blade runner vs. alien

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two of the dopest movies of all time imo

Poll Results

OptionVotes
blade runner 69
alien 57


the dan glickman from the hilarious motion picture association of america (max), Friday, 14 November 2008 18:21 (seventeen years ago)

alien

eman, Friday, 14 November 2008 18:22 (seventeen years ago)

I was a squeamish teen when I saw Alien, and it bored the shit outta me.

Dr Morbius, Friday, 14 November 2008 18:26 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.therealcuba.com/Elian01.jpg

eman, Friday, 14 November 2008 18:27 (seventeen years ago)

they're both awesome but i think i've inadvertently fallen asleep more times during blade runner than alien.

some know what you dude last summer (Jordan), Friday, 14 November 2008 18:28 (seventeen years ago)

I've been many different ages when I've seen Blade Runner, and it bored the snore outta zzzzzz....

Kerm, Friday, 14 November 2008 18:29 (seventeen years ago)

giger > syd mead

ledge, Friday, 14 November 2008 18:31 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner in a walk.

jon /via/ chi 2.0, Friday, 14 November 2008 19:00 (seventeen years ago)

I've never been able to finish Blade Runner, because it's really boring.

kingkongvsgodzilla, Friday, 14 November 2008 19:02 (seventeen years ago)

Alien's way more boring than Blade Runner! Still a great film though.

chap, Friday, 14 November 2008 19:11 (seventeen years ago)

blade runner vs. alien: which of these two dope movies is more boring

some know what you dude last summer (Jordan), Friday, 14 November 2008 19:13 (seventeen years ago)

bladerunner sux

Shacknasty (Frogman Henry), Friday, 14 November 2008 19:15 (seventeen years ago)

I refuse to choose.

fiscal liberal (kenan), Friday, 14 November 2008 19:15 (seventeen years ago)

these are 2 top 5 movies for me, i reckon. maybe top 7. both superb, both visual treats. Blade Runner is the better of the two in just about every department though.

Sydney Greenstreet is de Britney Spears van de popmuziek (Roberto Spiralli), Friday, 14 November 2008 19:20 (seventeen years ago)

ugh should have made this a 77 poll

the dan glickman from the hilarious motion picture association of america (max), Friday, 14 November 2008 19:23 (seventeen years ago)

'Blade Runner' manages to conjure up a whole believable, beautiful world without any info-dumping (the word-crawl at the start aside): only other SF film I can think of that came near to doing this as well was 'Children of Men'.

James Morrison, Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:21 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner.

Vision, Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:24 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner

Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:26 (seventeen years ago)

i don't know such things i only do eyes! just eyes....

Dan I., Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:30 (seventeen years ago)

'Alien' seemed like a high budget rip-off of the Dr. Who 'Ark in Space' series, and I saw the original release of 'Bladerunner' with the voice-over and the happy ending. Neither of them could scratch 'Mad Max 2', 'Escape From New York' or 'The Thing'. 'Alien', at a push, for Giger's design.

Soukesian, Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:31 (seventeen years ago)

i think this could be the only poll on ilx that matters, ever.

Ant Attack.. (Ste), Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:39 (seventeen years ago)

why would this one matter

TOMBOT, Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:41 (seventeen years ago)

i'm not sure. i'm drunk. but this is a question i've asked myself many times, it would be sweet if ilx could answer it for me.

Ant Attack.. (Ste), Saturday, 15 November 2008 00:43 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner is a better movie, but I'd rather watch Alien almost any day of the week.

Millsner, Saturday, 15 November 2008 01:23 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner. I find Alien tedious.

Aimless, Saturday, 15 November 2008 01:28 (seventeen years ago)

Love them both (or at least the Blade Runner that was in theaters last year, only version I've seen), cannot choose.

sad man in him room (milo z), Saturday, 15 November 2008 01:48 (seventeen years ago)

'Blade Runner' manages to conjure up a whole believable, beautiful world without any info-dumping (the word-crawl at the start aside): only other SF film I can think of that came near to doing this as well was 'Children of Men'.

