3D Blu-ray Review Prometheus 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Kevin EK]

The moments where the 3D really comes into play are the times when David and then the Engineer activate the galaxy hologram on the Bridge of the spacecraft. The imagery absolutely comes off the screen at that time. I would also cite the massive dust storm that overwhelms the guys as they return from the Pyramid the first time. There are a few moments of "emerging" where items move toward the viewer. Most of the time, the 3D just adds depth to the scene at hand. I wouldn't call this an aggressive use of it. For my taste, I liked it. But as we've seen in other discussions of 3D here, it went more toward my taste.

 

[Carlo_M]

Very telling quote 1 hour and 2 minutes into the documentary, which would explain the tension between those unhappy with their personal concept(s) of the Space Jockey, and Ridley's "Engineers".
BEN PROCTER [concept artist on the movie]: Ridley, because he created this universe, is much less precious about it than anyone else on the planet. You know, all of us see it as something that's written in stone, and that has gone on to this incredible life as a franchise, and a series and comic books and all this kind of stuff. To Ridley, I think he's aware of all those things, but fundamentally it's still just a job he did in the 1970s. It's something that he came up with and if that's what it is, then he can change it.
Not saying either is right/wrong, whatever. Just that a lot of people who are fans of movies, be it this, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. come up with notions and ideas that are sacred to them personally, and can get upset when the creator just discards these notions for a wholly new set of ideas and concepts.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I picked up the 4 disc version over the weekend.  I haven't checked the 3D version yet.
The documentary and the commentary by Ridley Scott don't address some significant questions, and the lack of that discussion speaks volumes.
It seems clear that Ridley Scott was enjoying all the design work they did to make this movie and to retrofit it to ALIEN.  And while making this movie at his own pace in his own way, he didn't have all the bean counters looking over his shoulder as they did when he made the movie back in the 70s.  He makes a point about how much of a good time he had making the movie and designing freely.  It also seems clear that all the design work overrode the basic script ideas, so that the script began servicing the design rather than the other way around.   It appears that Jon Spaihts wrote what was intended as a direct ALIEN prequel set at the planet visited by the Nostromo - possibly even as a direct sequel to ALIEN about what the heck that weird ship was doing there.  And it appears that Ridley Scott took things on a tangent away from that concept, something then really pushed by Damon Lindelof when he was brought in to rewrite the script and establish a new mythology.
Neither the documentary nor the commentary address many serious questions ALIEN fans had about this movie from the week it hit theaters.  Most of those plot points are left to fester.  Further, the special features don't mention how the idea of the pyramid structure and the religious materials within it are direct lifts from the original Dan O'Bannon script for what became ALIEN.  The documentary at least shows that H.R. Giger was briefly present on one day to see and experience the work done to create the worlds of this movie.

This has been the general critique of Scott his whole career.
Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

When evaluating the realism of characters in Aliens vs Prometheus I believe that certain allowances for the tone of the film have to be taken into consideration. Aliens does play out like an action film to a large degree so yes the characters are oriented in that direction. For what its worth, Hudson and Hicks are much more realistic in their milieu when compared to a biologist whose first instinct when confronting a serpentine alien life form is to go all "Hey buddy" and treat it like a pet. IMHO, of course.
- Walter.

My problem with Aliens (as much as I like the film) is the same problem I have with all of James Cameron's films. All the characters speak with the same voice, namely Cameron's. While he is great a plotting out a story, he is probably the worst writer of major motion pictures in Hollywood.
Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

The point is, in 25 years, people will still get off on "game over man!" "game over!" or "get away from her you bitch!"
I doubt anyone can remember any line from Prometheus characters, right here, right now. Let alone in 25 years.

I remember this because I always hated this line. Its so obviously a line written to (in-artfully) titillate the audience rather than something Ripley would actually say.. This is whats known as mediocre screen writing.
Doug

 

[FoxyMulder]

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce /t/324314/prometheus-3d-blu-ray-review/60#post_3989339
I remember this because I always hated this line. Its so obviously a line written to (in-artfully) titillate the audience rather than something Ripley would actually say.. This is whats known as mediocre screen writing.
Doug

I disagree.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by FoxyMulder /t/324314/prometheus-3d-blu-ray-review/60#post_3989364

I disagree.

I do too. I thought Aliens was very well written particularly in comparison to Titanic and such.





Crawdaddy

 

[MattAlbie60]

I also very much disagree, but I'd love to hear an expanded reasoning as to why its out of character.
It's essentially the payoff to her whole arc in the movie (well, in the special edition, at least).

 

[Sam Favate]

I saw on the Digital Bits that there is an issue with the second half of the film on disc -- is it on the 3D blu-ray or the regular blu-ray? I have my copy of the film but haven't watched yet. Any info appreciated.

 

[Carlo_M]

Not sure I'd use "quotability" as an absolute indication of screenwriting quality. Some of my favorite movies (Dark City, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Inception, most Hitchcock films) I never quote. Yet I can remember any one of a dozen bad Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Will Smith lines from terrible 80s and 90s movies.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina /t/324314/prometheus-3d-blu-ray-review/60#post_3989448
Yet I can remember any one of a dozen bad Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Will Smith lines from terrible 80s and 90s movies.

Those films probably did their job........they entertained......they still entertain.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Not sure I'd use "quotability" as an absolute indication of screenwriting quality.

I would not disagree. It is only one element. But the original point of discussion was character realism when one of the posters (too lazy to scroll back ) introduced quotability as a factor in assessing characters. Memorable quotes tend to lead to memorable characters. While we can debate how this correlates with realism there is a certain essential quality to these characters that make them feel tangible and allows them to inhabit the screen in ways that are not available to lesser characters.
Some examples of quotable films and how I associate that with characters from those films.
Aliens - Hudson
Dr. Strangelove - Pick just about any character from the film.
Full Metal Jacket - Sgt. Hartman
Some Like It Hot - Curtis and Lemmon's characters.
- Walter.

