ALIEN: The best Sci-Fi movie ever made? (1 Viewer)

[Eric Bass]

I give best Sci-Fi horror to John Carpenter's The Thing. Speaking of which, I see there's a computer game of it coming out this fall.

 

[Holadem]

I have a quick question regarding Aliens special edition. I asked it before, but never got any answers:

It seems to me that beside the extra footage, the chronology of the movie was changed: In the Special edition, they find Newt bofore their first encounter with the Aliens. Now this is where my memory might be failing me, but I would swear that in the original edition, the first fight ("They are cut off!...", "Do something godammit!!...", "I told them to fall back...") took place without Newt (edited out). They find her when they decide to go back in there or something... and the first action scene with her is in the lab, with the face hugger. Am I totally off track here? Does anyone still have the VHS tape? This has been drving me nuts for a while now...

--

Holadem

 

[Kip Fincher]

No, the best Sci-Fi movie evermade is 2001: A Space Odyssey. That's it!

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Now this is where my memory might be failing me, but I would swear that in the original edition, the first fight ("They are cut off!...", "Do something godammit!!...", "I told them to fall back...") took place without Newt (edited out).

No, they found Newt before that. I still have it on VHS because I wanted to keep the theatrical version.

 

[Lars Larsen]

...the third film in this series is not Alien 3, but Alien to the Third Power or Alien Cubed...

Someone have been diagnosed with "The Simpsons Cartoon Store Owner"-syndrome
In regard to the original discussion, I think Alien ranks up there with some of the best sci-fi thrillers of all time. A quite remarkable film indeed. The story and the script is intriguing and the acting is very well done I think. Did it break new ground with respect to visual and special effects technology? Not really, IMO. It's all been done before but that doesn't degrade the quality of Alien --- quite the opposite. Scott has an incredible eye for detail and he used existing technology in a very succesfull and convincing way. Perhaps this is what makes Alien so special. All the elements in Alien have been used in films before, but Scott perfected the use of them.

 

[Steve_Ch]

Personal preference is Aliens, but I do like both, as they are such different movies, it is really a personal preference thing. I think Scott's commentary is one of the best, for those that pointed out where he "borrowed" stuff (such as Kubrik), he talked about all that in fairly good detail.

 

[Scott W.]

Alien is a fave of mine. But Aliens is even better. Ridley Scott really created something special in Alien, and Cameron made a great sequel.

Scott

 

[Steve_Ch]

>>Ridley Scott really created something special in Alien, and made a great sequel.

 

[Paul_D]

Juts to mix things up, I'll vote for Blade Runner as the best sci-fi film ever mdae. With Pitch Black a close second. (only kidding )

 

[Tino]

And let me add that I think Blade Runner is vastly overrated and one of the dullest "Sci-Fi" films I have ever seen.
Alien on the other hand is one of the best Sci-fi/Horror/whatever films ever made and one of the least "dated" films compared to others.
How's dat?

 

[Werner_R]

I prefer Blade Runner over Alien, and I loved Pitch Black also

 

[Dennis Heller]

Well, I always liked Close Encounters , but I know it's probably not the best. Also, I think Aliens needs to be discounted some due to Bill Paxton's involvement.

 

[Iain Lambert]

But Bill Paxton ALWAYS makes a film better!

As for the current debate, its interesting the way the first film has so much sexual imagery, very much based around ideas of violation, while the sequel is much more concerned with the issue of motherhood and protection. Certainly an unusual contrast there.

 

[Scott W.]

Steve Ch. I got ahead of myself when I appeared to say that Scott directed Aliens. I know Cameron direted Aliens. Hehehe, whops! Just a mental erroe.

Scott

 

[Ryan L B]

i actually hated alien, i enjoyed part 2 and 4.

 

[Greg_C_T]

With Pitch Black a close second. (only kidding)

Hey, I loved Pitch Black! Very cool concept, and visually very stylish.

 

[Jeff Adams]

Without thinking about it I would put them in this order. The Matrix,Aliens. T1 & 2 and Predator.

 

[Steve_Ch]

>>Hey, I loved Pitch Black! Very cool concept, and visually very stylish.

 

[Jeff Adams]

I also would like to put in my 2 cents about Pich Black. I bought the movie before I ever saw it and I am glad that I did. I really like that movie too. Vin was awesome in it and the planet and scenes in the movie were just really eerie and creepy. Loved it!

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

"Aliens" would be #1 on my list -- a superior sequel IMO. It's amazingly well-crafted, with everything falling into place (it seems like in real time) as you're on the edge of your seat that final 1/2 hour. The rest of the movie is pure sci-fi & human drama done well.
Other sci-fi greats: "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Alien", "The Empire Strikes Back", & "The Day the Earth Stood Still".