Thor

Well, there was never anything particularly original in the superficial story elements of ALIEN. It's all pretty straightforward B movie tropes that have been explored in various shapes and forms before. The only reason it's such a classic is that those tropes were lifted to A level by various mise-en-scène elements. Scott, Giger, Goldsmith, Rawlings, Vanlint, chamber ensemble etc. So that it's not only a superficial story about "humans fleeing from monster in dark corridors" (although it works on that level too), but is instead infused with all kinds of layered elements relating to Freudian imagery, the subconscious, sexual trauma etc. etc.

You can remove "apparently". The piece was entirely written by musicologist Remo Giazotto few years after WW2. 

I saw that some 10-15 years ago or so, after so many people raved about it being a "blueprint" for ALIEN (that, and IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE). Well, except for some obvious similarities (as pointed out in that video), I found the comparison somewhat overrated. Still, it's a pretty good film in and of itself, one of Bava's best.

Very well put!

I'm not a Blunt expert, but the visceral rawness she displayed in the aforementioned films, A QUIET PLACE and EDGE OF TOMORROW (two brilliant films, btw), was great.

When Alan went to an open house, he never expected the real estate agent's assistant to be that young.
 
(in case people are wondering, since the nose looks kinda off, YES, that is John Williams in the 60s with his son Mark).

Thank God for LPs bought in the 70s, then!
 
Next time I'm home, I'm going to take a few pics of my dad's massive collection of classical music (and beyond). Even for the die-hard classical collectors here, I think he has a few gems that would be desirable here. I'm also pleased that he recently put up a CD shelf for his CDs, including the entire Classikon series from Deutsche Grammophon, which I can't wait to inherit. Not that I want him to die or anything, but I kinda drool over that.

I dig this turn of discussion about scary film posters (although there's a whole separate thread there).

Meanwhile, somewhat back on-topic, I was at the annual critic's dinner two days ago, and I sat next to a colleague who's just as much a fanboy as I am in certain areas. He even likes film music. While his main interest is TRANSFORMERS, he's pretty knowledgeable about ALIEN too, which is MY main area for film nerding. It was great just geeking out for a couple of hours, which is something that I can't really do with the other, more serious critics.
 
Anyways....it made me think about the remaining ALIEN holes in my collection. I'm still looking for those Dark Horse comics, as well as the novels. I look around for them sometimes, on the interwebz, but they're too expensive. The action figures and other memorabilia is not something that I NEED, necessarily, but a few of them would be nice to have. I think even my tiny apartment could house those.
 
I don't know if anyone else has attempted this, but at some point in time, I would like to go through ALL of the ALIEN timeline in chronological order. All the films, shorts, TV series (soon), comics, novels and computer games (at least watching the gameplay) in story sequence. I've attempted a version of it a couple of times, with the films, shorts and gameplay watching, but not with comics and novels.

That isn't what I feel at all while watching Saving Private Ryan. 
 
This film reinforces the tragedy, violence, and randomness of war. It doesn't glorify the so-called "Great War" but it does attempt to find some meaning for it for these few men. 
 
I've returned to the film time and time again because it's a masterclass in direction, blocking, editing, visual storytelling (production design), subtle use of music, and acting. It's a sober look at World War II and I do think it's a beautiful and mature film.

So, my evening is pretty much set. It will be vinyls and wine!
 
I had a handful of LPs myself from before, like Jean Michel Jarre's WAITING FOR COSTEAU. I also got a little batch from my dad, who has thousands of LPs (mostly classical -- a collection I hope to inherit some day, if I live that long). He is also a HiFi buff and has cleaned practically every single one with a machine he's bought. So this is currently my vinyl collection:
 

 
One of the most interesting items is Gary Marlowe's fantastic score for EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE. One of my top 3 last year or two years ago, I can't remember. He sent me the vinyl for free, which was incredible. An awesome, transparent LP:
 

 
So right now, I've started playing some of them. First out was this. My heart skipped a beat when I read "John Williams" on the cover, but of course it was the guitarist:
 

 

Ha, ha, good checklist, NOF! I can say 'yes' to 1, 'sometimes' to 2 and 3, but 'no' to the rest.
 
