Alien is a B-Movie Done In an A+ Way | CineFix Top 100

“I think we oughta discuss the bonus situation”
Ridley Scott dropped Alien in 1979 and, just 2 years after Star Wars hit the idea that sci fi wasn’t bankable with the Death Star, gave us not only one of the most enduring science fiction classics, but a terrifying haunted house movie to boot. Clint, Cal and Alex discuss Newcomer of the year nominee Sigourney Weaver, how Ripley isn’t the main character of the movie (for most of it) and why the single most ambitious shot in the entire film might not be the one you think it is.
Meanwhile, Dan’s algorithm decided this episode is priority, all other considerations are secondary, the Top 100 crew… expendable...
CineFix Top 100 was created by Clint Gage and Dan Parkhurst and is produced by Tayo Oyekan, with Director of Photography, Jamie Parslow and Technical Producers, Marhyan Franzen and Amir Rakib. Our Executive Producers are Clint Gage and Corrado Caretto. Logo and graphic design by Eric Sapp and title animations by Casey Redmon.
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[@jamalwalker04]

I think there needs to be conversation about what makes a "B movie" because I've never thought of alien in that way nor discused in that fashion.

[@markbarrett4440]

I think it's classed as a B movie because Dan O' Bannon's first draft 'Starbeast' was initially pitched to Roger Corman as a low budget Sci-fi monster movie. It was only when Giler and Hill improved the screenplay that Ridley Scott became interested. He storyboarded the entire script and when Fox saw the potential they doubled the budget. It's still a B movie premise though.

[@TheMoviesCult]

As a concept. Just by the premise, it just sounds like the typical short story you'd find on scifi magazines of the 50's and 60's. And if I remember correctly, there was a reverse quote about Carpenter's The Thing, being an A concept movie, done in a b-movie way. And both rock!

[@santos8468]

IT! The Terror From Beyond Space is 💯 a B movie and is often sited as the inspiration for Alien.

[@donsimpsonshead8809]

@@markbarrett4440 Ridley Scott got interested in the script, despite its initial crudeness, because of the chest burster scene. That scene turned off the four previous directors who had read the script. Scott saw the potential but insisted on rewrites to improve the characters. Giler and Hill improved the dynamics, and made Ash the corporate robot with a mission. Scott still championed O’Bannon and Schusset’s contributions and especially Geiger.

[@maidros85]

Yeah... To me, a B movie sounds like a schlock that only some people who don't expect much from movies can enjoy.

[@comicbelief]

For sci-fi fans, there’s a 1939 short story by A. E. van Vogt called "Black Destroyer" about an alien creature that makes its way into a spaceship and proceeds to hunt down the crew. The cool thing is that it is told from the creature’s perspective.

[@josephdesalvo2782]

Ever see It, the Terror from beyond Space?

[@julius-stark]

This is in my top 5 favorites movies ever. One of my favorite parts is during the chestburster scene when the first spurt of blood hits everyone and they all pause in shock for 2 seconds, then continue freaking out. It's so rare that movies do that. I've seen it it real life, when we see something we can't comprehend and it takes us a second or two to register what's actually happening.

[@crwdfwtx]

Halfway through watching and I sure hope there is some mention of Jerry Goldsmith’s incredibly atmospheric score.

[@lbjcb5]

Yes, it's excellent

[@nikosvault]

Nope. Not even a mention of the controversy around the temp.

[@Advent3546]

The mood of this movie is incredible. It's likely THE reason I prefer it to Aliens, good as it is.

[@axnyslie]

1:03:30 I believe Carrie (1976) is the origin of the "presumed dead villain returns" trope

[@paraboo8994]

Alien is one of my all time favourites, endlessly rewatchable! A few years ago I went to a HR Giger exhibition and they had the design phases, sketches and some of the prototypes of the xenomorph on display - so cool to see those ❤

[@Bill_Woo]

Awesome. Methinks you will drool over Kroft talks about Movies By the way, Giger did such extensive amazing things that few would even know he was the creator, you must have had a wildly fun time at, OMG, a Giger _exhibition_ ! I remember hearing Emerson/Lake/Palmer raving about him, in marvel, visiting his home while designing a particularly famous record album cover.

[@brunocorbin7116]

Jodorowsky's Dune would be a great choice for the "Alone against the world" theme.

[@TomLopez17]

This channel is underrated. It’s my escape from the election lol

[@e7diablo]

Star Wars was indeed the only movie yall've done so far that was on your 3 lists and not Dan's. Funnily, all 5 of the other 3-lister movies covered so far have been missed on Alex's list. Lastly, for what it's worth, T2 and Eternal Sunshine are the only ones so far on everybody's.

[@DanParkhurst318]

Nice work keeping track!

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

I absolutely watched Alien too young, too. My older cousin (18? 20? somewhere around there,) was staying at our house in the basement for a few months. I snuck down (5-7ish) and watched it from the top of the stairs.

