"Due to mature theme parental guidance is advised." That serious announcer voice was the first thing you heard when the film began. It was such a big deal when ABC first broadcast Alien. I spent the last half of it covering my eyes and listening to my sisters screaming on the sofa. I never realized ABC also acquired the rights to broadcast ALIENS. By then VCRs were so prevalent everyone had their favorite films on video tape including ALIENS so the televised network premier just sorta came and went probably without too much notice.

@DVincentW

6 жыл бұрын

skylx08 A vhs of a new release was 60 bucks.

@Howard.Stern.

6 жыл бұрын

Worth it. I played my copy so many times it wore out and became blurry/white.

@InternetMameluq

6 жыл бұрын

'VCR' I remember those! Be kind, rewind.

@unstoppableExodia

6 жыл бұрын

DVincentW incredible, a VHS tape of a new movie cost as much as a new NES game? Wow I remember in the early 90s a new movie on VHS was around 30 bucks Australian while a new Nintendo game was a hundred bucks

@paratus04

6 жыл бұрын

skylx08 My dad and I video taped Aliens when it was first broadcast on ABC. He had taken me when I was 11 to see Aliens in the theater and it scared the crap out of me. Had nightmares for week. Still didn’t stop my friends and I from tying my water guns together and pretending to be Ripley. At any rate I was floored when we got see the extra footage on broadcast TV no less. The sentry guns scenes were awesome. And of course the scene where we learn about Ripleys daughter Amanda and her eventual fate led to the really quite awesome 2014 Alien Isolation video game. (Of course the acoustic beacon was off, the scavengers who found and followed the Nostromos flight recorder turned it off!) Anyway I’m glad I got to experience the theatrical release first followed by the special edition.

James Cameron: “It’s not in the cat and it’s not in Newt. I would never be that cruel!” David Fincher: “Hold my beer…”

@Thunderchild-gz4gc

2 жыл бұрын

His idea to kill John Connor was unforgivable.

@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat

2 жыл бұрын

@@Thunderchild-gz4gc Nothing is cemented in a time traveling series. Lol In the right hands the idea of starting the movie off with the young John Connor's assassination could have amazing and powerfully galvanizing. Tim Miller did not possess such hands.

@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive

2 жыл бұрын

David Fincher didn’t write the script. He dropped out of the project because amongst other production troubles, executives kept coming in and changing the story without notice.

@miller-joel

Жыл бұрын

​@@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat However, there's no time travel or alternate realities in the Alien(s) universe. The magic alien egg on the Sulaco in "3" completely breaks continuity, because it's literally impossible. It's also been documented and well established that the writers and the studio didn't care about continuity or making sense. They just wanted an alien in the prison colony. So the only option we have left is to not consider "3" or anything that followed as canon. Regardless of the studio's seal of approval, since not even they cared. The "real" Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop from Aliens flew past that horrible "plot hole" and had a different story, which was never made into a movie.

@miller-joel

Жыл бұрын

@@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive I can't keep quoting Fincher because yt will block me again for "spamming," but Fincher still says no one hates that movie more than he does.

I wish a few more writers/directors took a bit more time to reply to fans these days. It's clear Cameron and Scott before had a great deal of passion for their films, and they took pride in their work, to the extent that they would reply to the fans criticisms directly.

@eXcommunicate1979

6 жыл бұрын

They could very easily respond to the criticisms they felt showed merit. No one says they should reply to every troll on the Internet.

@GreaterGrievobeast55

5 жыл бұрын

While I don't think any director should feel obligated to explain their work beyond a trailer much it it's nice when they do give us a look into their thought process in it often gives us a bit of insight in more ways than one. even if you perhaps didn't get the anwsers you were looking for in the universe of the movie perhaps you further realize how much thought and effort went into making the film there really is. And that holding such hostilities over something as interpretive as art isn't really useful for either party. Sheesh can't help but feel I sound pretentious with this one oh well.

@steven7936

5 жыл бұрын

you mean like ryan johnson?

@kungfreddie

4 жыл бұрын

It was another time. They were not as narcissistic as they are now. If you treat ppl as Gods, they will believe they are.

@lambrosk3790

3 жыл бұрын

@@kungfreddie well said. I was thinking 🤔 most “fans” today would be too busy pointing out everything they hated while most directors would feel it beneath them to directly answer a genuine question.

Love how James just goes along with the theories like regarding why the aliens domes differed from the first movie. I think the main reason behind the ridged design was to be more durable and the costumes could handle all the action scenes, rather than the sleek glass original.

@Cybermat47

Жыл бұрын

Basically, yeah. The ridges weren’t actually anything new, though. Kane’s Son had them underneath his dome. Cameron’s crew simply removed the fragile dome to expose the sturdier ridges underneath, then redesigned the front of the head to remove the skull and preserve the Alien’s ‘eyeless menace’.

This is one of the best KZread videos I've seen in a long time, what a guy James Cameron is devoting his time to answer fans questions and criticism.

I see the Aliens as being extremely adaptable. The first Alien was completely alone so it's behaviour would naturally be different from the group of Aliens in Hadley's Hope.

@Spaced92

3 жыл бұрын

I see Alien as the best movie by far, but honestly it never needed a sequel and everything after it is fan service. Aliens was obviously not a bad movie, but it's not a true sequel to what the first was doing, just like Terminator 2 unintentionally set the Terminator franchise down a bad path as well. Why even pretend otherwise? Both series have a huge identity crisis.

@Poobell1

3 жыл бұрын

@@Spaced92 you have a strange way of looking at things Aliens is the perfect companion piece to Alien it is literally the next step for the franchise Alien 3 is what put it on a bad track. So you wanted a rehash of the original just another spaceship and another group of victims (well you got that in Alien 3 and look how that turned out).

@richardb6260

2 жыл бұрын

It's like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Because of the use of frog DNA, they were able to change their sex and reproduce. If the Alien is an engineered bio weapon, it stands to reason that there might be a failsafe for when there is only one Alien left.

@trevorfrenk4137

2 жыл бұрын

@@Spaced92 i completely agree about both franchises, but Aliens (while an amazing movie and arc for ripley) is particularly offensive to me. the xenos are just bugs now, easily killed. the queen is also much less terrifying than eggmorphing to me-it’s a predictable hierarchy, not ALIEN

@TheHexeract

2 жыл бұрын

@@Spaced92 Aliens 2 is a superior movie. T2 didn't set anything "down a path" It was intended to be the final movie. The third one was a studio abomination that completely contradicted the central themes of T2.