 
Arm is Thorens too. It's a "pimped-up" old Thorens with a new arm. It's also a Moving Magnet (with possibilities for a Moving Coil upgrade), per the Cambridge RIAA below the TV (the power supply/amplifier). Great to have both an amplifier and RIAA from the same brand. Cambridge is excellent!

Wine? You mean coffee, right?! Here, Thor! 

Hmm. Let's see?
Do you:
1/ have a full beard, or a handlebar moustache?
2/ wear check shirts all the time?
3/ drink Brewdog?
4/ wear cords?
5/ wear some sort of hat (either something like a Trilby, or a driving cap)?
6/ smoke roll-your-owns?
7/ carry a leather satchel around?
8/ live in West London (Portobello Road; Notting Hill)?
9/ like to be seen at trendy cafés, reading À LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDUE?
10/ look like, sound like, or behave like, a twat?
No? Then you're not a hipster.
 
Ps, nice deck. Thorens, is it? What's the arm and the cartridge? Is there a power supply?

Have you seen the movies she's in? You don't think she's adequate for these type of flicks? 
 

 

 

I'm not a Blunt expert, but the visceral rawness she displayed in the aforementioned films, A QUIET PLACE and EDGE OF TOMORROW (two brilliant films, btw), was great.

I never not wanted to be an Alien or SW or ST geek, either, it just happened.
 
I adore ALIEN, all three films, and my favorite part of the first film is when they get into the derelict space ship and find the “space jockey”, who to me always seemed like some sort of an “elephant” race and always thought “what a huge effin gun!”. Not knowing the backstory, the shroud of mystery surrounding it all made it much more interesting and frightening. When the camera zooms in on the eyes of the creature, it’s very scary. And when Kane descends to the cargo hold and finds the eggs under the laser forcefield, it’s all so well done, amazing that they could make a film like that 45 years ago with zero CGI, and it looks so cool. It’s a classic.
 
 

Yes, as I say in the article, the folksier, "purer" bits are the best.
 
 
If you like EDM and electronic music, give it a go. It's a great DJ set, the best conceptual score album from a Reznor/Ross production, thanks to Boys Noize.

I never really wanted to be that much of an ALIEN geek either. It's not something that I set out consciously to be. It just happened that way because the first film was so seminal in my formative years.

I dig this turn of discussion about scary film posters (although there's a whole separate thread there).

Meanwhile, somewhat back on-topic, I was at the annual critic's dinner two days ago, and I sat next to a colleague who's just as much a fanboy as I am in certain areas. He even likes film music. While his main interest is TRANSFORMERS, he's pretty knowledgeable about ALIEN too, which is MY main area for film nerding. It was great just geeking out for a couple of hours, which is something that I can't really do with the other, more serious critics.
 
Anyways....it made me think about the remaining ALIEN holes in my collection. I'm still looking for those Dark Horse comics, as well as the novels. I look around for them sometimes, on the interwebz, but they're too expensive. The action figures and other memorabilia is not something that I NEED, necessarily, but a few of them would be nice to have. I think even my tiny apartment could house those.
 
I don't know if anyone else has attempted this, but at some point in time, I would like to go through ALL of the ALIEN timeline in chronological order. All the films, shorts, TV series (soon), comics, novels and computer games (at least watching the gameplay) in story sequence. I've attempted a version of it a couple of times, with the films, shorts and gameplay watching, but not with comics and novels.

I'm not a Blunt expert, but the visceral rawness she displayed in the aforementioned films, A QUIET PLACE and EDGE OF TOMORROW (two brilliant films, btw), was great.

Well thanks for the recommendation! I checked the Hungarian soundtrack store and got this for ~35€ almost completely blind, and I'm not disappointed. I wasn't feeling disc 1 and 3 that much, but liked most of the rest a lot! I like having context for my music so I searched up at least a short wiki summary for every single track while listening - so many depressing French movies! But still very diverse and strong material.

I can relate to that, Edmilson. The poster for FRIGHT NIGHT did the same for me (far more so than the lacklustre film itself), although I was as old as 10 when I first discovered the film:
 

I can relate to that, Edmilson. The poster for FRIGHT NIGHT did the same for me (far more so than the lacklustre film itself), although I was as old as 10 when I first discovered the film: