Alien

The Next Reel Film Podcast

"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? A perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility." This week begins our journey into the Alien franchise, dear listeners, which ends with our discussion of Prometheus on June 15th. We start with the amazing beginning of it all, 1979's Alien. Ridley Scott and his team -- from the writers Dan O'Bannon, Ron Shusett, Walter Hill and David Giler, to the incredible production design of H.R. Giger, Ron Cobb and Michael Seymour, to Jerry Goldsmith's haunting and terrifying score, to the incredible performances led by Sigourney Weaver, to the amazing sound editing by Jim Shields, to the cinematography by Derek Vanlint -- took the science fiction and the horror genres and found a way to merge them in a way that redefined both those genres as well as many cinema conventions aftrward. It's a stunning film and one we're happy to talk about with you. Join us -- Pete Wright and Andy Nelson -- on this week's episode of Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like" as we discuss the origins of the story as well as the importance of bringing H.R. Giger on board. We chat about what this film did for its two genres (and we don't even mention how much it still influences sci fi and horror films to this day -- anyone remember who did the voice of Mother in WALL-E?). We cover the amazing cast and their roles in all of the pivotal scenes that stand out still to this day. We chat about the battles between Jerry Goldsmith and Ridley Scott over the score, and more. Listen in!