Ridley Scott "Alien" 1979 - Bobbie Wygant Archive

For more interviews and stories go to www.bobbiewygant.com

[@anniedmusic]

I am completely in love with how Ridley scott is not defensive at all and takes the interviewer in good faith which she is!

[@ronmexico6901]

He’s a total pro. Real intelligent and classy. This interview played out differently when it was Quentin Tarantino.

[@cannibalholocaust3015]

This is cause Tarantino doesn’t have an ounce of actual artistic skill a Ridley Scott or James Cameron possesses.

[@plasticweapon]

he's changed since then.

[@ChucksCherubs3]

He's British.

[@DaleBouwman]

things were done differently back then

[@odiseezall]

44 years later they still couldn't make a better story or movie about the deep dark unknown Universe.

[@user-zu3cm2ek7c]

Alien and 2001 Space odyssey are the masterpieces. those are truly amazing movies.

[@RedLP5000S]

*Interstellar

[@finlaywelburn]

@@RedLP5000Sfilled with plot holes and problems

[@PhilipStacey-ty2em]

agreed completely within the sci fi genre

[@SaccoBelmonte]

An absolute masterpiece. I watch it almost once a year. Can't get enough of it.

[@VYBCTV]

Ridley Scott & Stanley Kubrick are the only two Hollywood film makers in my opinion who could visually communicate with us through amazing cinematography and symbolism. They give audience something to think rather than spoon feeding everything to audience. Great director Ridley Scott. Iam your big fan from India.🇮🇳🙏

[@Meatrockman]

Alien is the punk rock / "Rock 'n' Roll" father of the world of films. Blade Runner too. God bless Dan O'Bannon, H.R Giger, Ridley Scott and Miss Weaver. So many names i could mention, but the people knows all these names already and i'm glad for it!

[@WindRises100]

Ridley trying not to dance around specific plot points vs an interviewer bull running into them.

[@TrenchMan93]

Oh gosh he is the same as he is now.

[@thegood9]

So thankful my mum allowed me to see this FANTASTIC movie at age 10. It was incredible to see in the theater at that time, before internet spoilage.

[@apparentlyworshipped7747]

Ridley crushed it... 2021

[@apparentlyworshipped7747]

@White Supremacists at sucking

[@jonathane5496]

I loved it at the end when Ridley said you should go back and watch it again and Bobbie said "No Sir!" Hilarious. Ridley proved in Alien he was a master film maker and Bobbie quite rightly applauds his abilities as a Director/Film maker. Great interview although after watching many of her interviews where she loved a film it was quite obvious to me from the beginning she disliked Alien.

[@zerpblerd5966]

later she will go see Very Bad Things and say she cracked up and nothing at all about being offended, so, she definitely faced her fears and overcame the things that come with that largely due to Alien, I'm sure !

[@halfabeet]

She seemed to enjoys Aliens much more

[@paulschilling2996]

@@halfabeetSeems ironic, as the sequel has about 10x the violence and gore. She didn’t realize, even though Ridley was trying to tell her just that, that what really upset her was the masterful pace and editing and atmosphere of Alien, not the violence itself.

[@justinroden2148]

homeboy was 42 at the time and he IS STILL ALIVE TODAY pretty sure he's immortal I was born 91 and I think he's gonna outlive me! absolute legend

[@LarryHazard]

Yeah it's incredible, Ridley Scott is the first person to be 80 years old

[@Fibonacci64]

I think Ridley should have listened to this version of himself before making “Prometheus” and “Alien Covenant” witch I pretend doesn’t exist. But “Alien” is one of my favourite movies if all time, I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it. Masterpiece.

[@warlorddk2070]

You sound like the star wars fans that wrote off the prequels until Disney showed fans what a bad star wars movie looked like... I get that Prometheus and covenant isnt as good as alien or aliens but by god do they get unfair treatments by fans... They truely arent that bad...

