Conrad references

[Hudson]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 15.04.2005 at 04:13:27

I should read Conrad sometime.  He sounds interesting, and Heart of Darkness sounds interesting since Apocalypse Now is in Vietnam, but the book was written in 1904 or something?  It"s interesting. "

[SM]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 15.04.2005 at 04:32:39

Heart of Darkness is set in the Congo, and the while the basic plots are the same, it and Apocalypse Now are quite different when it comes to detail.  There"s no war in Heart... for a start.
 
I"ve been meaning to read Nostromo for sometime.  Must print off the Gutenberg copy I have when the printer at work isn"t in use. "

[deezelboy]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 15.04.2005 at 16:23:32

Nostromo"s a struggle, but it"s well worth persevering with.  It"s a huge mosaic of a book, kinda difficult to get into, but it"s very rewarding.
 
Admittedly, I did only read it because of Alien, but it lead to me taking an interest in all Conrad"s work afterwards.  He"s very good, disturbingly modern. "

[SM]

Posted at AvP Outbreak on 22.04.2005 at 07:29:01

Finally lashed all of $2 (about 80p) and bought Nostromo today.  Bracing for a struggle.    

[deezelboy]

Posted at AvP Outbreak on 22.04.2005 at 11:05:38

Good luck!

[deezelboy]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 16.08.2005 at 13:51:58

WAS JONES A REFERENCE AS WELL?
 
So, I"ve just finished reading Conrad"s Victory, and one of the antagonists is named Mr Jones!
 
Now, what"s odd is that Mr Jones"s "secretary", a Martin Ricardo (or Ricardo Martin), is consistently described as being feline.  
 
Mr Jones himself, a gentleman in every meaning of the word, is consistently described as a gaunt, grinning skeleton.  He compares himself tyo both God and Satan at one stage.  He, like Martin, is a killer, but Jones is a gentleman killer.  Martin follows his (catlike) instincts.
 
Now, I remember hearing Scott go on about trying to show some kind of bond between the Alien and Jonesy, in that they were both predators.  And, if you wanted to transpose the descriptions from Victory to Alien, Mr Jones sounds awfully like the Alien.
 
I wouldn"t be bringing this up, but for the fact that every description of Mr Jones" accomplice is that of a cat.  And we know that there are at least two Conrad references already that actually go quite deep (the "nigger" of the Narcissus appears in much the same way as the Alien onboard the Narcissus, for example).
 
I dunno, it"s weird. "

[maledoro]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 16.08.2005 at 16:15:58

Something minor that"s been bothering me: it seems that everytime a British writer (be it a magazine writer to even an IMDb poster) makes a reference to Jones, from Alien, they call him "Mr. Jones" or "Mr. Jones the Cat", whereas he"s mentioned in the movie as just "Jones" (or, affectionately, "Jonesy" (or "fucking cat", depending on the crewmember)).
 
"

[Sinisterbumblebee]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 16.08.2005 at 16:21:04

That"s because us British have manners and as we don"t know the cat personally we have to refer to him as Mr Jones, because to do otherwise would just be rude    "

[deezelboy]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 16.08.2005 at 16:37:58

on 16.08.2005 at 16:15:58, maledoro  wrote:

Something minor that"s been bothering me: it seems that everytime a British writer (be it a magazine writer to even an IMDb poster) makes a reference to Jones, from Alien, they call him "Mr. Jones" or "Mr. Jones the Cat", whereas he"s mentioned in the movie as just "Jones" (or, affectionately, "Jonesy" (or "fucking cat", depending on the crewmember)).

 
Yes, including me.  And I know I was brought up to think of Jonesy as Mr Jones, which is odd, as it tipped me off to the Victory psuedo-reference.
 
There"s that Bob Dylan quote "something is happening here but you don"t know what it is...do you, Mr. Jones?" that Roz Kearney believes Jones gets his name from.  But that"s a very very recent thing.
 
