Christopher Webster [Celluloid 05.30.12] scifi horror action



Arguably the greatest one-two punch in scifi movie making, Alien and Aliens manage to compliment each other while being very different in approach. And though they are best served up together, we're curios to hear which one you'd pick if you were forced to choose and why?

Ridley Scott's Alien started it all. It's a masterwork of texture and tone and introduced the world to the Xenomorph. Then again, James Cameron raised the bar for scifi action, essentially creating a whole new genre that changed the movie landscape.

See, tough choice.

Okay, go.



The Alien Anthology Blu-ray is on super sale BTW

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Marina (10 years ago) Reply

ALIEN. I love the scifi action of ALIENS but for me, it's all about the slowly rising horror of ALIEN and the unshakable feeling, even when little is happening on the screen, that terror is just around the corner.

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

The way the film lets you slowly explore the bits and pieces of the world and builds the mythology is rarely done as well. Right now, ALIEN is coming up on top, but it's hard to beat the pure joy of ALIENS.

This Guy (10 years ago) Reply

Aliens, hands down.

antho42 (10 years ago) Reply

Aliens is good but it feels so 80's. Alien is fucking amazing.

papaswamp (10 years ago) Reply

Got to go with the original...Alien.

S (10 years ago) Reply

It's apples and oranges.
Aliens is such a great sequel because it took a completely different direction to the original mythology.
It's like comparing 60s batman to the dark knight.
I love them both equally, but i think aliens works better with repeated viewing.
You can really only experience the dinner scene once.

chstwnd (10 years ago) Reply

if we're talking about desert island movies, best all-around, then Aliens. I think it's funny and apropos that you didn't even bother to mention 3 or 4.

R III (10 years ago) Reply

I was 13 when I saw the premier of Alien in the theater the first night, and still have the Program from that evening. Alien was a huge influence on me and has my vote.

Fictis (10 years ago) Reply

I like both films but Alien has my vote as I am a fan of psychological Sci-fi even though I love action Sci-fi. But I guess I like them both for different reasons: Alien is the film that gives the chills and Alien is the film that gives the thrills.

Fictis (10 years ago) Reply

Misspelled the second film... "Aliens" is the film that gives the thrills :)

Zaphod (10 years ago) Reply

Easy one.
Alien!

Tensen01 (10 years ago) Reply

I can't choose. The fact is they are completely different Genres. Aliens is one of my favorite Sci_Fi Action film and Alien is probably on of the best Horror Films of all time. So I refuse to choose

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

Sorry, but there's a gun to your head and you have to choose! What's it gonna be?!

Tensen01 (10 years ago) Reply

Okay, fine, that situation... Aliens. I find that on the whole it's more rewatchable

Koolz (10 years ago) Reply

Alien !! It was an amazing way of creating tension through a film from the beginning to the very end. Also Films in that period seem to be a lot more alive and Raw looking. Films now seem so clean and CGI'ish?

Aliens was good but took away the horror and mystery of the Alien of HR Giger's Amazing Masterpiece.

donc48 (10 years ago) Reply

I can watch Alien and the 1953 War Of The Worlds maybe once a year and I love both movies. I can watch Aliens over and over again. Both movies are different in their own way and work well in their own way. Alien is Scifi horror, Aliens is Scifi action. I don't think the up comming prequel will match either movie but I'll see it.

Tommy (10 years ago) Reply

Aliens. I prefer action movies to horror movies. And it's just so quoteable!

Cletus (10 years ago) Reply

Alien. I saw it when it first came out. Some people brought their kids to the theater, 7-8 years old. A boy sitting next to me curled up in a fetal position as the film progressed. It was truly a spectacle on and off screen!

Patzerat (10 years ago) Reply

ALIEN !
Aliens is amazing, in term of action and spectacle, but there are some facilities, and some inaccuraciesis.
Alien start everything, and oddly, Alien has absolutely not aged, while Aliens does its time, the 80's.
Aliens is a really great movie, but Alien is a true masterpiece.

Heisenb0rg (10 years ago) Reply

No question: Alien.

Lenny (10 years ago) Reply

Alien. Purely for the mythology that is created. Space jockey Etc. Aliens is more of a pay off in terms of seeing the aliens and battling them but I will always remember the wow factor of seeing everything presented for the first time in Alien. And Ripley not being a badass yet just a scared girl.

Marc McKenzie (10 years ago) Reply

I love both films dearly...but I'll have to go with ALIEN. Why? Because without that film, there would not be ALIENS.

ALIEN came first, and created the mythology (as Lenny pointed out). ALIENS is still a great film nonetheless, and a superior sequel.

But again, without ALIEN....no ALIENS.

j.j. (10 years ago) Reply

I would have to go with Terminator 2.

arnold3k (10 years ago) Reply

Alien. The atmosphere, the feeling of claustrophobia, of being hunted, of being alone was great. The sound and music added to the great atmosphere of Alien. The grungy, lived-in sets was far removed from sci-fi of that era (Star Trek, Logan's Run, Battlestar etc.) it made me feel like i was in a real spaceship. There has never been another film to capture that feeling for me.

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