Happy Hour #30 - Alien (feat. Robert Meyer Burnett)

[@CageyJ0nnY]

I'd just like to take a moment to say how fantastic a guest Robert is. He listens when Drinkers talking and his responses are well considered and well spoken. Cheers!

[@kalash_nikov]

100% You can tell his there purely for the love of movie he's talking about and fun chatting with someone he likes. I can imagine him talking with the Drinker, and in the same way, whether this was recorded or not.

[@chrispurzer9461]

Agreed. Some other guests have been less appealing.

[@cbspock1701]

I like RMB a lot his Star Trek the motion picture discussion was awesome as well

[@themetalmartialartist5856]

I agree! An amazing guest! Also I have to say this too, the drinker has the eyes of a killer🤣. I mean that as a compliment btw. How many bar fights has he been in i wonder? 🤔

[@robertfitzgerald3118]

@@cbspock1701 absolutely...

[@corycrandell2682]

Alien is simply brilliant. Zero techno babble, zero exposition, great practical effects. Nothing looks better than models.

[@darkthorpocomicknight7891]

Zero techno babble, zero exposition ... ???? HUH??

[@stanstanstan2597]

@@darkthorpocomicknight7891 The movie doesn’t waste your time telling you some movie science reasons to explain everything

[@kevinwilson455]

what do you think about the deleted scene? the scene that was cut, but showed the captain as a half egg thing.... the alien was so gross how it reproduced....

[@finalascent]

@@darkthorpocomicknight7891 In the Director's Commentary, Ridley mentions "techno speak" calling it "gobble-dy gook" particularly when they first land and are taking stock of their situation.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

@@finalascent There are a few moments when Ash goes into the environment on the planetoid and how it's "primordial," but that's pretty much it in terms of technobabble. He's also the one that ends up protecting the creature and admiring it. It's funny how the modern environmental left now thinks of humanity as something evil that needs to be eliminated and probably is more in line with Ash than our heroes.

[@foetaltreborus2017]

They had the greatest franchise ever & blew it ...

[@carlbernard7615]

To be fair they've blown every franchise in existence, the only survivor I can think of is Back to the Future.

[@och70]

@@carlbernard7615 How about a reboot with a stunning and brave Mary Sue type of character as the lead? Wouldn't that be swell??

[@joshmorales770]

Eh...we got two phenomenal films in Alien and Aliens and the director's cut of Alien: 3 was solid and brought the Ripley story arc to a close. Resurrection, the AvP films, and Prometheus and Covenant were differing degrees of trash that I choose to ignore.

[@RobDeManc]

To be realistic there was nowhere to go with this franchise after Aliens. They should have ditched it from then.

[@freezatron]

@@RobDeManc I don't entirely agree, I don't really like where they went with 3 onward's but I would have liked them to have done a prequel about where the space jockey come from and how they got hold of the alien in the first place etc. but without any humans in it etc. ie. the antithesis of Prometheus ....

[@g0nkdroid]

Alien was the last movie me and my best friend saw together before he passed away a month ago. I am so glad that this was the movie that we got to see in a theatre and seeing it like that was like watching it allover again as if we hadn't seen it before. The discussion you guys are having here is exactly the discussion we were having after watching it. He would have loved hearing you both talk about this. Thanks for giving me a way to nerd out over movies and filling the void my best friend has left.

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

Sorry to hear about your friend man

[@Wintis_Swizzle]

Enjoy it. Perfect last dance. What a way to go. Hope you rest up and go running into the next phase 💖

[@laughingalien]

Regardless of the movie, I'm glad to read that you had time to spend with your best friend.

[@joer626]

Sorry to hear that, hope you’re coping okay mate

[@paulaburrows8660]

I was allowed to watch the first 45 mins or so when I was way too young. Since then I have always enjoyed the slow methodical build up this movie has. When did we forget to make such amazing, classics, like this?

[@mariadocarmosobreira8323]

When our society became so cowardly and afraid of life we had to invent SJWism, BLMism, and feminism (though the latter is a lot older than the former and was once a good thing).

[@danielsproul]

I saw this when I was too young to appreciate it. When I was old enough it was my favorite movies. The production quality still holds up today (with a few exceptions). I still love it.

[@Wintis_Swizzle]

Disney 😒

[@drdeadbeat1604]

Same here, I was about 8 years old I got sent to bed after the chestburster scene. Try going to sleep immediately after watching that for the first time!

[@carlbernard7615]

These are fast becoming my favourite podcasts alongside EFAP. Good work Mr Drinker.

[@TheCriticalDrinker]

Thanks, man!

[@pablopumarestaminiau7512]

What's EFAP?

[@carlbernard7615]

@@pablopumarestaminiau7512 long form media discussion hosted by Mauler/Mooler, Rags and the Dishonored Wolf with guests.