ADF novelisation perhaps?  Either that or there was an early interview with Ridley Scott where he mentioned a "Mr Jones" that may only have appeared in the UK or something.
 
I dunno...  
 
It gets more confusing by the hour. "

[SM]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 18.08.2005 at 04:47:33

Mr Jones is plastered over the back cover of the Aliens novelisation.
 
Looks like whoever wrote the crew profile for the inquiry in Aliens (or at least whoever re-wrote them for the Alien DVD) got into Conrad as well.  Dr Monygham from Nostromo became another Doctor - Elizabeth, late wife of Kane.  And the ship Tremolino became Dallas" private smuggling ship. "

[deezelboy]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 18.08.2005 at 12:17:29

on 18.08.2005 at 04:47:33, SM  wrote:

Mr Jones is plastered over the back cover of the Aliens novelisation.

 
Ah! That probably explains it, then.  Many thanks!
 
 Quote:

And the ship Tremolino became Dallas" private smuggling ship.

 
Hey, that"s rather a good one!  Wasn"t that Conrad"s old sumggling vessel as well? !
 
MUST CHECK CREW BIOS...
"

[deezelboy]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 18.08.2005 at 15:31:48

Quote:

2113 (April 23)   Dallas begins serving as a smuggler on the Vidar.

 
1887 Conrad assigned to the SS Vidar as second mate.
 
 Quote:

2115 (January 29)   Lambert is assigned to Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt as Navigator/ Comm Officer.

 
Legatt is the central character of Conrad"s short story "The Secret Sharer".  Legatt has killed someone, he is found swimming in the sea and returns to the sea at the story"s conclusion.
 
 Quote:

2115 (May 5)   Parker is assigned to Weyland-Yutani cargo vessel USCSS Otago as Assistant Engineer.

 
1888 Conrad gets his first and only command aboard the Otago.
 
 Quote:

2115 (October 16)   Ellen Ripley successfully negotiates an end to a hostage crisis on Weyland-Yutani shuttle craft Erebus saving 49 lives and resulting in the conviction of 8 terrorists.

 
Erebus and Terror were the two sailing ships sent out to discover the NW passage in the 19th Century.  They never came back.  Conrad mentions them in Heart of Darkness.
 
Given the Legatt reference, it"s worth noting that at Legatt"s point of final departure, the island is described as "the gateway of Erebus" (rather than, say, Hades).
 
 Quote:

2117 (January 2)   Ripley is assigned to the cargo vessel USCSS Kurtz as Junior Warrant Officer

 
Heart of Darkness
 
 Quote:

2117 (December 1)   Ripley is assigned to Weyland-Yutani cargo vessel USCSS Sephoria as Warrant Officer.

 
The Sephora is the ship that Legatt escapes from in "The Secret Sharer".  I do believe that the Sephora actually existed, and there"s some evidence that Conrad saw it briefly while on shoreleave.
 
 Quote:

2118 (October 11)   Lambert is assigned to Weyland-Yutani scout vessel Adowa as Navigator.

 
1893 Conrad serves as second mate on the Adowa.
 
 Quote:

2119 (November 6)   Ripley is assigned to Weyland-Yutani cargo vessel USCSS Sotillo as Warrant Officer.

 
Character out of Nostromo, interestingly enough the captor of Dr Monygham.
 
All quotes from http://time.absoluteavp.com/time1.html - where else?
"

[SM]

Posted at AvP Outbreak on 30.08.2005 at 23:37:27

Already mentioned this one to Deezel...
 
 "Nostromo" is Italian for "boatswain" or more commonly "bosun".  A bosun is a kind of Warrant Officer.  And the rank of the sole survivor of the Nostromo was...?

[maledoro]

"Posted at AvP Outbreak on 30.08.2005 at 23:58:22

"Nostromo" is also a contraction of "nostro uomo", which means "our man".  
 
 
"

[SM]

Posted at AvP Outbreak on 31.08.2005 at 00:08:31

Yeah that"s one of the ways Gian" Battista may have gotten his name.