RedLetterMedia Alien Commentary

[@johnellizz]

9:29 Fun Fact: They actually didn't tell the baby alien that there would be actors looming over him when he bursted out. They wanted to get his authentic horrified reaction.

[@steveharvey2102]

Yeah, Veronica gets splattered in the face when the Chest Burster does his thing! Her reaction is 100% genuine, she had no idea, when it came to anything but the basics! I think it's her voice you can hear, whimpering, "Oh my god", as the critter slithers away. They don't make em like this anymore It's a top moment in horror history, for many reasons and this is just one! I saw this when I was "too" young! And even with a blanket across my face, I held on to my babysitter for dear life!!! Her and I still talk about it 35 years later! My Mom gave her shit for letting me stay up late and give me nightmares, for months. Lol It's like Jay said at one point, I wish I could go back and see it again, for the first time!! What a movie! And if you love action, there was an insane sequel, on the way! Sometimes I wonder how we got through the "golden age" of horror sci-fi, slasher films and manly men, blowing shit up, Without having heartattacks ourselves!! Lol Good thing most of us were young and ready for anything :) We don't have to mention the volleyball, if we don't want to ;) Cheers from Canada

[@Surgicaldamage]

Ian Holm, really wanted him to stay, you can see him tell them not to touch him! (They kept that in), he's so terrified, then just ran off to his trailer.

[@caffeinated4671]

@@steveharvey2102 I mean, she did actually have an idea. She had no idea that there would be so much blood squirted...but she knew what the scene entailed story-wise (she read the script and they had a unit call that day, obviously), and she saw the prop of the chestburster beforehand.

[@coralcomet]

I hope the chestburster was offered counselling afterwards. Such a shock to the poor thing

[@itsdabees]

You got it backwords

[@Paraves426]

“Neill Blomkamp is attached to make an Alien 5!” *Mike’s giant hip flask music plays*

[@excessmaterial]

I made a .gif of that and find a way to use it every week somehow as my slow crawl towards death continues

[@MrTHEMONEEMAKER]

Ooooo that’ll be good

[@starcraft-bo2mk]

I wish this was still true 😢

[@sandpaperseat3228]

The leaked art and screen play sounded good but aliens is just done now and that hurts me to say

[@Tacheonblack]

​@@eliwilson1146 At the End by Monkeys Unkle

[@hookedonphoenix3112]

“This is Jonesie, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.” Meow

[@gckbowers411]

Jonesy and Morse from Alien 3 just get put in a padded room together when all this is said and done.

[@kilroy987]

I hadn't seen Alien for years. I sat down to watch it again, and when the camera panned around the space jockey room in the alien ship, I just thought to myself, wow, I love this movie.

[@NGRevenant]

I'm still mad about prometheus ruining the space jockey

[@drlight6677]

Alien is still an incredible looking film and I keep forgetting that it came out in 1979. Alien/Aliens are masterpieces, it's such a disappointment at how awful everything after Aliens has been. The series has never recovered from the dumpster fire that was Alien3 lol

[@stavroshadjiyiannis6283]

@@drlight6677 Unfortunate, but true. Still, I love these movies so much, I go to watch every single new Alien movie coming out opening night, even though I am 100% certain that they won't be as good as the first two. Has been going on for 3 decades now.

[@williamjensen5683]

The reason they don't go to the escape pods sooner is that its not guaranteed that anyone will rescue them. In Aliens, Ripley was floating for over 50 years and only got picked up by chance.

[@stuartfury3390]

No it's because it only supported 1 or 2 people

[@jasonfenton8250]

"The shuttle can't take four."

[@blueshit199]

I'd assume it has to do with a spaceshipload of cargo they are carrying with them

[@badassdanthepowerman6438]

Reply scoot is my favourite inconsistent director.

[@chalkdeamon6070]

Just imagine what its like when he orders a drink.

[@durkadurka5044]

Ripley scoots: horrible diarrhea

[@0mnicide]

He has nothing on Stonley Kibrook.

[@georgezee5173]

Sound design is, literally, half of the atmosphere of this movie. I had the chance to watch it in a cinema last year and it was an amazing experience.

[@randomfox12245]

I can visualize what an Aliens cartoon made in the late 80s/early 90s would look like so distinctly, so tangibly, that it'd be really easy to convince myself it actually existed but is completely lost media that doesn't exist anywhere on the internet anymore. And I could probably reasonably gaslight others into believing it was a thing they saw once as kids too.

[@cmjon6380]

Please start the movement

[@darklighter66]

I thought I remembered one but I think I am misremembering comic panels for stills.

[@whotoobe]

can you please just go ahead and animate a 90s aliens cartoon for us?

[@yrenekurtz5268]

That actually is kinda true, Kenner did plan for a cartoon show (it was titled Operation: Aliens) and a pilot episode was produced, but alllegedly after the subpar box office numbers of Alien 3 everybody involed stopped caring and the project was scrapped. All that is known from that cartoon are a few stills from the pilot (which probably do look exactly as you picture an Aliens early 90s cartoon to be like), but it MUST be stored somewhere, waiting to be found.

[@Largentina.]

IMDb has entered the chat

[@El-Berto]

"All these aliens want to get in my belly but I'm already too fat! Oh no here I go falling down again!"-Ripley as played by Mcarthy

[@MagpieDynamics]

I wish to be free of this pain

[@christophzeit6282]

Oh no my laaaabia. Are these aliens coming out from the back or the front?!

[@barahng]

Xenomorphs take on characteristics of their host so presumably if one parasitized Melissa McCarthy, we'd get a round xenomorph that can roll into things like Sonic.

