RTTP: Ridley Scott's ALIEN, or, the best movie he's ever made?

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Sheppard said:
You know I some what agree with what you said, but the post above makes perfect sense. In the DC he isn't really the star of the film, which dealt with one of the bigger problems of the TC of the movie. The star of this film is the story.
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He is the star of the film, and that's precisely the problem. Not just Bloom himself, but the character is so contrived and poorly written. It would have been leagues better if they had just axed Bloom's part completely.
 
The movie is called Blade Runner, but yes this is a seriously scary film and up there with his best work.

And soooo much better than Aliens, although again I love that film too.
 
I prefer Aliens. But Blade Runner is his best movie I believe.

Never heard of Kingdom of Heaven but after hearing everyone saying how awesome it was I checked out the trailer. It looks atrocious. Generic fantasy romance film, and worst of all, starring Orlando Bloom. I can't stand that guy.
 
I find it impossible to tell which is the best movie from Ridley Scott.
My personal favourites are Kingdom of Heaven: DC, The Duellists and Alien. And next to them he made enough other movies that i consider to be great. Even his stinkers are bearable.
 
Mar said:
Never heard of Kingdom of Heaven but after hearing everyone saying how awesome it was I checked out the trailer. It looks atrocious. Generic fantasy romance film, and worst of all, starring Orlando Bloom. I can't stand that guy.
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It's very pretty to look at (and not just because of Jeremy Irons, no homo), but yeah, otherwise you're pretty spot-on and would probably do best to avoid it (if you're not into that kind of thing).
 
I would also like to add that I really love 1492: Conquest of Paradise. What a beautiful film.

Potentially my third favourite RS film (behind Alien & BR).
 
Mar said:
I prefer Aliens. But Blade Runner is his best movie I believe.

Never heard of Kingdom of Heaven but after hearing everyone saying how awesome it was I checked out the trailer. It looks atrocious. Generic fantasy romance film, and worst of all, starring Orlando Bloom. I can't stand that guy.
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Really? A trailer's all it took for you to dismiss nearly everyone in this thread?

Seriously, watch it.
 
Jibril said:
Kingdom of Heaven is his best film. And one of the best of the decade.
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Wrong and wrong. KoH (yes I've only seen the director's cut) is too flawed of a movie to be considered either his best work or one of the best movies of the decade. It's not even the best movie he made in the last ten years. Orlando Bloom's awful performance and his boring character alone are enough to sink it down below great. Beyond that, there's just something about the movie.....the pacing, the editing, the flow of the story, the character development, maybe all of it....that just doesn't draw me in or make me care nearly as much as what's probably its most comparable movie, Braveheart. In a sense it felt too long because the only thing worse than a boring movie is a long boring movie, but in another sense it seemed too short because I felt like I could have enjoyed it more if everything had been fleshed out more, maybe as a mini-series or something. But as it is I just felt like the movie was dragging me from one scene to the next, one location to the next, without giving the flow of the movie any room to breath, while making no attempt to let me connect to and care about the main characters.
It's very pretty to look at, there are some great performances, and there's an interesting story buried in there somewhere, and by definition it is "epic", but it's just not the sum of its parts. Considering the absurd amount of praise I've seen it get on the internet I'd call the DC one of the most overrated movie of the 2000s. What a letdown.

And you people trying to defend O'Bloom's shitty character and even shittier acting by arguing he's "not the star of the film"...............nice one.


His best movies are Alien and Bladerunner. Both remarkably crafted and highly innovative and influential. Also, Black Hawk Down is easily one of the very best modern combat/war movies ever made.
 
Mar said:
I prefer Aliens. But Blade Runner is his best movie I believe.

Never heard of Kingdom of Heaven but after hearing everyone saying how awesome it was I checked out the trailer. It looks atrocious. Generic fantasy romance film, and worst of all, starring Orlando Bloom. I can't stand that guy.
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What?
 
demon said:
And you people trying to defend O'Bloom's shitty character and even shittier acting by arguing he's "not the star of the film"...............nice one.
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Well, how ever you look at it, it is true. With him being more fleshed out in the DC version gives others to take the spotlight. The Eva Green Subplot with her child is a good example. I never said that I was trying to "defend" Bloom. The DC just gave us more of what was good in the film, everything else.

And lets all be honest here, Edward Norton works everyone in the film.
 
Guileless said:
Badass-black-clad-wearing-sunglasses-at-night-in-Tokyo-tracking-down-Yakuza Michael Douglas from Black Rain called and would like to step off his motorcycle and have a word with you.
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Osaka actually.

Can anybody explain Kingdom of Heaven. I've seen it on television three times and it's good but nothing special IMO. I've read though, that the Director's cut is almost a different movie. What exactly is the difference?