[@marypalmer8223]

My friends roped me into seeing this movie. We'd agreed we were going to some other film (can't remember what it was), then when we got to the theater, the others decided they'd rather see Alien. I avoid horror movies on principle (I know I don't enjoy them because I've seen some). But the point of the outing was for us to hang out together, so I reluctantly bit the bullet. Have to admit it turned out to be a really good movie. Well conceived and well executed, in all the ways you guys mention. Whew. It deserves to be in the top 100.

[@TJMiton]

Not having this on your top 100 movies list is WILD lol. It's a top 25 at the least.

[@DanParkhurst318]

As they talked about in the ep, this movie does an excellent job at working around budget and design limitations by hiding the monster as much as possible. 100% Jaws in space. While I appreciate that approach, I prefer The Thing in so many more ways for the fact that it absolutely shows you the scary thing and shows it in a way that is unnerving and shocking. The fact that it holds up more than 40 years later is incredible and yes, while a different kind of filmmaking, is IMO much much more impressive. So in short, Alien didn't make my list. Jaws did and The Thing did.

[@WhiskyCanuck]

Xenomorph vs John McClane: both are trapped in a large enclosed structure, spend time in airducts and their antagonists try to flush them out, both have a scene with a large fan, both had to pick off opponents one at a time while evading their traps, both have a final showdown with the remaining antagonist after seeming to have finally escaped said structure.

[@Bill_Woo]

Um, Total Recall! Every point you made!! Plus, I might substitute Captain Dallas for the xenomorph, for his airduct misadventure. So there you have the "enclosed" protagonist trying (successfully) to be smushed out by the antagonist. Unless you're calling the human crew the antagonists, hee hee.

[@Bill_Woo]

Derrrr! What mental malfunction must I be afflicted with to omit mention of Great Escape! Dohhhh

[@WhiskyCanuck]

@@Bill_Woo That's exactly what I'm saying! John McClane is the xenomorph, and the Germans are the Nostromo crew.

[@Bill_Woo]

@@WhiskyCanuck Oh! Dohhh! I am so slow on the update. THANK you for taking the time to correct my debrained fail there!!

[@Bill_Woo]

I am beating my chest in victory though for successfully converting "flushed" to "smushed" :)

[@Dkatanasoul0]

FYI--You guys forgot to include The Babadook as entry #32 on the list shown in the Summary. Great episode! Alien is #35 on my list.

[@tipozeila]

It's also missing Boogie Nights at 78th position

[@Dkatanasoul0]

@@tipozeila Good catch. Hopefully they'll add them from the next video.

[@christopherlee2515]

Always thought Alien was the goon antagonist and the corporation the arch nemesis.

[@the-craig]

The novelisation really drives that home

[@shenloken2]

What started as a somewhat simple slasher in space movie has become a major franchise with lore so massive it reaches out to other franchises like Predator. I wonder if it would’ve gone as far as it did had it not been for the very unique design of the Xenomorph when audiences first saw it’s ghastly mug back then.

[@Briosafreak]

The blue laser lights on the ship were from The Who, they were rehearsing on the studio next door, went to check what movie was being a few feet away and Ridley and someone from the VFX sort of asked them to borrow the lights for a day. I'm saying this based on a Who interview that I saw in the early 90s, but maybe it's a false nemory, I don't know

[@donsimpsonshead8809]

Boy do I wish I was part of this conversation! I could add so much to the context since I was 14 when it came out. It was the first R rated movie I ever saw with my dad. It wasn’t easy to get into an R rated movie back then. Ushers actively searched out for underage kids and threw them out all the time. I had to beg my dad to take me. That in itself was an experience. Afterwards I barely knew what the alien even looked like. There was a Starlog issue and the trailer, and that was it. The Illustrated Alien comic and The Book of Alien came out the week after, and that’s where I first saw Giger’s artwork. But holy crap that trailer really sold the movie. It was played over and over in the theaters. Trailers nowadays show way too much and ruin too many movies. That trailer was brilliant. Also I’ve got to mention that 1941 deserved to get the Oscars visual effects nomination. It was old school practical effects. Nothing at all “modern” for the time, but there was a lot of artistry in what they did, and it looked great.

[@Bill_Woo]

I remember the eerie opening credits with the wildly imaginative slow reveal of the movie title. Even at that experience alone, I was just beside myself. So EERIE, punctuated by the surreal sound. And that compelling fascination never dropped off. I didn't even want to get up when the end credits finished rolling.

[@PhilMoskowitz]

"In cyberspace no one can hear you scream, in joy that there's a new season of CineFix Top 100"!

[@Xylus.]

It sill blows my mind that one of the best entries in this franchise is a video game. Alien Isolation is probably the best video game to movie tie in ever. It wasn't necessary, but everything it added to the world was great.

[@davidnavarro5398]

Nic Cage, from Vampire’s Kiss as The Xenomorph, without suit

[@HeitorCR]

Nic Cage, from Wicker man, on john Hurt. "Not the bee's" impression on the chest burster scene

[@patrickkleemann4919]

Finally a movie again, that really belongs on a Top 100 list!!