[@El-Berto]

@@barahng "Gotta go fat...I mean fast"

[@rowhaus5478]

I’m literally a woman. Lol omg

[@nixonstrmelj7092]

If I had a dollar every time they actually mentioned the original Alien in this highlight reel I'd have a single figure dollar amount.

[@mikesanders8621]

If you listen to the whole thing it's basically two hours of mike and rich telling jay why Aliens is a better movie "coz action"

[@SquadPoopy]

@@mikesanders8621that’s a major disagree from me. I like Aliens, but the original in my opinion is much better. The suspense and unease that it brings is just so good that it more than makes up for having no action. Plus the horror elements are much more satisfying. Aliens explains the alien life cycle by saying “oh there’s just a queen that lays eggs”, which is fine but a bit boring. I desperately wish they had kept the deleted scene from the original cut of Alien where we see how the alien cocoons its victims and turns them into eggs. That is genuinely terrifying to see would have added a ton to the story. It’s a shame they cut that scene.

[@FFSixtyFour]

@@mikesanders8621 Man, I love listening to rlm but I think Jay is the only one with really good taste in movies.

[@mikesanders8621]

@@FFSixtyFour I've stopped watching since they started using their videos to buy movie memorabilia with patreon money and then write it off on their taxes. Plus they censor the comment section heavily, which I find to be hypocritical.

[@eliquate]

When James Cameron pitched Aliens, he just walked into a boardroom meeting and wrote “ALIEN$” on a chalkboard… and walked out.

[@itsamechrispratt380]

I've heard that story too and that sounds hilarious, although I've also heard that David Giler and Walter Hill came up with the premise, aka Ripley has to team up with a squadron of space marines to rescue a bunch of colonists and that was right up James Cameron's alley cause he's obsessed with marines for some reason so he got hired to write the script after Giler and Hill liked his work on The Terminator, so I really don't know which story is true, maybe they're both true

[@apokos8871]

@@itsamechrispratt380 Cameron fought in Vietnam, so he wanted to put his experience in a scifi film, this was a great opportunity for him

[@hanzkammler6388]

@@apokos8871 "Cameron fought in Vietnam". really ? I don't think he did.

[@apokos8871]

@@hanzkammler6388 yes, correction, he didnt fight himself, but he used it as an allegory for the war. the overly optimistic marines and their employers using superior technology, face a foe that uses unconventional tactics that overcome the difference in technology. he has stated this in a number of interviews.

[@mckenzie.latham91]

then when he pitched Avatar he wrote “dances with wolves in Space meets Aliens” since the entire plot is structured exactly like dances with wolves, he added Ripley, and all the company mercs are essentially written exactly as the marines from Aliens.

[@willkatching9219]

I love that when the RLM crew say what the producers/executives were thinking, they always talk like they're in a movie from the 50s

[@gweedohatsis8404]

The M.O.T.H.E.R. computer Christmas light room is the bomb. White is the theme for synthetic lifeforms and cold, calculating machines in this film, think ash' "blood". The inspiration was from oldie timey computers that didn't have screens for outputs. You can see these oldey time computers all throughout other films from the 50's and 60's.

[@0mnicide]

Hearing them talk about the Neil Blomkamp Alien movie that never happened is so depressing.

[@justsomeguywithsunglasses8418]

Considering every other movie he did after District 9....it is probably for the best.

[@steventaylor5169]

​@@justsomeguywithsunglasses8418spot on. A one hit wonder making a snotalgia bait reboot with some geriatric actors trying to channel their performances from 30 years ago. Had terminator dark fate vibes all over it

[@NotMorganFreeman.]

@@justsomeguywithsunglasses8418 No kidding.

[@RossTheNinja]

Good old Ripley Scott

[@Tuvok_Shakur]

thats what i heard too lol

[@MforMovesets]

Aliens has that scary trapped-with-a-Facehugger scene to counterbalance the alien horde though, and it profited from our Alien 1 knowledge about the instant-death coming from a Facehugger. And the queen at the end is basically built up like the alien in Alien 1 except huge.

[@army103]

The toy line introduced me to the idea that the traditional xenomorphs we're familar with are only humanoid because they developed in human hosts. If a face hugger grabbed onto a bull or an eagle or a shark, however, the resulting xenomorph would have different characteristics based on those animals' genetics.

[@manticorephoenix]

I remember the Bull Xenomorph toys having horns

[@37Kilo2]

@@manticorephoenix I had that toy. Totally forgot about it until your comment.

[@fistimusmaximus6576]

@@37Kilo2 I had the snake one

[@manticorephoenix]

@@37Kilo2 whew, I thought I misremembered it having horns for years

[@tadpolegaming4510]

NECA remade all those Kenner Aliens recently, they're very nice.

[@FailedPoet444]

I always imagined the reason why they did not want to abandon the ship was because even if they made it back to colonised space they'd be held liable by the company for losing the space vessel and thousands of tons of precious cargo, and the company would not take "we had a murder alien on board" as an excuse. Of course, Mother would confirm to the company that was the case, but the crew doesn't know that until late in the film. At least it makes sense for me why they'd be relucant to just scarper. Plus, if they are out in the middle of empty space, running away with an escape pod might be dangerous too. Who knows for how long they'd have to fly around before they get picked up?

[@smadcore]

How long? 57 years

[@Sammo212]

And the sequel showed that to be true

[@hankhill7827]

They discuss the reason in the film, the Nacassius shuttle only had two cyrosleep pods and you'd most realistically be lost forever.

[@joshstump3878]

Okay but I still don't understand why a greedy corporation would even risk having a self destruct sequence on their trillion dollar space ship in the first place. Insurance? Worried about corporate sabotage? Just doesn't seem cost effective.