[@Wintis_Swizzle]

I’m all into this just recently discovered channel. Just retired and to be honest; between bathing, eating and sleeping then this is it 😀

[@andrewconrad2859]

@@pablopumarestaminiau7512 My avatar is hurt by your question. Just kidding. You got a great answer from Carl. 👍

[@postreinanimation]

When I was about 5 years old my dad took me to the Museum of H.R. Giger with all the concept art and a few Alien costumes. Nothing else ever had a bigger visual influence on me than this gorgeous nightmare. Still one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@teflonpete]

Damn I just watched Alien last weekend. What a absolute master piece.

[@BranMakMorn1]

The fact this movie uses practical effects entirely blows my mind watching it.

[@WimukthiBandara]

@Big Chap Greatest would be Scott's Blade Runner. Of course Alien is a very close second. Even Cameron's Aliens which was made years later looks inferior to the original.

[@PeakDennisReynolds]

Aliens too. Phenomenal effects work. Then you watch Alien 3 and see the painfully shit CGI and it hammers home even further how much technology has destroyed filmmaking rather than improved it.

[@lukenewt1683]

RIP John Hurt Legend

[@archstanton9073]

And Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto.

[@jkdbuck7670]

@@archstanton9073 ...and Tom Skerrit's acting career after Top Gun. His decision to NOT blow sunshine up Maverick's a$$ might have been what killed it.

[@lukenewt1683]

@@archstanton9073 your spot on

[@MrAnon73]

@@archstanton9073 I didn't hear of Yaphet Kotto. I know it happens to us all, but still. You guys should check out "raised by wolves" Ridley Scott produced (and some directed), one of the most thoughtful and stylish sci fi projects worthy of recommending I've seen in a long time (Mandy and the Lighthouse the only other recent worthy mentions that've crossed my path).

[@trevorthornley8835]

I had no idea John Hurt's last name was legend. That's badass!

[@Jacques.Smith_]

The Drinker kicks serious arse. Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦. Your writing is brilliant and always a welcome reprieve from the insanity of these strange times.

[@TheXygos]

Alien remains probably the best scifi horror film ever made. It's drenched in a atmosphere of tangible mystery & dread that has yet to be duplicated. A true masterpiece.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Event Horizon could have been a close second, but they overdid a few things that made it seem more cheesy than scary.

[@joshmattingly8056]

On the improve note, apparently from what I've gleaned, most of the actors/ actresses had NO idea the chest burster was gonna happen. So a lot of their reactions are so believable because they are genuinely reacting to the situation. I love how if you pause real quick, Parker reacting organically, jumps in front of Ripley to protect her. Fucking legend.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Look at Lambert too, she's scared out of her mind. The actress I mean, not just the character. They had no idea, probably something a director couldn't get away with these days because of the unions and lawyers.

[@raybod1775]

Movie makers today just don’t allow actors to improv today, it really shows with conversations not being completed, stilted wording, words not true to character, lack of true to life banter between characters, etc.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@raybod1775 Of course not, because that wouldn't let the self-important writers and directors show the world how witty and clever they are, or shoehorn in their own political views to signal their virtue to the audience and the Academy.

[@angryb0b-f7n]

It's a bit of a misconception they didnt know the chest buster wasn't going to happen. Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) gave an interview (think its on the Alien Anthology DVD) where she described them all trotting down to Gigers workshop to look at all his work, plus they'd read the script so they knew what was coming. What they didn't expect was all the blood, that threw them right off especially Lambert whose screams were real and fell backwards over a bench when she got hit in the face by half a pint of blood. Agreed Parker was a total boss all the way through the film. Only showed one moment of fear, just after Brett died. After that he was in full on 'Kill that goddamn thing right now!' mode.

[@stanstanstan2597]

@@angryb0b-f7n Shhhhhh, you’re ruining the illusion

[@blank557]

As stated, I like the "Truckers in Space" description of the characters. Notice though how serious Ripley takes her job, even risking criticism when she wanted to refuse entry to her captain and crew members at the air lock.

[@skylx0812]

She told Ash the signal looked like a warning. So what happened to Cain probably confirmed her suspicions,

[@itzybitzyspyder]

I saw Alien on VHS when I was 7. Loved it! It shaped my taste in movies. The cat luring the grease monkey to his death at the hands of the creature was my favorite part.

[@pst5345]

Lambert can be assumed to have slept with everyone on this ship. The extended cut has a scene where Ripley casually asks Lambert if she ever slept with Ash when she was getting more and more suspicious about his behavior and character. her answer: ''He never seemed to be particularly interested.''

[@rhymeswithorange6092]

I assumed they had both slept with pretty much everyone, and any of the guys that were open to it had probably slept with each other as well. Long voyage, and casual, recreational hook-ups were just a thing people did on ships like that. Lots of stuff happens with cruise ship crews and long naval deployments in the real world. I read that exchange as being that since Ripley had never slept with him, she was curious about about if Lambert had.

