didnt james cameron do an awesome job capturing the movement of the aliens

Not really. The movement style established in Alien was much better. Humanoid, slow and deliberate. JC made them more into bugs or dinosaurs.

I think the dog-like movement in Alien3 was the most 'kinetic' rendering of the xenomorph. I'm in a small minority on the this forum who can see good elements in ALL the alien films. Although clearly Alien is still the best.

The movement achieved by the drones in Aliens was absolutely superb. Cameron put allot of work into making them seem like they could climb the walls! You can't and shouldn't really compare it to Alien, as you never really see the Alien. One of my favourite scenes is where Hicks and Ripley are in the elevator and a drone jumps in sideways! and gets sprayed. Scared the shit out of me. Claustrophobia + leaping insect xeno + pulse rifle = memorable scene.

I thought the movement Cameron achieved with the Aliens was amazing. That entire movie scared the hell out of me!!! When Hicks takes the light to look up in the ceiling, I thought I was going to have a freaking heart attack!!! I'm also with you @ Enderwiggin on the elevator scene. I'm also a tad claustrophobic and when Hicks got sprayed with Alien acid.....damn. Oh I just love that movie. In a totally different way from Alien....but equally.

The best thing IMO about Camerons work on Aliens is described in DETAIL on the Qurdrilogy DVD special extended version of that film with the commentary set to "on" in which we discover he used "Reverse Photgraphy" for scene in which Ripley and Newt are trapped with 2 facehuggers in a sleeping chamber. And It was his/this use of that technique, many more times through out the film, that made the biggest difference I think in just HOW that film Looked.

yeah i saw the making of documentary on the second disc of the aliens dvd and they mention that he put the camera upsidedown..its an awesome effect like i said Spielberg's raptors owe a lot to the aliens..the way they leap with their haunches. the scene in which the alien bounds off the side of one wall to the opposite side is awesome..

Agreed on the movement of the Drones. However his greatest acheivement was the Queen and her savage stance and movement. And all done practically. Best face hugger for me is in AVP, loved the slow mo jump in the sacrificial chamber....

yeah the queen was amazng....there is a shot with the power loader on top of the queen...its awesome and better than cgi..the queens arms are flailing it looks so real

Without trying to further inflame the Alien vs Aliens debate..... Aliens is great movie and has some wonderful set pieces. The scene that a few have mentioned where the Aliens crawl across the ceiling is very good, as is the initial massacre of the marines, I like how the Aliens 'slither' of the wall in that scene. Saying all that, you can't beat the original xeno when you take into account all the deleted scenes that were not in the release pic. Check some of them out and I hope you will agree that the movement and purpose of that creature is much more terrifying. The deleted extended scene of Lamberts death is particularly creepy, the way it shuffles across the floor in a crab movement. Its almost like it hasnt yet quite got used to its own physiology. Also try and find the making of Alien (you tube) and there are test shoots where the actor is walking round the set simply wearing the Alien helmet and he moves so creepily. Its slow, considered and based on tai chi movements, of which the actor was trained in I believe...?...

Could you imagine what it would have been like had Cameron decided to keep the original Alien movement style? The marines would have strolled through the compound casually blasting a bunch of slow-motion mimes.

Not to sound like a fence-rider, but I agree with multiple points. Cameron's Aliens were kinetic, dangerous, but bug-like...very little personality (unlike the queen). The original Alien was a demon from the worst part of hell. The slow movements worked great when it was in close proximity, savoring the moment it would strike. That was what I immediately pictured when I blew a fuse in my basement a few weeks ago and had to find my way to the stairs in pitch black. Alien 3 came close to marrying the two, but technology was the enemy. It was also on the animalistic side though. I hate to admit it, but I think I like AVP's aliens. They were sneaky, fast and powerful. That movie didn't scare me at all though. There's something about the original Alien and how twisted Ridley made it seem and THINK. I definitely wish he had kept the extra movements (crab-walk) in the original...that was awesome!

bug like? i dont really think that alien is better or worse than aliens they are two different films alien was full of mystery aliens was full of action both were horrifying and entertaining all the way through aliens is hands down my favorite though due to the intensity combined with the music and the firefights. its a very bad ass movie

@snugs i understand what they were trying to do with that crab walk thing........ but if you really want to know why it was deleted...... its because it was really kind of stupid looking :( look i am not trying to be mean or anything but i actually lol every time i see that deleted scene. not scary at all, but like i said i see what they were trying to do, but they should have done it with a puppet of some sort, that way they could make it look more alien and less like a guy in a suit. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR5jYeIMBKk]lol[/url]

Everything I learned about the Xenomorph I learned in Alien. The other movies didn't advance the nature of the beast or give it a reason for its existence. Where did the 'Queen' Alien come from? No reason given. Really? After all the stages we saw in the first movie, you give no reason...Really? They were just 'lets blow these things up' movies with good effects...IMHO

What sucks invaderzim42, is that if you watch that crabwalk out take, there's one beautiful profile shot of the alien and Lambert as the alien raises its tail and if they'd just found a way to use that second or two, it would have made that scene even more visceral than it is.