[@elvickRULES]

@@joshstump3878 especially since the company sent them (and the Android) there under false pretences to get a sample of the alien life form. Why would they bother with self destruct in that specific instance? They wanted the alien.

[@portland-182]

Lambert mentions taking the shuttle earlier, and Ripley says "the shuttle wont take four". When they are down to three, they still need extra coolant in order for the shuttle to cope with three. So presumably the shuttle is designed for short term use (despite having a 'hypersleep' pod on board).

[@johnbarr7630]

It does bother me that she sent Yaphet Kotto and Veronica Cartwright in get those scuba bottles but she didn’t need any scuba bottles when she finally escaped.

[@portland-182]

@@johnbarr7630 ​The coolant was to cope with 3 people, the shuttle works fine with one. There's one sleep pod, suggesting that the shuttle can be used for one person in the case of a longer term emergency.

[@R0guy]

The fact that you'd need to refuel an escape pod is still a massive design flaw though. But it is mentioned in Aliens that Ripley was extremely lucky in getting recovered. Knowing that, and if I were in their position I think it makes sense to try and deal with the alien (especially before realising how deadly it is) instead of risking floating off into oblivion and if I'm lucky, having to reimburse an entire multi million dollar space cargo ship.

[@portland-182]

@@R0guy It was extra coolant for the life support system as it would be overworked supporting three people. I assume they would put one person in hypersleep to minimise the strain on the system. The other two would remain awake for the six weeks they were expecting to last until rescue.

[@ravenkarlin]

Funny going back to that because it’s an entire plot point in Romulus now

[@Slop_Dogg]

Alien 5 was great, remember when it was released and everyone was blown away. Such an exciting time for Alien fans. I have the collectors edition on HD DVD. Sent from Alternate Timeline via iPhone 11

[@repletereplete8002]

I loved the underlying message about mankind shouldn't try and exploit the xenomorphs for their own gains and they should be free to work low skilled jobs like fast food retail and have access to really long baseball caps with the company logo on.

[@TTOTheTrueOne]

*sent from my Windows Phone 11

[@gckbowers411]

*iPhone 9

[@option3590]

Isn’t Prometheus legitimately Alien 5 anyway?

[@Borgassmord]

It disappoints me to no end that alternative timelines would have also made the mistake of creating smart phones.

[@lilmovieperp3599]

"which is better Alien or Aliens?" is an old debate I can clear up easily...whichever one you're currently watching...boom, I'm done. Evans is a god.

[@vhscopyofseinfeld]

Well fucking said. I’m gonna start using that.

[@ericbush1544]

In aliens bill, Paxton started off very cocky, yes, but it was also known that that was just bravado. When he got down to it, he was a real person with real fears. In the end, he died firing everything he had. He didn’t want to die, but he wasn’t gonna go down cowering. He f FOUGHT.

[@dragons_red]

and was annoying as hell the whole time doing it

[@solitudestudios3370]

Regarding Bill Paxton’s Hudson: I think a lot of viewers don’t realize, he is potentially more tenured as a solider than most of the others. That’s why he’s cocky and obnoxious. But, this is last deployment probably. He’s getting out of the marines in a couple months. That’s why he freaks out so badly. He’s realizing and trying to come to terms with he’s never going to see his friends and family again because of LV426’s problem.

[@bsgtrekfan88]

great points - but also - when push comes to shove he does what is asked of him. He found the colonists in short order (not easy given the size of the facility, he kicks major ass taking out many xeno's before going out and yes - he did bitch a lot but alas...he went down fighting - good guy in my book ;)

[@burdockrootfarmer8928]

@@bsgtrekfan88 he held threatened the fuck out of Burke and held a gun to him (i think) after finding out he tried to kill Ripley and Newt. That Hudson moment really sticks out to me. I also like his dialogue with Vasquez after most of the Marines are KIA

[@desoliver9712]

Hudson's character is very important because he represents the audience's fear. This is exacerbated because in the early part of the film he is depicted as a very cocky character. He's also one of the few characters in the movie that has an actual arch. The last few moments of Hudson on-screen shows him trying to overcome his fear.

[@Bit2brain]

@@desoliver9712 💯

[@HealthySkepticism1775]

If you love this movie and it's music, sound, and atmosphere you must play Alien: Isolation

[@GloriousGrunt]

VERY well made game and true to the design of the first film

[@bentucker2301]

Facts

[@danielpauley9113]

Awesome game. Actually got scared playing it

[@melikeskalico3812]

I love that rich and Jack played it and haaated it xD. I really like that game tho

[@HealthySkepticism1775]

@@melikeskalico3812 i didn't know that. Is there a link to that

[@IconoclasticFeverDream]

Watching this in the future it makes me sad knowing we actually thought we were going to get a Neil Blomkamp Alien 5. Instead we got Alien Covenant (waahhh waahhh waaaaahhhhh)

[@TheLetterH111]

Meh, covenant is a better film than prometheus, probably much better than alien 5 would have been

[@gladspooky9455]

Jay pulling out all the hipster opinions in this one. "Alien and Aliens? Pffft. I really like Alien 3. Now let me nitpick the 'rubber suits' in this movie for half an hour."

[@stream_gene]

It is said whilst recording this commentary Jay's beard grew several sizes and he purchased several pairs of non prescription glasses with colourful frames.

[@joeschmoe3665]

I hate alien 3 apologists it's a meaningless movie, no action, alien looks like 90s cgi, and everyone dies

[@stream_gene]

@@joeschmoe3665 But Alien doesn't have any action either, as the boys say it is a slasher film, Aliens is a war movie, problem with Alien 3 was it didn't know what it was. It's nowhere near on a level as the first two but I still find it more watchable than the AVP films.

