Alien had just 1 flaw for me....

I see your point, the camera doesn't move either, maintaining the same angle cutting to Ripley and back....Ridley may have been aware of it too and attempted to use the "engine exhaust" spray to disguise it....lot of pressure on him in those days when he wasn't the name he is today

Totally agree, that scene has always bothered me since the first time I saw it. Also the Nostromo exploding was kind of weird at the end. However the one thing they should have included in the theatrical release is the scene when the crew listenes to the distress signal ( the original one pf the deleted scenes no the blue ray ). That also bothered me.

I honestly never really thought about it this hard but I'm not about to knock it either. For the technology back in the 80's Alien was pretty advanced with its effects and sets. They can't get everything perfect.....the point was made and that's all that was needed. There's not much interesting to show about a body floating in space either way...we would probably look the same way. Without oxygen we'd pass out quickly and die so there would be no thrashing around...you'd pretty much just be subject to whatever pull of gravity grabbed hold of your body.

I think it was probably the director's vision vs. limitations of technology at that time.

^^^ @ Xeno.. Maybe thats part of why it looks so wrong as it is not really depicting Zero-G accurately enough?

@CanadaPhil Maybe, I'll have to see this scene again. I plan to watch Alien later tonight so I will take a look.

i just finished watching alien in my alien thon, and i see what you mean, but at the same time i love the look of the thrust, how he used water sprays with a back light it looks amazing lol

I think they may be limited in terms of budget. Tons of concepts that were rejected, unused, discarded by this lack of financial support.

I have heard Scott say that the scene when the Nostromo explodes was in his words "a bit dodgy". But he did add that he used "panted back drops" for those scenes, so I guess that explains it. So I think what others have said is right, the film was running out of money at the end and that's why the death of the Xeno looks kinda crappy too. None the less.. It's still one of the best sci-fi films of all time.

Initially upon reading this discussion I thought to myself, "How could anyone have a problem with Alien?" I had seen Scott's Alien out of being thoroughly curious over the first trailer, with the ship and the storm and the bright lights, before they released Trailer 2 for Prometheus. Obviously, I'm a sucker for flashy science fiction (but not that kind of flashy, not like what was in Transformers). As best as I can recollect, I can see where this discussion is coming from, that short scene at the end of Alien. The alien did not feel quite as real as it had in earlier scenes. Yet, I must reserve my upmost respect for Ridley Scott, his uncanny ability to write and direct science fiction. It feels like an experience you not only gained but also one you know to return. A lot of movies these days just don't have as much depth and character to offer in comparison. When you watch Alien, there's so much unspoken tension in what'll happen next, that maintained throughout the film, and after the credits roll and you return to the main menu, you're pleasantly satisfied. My first words after the movie were, "Now that's science fiction, right there." The story unfolds before your eyes at such a steady rate that you not only submit control to the director for what he's doing as you watch the movie but you also marvel at how human the dialogue sounds and the razor-sharp progression of the story. The movie Alien and the trailers for Prometheus, they all build up towards what I hope will be a science fiction experience topping its predecessor. I hope it will take us several steps further into the universe that Ridley Scott's created for the franchise. And from what's been released so far seems to confirm that hope. What's great about Prometheus is it's not a John Carter event. It's a manageable expansion of the genre, one that I hope will not stop with Scott and his camera. But If Ridley's got more, beyond Prometheus, then he doesn't just have his camera and a script; he also has my money and my attention.

yeah I agree with CanadaPhil that bit looks pretty awful but hey tight budget what can you do...I think that is the only part where the film looks very B-Movie Good thing they cut the Brett Egg and crabwalk scenes too

LOLZ!! @the coming.. Oh yeah... CRABWALK had to go !!

lol you sure? what if they spruced it up a little? made him wear a couple of bells

Yep, one of the best films I've seen but even when I first saw it, I remember thinking 'that's just water' at the thrusters at the end

@cyro I am with you on the distress signal bit staying. It works. But for me, the one problem I have with Alien that just gets worse with each viewing is the cut from fake Ash head on the table to real Ian Holm head on the table. I felt like I was watching and episode of Lost in Space. The cut is just over the top. Scott has also commented on it as being one of things he was bit dodgy about.

I totally agree with you dallas!dallas! about the fake to real jump cut of that head....and when you look at that scene, it could have been cut so that was avoided, just cut to one of the other actors and then cut back.....

Alright, just watched it. I still don't think the end was that terrible...it's pretty damn hard to depict floating in space unless you actually 'are' floating in space. Bottom line, they can't turn off gravity to make the scene and unless you CGI it I don't see how it could be perfect....I hate CGI btw..unless it's done really well. I do have a question though, unless I'm missing something or maybe looking too hard into it. But at the end when the alien is in the smaller ship with her why is it just laying curled up in that spot? Was it hurt or something? I don't know...I just found it odd it just laid there and didn't really try to attack or anything.