There is no problem with the queen and the egg conversion in Alien. A single drone creates a queen egg with its prey to start a "hive". It's that simple.

@alexanderbilstien3471

6 жыл бұрын

you could also say that the alien in the first movie made its own eggs, the way it did so it would have drones to defend it as its morphs into a queen

@the-trustees

6 жыл бұрын

Alexander Bilstien Sure. If Covenant stays canon, they may be the colonists themselves. :)

@ellessandraramsay1841

6 жыл бұрын

That's the way I see it too. Both Alien and Aliens are perfect movies.

@eustacequinlank7418

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah... it's "simple". Not quite as weird and freaky as having your entire body transmogrified into an alien incubator (though of course that wasn't shown in the final cut of Alien). Don't get me wrong, I love Aliens, but simple is what some just seem to want and it's why I feel as though certain Aliens fans turned on Scott after they discovered Blomkamp wasn't pulling out a 2.0 version of it from his arse.

@the-trustees

6 жыл бұрын

Man Beadle Maybe if Scott was so full of his own Dsvid-Jizz, he wouldn't have gotten "turned on"?

Didn't you just love how Cameron kept referring to the Space Jockey as "the Dental Patient! ?" Thanks for the great video. .again Alien Theory! Much love

@macmiller1799

5 жыл бұрын

The Jockey does kinda look like someone sitting in a dentist couch.

I remember when I first saw ALIENS. We rented it from our local video rental and after that I was a fan. Watched it many times. I remember my mother saying to me however, " if you think that was scary you should see the first one." We then rented ALIEN and found that had an even bigger impact on me with it being even more frightning and mysterious. To me that was the stuff of pure nightmares and to this day I always recommend ALIEN to anyone wanting to see a good horror movie. ALIEN will always be first for me because it's a mastery of sci-fi horror. Great mystery and intrigue, dread, isolation and ultimately terror. ALIENS is excellent scary sci-fi action and still stands today as the only good sequel or prequel to the original. Cameron did well.

@bitharne

3 жыл бұрын

I go out of my way deride "horror" movies in general...they're lame and boring. ALIEN though...that's horror.

@finalascent

3 жыл бұрын

And THAT is the structural problem with additional films in the Alien universe. Part of what made Alien and Aliens so special is that the creatures remain mysterious and threatening. The more backstory, explanation and interaction with humans we see, the less impact they have.

@lizloa8350

3 жыл бұрын

@@finalascent Absolutely

@thereisnosanctuary6184

3 жыл бұрын

NUH UH!

@gyleymaskey

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad your mother was such a good sport, I had the reverse scenario for mine.

Aliens is perfect. Considering he was an unknown director and was under pressure from the studio and a small budget, makes it even more perfect, it’s a masterpiece.

@Joshua_N-A

3 жыл бұрын

18 million dollars in mid-80's is about 45 million today, it's small or near average by today's Hollywood standard I think. Try make a sci fi blockbuster with the best special effects with 45 million USD today

@ginah6138

Жыл бұрын

Yep!

What Giger initially envisioned, wombs on the wall of the cave, was much more interesting as it hinted to a biomechanical origin of the eggs. In fact, the Aliens C64 game referred to the growth on the walls as "biomechanical growth". There's even some tubing in the Alien's head. The cave could have been an egg factory and then some kind of accident happened to the Derelict.

@trevorfrenk4137

2 жыл бұрын

awwww man, that’s so creepy and awesome! i really wish they went with that instead of a queen. always seemed too easy to me

@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat

2 жыл бұрын

H.R. Giger didn't have cogently explainable ideas, he just did random weird stuff.

@OpenMawProductions

Жыл бұрын

@@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat Ehhh.. That's what he wanted you to think. Yes, he was very free form, but he also lets it slip here and there what he was thinking. For example the original Alien egg had a very *very* vaginal opening. A single slit that peeled open. The producers thought it was "too much for catholic countries." He said "So I made it a cross to make the catholic countries happy." Again, he was very free form and about expressing his nightmares in surrealist paintings... But he also had a very clever and focused mind.

@OpenMawProductions

Жыл бұрын

Another idea he had likened the eggs to bieng "like termites in the wall."

@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat

Жыл бұрын

@@OpenMawProductions What I mean is Giger wasn't interested if it was plausible within nature to even biologically exist. Most creature designers try to follow an evolutionary logic for why factors such as evironment may have shaped their developement of certain unique proportions or senses. Giger's priority is to just be provacative.

I consider myself to be a very big fan of the franchise and I honestly regard the original film, Alien, to be the greatest film ever made. It's truly a masterpiece and since around the age of 11 or so I must have watched it a couple of hundred times over the years, I kid you not. Back in the day I actually watched my widescreen VHS of Alien so many times that the tape became distorted lol. Anyway, as big a fan as I am of the franchise and with all the knowledge from the novels, 'making of books', interviews, commentaries and documentaries that I have soaked up since childhood, you sir, are teaching me things about my favourite film franchise that I was completely unaware of! It's brilliant! I only relatively recently discovered your channel believe it or not and I'm so pleased that I did. Your work and enthusiasm for these great films is truly inspiring and, considering that I thought I knew everything there was to know about these films and their universe, being told new bits of information and learning more via your work is a revelation to me! Consider me a new addition to your growing fanbase and I would love to be able to help you in any way I can. :)

How cool is it that a director saw criticisms of his film and answered them in a calm manner that didn't insult the people who asked them Also I think Cameron defending his film with a deleted scene makes sense since there was going to be a version with those scenes in very soon and he seemed to have wanted them the original cut while the cacoon scene in the original didn't seem to be planned to be added into Alien at the time

It wasn’t a betrayal to Alien or the egg morphing (that most fans didn’t know about until years after Alien’s release), it answered a nagging question. Where did the eggs in the Nostromo come from? “So whose laying these eggs?” It made perfect sense that there would be a queen and she was a perfect queen and addition to the franchise. You have to remember the derelict was huge and only a tiny fraction was explored by Dallas, Kane and Lambert, it’s perfectly acceptable to assume they missed the carnage of the last stand between the engineers and the aliens. The corpse of both species were discovered by the Jordan’s who took a different route through the derelict, as further covered in the extended universe canon. The xenomorphs are parasites having a queen makes total sense to me.