[@megyskermike]

Is Jay not always the hipster eccentric of the group though?

[@gargamellenoir8460]

@@joeschmoe3665 Dude, just because someone likes it doesn't mean they're an "apologist". I don't like it either but you have to realize that other people have different tastes. Jay's tastes are incredibly hipsterish, but I really think he's sincere and he just likes weird uncomfortable shit. You just have to see how knowledgeable he is about weird movies. It's not pretense.

[@Snigglefugg]

8:39 This is exactly what the director of Romulus said to himself when he got that gig

[@wyldride]

"We're Bologna on a cold roll, man!" - Bill Paxton, Alienses.

[@arnthorsnaer]

The most important conversation that needs to happen around Alien is a re-evaluation of Alien 3.

[@RGDcommentnode]

"Would you cast an all new Ripley, played by Melissa McCarthy?" Only if she's the first to get eviscerated by the xenomorph!

[@darklighter66]

Explains how the alien got so big so quickly.

[@leandrotarsia7212]

Considering the current trend of eviscerating classic charaters I've no doubt that's the approach a studio would take. Kill Ripley in the first 5 minutes, replace with some racial/sexual minority.

[@durkadurka5044]

In space noone can hear you fart

[@beeaye7944]

Hollywood Exec: "Who is the LEAST conceivable person we could put in this?" Hollywood Exec: "And before you ask, Betty White and Carrot Top have already turned us down."

[@0mnicide]

Now I just imagine her character “comically” screaming and running away from the Xeno, like in Identity Theft. Or basically every other movie she’s in. She’s got a stupid wig on. Running and tripping on a pan, “Ooooowwwwwuhh”.

[@madahad9]

I'm in total agreement with Jay about the Space Jockey and how little it weighed in my mind of its origins, purpose, or why it was carrying all those xenomorph eggs. I like that it remains ambiguous and you had to derive your own story. Perhaps that species was at war with another and these eggs were to be dropped or planted on that plant as some sort of biological warfare to wipe out the enemy. It is anyone's guess. I saw this in '79 at a local last run theatre. In those glorious days when you went into a film cold and without any preconception about what you wete about to watch. It was thrilling. Today a film is hyped more than a year before its release and leaks are bound to find their way onto the internet. By the time the film is actually released you're already sick of hearing about it. Hearing a packed theatre simultaneously scream when the chestburster sequence happens is an unforgettable moment. We'd never seen anything like this before. But the most unnerving sequence still is when Parker and Lambert are attacked by the xenomorph, the former killed and the latter is assaulted that suggests that something disturbingly sexual is happening. It was only when I bought a plastic model of the xenomorph that I noticed how phallic its heaf was. I was unfamiliar with the works of H. R. Giger at the time and only later see how sexual they were. Since it was born of a man you'd think that it would have a penis for a head. Too bad the creature kind of got locked into that particular image. I imagine this species while incubating inside of its host body would adopt those physical characteristics which would assure its survival in whatever environment it found itself in. It's one of the most disturbing movie monsters ever created, but I never needed to know its origins and the film offered enough clues,especially my favourite sequence where Ash mocks their chances at defeating it.

[@desoliver9712]

Not sure I agree, I was always curious, but the problem is once you reveal the space jockey's back story, there always is a high probability of disappointment. The fact that they were eventually revealed as human-esque, the whole thing became so much less disappointing.

[@josephdarkhelmet9494]

Agree. I like the mystery of not knowing, so does everyone I know who's seen the film. It makes it scarier. I don't like knowing it is man made or android made. That's why it's "A L I E N"

[@Zikk0_o]

Nah, I always wanted to know about the space jockey. Keeping certain things a mystery does nothing for me. The ship, all the eggs in the containment field, and the space jockey itself all lend themselves towards something worth exploring or expanding upon. A movie like The Thing does a better job of not making me care about the ship or other alien creature from the beginning.

[@bud389]

Is there a single person who didn't wonder what it was, where it was going, and why it wanted the eggs so badly? I know RLM stated they didn't, but they're hack-frauds. Saying it's "part of the theatricality" is a big-stupid argument. Clearly it was designed and set up that way on purpose to imply/suggest a greater story element. Whether that story element NEEDS to be explored is not the question, whether it SHOULD be explored is the question. The mystery makes the alien far more scary.

[@dominichowell6896]

Hey guys, in a thrift store I found a t-shirt replicating the original ALIEN movie poster, but instead says ALAN (in space no one can hear you in space). A total gem, and no one notices alot of the time because the font is so similar

[@mauricerose3082]

...hasn't Alien become like a vending- machine that doesn't give you what it was you pushed for...?

[@d3nza482]

No, that's Ripley Scat, former director of 7000 video commercials and world's biggest fan of Beavis and Butt-Head.

[@josephdarkhelmet9494]

In Hudson's defense: he is one of the best characters in the film (or any film) and has an arc. He served the longest, and was on his last assignment. Knowing the situation he was in after getting so close to getting out of the military scared him. We can all relate to this. The fact he was so Cockey and arrogant before finding out he and the crew vastly underestimated the creature's once again shows man's disrespect to the unknown. He was humbled quick. In the end, however, his training kicked in & he went down in a blaze of glory. Jay got him all wrong. But I still love me some Jay.

[@vhscopyofseinfeld]

Yeah I was a little disappointed in Jay at how he failed to appreciate that his character has a legit arc in the film.

[@itsdabees]

Dude inwoulda been so pissed if I was in that situation. Its always the "last job" where you bite the dust, isn't it?