[@skylx0812]

Since space exploration was possible I'd of thought flights would go out with more than just a fleshlight or two on board. In Deep Blue Sea when the survivors of that under water facility search a dead crew members room for batteries one of them asks where would she have kept her vibrator.

[@amanibob1416]

I'm no autority, but from what I've gathered, it's not like that. Close, but not exactly. Lambert has been with at least two or three out of the five guys and Ripley is heavily flirting with Dallas, so either Dallas is "free for all", or it's been these few in the same crew for so long, they've been together, (Lambert and Dallas), but haven't done anything recently. So, again, it's pretty much a given that Lambert flirts and wouldn't mind Parker and one or two more of the guys, yet that still leaves Ripley on a one-on-one relationship with Dallas at current time, (during/just before the movie), with Brett and Mr.Science Officer being out of the marker for the former and "potential rebound/choice" for the later. As for the rest, it's up to anyone's interpretations, but all I'm saying is that, out of all the guys, Lambert having some fun/flirting matches with three, maybe four..? That's *a lot* , or *not that many* , depending on perspective(s), but it certainly ain't "all", or even "most" if you count Ripley having a say in the matter and while it's possible, I'd rather believe Lambert to be willing to ask and getting with a few guys, (but not all of em'), rather than conclude that the mention of one guy being unreceptive is a tell to the audience about Lambert somehow having had sex with four different guys out of the five "available" candidates. Still not saying that is impossible, but I ain't sure flirts and availability makes a case for the one girl being *that much* of a "team player.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@amanibob1416 Keep in mind this was filmed in the late 70's, after a decade of sexual standards in both real life and film becoming very relaxed before the pendulum swung back towards more conservative views in the 80's. The audience it was made for would have picked up on what was going on right away and assumed the crew was pretty open with each other.

[@amanibob1416]

@@Raskolnikov70 Pretty open? Sure. With every guys? Doubtful but possible-ish. All I'm saying. Especially since one dude is literally made of tubes and milk... Ps: Not to mention that I knew about the "cultural shift" without being told and always thought Dallas was "taken" by Ripley ever since I first saw the movie, so that's one monogamous relationship and one dude being a robot. So much for Lambert being with all ze men. No hard feelings, but again all I'm saying is: Lambert ain't been with *everyone* . No way no how.

[@Al0peciaheagehog]

What this is is an amalgamation of utter brilliance...very rare...the sets the acting the music everything is just perfect.One of my fave movies no doubt about it

[@sethran2501]

"I can't lie to you about your chances, but...you have my sympathy."

[@phluphie]

I'd like to point out that Scott tried to duplicate that banter in the dinning room scene when he made Prometheus. And it didn't work at all.

[@markparris3890]

Probably to do with the quality of the actors. I don’t know if it’s true, but I guess that modern acting schools cultivate different skills from the older generation? Can modern actors go off-script with confidence to create such a scene? Maybe it’s the script writers?

[@michaelsegriff3362]

That entire movie didn’t work.

[@vladimirchernikov4249]

@@michaelsegriff3362 Et tu, Brutus?

[@michaelsegriff3362]

@@vladimirchernikov4249 Sorry, Vlad, didn’t love it. These moronic characters were selected for the mission? Hated the soundtrack. Odd tone to the entire film. Performances weren’t great. Story was full of holes. And I wanted to love it, but it left me deflated and disappointed.

[@gwenivercall]

@@michaelsegriff3362 I too came to it wanting to love it, and couldn't. The whole point of Alien was the claustrophobia - humans as tiny fragile creatures in an uncaring, hostile universe. The opening shots of empty space set you as the viewer on that path, and then it just ramped up as the movie went on. How does Prometheus open? With beautiful landscapes and sweeping vistas of the 'we have drones and by god we are going to use them' style of film making. I mean, after that, and the interaction between CGI people which follows, you're already feeling a dull sense of dread (not the good kind). The pothead college philosophy and the terribly reductive characterization are just gravy at that point.

[@alexanderalbach468]

Man, I will never forget when I saw this movie when it came out on the cinema. Especially the moment the alien was in the rescue ship. I jumped out of my seat... Alien, The Thing.... Damnit I still have a trauma and minor Ptsd

[@stanstanstan2597]

You don’t have PTSD. You get PTSD from being in the middle of a warzone, watching your friends die in front of you. Not from a scary movie.

[@PeacefulRallyCar-pw3cs]

It was a cultural landmark as was Star wars 1977. Everyone talked about it, but not everyone went to see it. Many were intimidated by the violence.

[@tomasburian6550]

"In space no one can hear you scream." That's indeed one great tagline, but I have once seen a close second, albeit for a video game. It was for Ace Combat (not sure which one) which was just a picture of the sky and a line that said "Up here you have nowhere to hide." Btw, watching the film on VHS gives it extra layer of realism because it feels like an actual recording of what happened.