[@Poetic_Justice1962]

Wygant went all American and Puritanical for a moment, but Scott handled it like the master artist that he is, with mindfulness and authority, and he did receive the compliment from her that was due, because Alien is in the top three of single SF film masterpieces, and has influenced all that came after. Scott is one of my top three favourite film makers full stop.

[@jedijones]

There is a video recently posted of a news broadcast with Bobbie interviewing people after they've watched Alien at a Texas movie theater. Look up the video "Alien [1979] movie opening interview with moviegoers" posted by Vampire Robot.

[@sonnyroy497]

No. NOT for children. Or for anyone prone to nightmares.

[@AaronBowley]

It was one of my favorite movies as a kid, no nightmares , just inspiring

[@m1lst3r89]

I agree with that. Though I saw thr film when I was 12, so forget what I wrote.

[@Gunn27]

Not for children even though all the games were on consoles lol

[@jedijones]

@@m1lst3r89 You're pretty much ready for anything at 12. I think I saw Predator at that age. We usually mean younger children when talking about being terrified by a film.

[@m1lst3r89]

@@jedijones i saw Predator when was 9 or 10. Blew my mind (and for some reason, my mind didn't register p***y jokes), but what terrified me at that age was the last minutes of Fire in the Sky. In hindshight, I am content that I managed to shy away from a more edgier, harder stuff.

[@morlvol]

For the record: Alien is the best scifi horror film ever made.

[@BarrySlisk]

No contest!

[@lazarcatalina1176]

Much better thn ALIENS 2!ALIENS 2 was ok but too much violence,i like the suspense 70precent n 30 precent gore!

[@sahej6939]

The Thing as well

[@BarrySlisk]

@@sahej6939 Probably number 2. Or maybe The Terminator.

[@tachikomakusanagi3744]

I love how this channel always lets you see how the sausage is made, but this episode in particular is intense. Ridley did not take any nonsense here, and no quarter was given. How i wish we still lived in this age.

[@Tyrannicon]

dear me, the violence in this film was mild and also necessary. Its a horror its meant to freak you out

[@m1lst3r89]

Considering how movies can get gory, I can agree with that.

[@jedijones]

The chest burster was not a mild thing. Definitely not for 1979.

[@daveruda]

I wonder what that 2.11h cut would have looked like.

[@jedijones]

Fox tried to get Ridley to release it in the early 2000s for home video. Ridley refused, said it was poorly paced at that length, and instead recut the film into a SHORTER version. Although it added in 4 deleted minutes and took out 5 other minutes. He said it was called a director's cut purely for marketing reasons.

[@idonotknowanynames]

Something about Alien makes it my favourite sci Fi and horror film. I watched it at a very young age (maybe too young?), and it's just stuck as one of the greatest films

[@Callmedstone]

I just want to express my gratitude to you for posting these thought provoking interviews which otherwise would have been lost … like tears in the rain (drumroll please - bows out gracefully). 😅

[@lukesmale24]

I remember seeing it when I was 7 or 8 and being absolutely terrified. He is right though about nightmares. I didn't have one. It was incredibly believable and that is what made it freaky

[@garethrichards9572]

Who let you watch an 18 rated film at 7 years old??

[@lukesmale24]

@@garethrichards9572 In Australia it is rated M. Kids could watch it with their parents. My parents were huge fans of the original film

[@garethrichards9572]

@Luke Smale ah, here in the UK I had to sneakily record it off the TV aged about 12/13 in 1984 ish (51 now). I recall my Dad watched it on his own on TV and went to bed looking quite pale. When I asked him what the matter was, he said "that bloody film is horrible". It was at that moment I knew I had to see it 🤣. Happy new year.

[@jedijones]

We just had a puzzle of it sitting in our attic that scared me. I always heard it was a terrifying film and the alien popped out of the guy's stomach, so I avoided watching it. I saw the Spaceballs parody long before I saw Alien.

