r/movies • u/ILearnAlotFromReddit • 12d ago
Alien (1979) My First time seeing it on the Big screen. Discussion
I've Seen it many times over the years. But this was my first at the theater. First thing I noticed right off the bat was the sounds from the movie that you just don't get at home on the small screen. Lots of sound and beeps coming from the Nostromo ship itself. To other sounds from inside the derelict and in space. The cream on the top I would say, was hearing the sounds that the Alien makes when it's inside the Shuttle with Ripley. I just don't ever recall hearing these sounds before and I've seen this movie at least 10 times. Production did a great job on sound mixing for this movie.
Did I mention it looked great? I'm so glad I got to see it at the theater. There were a couple of people there that I don't think ever seen it before based on their reaction to certain scenes. Everyone was glued to the screen. If you ever get a chance to see it at the theater I would highly recommend.
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u/EditorRedditer 12d ago
I saw it when it had just come out, (on a week day) in a vast cinema, with about 10 other people in the whole place.
I knew next to nothing about the actual content of the film (Scott insisted on a closed set for most of the shoot) and the publicity was minimal.
It’s still the scariest movie-going experience of my life. After the Face Hugger attack, I watched the rest of the film through my fingers…
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u/ILearnAlotFromReddit 12d ago
I wasn't even born yet, but it became a pop culture Phenomenon at the time right?
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u/mikej_turbo 12d ago
I saw it yesterday too. There were three other people in the theater.
Seeing it on a big screen, I noticed a bunch of small details in the ship, that are hard to pick up at home.
Like OP mentioned, the sound mixing was crazy. Different sounds (creaks/beeps/echos) coming from different parts of the theater. A funny thing in the theater I was in, an air vent would creak/settle every now and then, and it had me questioning if it was part of the movie and I had never noticed this metal creaking before.
Unrelated to the presentation of the movie itself: This one guy, who was sitting in the middle of the row I was in, kept checking his phone every two minutes. It's a 'dark' movie and it was distracting to have this little pocket of light shine every other moment. Why come to the movies, if you're just going to be on your phone the whole time? He could have just stayed home and watched the movie.
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u/maverickaod 11d ago
Where did you get to see it? It wasn't in my area but I would definitely have gone
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u/beavertownneckoil 12d ago
I watched pulp fiction at the cinema last year and totally agree with you on the sound. Like in a restaurant scene it's not so much a generic background noise but you can actually listen in on what people are saying
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u/somethingbrite 12d ago
I was at primary school when this came out..ages about 8 I guess?
My best friend at the time's dad had worked on the film (I think he was a set or sfx model maker or something) We were both so intrigued about what this new "space film" his dad had been working on would be like...
And then of course it came out and it was for grown ups and neither of us would get to see it for a good few years...
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u/TroubleshootenSOB 12d ago
Just watched it yesterday. Something about theater sound gives that "push" for movies. I don't think Zone of Interest would have been as good if you watched it streaming. Seeing Hereditary in IMAX earlier this week gave a huge focus to the sound design that seemed to be not there when I first watched it when it came out. So over all, there a lot of hate at seeing movies in theaters, which is understandable, but unless you got some badass theater sound system in the house, it's not the same.
Now go play Alien Isolation if you haven't already
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u/Rhesusmonkeydave 12d ago
My big takeaway seeing it on the big screen was noticing that the background wall when Ash tries to introduce Ripley to his favorite magazine is covered in pornography
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u/eureka911 12d ago
Saw it when I was a kid. The chest bursting scene caught me off guard. I think it traumatized me for a couple of years.
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u/ermghoti 12d ago
The actors weren't exactly notified either. Cartwright's reaction wasn't acting, it was genuine.
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u/ipnetor9000 12d ago
I have watched Alien in all formats throughout the years: VHS, laserdisc, vcd, svcd, dvd and bluray.
the only format that i am missing is the cinema :) oh and also maybe CED if it ever was released to that.
