Alien Trilogy and time

[JamesCameronOnline]

Do you think the trilogy aged well?

Lately I noticed a lot of negativity towards the first movie, something that seemed unthinkable for me. Sure, internet, as large as it is, is really inhabited by a very small fraction of population and audiences, but lately im seeing (respectful) criticism of ALien all over the place. People seem to say that it doesnt tranaslate well for today and not because of the pacing, but the 70s construction of the story and the visuals (seems like everyone's having issues now with Nostrmo's interirors and the look of the crew)

You know, I blew it off as rubbish and defended the movie few times, but wherever I go to some site that discusses alien, its just not regarded well anymore. And Im not talking about the Twilight or Transformers or Terminator Salvation audiences, im talking bout people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. For example, here are some random quotes I picked up, each from a different place

Yesterday I made a try with the 1979 Alien DVD and it didn't work out. I showed it to some friends who either never watched it, either watched it when they were kids. At 20 ' minutes they proposed another movie to watch, gaping, wondering and joking about the PRAVETZ computers and monitors in space

Unfortunately, unlike Star Wars, Alien despite being a great classic is really dated in the 70s in many ways

the pacing and music are dated. and dont tell me i dont get it. i know the pacing helped the tension but the way its done in alien is a wasted opportunity. i wanted to see more scenes like the duct scene. by the time alien grew big it was almost the end of the movie and things rushed from then. and with the exception of discovering the derelict nothing interesting or noteworthy happened. i even prefer alien 3 way more over the first alien

I was bored by the first movie upon watching it for the first time recently, but it was much better than Resurrection and the AVP films

2 & 3 are ok, part 1 is unwatchable

Ok you get the picture. But I mean, what happened? Not that long ago, throughout my entire life ive hard only one person NOT talking superlatives about the original.

Now to the point: I do agree to some extent that in some ways Alien is dated, but its nothing major. And I still wouldnt change a thing in it. So is Aliens - you get some 80s elements in the story and the movie itself too. Thinking about it , I think Alien 3 aged the best. Aside from sporadic stop motion, I think you wouldnt be able to tell which year this movie was made in. It couldve been done today the very same way. Just a thought


So which one do you think aged best? And why do you think this sudden turn on ALIEN? Is it really having problems adjusting for today?


EDIT: oh yeah, forgot about that disaster called Resurrection. Sorry, but I hate this movie so much that I successfully threw it into the garbage of my mind and forgot about it. I think it aged terribly, and in the worst era possible. It feels like all those dumb, half comedic mid-90s B movies, like Screamers, Deep Blue Sea and crap like that. Just my opinion

[SiL]

Those quotes are all pretty much "OMG SLOOOOW". It's nothing new.

[JamesCameronOnline]

Those quotes are all pretty much "OMG SLOOOOW". It's nothing new.

Perhaps. Maybe I just stumbled upon those kinds of people, and I just never did before. But people who usually complain about the pacing are youngsters. The quotes I found come mostly from older users. I took them from places like Retrojunk.com, Yahoo boards, Fangoria forums, toptenreviewers and others. They all have their age, so its just a little surprising to me


And again, that may spark a debate about which aged best. For me its Alien 3 which I think could seamlessly blend today

[Pandorag]

They're ageless!!! You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

No really, no kidding... they're ageless!!!

I tired more quickly of AVP:R than Alien 1, 2, 3, OR 4

It's a classic to me and that will never change, I just don't watch it with other people who doesn't get it.

[LargeLeader]

First of all, diss Screamers again and I'll kill ya.

Secondly, you're mostly quoting silly sods, my friend. They either never watched these films or were raised on Aliens and expected more. It's sad, but unfortunately that's how some people are.

Apart from the monitors, some of the crew's styles and the explosion at the end, Alien probably stands up the best, as far as sets and creature effects go. It probably has the best exterior shots of the lot and its style is still being immitated today.

Aliens reeks of the 80s these days. Fucking stinks of it. It has nearly everything from that era: the hairstyles, dialogue, over the top final battle, big weapons, a focus on military, gung-ho characters, in-your-face feminism, the fact that Ripley, Hicks and Newt could be considered a representation of the Reagan-era nuclear family ideology, etc, etc. It has nice creature effects, but there's a few noticeable goofs during the Queen scenes which drags it down a bit, and most of the exterior shots look awful. It's probably aged worse than all of them.

Then again, Alien 3 isn't exactly a figure of eternal glory either. Production problems aside, it's a victim of the transitional period. The wide shots of the alien are horrible plus most of the exteriors have an awkward look and a mucky green tone. Its one of those films that would benefit from a bloody good effects clean-up. Fix it up and it would look marvellous by today's standards.

[JamesCameronOnline]

Nah, people who I quoted arent fans of the series like us and tried to rewatch it again after a long time. Since they started with one, they never got past the first because of their experience. They dont even remember Aliens

So like I said, both Alien and Aliens have some strong elements from their eras and I think could be easily recognized from their times. But I dont see anything wrong with it really. I sure wouldnt change one single thing in them. You already mentioned the dated elements of Aliens - I thinks its all really cool to see the Reagan era expressed in a scifi thriller, and it really worked for the story. And same with Alien - the funky sets and computers, the 70s looking crew and music, it all gives the movie a 'classic' , Space Odyssey-feel. The first Alien almost has a theatrical feel to it the way its constructed and presented, its almost like a play and could work as such.

