8. Technical problems (Movies: Alien)
Description
This article is from the Alien Movies FAQ, by Darryll Hobsonand Eelko de Vos E.W.C.deVos@TWI.TUDelft.NL with numerous contributions by others.
8. Technical problems (Movies: Alien)
"ALIEN"
- The "blurb" on the back of the movie box is wrong. "...the crew of
a commercial spaceship make an unscheduled landing on a barren and
desolate planet for engine repairs." They did not land on the planet
to make engine repairs, rather to investigate the distress beacon.
- In the opening scene the camera pans over interior of the
Nostromo's bridge and ends with a view on the visor of a helmet.
Then we see shots alternated between the helmet and the monitor
(readout on the monitor is reflected in the helmet's visor). In
the first view on the monitor you can see the screen and some keys
on the console. In the second view on the monitor, a plastic
coffee cup has appeared to the right of the monitor.
UPDATE!
This is not an error! After reviewing the movie several hundreds of
times, it has been concluded that this was not an error. There is an
explanation for this:
In the opening shot of the bridge, we see two helmets lying on the
bridge. The shot where alternating shots are what the TWO helmets
'see' when TWO DIFFERENT monitors come to life. Watch the backgrounds
of the helmets, and watch the monitors intensely: you will notice that
we see first helmet one, and it's view (monitor one) then helmet two,
and it's view too. Then, when the monitors come to life, the shots
alternate between helmet one and it's view and helmet two and it's
view.
This can be considered as somewhat of an artistic view on a
conversation between two subsystems of the hardware of Mother, the
Nostromo.
- When Kane looks around down in the derelict ship, the camera pans
around and we see the eggs from Kane's point of view. On the left,
there is an egg which has some kind of 'box' behind it, assumingly
left behind by someone of the props division. It's appearance is quite
'human', not anything like the alien's interior.
- When the facehugger is cut and starts bleeding, Dallas and the rest of
the crew run down and see a hole in the ceiling. It consists of two
separate holes, with some 'bridge' inbetween. They go down one level
more, and then there is a quick shot of everyone entering the deck,
where we see the ceiling quite intact, just a little affected by the
acid. Then we see Dallas poke into the hole with Brett's pen. This
hole is "exactly" the same one as one deck up: two holes separated
by a 'bridge'.
"ALIENS"
- During the inquistion, Ripley cries out:
"Kane... Kane said he saw thousands of eggs in there..."
This cannot be. When Kane was lowered into the ship, we get to hear and see
everything he says and does. He does not mention any amount of eggs. He
doesn't even call it eggs, he calls it leathery objects. Then he is attacked
and he slips into the coma. When he wakes up, he cannot remember anything
about the planet. So Ripley is making a statement about something she
could not possibly have heard from Kane. Perhaps she was confused with
something Dallas or Lambert said. (They could've gotten down too to get
Kane after he was attacked.)
- After the Sulaco arrives at LV-426, a computer screen displays the
last names and first initials of each of the crew members. Hudson
isn't on the list.
- There seems to be a mysteriously self-reparing windshield as the
APC goes down the passage with the rescued marines.
(not confirmed yet)
- Edited out of the Special Edition:
When Ripley asks: "Where'd you want it?" (in the powerloader)
the bottom of the back-projection screen was visible. For the
special edition, Cameron must've re-scanned the film and clipped
it off.
- During the marines' initial confrontation with the aliens (while
Ripley and Gorman are monitoring the situation from the APC), there is
a scene where Ripley tells Gorman to pull his men out. The first time
you see Ripley in this 20 second clip she is wearing a audio headset.
The frame flicks to Gorman who looks unhappy, and flicks back to an
irate Ripley with NO HEADSET. The scene flicks back to Gorman who
loses his temper, and then back to Ripley who talks into the Headset
which has reappeared. (Gorman subsequently knocks the headset off.)
- When Frost falls down the stairwell on fire, if you look closely at
the last couple of frames before the camera angle changes you can see
a boot come out from the bottom left corner. It shows up quite nicely
in front of the fire. It looks to be more of a silhouette. It is
definitely not a character's boot, nor is it Frost's boot that may
have popped off: it looks like someone is about to climb down to Frost,
stepping over the fence on a lower deck.
This is in both the theatrical and boxed set version.
- Adding up the estimated time that Bishop makes (for getting the drop
ship down to the planet) gives a total of 180 minutes (3 hours),
however the fusion reactor is not going to blow up for another 4
hours. Ripley says "It's going to be close..." but they actually
have a full hour to clear the base. [not NECESARRILY a technical
problem, but it could be]
- In the scene in the dropship where Ripley is preparing to rescue
Newt; she's arming herself, there is an editing error. Camera angle 1
(close up of the weapons rack) Ripley grabs a flame thrower and then
from angle 2 (close up of the table) she puts down a pulse rifle.
Next she grabs a pulse rifle but puts down a flame unit. This is in
the theatrical version, but is corrected in the boxed set.
- When Bishop gets it from the mother alien, it is said that you can see
the string pulling the stinger through the dummy.
- In the LD version of aliens, during those split-seconds the camera
is NOT on the queen during the fight between Ripey and her, pay
attention to Bishop. In one shot, you can clearly see the hole that
Lance Henriksen is standing in (to hide the other half of his body) to
give the effect of being ripped in two. This is when he reaches out to
grab Newt who is being sucked into the loading bay.
- In the battle scene between Ripley and the mother alien where Ripley
is in the loader, we see the alien pull the loader into the airlock
when Ripley tries to drop it. The loader is turned upside down and
the cone on top with the spinning yellow caution light is broken when
it slams into the floor. In the next scene, however, we see the
loader lying on the floor of the airlock with the yellow cone still in
one piece. Also, the sharp end of the alien tails seems to be
missing, as if it broke off, but the broken part isn't on the airlock
floor.
- When the queen falls out of the Sulaco you can see the "matte hole"
surrounding her in the outside shot. (It is not square as the ones in
"STAR WARS".) (This is only on apparent on TV/video/laserdisc.)
- The Pulse rifles are using "standard armor piercing explosive tip,
caseless" [Gorman, Aliens] and yet when one is fired, you see shells
flying out of it if you look carefully.
"ALIEN^3"
- Many instances where you can see the "outline" created by the blue
screening technique.
- The "furnace" that Ripley falls into at the end is WAY off scale, it
was just too big!
- The Cryo capsules seen in the escape pod in "ALIEN^3" are the same
design as those seen in "ALIEN" which is a DIFFERENT design than the
capsules seen in the Sulaco in "ALIENS".
- The ship we see is a ship from Weyland Yutani. Why does a ship from Weyland
Yutani follows and goes to the rescue of a military vessel? It seemed more
logical to have a military ship coming in searching for the survivors of
the military vessel Sulaco.
"ALIEN-RESURRECTION"
- In many scenes you can see quite good the aliens are added by CGI.
- The aliens swim very quickly but don't seem to move a muscle while doing
it, but just sway their bodies a bit.
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