[@leonidasephialtes3877]

Still the MOTHER of all SciFi Movies and one of the Greatest Movies ever in general .

[@L1VE3V1L]

Robert makes a lot of great points, he’s a great guest. More of him please. This man is passionate. We need more of that.

[@buddahpete1241]

Drinker, thank you so much for this. Alien is still one of the great film franchises for the first 2 films. As a point of interest, i was on holiday with in Switzerland with a Swiss mate and went to see a relative of his. Her boss had been Geigers assistant during the period of working on Alien and he got to keep the drawing pads with the evoloution of the art work for the film, which i got to peruse for a couple hours. It was amazing looking at the progression of an idea to the final outcome, but there was also some very high quality weed being imbibed as well. Keep up the good work, you truly bring humour and insight to your videos and live streams.

[@SAMagic]

I read a Geiger art book and it was fascinating, including an interview where he explains how he's always been sexual which is why there's so much symbolism in his work.

[@buddahpete1241]

@@SAMagic Thanks i didn't know that. It's always great to get new information.

[@robjohnson4592]

I saw this movie in a rainy drive in back in "79. We were sitting three across in the front bench seat, the windshield wipers flapping back and forth in a steady pace. Scared the hell out of us. Best realistic Sci-fi movie ever! Nothing else, even Predator comes close!

[@kevinwilson455]

what a great conversation! Robert hit the nail on the head so many times regarding Alien I was just sitting down falling asleep n he was just speaking truth after truth. Thank you both for talking about my favourite film.

[@gp63]

The two of you are gold together. More Drinker and RMB podcasts please!

[@thebusybuilder4071]

The Acid effect was really simple actually and safe. They spilled tinted Methyl Ethyl Keytone (plastic solvent) on painted and dressed styrofoam. The stuff eats styrofoam like nothing

[@johnjaleco5683]

So it wasn't real alien acid then ? I feel cheated😭

[@WimukthiBandara]

This! I knew this right away when I watched Alien for the first time because as a kid I used to make improvised glue using gasoline and styrofoam.

[@itzybitzyspyder]

Prolly safer than gasoline which does the same ;)

[@laughingalien]

Thank you, The Busy Builder.

[@WakenerOne]

@@itzybitzyspyder I dunno. I work with MEK on a daily basis, and I'd guess that they're about the same, safety-wise.

[@persallnas5408]

One of Iian Holms best rolls, rip, he was an awesome actor.

[@phluphie]

Theres an old Bogart film called, IIRC, Sahara. It's very similar to Aliens. Sahara takes place in WWII and Bogy is a tank commander whose tank get separated and breaks down. The Germans are closing in and Bogart, a low level sergeant has to hold his increasingly panicking crew together while holding off the German w/ little ammunition/food/water until help arrives. It plays very similar to Aliens.

[@Sonofdonald2024]

James Belushi starred in a remake of it in the mid 90's. not bad apart from some terrible ropey foreign accents

[@eddysandland58]

I also watched Aliens before Alien. As I've gotten older I appreciate the Genius/Craft of O'Bannion, Geiger, Ridley & Actors. Also the practical effects look Quality/Believable & should still to this day the only way to Go! Classic film thanks TCL & RMB

[@richtea615]

'...it's a hard industry to get into.' *drinks directly from Jack Daniels bottle

[@madyak6669]

When Lambert is killed,the aliens tail is actually coming up between Brett's legs. The scene was repurposed from his death scene

[@mbignell1]

I'm surprised they didn't mention it, but Lambert's death is very different to the others in the movie. The Alien seems to be enjoying the moment and taking it's time. When Parker steps up it despatches him quickly, then goes back to toying with Lambert.

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

@@mbignell1 It's the first woman that it has ever come across, It was probably curious.

[@michaelsegriff3362]

Yep. Veronica Cartwright wore cowboy boots the whole film, and those feet had Brett’s sneakers.

[@mbignell1]

@@michaelsegriff3362 Damn. Don't know how many times I've seen this movie, but I'd never noticed that.

[@austenpowers]

This my all time favourite film, and I think it always will be. Looking forward to this. Saw it the right way round, my mum got me into it as used to talk about space all the time. We stay up drinking reading ghost stories and talking about films and watching them, thanks mum, you always reminded me of Ripley. Cheers 🥃

[@THEremiXFACTOR]

An absolute stone cold classic. It manages to be entertaining for the masses but also great cinema. It barely ages also.

[@adaenis]

Geiger and Scott actually met working on Jodorowsky's failed attempt to adapt Dune to film. It's weird how many amazing movies we would have missed out on if Jodorowsky never attempted to make Dune in the first place.