I loved Aliens, my only gripe with it is what Cameron did with Xenomorph. It was turned from a cosmic Freudian horror, into a space bug. My favorite is still the first film.Great Video!

@johnmcnamara8741

5 жыл бұрын

It still was a hunter, the Xenos were also in a different environment.

@magburner

5 жыл бұрын

The aliens could never remain as 'Freudian horror' characters. This is Science Fiction, and so science would reveal the true nature of the xenomorphs.

@Enkarashaddam

5 жыл бұрын

Basically it stopped being Gigers alien. And James Cameron is no HR Giger.

@bladeduffer

5 жыл бұрын

@@Enkarashaddam , neither is Ridley Scott. Still, who cares? It's purely irrelevant considering that neither Scott nor Cameron explored the pure eroticism of Giger's "Alien" work. That is not what either of their film's were about.

@Enkarashaddam

5 жыл бұрын

@@bladeduffer I would beg to differ about Ridley Scott. Yes he's basically a crazy old man now without a muse. But Scott was the one who first reached out for unconventional ideas outside of Hollywood, saw Giger's vision, approved of it no matter how bizarre or sexual it was, was humble and brave enough to take his hands off the wheel to give Giger (who was a big opium user) complete control of creating/airbrushing his own iconic setpieces, and didn't hesitate to put him in the credits thus helping this small-time Swiss artist enter the mainstream. Even setting him up for a prestigious award nomination -- which Giger never forgot. As a director James Cameron has never done, or has ever considered doing such things to the same notoriety or extent. He took the ideas Giger created and Scott helped to cultivate and thought he was smart enough to change the appearance and nature of the Xenomorph away from Gigers intent. Call that what you will.

I used to have these very Starlog magazines. Great magazine. Miss it.

That's actually good on Cameron to take the time to reply in Starlog. I can't imagine something like that happening today.

@exexpat11

6 жыл бұрын

It only happens NOW when something is truly awful. For instance... ST:D or STD as it should be named. The new creators only response is "It is wonderful. It is wonderful. Check out our stuff. This is the way things should have been all along." Meanwhile long time fans are turning away in droves. I can't wait for the final autopsy in a couple of years and the excuses they'll make. Cameron did not have to make excuses because he brought SUBSTANCE to the table.

@CoryTheRaven

6 жыл бұрын

That's what I mean. They don't really reply to criticism... They just tow the company line and, if applicable, accuse critics of being racists and misogynists.

@Clay3613

6 жыл бұрын

Reddit AMA.

16:30...."and then Hicks and Newt died" :/ I lost it! LOL

@bitharne

3 жыл бұрын

:(

I read this article in Starlog, when it was first published. I had no idea there were deleted scenes in Cameron or Scott’s film (outside of the still of Burke being cocooned), when I first read it.

@VanBurenPhilips

6 жыл бұрын

The extended Aliens was a big deal among my friends when it came out, so we saw that pretty quick. But this is the first time I've seen any of the extra Alien scenes. Must get that version next time I watch it.

Man, I was anxiously waiting for a new video. And here you are, sharing Cameron´s asnwers to the questions in Aliens. Cheers to you pal (y)

By far best movie of the eighties. Perfect 10 movie on every level.

@horrorbusiness78

4 жыл бұрын

I agree. I would include Predator and The Lost boys.

@rosstee

4 жыл бұрын

horrorbusiness78 And The Terminator

@TheSchmed

4 жыл бұрын

Aliens, The Terminator, The Thing, Escape from New York, An American Werewolf in London, Predator, to name a few.

@dennisearle

4 жыл бұрын

I love Aliens and the way Jim Cameron was able to tell fans a genuinely different and credible story set in that Alien universe. Think about all those sequels that actually betray the original movie or don't get anywhere near the level of the first. Given the limitations of the day, financial and technical, I think Cameron did a magnificent job on this movie. It's the standard by which all other space combat movies will be judged for years to come... and it's already 34 years old. That's crazy! But, best movie of the '80s? I struggle to think of any movie in that decade better than Blade Runner. That movie is much more than a 'bug hunt'.

@gammon1183

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheSchmed how about putting Robocop on that list 🙂

James Cameron is one of my favorite directors of all time. Only dislike the fact that he doesn't work on enough movies or has spent too much time making Avatar. Unlike Ridley however who jumps on every fat lady that walks by.

Wow! I subscribed to _Starlog_ when I was a kid but by the mid-80s I had outgrown it. I do remember reading the issue that covered it’s imminent release, but never knew about this follow up!

I watch Aliens, T1 and T2 movies constantly... I still remember my little brother watching T2 everyday before school for weeks, because it is incredible.

What a nice video. James Cameron is very kind and patient while answering these quetions. Respect. Thanks for the video.

Both the metamorphosis of the crew into eggs or the queen actually compliment each other and could be used (if not already have been done so) as an actual story arc for the Xenomorph and the Weyland-Yutani desire to weaponise the creature for its biological adaptive techniques let alone it's instinctive prowess.😊👌

About the queen reproduction vs egg-morph reproduction: I'm pretty comfortable with the explanation that the alien morph according to circumstances. Nostromo did not have enough confirmed hosts to justify a full queen. The egg morph could also be an intermediate step.

These were thought provocing criticisms, but Cameron covered his bases well. Criticism is good even for the best though, no one is immune to it

@miller-joel

Жыл бұрын

Most of the criticism was from people who didn't understand the movie in front of them. Not because of flaws in the movie, itself. The opposite of what we have today. We understand what we are seeing, and it's...not good.

Great, informative video. Good old Starlog, I had quite a collection of these (still do) but stopped buying them around 1984 so it’s excellent to have this insight from Cameron and I’m impressed he took the time to respond to those letters/criticisms. Interesting too to reflect on the fact that there was no social media back then so writing to magazines was the only way fans and film makers communicated. I still hold Alien above Aliens as one of my all time favourite films but Aliens was a great sequel, it’s too bad Cameron wasn’t involved with subsequent Alien projects considering what a total mess they’ve become, even the ones under the direction of Ridley Scott. Proving once again that more money and CGI really aren’t all you need to make a great movie.

