Terry Gilliam Trashes Alien Franchise...

Started by ralfy, Jul 10, 2018, 10:39:10 AM

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Terry Gilliam Trashes Alien Franchise... (Read 12,825 times)

Corporal Hicks

And that damn grin at the end of the scene.

Darwinsgirl


I do love Ridley mimicking the Ash grin :D from that scene. Its in one of the features from Quadrilogy or the Legacy Box set. He blamed the material for shrinking. As it was from a cast of Sir Ian Holm's head

BringbackJonesy!

BringbackJonesy!

#47
I recall seeing an unfinished shot of the alien on the various extras which showed it coming towards the shuttle window and hitting it, leaving a slight smear - it looked to have the 'harpoon tether' attached to it, and I thought it would have been a far superior shot to the 'dangling' one we got before Ripley hit the rocket boosters.  I always wished that Ridley had used a finished shot of that angle instead of full 'rubbery suit' one he went with, as I reckon it was a far more effective visual overall.

Still, the movie had easily won me over by the time that shot came along near the end, so it was no big deal by that point.  ;D

As far as the 'Ash head' shots go, there's actually a straightforward way to re-edit them slightly to smooth things a bit - so it's a pity Ridley didn't do it for his 'Director's Cut' when he went about some other trims - but again no big deal to me.

However, it's certainly food for thought how a Gilliam-directed 'Alien 3' would have turned out...but only if he could have had some input in where the storyline was going, as opposed to what Fincher had to go with.

BigDaddyJohn

Quote from: Rankles75 on Jul 11, 2018, 11:32:03 AM
Never had a huge issue with the "Ash head" scene, but the Alien being blown out of the airlock is jarringly bad. As for people on here dismissing Gilliam as a nobody because he didn't like the film, stop embarrassing yourselves...  ::)

He didn't only trash the ending though, he's trashing the whole movie genre that Alien is a part of...

SM

Where did he do that?

SpreadEagleBeagle

As much as I love ALIEN I agree to a certain degree with Terry Gilliam on most of his points concerning ALIEN. Giving a full-body shot of the Alien did indeed break the spell, which in its turn made the creature less menacing and threatening, especially since you could tell that it was a man in a suit due to the limitations of creature effects back then. I also agree that having Ripley go out on a limb to save Jones seemed silly considering the circumstances, but since those scenes were executed so well tension-wise, atmosphere-wise and pace-wise, it never strikes me as silly while actually watching it (i.e. Ripley going risking everything for a cat) - it's only in retrospect it seems Hollywood silly.

Ripley stripping down is very symbolical. She thinks she is out of harms way and safe and thus lowers her guard, finally allowing herself to be vulnerable and relax only to realize that she is stuck in the belly of the beast. Her crawling into the spacesuit while essentially praying (manically whisper-singing "Lucky Star" repeatedly) is interesting as she is now an official survivor of the beast, effectively hardened, this time quicker to put on her armor and arm herself yet realizing that only luck (i.e. the right timing) and a fools hope (determination and instinct) is what is going to save her in the end. On the other hand having a young sweaty female strip down to her undies in a horror movie might seem very cliche, hackish and cheap to a lot of people...

But when it comes to simplifying ALIEN as nothing but a glorified ghost train movie I think it is kind of a dismissive and unfair assessment, especially since Scott's intention all along was to make a B-movie with A-list acting, pacing, photo, sound, ingenuity, special effects, themes/symbolism, score etc. Despite ALIEN's flaws I think that Terry Gilliam went too far in his criticism of the movie and I strongly doubt that he would've been able to make a better sic-fi monster movie than ALIEN. I'm not saying that because I don't like him or his movies (on the contrary - I really like them!), I'm saying that because his eye, style and liberal use of humor doesn't sit well with the cold somberness of ALIEN and A3 (as well as ALIENS to a certain degree). I think that he would've been even less a fitting pick than Jeunet (another director that is a little bit too fond of humor to direct an Alien movie).

SM

SM

#51
Terry G has always had an eye for movies that frequently departs from the mainstream view.  Which would explain his own output.  Plus he's eternally grumpy.  Doesn't mean he always wrong though.  :)

He's criticised Schindler's List (quoting Kubrick) and Harry Potter (after getting knocked back as Rowling's first choice and calling Columbus's films dull and pedestrian).  Working on big studio franchises is not his thing as is hinted at in his comments on Alien.  He was even dismissive of the 12 Monkeys tv series.

SiL

QuoteDespite ALIEN's flaws I think that Terry Gilliam went too far in his criticism of the movie and I strongly doubt that he would've been able to make a better sic-fi monster movie than ALIEN.
I think the point is he wouldn't try, because it wouldn't interest him to begin with. And asking a director to direct something that's fundamentally uninteresting to them never, ever works well.

SM

He doesn't really do straight 'realism'.  Everything he does includes a healthy dose of the fantastic, which wouldn't really gel with Alien.

SiL

Terry G makes Terry G films, and expecting -- or even asking -- him to do otherwise would be a great waste of time. I remember an interview with him in Empire magazine years ago where he said that he never wanted to be the "next" anybody. He just wanted to be the first and only Terry Gilliam, and damned if he hasn't done that.

SM


Gash

I admire Gilliam for sticking to his guns, but I've always found his films lacking something, lots of layered design but there's just an element of disarray or plot indifference I find hard to get involved with. They always feel a bit self indulgent, almost like everything is in place except a driven narrative. I'd rather watch a Gilliamesque film, perhaps not The Dark Crystal, more Legend.

However I've not seen every Gilliam film, so it's very possible there's one that breaks the format. I've never rushed to see a theatrical release though, having caught a lot of his stuff when it's arrived on TV I'm still left cold.

lost dragon

Enjoyed his stuff in Monty Python.

12 Monkeys wasn't a film i personally enjoyed.

I was more surprised to hear he was even offered a shot at doing an Alien film, than anything he actually said about the franchise.

Alien wasn't a film he enjoyed.

12 Monkeys wasn't a film i enjoyed.

I doubt my opinion on his work is going to have any greater impact on it, than his opinion on what i class as a film classic, will have on mine.
:-)

BigDaddyJohn

Quote from: SM on Jul 13, 2018, 12:47:34 AM
Where did he do that?

"When I watched the first 'Alien,' all I kept saying was, 'Just kill them all and be done with it,' because you just know that they're all going to die along the way"

It's a basic premise for every survival movie, which Alien is part of. I guess he could say the same for Predator then, "why don't you kill them all already, since we know they gonna die !".

Why bother watching it, if you don't like this concept ?

SpreadEagleBeagle

Quote from: SiL on Jul 13, 2018, 06:42:05 AM
QuoteDespite ALIEN's flaws I think that Terry Gilliam went too far in his criticism of the movie and I strongly doubt that he would've been able to make a better sic-fi monster movie than ALIEN.
I think the point is he wouldn't try, because it wouldn't interest him to begin with. And asking a director to direct something that's fundamentally uninteresting to them never, ever works well.

Oh I totally agree with you. I was just reflecting on his criticisms on ALIEN.

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