penismightier

MTHaslett said:

Reading my posts, I hope I was civil. I think it's good to hear more about where you're coming from to better understand your review, Negative1. Thanks.

I am definitely of the opinion that the first movies (Star Wars and ROTLA) got it right. Period. And anything that comes along later and contradicts it is sub-par work. Even as much as I enjoy Empire Strikes Back, I can't give it my whole heart because it fundamentally contradicts Star Wars (plus it doesn't even end). So I am an eager fan-edit devotee when someone comes along with my bias.

 

The unholy edition of TLC is definitely for fans of ROTLA who want more of that flavor.

But Empire didn't contradict Star Wars, it elaborated on it. A big part of Star Wars was the dedication and faith Luke needed to win against the Empire. It wasn't until the end when he turned off his computer and used his heart and instincts that he won. Empire was the logical continuation -- it was a way of saying: "Ok, you're on the right path, but you're going to need to go much farther and make a lot more sacrifices before things REALLY change." So all the plot threads from the first continue on their unavoidable course -- Han is caught, the Empire, ya know, strikes back, etc. Luke continues his training to become the man he set out to be in the first one ("I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi knight like my father"). It's absolutely an extension of the first one, and not a contradiction.

I have a couple small suggestions that may be completely lame.

1. I have a .pdf version of the wildly out-of-print Colonial Marines Technical Guide. Maybe that could be a DVD-Rom feature, ya know, cut into a slideshow with music from the film behind it.

2. There are a bunch of small "throwaway" pieces on the films that, as far as I'm aware, have never been collected. Sort of glimpses into the hype and response to the films. HBO First Look did pieces on Aliens, Alien: Resurrection, and AvP (boo). The Aliens one was floating around youtube for a little while, but got pulled and I haven't seen it since. I'm sure with a little looking one of us can dig it up again. It wasn't particularly jaw-dropping but had some interesting, presumably exclusive, interviews with the cast. There are also the Ebert and Siskel/Roeper bits on the films, which give an interesting look at the contemporary responses to them.

Aliens: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_7C2_dsMpw&feature=related Siskel - "I'll admire it only at this level: good art direction." (the audio is pretty messed up on this.)

Alien 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2NrZKwDjY&feature=related Ebert - "In some ways the most interesting movie."

Resurrection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS_RmuOTy9w Ebert - "The Alien series has finally run out of steam."

3. There's some clips on youtube of isolated music tracks from the Alien 3 video game. This might not be of much interest to some of you, but I remember playing that game all the time and the music is kind of an interesting thing. I'm not exactly sure how to go about it, but maybe someone could even rip the opening titles of the game, which were like an 8-bit recreation of the first five minutes of Alien 3. This is only really tangentially related to the movie, so I don't know how y'all will feel about it, but just an idea.

Also, there was a cancelled PS2 game called "Colonial Marines" (the upcoming PS3 one is unrelated). There's information floating on the web about it, and a set of stills and even a beta demo video on youtube.

AND (please don't kill me for focusing on video game nonsense and youtube videos, but it's a start) there's this great video on the internet of all the Alien-related video games back to back. It's a real cool look at how the franchise has changed (from stay alive to shoot em up) and how the look of the creatures has changed and how the technology has changed and blah blah blah

Isolated music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oC6Ts9UcB0&feature=related

Colonial Marine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIeLGifENbI

Games back to back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIF76RXEp50

4. God, more youtube. But here's a wonderful 1979 commercial for that infamous 18 inch Kenner Alien. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKSv85mJEmY And one for the much more recent AvP toys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS13huJGCHI&feature=related

Anyway, that's my suggestions. Nothing to anchor the installment, but just a few ideas to get the ball rolling. These seem to all have in common is the cultural legacy of the series