Alien (1979) vs Aliens (1986)

[Elvis]

Ok this poll is going to be a little different. Yes you can chose which one you prefer. I am hoping however that you take time to explain why you prefer one over the other and any other comments you may have on one or both films. I chose Alien and Aliens because they are two totally different takes on the same subject. I myself have not even thought about what I would say yet but I wanted to open the subject up for discussion.


*Please if you have not seen both films don't vote but feel free to comment on what you liked about the film etc...

[Q?]

I voted Alien by Ridley.
I love both films, but I just love the atmosphere and mood in the beginning of the film.
Just utterly fantastic.

[GLaDOS]

Aliens.

[Grumpz]

If you asked me this question 5 yrs ago, I would of picked Aliens_se. However, since I watch the first 3 movies 2-3 times a yr I've noticed that of the first 3, Aliens has aged the most.

The props, ships, effects, weapons, dialogue, wardrobe etc have all become dated. When I watch the movie, I'm seeing a movie from 86.

Alien has dated somewhat, but it still looks great for 79, and the suspense is fantastic. The mood on the ship, the sets created, the chestbuster scene all lend a hand in making Alien, in my opinion, the best movie I've ever sceen

The Alien itself is the scariest creature I've seen in a movie. Giger is a magician.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

If you asked me this question 5 yrs ago, I would of picked Aliens_se. However, since I watch the first 3 movies 2-3 times a yr I've noticed that of the first 3, Aliens has aged the most.

The props, ships, effects, weapons, dialogue, wardrobe etc have all become dated. When I watch the movie, I'm seeing a movie from 86.

Alien has dated somewhat, but it still looks great for 79, and the suspense is fantastic. The mood on the ship, the sets created, the chestbuster scene all lend a hand in making Alien, in my opinion, the best movie I've ever sceen

The Alien itself is the scariest creature I've seen in a movie. Giger is a magician.

Nice answer. Yes it is funny how our tastes change over the years with regards to film.

[sub-zero]

Alien.

[MCT]

two totally different takes on a great idea. I gotta go with AlienS, though. Everyone raves about T2, but this was JC at his destructive best imo.

[TheZoof]

Aliens is the best because it just completes a great story. I love the characters and cared a lot more for the outcome comparing it to Alien.

I also thought because of the added action, toys, humour that it really made it a more complete film.

I don't think Aliens can be topped for the type of movie it is.

[FIDDYPOP]

Alien. Sigorney at the end with the panty shot fighting the Alien. Totaly hot!

[supersix4]

I like guns so I went with aliens

[ManUtd]

I watched both at the theaters and countless times on DVD, I prefer Aliens.

[rkolinski]

I'm not a big HORROR movie fanatic; more a SCIFI/FANTASY movie one. I guess because there have been very few horror movies which have made me jump or have a feeling of fear. Psycho (the original) did when I saw it at the theater as did Jaws! Alien is the only movie I can think of which crosses into both of these genres and it did it FIRST with the alien creature and effects sets created by GIGER and was so well directed and put together by Ridley Scott with writing (screenplay) and visual design by Dan O'Bannon! Additionally, like PSYCHO, there is a lot more subliminal sexual content in ALIEN which doesn't exist in ALIENS! [As a side note, I think it's awesome that Scott and O'Bannon will work together on Alien IV and I hope GIGER is heavily involved too. I'm hopeful that these 3 will make a much better alien creature movie than appeared in Alien 3 & Resurrection and the 2 AvP films.] I'm not bashing Cameron's work on Aliens. I LIKE his movie too! However, he had to follow in sequel terms Ridley Scott so some of the fear factor was already gone when Aliens was released because we already knew what the alien creature looked like and how it interacted with humans because of ALIEN). Scott even pointed this out during an interview where he was asked about his thoughts about the movie "Aliens!" ALIENS, IMHO is a SCIFI/WAR/ACTION film fest, pure and simple! However, I do not see it as being equal to the SCIFI/HORROR contained in ALIEN. Additionally, ALIEN, at least IMHO, had a more superior cast of actors (used in the male and feminine sense) then did ALIENS. I think everything just came together to make ALIEN a more SUPERIOR film. Just MY opinion!

[court12345]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

Additionally, ALIEN, at least IMHO, had a more superior cast of actors (used in the male and feminine sense) then did ALIENS. I think everything just came together to make ALIEN a more SUPERIOR film. Just MY opinion!

**********
But surely just as memorable is Bill Paxton's character in Aliens. His intially tough Marine reduced to the classic "we're all gonna die, man!"

