Why Alienâs NOSTROMO Feels Like An Old Bomber Plane | Making Alien
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One of the most unique aspects of Alienâs production design is all of the mechanical analog clutter filling the Nostromoâs interior. And yet, thereâs this overwhelming sense that everything your looking at is totally real, functional, and well-used. Well, thatâs because it isâŠ
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This video essay was written, edited, and narrated by Tyler Knudsen.
Sources:
Tons of great resources for Alien: cinephiliabeyond.org/alien-40...
(Rinzler 132) The Making of Alien by J.W. Rinzler
(Cinefantastique V09) Making Alien - Cinefantastique V09
(Alien Commentary) Alien Blu-ray Commentary
(ASC Scott) American Cinematographer - The Filming of Alien - bit.ly/39jUhTu
(Space Truckinâ) Space Truckinâ - the Nostromo - Alien Series - bit.ly/3Qb6XfU
(Mediascene #35) Mediascene Issue #35
(Martin for Starlog) Starlog Magazine Issue 026
(ASC Vanlint) American Cinematographer - Alien and Its Photographic Challenges - bit.ly/3tw6nj0
(Gigerâs Alien) âą Giger's Alien - 1979 D...
(The Beast Within) bit.ly/3f6ri87
(Nathan) Alien Vault: The Definitive Story Behind the Film by Ian Nathan
(Rolling Stone) Kubrick interview by Tim Cahill - www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/do...
Music
Artlist.io - ZĂĄbava
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Awesome content with lots I hadnât seen or heard before from my all time favourite movie. Whenâs the next episode please..?
Alien isn't available on Disney plus in Canada
Only the 2003 movie Alien vs Predator
@@trentdabs5245 it most certainly *is* available on Disney+ in Canada. Just checked it myself after seeing your comment. What kind of access do you have on your Disney+ account?
VPN SCAM ad = Instant thumb down.
Please stop scamming people.
Sponsorblock is way better, also free!
"Why rely on a movie crew to design a chair, when you and just use a chair that was designed by a chair designer who has devoted their entire life to designing chairs." Wise words. Very wise.
Words of wisdom, Lloyd. Words of wisdom.
đ« AH! ...please allow me to answer that question for you...
Q: WHY rely on a MOVIE CREW to design a chair for you, when you can just use a chair that was designed by a chair designer etc...?
A: One word...
UNIONS!
I went to the Stanley Kubrick exhibition in London and one of the most interesting parts was explaining that when it came to designing the sets for both 2001 and A Clockwork Orange, Stanley reached out to already established furniture makers and sculptures
Kubrick uses misery to achieve greatness, the only way he knows how to direct
Although, you do have to be careful that you don't accidentally use something that is already a cliche in real life and pulls the audience out of the movie setting.
I was a professional mariner for over 20 years. Some of the things I love so much about Alien, is that they got the dynamic between the engineers and officers so right in their dialog and actions. Especially when Ripley comes down to see what damage and how long for repairs. The set design and dressing seemed very real to me as well. Very few movies get these kinds of things right, but Alien does.
I havenât been at it as long as you, but I love Alien for the exact same reason. Dallas, the young, cool Captain, Ripley, the confident upstart First Mate, Kane, the tenured and senile Second Mate, and Lambert, the nervous, green Third Mate. I love how comfortable they all seem with each other. Also, I love how Parker and Brett first ask Ripley about the bonus situation confidently, and bring it up to the Captain in the dining room carefully and quietly. Feels like a real blue collar crew, exactly what Dan OâBannon was going for!
I have always enjoyed the dynamic among the crew for much the same reason, although my background is commercial aviation. Life and work aboard Nostromo lands pretty squarely in the overlap between those two fields, I would say, much more so than "truckers in space."
@@thomas1910 Great points. Someone sure knew what they were doing - Keen observers of working relationships between people stuck together for long periods in small spaces.
@@gilbertponder5307 I agree that "truckers in space" isn't totally accurate, but that is probably more relatable to more people. I would say "space freighters," but that's because I worked on freight ships. Either way, it makes me smile every time I see that dynamic playing out so familiarly on the screen.
I've also thought it was interesting how they had Ripley (correctly) trying to keep Dallas from bringing Kane back onto the ship by pulling rank as acting Captain, since Dallas was technically not onboard. That's also not something you often see, not unless the organizational rift is a central plot point, like movies about mutinies.
When I first saw Alien, the Nostromo looked like a cross between an air force bomber and a submarine. It totally revolutionised the idea of a spaceship, because up until then, the spaceship interiors most people were familiar with was Star Trek which looked too clean and sterile an environment for a group of people supposedly inhabiting for years on end.