 

[WillG]

I remember this because I always hated this line. Its so obviously a line written to (in-artfully) titillate the audience rather than something Ripley would actually say.. This is whats known as mediocre screen writing.
Doug

Yeah, I'm not sure I see that either.
There are several instances of Ripley sharply rebuking other characters in Alien and Aliens
Some examples:
Telling Brett and Parker to "Just fuck off"
"Just what you've been doing, Ash, Nothing!
"Will You Listen to Me Parker!...SHUT UP!"
"YOU BITCH!!" Screaming at MU-TH-UR after she just missed the self destruct cancellation cutoff.
"Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away"
"God Damn it that's not all........all of this Bullshit you think is so important.....!"
"You Just stay away from me Bishop, you got that straight!"
"THEY'RE CUT OFF....DO SOMETHING!!"
"Hudson, we need you and I'm getting sick of your Bullshit"
"You're not going to Sleaze your way out of this one........Right to the Wall!"
So, I don't see how "Get away from Her you Bitch!" is out of character

 

[Sgt Pepper]

You guys hate screencaps, so let me give you one and a link to someone who says the 3D version is not as detailed, by a long shot, to the 2D edition.
http://www.landofwhimsy.com/archives/2012/10/so-that-3d-disc-of-prometheus/
Is there any pop out effects in this film at all. ?

Wow that is quite a difference Malcolm, just waiting for the 3D set to be delivered and now i am thinking i should just stick with the 2D version?

 

[FoxyMulder]

Originally Posted by tele1962 /t/324314/prometheus-3d-blu-ray-review/90#post_3989631
Wow that is quite a difference Malcolm, just waiting for the 3D set to be delivered and now i am thinking i should just stick with the 2D version?

They say it affects the entire transfer from beginning to end, i don't understand how that could happen and why there is such a difference but people on this thread seem happy with it, i guess if you don't watch the 2D version first then you have nothing to compare it with and will be happy enough with it.

I have never understood the "its good enough" position though and think they should strive for as near as possible perfection to the master, if they fall short, and they often do, then so be it but at least try and get there, this one looks to fall far short of it's image potential in 3D unless i'm missing something about the format.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yeah, I'm not sure I see that either.
There are several instances of Ripley sharply rebuking other characters in Alien and Aliens
Some examples:
Telling Brett and Parker to "Just fuck off"
"Just what you've been doing, Ash, Nothing!
"Will You Listen to Me Parker!...SHUT UP!"
"YOU BITCH!!" Screaming at MU-TH-UR after she just missed the self destruct cancellation cutoff.
"Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away"
"God Damn it that's not all........all of this Bullshit you think is so important.....!"
"You Just stay away from me Bishop, you got that straight!"
"THEY'RE CUT OFF....DO SOMETHING!!"
"Hudson, we need you and I'm getting sick of your Bullshit"
"You're not going to Sleaze your way out of this one........Right to the Wall!"
So, I don't see how "Get away from Her you Bitch!" is out of character

I'm with you on this one, Will. When you line up the quotes like that, our Ripley has quite the mouth. And those were just the first two movies.
I do not know why I remember this, but in another lifetime (when Alien was released), I remember reading a newspaper review and the writer commented on the outspoken Ripley.

 

[WillG]

I'm with you on this one, Will. When you line up the quotes like that, our Ripley has quite the mouth. And those were just the first two movies.
I do not know why I remember this, but in another lifetime (when Alien was released), I remember reading a newspaper review and the writer commented on the outspoken Ripley.

Forgot one
"We'll move in twos, and cover bulkhead by bulkhead until we have it cornered and then blow it the FUCK into Space..........Is that acceptable to you?"

 

[Patrick H.]

For anyone who claims 'Alien' has no quotable lines, my response would be "We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space!"

 

[Douglas Monce]

Yeah, I'm not sure I see that either.
There are several instances of Ripley sharply rebuking other characters in Alien and Aliens
Some examples:
Telling Brett and Parker to "Just fuck off"
"Just what you've been doing, Ash, Nothing!
"Will You Listen to Me Parker!...SHUT UP!"
"YOU BITCH!!" Screaming at MU-TH-UR after she just missed the self destruct cancellation cutoff.
"Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away"
"God Damn it that's not all........all of this Bullshit you think is so important.....!"
"You Just stay away from me Bishop, you got that straight!"
"THEY'RE CUT OFF....DO SOMETHING!!"
"Hudson, we need you and I'm getting sick of your Bullshit"
"You're not going to Sleaze your way out of this one........Right to the Wall!"
So, I don't see how "Get away from Her you Bitch!" is out of character

It wasn't the line itself, but rather its placement, its tone, and the fact that she was talking to basically an animal. A smart animal, but an animal none the less. I didn't say that Ripley didn't have a potty mouth, just that that line was so obviously a line, and not dialog.
The writing of the second movie is rather cartoon like compared to the realism of the first. In Alien I believe the characters when they say what they say. Aliens, I believe the actors worked out the timing for best effect on the delivery. The writing in the second film was intended to be jokey with lots of catch phrases. Look at the lines that you posted here. Ripley's lines from the first film are basically retorts that anyone might say. The lines from the second are attempts to be clever, but James Cameron is no Robert Towne. Or Dan O'Bannon for that matter, who knew enough to not try and be clever.
Doug.

 

[Douglas Monce]

For anyone who claims 'Alien' has no quotable lines, my response would be "We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space!"

Which was an ad-lib by Yaphet Kotto.
Doug