[jbig31]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

I'm not a big HORROR movie fanatic; more a SCIFI/FANTASY movie one. I guess because there have been very few horror movies which have made me jump or have a feeling of fear. Psycho (the original) did when I saw it at the theater as did Jaws! Alien is the only movie I can think of which crosses into both of these genres and it did it FIRST with the alien creature and effects sets created by GIGER and was so well directed and put together by Ridley Scott with writing (screenplay) and visual design by Dan O'Bannon! Additionally, like PSYCHO, there is a lot more subliminal sexual content in ALIEN which doesn't exist in ALIENS! [As a side note, I think it's awesome that Scott and O'Bannon will work together on Alien IV and I hope GIGER is heavily involved too. I'm hopeful that these 3 will make a much better alien creature movie than appeared in Alien 3 & Resurrection and the 2 AvP films.] I'm not bashing Cameron's work on Aliens. I LIKE his movie too! However, he had to follow in sequel terms Ridley Scott so some of the fear factor was already gone when Aliens was released because we already knew what the alien creature looked like and how it interacted with humans because of ALIEN). Scott even pointed this out during an interview where he was asked about his thoughts about the movie "Aliens!" ALIENS, IMHO is a SCIFI/WAR/ACTION film fest, pure and simple! However, I do not see it as being equal to the SCIFI/HORROR contained in ALIEN. Additionally, ALIEN, at least IMHO, had a more superior cast of actors (used in the male and feminine sense) then did ALIENS. I think everything just came together to make ALIEN a more SUPERIOR film. Just MY opinion!

I agree 100%. Alien had me freaked out from the very opening sequence-the creepy music and bleak sterile space set up the whole movie.

[Lord_Stewie]

Voted for Both since Each one is good in its own way.

[Jonalan34]

I like Aliens.

I like both, but in Aliens, it's war time. More than one Alien, Aliens vs Ripley as she resuce newt.

[TTC1984]

Gotta go with the first one. It was a more suspense-filled, "scary" film. When that Alien came out of nowhere and attacked the crew, I was terrified. In Aliens, we see the creatures from the beginning and there isn't really anything new that terrifies us apart from the numbers of the creatures. Plus, Ridley's film has Tom Skerritt and Harry Dean Stanton! That's NOT to say I don't love both films, though. Bring on the Blu-Rays already!

[lowenan]

Normally sequels that are similar in theme and story to the original (Rocky, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and lots more) are inferior to the original. That's not to say there are great sequels out there, The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part Two come to mind, but those are a different kind of sequel entirely. However, The Terminator vs Terminator 2, and Alien vs Aliens are the exception to the rule for me. They are very much a part of the first kind of sequel I mentioned, yet they manage to up the game a little bit, to be similar, and yet be creative and more extraordinary.

Long story short, I voted for Aliens.

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by court12345

**********
But surely just as memorable is Bill Paxton's character in Aliens. His initially tough Marine reduced to the classic "we're all gonna die, man!"

I TOTALLY agree; I think Bill Paxton was fantastic in that movie! In fact, I would say there are even more numerous quotes which are memorable in ALIENS than there is in ALIEN. However, that is also my point about ALIEN being a BETTER movie! ALIEN relied more on that primal fear factor which is similar to what Hitchcock used in PSYCHO. Except for Harry Dean Stanton saying "Right" all of the time (which I thought was put in to relieve some of the fear/tension (which would have been continuous without him), Sigourney Weaver's conversations with Ian Holm as "Ash" and her talking angrily to both the ship, everyone else and the computer, there are very few memorable quotes which come to my mind. There are many, like I said in ALIENS. Still, I maintain that ALIEN didn't have to rely on memorable quotes to have that FEAR factor (because it was the first to have the alien creature). Also, the glimpses of the alien creature in ALIEN were, for the most part, quick cuts and brief glimpses much like the techniques used in PSYCHO. The alien creatures in ALIENS were all over the place and there were many of them. I just think ALIEN was a far better movie! [And just for your information (and I'm not bragging or anything), I don't claim to be an alien creature expert but I do have a rather large ALIEN (meaning all of the movies in the series) collection of memorabilia, including the original movie poster for ALIEN (which Scott didn't like as much as the one showing the EGG - known now as the prerelease (but there weren't as many of them printed as the one with the EGG) and 3 GIGER signed/numbered lithographs just from ALIEN. Of course that's only 4 items out of the 100's which I have in my collection!]

[rkolinski]

Oh, I forgot! Sigourney Weaver had more lines than anyone else did in ALIEN! And that brings me to another point. I think that was the whole purpose of the movie. It was, in effect, " THE NAKED PREY" (thinking of the Cornel Wilde movie) of SCIFI/HORROR! A LONE woman against a TERRIFYING, unkillable and unrelenting creature, which in the end could only be killed in a vacuum! Still, I LOVE ALIENS too (but for different reasons)!!