Prometheus - Ridley Scott's 'Alien Prequel' (or not)...
Discussion
I know it's an era we can never go back to, but I vastly prefer older films where real visual effects were used rather than CGI. Films like the original Alien films, Predator, Hellraiser, The Thing, The Fly etc, films with real sets and props - much more pleasing to my eye than CGI up the ying yang.
I don't mind CGI when drawing out huge detailed landscapes or objects, like a huge spaceship flying through space, but characters and creatures often look a bit crap to me, often these days because they look just a bit too slick and high-res, but the lighting and the way they fit in the frame will obviously never match something that was really there on the set.
When I look at a film like the recent prequel to The Thing, I often wonder what they were thinking when they made it; that whole film was planned to be done with real visual effects, men in suits and sculpted latex, fake blood etc, but at the last minute they decided to use CGI to paint over basic model approximations of the creatures. They claimed they thought classic visual effects wouldn't "sell" to the modern audience and the film would suffer financially. Maybe they're right, but I still think they'd have made a better film for it.
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
I don't mind CGI when drawing out huge detailed landscapes or objects, like a huge spaceship flying through space, but characters and creatures often look a bit crap to me, often these days because they look just a bit too slick and high-res, but the lighting and the way they fit in the frame will obviously never match something that was really there on the set.
When I look at a film like the recent prequel to The Thing, I often wonder what they were thinking when they made it; that whole film was planned to be done with real visual effects, men in suits and sculpted latex, fake blood etc, but at the last minute they decided to use CGI to paint over basic model approximations of the creatures. They claimed they thought classic visual effects wouldn't "sell" to the modern audience and the film would suffer financially. Maybe they're right, but I still think they'd have made a better film for it.
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
t. Mastodon2 said:
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
Technology (both in how movies are made and how they are watched) has moved on since the early Alien movies. Watch aliens on a modern TV and the cardboard sets and puppet aliens are disappointingly obvious.Mastodon2 said:
I know it's an era we can never go back to, but I vastly prefer older films where real visual effects were used rather than CGI. Films like the original Alien films, Predator, Hellraiser, The Thing, The Fly etc, films with real sets and props - much more pleasing to my eye than CGI up the ying yang.
I don't mind CGI when drawing out huge detailed landscapes or objects, like a huge spaceship flying through space, but characters and creatures often look a bit crap to me, often these days because they look just a bit too slick and high-res, but the lighting and the way they fit in the frame will obviously never match something that was really there on the set.
When I look at a film like the recent prequel to The Thing, I often wonder what they were thinking when they made it; that whole film was planned to be done with real visual effects, men in suits and sculpted latex, fake blood etc, but at the last minute they decided to use CGI to paint over basic model approximations of the creatures. They claimed they thought classic visual effects wouldn't "sell" to the modern audience and the film would suffer financially. Maybe they're right, but I still think they'd have made a better film for it.
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
Watch this.I don't mind CGI when drawing out huge detailed landscapes or objects, like a huge spaceship flying through space, but characters and creatures often look a bit crap to me, often these days because they look just a bit too slick and high-res, but the lighting and the way they fit in the frame will obviously never match something that was really there on the set.
When I look at a film like the recent prequel to The Thing, I often wonder what they were thinking when they made it; that whole film was planned to be done with real visual effects, men in suits and sculpted latex, fake blood etc, but at the last minute they decided to use CGI to paint over basic model approximations of the creatures. They claimed they thought classic visual effects wouldn't "sell" to the modern audience and the film would suffer financially. Maybe they're right, but I still think they'd have made a better film for it.
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
https://youtu.be/dMCJVxnuGPI?list=PLSdZUSAfdmGbq2l...
Georg also has several other vids on Rob Bottin, Stan Wilson, and another two on the Thing I think
popeyewhite said:
Mastodon2 said:
Part of the problem with Prometheus and Covenant is the combination of readily-available CGI and budget that has allowed Scott to try and tell a story far grander than it needs to be. The claustrophobia aspect that made the Aliens franchise so good (an aspect recognised by the people who developed Alien: Isolation) has been completely lost.
Technology (both in how movies are made and how they are watched) has moved on since the early Alien movies. Watch aliens on a modern TV and the cardboard sets and puppet aliens are disappointingly obvious.I can easily put up with dated effects if the storyline and characterisation is good. it seems that now, too many films have gone in a polar opposite direction, great to look at, but virtually zero substance.
chris watton said:
I honestly do not mind so much. I have watched the original two on BR and a 55" OLED TV, and I found them more enjoyable still than Prometheus.
I can easily put up with dated effects if the storyline and characterisation is good. it seems that now, too many films have gone in a polar opposite direction, great to look at, but virtually zero substance.