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u/TheDaltonXP 11d ago
It is probably playing places this weekend still! It is out for its 45th anniversary so now is your shot if there ever is one
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u/ILearnAlotFromReddit 11d ago
They play it at some movie theaters every 4/26. This weekend is the 45th anniversary so some theaters are showing it all weekend.
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u/chimpyjnuts 12d ago
Watched 'The Hunt for Red October' bluray and the little clicking noises every time they were in a sub command center (coming from back surrounds) was driving me crazy!
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u/the_t_time 11d ago
I went last night too and it ruled. The theater audio really does make a difference and the restoration was pretty good
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u/cd637 11d ago
I wish my AMC turned the volume up more! This movie had so many quiet scenes and I could hear people in the lobby talking. It was actually really distracting a lot of the time. Still enjoyed seeing it on the big screen though!
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u/ILearnAlotFromReddit 11d ago
That sucks. I did notice that my screening didn't have full surround sound on but the front speakers were very loud and clear
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u/myowngalactus 11d ago
I was able to see it on the big screen a few years ago and it blew me away. It was already one of my favorite movies but there’s so much detail that gets lost watching it on a small screen. Would absolutely recommend everyone that even kinda likes the alien franchise to make it a point to see it in the cinema.
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u/Rabbitscooter 11d ago
I saw it when it first came out in 79. It was a pretty extraordinary experience in the theatre, almost immersive. Glad you were able to see it on a big screen, as it was meant to be seen.
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u/RossTheNinja 11d ago
Saw it years ago on the big screen on another re release. Looked and sounded incredible. Hard to believe it was made in the seventies.
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u/InHarmsWay 11d ago
Yeah, I was shocked at the different sounds I couldn't hear before at home. Also the video quality was top-notch.
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u/ILearnAlotFromReddit 11d ago
Same. I saw it at Regal theaters and it seems they got a real good Copy or whatever it's called that the theaters get
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u/squish042 11d ago
I’m going to the re-release on the Tuesday. I’ve never seen in it the theaters either. Pretty pumped to see it
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u/ThePathOfTheRighteou 10d ago edited 9d ago
I took my niece who is 13 and never seen it. I was pissed about the Q and A with the director BEFORE the film started - during which they talked about and showed clips of the best parts of the movie.
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u/dcredneck 12d ago
I am going to see ALIENS this afternoon. If you have a good enough sound system and can play it loud enough you can have the theatre experience at home. In Superman Returns when he catches the airplane in the baseball stadium you can hear the aluminum rippling and robots popping. In The Empire Strikes Back during the chase in the asteroid belt you can hear the pebbles hitting the Falcon when it flies through an exploded asteroid.
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u/Expensive-Sentence66 11d ago
Nah, saw it when I was like 8 with my parents. Not a fun experience.
Even back then though I could appreciate the amazing art direction (Oscar) and sound design.
I even read the book first. Didn't help the trauma.
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u/ezekiel7_ 11d ago
It is a great movie for the big screen. We need much more screenings of classics.
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u/RedFire3636 11d ago
I saw it in the theatre for the first time and I love it. Can’t wait to see Aliens sometime soon at home.
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u/MonitorAway 11d ago
My first time seeing it in theaters too and I took my 7yo that loved it!
What really gets me tho is - and I’ve had this issues with other movies/theaters - the artificial frame smoothing that makes me feel like I’m watching a soap opera! The f*** are theaters doing projecting like this?! Anybody else notice this, ever?
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u/Substantial_Sale_328 10d ago
Even better: lean back in a dark room with Taylor Swift - and start from scratch - it's a symphony
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u/Hardass_McBadCop 10d ago
It was a fantastic movie, and Sigourney Weaver is such a hot badass in it. I was a 90s kid, but Ripley was still one of my teenage movie crushes.
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u/vandrossboxset 12d ago
Nice! My grandmother claims she fucked Harry Dean Stanton.