Saw this movie in the theater on opening day. Still my favorite alien movie. Yes it has flaws but in my opinion still a golden oldie.

@volvo145

6 жыл бұрын

Wouldnt call it an oldie though

@robkearsy2995

4 жыл бұрын

Man that must of been awesome. Love Aliens.

@TheSchmed

4 жыл бұрын

As did I, my only complaints are no flat screen monitors (2001 Space Odyssey did it), “toys” that my bro’s girlfriend gave him the prior Christmas, The Colonial Marines had, the “M60” rifles being so clumsy to handle, and why didn’t Ripley take a few extra mags when she went to retrieve Newt ?

@spo616

4 жыл бұрын

seth bain Completely agree with you! 👍🏻👍🏻👌👌👌👌👌🥰

@kungfreddie

4 жыл бұрын

@@volvo145 its 35 yrs old.. if someone had asked me in 1986 about a movie from 1950 I would have said "go to hell with your bs movies grandpa" as a 12 yrs old kid.

This is my favorite video you've made. I missed that article in my youth. Very insightful.

The smooth head was a signature feature of the creature that gave it a sense of mystery and menace. I was always baffled and annoyed he took that away.

@DGDDavidson

4 жыл бұрын

Apparently, though he doesn't say so in the reply to these letters, his real reason for removing it was purely practical: It was fragile, so he told the prop designers to take it off.

@NotMorganFreeman.

4 жыл бұрын

I basically said the same thing in another video. And I also saw Cameron mention that they simply just took the dome off and threw it away and said just do it without it, which I always thought was lazy and a major mistake. They had the same issue in Alien, but they worked it through. Then again, they didn't have the creature doing gymnastics either. Sure the queen is the big reveal, but the drone is the true star, why disregard such a critical part of the design?

Hey Alien Theory, really been enjoying your videos. I’ve grown up on these films and have a special place for the first three. It’s nice to see a channel like this with info on the alien universe. Keep it up!

I first saw this when sneaking out of my room at 4 years old and hiding beside the couch while my parents cuddled and watched it (double wammy to why I wasn't detected) afterwards the Alien haunted my nightmares a lot like Ripleys (No joke). But after facing my fear by forcing myself to watch a whole marathon of all of the Aliens movies (all of them to AVP) at about 12, I became a huge fan ever since, and recently a fan of H.R. Giger himself (RIP).

@LocalHeretic-ck1kd

6 жыл бұрын

Strange. I was also hiding beside couch while my parents watched Aliens. I was like 6 back then. But soon they found me and sent me to bed. I have seen only a little bit. But I also had nightmares about Aliens. I didnt understand fully what I saw so in my nightmares the alien was some sort of monster with big sharp claws and teeth. I could picture it as a "dragon" ( just like Golic in Alien 3 ). As something that I have never seen before and I wasnt able to picture it properly. It was too alien to properly imagine. :)

Aliens is a frigging classic S-F flick. Deal with it critics.

@matthewellis6516

6 жыл бұрын

Aliens sci fi? hahaha

@Neb30925

6 жыл бұрын

An overrated action shooter doomed to be forgotten by future generations, whereas the original Alien will be a timeless classic.

@ghosthunterfallout

6 жыл бұрын

you think people will forget Aliens LOL? you are bat shit crazy.

@Neb30925

6 жыл бұрын

Definitely not you. But future generations will only remember the original one as the horror classic. Look at modern-day action blockbusters that are popular. Aliens looks absolutely dated.

@ashscott6068

6 жыл бұрын

Ummm...Aliens had a WAY bigger effect on a whole generation. Alien was just one more boring horror movie that was too far up its own ass to actually have anything happen. Cus, you know...waiting for shit to happen is "psychological". Like fuck. It's just waiting. Aliens is a WAY more relevant movie. It's the Ridley Scott nuthuggers that are dying out. The shitty Prometheus movies are just speeding up the process

Great video as always. I am really enjoying your channel. Please do more of the comics or novel versions of stories. I would suggest the Berserker story line.

It’s like Cameron knew Alien3 would start with an attack on Newt.

@maureencora1

4 жыл бұрын

Alien III was a Bummer Man. With the Nestle Plunge' in the End.

@shadowsayer1516

4 жыл бұрын

@@maureencora1 lol "Nestle Plunge". That's something I haven't heard in a long time! :)

@maureencora1

4 жыл бұрын

Touche'.

@PanoramicGreen

4 жыл бұрын

@VaughnJogVlog - gotta love him for that - would never be that cruel. Killing off established characters always seems so lazy to me. Takes a lot of effort to keep old characters exciting - not unlike personal relationships. Screenwriter: “Meh..I don’t know how to craft an interesting story with these characters the fans have grown to love. I know! I’ll kill them off! Very dramatic! Just like real life where people die all the time! I’m a Genius! I’ll leave my artistic mark on this franchise and will be praised for this bold approach! I mean no one ever does this! And if anyone has a problem with it, my apologists will refute criticisms by pointing out how realistic it is for beloved people to die all the time!”

I really liked the theories about the potency of the blood and the crest and maturity points. Really interesting and I think they work well enough to such an extent where they could be used as cannon information

This channel is so soothing to my ears... Even the older videos are just as great!

Wow, I've seen Aliens dozens of times, and many of these issues had never occurred to me. Respect to Mr Cameron for clearly and methodically correcting the fans. Cameron, by most accounts, is a man with a healthy ego, but he also clearly puts enormous thought and care into his work.

Thank you for this fun and fascinating journey back to 1987! Seeing the pics of Starlog and the actual pages of text brings back so many memories :) Love your vids, keep up the great work sir!

Thanks for the video! In my opinion, the biggest "betrayal" to the original Alien concept goes far beyond the inclusion of the Alien Queen: it's the shift from a bioMECHANICAL creature, an organism whose nature, purpose and modus operandi are completely mysterious and unfathomable to us human beings, to a more predictable biological creature that resembles an insect in almost every aspect. Giger's alien defies logic, it's the stuff nightmares are made of, and bein' both organic and mechanical it can camouflage itself in an industrial environment: it almost becomes one with the Nostromo, and the Nostromo itself becomes a character (that's one of the most unsettling things: Mother betrays her sons, and helps the alien). That said, I think this kind of betrayal was absolutely necessary to create a sequel that (many similar plot points aside) would feel fresh and interesting. Cameron stated many times that the opportunity to show his concept of the Alien Queen and future military technology greatly motivated him - and his enthusiasm is right there on the screen. I thank God that people back then wasn't obsessed with comic book crap like "expanded universes", otherwise we would've got a dull sequel, a simple school assignment with no creativity.