― James Morrison, Saturday, November 15, 2008 12:21 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

alien does this too, just in a more subtle way cuz the characters aren't "in" the world as much, just part of it.

s1ocki, Saturday, 15 November 2008 02:20 (seventeen years ago)

Both have two of the strongest opening credit sequences around, visually and musically -- the slow pan across the planet with the title slowly assembling like strange hieroglyphs against Jerry Goldsmith's blasted, empty romanticism, space as isolation, versus the stark lettering against pure black with Vangelis's utterly forlorn percussion echoes and soft, wailing melody. Pretty breathtaking.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 15 November 2008 02:38 (seventeen years ago)

Did Saul Bass really design the Alien title sequence or is that a myth?

Kerm, Saturday, 15 November 2008 02:52 (seventeen years ago)

R/GA did Alien's title sequence

balloon in a sack (latebloomer), Saturday, 15 November 2008 03:44 (seventeen years ago)

Oh man... I forgot about Vangelis! That just tipped it over to Alien. The neon Atari signs I can deal with but Vangelis... would be like if Keir Dullea had a mullet in 2001.

Philip Nunez, Saturday, 15 November 2008 04:53 (seventeen years ago)

Ban Philip Nunez.

Dan I., Saturday, 15 November 2008 05:18 (seventeen years ago)

Oh man... I forgot about Vangelis! That just tipped it over to Alien. The neon Atari signs I can deal with but Vangelis... would be like if Keir Dullea had a mullet in 2001.

― Philip Nunez, Friday, November 14, 2008 11:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

there is a lot of idiocy in this thread but you my friend you push that retardation into a new dimension of wrong.

the dan glickman from the hilarious motion picture association of america (max), Saturday, 15 November 2008 13:29 (seventeen years ago)

A poll inside a poll:

Pris or Rachel?

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/frodo06/blade_runner.jpg

http://boingboing.net/images/rachael2007.jpg

warmsherry, Saturday, 15 November 2008 14:47 (seventeen years ago)

rachel

the dan glickman from the hilarious motion picture association of america (max), Saturday, 15 November 2008 14:47 (seventeen years ago)

Both please. Yum yum.

Nathalie (stevienixed), Saturday, 15 November 2008 14:55 (seventeen years ago)

Rachel. Very iconic, one of the last great femme fatale images in cinema. After that, I can only recall Jessica Alba's dance in "Sin City".

Vision, Saturday, 15 November 2008 15:05 (seventeen years ago)

it's all blackness eh

s1ocki, Saturday, 15 November 2008 15:53 (seventeen years ago)

only ppl who think this is a tough call need til New Years to decide.

Dr Morbius, Saturday, 15 November 2008 17:01 (seventeen years ago)

jesus christ sean young vs DARYL HANNAH what is wrong with yall

ಥ﹏ಥ (cankles), Saturday, 15 November 2008 17:05 (seventeen years ago)

xactly, ಥ﹏ಥ

xactly

warmsherry, Sunday, 16 November 2008 15:38 (seventeen years ago)

I find both pretty tedious, although Alien less so, I think. I want to love both of them, because they look so fucking gorgeous, but I just can't. Ought to rewatch Blade Runner, been a long time. The puppets at the end though, always used to throw me, lose my interest.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 16 November 2008 17:03 (seventeen years ago)

Rachel. Very iconic, one of the last great femme fatale images in cinema. After that, I can only recall Jessica Alba's dance in "Sin City".

bwahahaha wat?

Passenger 57 (rogermexico.), Sunday, 16 November 2008 19:34 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 00:01 (seventeen years ago)

Alien.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 00:31 (seventeen years ago)

Alien. Not sure why. Blade Runner is more idea-dense, and I've probably gotten more out of it over the years. But I like Alien's simplicity and LOVE the execution of Geiger's designs. Also, I'm a huge fan of that weird bridge-period between fanciful 70s sci-fi and the emergence of realistic, hard-edged 80s stuff. In Alien, you get 70s imagery (the computer room, the hypersleep chambers, the white-blooded robot) mashed right up against iconic 80s-ness in the models, visual effects and overall texture.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 00:38 (seventeen years ago)

this is like choosing between my right and left dorsal spines

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 01:30 (seventeen years ago)

alien is a lot more interesting to me. blade runner looks great but i've always been frustrated by how boring the story is. and the dialogue is terrible. ("it's too bad she won't live, but then again who does" may well be the worst — or at least the worst-delivered — line in any movie ever.)