[@Prozach45]

I wish so much that his Dune would have been made. Not because it would have been committed to the source material at all, but because it seems so insane I would have loved to experience it

[@SmartCookie2022]

No, it was Dan O'Bannon who met Geiger while working on Jodorowsky's Dune, not Ridley Scott. It was O'Bannon that paid for Geiger to produce concept art for Alien out of his own pocket and he showed the results to Scott, who was so impressed that he championed Geiger's design concepts against the studio's wishes. 20th Century Fox didn't like Geiger's designs and thought them too tacky, but because O'Bannon had convinced Scott of Geiger's abilities, the studio backed down.

[@mariadocarmosobreira8323]

@@SmartCookie2022 there's a sad tendency of thinking the director is the only person behind a movie, and it's never true. I mean, literally, never. The only possible exception is if the guy goes around with a camera filming and directing the actors himself on a story he wrote. The moment you need a crew, it's no longer your sole creation.

[@SmartCookie2022]

@@mariadocarmosobreira8323 I agree with you 100%. Plus, the OP has his Geiger origin story confused with Dino De Laurentiis' Dune, which Scott was first onboard to direct after he'd made Alien. In fact, Scott wanted to split Dune into 2 parts, but De Laurentiis was against the idea and Scott walked and David Lynch stepped aboard to replace him at the last hour. That's the Geiger-Scott connection.

[@rofflestomp684]

The trivia in this comment thread is just wonderful. Jodorowsky's films are _always_ over the top and worth a watch at least once. I watched some stuff about his Dune project and found it fascinating. Just seeing his name perked my interest.

[@timmalone1534]

Robert not only is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic film lover but seems such a nice guy as well. This was a pleasure to listen to

[@JoshuaKevinPerry]

Ridley Scott explains the original Alien chestbuster scene - Director commentary "It's a one-take situation. The white room would take weeks to clean blood out."

[@Stevo_YouTube]

Damn I read that as "cheekbuster scene" for a second.

[@vladpiranha]

He didn't warn the actors how much blood would spray on them either. He wanted to have genuine looks of shock and disgust on their faces.

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

It's chest"burster" not "buster"

[@stanstanstan2597]

@@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09 When there’s something strange Sleepin’ in your chest Who ya gonna call

[@GKSchattenjaeger]

3 hours just flew by. This was lovely to listen to.

[@matthausrex5973]

Rob Ager has a few great channels on KZbin and his analysis of Alien is brilliant.

[@peteward7034]

Great stream, I could listen to you and RMB talk movies all day long. 😉👍

[@wobblertv8083]

Never ages this movie .....absolutely timeless.!

[@ACCRTF]

Last time I watched this film, seen it a bunch of times, I really started noticing how many shots the Alien is in that you never notice on the first viewing. The most notable being the alien head in the shuttle cubby hole as Ripley is doing a systems check. What Drinker said.

[@freeaccount6770]

These discussions with Robert Meyer Burnett are excellent.

[@mavrik187]

I was 10 when this film was released. Me and some pals sneaked into the cinema and watched it. I was blown away by the movie and had nightmares for weeks. It solidified my love of Sci-Fi.

[@thetoad5407]

I've considersd Alien to be my favourite movie since I was 13, but I swear this conversation of yours resulted in me adoring it even more. The reverence and the knowledge with which you both spoke about each scene was inspiring, and through it all you two gave me even more things to appreciate, scenes or details I never gave enough thought to or perhaps never noticed. This was definitely worth the listen, so thank you! Kudos to Robert as well of course, what a fantastic guest! I think you have gained another sub, sir

[@bkblair71]

Always a big fan of Robert Myers Burnett. He's the only reason I watch the Campea show most of the time. Be nice if he got his own show.

[@mariadocarmosobreira8323]

This morning I read a comment by a CG artist, and he was saying that he has to constantly struggle to make things MORE natural. Like, his instinct is to order things so they look smooth and right, instead of natural, and that doesn't happen when you're working with practical. That's very interesting. The guy was arguing that his job is a constant struggle to perfect things LESS than he wants, so that smoke will drift into random patterns, and he just wants it to follow organized patterns in smooth directions, because he feels it's prettier. That's very revelaing. Maybe CG artists should get courses on how NOT to make things too streamlined and clean, and learn how to make them more lifelike.

[@Raskolnikov70]

I'm thinking they need to fire some of those CG artists and teach them how to run a good old fashioned smoke generator. Just because you *can* create realistic-looking smoke with CGI doesn't mean you *should*.....

[@jaxkommish]

A committed director or producer should stand behind the CG team the whole time just yelling, farting, telling Dad jokes, and belching. That'll get them to accept more natural effects just to get out of the room

[@mar10ssj1]

I do LOVE the fact that in this movie there is "time" for everything. There is time for the crew to joke around and banter. But there is also time when shit gets serious and there is no more comedy. In movies nowadays, there would be a wisecrack or witty comment that will completely KILL the tension built. I blame Marvel. This works well for them but for something like Alien or Predator, NO WAY.