@ravecrab

Жыл бұрын

The alien was always based on insect biology. There are many species of wasp that paralyse victims and lay their eggs inside them, to hatch out and eat their way out from within. Cameron merely expanded on this idea.

@catoblepag

Жыл бұрын

@@ravecrabThat's true, but in Alien the wasp/parasite analogy only works in the early stage of life of the creature, and the movie doesn't do much to underline that analogy; in fact, I suspect that it was almost a happy accident (the chestbuster idea came first, then Shusett and O'Bannon realized something similar already existed in nature. Don't quote me on that, I might be very wrong, but it's also a possibility). In his monologue Ash elevates the alien to something beyond humanity, a perfect organism, a final step in the evolution where things like conscience and remorse can finally be discarded. I'd say that Cameron did much more than expand on that idea: he really turned aliens into ants or bees, and he used every chance to remind the audience (like that awkward super-foreshadowing dialogue between Vasquez and Hudson that thankfully was cut in the theatrical version). Nothing terribly wrong in that, I like that its's different, but many would agree that it made the alien less mysterious and nightmarish. ;) BTW in one of the early Aliens scripts, the aliens even used a poison stinger on their tail to paralyze the victims and cocoon them.

@ravecrab

Жыл бұрын

@@catoblepag I think you're trying to reverse engineer your particular impression of the film. The creature didn't always look "mechanical". That's not part of the script. There were pre-production sketches where it looked very different. This aspect only came in late after Geiger joined the project. You can tell if you read the novelisation that Alan Dean Foster had no idea what the final design of the alien was because it hadn't been finalised while he was writing. So this is not something the writers baked into the creature. Also, think about it. Insects don't have remorse or morality either. To us, they appear to have no emotions whatsoever. To me, Ash's speech is more an android finding more kinship with a straightforward organism than the emotional whims of his human paymasters. You're allowed your reading of the film, of course. But your interpretation of the Alien is merely that - Cameron didn't violate anything in the original script. He didn't betray the source material. Some people tend to read Alien in a Lovecraftian light of it being a story of humanity encountering ancient incomprehensible alien evil in the dark corners of an unknowable universe. Cameron was much more grounded and his inspiration was Heinlein's Starship Troopers. It's the tonal shift that people dislike.

@catoblepag

Жыл бұрын

​@@ravecrab I think you're doing a bit of that reverse-engineering you're accusing me of. ;) Yes, the creature didn't always look mechanical and Ron Cobb's failed monster was more organic, but the script isn't the final movie, and you can't write off Giger's influence only 'cause it wasn't always there. The final theatrical cut is always what counts, and a movie's entire feel or meaning can change dramatically with the slightest change, even in editing. When Ridley Scott took the reins and discovered Giger's art book, he did all he could to integrate that surreal fusion of biological and mechanical that made Giger's art so unsettling. A (partly) mechanical creature can use the ship for mimetism, and it's really evident in the Narcissus scene; even the mouth-in-the-mouth of the alien looks remarkably mechanic, with a rail-like structure of bones. About the Ash speech, of course insect don't have morality, but neither do fishes or boars, and that wouldn't warrant great admiration by an android. It's more subtle than that, to Ash the alien is a "survivor", something "pure" and unfathomably ancient that has been long estinct in most parts of the universe, not a bigger and more dangerous upgrade of an insect. And if you want to take early drafts and pre-production sketches as an example, there was a religious aspect of the creature inspired by egyptian history (see the bas-relief that depicted the alien life cycle in the early design of the egg silo) that also elevated it beyond a "simple" insect-like creature with a hive mind. That said, we're not disagreeing on many things, only on the supposed "betrayal" of the original material, and I've used that word carefully 'cause every good adaptation and sequel must betray, at least a little, the source to stay fresh and interesting. "Humanity encountering ancient incomprehensible alien evil in the dark corners of an unknowable universe" is not an interpretation by some Lovecraft fans, it's exactly what the first movie is. But Cameron couldn't keep the exact same concept and have marines slaughter tens of those incomprehensible creatures, so he shifted to an insect analogy. You say it was there from the beginning, I respectfully disagree, that's all. ;)

@ravecrab

Жыл бұрын

@@catoblepag My point is only that you try to downplay the creature's life cycle as a "happy accident" by the writers but apparently Geiger's design is central to the film's meaning despite the filmmakers stumbling across his art while they were halfway through pre production. Films, if they're any good, have layers of ideas that can be interpreted differently. Alien is a 1950s creature feature on a big budget. It's body horror. It's Lovecraftian. It's a class warfare comment of corporate indifference. It's many different anxieties and cultural strands woven together. The viewer brings out the themes that resonate with them the most.

The extended version of Aliens was actually a CBS broadcast. I remember it well. 🙂

Hands down our favorite channel on youtube. It is a day brightening thing seeing a notification from AT.

The missing scenes talked in minute 5, is included in the Directors cut of the movie so look at that one...

Damnit Jim, I'm a space marine not a Ficken psychic.

The cat sketch in the end was a great conclusion to the essay! )) Wonderful presentation! Thank you very much!

Your channel is such a tremendous example of what is wonderful with KZread. Great work! Keep it up!

@AlienTheory

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

25 mins of reading from Starlog magazine. That's an instant subscribe from me!

I'm slowly but surely watching all of your excellent videos. When a new Alien movie is made, the writers/producers would do themselves a huge service if they would bring you on the team. Again, Well Done!

@AlienTheory

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos! More to come.

Alien: Prospectors in space Aliens: Colonial Marines vs Bugs Listening to Alien Theory there’s so many SO MANY stories that could be told

Both queen laying eggs and eggmorphing are included in my personal Canon. I can't see a reason why they couldn't co-exists.