[@danbennett9328]

I'm convinced Rich Evans' laugh could be weaponised

[@LawrenceOnlineEnglish]

“Wisconsin syndrome “

[@TheKingWhoWins]

Its quite the weapon

[@pogothepurple3826]

I like Alien 3. It's not as strong a film as 1 and 2 but it has a very rich, very specific tone, and I think it succeeds in being what it's trying to be. Dour as a funeral, yes, but I think it's a very atmospheric and intense film, and Sigourney Weaver is great in it as are a number of the prisoners!

[@lucasmesquita9101]

Amen my brother

[@ParrryHottter]

It's way worse than the movies that preceded it, but infinitely better than the shitfests that followed.

[@ralphiecifaretto8961]

It's not that it's a bad movie, but I hate that they killed Newt and Hicks off screen. The story should have had them in it. Can't forgive the studio meddling.

[@drlight6677]

Alien 3's problem is the story is complete shit. Otherwise it's a fine film haha

[@M2Mil7er]

1979 Tom Skerritt would make a perfect Randy Marsh in a live action South Park.

[@kstutz81]

Wow. Just…… wow. That is spot on my dude. Well played!

[@Chipiliro613]

_What seems to be the officer, Problem?_

[@homerhat420]

I thought this was America

[@prathapkutty7407]

I am Lorde yayaya!!

[@putridfenrir8508]

I'm just gonna get a little chestburster Sharon!

[@MarxistKnight]

Jay: “I love Alien 3” Me: “What!” Jay: “I don’t love Aliens” Me: “What!”

[@ExiledQ]

Always thought the character Dallas looked like a perfect mix between Michael Keaton and Kurt Russel

[@vhscopyofseinfeld]

It’s Tom Skerritt! Put some respect on the man’s name

[@SumDumGy]

Ripley Scott is my favorite filmmaker.

[@rat_boy_u]

Old mainframe computers used to have tons of incomprehensible flashing lights.

[@steveharvey2102]

If a space jockey dies before we know what it is, it doesn't need it's own movie.

[@ryancoulter4797]

Every time I see the chest burster scene now and it hisses I break out into “Hello, my baby! Hello, my honey! Hello my ragtime gal!…” Thank you, Mel Brooks!

[@durkadurka5044]

"what did he have?" "The special" Lol 😅

[@ryancoulter4797]

Check please!

[@Name-ot3xw]

Give me the producer's chair and I'll make Alien vs Predator vs Dredd

[@lobster_monster]

I watch a lot of youtube videos and this is one of them.

[@ralphengland8559]

Now I want to replay Alien Isolation.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

AvP 2 is the best, but hard to find. I dont think its on GOG.

[@HiCZoK]

If it was 5 hours long... But it's dragged over 20 hours of hiding and door puzzles.

[@Goldenspiderducck]

Use your Lion Brain…..NOT Crocodile Brain!!

[@Tuvok_Shakur]

@@Goldenspiderducck thats a deep cut

[@tastycookiechip]

@@HiCZoK Absolute shit take

[@Shatamx]

Incase anyone doesn't remember why Alien 3 was hated before it even hit the big screen. There was a trailer that showed Earth and Aliens. It was implied we would finally get an Alien movie on Earth. Instead we got Alien prison break. LOL

[@MandleRoss]

The face-hugger probably stays on the face for so long to prevent the host from regurgitating the eggs it is laying while they are still vulnerable.

[@gargamellenoir8460]

Yeah I thought so too, it's a protection thing.

[@MandleRoss]

@@gargamellenoir8460 Yes, it tightens its tail around the neck if threatened while nesting. Hmmmm, maybe it also has to feed the eggs with nutrients at first and that's why it dries up and dies.

[@Shatamx]

I always thought it makes sure the fetus gestates and takes. Then once it reaches a certain size the hugger dies off. Never thought it laid an actual egg inside. Interesting.

[@MandleRoss]

@@Shatamx I'm just assuming the egg part as it puts a tube down the victim's throat. I guess the fetus could also grow in a protective sack at the end of the tube but, that's also a kind of egg lol.

[@DeepEye1994]

I like to look at it like the spawn of a Lovecraftian monster, so it's fine if it's bizarre/incomprehensible to our human mind in some aspects.

[@stream_gene]

Yeah they're rubber suits, but they're suits of something so detailed, so mechanical yet biological, so unlike something EVER seen before in a film. Don't be giving us that shit Jay and then complain about CGI monsters in the next commentary lol

[@Heavy_Metal1982]

I love these guys, but cringe so hard when they talk about a classic movie... They sound like 12 year olds who have only watched Marvel movies.

[@stream_gene]

@@Heavy_Metal1982 It's just Jay being a hipster. Alien 3 isn't the best film but it's behind the scenes stuff is gold for film nerds like him

[@alt0799]

You have to admit though, despite the absolutely jaw dropping special effects in this film, the Alien DOES still look like just a guy in a rubber suit near the end. It can't really be helped.

[@joseluki]

@@Heavy_Metal1982 more considering their films are a bag of feces

[@Quole1234]

@@stream_gene Alien 3 is a great film. Gotta love how someone who can respect characterization and pacing is suddenly a 'hipster'.

[@myztklk3v]

"we're watching Ripley Scotts Alien" nice jay.

[@Ryfinius]

I was waiting for someone to call him out on that.

[@frankmerker630]

@@Ryfinius it was a joke...

[@Ryfinius]

@@frankmerker630 prove it...

[@ecoao80]

Reminder people who like Alien 3 more than Aliens or Alien are not to be trusted one iota

[@vhscopyofseinfeld]

David Fincer did the best he could with the shit 20th Century Fox barfed up into his lap.

