Keycube
Well-Known Member
I don't know if all theatres all do this, but our theatre shows older classics for a couple of showings on Sundays and Wednesdays. They highlight these before *every* movie during the previews, and I've been meaning to see a number of these for years, but it's hard to keep them at the forefront of your mind after you just watched a different film.
Anyway, wow.
How incredibly fun, seeing such an iconic treasure again, in all its grainy glory. The set pieces, the models, the attention to detail, the performances...such a visceral experience. A true piece of art.
Such a lesson in "Less is more", eh. One of my favorite sequences consists of something that *isn't* shown, where Kane is facehugged - pretty monumental! - and then all of a sudden they're back at the ship. It's cool because they cut away, and you have this inner suspense, wondering "What the hell is going on?", and then their next scene, they're at the ship, facing a different dilemma head-first (whether or not to allow him on the ship). No nonsense, just solid narrative. Seems like today you'd see a whole chaotic scene played out with Kane, a lot of graphic stuff with mega-chaos, milking it for all its worth ("Let's get out of here!), but not here...there's a bigger picture. It's like no scene is bigger than the final product, which is amazing for a movie with such big, iconic scenes.
And if anything, I could have used a bit less of the final alien form (as has been suggested by many), just in the name of mystery. But it was such a masterpiece you almost HAD to show this thing off, so no begrudging there, eh! I will say (and have said before), that the "Boo!" scene with Dallas in the ductwork was a bit jarring, almost to the point of silliness (totally IMHO). I wish Dallas' dot has just disappeared off the scanner or something. Maybe not even with any screams. Whatever, small potatoes.
At least, what, 20 minutes before we even encounter the eggs? It feels like much more, but probably because the characters are being so well crafted during that time, you feel like you've known them forever. These are characters you cared about. Just good storytelling from those that cared about their craft, in all facets of the making of the film.
With the state of certain social elements being what they are right now (and me being much older and wiser(?) than when I first saw it as a 9 year old), it really hit home what an empowered female Ripley is, and it does this in such a natural, organic fashion. It doesn't have to *try* to do anything with that, she's just a smart officer doing what smart officers do; although, really, she highlights what females do really well - multitasking - unhindered by the restraints of either compassion or corporation, yet pandering to both when appropriate. Damn, she's a great character. They all are, and none of the roles feel cliché in a "check the cultural box" way. They just feel like people.
It always strikes me how quickly it ends. It doesn't help that the tether at first seems too short for the Alien to reach the exhaust port, but then all of a sudden there he goes. It would have been cool to see the acid tear away part of the exhaust nacelle, just because. The attention to detail thing, maybe add a bit more suspense (will the shuttle hold up?). Maybe I'm just pissy that the movie has to end. Endings are so much easier to pick apart when you already know how it plays out.
That was more than I intended to write, but it was a really exciting day. It struck me as such this morning, when I saw my ticket stub that read "ALIEN", did a double-take, and realized how lucky I was last weekend.
Anyway, wow.
How incredibly fun, seeing such an iconic treasure again, in all its grainy glory. The set pieces, the models, the attention to detail, the performances...such a visceral experience. A true piece of art.Such a lesson in "Less is more", eh. One of my favorite sequences consists of something that *isn't* shown, where Kane is facehugged - pretty monumental! - and then all of a sudden they're back at the ship. It's cool because they cut away, and you have this inner suspense, wondering "What the hell is going on?", and then their next scene, they're at the ship, facing a different dilemma head-first (whether or not to allow him on the ship). No nonsense, just solid narrative. Seems like today you'd see a whole chaotic scene played out with Kane, a lot of graphic stuff with mega-chaos, milking it for all its worth ("Let's get out of here!), but not here...there's a bigger picture. It's like no scene is bigger than the final product, which is amazing for a movie with such big, iconic scenes.
And if anything, I could have used a bit less of the final alien form (as has been suggested by many), just in the name of mystery. But it was such a masterpiece you almost HAD to show this thing off, so no begrudging there, eh! I will say (and have said before), that the "Boo!" scene with Dallas in the ductwork was a bit jarring, almost to the point of silliness (totally IMHO). I wish Dallas' dot has just disappeared off the scanner or something. Maybe not even with any screams. Whatever, small potatoes.
At least, what, 20 minutes before we even encounter the eggs? It feels like much more, but probably because the characters are being so well crafted during that time, you feel like you've known them forever. These are characters you cared about. Just good storytelling from those that cared about their craft, in all facets of the making of the film.
With the state of certain social elements being what they are right now (and me being much older and wiser(?) than when I first saw it as a 9 year old), it really hit home what an empowered female Ripley is, and it does this in such a natural, organic fashion. It doesn't have to *try* to do anything with that, she's just a smart officer doing what smart officers do; although, really, she highlights what females do really well - multitasking - unhindered by the restraints of either compassion or corporation, yet pandering to both when appropriate. Damn, she's a great character. They all are, and none of the roles feel cliché in a "check the cultural box" way. They just feel like people.
It always strikes me how quickly it ends. It doesn't help that the tether at first seems too short for the Alien to reach the exhaust port, but then all of a sudden there he goes. It would have been cool to see the acid tear away part of the exhaust nacelle, just because. The attention to detail thing, maybe add a bit more suspense (will the shuttle hold up?). Maybe I'm just pissy that the movie has to end.
Endings are so much easier to pick apart when you already know how it plays out.That was more than I intended to write, but it was a really exciting day. It struck me as such this morning, when I saw my ticket stub that read "ALIEN", did a double-take, and realized how lucky I was last weekend.