I can remember being at scout camp way back in the early 90’sand listening to my scout leaders discuss some of these topics. The one I remove most vividly is the debate about the ease of which the Marines killed the aliens and how the first alien was so tough to kill. I love these movies

Holy cow! You sir, are the maaan!! Somehow all your videos touch on the most sensitive moments of my life as a 9 year escaping, with my friends, no permission, to see this movie, a little bit about myself, I did not even ''see'' the movie, some parts at least, I still remember vividly, the most violent scenes right before the marines' first encounter with the aliens; those proximity meters going beep, beep, BEEP, BEEP....BEEEP! Oh my God! I had to look down, off the theater screen, I was petrified in my seat, lol, and then Vasquez's screams: ''....Let's rooooock!!..'' the sounds were enough to scare the bejesus out of me XD. Gee! I love this movie so much, that's why I'm always looking for videos that take me there, at least as close as possible though. The sound of that crazy gun rapid fire (something that I had not heard in my life before XD XD) and the screams and the things screaming as well, yikes!! My favorite gun has always been the smart gun, super powerful and equipped with target acquisition system....... these videos help relieve the cold hard truth: The low possibility of Mr. Cameron ever writing and directing an Aliens remake, as scary as in the 80's but with practical effects 100%, just as they made them back in the day. I wish I had the time and money to take one of his master classes, James Cameron's I mean, so I can make that remake myself :D :D

Much respect to James Cameron for addressing the fans criticisms and praises of the sequel. What director would do this today ?

Fan: ‘Why didn’t the colonists detect the Derelict’s SOS signal?’ Creative Assembly: ‘I got you fam.’

I can't stress enough how nice it is to hear a narrator on a YT channel who knows how to pronounce words correctly. It seems like a minor thing, but sometimes it's like people just don't give a shit these days over proper grammar. Then people bitch if you correct them because you're the _grammar police,_ but people don't seem to understand how ignorant it makes them sound.

out of all movies, games, comics, crossovers etc. Apparently only one persons thoughts matter. So "ask Ridley" was probably the funniest answer I've ever heard. Thats how he should have answered every question.

I remember seeing the original version of Aliens before the special edition was released and yes there did appear to be some plot holes because of the missing scenes, luckily I had read the novel and the full story was always in that so it was not too confusing for me.

The captain of Red Dwarf has a senior role at Hadley's Hope!

My only criticism of Aliens is the ending, when Ripley depressurizes the entire cabin of the big ship, and the loader with all this other heavy equipment gets sucked out into space, yet Ripley, gasping for oxygen, manages to hold the 4-ton alien queen with just her elbow joint and tennis shoe! Otherwise Jim made an excellent action horror suspense thriller that had me up to that point.

Watching this new video while visiting Japan. Thanks Alien Theory!!!

"No Comment" i love you Alien Theory, the response to Prometheus haha

@maureencora1

4 жыл бұрын

Prometheus, What Can First the Alien or the Egg?

The big flaw with Aliens is not the film itself, which is perfect. It's rather a thematic flaw. In Alien they turned the alien from an assassin (a "man with a knife") into an insect. The point of the assassin is not that he's lethal, it is his inexorable unstoppable intent to kill and destroy. He poses an existential challenge to the victim. The insect is more of a force of nature, it isn't a nemesis of the protagonist. The alien in Alien was sort of a demonic entity, while the alien is Aliens was a "swarm". I get it that Cameron wanted to make a different movie, but the trade off was that he "cheapened" the creature by a lot in order to make an action film.

@bitharne

3 жыл бұрын

Old comment..but I'm bored: This view is very flawed, imo; in that it doesn't take into consideration all the facts. What if the Alien from the first movie was on any ship with actual weapon? It wouldn't be, remotely, the threat it was depicted in ALIEN. Not to mention the, wholly incorrect, point in the original magazine about how the Aliens are no longer a threat due to ALIENS...did you not see how easily the advanced human squad got mauled? This expansion of the universe and lore is EXACTLY what makes ALIENS into a nearly-perfect movie. It's a sequel that simply enhances the original. To the point that very few lists addressing movies even put ALIEN and ALIENS near each other...one is a horror movie (like you state) and one is an action movie. That they flow seamlessly into each other and enhance each other is the true accomplishment here. If they had sought to keep a horde of aliens with similar "power" to the original, in comparison to the humans portrayed, then the aliens would be, literally, unstoppable and it would be pointless. The only reason the humans even "won" was by losing 90+% of the people involved and billions of dollars in resources (just like the first movie).

@renato360a

3 жыл бұрын

@@bitharne films like Life, A Quiet Place, Alien Covenant and the game Alien: Isolation demonstrate that the writers have full power determining the character of the antagonist. In Alien there's even a line where Ash describes the creature skin to be extraordinarily tough. If you want to make an unstoppable threat (which is the point) just make it impervious to bullets. In Alien it would just be pointless to have a weapon on board - it wouldn't put a dent on the creature. Aliens switched that type of threat with the xenomorph being unstoppable in numbers. That works in sequence but not only is it a retcon, but you can hardly go back. If they had sought to keep the same power level of the creature the result would be the same: the marines would be obliterated. Because the xenomorphs are still unstoppable throughout all the same. The only change that would need to be made is dial back the creature aggressiveness a little bit to keep the pace of deaths the same. So, Aliens enhances certain aspects of Alien, but make no mistake: there's definitely a trade-off there. Further proof: next sequel's plot had to be twisted to prohibit any kind of firearms.

While I am aware of the 'Unused Scene' in Alien - And being young when I first saw each film... I never really gave any of it much thought... But I have to agree that James Cameron was too dismissive of that scene. There are numerous species in the real world that in the absence of a Female / Queen to continue reproduction can actually change sex or 'Force Insemination' of a Female to continue the life Cycle. This is especially true in some Insectoid lifeforms and Bacteria... So its my view that Dallas or Kane, had they become full Eggs, Would have given birth to a Facehugger that carried a Female Embryo... So, the addition of the Queen actually does NOT in anyway interfere with the series continuity - It just takes a little imagination... I think we all have fan theories, and it will always be a subject of popular debate - But for me, As I have got older... I feel that is the best explanation - Simply borrow from our real world... It can provide some possible answers - They will never be canon but if you can embrace them, it will stop you asking so many questions and allow you to enjoy the films for their nature and not for what we assume was the intent of its creators. I also feel that sometimes when we examine movies, we can often tend to assume we know the intentions of a creator better than the creator themselves... In fact this letters page does suggest that many who wrote in to StarLog thought they had some kind of 'Insight' into how Dan O' Bannon wanted to create things - But they show no actual sign of having ANY contact with him - So unless tehy are mind readers - How would they know what his ideas were? We should always be aware, We are the consumers... And yes we will find our reasons to question ideas.. Always! But NEVER EVER PRESUME you know the Director better than the Director themselves!