[@charlesvan13]

I can't forgive Alien 3 for killing Newt and Hicks. It spits on the resolution of Aliens.

[@sumwancalledsteve]

womp womp

[@deadschooled]

They weren’t going to be in the movie regardless. Get tf over it already

[@charlesvan13]

@@deadschooled One doesn't have to get over a movie sucking.

[@superdrinkingpepsi]

​@@charlesvan13It's been 32 years maybe you should get over And Alien 3 doesn't suck

[@charlesvan13]

@@superdrinkingpepsi Alien 3 does suck. No one ever has to "get over" a movie sucking. It's been 38 years since Howard the Duck came out. Does that make it good now?

[@MrJohndoakes]

An element from the second or third draft of the script the RLM crew forgot to mention was that Ripley does not triumph over the Alien, it bites her head off, then the Alien makes a distress call IN RIPLEY'S VOICE, proving it was not a feral creature but a very cunning hunter. I think the producers thought the twist ending was too pat, and it was rewritten. To me, that ending would be too 1970s: downbeat but bizarrely funny, like the twist at the end of "Murder by Death" (1976) or "Network".

[@DJWHITE_]

In space, no one can hear Rich scream…

[@Aebischer1984]

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!

[@durkadurka5044]

What's wrong with your CHEEEEEEEEST?

[@subarusumeragikun]

laugh*

[@MandleRoss]

AAAAAIIIIIIIIDDDDDDLIENS!!!

[@TrippyTheShroom]

Rich would laugh once and the decibels produced would be enough to crack the protective windows leading into outside space. The last thing the crew hears before their inevitable death is one of Rich's cackles.

[@Punished_Rustles]

I think we ought to discuss the bonus situation

[@sjz1925]

"Ripley" Scott? 0:09

[@frankmerker630]

its right up there with "George" Lucas Skywalker

[@TK199999]

There was an anime rip off of Alien 1, called 'Lily C.A.T.' (1987). It was shown on the old SciFi channel at 3 am, so I bet that's the cartoon they are thinking of.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

It’s free on KZbin

[@LawrenceOnlineEnglish]

Cheers

[@LTenhet]

There were plans to make an Alien cartoon, those Kenner toys from the 80s/early 90s were actually going to be tied into the cartoon.

[@vhscopyofseinfeld]

What??!! Holy shit thanks for this post.

[@nikusenpuki]

There's also an episode of Cowboy Bebop (the anime of course) that is basically a parody of Alien.

[@PhillyCheeseGaming]

I mean, they *were* trying to get to the escape pod fairly early on, they had to get the fuel rods for it, which is when the remaining two characters besides Ripley get killed. But that’s my only “well acktchually”

[@FalloutZombie5555]

The toy line for Aliens had a dark horse comic with each figurine which told a different story.. closest thing to a cartoon Aliens ever had

[@tadpolegaming4510]

If those are the ones with Ripley and Vasquez dressed in ridiculously bright clothes, they were making a cartoon but it got scrapped.

[@FalloutZombie5555]

@@tadpolegaming4510 sooo I had nearly all of them, Ripley had a purple shirt with a yellow bandana around her neck... and Vasquez had green/beige/brown atypical military colors if memory serves..

[@aortaplatinum]

There WAS an ALIENS animated series planned and even pitched, we have screenshots of the pilot, but for some reason or another, was canceled. That's what the toys were, they were supposed to be merch for the show, and the toy line took off but the pitch was turned down.

[@ac8911]

I remember my parents showed me Alien when I was about 10. At the chestburster scene I was so traumatized I couldn't move, and my mom was just laughing at how fake it looked. I paused it and went upstairs - couldn't sleep for weeks. I don't think I tried to watch it again for at least 3 years.

[@durkadurka5044]

When I was 10 I spent the night watching all 5 Freddy movies that were out 5 or 6 by myself. You are weak

[@danbolt6003]

Good lordy Man up

[@ac8911]

@@danbolt6003 Considering that was 20 years ago I think you're a bit late m8. But thanks for the 'advice'

[@danbolt6003]

@@ac8911 all part of the service, ask your mum 👍

[@grunions9648]

Why did you pause it if you were leaving the room? That's a plot hole right there you hack

[@SubBrief]

in the movie, they comment 'there is not enough room for 4 of us....[in the escape pod]'

[@takerdust]

I like how the real concept of Alien 3 is a traumatized woman commits suicide after her last 3 months of being awake involves finding out her daughter is dead, losing her job, and constantly having her life being threatened.

[@MandleRoss]

Awwww, Mike stole one of my favorite trivia questions to ask people: "Who is the only one from the Nostromo who survives the first three Alien movies?"

[@joeyjojojunior1794]

Does everyone know that the cat cage gets sucked out into space when Ripley opens the space doors to suck out the alien queen? R.I.P. Kitty

[@ebutuoy6782]

how much time passes between aliens and alien 3? that cats dead man.

[@MandleRoss]

@@ebutuoy6782 Interesting question! I wonder if it is hinted at anywhere at how long they were in hypersleep between the two movies. But, I guess the trivia question could be adjusted to "Who is the only one from the Nostromo who does not die onscreen during the first three Alien movies?"

[@ebutuoy6782]

@@MandleRoss after googling the passage of time between movies it seems like there was very little, but i didnt get anything concrete.

[@MandleRoss]

@@ebutuoy6782 So it is Schrodinger's Cat then.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

Alien 5 never happened by Neill Blomkamp after his Hollywood career crashed and burned. but we just got Alien Romulus

[@jasonmars3708]

Unfortunately

[@katelynrushe9025]

I've heard that there was an "Aliens" comic book series. The main characters were originally going to be Hicks and a grownup Newt, but after "Alien3" came out, those comic book characters' names had to be changed to fit with the continuity that Hicks and Newt died.