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:16 (seventeen years ago)

do ppl really find alien "tedious"? i thought it was one of the scariest things ever, but i find the concept of outer space inherently creepy.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:18 (seventeen years ago)

Alien for the reasons contenderizer and JD give

Timezilla vs Mechadistance (blueski), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:27 (seventeen years ago)

blade runner looks great but i've always been frustrated by how boring the story is. and the dialogue is terrible. ("it's too bad she won't live, but then again who does" may well be the worst — or at least the worst-delivered — line in any movie ever.)

so rong

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:36 (seventeen years ago)

i was gonna say... that line & ejo in general are classics beyond all classics

eman cipation s1ocklamation (max), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:52 (seventeen years ago)

I'm watching Blade Runner for the first time ever right now.

Too Into Dancing to Argue (ENBB), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 02:56 (seventeen years ago)

alien is a lot more interesting to me. blade runner looks great but i've always been frustrated by how boring the story is. and the dialogue is terrible. ("it's too bad she won't live, but then again who does" may well be the worst — or at least the worst-delivered — line in any movie ever.)

I have similar issues with the characters in Alien though and some idiotic plot devices: Evil robot! Evil corporation! Running after the cat is bad!

Man, Ridley Scott had one heck of a theatrical start... First three movies are The Duellists, Alien, and Blade Runner. Sheesh!

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 03:24 (seventeen years ago)

I know The Duellists is kinda outmatched here, but I'd love to see a poll matching it with the other two. Such a neat movie.

Millsner, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 03:27 (seventeen years ago)

Blade Runner. By coincidence I'm listening to the soundtrack right now

sonderangerbot, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 03:34 (seventeen years ago)

the corporate stuff in alien is great!! i'd never seen the future look so... privatized

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 03:36 (seventeen years ago)

Slocki OTM. Or so working-class. Alien nails this feeling of lived (and labored) in-ness like no other science fiction movie I've ever seen. You get a sense that you're not seeing the totality of the characters' lives, but just this one, small corner. In part it's the quality of the actors, in part it's the Altman-like approach to dialogue: fragmented, naturalistic, delivered with no regard to cameras or microphones. Especially true during the build-up to the chest-burster gag (perhaps, less so elsewhere in the film). Anyway, it fascinated me as a kid, and it still seems unique and compelling.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 06:31 (seventeen years ago)

yeah, also the fact that the actors are all aged about 30 and up. imagine a major horror /sci-fi movie doing that now.

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 06:42 (seventeen years ago)

i know, they'd add in some kid who somehow escaped from teh aliens or something!!

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 06:50 (seventeen years ago)

https://proprintwear.com/images/Touche%20Fit%20Trim%20Black%20Shorts%202.jpg

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 06:51 (seventeen years ago)

Slocki OTM. Or so working-class. Alien nails this feeling of lived (and labored) in-ness like no other science fiction movie I've ever seen. You get a sense that you're not seeing the totality of the characters' lives, but just this one, small corner.

Silent Running and Dark Star to thread (even though they're inferior). I know I'm deliberately unfair on Alien here, but this isn't anything particularly new to SF although Weyland-Yutani is a particularly 70s/80s American version of interstellar capitalism than the monoliths Bester, Sheckley, and Pohl wrote about.

CHOAM would take out W-T in a first round TKO though.

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:01 (seventeen years ago)

I know I'm deliberately unfair on Alien here, but this isn't anything particularly new to SF...

-- E.T.

That's not unfair, and I agree. But I don't think it's ever been executed so well in SF cinema, before or since. (Or, anywhere else, for that matter. Literature just isn't capable of that kind of immersive versimilitude. Not that I wanna fight about it...)

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:05 (seventeen years ago)

What I liked about Alien is the ordinariness of running into other life/ancient spacecraft in the universe. There's no "OMG we're not alone!" but implicit irritation of a trucker delayed by snowstorm. Also sets up the "just another bug hunt" gag in Aliens

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:05 (seventeen years ago)

my gf had never seen alien until recently and i think the shit that freaked her out the most was the Ash meltdown.

my fingers is a jellyfish (omar little), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:10 (seventeen years ago)

ya that's good shit

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:19 (seventeen years ago)

i mean, maybe it wasn't the first to do some of that stuff in sci-fi but to write it off as "idiotic plot devices" is TOTALLY unfair!