@RivkahSong

3 жыл бұрын

On the one hand I agree with you that no one knows a work as well as the author, themselves. On the other hand "Death of the Author" is a thing. When all is said and done if something wasn't stated or shown in the movie/book/show or whatever then it doesn't necessarily matter. What matters first and foremost is what is ACTUALLY there. And from that, people's interpretations and theories have just as much weight as the creator's. It's kind of like how JK Rowling keeps claiming new things about Harry Potter that she swears she always intended was true but never showed, stated, or inferred it whatsoever in the original series. The audience has just as much right to discard her opinions on it since it doesn't exist in the material or embrace these new interpretations as they choose.

Why is there no 4k Dolby Vision and Atmos version?

Very interesting and engaging Alien Theory episode as always !

It appears that a single drone can, in an "no other choice" situation create an egg from an infected host. The normal cycle, where there are sufficient hosts available, is for a queen to be "brought online" as it were & the cycle proceeds from there. Also, from what has been presented both in the canon movies, novels & comics, to say that the Xenomorphs are only "sort of" intelligent is ludacris. The tactical awareness of the warriors (either inherent in them or by direction from the queen) is nothing short of spectacular. The only problem they seem to have is when they run into a technology or situation that they have no previous experience dealing with (i.e. the sentry guns). As a side note, most people are not aware that when Alien was originally released, there was a subsonic component to the soundtrack that caused people to react more intensely than normal. When the FCC found out, the studio was forced to replace the soundtrack w/ the subsonics removed as this fell under the "subliminal prohibition rules". It cost them a bundle. I went to the opening night in Des Moines, IA and felt like my bones were rattling. Those subsonics were WICKED!!!!!

The Queen is awesome and the deleted scene from the first Alien where the lone Alien has started to build a nest makes total sense to me. Its clearly doing what its instincts tells it. Like he doesn't know hes all alone on that ship. Hes just capturing victims for facehuggers so for me it works

My major critic is that nobody would ever have the amount of Balls that Ripley had, actually going back in there looking for Newt

Thank you for your video series and personal perspective! In this video I would respectifully challenge you on one point only: Your praise of James Cameron as a Writer or Cameron being a particularly orginal one. You can see in all his science fiction films (e.g. 'Avatar', 'Terminator 2') how he constantly recycles dialogue, character traits (There's always a 'Vasquez-esque' character in his films to the degree that they are lesbian and latino therefore butch and strong!), Spaceship design (The Bell Cobra cockpit is used everywhere!) complete scenes (The Hadley's Hope Scene where two techinicians talk about the Weyland Yutani's orders and 'Dont Ask' is exactly the same as Terminator 2's Cyberdyne scene where Miles Dyson tells his technician to don't ask management about where they got the T-100 Arm and chip from the first film), The 'Companies' (W-Y, Cyberdyne, HyperDyne and that Evil unnamed one in Avatar looking for unobtanium (seriously?!) as these all-powerful secretive corporate entities whose desire for profit leads to humanitiy's demise... to such a degree that he simply he has a fixed formula to creating a sequel and made a mold and simply paints different colours, wigs and gives them a new name in each consecutive film. Or in the case of 'Avatar' downright plagiarise 'Dances with Wolves'.... I mean the list goes on and on! James Cameron in my opinion is a polished version of Michael Bay - A good Roller Coaster desginer, but nothing more. Mr. Cameron is deeply overrated as a writer (Basically 'Titanic''s script can be reduced to two words: JACK! ROSE!... JAAAAAAACK... ROOOOOOOSE! :-D I look forward to more of your videos!

I always figured the signal was disabled by the Nostromo crew in Alien entering the ship, I think the novelisation even includes that scene?

Some questions are best left unanswered and it's not up to James cameron to answer them but to provide something familiar but new at the same time with strong characters

I feel very sorry for Ben Smith as he wanted a prequel to the Alien films...and got dim-witted Prometheus and arguably worse and even more ludicrous Convenant. Major props to JC for the response and AT for as usual high quality telling of the story.

Awesome job of bringing such diversity into your content. Thank you good sir.

Good video. But what really turned my attention is the story about what is the point of the Xenomorphs, breading, kill etc. But, what if there is more to them than we saw? I mean, the same as we saw in Aliens on the human side (for the most part) are the colonial marines, combat units sent to kill the enemy as the humanity expands. Maybe, just maybe, it's the same on the Xeno's part: there is a lot bigger assortment of variants of them too, "civilians", scientists, explorers, colonists, and the only Xenoes we see in the Aliens is the Marine's counterpart: combat unit sent to investigate some signal, they knew nothing about and went out to research? Then a different species, in their minds, appeared, and conflict occured...can't be sure, ofc, but just a thought?

I've heard about a few of these answers myself over the years, i'll confess that Aliens is a fantastic action movie (Rambo 2 in space) but it's not the best Alien movie. I've always liked the idea that the Alien cocooned people & turned them into eggs after all this was the original intention, so when it come to the question of what happened to the crew of the derelict i've always considered the eggs in the ship to be the remains of the crew (or at least some of them) there are some other issues with the movie & a lot of them have been mentioned in the above video. I'm a fan of the first 3 movies especially the "assembly cut" of 3 out of all the entries that is the one i find the most interesting, it really is an underrated masterpiece.

@vcry51394

2 жыл бұрын

It’s funny that you should mention Aliens reminding you of Rambo 2 because James Cameron wrote the screenplay for Rambo: First Blood Part 2.