[@AwkwardKyle]

That's true. They're a pretty fun read regardless

[@Tuvok_Shakur]

I had an alien's v predator comic when I was a kid

[@dimlightbulb10]

It's actually pretty good.

[@joeyjojojunior1794]

Heard there was a comic? I think the first series was around 1990 possibly a few years earlier. I think aliens comic books came out every year. I remember around 1992 I had a collection of about six different series. I recently looked it up and there were probably 30 different series of aliens comic books. They have subtitles like: hive, genocide, rogue, labyrinth, colonial Marines.

[@willardfasto4494]

I've watched a few of these now and why is it no one highlights that Jay often misspronounces things more than Rich? He called the Director *Ripley Scott*

[@HeronKij]

I disagree with them on one point; in Aliens, the Xenomorphs are getting mowed down by special ammunition, but it hardly matters because killing one only seems to bring two more to replace it, that they almost seem immortal despite the advanced weapons and "really tough hombres" weilding them. On top of that, most of the squad gets taken down in the first skirmish, leaving only Hicks, Hudson, and Vasquez alive of the twelve that went down into the hive. A 75% kill rate in a matter of minutes? Seems pretty damn effective to me.

[@Th3Gam3925]

I'm so disappointed that the Neil Blomkamp movie was never made. Alien Covenant kinda sucked.

[@FUCKINGENIOUS]

I walked out

[@gladspooky9455]

Great. Now hipsters are going to go around saying that Neill Blomkamp's movie totally would have been great. Yeah, well, it never got made, so no one knows if it would have actually been good or not.

[@phallusmalgus5394]

@@gladspooky9455 I can’t say that it would have been good. But I still would have liked to have seen his idea put to screen. I think that what’s most people mean when they lament about the fact that it didn’t get made

[@zoltanperei4789]

Neil Blomkamp is a hack fraud.

[@Th3Gam3925]

@@gladspooky9455 Who the fuck said that? I just said I was disappointed his movie never got made.

[@fastride1934]

While looking at Ash's android head Jay: 'I think we are getting ahead of our selves.' I see what you did there :D

[@BenTramer]

We never got Jay's take on Aliens 3...please tell us!

[@English_MoFo]

I totally wanted a back story of the Space Jokey. I just didn’t expect it to be a humanoid in an elephant man space suit 🫤

[@ben-64]

Jay complaining about Cameron needing creative control over the Queen design when what he ultimately shit out was the single greatest creature design of all time is peak Jay.

[@Snipurss]

Don't give James all the credit. A lot of talented people worked on the Queen

[@NotMorganFreeman.]

Except H.R. Giger was the one to shit out the single greatest creature design of all time.

[@chrisd6736]

Love these commentaries! Honestly they should be added as bonus content to blu ray discs.

[@theWUisCOMINthru]

Alien, much like The Terminator, will ALWAYS be the absolute best of the series… Both are amazingly original HORROR films with sci-fi DNA. With that out of the way, I have a pretty decent grip that stems from the sequel, Aliens, that I’m posting here because this is the audience I feel would actually understand it… In franchise canon, the titular “alien” has become known as a “Xenomorph” and that’s flat out wrong. When Gorman says “a xenomorph may be involved”, he’s using it as an umbrella term… Remember that no one but Ripley actually knows for sure what this thing is, and they’re calling it that because of how she described it: xeno means “of other (or alien) origin” and morph means “change”. The lifecycle and growth of the alien fall into that category. But as big studios often do (Disney I’m looking in your direction), laziness and a total lack of faith in the audience’s intelligence prevailed and from then on, “Xenomorph” became the alien’s genus rather than a generic term to describe an unknown organism as it was meant, all because, “they said that word in Aliens”.

[@matthewholt6168]

Such an interesting point!

[@johnsweet96]

It only dawned on me after 100 viewings of Aliens, Hudson is the nerd of the team. " hack this door open" "get on the console and locate the colonists" " get on the motion tracker"

[@tonypine3434]

Yep.

[@danielnicoletti2416]

Couldn’t finish this movie the first time I tried watching it on my laptop. Today I leave the theater blown away. The sound and the size of the screen are, in my opinion, crucial for the enjoyment of Alien.

[@Renoistic]

Why would you watch anything but KZbin and CW shows on a laptop

[@Gunbudder]

i've had a Vietnam vet tell me that the attitudes and mannerisms of the marines in Aliens 3 are by far the most accurate out of any movie he's seen. its the only movie with marines he will watch lol

[@digitalwayfarer7404]

I'm happy to have read your comment on this matter.

[@KD--sj8eo]

Alien 3, what them all being dead?

[@RaulieGonzo97]

Man, y’all are really whipping these out recently

[@DeepEye1994]

They do explain that they can't use the escape pod because (at the time there were still four characters) it only has room for three people to hibernate... Then again, I suppose that opens the question as to why there's only one escape pod and not enough for the entire crew. Maybe you could blame it on the corporation doing everything on purpose to screw them, but eh, an extra line of exposition to explain or confirm that the corporation did it purposefully would not have hurt. In the final log Ripley did say that they'll pick her ship up with "a little luck" so even if there's room for everyone it's still as hazardous as being on a lifeboat of a ship that sunk in the middle of the ocean. Space is vast and merciless.

[@immortal_coil]

They really titaniced the Nostromo

[@Zomfoo]

The PC game Alien: Isolation was excellent. Could have been a worthy film.

