Episode Summary: Alien and Predator are two films that get mentioned in the same breath frequently. There are video games and the eventual fan-craved AvP series. At surface level, it seems that the only thing linking these two films are the extraterrestrials. There is a deeper thought there. In the estimation of the Movie Wars crew, what really links this film is a proliferation in how aliens are portrayed in films. Alien sci-fi really focused on the mystery of aliens. Maybe they probe you. Maybe they want to take over the earth. Nobody knows. Alien set a new precedent that whatever is out there is terrifying and violent. Predator takes on that idea in a more commercial way later on. Ridley Scott’s alien is vulgar, disgusting, morbid, and violent. Its journey is filled with sexual metaphors. Randos for this episode include a big-time actor who wore the first(and very ugly) Predator suit, the inspiration for the Alien look, an actor that required an insurance policy to protect the other actors and directorial decisions that led to some of the most iconic scenes in film history.
Movie Wars Scorecard:
Best Top Bill Cast
Best Supporting Cast
Best Interpretation of Extra-Terrestrials
Best Kills
Best possible TV series
Best Music
Worst Creature Body Odor
Best Weapons
Who’s uglier?
Which creature died the best death?
Which movie does your wife hate more?
Film Summaries
Alien: In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Producer:
David Giler, Gordon Carroll, Walter Hill
Writer:
Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Release Date (Theaters):
May 25, 1979 Wide
Release Date (Streaming):
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA):
$81.1M
Runtime:
1h 57m
Production Co:
Twentieth Century Fox, Brandywine Productions
-Summary and info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alien)
Predator: Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a soldier of fortune, is hired by the U.S. government to secretly rescue a group of politicians trapped in Guatemala. But when Dutch and his team, which includes weapons expert Blain (Jesse Ventura) and CIA agent George (Carl Weathers), land in Central America, something is gravely wrong. After finding a string of dead bodies, the crew discovers they are being hunted by a brutal creature with superhuman strength and the ability to disappear into its surroundings.
Director:
John McTiernan
Producer:
Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, John Davis
Writer:
Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Release Date (Streaming):
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA):
$54.4M
Runtime:
1h 47m
Production Co:
American Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
-Summary and info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/predator)
Transcripts
Episode Summary: Alien and Predator are two films that get mentioned in the same breath frequently. There are video games and the eventual fan-craved AvP series. At surface level, it seems that the only thing linking these two films are the extraterrestrials. There is a deeper thought there. In the estimation of the Movie Wars crew, what really links this film is a proliferation in how aliens are portrayed in films. Alien sci-fi really focused on the mystery of aliens. Maybe they probe you. Maybe they want to take over the earth. Nobody knows. Alien set a new precedent that whatever is out there is terrifying and violent. Predator takes on that idea in a more commercial way later on. Ridley Scott’s alien is vulgar, disgusting, morbid, and violent. Its journey is filled with sexual metaphors. Randos for this episode include a big-time actor who wore the first(and very ugly) Predator suit, the inspiration for the Alien look, an actor that required an insurance policy to protect the other actors and directorial decisions that led to some of the most iconic scenes in film history.
Movie Wars Scorecard:
Best Top Bill Cast
Best Supporting Cast
Best Interpretation of Extra-Terrestrials
Best Kills
Best possible TV series
Best Music
Worst Creature Body Odor
Best Weapons
Who’s uglier?
Which creature died the best death?
Which movie does your wife hate more?
Film Summaries
Alien: In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel. The terror begins when the crew encounters a nest of eggs inside the alien ship. An organism from inside an egg leaps out and attaches itself to one of the crew, causing him to fall into a coma.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Producer:
David Giler, Gordon Carroll, Walter Hill
Writer:
Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Release Date (Theaters):
,:
Release Date (Streaming):
,:
Box Office (Gross USA):
$81.1M
Runtime:
1h 57m
Production Co:
Twentieth Century Fox, Brandywine Productions
-Summary and info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alien)
Predator: Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a soldier of fortune, is hired by the U.S. government to secretly rescue a group of politicians trapped in Guatemala. But when Dutch and his team, which includes weapons expert Blain (Jesse Ventura) and CIA agent George (Carl Weathers), land in Central America, something is gravely wrong. After finding a string of dead bodies, the crew discovers they are being hunted by a brutal creature with superhuman strength and the ability to disappear into its surroundings.
Director:
John McTiernan
Producer:
Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, John Davis
Writer:
Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Release Date (Streaming):
,:
Box Office (Gross USA):
$54.4M
Runtime:
1h 47m
Production Co:
American Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
-Summary and info courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/predator)
