals of it all.

Saw it in the theater when I was 9, a few other cinematic goodies came along that year, Apocalypse Now and Mad Max just to name a couple.

I remember when I was a kid my aunt used to narrate to me the stories from the movies she saw at the movie theater. She must have made a very good work at telling me the story of Alien because I was fascinated but it even before watching it. When I finally did (not sure if on tv or on VHS),it blew me away, becoming instantly one of my top drawer titles, that I would revisit on a regular basis. I could not get enough of Ridley Scott's sneaky, suspense inducing camera work peeking into the awakening Nostromo, and then the hand held shots which at that time were groundbreaking. And of course all the ensuing cat and mouse odyssey for the crew. I totally dig the spanish title of the movie, which translates as "Alien: The 8th Passenger", it really sets the mood more the movie.

@rep_detect2019 With the internet overflowing of information, that would not be possible. Even a tiny animated Gif can spoil the surprise of the movie. You would need to get a child from the Amazon rainforest or otherwise use a time machine.

Shake and bake....you are not alone! Try taking some Adrenalin instead of Hyronalin for your advanced age:O)

I saw it in '79 but it was after it had come out on tape. It was the first VHS movie dad bought along with our first top-load, corded-remote, Sony VHS player. High tech stuff back then. The following week mom made crab legs for dinner and none of us kids would eat them. lol

I saw it alone, thinking it was going to be a wholesome Sci Fi. The night was cold, and raining. After the movie I looked under the car, the back seats, and the trunk (boot). I scared the liven crap out of me.

Shake and Bake, I was 19 too.

I wasnt even born yet, I saw it when i was 4 and it scared the shit out of me even though I didnt understand what was going on. All I knew was that the xeno was the most badass monster of all time and still is!!! And then seeing it in my teens and understanding it scared me even more.

Saw the movie Alien in Nashville in 1979 when it came out, I was 18, tried to get my younger brother and his friend into the movie as well, they were 15, but they wouldn't allow it. I loved that movie, also saw the original Star Wars in 1977, loved that movie too. I know, I'll get hate mail for that, but at the time, what other scifi was there? I've hated what George Lucas has done to them, but as I said, not many good scifi movies out there as it is, so we are lucky to get what we get sometimes. I do look very forward to this lastest movie, regardless of whether it's great or not. I just really hope it gets tied into Alien and has some continuity. I am worried about this idea that the engineers or space jockeys are going to destroy us, which makes no sense after creating us, and if they have that much power, why now, all they had to do was do it any time. I am also worried about Lindelof screwing everything up the way he did Lost, let's hope that is not the case!