Edit: never mind, I read about it.
 
subzero9285 said:
What a coincidence that this thread pops up, I was just watching Alien for the umpteenth time today.

What I find fascinating is how many people misinterpret or just fail to realise that Lambert is raped by the Xenomorph, what Ripley hears through the ship's intercom should give you enough indication, if that isn't enough there's also the state she finds her in. Although, this is open to interpretation.

The Xenomorph seems to retain certain elements of the host's subconscious and Kane seemingly had a thing for Lambert.
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This made me put in my Alien disc and skip forward to that scene. This is such a weird and disturbing thing...I don't know how I hadn't seen it before. They never show what exactly happens to her body. Is that her arm or leg hanging in the scene? IF its her leg I can see how it'd have blood running down it. The stuff over the intercom does seem to hint at it though.

EDIT: Okay it is her leg..fuck.
 
Tokubetsu said:
This made me put in my Alien disc and skip forward to that scene. This is such a weird and disturbing thing...I don't know how I hadn't seen it before. They never show what exactly happens to her body. Is that her arm or leg hanging in the scene? IF its her leg I can see how it'd have blood running down it. The stuff over the intercom does seem to hint at it though.

EDIT: Okay it is her leg..fuck.
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legs

leg.jpg


She had shoes before ;)

I'm amazed people are only starting to realize this now.
 
MYE said:
legs

leg.jpg


She had shoes before ;)

I'm amazed people are only starting to realize this now.
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Yea...I'm definitely a bit perturbed now. That's extremely fucked up and I'm surprised I didn't put it together sooner. The way the Alien seems to be going for a hug earlier, how it positioned its tail below/between her legs. Fuck.
 
Yes, his best without a doubt. Followed by Blade Runner. I'm not a fan of the rest of his films. Gladiator is a piece of shit.
 
Leckan said:
Osaka actually.

Can anybody explain Kingdom of Heaven. I've seen it on television three times and it's good but nothing special IMO. I've read though, that the Director's cut is almost a different movie. What exactly is the difference?
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Yeah, it's basically a completely different film. KOH the studio version, is a shitty film that's reminiscent of that crappy King Arthur film.

KOH the original Ridley version, is a spectacle of great scope. The characters all have a solid meaning to their presence, the story is less cliche, and even Orlando doesn't suck as much as he does in the studio version.
 
Kinda off topic, but what do the adult xenomorphs eat? I now their spawn feed off the host, but I've never seen the adults feed on humans...that I recall.
 
This is hard to admit but I've never seen Blade Runner. I promised I'd get around buying the best version of it available. But back on topic I do love me some Alien, I'd like to see another film in the same vein but the recent outings of the Aliens take away the suspense and horror of them.
 
Rahnter said:
Kinda off topic, but what do the adult xenomorphs eat? I now their spawn feed off the host, but I've never seen the adults feed on humans...that I recall.
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Well, they skull fuck you with their penile inner mouth. After seeing the stuff with Lambert in a new light...all the sexual theories make more sense.
 
Tokubetsu said:
Well, they skull fuck you with their penile inner mouth. After seeing the stuff with Lambert in a new light...all the sexual theories make more sense.
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Wait what? I know of the skull-penetratimg-mouth thing, but what does that have to do with eating? Unless you're implying they eat the brain. And what stuff with Lambert and sex theories?
 
Tokubetsu said:
Well, they skull fuck you with their penile inner mouth. After seeing the stuff with Lambert in a new light...all the sexual theories make more sense.
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And the long member that facehuggers shove down their victim's throats to unload the Alien egg is their genitalia :D
 
MYE said:
And the long member that facehuggers shove down their victim's throats to unload the Alien egg is their genitalia :D
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I mean, even the facehugger design is basically just two hands, a vagina with a penis and a tail.
 
Rahnter said:
Kinda off topic, but what do the adult xenomorphs eat? I now their spawn feed off the host, but I've never seen the adults feed on humans...that I recall.
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It's implied in Alien that they're one shot biological weapons of some kind, or at least that's what Ridley intended.

They were never meant to eat anything at any stage of their life cycle.

Although this all changed, for the worse, in the sequels.
 
MYE said:
And the long member that facehuggers shove down their victim's throats to unload the Alien egg is their genitalia :D
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There's also the excessive drooling before the Xenomorph attacks it's prey, which can be interpreted as, well....you know.
 
subzero9285 said:
There's also the excessive drooling before the Xenomorph attacks it's prey, which can be interpreted as, well....you know.
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You know whats funny about that? They used KY Jelly to pull off the Alien drool :lol
 
Very, very frustrating watching post Alien/Blade Runner Scott movies. These movies are masterful. They ooze atmosphere and subtleness. They have an intangible essence about them that is hard to define; they epitomize "more than the sum or their parts."