[@neiladams3042]

I understand that for a 70's sci-fi movie that fits the 'alone against the world' theme, Alien is the obvious and more popular/iconic movie, but I'm surprised there wasn't a shout out to Silent Running, another film that could easily have made the list. Also - Clint, shame on you for not knowing that Giger is Swiss, not German! Not trying to pre-empt what may come along in the second half of this season, but I really hope you get around to doing an episode on Chinatown sometime soon.

[@bAd12cheZ]

I love the Top 100!

[@grennbalze]

another reason i think the flamethrower works is because Xenomorphs are very insectoid. And I think we have a very strong sense of killing bugs with fire

[@SimonVanliew26]

You guys remember the list videos? Those were the days

[@ETwin999]

Everyone goes back to Aliens for cornbread, but it was mentioned in Alien first.

[@blocknessmonster18]

I don’t know who this Dan character is but I don’t trust him.

[@DanParkhurst318]

Me neither.

[@tipozeila]

The list in the description is missing Boogie Nights, at 78th position

[@deltaloko]

Clint saying "if anyone else wants to strike alien" as if someone other than him would strike a great movie.

[@deadcard13]

I want to see an edit of this film where Nicholas Cage cameos as the space jockey.

[@charlesca5763]

Amazing movie. But unfortunately this means Aliens is probably not going to end up on the list

[@WhiskyCanuck]

31:23 says otherwise.

[@lunatickgeo]

I kinda want to visit the alternate timeline where Meryl Streep plays Ripley, I so want to see that version of the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Sigourney Weaver and she's perfect for Ripley but I want to see if Streep can weave her magic on a kind of film that _now_ (after we've seen her body of work) we know is not exactly something she does or has done.

[@irotinmyskin]

11:35 "The emphasis on practical" fx?... You do know back then there weren't many other alternatives, right?

[@_Waingro]

WRONG! NIC CAGE IS THE PERFECT ALIEN in the suit 1:18:42

[@WhiskyCanuck]

TORF: Wasn't one of the working titles also The Passenger?

[@peteroscarson1188]

Just one logic thing in a near perfect movie. How did two persons get Kane back to the ship with an alien stuck to his face ?

[@nikosvault]

One lifts him around the shoulders and another takes his legs?

[@canvasslife]

They didn’t bring up the bush!! 🌳

[@grennbalze]

the only movies that matter are Alien and Aliens. The rest are useless and overall ruin the franchise

[@spideyman2099]

I'll be honest, it wouldn't be in my top 100. Don't get me wrong it's a great film. I definitely prefer Aliens though. More my speed. I think Alien is a little bit too much of a slow burn for me. I prefer the intensity of Aliens, plus I like the space marines over space truckers haha. Bill Paxton and Michael Bein in one movie? Plus more Ripley? Come on now...

[@cooperhunt9797]

No Jerry Goldsmith mention at all in 90 minutes? Love the show, but first John Williams in STAR WARS and now this? The overlooking disrespect for composers is getting to be too much.

[@metamoralia]

It's aged hardly at all. Seems as fresh today as when I first saw it in '79.

[@joshuab3715]

I vote to retroactively strike Gravity.

[@DanParkhurst318]

Gravity didn't make the Top 100.

[@MrMann0123]

Wait? I cant see Star Wars. Is it blocked in the UK?

[@ablazedark]

Better than Aliens.

[@AWESOMENESS-k5v]

make a homemade movie video about Spiderman no way home

[@LukasKonrad-pt4uv]

Recast nic cage from vampires kiss as the xenomorph

[@methemaster03]

I'm still mad the Xenomorph didn't win Best Alien back in the day on Alien Wars kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6e1fa2wdq-SgM0si=dJJSbNBSkKJgjFRG

[@eghty8fox780]

What's up with Jeff Goldblum rooting for the alien

[@furtherback6131]

Just like Robocop!

[@Shoelessjoe78]

8:30 i don't see how its difficult to watch nowadays. You have Alien and Aliens... The rest are irrelevant.

[@KrunoslavStifter]

That's nonsense. The one before it was b-movie, Alien was a serious movie, done well, simple as that. It was not an accident. People have lost all sense of perspective and proportion because they have been fed other stuff over the years.

[@popdebris]

Except that B-movie statement is a direct quote from the director himself.

[@metamoralia]

It was a B movie in the same way Jaws and Star Wars were B movie subjects done with A level talent and commensurate budgets.

[@jackbedient]

B-movie being a creature feature. And in space. There is such a history it’s almost a genre.

[@warius1]

1:00:22 saw the movie again a couple of days ago. I thought that jump scare was very lame. Out of place in the movie. It looks like a guy in a suit.

[@axelfoley133]

1:09:18 Funny... It doesn't sound trueish.

[@mcgarnagle6102]

The whole who does Nick Cage play bit is tiresome. Nobody cares. Talk about the music in films.

[@AkiVainio]

Jodorowsky is a cult leader. This is not a joke. Look into psychomagic.

[@VenEm]

L

[@ablazedark]

53:24, cover your mouth while yawning, man, jeez.....

[@Zed-fq3lj]

Aliens 1986 is a better and superior movie in EVERY respect!