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:20 (seventeen years ago)

even the cat thing... didn't alien pioneer the modern cat scare??

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:21 (seventeen years ago)

i think it did! always wondered how the cat got into those lockers though.

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:22 (seventeen years ago)

Cats do that sot of thing.

James Morrison, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:32 (seventeen years ago)

i mean, maybe it wasn't the first to do some of that stuff in sci-fi but to write it off as "idiotic plot devices" is TOTALLY unfair!

Standard horror movie stuff though. Just because it's in outer space doesn't mean that it's new.

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:37 (seventeen years ago)

which stuff are we talking about now?

pazuzu's petals (latebloomer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 07:48 (seventeen years ago)

Watched Blade Runner the other day for the first time in years, and it was really good. The toys annoyed me less so than before. I think I'd pip for Alien ahead of it though, just.

Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 08:36 (seventeen years ago)

Both are classic. Could this thread not be renamed "Horror vs SciFi"?

Nate Carson, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 11:26 (seventeen years ago)

one thing that bothered me in Alien recently is the poor cut between fake broken down Ian Holm and real broken down Ian Holm in an otherwise excellent scene, why didn't they fix that?

sonderangerbot, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 11:37 (seventeen years ago)

one thing that bothers me is how does teh alien get so big in between chest bursting and eating its first human.

ledge, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 12:11 (seventeen years ago)

alien is more fun

caek, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 12:21 (seventeen years ago)

i think this could be the only poll on ilx that matters, ever.
― Ant Attack.. (Ste)

why would this one matter
― TOMBOT

because its a mom vs dad poll, would be my guess.

✄ ▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸▸ (☪), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 13:23 (seventeen years ago)

one thing that bothers me is how does teh alien get so big in between chest bursting and eating its first human.

I can't find Ebert's original review of the movie, only his "Great Movies" entry, but he remarked on this as well, referring to the creature apparently building mass out of thin air or somesuch. He likes to go all biology/Darwin on monster movies.

^likes tilt-a-whirls (Pancakes Hackman), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 14:32 (seventeen years ago)

No XTRO, no credibility.

JTS, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:02 (seventeen years ago)

it ate a cat, right?

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:16 (seventeen years ago)

oh wait, no

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:17 (seventeen years ago)

that was ALF

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:17 (seventeen years ago)

the writers on alf used to play In A Silent Way and shoot heroin

sonderangerbot, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 15:29 (seventeen years ago)

Standard horror movie stuff though. Just because it's in outer space doesn't mean that it's new.

― Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, December 31, 2008 7:37 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

just because it's not 100% new and spun out of thin air doesn't mean it's idiotic.

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:42 (seventeen years ago)

sondangerbot and ledge OTM. Cut between plastic head and Holm head is jarring, as is the sudden biggification of thee Alien. But for a special-effects heavy late 70s flick, it has very few such flaws. (Running chestburster is super fakey, shot of breaking landing gear looks a little dubious; once you notice that they're using water to get the space engine blast effect at the end, it's hard to unnotice it, though it still looks cool.)

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:50 (seventeen years ago)

one thing that's great about the movie is the fact that the alien looks completely different in every scene... it doesn't bother me that it gets bigger.. it's an alien!!

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:52 (seventeen years ago)

maybe it just LOOKS bigger to the people who are terrified of it

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:53 (seventeen years ago)

This is true. Maybe it's just Jonesy the whole time, and as they get more and more freaked out, he keeps looking bigger and weirder.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:55 (seventeen years ago)

"Aah, get this cat off my face!" "Aah, the cat is in my lungs!" Etc.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:56 (seventeen years ago)

one thing that's great about the movie is the fact that the alien looks completely different in every scene... it doesn't bother me that it gets bigger.. it's an alien!!

