So Ridley Scott is directing a Prometheus sequel... (The official Alien: Covenant Thread)

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

55 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

You havent seen Alien till you've seen it in HD, Thor!

 

You haven't seen ALIEN until you've seen it in 70mm 6-track magnetic stereo.

[Quintus 5,399]

You haven't seen Alien if you haven't been a smug twat about it on the internet. 

[A24 4,345]

I'm pretty sure Thor has Prometheus on Blu-ray. 

[Thor 7,519]

Just now, Alexcremers said:

I'm pretty sure Thor has Prometheus on Blu-ray. 

 

Of course.

[A24 4,345]

1 hour ago, Richard said:

 

You haven't seen ALIEN until you've seen it in 70mm 6-track magnetic stereo.

 

Well, I have seen that version so please kneel down for me.

[Thor 7,519]

Incidentally, I've seen ALL the films in theatre. ALIEN and ALIENS in retrospectives/festivals, the others when they premiered. Can't remember if any of them were 70mm prints. I've attended some 70mm festivals here in Oslo, but can't remember if these were some of them.

 

For all these "you haven't seen" comments, surely the only one that bears any credence is seeing it in the theatre in some form.

[A24 4,345]

I've seen Alien, Aliens, Alien3 and Alien Resurrection in the theatre when they were released. I watched Prometheus at home.

 

 

[Thor 7,519]

You're old.

[crumbs 14,318]

Does anyone have any theories on the meaning of the

Spoiler

facehugger embryos David "birthed" at the end of the film? Are we to assume he merely transported these from his lab in his body, or is Ridley implying something deeper here? Did he actually generate these embryos inside himself, effectively becoming the first Alien 'Queen'? The film was very ambiguous and didn't really explain this moment at all (I still can't get over how unnerving and deranged that ending was).

 

[A24 4,345]

13 minutes ago, Thor said:

You're old.

 

Yes, I am! When I went to see Alien in 1979, I didn't even know it was a horror sci-fi movie. I expected to see a science fiction movie, because back then, I thought sci-fi was always sci-fi. When the chestburster scene came, I was in shock. From that moment on, I couldn't stop shaking. Today, I no longer watch it as a horror movie, but as a aesthetic experience. Watch the Blu-ray to know what I'm talking about!

 

 

Alex

[Jay 37,373]

It's probably the best looking blu ray in my collection.  Amazing disc.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

7 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Does anyone have any theories on the meaning of the

  Hide contents

facehugger embryos David "birthed" at the end of the film? Are we to assume he merely transported these from his lab in his body, or is Ridley implying something deeper here? Did he actually generate these embryos inside himself, effectively becoming the first Alien 'Queen'? The film was very ambiguous and didn't really explain this moment at all (I still can't get over how unnerving and deranged that ending was).

 

 

Spoiler

I just assumed he swallowed them before leaving the planet, only to "throw them up" once on the ship. I don't see how he could generate embryos inside himself.

 

[Thor 7,519]

Yes, what Bloodboal said.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

19 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Does anyone have any theories on the meaning of the

  Hide contents

facehugger embryos David "birthed" at the end of the film? Are we to assume he merely transported these from his lab in his body, or is Ridley implying something deeper here? Did he actually generate these embryos inside himself, effectively becoming the first Alien 'Queen'? The film was very ambiguous and didn't really explain this moment at all (I still can't get over how unnerving and deranged that ending was).

 

 

Spoiler

Another thing, in a weird and twisted way, Elizabeth Shaw is the biological "mother" of the xenomorphs. Which is sort of appropriate because it seems David murdered her for that purpose, and her "motherhood" was against her will, linking indirectly with the oral rape element of the facehugger. It's like David knew he couldn't procreate, so he fashioned his own way of creating "offspring" instead.

 

This movie's so sick, I love it!

 

[crumbs 14,318]

Spoiler

Shaw being vivisected and hollowed out would certainly indicate that David harvested her reproductive system to produce eggs,

which is all kinds of fucked up. There's so much you see in the film that you don't think much of in the moment, then you think about it for days afterwards and realise what you actually saw and how messed up it was.

 

Speaking of messed up, was anyone else confused that the

Spoiler

proto-facehugger seemingly implanted that acid burnt guy with a complete Alien embryo despite being on his face for less than 10 seconds? It's like the Xenomorph lifecycle devolved and became worse in the decades following David's initial experimentations. 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

4 minutes ago, crumbs said:

There's so much you see in the film that you don't think much of in the moment, then you think about it for days afterwards and realise what you actually saw and how messed up it was.

