Trivia: After first seeing the film, Stanley Kubrick called up Ridley Scott to ask how they did the chestburster scene. Scott not being used to fame at the time and Kubrick being one of his career idols, Scott assumed he was speaking with an imposter playing a prank, and promptly told Kubrick to "fuck off."
TonyPH
30th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
16th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
Trivia: For the landing sequence the crew rigged paint mixers beneath the seats on the bridge set so that they would vibrate to simulate turbulence. One effects supervisor noted wryly that when they turned them on Sigourney Weaver would get "a little smile on her face."
16th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
Plot hole: The shuttle "won't take four" crew members. Considering it only has two cryotubes (and hypersleep appears to be necessary for any hope of survival), it doesn't seem to accommodate three people, either. (Admittedly I would still go for it, too, if I were up against a 7-foot-tall acid-blooded alien monster with two sets of jaws, but there doesn't seem to be much difference whether there's three or four people onboard).
10th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
Trivia: A few scenes that showcased the crew's casual attitude toward sex and bisexuality were planned at various points, including: a sex scene between Ripley and Dallas after Kane's death; a "post-coital" moment between Dallas and Parker; and a moment in which Ripley speaks intimately with Lambert and finds it odd that Ash hasn't tried to sleep with either of them. This last scene was the only one of these filmed and it, too, was cut in order to make the crew relationships more ambiguous.
10th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
Trivia: Despite (or maybe because of) their similar style, a bitter rivalry developed between artists H.R. Giger and Roger Dicken. Giger said Dicken's work looked "terrible, like a dinosaur from Disneyland." Dicken in turn called Giger's designs "repulsive abominations." In response, Giger described Dicken as "an awfully aggressive nut" who was "on the verge of a nervous breakdown." The finished film features both artists' designs: Giger's adult xenomorph, and Dicken's facehugger and chestburster.
10th Mar 2021
Alien (1979)
Revealing mistake: In a scene near the end, the camera operator appears to bump into Sigourney Weaver from behind, prompting her to momentarily break character. Weaver had been frantically running down a corridor with the camera following closely behind. When she reaches a ladder, the view passes her for a split-second and bounces back a step from an apparent soft collision. Weaver glances back at the camera with a look as if meaning to say, "Are you all right?" but immediately resumes climbing the ladder. (01:39:35)
16th Dec 2020
Alien (1979)
Trivia: Ripley abruptly yelling at Parker to "Shut up!" is not in the script. Fans and industry gossip have long speculated that this was Sigourney Weaver breaking character in frustration and she was in fact telling Yaphet Kotto to "shut up" so she can finish her lines. The sequels 'Aliens' and 'Alien 3' both feature scenes where one of the normally cooler-headed protagonists suddenly snaps at a ranting character to "shut up!" in apparent reference to this moment. (01:16:50)
15th Dec 2020
Alien (1979)
Easter egg: In the "20th Anniversary Edition" (the same one that is part of "The Alien Legacy Collection"), go to the "Extra Features" submenu, on the first screen keep moving the cursor downward until you go past "Main Menu" and highlight an acid hole on the bottom and press the confirmation button to select it. You'll be brought to a menu meant to look like a message science officer Ash is sending to the company detailing the life cycle stages of the alien creature.
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