"just means more of you to love!"

only movie that would've beaten alien is aliens imo

has μ answers (Lamp), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 16:59 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.filmwad.com/fw_images/2008/06/26/roy-batty.jpg

butt-rock miyagi (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

how did that replicant get so big

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 17:44 (seventeen years ago)

he ate a bird

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 17:46 (seventeen years ago)

"Aliens" : Some nice effects, but actually kind've a crap film.

Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:01 (seventeen years ago)

only movie that would've beaten alien is aliens imo

^^^^^

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:40 (seventeen years ago)

except no

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:41 (seventeen years ago)

yeah, i watch both alien and aliens recently and the original holds up better imo

i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:42 (seventeen years ago)

anyone who says "kind've" can't be trusted

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:49 (seventeen years ago)

actually kind have a crap film

eman cipation s1ocklamation (max), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:52 (seventeen years ago)

what is that word contracting? kind have a crap film?

has μ answers (Lamp), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:53 (seventeen years ago)

kind'f

Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:53 (seventeen years ago)

x'posts

has μ answers (Lamp), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:53 (seventeen years ago)

I still stand by what I posted on the Aliens thread

I saw both Alien and Aliens in the theater recently and I like both movies less than I did originally - Alien much more so.

Alex NYC was critical of Aliens' dialogue, and Alien is just as dopey, cartoonish, and two-dimensional as Aliens only instead of war movie cliches, it's full of horror movie cliches. Alien's suspense is really just shock-value: the alien goes "boo" and chows down on a crew member. Once you know the story, Alien has very little repeat-viewing worth except as a filmed H.R. Giger sketchbook. The new director's cut does flow better, but I could have done without the infamous "Dallas cocoon scene". On the plus side, the new digital sound is just amazing and worth it alone to see in a decent theater.

The original cut of Aliens was great, I wish that Cameron had just left it alone - really the only thing that needed to be included was the scene with the massed alien attack on the remote guns. Couple of scenes in here are just spectacular - the initial drop ship scene is amazingly well done and everything from "looks like they're having a goddamn town meeting" to "ease down - you've blown the transaxle. you're just grinding metal".

Thin writing or not, I defy anyone to repeat dialog from the original Alien without looking.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, August 30, 2004 5:09 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:55 (seventeen years ago)

what the fuck is "kind've"

― max, Monday, July 16, 2007 10:23 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 18:57 (seventeen years ago)

still ashamed that I used to say that all the time!

Dan I., Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:04 (seventeen years ago)

if you said it's ok because you were probably actually saying "kind of"

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:04 (seventeen years ago)

and that is kind have better.

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:04 (seventeen years ago)

what kind of fools are we?

Aimless, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:05 (seventeen years ago)

Maybe we got 'em demoralised.

Millsner, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:06 (seventeen years ago)

argh, ilx search shows that I am the main offender, historically. It made sense to me, as long as I didn't think about it too hard!

Dan I., Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:07 (seventeen years ago)

hahaha i have gotten to the point in my ilx career where i dont remember what jokes ive already made

eman cipation s1ocklamation (max), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:24 (seventeen years ago)

Alex NYC was critical of Aliens' dialogue, and Alien is just as dopey, cartoonish, and two-dimensional as Aliens only instead of war movie cliches, it's full of horror movie cliches.

-- E.T.

This is true, but it's still OffTM. Alien and Aliens each operates very traditionally within its genre (horror flick and war movie, respectively), but they both also succeed within them, and even transcend them. Alien is atmospheric, claustrophobic, visceral and horrifying. The suspense works, the jump-scares work, the imagery and ideas are suitably unnerving. More to the point, it does all this, delivering a classic "monster in a haunted house" scenario without ever being too obvious about it. The use of well executed science-fiction elements to render the familiar horror scenario fresh is clever and effective. And it's a richer film, visually, politically and thematically than most of its genre bretheren.

Same goes for Aliens and it's relocation of a traditional small-unit combat film into a horror/sci-fi setting. The genre fundamentals may be familiar, but they're delivered with exceptional skill, and the hybridization makes sense.