 

I think for that reason, HR Giger would have liked this movie. It's like Scott really created the nightmarish biomechanical hell depicted in some of his more confronting works.

[crumbs 14,318]

I wish they hadn't completely thrown the Engineer lore in the bin though, seemed a total waste of potential.

 

Hopefully that's not the last we see of them. Based on the opening scene of Prometheus, their race is surely more expansive and technologically complex than the small city we see in Covenant. Where were all their spaceships? What was the big floating ship David docked in?

[Thor 7,519]

I -- too -- hope that's not the last we see of the Engineers. They play such a crucial role in the whole philosophical backdrop. But I don't think this is the Engineer home planet. More like a 'colony'.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

4 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

I've seen Alien, Aliens, Alien3 and Alien Resurrection in the theatre when they were released. I watched Prometheus at home.

 

 

 

I saw PROMETHEUS twice at the cinema, the second time in IMAX 3D 

[A24 4,345]

You know what you have to do, Richard!

 

[Thor 7,519]

2 hours ago, Richard said:

 

I saw PROMETHEUS twice at the cinema, the second time in IMAX 3D 

 

Good boy! I saw it five times in the theatre (including two separate press screenings, one in 3D and one in 2D), and have probably seen it some 5-6 times on BluRay since then.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Good god. I don't think I've even seen my favorite films that many times. 

[Quintus 5,399]

Some men just want to watch the world burn (or Prometheus). 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I watched it on blu-ray last night with Wrinkly's commentary. He has a surprisingly good ASMR voice.

[A24 4,345]

8 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Good god. I don't think I've even seen my favorite films that many times. 

 

It's not because the movie deserves to be seen that many times, Koray. It's more comparable to little children watching the same movie over and over. They simply need a lot a viewings to understand it. 

 

I saw Prometheus twice because I needed to find out if it really was as bad as I thought it was. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You saw it twice???

 

Fanboy!

[crocodile 8,018]

I watched it the second time some weeks ago. And, strangely enough, it wasn't as bad as I remember. But still not very good.

 

Or maybe I liked it more because the Blu-ray transfer is so nice.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Really? I thought it was even worse. Nothing gels and so little shines in this movie. Sometimes I think it's me. Maybe I'm too harsh on Scott.

 

 

Nah! 

[crocodile 8,018]

The abortion scene is quite good.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

4 minutes ago, crocodile said:

The abortion scene is quite good.

 

 

I don't know if I dislike the idea or whether I don't care for the character.

 

Why do you think it's a good scene? 

[crocodile 8,018]

Because at least it had some intensity and gave us a bit of horror. Which, at this point, is very rare in this franchise.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

But isn't the horror a bit obvious and explicit? 

 

IMO, true horror lies in the thought of sawing off your hand, not in actual deed itself.

 

[crocodile 8,018]

Are we talking about a film closely related to Alien? The very first chestburster scene was very explicit, wasn't it?

 

Karol

[Quintus 5,399]

1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

You saw it twice???

 

Fanboy!

 

For some strange reason Alex struggles to come to a conclusion about movies after just one watch, he's pretty open about it. Can you imagine having to watch everything twice just to figure out whether you like it or not? Screw that. 

 

1 hour ago, crocodile said:

The abortion scene is quite good.

 

 

It's literally the only good part of the movie. It feels so out of place because it's actually a brilliantly intense and squeamish moment! 

[A24 4,345]

1 hour ago, crocodile said:

Are we talking about a film closely related to Alien? The very first chestburster scene was very explicit, wasn't it?

 

 

That is a surprise or sudden chock effect. We didn't know that was going to happen or what was going on. It was surprising, shocking and confusing at the same time. On the other hand, the abortion scene is the same as seeing someone cutting off his hand to free himself from a radiator. You are basically saying that Saw is a great movie because he cuts off his own hand. 

 

 

Alex

 

 

[crocodile 8,018]

Alien: Covenant doesn't have even that scene. I can't of a single intense scene in there. Its greatest sin is not that the film is horrible or unwatchable. It is just boring. A few decent ideas won't save it.

 

1 minute ago, Alexcremers said:

 

That is a surprise or sudden chock effect. We didn't know that was going to happen or what was going on. It was shocking and confusing at the same time. On the other hand, the abortion scene is the same as seeing someone cutting off his hand to free himself from a radiator. You are basically saying that Saw is a great movie because he cuts off his own hand. 

