Watching ALIEN (1979) for the first time! Movie Reaction and Discussion

[@toodlescae]

This is much more intense and scary when you experience it like we did in 1979. All we knew about it going in was the ad..In space no one can hear you scream. Ejecting the body of a crew member into space is based on the old maritime burial at sea tradition. This was Sigourney Weaver's first major roll. At the time of filming no one but Ridley knew who was going to be the survivor. Audiences expected it to be Skerritt or one of the others since they were bigger names than Weaver at the time. In fact, Veronica Cartwright who played Lambert was originally supposed to play Ripley.

[@WillWatches]

Yeah I bet it was much worse going in blind

[@torpedoboy4]

You're the first person I've seen react to this film that makes note of Dallas' line, "I'm moving on." or "I'm going down". It is indeed a reference to his impending death. Also in the breakfast scene, each of the characters makes an allusion to death with a round-table of dialogue. Lambert- "I'm cold". Parker - "You still with us, Brett?" Kane- "I feel dead", Parker - "Anyone ever tell you you look dead?" All of these lines were uttered in rapid succession basically foreshadowing the demise of the crew.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

That's genius! THANK YOU! I love when I am STILL learning things about one of my all time favourite movies, more than forty years later!

[@michaelbastraw1493]

The scene near the landing legs should looks flawless as there was no compositing involved. It was shot live with child stand-ins to enhance the scale. Best. Leo.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

And actually two of the costumed individuals were Ridley Scott's young sons.

[@douglasostrander5072]

My assumption is the rain is condensation dripping.

[@scottcortmeister4164]

I read the book as a kid waiting to turn 18 to see the movie because it was rated R, and in the book the Brett is standing under a condensation unit that is gathering water and recycling somehow but it wasn't explained in the movie.. They also didn't explain how the artificial gravity worked either....

[@tulinfirenze1990]

@@scottcortmeister4164 They didn't need to - one of the crew (Ripley IIRC) simply says at one point that artificial gravity has been engaged. We don't need an engineering book read to us explaining how it works.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

Thank you! You are one of THE FIRST commenters I have seen who seems to understand that Ripley needs to return to try and deactivate the self-destruct system because the alien stands in her way, in the corridor, to the shuttle. Most other reactors seem to be really confused about this part.

[@dbsti3006]

This one scared me more than anything they call "horror" movies. When Ashe started glitching and his head was knocked off, I was legit terrified when seeing it as a kid. The odd noises he was making while spinning around, along with the practical effects were great.

[@scottcortmeister4164]

In the director's cut, which I would have recommended, two important scenes were added. One was Lambert slapping Ripley for not letting them in under what she thought was a medical emergency. You get to see Lambert's hysterical and emotional response on her way to full blown panic. The other important scene is when Ripley is on her way to the escape shuttle and she discovers the Alien's food stash.... Brett, Lambert and Captain Dallas cocooned up on a wall, cemented in place by some sort of hardened secretion... Only Dallas is conscious and he's begging her in a dying voice to kill him, which she does... with the flame thrower... Mercy killing, but brutal still... The runtime in the theaters would have been too long and they felt they needed to get more people in and out of the seats to make more money... But yes I would have recommended the director's cut. Love your reactions and your take on Cinema, new favorite and instant subscription...

[@WillWatches]

Damn that cocoon scene sounds brutal. I think maybe whenever I do Aliens ill throw in a bonus reaction to some of those scenes from the directors cut, obviously they'll be out of context a bit but they sound like they're worth a watch!

[@kharma7755]

Aliens is one of the only sequels in movie history that outdoes the first... It's amazing!

[@QueensLadyDay]

It's not rain. It's condensation...

[@RenfrewPrume]

John Hurt was already a big star from his outstanding performance as Caligula in the landmark "I, Claudius" TV movie.

[@zedwpd]

no the whole mission wasnt to get the alien. they didn't know it existed until they received the repeating message and that's when mother made it priority one and the crew expendable. The size of the shuttle isn't just about seating space but more about enough supplies to feed a crew or enough cryo sleep pods to go the 10 months of flying.

[@KBH27]

Another movie with John Hurt, which nobody has reacted to, is Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound

[@marievjing]

Don't forget to watch the "extented cut" for its sequel ALIENS ^^

[@toodlescae]

Also. No one knew the alien was in that place but once Mother detected the signal, the computer and medical officer received instructions preset by the Corporation to ignore anything except bringing the alien back. At least that's what I always thought.

[@joerenaud8292]

The Nestromo ship that crew were inside of was enormous. Think about it, it was carrying 20 million tons of ore which means it had to be gigantic, hence why it was raining in areas where condensation builds up in the engine repair sections of that ship. Thus it looked like it was raining.

[@cjcali5048]

I love the Aliens movie franchise and Sigourney Weaver is so badass. The scenes you were referring to that were not in this movie are in a different Aliens movie. You should watch that and It would be nice to see your reaction to that one as well. Another great reaction Will! It was awesome.

[@WillWatches]

Thanks CJ!

[@deeasztalos2520]

I think the fossil they find is one of the Engineers from Prometheus.

[@QueensLadyDay]

The Giger's Xenomorph (the Alien) is eyeless.

[@6891x]

I wouldn't call Sigourney Weaver quite young anymore, she's over 70. :D

[@lukebarton5075]

Nice reaction. If you’ve not seen it, Blade Runner by the same director is well worth checking out.

[@Lewis9700]

You have a great ASMR voice

[@rabooey]

Baking soda. EZ.

[@irina1296]

Nice reaction. First two Alien films are the best but you should see them all. Personally I love all 4 Alien films plus Prometheus. Each film adds something new and fresh to the franchise. alien is a Horror, Aliens is an Action movie, Alien 3 is a Drama/Thriller, Resurrection looks like a Spoof but still entertaining

[@jareeohs]

First comment!!

[@WillWatches]

Yes you are!

[@orangewarm1]

Great