I think they still stand up very well, the only issue with ALien being at times it can look like a leggy basketball player. But the shots are mostly so good it doesn't. I don't think ALiens has been bettered really, Alien³ was crappy. I can easily put up with dated effects if the storyline and characterisation is good. it seems that now, too many films have gone in a polar opposite direction, great to look at, but virtually zero substance.
chris watton said:
I can easily put up with dated effects if the storyline and characterisation is good. it seems that now, too many films have gone in a polar opposite direction, great to look at, but virtually zero substance.
This defines a great many things about the current world we live in IMHO.
youngsyr said:
popeyewhite said:
The sets in Aliens are terrible. DO NOT watch on an HDTV 
What format were you watching it on? DVD?Wasn't it originally filmed in 4k and shown in that format in the cinema? Seems odd to me that it would look fake on an HDTV when it didn't on a cinema screen?
popeyewhite said:
The sets in Aliens are terrible. DO NOT watch on an HDTV
I have the blu-ray version and watch on a 65 inch HDTV - the sets and SFX hold up pretty well for the most part. The only bit that really looks dated and fake is when the dropship flies towards the atmosphere processor near the end of the movie.
I've watched ALiens at least once on my big telly I think, I don't know it's size, it's massive and I don't think it's HD, after looking in the shops for millennia the difference between HD and non seemed negligible.
I don't recall thinking it looked any worse than ten years ago, but I would wanna watch again for judgement.
I don't recall thinking it looked any worse than ten years ago, but I would wanna watch again for judgement.
Moonhawk said:
..The only bit that really looks dated and fake is when the dropship flies towards the atmosphere processor near the end of the movie.
The Aliens in the airducts? In one scene you see an (obvious puppet) alien scrabbling down a tunnel without even touching the walls. Apparently this scene was done by suspending a puppet on a rope down a vertical shaft and filming as they lowered it. A terrific movie though.popeyewhite said:
The Aliens in the airducts? In one scene you see an (obvious puppet) alien scrabbling down a tunnel without even touching the walls. Apparently this scene was done by suspending a puppet on a rope down a vertical shaft and filming as they lowered it. A terrific movie though.
When the first drop ship blows up it reminds me of a scene from Thunderbirds. A terrific movie though.regards Covenant, I thought it was a great movie....but:-
at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
slartibartfast said:
regards Covenant, I thought it was a great movie....but:-
at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
I like you am in the minority that enjoyed Covenant, I can't wait to see if the full film on dvd and hopefully the extras explain a few things? I know the book ended slightly different...at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
In the film, he sends out a situation report under the guise of "Walter". Instead of regurgitating two small Facehugger embryos and placing them in the embryo storage tray, David opens the tray to find three tiny Xenomorph Eggs that he had placed there some time previously.
Mcphisto said:
slartibartfast said:
regards Covenant, I thought it was a great movie....but:-
at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
I like you am in the minority that enjoyed Covenant, I can't wait to see if the full film on dvd and hopefully the extras explain a few things? I know the book ended slightly different...at the end where David regurgitates those eggs,
A: how did mother not detect a non human life form (face hugger embryo's swallowed by David) on board when she did with the Alien?
B:how did David know to create the face hugger embryo's in exactly the right size containers to fit in the incubators with the human embryo's? he'd not been on that ship before
In the film, he sends out a situation report under the guise of "Walter". Instead of regurgitating two small Facehugger embryos and placing them in the embryo storage tray, David opens the tray to find three tiny Xenomorph Eggs that he had placed there some time previously.
Since watching Alien in bluray I'm now at the point where it HAS to be HD or not at all.
Watched Covenant last night.
I thought it was much better than Prometheus, but still had huge issues.
Quick development of the alien
I'm still confused as to the Space Jockey stuff. The one in Alien was huge compared to the ones in covenant (if that's who they're supposed to be)
Stupid decisions by the crew again
No real sense of hunter vs hunted
Switch of Walter and David was obvious from the moment they met him
Why did he let them kill the alien at the end?
The main thing for me though is making David the creator. love or hate the AvP stuff it makes those films, books and comics make no sense unless David also invents time travel. Maybe that's what happens in the next film? Lol.
I feel they'd have been better served having David discover their home world and use them as tool to wipe out humanity.
I thought it was much better than Prometheus, but still had huge issues.
Quick development of the alien
I'm still confused as to the Space Jockey stuff. The one in Alien was huge compared to the ones in covenant (if that's who they're supposed to be)
Stupid decisions by the crew again
No real sense of hunter vs hunted
Switch of Walter and David was obvious from the moment they met him
Why did he let them kill the alien at the end?
The main thing for me though is making David the creator. love or hate the AvP stuff it makes those films, books and comics make no sense unless David also invents time travel. Maybe that's what happens in the next film? Lol.
I feel they'd have been better served having David discover their home world and use them as tool to wipe out humanity.
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