Man, I wonder what it was like for people to see Alien for the first time, especially if they didn't know anything about it.

::raises hand::

I saw it in the theater with my high school friends and we didn't know anything about the movie except the basic premise.

The thing I remember is arriving after people had started to be seated, and there were eight of us and there was a prime row about a third of the way back that was improbably empty.

So we sat down there. And promptly got up because it smelled like puke (somebody had lost it in the previous showing because of the chest burster).

So we got up and moved. And then we watched five more groups of people go there, then sit down and get up and move. All to increasingly greater amusement by the people already seated, so that everybody would sort of hold their breath as a new group sat down then erupt in laughter when they got up.

Oh, and the movie was incredibly tense and eerie and creepy the first time we all saw it. Not like anything else anybody had ever seen. The monster's design alone was revolutionary - first time most people had seen anything by Giger.

But also it was the first aesthetic volley in the Dirty Future notion of science fiction, which was in high contrast to the previous model of Moulded White Plastic Future of both 2001: A Space Odyssey and (for the most part) Star Wars.

Ridley Scott, of course, then took this idea even further and to even greater influence in Bladerunner.

It's a good thing Alien was awesome. Would've been a shame to waste such an iconic title on a lesser movie.

Oh, and the movie was incredibly tense and eerie and creepy the first time we all saw it.

What's interesting is that there's basically an undercurrent of WHAT THE FUCK throughout the entire movie in the "What the fuck, what the fuck, what is going on, what's going to happen?" sense, except it's not necessarily this nail-biting tension (oh, sometimes it is) but an underlying sense of dread that builds and builds. Which was probably even greater back then, when it hadn't been imitated over and over. I didn't realize it was a template for so many of my favorite sci-fi stories, and by sci-fi stories I mean Doctor Who episodes. I know Star Trek and Twilight Zone must have done it before, but I feel like most of those "Hapless crew (who are NOT in the business of looking for this shit) are trapped on their spaceship with some sort of creature" probably go back to Alien. Like you said, it's the Dirty Future thing we're so used to now.

Man, I wonder what it was like for people to see Alien for the first time, especially if they didn't know anything about it.

I was 11, and one of my parents' friends took my best friend and I to a double-feature of Alien and The Thing, because she was a huge fan of Kurt Russel, and no one else was willing to go see the movies with her.

Screaming. There was much screaming, and giggles of revulsion at the chestburster. I remember I started fixating about where the hell was Jonesy, and was really relieved that Ripley went back for him.

Out of the franchise my favorite is Aliens, but i Alien is a classic for a reason.

I was 11, and one of my parents' friends took my best friend and I to a double-feature of Alien and The Thing, because she was a huge fan of Kurt Russel, and no one else was willing to go see the movies with her.

I was just thinking about The Thing ! Because they're both such successful horror movies in similar ways, the way they take their time and then horrify you with just WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING. Predator doesn't have as much of the WTF factor in the creature design, but it also employs the basic technique of teasing you enough that you know there's something hunting Our Heroes but only letting it out in controlled doses until the end.

Unrelatedly/relatedly, who else has seen The Host ? Because I love it for basically doing the exact opposite.

Out of the franchise my favorite is Aliens, but Alien is a classic for a reason.

Yeah, same here. Should I go ahead and watch the other two? I remember really liking Alien 3 when I saw it in the theater. It's possible it was the first one I saw. Haven't seen it since it came out, though. Same with Alien: Resurrection.

Alien: Resurrection is fun. I love the idea of a Ripley-Alien hybrid. It's just the ending that's kind of weak.

I haven't rewatched Alien 3. I'm still irrationally angry about Newt and Hicks being killed off.

Unrelatedly/relatedly, who else has seen The Host ?

The Korean movie, yes? I watched it a couple of months ago. I am a huge sap, because the fact that they were just too late to save the little girl after everything they'd been through really pissed me off. I'd thought it was great up till then, though. Well, and still a great movie after; just not as enjoyable for me.

Another interesting point about the movie: the posters are more or less completely accurate, and at the same time give you a completely misleading impression of the monster's design. I liked that.

I thought it was super hardcore for them to kill off the kid because you DON'T DO THAT, although I wasn't pleased either because she was so awesome. But at least the boy survived, and it was all because of her sacrifice. If neither one had survived, I would have been even less pleased.

Mostly, I love that about ten minutes into the movie, THEY SHOW THE ENTIRE MONSTER STOMPING AROUND EATING PEOPLE IN BROAD FUCKING DAYLIGHT. Breaks one of the cardinal rules of monster movies, and from then on, you know all bets are off. It's brilliant. (And then, of course, they kill off the kid, again breaking what you thought was a rule. The rules? IT DOESN'T PLAY BY THEM.)

I saw Alien at camp. As a special treat, my cabinmates and I were allowed to go to the councilors' cabin, which had cable to watch it. A cabin full of 12 year-old girls watching Alien. Amazingly it didn't end in disaster.

I saw it on video at my "rich" friend's house (it's not like the rest of us had VCRs or colour TV) and it spooked the fuck out of us. Whatever we had for lunch was the same as what was onscreen in the meal scene before the first burst.

We're staring at our food like we don't know what to do with it, and then her knee brushes mine under the table, and it's a miracle no pants were soiled.

How sacrosanct is the original Arthur? I decided to see them both (since they're airing within a week of each other) to see if they are apples and oranges or not. I know people are defensive about Dudley's movie, but is that based in nostalgia or accurately-remembered quality?