Where this director went I don't know.
 
harSon said:
Personally, I don't think it's even the best film in the Alien franchise :P

If I had to rank his films:

1. Blade Runner - 10 out of 10
2. Gladiator - 10 out of 10
3. Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut - 9.5 out of 10
4. Alien - 9.5 out of 10
5. American Gangster - 9 out of 10
6. Black Hawk Down - 9 out of 10
7. Matchstick Men - 8 out of 10
8. Thelma and Louise - 7.5 out of 10
9. Body of Lies - 7.5 out of 10
10. Black Rain - 6.5 out of 10
11. Hannibal - 6 out of 10
12. 1492: Conquest of Paradise - 6 out of 10
13. Legend 5 out of 10
14. G.I. Jane - 4.5 out of 10

Haven't seen Someone to Watch Over Me, A Good Year or White Squall.

American Gangster has really grown on me since its release, I liked it initially but I seem to enjoy it more and more with each viewing. It's probably one of my favorite films of that decade.
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How can you give Blade Runner a 10/10? The writing and acting are poor. It's a technical masterpiece and that's it.
 
Furret said:
It's implied in Alien that they're one shot biological weapons of some kind, or at least that's what Ridley intended.

They were never meant to eat anything at any stage of their life cycle.

Although this all changed, for the worse, in the sequels.
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OK, that's what I was thinking, with their massive hive and hibernation. Guess the sequels threw me off.

On topic, I would agree that Alien is Ridley's best, but Blade Runner remains my favorite.
 
Always really loved Alien.

Not a fan of Blade Runner. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is one of my favorite novels, and I'm pretty much am a picky son of a bitch.

So, I'll agree with you.

(Yes, I'm ignoring the rest of his career. Most of his work is great, but just not "classic" to me.)
 
RSTEIN said:
Very, very frustrating watching post Alien/Blade Runner Scott movies. These movies are masterful. They ooze atmosphere and subtleness. They have an intangible essence about them that is hard to define; they epitomize "more than the sum or their parts."

Where this director went I don't know.
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Great post 100% agree
 
Sheppard said:
Holy crap. Could you explain to me why you think that?
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I just thought it was quite stale. The acting is at times rather eye rollingly bad. I recently read the book though, so maybe I'd appreciate the film more now. But then again the book and film are pretty different.

I came away rather unimpressed, like a 7/10 type affair. Where you go into a movie expecting it to be amazing due to praise/lists/etc, then you see it and you're like eh, ok.
 
Tokubetsu said:
I know GAF overhypes shit a lot but the Kingdom of Heaven Directors Cut is seriously in this list as well. I fucking love that movie.
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Definitely. KoH DC, Gladiator, Alien, and Blade Runner are the reasons why Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors ever.
 
Tetralogy.

Also, regarding the talk among you guys who finally realized that Alien had an implied rape scene, did you know that the baby alien-hybrid from 4 was originally shown popping a boner upon Ripley's arrival? I'm not sure if any pics exist of the on-set prop, but it was digitally erased in post-production.
 
Count Dookkake said:
Tetralogy.

Also, regarding the talk among you guys who finally realized that Alien had an implied rape scene, did you know that the baby alien-hybrid from 4 was originally shown popping a boner upon Ripley's arrival? I'm not sure if any pics exist of the on-set prop, but it was digitally erased in post-production.
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Yeah, I remember reading about that somewhere. The alien was supposed to have both genitalias?
 
PhoenixDark said:
I just thought it was quite stale. The acting is at times rather eye rollingly bad. I recently read the book though, so maybe I'd appreciate the film more now. But then again the book and film are pretty different.

I came away rather unimpressed, like a 7/10 type affair. Where you go into a movie expecting it to be amazing due to praise/lists/etc, then you see it and you're like eh, ok.
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Ah ok, I see your point. It was just a face slapping holy crap sentence was all.
 
Black Rain is my favorite Ridley Scott film, although I'm not much of a fan. Hate Gladiator. Kingdom of Heaven DC is a MASSIVE improvement over the original, but still I wouldn't call it a great film. Alien and Blade Runner are great films though.
 
PhoenixDark said:
How can you give Blade Runner a 10/10? The writing and acting are poor. It's a technical masterpiece and that's it.
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I completely agree, but as wooden (or in Hauer's case, hammy) as the acting is, it's pretty beautiful to look at.

Might be why I enjoyed the "making of" documentary more than the film itself. :lol
 
Danne-Danger said:
It's very pretty to look at (and not just because of Jeremy Irons, no homo), but yeah, otherwise you're pretty spot-on and would probably do best to avoid it (if you're not into that kind of thing).
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KoH DC is an awesome movie. Everyone should watch it.
 
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