[@lukesmale24]

@@garethrichards9572 Happy new year to you

[@callumcc8897]

what you don't see definitely makes it more powerful because it has a instinct to it...and the sound 😊

[@davisanderson4274]

The question "is this film for everyone" makes me laugh. There are few films where I could not make all the way through (Talented Mr Ripley, Requiem for a Dream) and Alien is still number one. Scott created so many things its no wonder this franchise is so siccessful.

[@garethbramley1]

Top man who started in TV commercials!!

[@criticalmass613]

Bobbie Wygant was great. Totally pro, charming, and sharp. How did Barbara Wawa get so popular?

[@frenchcoupon3391]

One of the most influential directors of our times. I like him much more than Kubrick.

[@gideonpepys]

What Scott says about nightmares is absolutely spot on. I was about 11 or 12 when I saw this movie on video or taped off the TV, a few years after its release. My family didn’t know I had watched it and my parents wouldn’t have let me if they did! I had heard a lot about the film and was terrified of the idea of it. I watched the chest-bursting film from between my fingers. Then I rewound it and watched it again! I really was petrified while watching the film and worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep and would have to confess my sneaky viewing. But to my surprise I found the film didn’t bother me after I watched it and I realised then that it was because it was wholly ‘unrealistic’ and that it couldn’t really happen. And now, 40 years later, I’ve found that Ridley Scott felt the same way! 😂

[@heartofcinema3454]

Basically he's saying I am not bothered for it to be that popular as star wars, that isn't the intention, but it will continue to exist in poplur culture for a long long time.

[@dimitru6024]

Gore? I first saw the movie as a little kid! Maybe 5 years old only and it didn't scare me at all. But I loved it. Have been a fan ever since.

[@Gunn27]

So you're telling me a master filmmaker who aimed to create a thriller was unable to scare a 5 year old child with his most atmospheric piece of work? I fail to believe that for a second.

[@dimitru6024]

@@Gunn27 By that time I'd already seen From Dusk Till Dawn and Coppola's Dracula and they did scare me real bad. That's one. The scariest thing in Alien isn't the atmosphere or the monster creature itself. Something else is at work there. Only you don't understand things like that when you're small, and so they may as well fail to scare you.

[@BarrySlisk]

@@Gunn27 5 may be too young to pick up on many of the underlying scary things.

[@martinharris5017]

Its funny how people remember how "gory" Alien was, based on the indelible memory of the chest-bursting scene. But thanks to KZbin we can now see just how much gruesomeness was edited out of the film, and very artfully. Almost all of Brett's death has been edited out, and of course Lambert's death is left entirely to the imagination. I saw Alien at age 15 and seeing the Chestburster scene was a rite of passage back in the late 70s to early 80s. Amazing how well the movie has aged, it stands as a master class in how to transform a "B grade" script into an A Grade piece of cinema.

[@thiscorrosion900]

It's all very fast, quick cuts for the most part, and a lot of suggestion. When the xeno corners Dallas, there's no blood or gore or anything whatsoever, it cuts right away to Ripley reacting or to Parker and everyone discussing it in the mess room. The chest burster scene was strong for the time, and is a bit gory, but even that happens very fast. Ridley edited the film deliberately this way to cut down on seeing too much of the xeno and spoiling the suspense etc going forwards in the storyline. ALIEN like Blade Runner was intended as anti-Star Wars SF/Horror: dystopian, to a degee, and more on the Heavy Metal side of things than any space opera which it has nothing to do with at all.

[@martinharris5017]

@@thiscorrosion900 I've seen the "cutting room floor" excerpts of the Chestburster scene and death of Brett and they were exceptionally gruesome and protracted. (they are here on YT under "Alien Brett extended death scene and Alien extended Chestburster scene" for the curious) Scott did the right thing in cutting them down and leaving so much to the imagination. Alien was indeed "Anti Star Wars" and more directly a sharp contrast to Star Trek The Motion Picture which was showing around the same time and presented a squeaky-clean, noble and upbeat vision of the future. On the theme of Star Wars, HR Giger said that his derelict design was intended as a parody of the Millenium Falcon with it's asymmetrical design and dual-pronged front.