craigamore, You said it, man. The way it keeps it's tail pointed at her...it really gave it credibility, I think that action would have detracted any negative feedback about the "crabwalk". I think it was creepy as hell. The deleted scene of Brett's death where the Alien reached out to grab his head while Brett was breathing in a manner of protest, but was so scared and shocked that he couldn't move let alone think...that hit me right in the subconscious. I think the Aliens movement and actions showed a more strategy and confidence, for lack of a better word, in it's ability to be successful in making a kill regardless of the situation. It's cold and calculating and infinitely patient. I find the idea that it has a long life span as opposed to the "butterfly" theory stated in the commentary and alien vault book where it's only alive for a few days more terrifying because it can just squat in a corner somewhere for what seems like eternity and lie in wait. I've always thought that if you're anywhere near the alien, you're already dead unless it allows you to live. "Its structural perfection is only matched by its hostility."

eighty-five, I wouldn't want the crab walk part of it, just that 2-4 seconds as it raises its tail. There's such a beautiful symmetry to that shot as to be almost Kubrickian. It kills me that no one noticed it in the editing room.

I'm talking specifically about this out take.....[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR5jYeIMBKk]Alien deleted scene: Alien attacks Lambert - good quality [/url] Pay very close attention.........I speak specifically about the profile long shot where the alien's tail drops from over its head and then lifts it as a kind of scorpion like threat to Lambert. It's a truely beautiful shot and I just find it really sad it was left to being a random DVD extra.

Ha, I hadn't seen that clip in so long, I forgot how "dude in a rubber suit" it looked, but yes the tail pointing at her was...hell, I don't have the words. I like how it pointed towards her face...it's a perfect shot. Ridley might have been caught slipping for once, ha!

Also, I've got to point out giger's eye for aesthetics. The alien's tail is just the right length. Not so short that it seems like it's...well, too short and not so long that it draws attention or looks ridiculous. It's long enough to seem natural.

natural is the word I'd choose

I like both ALIEN and ALIENS xenomorph movement styles. And before Cameron and Scott fans start to flame each other, I should say that Ridley Scott himself declared that he is a fan of Cameron's film. That's why there are going to be lots of references of ALIENS on Prometheus, believe it or not... (watch the teasers to see what I mean!)

as much as i will agree that that shot is awesome, i think i wouldn't like it in the movie, because you see the aliens shadow as its walking towards her and it looks like its moving very strangely, and it creeps the hell out of my, that's why i dont want to know what it was doing, they say ignorance is bliss but disagree in this case ignorance is horror. but i also like the shot of the alien standing over her, because they wanted the alien to be tall, thats why they got a tall guy to play it, but you never see a clear shot of how big it is or not in the movie anyway.

The Xenos in the first two movies were absolutely amazing in their own different ways, and somewhat in the third movie as well. However, the CGI train wrecks in later Alien movies almost ruined the franchise. Less is always more, and real is always better( such as Stan Winstons work in the first two Jurassic Parks). Of course special effects were used but there were real tangible "creatures", not computer generated insults. The swimming Aliens in Reserection were pitiful and laughable. Although I prefer the first Alien, James Cameron's take on the Xenos was amazing...the most frightening creature in the universe!

The Xenos in the first two movies were absolutely amazing in their own different ways, and somewhat in the third movie as well. However, the CGI train wrecks in later Alien movies almost ruined the franchise. Less is always more, and real is always better( such as Stan Winstons work in the first two Jurassic Parks). Of course special effects were used but there were real tangible "creatures", not computer generated insults. The swimming Aliens in Reserection were pitiful and laughable. Although I prefer the first Alien, James Cameron's take on the Xenos was amazing...the most frightening creature in the universe!

no. not at all...

Takka Ive got to disagree. We dont get to see how quick the Alien is in 1 because Ridley didnt show us. The Alien must have been quick moving when it wanted to be as it managed to make its way into every corner of the ship quite efficiently in short amounts of time. I would have liked to have seen the Aliens in Aliens move a little slower and more creepily once they had their victim within grasp, as in Alien.

The Xenomorph in Alien was all alone on an alien ship (sic) and essencially adopted a hunter like mentality. Hunters have to make careful steps as not to disturb the prey and act only when sure of the outcome. Slow and deliberate, as someone else here said. In Aliens, they hunded in groups, and they were defeanding the nest and queen. They had to move a little faster, and they didn't hunt solitary prey, like in the first movie. Basically, it was group vs. group tactics and mentality. Not to mention that their prey here was heavily armed and would blast any slow moving targets with ease. Congrats to Cameron for being ballsy about showing more of the alien(s) and making it an indomitable foe even for hardened veterans, not just space truckers (the nostromo was a giant commercial hauler). It's funny no one mentioned Jeunet's Xenos...I thought the lab scene and the underwater scene were brilliant...that was the first time we saw the Alien swim. I thought that shot was great....saw how hard it was for them to film that sequence (two weeks on a soundstage with a huge pool with all the props submerged)