"Alien" - plus "Silence of the Lambs", "Nosferatu", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"

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Posted by Bambi B on May 22, 2004 at 09:42:42

In Reply to: Re: Agree on"Alien" posted by rico on May 22, 2004 at 07:08:45:

rico,

"Alien" - like Scott's "Blade Runer" certainly had more going than the usual science fiction deal. A big part of the movies success was the production design- and a kind of reticience. Scott was extremely smart to never show Giger's monster whole or clearly and I thought the way both the crashed ship and the 'Nostromo' were brilliant wonderful in the way the interiors of the ships were related in forms to the alien- the little ribbed ductwork anf pipes of the ship made the alien fit to the background almost camoflage it. Remember the giant pilot of the crashed ship "like he's growing out of the chair". The scene where they climb up and look at him, "he exploded from inside" made such a great premonition of things to come. Marvelous photography.

When Hurt goes into the eggs chamber and describes the eggs as "leathery eggs or something", I also agreed with you and Veronica Cartwright when she said - a couple of times "Let's get the hell out of here".

Even though the movie in all was a bit predictable- we know that a horror movie called 'Alien' is going to have certain elements, and through typical sci fi inattention, "Hey gang, let's all mosey over into that dark room with only one small door in a completely relaxed way"- there will be nasty casualties, the creature, the production style, the twist of Ash (Holms) being an "artificial person" and the ominous priority rule of bringing back an alien- the crew is expendable kept it all together. I would also mention the symphonic, classically-based music and the overall kind of quietness of most of the movie that made the self-destruct/escape scenes at the end so much more dramatic. Then it returns to quiet in the escape ship and we see Weaver at her most vulnerable in her underwear- false ending - until we see how devious and intelligent the alien is- blending into the equipment.

I would also add another strong contender for me, "Silence of the Lambs" which also just has everything in order. Not a foot wrong anywhere for it's genre, intelligent as can be.

It is always difficult to recreate the sensations of seing something for the first time, but "Silence" is forever fresh and I'm sure I've seen it three or four times.

But, there are almost always sequel problems and none of the successors to "Alien" or "Silence" intrigued me as much as the originals. I have always liked the extreme quirkiness of Jeunet and Caro "Delicatessen" has some scary atmosphere and some brilliant film-making, but I thought their Alien never held together.

I would add to my list the original "Nosferatu" -the scene in which the vampyre is rotated from lying in the coffin to the vertical and those rat-like teeth was amazing and a permanent movie image. I like Herzog a lot but his remake with the mad Kinski did not measure up.*** I would use these two movies to demonstrate the difference created by colour as compared to black and white. See also the old and new "Diaboliques"..

***I had high hopes for the related Malkovich film, "Shadow of the Vampire" as the behind the scenes making of the original, but I'm sorry it didn't hold my attention.

Finally, it had enough of a stage-like dream quality that perhaps it was not as overtly frightening, but the "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919) is just wonderful looking and the revelation at the end makes the surreal quality- caused by the shortage of set materials and even lights just after WWI, was extraordinary. The contrrast of the old-fashioned clothes to the German Expressionist sets was fantastic and indelible. Say, hasn't Frank Gehrey modelled his entire work on the "Cabinet" sets?

Cheers,

Bambi B

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - What movie scared you the most? - Hepcat 16:26:45 05/21/04 (37)

Re: What movie scared you the most? - johnvb 19:58:43 05/22/04 (1)

Re: What movie scared you the most? - Analog Scott 22:13:01 05/22/04 (0)

Re: What movie scared you the most? - gwlvrns 19:52:15 05/22/04 (1)

Re: What movie scared you the most? - Rich S. 09:27:19 05/25/04 (0)

The Dead Zone because... - TAFKA Steve 17:48:53 05/22/04 (0)

Pee Wee's Big Adventure. - dennzio 12:32:25 05/22/04 (4)

The "Tequila" bar dance was especially horrifying . . . - albee33 13:58:42 05/22/04 (3)

agreed - ephemere 14:54:14 05/22/04 (2)

Re: agreed - dennzio 15:58:34 05/22/04 (1)

Cool dad! [nt] - ephemere 18:20:00 05/22/04 (0)

The Killing Fields....... NT - Ruben 09:06:55 05/22/04 (1)

Re: The Killing Fields....... NT - Analog Scott 12:28:07 05/22/04 (0)

Return of the Living Dead pt. II - Jabberwock 07:42:44 05/22/04 (0)

"The Vanishing." - tinear 05:55:23 05/22/04 (4)

Re: "The Vanishing." - triodesteve 20:24:12 05/22/04 (3)

Have you seen the U.S. remake? - ephemere 21:27:48 05/22/04 (2)

Whoa there.... - ephemere 21:31:34 05/22/04 (1)

Well, I'd bet Mr. Bridges had something to do with - tinear 15:39:38 05/23/04 (0)

Re: The Night of the Living dead, of course! nt - patrickU 05:39:06 05/22/04 (0)

Ju-on: The Grudge - Jack G 05:18:12 05/22/04 (1)

Agreed and Ringu -nt- - Peterloplop 21:20:09 05/22/04 (0)

Trogg and Taste The Blood Of Dracula... - Chris Garrett 22:58:21 05/21/04 (0)

"Alien", " War of the Worlds", "The Birds", "Diabolique" - Bambi B 22:27:40 05/21/04 (5)

Re: Agree on"Alien" - rico 07:08:45 05/22/04 (4)

"Alien" - plus "Silence of the Lambs", "Nosferatu", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" - Bambi B 09:42:42 05/22/04 (3)

Ron Cobb did an amazing job with the interior sets. nt. - Rich S. 09:29:55 05/25/04 (0)

Re: And of course - rico 10:28:12 05/22/04 (1)

Re: And of course - Bambi B 08:53:56 06/03/04 (0)

Dario Argento's Suspiria - grinagog 21:59:38 05/21/04 (1)

Good one.... - Chris Garrett 23:01:37 05/21/04 (0)

Anything with Madonna... - ToshiroMeyers 18:49:52 05/21/04 (0)

The original "Village of the Damned" - dwill123 18:05:56 05/21/04 (0)

Re: What movie scared you the most? - Analog Scott 18:02:45 05/21/04 (0)

the Japanese "The Ring" - Alex S 17:26:28 05/21/04 (3)

agreed... - gwlvrns 19:55:37 05/22/04 (1)

not to mention weariness of long-haired women :-) nt - Alex S 20:48:34 05/22/04 (0)

Re: three for the heeby- jeebies - Buckeye 11:44:10 05/22/04 (0)

Follow Ups

"Alien" - plus "Silence of the Lambs", "Nosferatu", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" - Bambi B 09:42:42 05/22/04 (3)

Ron Cobb did an amazing job with the interior sets. nt. - Rich S. 09:29:55 05/25/04 (0)

Re: And of course - rico 10:28:12 05/22/04 (1)

Re: And of course - Bambi B 08:53:56 06/03/04 (0)

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