[@charlietoole8707]

Saw this with Phantasm, double feature , back in high school.

[@charlietoole8707]

@Goblin Squatch Yeah, alien is so grounded, tense and realistic, phantasm is just a surreal, creepy kaleidoscope of lunacy! They ended up introducing a couple of the most memorable bad guys/monsters in all of horror sci-fi! That may have been the last show I saw at the Wayne, Pa. movie theater, just before graduation. Huh, I hadn't thought about that in a long time. They always had cool doubles, carrie, the sentinel, the brood, invasion of the body snatchers, halloween, even good ol' saturday night fever!

[@DrDetfink]

Alien...I've watched this movie at least 50 times and still not sick of this cinematic masterpiece.

[@longlostrobots8146]

Right with you . But I lost count

[@rippingbag]

As a 9 year old boy, this was my first R rated movie. Dad took me and my brother to see it opening weekend. Not sure what he was thinking, but I’m glad he did. ❤

[@mattf8061]

My favourite movie of all time. Thank you for doing this.

[@sageoz9886]

Same here, saw it in the theater first time when I was only six lol

[@foetaltreborus2017]

Not a SF film but I love 1981 "Das Boot" - TV series & directors cut on bluray . Prefer the German audio , tho same actors did the English language version too. My Grandad was torpedoed & lost.on a aviation fuel tanker which makes the ship you see go down chilling for me ...

[@magic8340]

Drinker should do a happy hour with "Das Boot"

[@jsb1944]

Greatest sub movie/series. Need the series on blu as well.

[@TheKielbasaKid]

One of my favorites. I'd like to see a happy hour on that too!

[@Clemppu]

Make that happy 5 hour like the length of the Das Boot TV series. :D

[@benanderson3791]

So that's why Drinker did that video. Sick! 😁

[@TheGameSnapper]

The dialogue delivery in this film is so on point and natural. It's just like the cantine at work or the warehouse at work or anywhere else at work 😂. It's exactly the way real people bitch at and about each other.

[@derrisreaditbefore]

WOW - you appeared in my suggestions today - and this was WONDERFUL - thank you so much for your time gentlemen!

[@stephenrobertson6025]

Funnily enough I just rewatched Alien yesterday. I love this film, especially the naturalistic dialogue where they constantly speak over each-other. It's so realistic, and the crew comes across as real people. Drinker says they don't have guns, but actually they do. Kane says he'll get the weapons, and he's carrying some sort of pistol when he descends into the egg chamber. (There's a close up image of this gun in the 'The Book Of Alien' making of book.) The thing is they daren't use projectile weapons because of the acid blood, hence the flamethrowers. It was Ron Cobb who suggested acidic blood as a way to explain why they can't just kill it instead of trying to throw it out into space.

[@hadrianbuiltawall9531]

At the time, Sigourney Weaver was an unknown while everybody was well recognised. I honestly didn't expect the "unknown" actor to be the only survivor.

[@PeakDennisReynolds]

There is no protagonist until Ripley is the last one standing. That's part of the genius of this film. Ripley isn't focused on. There's no scenes to indicate this is your protagonist or that this will be the final girl. A lesser director would of had the first scene inside the ship be focused on solely Ripley with the rest of the crew not even seen.

[@everyoneash]

At the end of alien the alien bends down and inspects jonesy while jonesy is in his cage...you can see the nod the alien gives as it recognizes a kindred soul. Jonesy is evil

[@InariTiasha]

Giger did an Emerson, Lake Palmer album cover too...love his stuff!!

[@finalascent]

1:20:40 "Space Sucks" That brings to mind an expression I used a few times when discussing Alien and Aliens, they "de-glorify" space travel - long transits, grimy lived-in ships, no spectacle of any kind when entering/exiting hyperspace or simply maneuvering around sub-C.

[@TheCosmicFool]

A few years ago I got to see Alien and Aliens back to back in the cinema. Alien in particular works amazingly on the big screen, especially with the close ups on people’s faces showing the tension amongst the characters. Jaws was another film that is totally different in the big screen.

[@themetalmartialartist5856]

Sir! This was possibly my favorite so far of your after hours. This was up there with Street Fighter feat Gmanlives. You guys nailed this one!

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

Commando with HeelvsBabyface is my favorite, that one was hilarious.

[@themetalmartialartist5856]

@@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09 well thank you, now i know the next episode im gonna check out!

[@teddeeh]

i got to see alien (and jaws) on the "big screen" which was open air cinema on brighton beach.. with pizza. was one of the best experiences of my life. i grew up with this movie and others and i ADORE what you are doing drinker.a fellow scot too. PLEASE DO JOHN CARPENTERS THE THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with either DANK or LONGMAN

[@laughingalien]

+1 for the THE THING.