Where Alien isn't "just as dopey, cartoonish, and two-dimensional as Aliens" is in the acting and the production design. Harry Dean Stanton, Yapphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt and Veronica Cartwright all deliver exceptionally convincing, non-cartoonish performances. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to specifically fault the dialogue in Aliens. Relative to Alien, it really is dopey, cartoonish, two-dimensional.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:25 (seventeen years ago)

i don't really have a problem with "horror movie cliches" if they're done well -- the whole problem with those "cliches" is that they're usually done badly.

modernism, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:35 (seventeen years ago)

oops, that was me

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:36 (seventeen years ago)

are there any other movies that exploit the inherent scariness of being isolated in outer space as well as alien?

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:37 (seventeen years ago)

2001

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:45 (seventeen years ago)

but ya, criticizing a genre movie for being a genre movie is pretty silly imo

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:45 (seventeen years ago)

I actually think Alien doesn't really exploit the scariness of isolation in space very well. That's not to fault the film, just to say that it's scariness depends more on "trapped in creepy place with gross monster" than on endless freezing vaccum horror. Those scenes in 2001 with Dave inside the airlock and outside the ship do a far better job with that angle, IMO.

edit: damn you s1ocki!

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 19:46 (seventeen years ago)

Nah, freezing vacuum horror isn't what Alien is all about. The film's scare strengths have more to do with claustrophobia and body horror than anything specifically related to outer space, IMO.

Millsner, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 21:04 (seventeen years ago)

"I actually think Alien doesn't really exploit the scariness of isolation in space very well."

Did you see it in the theater first, or on video at home? Because in 1979, that shit was terrifying.

Nate Carson, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

Both, but maybe it's been too long.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 22:29 (seventeen years ago)

I mean, the movie's scary as hell. The "in space" part, not so much.

served by boot-face (contenderizer), Wednesday, 31 December 2008 22:30 (seventeen years ago)

ya, no one can even hear you scream

s1ocki, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 22:36 (seventeen years ago)

It's sound dampening powers are truly mighty.

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 31 December 2008 22:39 (seventeen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Thursday, 1 January 2009 00:01 (seventeen years ago)

o well, at least it was close

longwinded diatribes about the Boredoms via mental telepathy (bernard snowy), Thursday, 1 January 2009 01:32 (seventeen years ago)

a mighty mighty poll

but it's rong

Ant Attack.. (Ste), Thursday, 1 January 2009 02:04 (seventeen years ago)

another metric for ascertaining the results of polls like this could be to discard the numbers and simply tot up which option generated the most discussion; if applied to this poll it would be a landslide

Tracer Hand, Thursday, 1 January 2009 11:57 (seventeen years ago)

trick polls

s1ocki, Thursday, 1 January 2009 18:54 (seventeen years ago)

Solid, solid poll nonetheless. I'm glad it was close.

Millsner, Thursday, 1 January 2009 21:26 (seventeen years ago)

still mightily rong tho

Millsner, Thursday, 1 January 2009 21:27 (seventeen years ago)

I love both films but I voted Blade Runner simply because it's the one I've gone back to the most, recommended the most, and discussed the most. Alien is very cool, but not quite as ground breaking/thought provoking.

Maybe Alien has been slightly watered down by the franchise too. No Blade Runner sequel helps to preserve its appeal somehow.

Nate Carson, Thursday, 1 January 2009 22:06 (seventeen years ago)

although there was this
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/BladeRunner_PC_Game_%28Front_Cover%29.jpg
which for me I guess only made it even better

sonderangerbot, Friday, 2 January 2009 02:02 (seventeen years ago)

I think the poll would have had different results if it was Alien 2.

❤ⓛⓞⓥⓔ❤ (CaptainLorax), Friday, 2 January 2009 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah it would be a landslide for Blade Runner.