I've never watched Saw, Alex. All I'm trying to say it fits with the theme of all the films (rape, birth etc) with a slightly new twist. And it works.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

13 minutes ago, crocodile said:

 

I've never watched Saw, Alex.

 

 

You get the general idea. The prospect of having to cut off your hand is more terrifying than the deed itself. I think letting yourself cut open by robots is a cheap and exploitative way to provoke a reaction from the audience. It's easy for horror to sink to that level. I'm surprised that it's a highlight for you.

[crocodile 8,018]

1 minute ago, Alexcremers said:

 

You get the general idea. The prospect of having to cut off your hand is more terrifying than the deed itself. I think letting yourself cut open by robots is a cheap and exploitative way to provoke a reaction from the audience. It's easy for horror to sink to that level.

Horror genre is exploitative. This is a part of the fun.

 

Karol

[A24 4,345]

Well, the highlight I would choose would be the footage on the monitor of a bunch of scared supermen running away from something we don't see. That makes more impact on me and we don't see anything cheap or exploitative. True horror is in the mind.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Hey @Thor, which do you prefer in Alien, the final score as presented in the film (including all edits, use of music from Freud and Howard Hansen) or the OST presentation from Goldsmith?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

19 hours ago, Quintus said:

You haven't seen Alien if you haven't been a smug twat about it on the internet. 

 

Lee, I don't think you are a smug twat.

 

 

18 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Well, I have seen that version so please kneel down for me.

 

Bullshit, Alex. I saw ALIEN on its opening weekend at the Odeon Leicester Square - 8th September, 1979, so if anyone's going to do any kneeling, it's you! KNEEL BEFORE RICH!!!!  

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[crocodile 8,018]

Shore would have actually been perfect for an Alien film.

 

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[crocodile 8,018]

I wonder how it will link to the original Alien.

 

Cause I'm really dying to know.

 

Karol

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

22 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

Howard Shore, you mean!

 

 

Funny you say that because some bits in Shore's The Fly sound Hansen-like.

[Thor 7,519]

1 hour ago, Godzilla said:

Hey @Thor, which do you prefer in Alien, the final score as presented in the film (including all edits, use of music from Freud and Howard Hansen) or the OST presentation from Goldsmith?

 

If we're talking score-in-context (and not album): I prefer the Scott/Rawlings-edited version of the score that appears in the final film, but there are good things to be said about Goldsmith's original conceptualization too. The original DVD set allowed us to compare them with its isolated score tracks, and it's a shame this feature wasn't carried over to the subsequent DVD and BR releases.

[A24 4,345]

2 hours ago, Richard said:

Bullshit, Alex. I saw ALIEN on its opening weekend at the Odeon Leicester Square - 8th September, 1979, so if anyone's going to do any kneeling, it's you! KNEEL BEFORE RICH!!!!  

 

Is that the one with the humongous screen and smoking seats? I've seen the third Star Wars movie there. Very impressive theatre with amazing analog projection quality in those days. I thought the theatre was better than the movie.

 

 

I saw Alien in Ciné Rubens, of course. You can see the top of of the curved screen in the first pic. 

 

Movies seen in this theatre are:

 

Star Wars

2001: A Space Odyssey

Alien

Blade Runner

Et cetera

 

It was my favorite theatre even though the seats were painful.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

25 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

If we're talking score-in-context (and not album): I prefer the Scott/Rawlings-edited version of the score that appears in the final film, but there are good things to be said about Goldsmith's original conceptualization too. The original DVD set allowed us to compare them with its isolated score tracks, and it's a shame this feature wasn't carried over to the subsequent DVD and BR releases.

 

I meant the album, not Goldsmith's original as-composed-for-the-film score.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,552]

7 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

It's that the one with the humongous screen and smoking seats? I've seen the third Star Wars movie there. Very impressive theatre with amazing analog projection quality in those days. I thought the theatre was better than the movie.

 

 

I saw it in Ciné Rubens, of course. You can see the top of of the curved screen in the first pic. 

 

Movies seen in this theatre are:

 

Star Wars

2001: A Space Odyssey

Alien

Blade Runner

 

It was my favorite theatre even though the seats were painful.

 

Nice pics, Alex.

When you say "3rd SW movie", do you mean ROTJ? Not possible, unless you saw it after it transferred (if it ever did transfer).

ROTJ opened on June 3rd, at both The Dominion Tottenham Court Road, and the Leicester Square Theatre, and not the Odeon. At that time, The Odeon was gearing-up for the premiere and opening, of OCTOPUSSY.

Yes, it had a humongous screen (hence the 70mm), but the seats never smoked...the people in the seats did that.