[@pennsworth996]

I think there's an argument that ash being ripped in half was pretty gory. Sure, he's a robot but he bleeds (milk) and gurgles like a biological thing. Also, much of the implied violence against the female characters is sexualized....a robot tries to murder Ripley by ramming a tube (magazine) in her mouth, how the alien slowly runs its tail up the leg of Lambert etc. I mean, I think Alien is great but if someone said they found it tasteless I wouldn't disagree. But no, they didn't throw buckets of brains at the walls.

[@martinharris5017]

@@pennsworth996 Interestingly, the scene of the alien's tail going between lambert's legs was originally Brett's legs! In the uncut Brett attack scene (extreme gore content) the tail continues up Brett's back and jabs him between the shoulders. The sexualized attacks aren't solely directed at females: Kane's impregnation by the Facehugger is oral rape, I would disagree about alien being tasteless: Shocking, confrontational, yes. But it is all done with careful restraint and equally carefully contrived moments of terror. It is cinematic art at a high level.

[@pennsworth996]

@@martinharris5017 Yeah, I think your assessment is fair. But I also think that the male-r*pe aspect has been noted many times in the sci-fi community over the years (that's how O'Bannon 'defended' the film from some early criticisms), with relatively little mention of those other scenes. Original intentions get pretty blurry when there are so many cooks in the kitchen - 2 original writers, 3 re-writers, then the director and the editor and the studio etc. If I recall correctly the original story didn't have any women in it at all. There's not much that I'd want to change about the movie (not that Fox was looking for me, lol) but I think I would've done the magazine attack differently...and the tail...and ditch the Star-Wars spaceship shot at the beginning. I love the way the camera moves through the Nostromo (very Kubrick-like), the blue-collar worker vs. corporate interest aspect (with AI assistance nonetheless) feels even more timely today, the sets and practical effects are great (minus that Here's Johnny / Happy Hands jump scare) and the acting is better than you'd typically get in this type of film.

[@JamesCraigWhoop]

The creature cannot leave nightmares... Oh Mr. Scott I have had several

[@Nick-mu9vu]

Ahead of his time

[@mrmrgaming]

It's so odd to look back at how long they had to chat. These days its 5 mins, and then they bring the next one in.

[@RubyMarkLindMilly]

Genius

[@timmy13duffy]

Geez, lady! Relax! One of the most sophisticated presentations of horror ever made.Wide appeal.

[@cannibalholocaust3015]

This film gave me a few actual nightmares due to the design of HR Giger and the general weirdness. Unlike any other “alien” man in a suit. Of course I saw it when I was about 10 on TV. Masterpiece and Ridley proved with Bladerunner he wasn’t a one hit wonder.

[@182Nym182]

No nightmares my ass...I'm 35 and I still have nightmares about those things sometimes. The new films go out of their way to make the xenomorph nothing more than a dumb beast with sharp claws. The old movies do the opposite and that's what fuels the nightmares. Fast agile, relentless intelligent creatures with a primordial malevolence to them. The more you hide, the harder they try to find you. Doors don't keep them out. Nowhere is safe. If they catch you, you don't know if you're a threat to be eliminated, a nutritious meal, or prime candidate for incubation.

[@emiliadiaz6541]

I saw alien and i can see the inspiración of this movie. Like matrix and or in the fith element..funny to use the same actor... Similiars and he say 'the perfect organism'

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

By this time he did something like 2700 commercials

[@sahej6939]

I agree older teens will love it! Bobbie is freaking out lol 😂It is very realistic, I think that is the issue. Sigourney Weaver is incredible

[@siegfriedbarfuss9379]

Amazing how smart and articulate this was conducted. Now in 2023 everything compared feels shallow and lacking class ..