You dont think Alien 3 didnt age? The sets, the clothes, the music, the story - I think it couldve been done easily today and blend in.

As for Screamers...meh 

TheFilmAsylum.com
Perhaps one of the most influential sci-fi / horror films of it's time which spawned several major sequels and several minor doppelganger. Although it now looks a little dated by today's standards it can still encourage the meek to sit with a cushion on their knee just in case.  9/10

FutureMovies.com
The re-mastering of the print and soundtrack ensure that it looks as beautiful as ever and also reveal how little the film as a whole has dated.

Hhills.com
“Alien” is the quintessential movie for a lot of sci-fi horror fans. Even though I have a ton of respect for the movie, I could never put it in any No. 1 spot. It’s terribly dated

Now, I dont really agree with them - of course, I agree that the first two movies are dated, more or less (HOW dated? Its debatable), but I dont think its anything really major like some sites and reviewers point out

[deezelboy]

Alien's aged remarkably well - it's kept on appearing in the Top Ten lists for SF and Horror films for 30 years now.  

Is it dated?  Well, films date, SF ones worst of all.  I don't think the criticisms are at all new - contemporary reviewers for Alien were quick to point out that, beyond production values, the film harkened back to SF literature of the '40s and film of the '50s.  (I'll probably never forget John Brosnan's assertion that as SF, Alien failed - ten years after 2001 it felt like a retrograde step!)

On the aesthetic side, SF is notoriously difficult to do well, and I think the Alien trilogy manages remarkably well.  If you're trying to construct a 'realistic' future - not predictive but something which has a sense of history and of being lived-in - it's really quite difficult to communicate that to the audience.  Too much SF looks gleaming new and is explained as such, for no other reason than the future is new for the audience now.

If you're trying to communicate visually to the audience that the spaceship in the film is twenty years old, and that this future has a sense of history about it, then one of the ways to go is to make things look somewhat redundant at the time of film itself (for example all around the Nostromo's consoles you find these black-and-white photos with an oddly Victorian quality - much the same as in Blade Runner).  Yes, it doesn't look like the future is supposed to, what with its beer cans and dirty trainers and VDUs, but that's rather the point!

Aside from sporadic stop motion

Alien 3 had stop motion?

[LargeLeader]

You dont think Alien 3 didnt age? The sets, the clothes, the music, the story - I think it couldve been done easily today and blend in.

Yep, that's why I said a good effects clean-up would help it a lot. The effects are probably the only thing that holds it back today.

[JamesCameronOnline]

Alien's aged remarkably well - it's kept on appearing in the Top Ten lists for SF and Horror films for 30 years now.  

Is it dated?  Well, films date, SF ones worst of all.  I don't think the criticisms are at all new - contemporary reviewers for Alien were quick to point out that, beyond production values, the film harkened back to SF literature of the '40s and film of the '50s.  (I'll probably never forget John Brosnan's assertion that as SF, Alien failed - ten years after 2001 it felt like a retrograde step!)

On the aesthetic side, SF is notoriously difficult to do well, and I think the Alien trilogy manages remarkably well.  If you're trying to construct a 'realistic' future - not predictive but something which has a sense of history and of being lived-in - it's really quite difficult to communicate that to the audience.  Too much SF looks gleaming new and is explained as such, for no other reason than the future is new for the audience now.

If you're trying to communicate visually to the audience that the spaceship in the film is twenty years old, and that this future has a sense of history about it, then one of the ways to go is to make things look somewhat redundant at the time of film itself (for example all around the Nostromo's consoles you find these black-and-white photos with an oddly Victorian quality - much the same as in Blade Runner).  Yes, it doesn't look like the future is supposed to, what with its beer cans and dirty trainers and VDUs, but that's rather the point!

Absolutely agree. Im just wetting my pants cause ive never heard a bad word about the original movie, so thats really new and incredibly surprising. Great post tho, completely agree

Alien 3 had stop motion?

Im referring to the alien approaching Ripley after killing Clemens

[JamesCameronOnline]

Yep, that's why I said a good effects clean-up would help it a lot. The effects are probably the only thing that holds it back today.

And also, what I mentioned there isnt all - the credit has to be given to Fincher's story and its presentation too

[LargeLeader]

Indeed. It's a bloody miracle we got a story at all.

In reply to what you said earlier about changing nothing about the films, I agree as far as Alien is concerned. With Aliens, I've always wanted certain characters eliminated, the mother/daughter/family moments toned down, certain scenes and lines changed, added scenes in the Special Edition removed and others left in, yadda yadda. Just little things to put it more in tone with the first and third films and to lift it out of the 80s void.

[deezelboy]

Im referring to the alien approaching Ripley after killing Clemens

Think that's still the puppet - mo motion rather than stop motion - although I could be wrong.  Can't recall Alien 3 ever using stop motion.

[maledoro]

I'll never get over Burke's and Ripley's hairdos.

[JamesCameronOnline]

I'll never get over Burke's and Ripley's hairdos.

What about Nike shoes? 

Actually the airlock scene would make quite a commercial for those shoes

[Dan]

Picture quality wise, alien wins hands down. I can see why some people think its dated though.