I really don't understand what people are saying, I thought the 'water engine' was (and still is) a convincing effect. I can't think of any-other movie that has a 'blast' that wasn't a special FX ether animation or some kind of composite. Ridley's shot was all 'in-camera' I think I was in my teens before I figured out how he'd done it. There are a few things that do bug me 'a little' when I watch Alien and those are: A) The mirror at the back of the corridor when we first see Brett and Parker walking down it. (because you can see the refection of the actors in it.) B) The big washing baskets that are stuck to walls when Dallas is firing his flamer downwards in the vent and not only that... the fridge heat exchangers that make up the walls when he first enters. (I can forgive the set designer for using the metal backs of fridges to 'fire-line' the set but.... the plastic baskets are too easily recognised.) C) This one is not really any-ones fault because at the time it was 'recommended' treatment when some-one has a fit..... yeah you guessed it... forcing a spoon into Kane's mouth. It doesn't spoil the film just dates it (kinda like Ripley's underwear at the end, lol no one has wore them since the 80's) Maybe Ridley should do a Lucas and make some-one say "oh my ghawd he's a diabetic!" and CG a Mars bar over the spoon. D) This one I don't know why it bothers me and that is the 'three' explosions when the Nostromo goes bang, I could get away with two, int' shot, ext' shot.... but the 3rd..... I dunno.... like I say, dunno why it bothers me.

@Pro 2 excellent observations C made me laugh out loud lol a friggin Mars Bar, that would look so damn funny! D - I agree with the triple explosion and made me think the other day. I think the problem is the first blast is so large that any consecutive explosions would be null and void, whatever mechanism that triggers the latter explosions would be destroyed...saying that it is a great artistic effect, and I am a firm believer of abandoning physics if it gives a more dramatic feel

whats looking cheap in this scene for me is the alien dongles but [i]also[/i] dont move vividly like the alien queen in aliens, when she is blown out in space..it just ...hangs. ok, firstly it tries to hide inside the blast pipe..

I'd have to say the biggest flaw is how the audience knows the creature is behind Ripley, yet they try to sell it as if she didn't know it was there.

^^^ I think what is going on there is that Ripley is in effect baiting it... But at the same time she is literally scared sheetless and cant bare to look over at it while she is trying to maintain her courage. Up until this point, she really has not been directly confronting it. @ Xeno... I think it was explained that at this point, the creature is starting to get week and is dying and is just curling up in a dark, corner like many animals would "at the end". When Ripley realizes that it doesn't want to budge, she has to flush it out with the hot steam venting in order to piss it off enough to get it to move.

@craigamore My thoughts exactly. Maybe cut to Ripley with that intense look on her face, "Can you hear me Ash!" And maybe even a little bit of a jump when we hear, "Yes. I can hear you." Then cut to Ash.

According to Wikipedia, Ridley Scott wanted the ending to be that the Alien bits Ripley's head off and then leaves a final log in her voice. Probably good that this didn't happen.

Never Mind...

Lol . I think someone was trying to be funny when they posted that on Wikipedia. I just saw the directors cut a few days ago and I picked up on how cheasey the triple explosion and the death of the xenomorph was but hey, gotta give them props. They did well with the tools they had. Another part also is when Ashes partly dismembered body is fixed on the table. The difference between the prosthetic head and the live actor is startling and a bit comical.

Hey folks, we've been spoiled! I grew up idolizing Lost in Space. Years later when the VHS and DVD copies came out and i watched them I couldn't believe it. Talk about Cheesy! However, Alien still looks even 30+'years later, really good. The shots of the ship corridors early on (especially blu-ray) are crisp and detailed. I could go on. Of course the CRT and graphics shots don't measure up, but Come On! The movie is and will remain a classic.

For me there are a few shots which kind of bothered me .. The first is when the chestburster leaves the room... Then the rear shot of Alien approaching Lambert ....... The cut to Ashes head "bobing" through the table.. The shot of the empty alien suit falling away from the shuttle when Rip first fires the dart... There is other lesser things which I would see differently but it's still pretty much perfect..

I was glad to see the creature in full view. Its pretty rude to make you watch the entire movie with only partial glimpses of it and then the movie's over. It was a man in a suit and was filmed vertical to hide the wires and seem like zero G. The scene where Ripley is coming up the ladder in telephoto was the one that bothered me. She is all brown and what is the point of extreme telephoto? Plus Mother talking the whole time and the siren was cheesy. In fact my only problem with the film was when the escape sequence began after the others were all gone. It seemed like a different movie and poor Ridley had probably never directed an action sequence before.