A Tribute to Great Films: Alien and Aliens

The past few months I have paid tribute to three different television shows, Murder She Wrote, Friday Night Lights, and The Golden Girls.  Each tribute coincided with my re-watching each series. This month I have decided to pay tribute to two spectacular sci-fi/thriller films Alien and Aliens.  

My friend Eric got the idea when we went to see Men in Black III on friday and saw the trailer for Prometheus.  When many fans had heard about Prometheus their minds jumped to the conclusion that it was a prequel.  Ridley Scott who directed the first film and is directing Prometheus has stated openly that Prometheus "carries the DNA of Alien" and "Prometheus is an original piece of science fiction" about "biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and the origins of the destruction of man." Sounds epic.

Scott started the ball rolling within the quadrangle of Aliens films.  The brilliant thing about the all of the films (but in this case the first two films)  is that while they center around the same story the stylistic undertone of the direction changes the feel for each film.  The original film Alien was released in 1979, and was also re-released in 2003 with material that was found and not part of the original film.  I saw this film for the first time in theatres during the re-release.  No film had scared me as much as this film did in the theatre.  Sitting in the pitch black multiplex at 10 pm at night with a small crowd, the experience was worth it, and why I love going to the movies. I refused to scream out in terror.  Yet as the films tagline reads "No one can hear you scream in space."

As the mining ship Nostromo touches down on unknown planet for a distress call the terror builds and the audience is catapulted into following this crew as alien life form board their ship.  As the films intensity builds Jerry Goldsmith's score carries the suspense to a whole new level.  The music combined with Roger Christian and Leslie Dilley's art stark art direction, and Ridley's Scott's well paced directions creates this beautifully ominous tone.  There is no doubt that Scott's direction is brilliant, but he also assembled an impressive cast.

The cast of the film is impressive but the film, and this series centered around the new comer Sigourney Weaver.  Weaver's Ripley is an embodiment of something different; she is a feminist icon action hero who kicks ass instead of playing the victim.  Like Jaime Lee Curtis who was dubbed the scream queen, Sigourney Weaver is the queen of sci-fi films. While Ripley is a bit quieter in the first film, mainly because the films pacing is a bit more like an old school thriller where the pacing is a build up.  The sequel to Alien, entitled Aliens jumps right into the action.

After I had finished the first film I knew I had to rent the sequel (blockbuster still existed).  Aliens (1986) is a different film from the original, mainly because it was directed by James Cameron instead of Ridley Scott.  Cameron was a huge fan of the original and pitched the concept of doing a sequel to 20th Century FOX.  While Cameron was contemplating the tone for this film he was also working on The Terminator (1984).  The sequel was released so much later for two reasons, the first was that 20th Century FOX did not believe in a low budget film warranting a sequel (that has changed these days) and Cameron needed to prove himself, The Terminator was his staging ground.  The Terminator was a monster hit, and well reviewed, and Cameron's new script impressed 20th Century FOX and thus Aliens was born.

Cameron's script for Aliens had a much different tone.  The first film lead me on this terrifying journey, and was an all out thriller, while Cameron made the sequel more of an action film.  Ripley is brought back with a militaristic squad to the planet where Nostromo landed.  The team became a rogue squad battling and fighting for their lives against more than just one alien this time. There was incredible anticipation for this film because the original was so liked and the Ripley character was an incredible female character. Cameron knows how to blend the concept of the original with his own version of the story; he seamlessly blends the plot from the first film with his own while making this an incredibly great film.

Many people cite this as a sequel better than the original, but to me that's a Sophie's choice.  While two films are about the same character, and are part of a series the direction by these two master craftsmen makes them hard to compare.  Each film fits within a different genre.  The first film is an old school thriller, and while the second film has those elements Cameron makes his sequel more action packed, which works too.  Aliens was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Actress, I think the first film deserved just as many accolades.  Both of these films are incredible pieces of work. and have only built up my excitement for Ridley Scott to come back to this world.

The slight edge may go to Aliens and the scene below "Get Away from her you bitch."

What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?....Happy Halloween!

The lines uttered by the ghostface killer in the Scream series (1996-2011) have now become infamous.    In an ominous voice the killer asking their future victim "What's your favorite scary movie?"  Halloween is a time for everyone to an enjoy a good scare.  I know not everyone likes scary movies, they are not my favorite genre, but you can always beat the genre by watching my other favorite type of film within this genre, the horror spoof (done well).  Here is my advice on what to watch, well, basically my favorite scary movies or thrillers.

Rear Window (1954) Psycho helped put a larger number of audiences in the POV of the killer, but Rear Window is my favorite Hitchock thriller, there is something about watching a man who watches as his neighbor commits crimes and he is helpless to stop him.  The music is haunting, and I jump out of my chair when Grace Kelly is over in the apartment of the neighbor across the way. 

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Halloween (1978) John Carpenter's masterpiece this film about a boy who killed his oldest sister in 1963, and then comes back years later to finish off his other sister is scary good.  This film solidified Jamie Lee Curtis as the scream queen.  The killer Michael Myers move so slow as he attacks his victim, and this spray painted white William Shatner mask is beyond creepy.

Alien (1979) I did not see this movie until they re-released it for its 25th anniversary while I was in college.  I remember sitting in the dark theater waiting for Sigourney Weaver and the rest of space crew to get attacked by the alien that got onto their ship.  In the darkness of the small multiplex I cringed and almost screamed.  This is one of the scariest films I ever seen.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jonothan Demme brought to life one of the best and scariest villains in this film.  Anthony Hopkins, Hannibal Lector has this deceiving charm on the level of Norman Bates; he has manners and does not fling his feces at Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), but be careful because he may eat your face off.

The last films do more to show the irony of the genre, and some of them even mix in the scares with the irony. These are great films or a great series because they have a balance of comedic timing.

Scary Movie (2000) Do not let the title fool you, this movie is not scary.  The Wayans brothers did a great job spoofing many 90s horror films (and other 90s movies like The Usual Suspects).  Scream came out in 1996 and did a great of pointing out the irony of the genre mixed with terror.  While the Wayans brothers would cite most horror films as a product of white society, and the Wayans put a twist to this genre and point out how stupid white people are in these films, and how silly this genre can be.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) I love a good zombie movie, but this film does an even better job spoofing this genre.  The team of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg combine to portray our main character attempting to escape his mundane life; he does the same thing day in and day out and acts like a zombie with his routine.  Then of course when he tries to break this routine he has to battle zombies themselves, brilliant!

and...of  course the film that inspired the title of this post....

the Scream series (1996-2011)  I love the Scream series.  The duo of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson have created 4 films know themselves and this genre better than anyone can imagine.  Scream focuses on the "rules" and talked ironically about horror films and how deaths occurred.  Still people even knowing the genre did not last long.  Scream 2 used the rule of sequels and talk more about the hilarity of having a sequel and in one scene how rare it was for sequels to be better than the original.  In Scream 3 the rules are out!  The rule of trilogies is that things go crazy, and kind of start to fall apart.  Within Scream 3 the series did start to fall a part, but were the creators smart enough to realize this?  I think yes.  Cut to ten years later with Scream 4.  Who would have thought this film would continue the legacy of the genre, but it did!  Scream 4 used a combination of tradition and the evolution of horror films within the last 10 years.  The film also used the evolution of technology as well.  I am so inspired by this series.