[@davidobrien9042]

Greetings from the Irish contingent, exiled in Florida for the time being. Great to see these two blokes chugging on about a great film, oddly enough I saw it late June, 1979 while visiting friends here in.....Florida! We ducked back in and watched it three times before we called it a day =) All the other young folk were blathering about Star Wars, I was all about Alien!

[@heilong79]

Slime and wetness is what made the things in Alien feel alive, more practical effects need that stuff. Also on one of the cuts Ripley and Parker run into the room at the last second and look up towards the camera, maybe they caught a look at the Alien then.

[@anthonymcgrath]

2:19 - that comment about Ridley Scotts vision on Alien and Bladerunner - i watched a documentary many years ago and he talked about the look of Bladerunner and how films like 2001 had a very futuristic look and around the times sci-fi tended to lean toward that imagery.. he always felt that our world would go much more the other way with gritty industrial grimy murky polluted worlds and in all honesty he really isn't far off. that same sensibility lended itself toward both Alien and Bladerunner. And despite it being a bad film Alien Covenant had a similarly grimy look but kept in the realms of beautiful nature.. yet visually keeping it as a place you still dont want to be around and thats before the Alien makes an appearance.

[@charmawow]

I remember watching Alien on the big screen in 1979......and not particularly liking it! Then watching it again years later on TV and learning to love it! The storytelling, editing, directing, shot composition, fantastic cast.......hard to believe the same director gave us Prometheus and Alien Covenant......

[@InfamoussDBZ]

This is the first rated R movie my friends and I EVER watched. The mom who owned it made us first get permission from my parents. It changed our lives. We spent the next couple years in my friend's basement building dark tunnels out of huge, cardboard moving boxes. Then we'd turn off all the lights, and one friend would be chosen to play the alien and try and sneak up on us. It was amazing.

[@Aebischer1984]

Jaws made me terrified of the water Alien made me terrified of the dark Thank holy hell that gin and beer and love from Tatiana helped me concour my fears last year at the prime age of 37.

[@urquhart43]

Conquer..😀

[@laughingalien]

My brother snuck me in to watch Alien when I was eleven. The movie absolutely terrified me (and still does). It imprinted my mind in such a great way that to this day I adore horror and science fiction movies (and books) more than anything else. Although there were jump scares (which were very well done) the most terrifying scenes for me were: Dallas moving through the air ducts (and that accompanying damn bleep); the rising Alien shot (as it stands before Lambert); Parker's fleeting attempt to defend himself against the Alien's embrace; and Lambert's swinging limb.

[@fatty7780]

Great movie! Great guest! More of this please

[@Crazyloomis82]

Love this. I have had very similar thoughts and discussion with family and peers

[@TheCosmicFool]

Ripley’s nosebleed (which becomes a signature event in each film) was a left over from the cut scene before this. They only recorded the audio and Lambert and Ripley’s reaction over the coms from the bridge, but when Parker goes to refill the flamethrowers he was meant to encounter the Alien outside the airlock, seemingly fascinated by a light. Parker contacts the bridge to get them to open the airlock to blow it out. At the last second an alarm blares and startles the creature which bowls past him. Ripley arrives to help Parker, only to find that the creature trapped an arm in the doors and ripped it off in its escape. The acid blows the lock and Ripley and Parker are exposed to decompression. Lambert saves them by dragging them away from the damaged doors after the ship seals itself. After administering oxygen Ripley is left with a nose bleed and the question: who set off the alarm? She has long suspected Ash and goes to Mother to ask who set off the alarm, to which Mother tells her it was Ash. She asks why and that is when she reads about the special order. Whole scene is in the novelisation and you can play it in the DLC for Alien Isolation.

[@garyghislain]

I listened to you guys while watching the movie for the umptieth time and it was awesome.

[@nickmaggs1803]

Alien is a fantastic movie. It still holds up today. It remains my favourite film

[@tssmith1701]

I'm so glad you guys did this together again.

[@princeofruins3287]

Great conversation Drinker and Mr Burnett. Its one my favorite movie. Its a shame we only got two from this series.

[@gilbertponder5307]

26:45 I agree, I love that shot of (tiny) Nostromo passing in front of the planet. If you've never noticed, next time you watch notice that the ship's silhouette looks VERY MUCH like an old sailing vessel. Very cool.

[@PUBHEAD1]

I agree, gives a great sense of the isolation and the vastness of space

[@andrewhorn6508]

Parker just rocked. Such a great character.

[@laughingalien]

An amazing presence in many movies. He made the movie great for me. The way he forgoed saving himself to save Lambert was so heroic.

[@PeakDennisReynolds]

He was willing to sacrifice himself for Ripley and Lambert. Most men wouldn't have the balls to give their lives up for coworkers even if they were women. Parker was the real deal.