[@keaton718]

Surprised Mr Scott didn’t correct her when she called the film “The Alien” in the reverse shots at the end.

[@sidneygreen9120]

Tony durkin 👍

[@Kyoto_Ed]

is that a question? Classic Ridley

[@vkeshav3519]

I saw alien quite young but a pg 13 version, Its a good film but not for everyone

[@Khultan]

*ALAN LADD JR.*

[@coltseavers6298]

Strange. There are actually at least - _three scenes_ - having blood. And possibly a forth.

[@scooterallen1834]

Is any film good for “everyone”?

[@vkeshav3519]

triumph of the will

[@whatdothlife4660]

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

[@m1lst3r89]

Probably not.

[@Gunn27]

@@whatdothlife4660Not true. I know tons of people who even refuse to watch it. I personally love it.

[@whatdothlife4660]

@@Gunn27 How can they know it's not for them if they haven't watched it?

[@egglady]

I usually like Bobbie’s interviews but here she is putting Ridley Scott on the defensive about the content of the film, which is really mild even compared to other 70s horror films.

[@Enkarashaddam]

It's because people back then had no mental defenses against something like Alien. Alien shocked everybody and quickly developed this reputation of being this ultra-disturbing x-rated (it wasn't) exploitation nightmare gorefest -- when in fact it was all happening in the audiences mind. They built a scarier creature in their mind than even Giger could came up with, he was just the spark. That's the power of filmmaking.

[@ronanrogers4127]

Ridley’s believe it or not

[@claw320]

Ridley is SO BS'ing in this interview where he says "there is only once scene that has any blood at all".

[@clifford7594]

Bobbie Wygant is scarier to me than Alien.

[@ANDREWMACCONNAL-MASON]

Amazing.... "parts of your film offended my sensibilities". Ok....that is YOUR problem!! For God's sake.... amazing how so many Interviewers simply do not understand how Art works.

[@MrCarpen7er]

Less is more. Ridley forgot it in the last years making shit.

[@andykolb6502]

Young Ridley looks like Bryan Cranston

[@scatmancrothers]

The original gangster

[@adrianb5601]

Umm her eye line would have been off on the last bit

[@aliensoup2420]

"only 1 scene that contains blood whatsoever"... not true. I think Bret's death in the "chain room" shows blood when he gets the tongue to the head.

[@cyrusq5999]

Parker, in a rage attacked the thing and was quickly overpowered and splattered. Lambert was next - but not before the Alien had some 'fun' with her. Their wet, dripping bodies were soon found by Ripley. Both slaughtered like pigs. 🧠🧠

[@datatsushi2016]

She couldn't handle this film lmao 😂

[@whatdothlife4660]

But she recognized his creativity and heaped praise on him at the end of the interview. She's badass.

[@quirkyjoeAnimated]

Does Ridley Scott think that sharks are fantasy creatures?

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

I wish I could go back in time and show 1979 Ridley Scott the movie Prometheus which is trash

[@thegood9]

This is as about an uncomfortable interview about this movie as I've ever seen. Embarrassing, even.

[@AxelFoleyDetroitLions]

Hahahaha Texas Women are 5 decades behind 😂

[@clutch2827]

She is trying so hard to put a negative spin on the movie.

[@AxelFoleyDetroitLions]

If she Only Had a Brain

[@wam1510]

get this interviewer outta here lmao she was not having it with that movie. I wanna hear her opinion on rock and roll

[@elizabethanderson2968]

FFS ... aesthetic people exposed to blinkered, stuffy, God-fearing conservatives ...

[@Gunn27]

Would rather sit down and have a cup of tea with them than a blue haired, almond milk drinking, middle class, capitalist inheritance benefitting, emasculated, cowardly, non assertive cuck.

[@desbarry8414]

Interviewer is laughable, what nonsense.

[@BuckRolly1]

"Which one are you saying is the 'strong scene'?" Jeez Bobbie, it's kind of obvious... had you even watched it?