Alex in SF, Friday, 2 January 2009 20:31 (seventeen years ago)

another metric for ascertaining the results of polls like this could be to discard the numbers and simply tot up which option generated the most discussion; if applied to this poll it would be a landslide

a landslide of rong

El Tomboto, Friday, 2 January 2009 20:34 (seventeen years ago)

next on "discussion generator," contenderizer vs slocki in who can have the last word about how they appreciated the art design, altman-esque dialogue, and which sfx are a bit wack in ridley scott's 1979 space-horra opus Alien

El Tomboto, Friday, 2 January 2009 20:39 (seventeen years ago)

another metric for ascertaining the results of polls like this could be to discard the numbers and simply tot up which option generated the most discussion; if applied to this poll it would be a landslide

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/sarah-palin-vice-president.jpg

butt-rock miyagi (rogermexico.), Friday, 2 January 2009 20:50 (seventeen years ago)

damn dude I thought my post was cold

El Tomboto, Friday, 2 January 2009 20:57 (seventeen years ago)

she has more teeth than the alien did

Mad Vigorish (Eisbaer), Friday, 2 January 2009 22:04 (seventeen years ago)

four years pass...

Saw this tonight (in a theatre) for probably only the third time ever--when it came out, and then a second time within a couple of years. Intense, but I'm glad I didn't vote for it in the horror poll.

I spent much of the film trying to figure out if it just wanted to scare you, or if there was more going on. There was almost always more going on in the best horror films from the era--in Rosemary's Baby, in Night of the Living Dead, in The Exorcist, in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc. Alien's at the tail end of that era, '79, before slasher films become the norm. Did it have anything to do with either the events or the general climate of the day?

I don't know, but I was eventually struck by how precisely Ash's description of the alien ("I admire its purity"--the perfect killing machine, remorseless, detached, etc.) matches similar descriptions of the shark in Jaws and Michael Myers in Halloween (and also, except for the killing part, Leonard Nimory's description of the pods in Body Snatchers). It wouldn't seem like the best metaphor for the country after the very emotional debacle of Vietnam, so again, I don't know.

clemenza, Saturday, 22 June 2013 02:14 (twelve years ago)

Vietnam proved the USA could kill very effectively. it just couldn't win the war.

Aimless, Saturday, 22 June 2013 03:32 (twelve years ago)

That's why I didn't think the supposed indestructibility of the alien/shark/Michael Myers worked as a metaphor for the USA at that particular moment: the country seemed anything but after Vietnam. I think there's something going on there, I'm just not sure what.

clemenza, Sunday, 23 June 2013 01:25 (twelve years ago)

james cameron said aliens was explicitly about vietnam. it kind of ruined it a little. i'd rather it be about aliens in space and lance henriksen.

Philip Nunez, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:42 (twelve years ago)

They were playing Aliens right after Alien the other night, but I wasn't up to another film. I saw it a long time ago...I thought it was all about matriarchy and such, but I guess Cameron had something else in mind.

clemenza, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:55 (twelve years ago)

alien > blade runner because of the convincing depiction of unglamorous interstellar shipping, the mounting tensions and paranoia among the shipping crew in the claustrophobic spaceship, the anti-corporate politics, and the hotness of young sigourney weaver.

Treeship, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:13 (twelve years ago)

i've never seen the alien sequels (unless you count prometheus) even though alien is one of my favorite films. it seems like a stand alone thing for me; not something that should have sequels. blade runner is also a favorite, although i am troubled by the degree to which ridley scott seemed to associate asian ppl with a dystopian future.

Treeship, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:16 (twelve years ago)

I think that was an early 80s L.A. Thing, where you had the initial sushi/karaoke explosion mixed with a perceived industrial might accompanied by portable consumer electronics flooding the markets.

I saw Aliens again last month and was struck how well constructed the film was.

Hockey Drunk (kingfish), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:46 (twelve years ago)

It's a choice between a monster that can talk and one that just fucks you and kills you.

Both 'futures' depicted seem to hold up for being dirty, grimy and broken.

Can't choose.

cardamon, Sunday, 23 June 2013 13:13 (twelve years ago)

I suppose you could say that robots had already been perfected in Metropolis but aliens had never been as perfect as the one in Alien

cardamon, Sunday, 23 June 2013 13:28 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02cs3ph

This is a pretty good podcast. I like Iain Sinclair (especially as a film critic) and Linda Ruth Williams (who is more than qualified to comment on the feminist critique around the film)

xyzzzz__, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:38 (eleven years ago)

big lolz around "the alien IS Margaret Thatcher".

xyzzzz__, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:38 (eleven years ago)

Sinclair became a bit more cranky as the politics unfocused - still not bad.

xyzzzz__, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:55 (eleven years ago)


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