[@GenMVeers]

4:02 Movie talk-through begins (Wow, practically straight from the start of the stream! 😮) 2:04:22 Movie talk-through ends-that was concise! (Additional discussion follows)

[@aaronlockley9207]

I've watched this stream 7 times. I love this discussion, and I'm back again after seeing Alien Romulus.

[@PatrickOMulligan]

The crew does have weapons(guns), they mention breaking them out before they leave the ship. They never use them against the alien because of the Acid blood. That is why the acid blood was added to the script and never used again.

[@urquhart43]

I noticed that too, Dallas mentions breaking out the weapons

[@1dirkmanchest]

Yaphet Kotto was a brilliant actor. May he R.I.P.

[@aaronlockley9207]

Alien is my #1 Horror movie of all time. I remember watching it late at night with my Dad when I was 8, worst part is, right after the movie ended, it was bedtime, and my Dad liked to keep the house in complete darkness.... I was too scared to even go take a piss in the middle of the night lmao

[@deborahblackvideoediting8697]

So many films have a couple of a-hole characters that everyone wants to see die. I guess so that the audience can enjoy the deaths and not feel so bad about them? But this was one of those rare films where we like and care about each character. We WANT them to survive. Each death affects us. This is far, far more effective than a death being played for laughs or so that we can watch some jerk die a gruesome death.

[@grantmiller6570]

One of the most atmospheric movies ever made.

[@juangordiano777]

One of the things I really love in Alien is all the sounds in the ship, mechanics, electronics, etc.It happens the same to me in my other favorite Blade Runner. And the ambience that they created...it is just something great, one just can't describe it to someone and you just end up saying to them: you have to see this movie.

[@Moochtv]

Perfect commentary on one of my fave films. I don't think I have the wonderful vocabulary as the Drinker, but still, I hope I can be a guest one day to talk about my other fave movies of all time, Jaws (if you've not already done it!).

[@truefilm6991]

Well I watched Alien at age 18 when it came out. I was totally blown away. So different from Star Wars and the (just me humble opinion) super cheesy Star Trek tv show where nothing convinced me. Everything is perfectly clean and brand new with hundreds of unlabeled blinking lights that all look he exact same. In Alien on the contrary there was a documentary feel, just smoothed out a bit so we know it was made by very competent people. The casual, overlapping dialog felt very real, so when the s*** started hitting the fan it felt like real danger. The characters were perfectly written. For example Captain Dallas, who seems to have trouble being the authority figure. The final scenes were insanely suspenseful. You just deeply admire her courage.

[@JMUDoc]

As good as most of The Drinker's guests are - Gary, Az, Mauler, Doomcock _et al_ are an amazing stack - I think RMB is my favourite.

[@willsimon4042]

Just seeing this, you gentlemen are genius. I’ve never heard such an amazing analysis of the movie. And by true fans. I will say I never thought the alien was toying with Ripley in the escape ship. I presumed it was a natural reflex as it rested. Either way you’re show was perfect, thank you.

[@paulrose4735]

The Aliens Special Edition adds so much character development to Newt, Burke and Ripley. I don't know of another director's cut that adds this much to an already magnificent picture.

[@BirdsElopeWithTheSun09]

Terminator 2 has some really great additions that make the film even better.

[@stanfordsan]

This movie was seared into my memories. It was the late 90's, I was 7 or 8 years old and spending the night at a friend's house. We had visited a now extinct video rental with this Alien movie on tape. I had no idea what these movies were about, never saw them, knew nothing going in. And in the dead of night with all the lights off we watched Alien............ and 7-8 year old me was never the same again after seeing Sigourney Weaver in her tighty whities

[@Aiken47]

Damn I missed the stream , two of my favourite KZbinrs discussing one of the movies I’d have if I was stranded on a island

[@robjohnson4592]

I loved the way that they didn't use superstar actors. Everyone was believable in their part.

[@catoblepag]

I'm glad you didn't mock the use of CRT screens in Alien, explaining that they look rugged and practical, like military equipment. I know it's a minor complaint, but it always bugs me when people fail to understand that it was an artistic choice, not a technical limitation of the seventies/eighties: flat screens could be emulated quite well with optical compositing or rear projection (Kubrick basically invented the iPad in 2001: A Space Odissey, eleven years before Alien, using small rear projection screens). Of course with rear projection you lose a bit of brightness and contrast, but photopraphing CRTs can be a nightmare, too, since you have to synch the camera shutter to the monitor refresh rate.

[@dondae001]

Moon (modern film) used miniatures and it looked great because of it

[@raybod1775]

This analysis of Alien has great insights and should be required viewing in screenwriting or other types of film making classes. They’ve described in detail the elements that gets the audience involved and keeps the audience involved. Alien creates one emotional impact after another, the essence of film making.

[@barcali89]

Love you guys! Love this conversation!