[@mayorofbagtown9097]

Rich and Jack hated it. They did a review of it on Previously Recorded. I agree with you though.

[@STOCKHOLM07]

If the alien shot out acidic blood instead of being immortal it would've been good. Instead, it SUCKED.

[@gladspooky9455]

The story of that game isn't interesting at all, though.

[@user-zp4ge3yp2o]

@@mayorofbagtown9097 Their game reviews were pretty bad in my opinion. Glad they stick to movies now.

[@MeenToss]

Loved it until it got too scary, haha.

[@alexbosse8528]

I feep like a feature of escape pods is that they should at all times be fueled.

[@claudiuzugravu6254]

And able to accommodate the entire crew...

[@JarmamStuff]

@@claudiuzugravu6254 Why would you bother with that. Sounds expensive. You know how much the Company needs to earn to make a profit? If there's a disaster, it means people are dead, which means no need for more pods

[@stavroshadjiyiannis6283]

Mike: "So the cat is the only one that lives" -> Rich Evans laughter -> My sides 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bud389]

I am just completely dumb-founded about their constant criticism of it "being a guy in a rubber suit"...Like, no shit. What else are they going to do? Did you know the walls of that alien ship are also plaster-cast? Did you know the space facehugger is just a bunch of rubber? Did you know that their space suits are just a bunch of hockey pads? Like what difference does it make that it's a guy in a rubber suit, when the suit looks convincing and detailed? It's just the dumbest possible point of contention about the alien. Yes, I know movies are fake. Are you a 5 year old?

[@Zero_Ninety]

How did you manage to miss the point of what they were saying this badly?

[@bud389]

@@Zero_Ninety apparently you're the one who did

[@Zero_Ninety]

@@bud389 I'm embarrassed for you.

[@TheNervousnation]

"you will get everything ...that's coming to you"

[@urdnal]

Say what you will about the christmas lights room, I want that fuckin keyboard.

[@josephdarkhelmet9494]

Alien 3 and Alien 4 are from the multiverse. Same as the bad Halloween films, and the bad Terminator films. If the movie bombs, it's cast-off as a movie in another reality in the multiverse. Alien 5- the multiverse is opened and all the Terminators come through to the OG Terminator and T2 reality. Schwarzenegger fights another version of himself plus the other Terminators- and the audience goes bananas, because- multiverse! And... lots of Terminators!

[@Sonnivate]

In the original script part of the reason everyone's so hesitant to abandon ship is they were posed to make some nice fortunes from their cargo. Like, chatter about buying planets rich.

[@zoltanperei4789]

Kenner wanted an Aliens cartoon to his toyline but it was cancelled in the very last moment. But there are still some images about it on the internet.

[@randomfox12245]

I googled it and yup, those screenshots look EXACTLY like how I thought an Aliens cartoon made in the late 80s/early 90s would look like. We don't even need the actual cartoon to exist. We can just imagine what it would have been by cobbling together different surprisingly mature cartoons from that time period like Wing Commander and X-Men that were also made in that exact art and animation style.

[@chrisbullard5901]

The Kenner “Aliens” toy line of Space Marines were intended as a cartoon, but it never made it to air. That’s why all the toy characters are stylized like you would expect an “80s radical!” cartoon show’s characters to be. The Dark Horse comics that went along with the toys presented a much more mature story, but were still written with kids in mind.

[@chuckwhite7941]

That entire mother brain room is just an Alexa

[@tomusmc1993]

Let me tell you EVERY military unit has a Bill Paxton type character in it. For anyone with military experience Bill's character makes it just that much more real.

[@Quole1234]

Why does EVERYONE have to announce that they were in the military? No one cares. And Jay never said that it was unrealistic. It just said it got annoying.

[@tomusmc1993]

@@Quole1234 were you in the military?

[@Quole1234]

@@tomusmc1993 No, and I don't give a shit if someone was.

[@tomusmc1993]

@@Quole1234 well sir, you have invalidated your own statement. EVERYONE does not announce they are in the military. Good day sir.

[@Quole1234]

@@tomusmc1993 ..... I am betting you did not read your actual comment. There are 2 people in this conversation. One of them was in the military. One of them wasn't. The one that was in the military had to announce that he was in the military. Hence, everyone who has been in the military has to announce it. If your entire argument is semantics and literally nothing else, then you are an idiot.

[@masebot1247]

i remember seeing alien toys in toy r us in the 90s

[@lawrenceschuman5354]

What does the iris closure do in the ship design? At full closure it has a three inch hole that is clearly not airtight. So, containing an animal, like the do in the movie?

[@mainsource8030]

SHAME SHAME, HUDSON DIED A HERO SAYING FUCK IT AND LAYING WASTE TO MANY ALIENS WHILE DEMORALIZING THEM WITH INSULTS!

[@GregsGameRoom]

If only Alien 5 was happening, I'd totally be down for it.

[@Quole1234]

a garbage movie made by an overrated filmmaker that's made literally ONE good movie his entire career?

[@ganjiblobflankis6581]

How does the chest-burster grow to full size? What material is it made of? That has always bugged me.

[@cutealiens]

I would no joke watch the whole movie like this.

[@Rasmos]

Cool deleted scene about the transmission that draws them to the planet reveals that the famous alien “theme” originated from this. It’s a really creepy sound and it was a mistake to not redo this scene

[@hendrsb33]

Not a horror movie fan but as a sci-fi fan and ALIEN is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's essentially a slasher flick, yeah, but the setting is so much more atmospheric and I love that the characters are so much relatable even though we know little about them. Makes it more horrifying when they're killed off. Only ALIEN and ALIENS are worth a damn in this franchise.