I always saw the Alien in the first movie as another mutation of the Xenomorphs (kinda confirmed in the newer movies). Therefore it had another way of reproducing: 1. No eggs/failsafe(?) - only a cocoon, in which enzymes and bacterias transformed them into: a. an unknown alien (an easier way of producing aliens. The Super-face hugger/Queen face hugger, which was introduced in the third installment) or b. Face hugger, chestburster or infant drone. 2. Liquification. A "soup". Field ration for (?). It was too nicely set for that crude exterior, so it must have been put in the spacecraft by some other being and transported in some kind of stasis (as mentioned), maybe at an earlier stage and then matured when the spacecraft crashed. Because of the atmosphere and temperature it's not entirely like the ones in the other movies. In ALIENS an eartlike atmosphere is almost there. In Ali3n a egg on the Sulaco (how?) spawns a Super-Facehugger/Queen Facehugger and a normal, infecting Ripley and a dog to make a small and fragile, but fast "Runner" (infects an ox in the Assembly Cut/original director's cut). I reviewed the first one many times, before I ever saw the others, so I had time to think about it. Again, - this is just my thoughts on the matter.

After discovering the eggmorphing scene and getting used to the idea, I started considering that idea of reproducion superior to being dependent of the queen because that is a vulnerability. However, as many people have already pointed out, the aliens could have many methods of reproduction. One of them simply molts and becomes a queen for more efficient egg production once the hive grows big enough.

@mitchjames9350

2 жыл бұрын

Why do they morph humans into eggs why not just morph them into xenomorphs.

@Kissamiess

2 жыл бұрын

@@mitchjames9350 A good question. I guess it could be because the eggs last longer, much longer, than a xenomorph can live. Because the distances in space are vast, it can take eons for the next band of happless explorers to find the site of carnage. Eggs are like idea of spores increased to macro level. Another reason could be resources in a limited space. Not enough food for multiple ones.

Fantastic video, I had no idea this essay existed. Insightful stuff that simply wouldn’t happen today.

There should be a Movie about all the events the colonists Went through. the first chest busters, the Queens burst, her searching for a site, the drones making her nest and she growing her ovipositor, the colonist trying to save people with chest buster, making the removal of 4. their last stance and new being the last survivior.

When I was a kid, I remember seeing Aliens in the theater. My friends and I were probably 7 years old at the time. It scared the hell out of me, but the awesomeness and badassery of the Marines drew me in. My friends and I would all play "colonial marines" on the playground for the following years. I remember when the special edition of Aliens aired on TV a year or two later and seeing the deleted scenes, though I must have missed the scenes with the Jordan's at the derelict, because I don't remember seeing those then. I VIVIDY remember the scenes with the sentry guns though, and quickly told my friends about them on the playground the next day. As kids are often wont to do, they assumed I was lying and teased me about it (i guess I was the only one that caught it on tv). Years later when the directors cut was made available on VHS, I actually called one of them that I was still in touch with, just to tell them I wasn't crazy, lol (fortunately he turned out to be a major film buff, so he didn't think I was crazy for calling this out)

@philhelm1318

3 жыл бұрын

The first time I saw Aliens was maybe 1987 or 1988 on a TV recording. I watched that recording 100 times. It was the extended version (the only version I knew) but it did not have Newt's family explore the derelict. I was later surprised that there was a version without sentry guns.

Absolutely superb video. Bravo! Before the Internet Starlog and Fangoria were my only glimpse into Hollywood, bar Entertainment this week of course.

Aliens is a classic. So well rounded. Perfect blend of sci fi and action. It raised the bar. And fleshed out the alien universe arguably more than the original. It also modernized it.

Alien is a perfect, first if its kind movie. Cant follow that. Aliens was literally, a different animal, but the sci fi action movies needed, also groundbreaking.

@miller-joel

Жыл бұрын

Obviously, it was not only followed, but followed successfully by taking a different approach. It can't be REPLICATED successfully. No one can keep re-making the original. Not even Ridley Scott.

@thereisnosanctuary6184

Жыл бұрын

Obviously by my assessment of its sequel, I didn't mean follow as nothing can come after that, but that it was unparalled. So, like siblings, the oldest was already an expert in something ( football, music, art ) and the next kid down the line chose something else ( baseball, writing, acting ).

Dude this is your absolute best work yet..... Quality brother.... Quality

This letter from Cameron is a lesson in how you SHOULD handle fan criticism, instead of simply concluding they MUST be awful bigots.

A big massive thank you for sharing this gem!! Super interesting bro! 👍🏼👍🏼

Yes Vasquez was amazing. I definitely wanted to be like her and Ripley. Sarah Connor was another. Loved 80s girl power.

@Sixstringman

3 жыл бұрын

Everybody does. Because Cameron didn't ruin them with preachy pc ideology.

You sir, are a very good story teller. Love your work, please keep it up.

I just came across this episode, and one of the criticisms was why no one else picked up on the warning? In the first movie the power supply was just about drained and Dallas shut it off.

In the first critisism about the sos its explained in alien isolation that the crew of the anesidora deactivated the sos but then how did weyland yutani deactivate a already deactivated signal?

"Aliens" was (and remains) one of the greatest action/adventure Sci-Fi films ever made. Thank you, James Cameron and Alien Theory.

that is how a professional director responds to fan criticism; by giving real answers since the same questions probably popped up during discussions before and during the movie was made. There is a reason why few fans troll people like james cameron; because he has proved that he will take you seriously, unlike others who would just use the latest mass-media buzzword like "racist" "xenophobic" and other low-iq terms used to undermine the counterpart.

@ArtofLunatik

4 жыл бұрын

Morten the young james cameron was like that, but nowadays people dont trust his word anymore, ever since he endorsed terminator geneysis and now dark fate and killing off the john connor character

did they even mention a volcanic problem in the movie? I dont remember any detail like that, and ofc in the movie it's not really communicated that the ship was damaged? Feels like a weird justification but i guess better than nothing.

So Cameron was the source of that later book... Thanks god for Starlog - The best of SF mags back than & completely amature BTW.

I would like to know more about the originating story "Star Beast" and it's evolution to become Alien, please. Thank you.

This thread is awesome. I just remember when broadcasting a movie on cable was a huge deal and families would literally have family night waiting for it to premier on TV. If you where born in the 80s and prior Family night on the weekends was awesome! Hell i wont even get into TGIF nights lol

Cameron knows who he is, he knows people will always have their opinions. We believe when you work as hard as you can, with love for your work you get a great result. Cameron Is a genius so his love for his products are way above most artists.

I personally always thought that Ripley would have a much harder time dealing with the fact that her daughter was not only dead, but that Ripley had missed out on almost her entire life than any sort of technological or societal changes. You can adapt to new technology. You can't adapt to your only child having lived their entire life and died while you were in hypersleep.