Even more so, the uber clean atmosphere of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The look of Alien was influenced by Star Wars, and Dan OâBannonâs earlier movie Dark Star, as well as the artwork in comics magazine Heavy Metal by French artist Moebius (who designed storyboards for Alien).
Star Wars' Millenium Falcon had this look two years prior, so it wasn't quite brand new. 2001 was super clean a la Star Trek. Looking at footage from real spacecraft like the Apollo and Space Shuttle it's kind of a mix. They start out super clean at the start of a mission, but they are cluttered up quickly once the astronauts have been working in the tight cabins for a few hours and various equipment gets moved around. There are very few large, blank spaces on the walls like we see in Star Trek.
@@RCAvhstape The ISS is just clutter everywhere.
The Enterprise is a Navy Ship. So you would expect it to be clean and orderly. The Nostromo is a merchant ship and is expect to haul stuff and not look pretty.
It's sort of gratifying to know that the Nostromo felt real because most of it was real stuff.
I always loved that the set of Alien felt so realistic and not too far fetched. Like you could believe that we might have spacecraft that look like that someday. I never knew itâs because it was basically real aircraft parts.
Not just someday. Look up the cockpit of the space shuttle. It has a very similar feeling to the cockpit of the Nostromo.
It did help that the USA has such a sprawling military-industrial complex and all of that glorious discarded techno-junk, which can be re-used for lots of things.
Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) is another manifestation of this availability of high-tech waste.
@@dj1NM3 In an alternative timeline, Russia re-used its stockpiled military junk to make military sci-fi movies instead of invading Ukraine with it.
Concerning this videoâs sponsor (Atlas VPN), my Disney+ wonât work with my vpn on
@@pancakelens75 Why are you comments here? No one is going to see that if you want to share it other than the few super nerds and occasional random who get lost here.
The sets for Alien are one of the most atmospheric that filmmakers ever did!
And then Scott did it again in 1982 with Blade Runner.
@@jblackjack exactly!
Pure perfection
Along with the realness of the set design, I LOVE all the stickers and masking tape anywhere, with tags and notes. That's such a lovely realistic touch. Another one I never realized until I saw Alien in theaters, during a rerelease, was that in Mother's room *every single light* has a label beneath it, marking its function. That's an insane attention to detail.
Great video. It is hard to overstate what an impact the depictions crew life aboard Nostromo had on me as a teenager. I know that sounds rather silly, but to me it is just a testament to the work done by everyone on this film to bring forth something 'real' as the backdrop of the story, and the effect for me was "That's a job I can see myself enjoying" - minus the whole part about being slaughtered by an alien, of course.
đ
Pros: Great benefits and perks.
Cons: crew expendable
What really amazes me is that we can still analyze and dissect and discuss this move all these years later and never get tired of it, Just shows what an incredible work of art it is.
When this movie came out on VHS I was probably about 10 years old. I wanted to watch it so badly, but my parents werenât sure. So they rented it and watched it one night after I was put in bed. At one point I snuck out of my room to peek at the screen, and I caught a glimpse of something terrifying happening (must have been one of the alien attacks on the crew, I remember it was loud and violent), and my parents immediately shooed me out, back to my room.
The next day, the verdict was in: there was no way they were going to let me watch that movie. I didnât get to see it until years later when I was in high school.
Thatâs too bad, my dad showed me this movie when I was around 7-8, and since then Alien & Aliens have been some of my favorite movies of all time. I think I wouldnât have a problem showing them to my kids.
That was smart move from your parents, talking here from a kid PoV where i was exposed to different kind of movies without parental control and many left scars on my fragile youngling soul.
@@UnityAgainstJewishEvil My nephew was still too scared to watch Brave at age 8.
Something like this would have given him nightmares for years.
You had good parents.
Do you think your parents made the correct decision?
I think Alien was the best Sci-Fi film set ever done. The crowded and untidy atmosphere with what appears to be extra equipment added over years is almost mimicked when one looks at the interior of the ISS 44 years later.
Terminator 2?
As a side note - the switches and switch guard used to blow the Pod hatch in 2001 are actually some kind of a pressure interface from the ejector seat of a surplus Lightning fighter plane.
My favourite RAF Jet.
Like one big puzzle.
Aliens on Disney+ is actually the regular theatrical release version, without rhe automatic machinegun turrets section. Literally one of the best moments in entire series, why would they cut it out.
Likely because the scene barely advances the plot and the tension is severely undercut by the way no characters are directly involved. Scott probably made a good decision to cut it rather than some other scene once given the directive to reduce the movie's running time.
The extended cut also robs a lot of tension later on by spoiling what happened to the colony.
Because they can. Or, the "way too violent" SE version "might scare little kids." (Mental Age, that is.;)
@@francistamburine4573 Aliens was directed by James Cameron, not Ridley Scott
Might be rights issue over which version they are allowed to show.
The control deck of the Nostromo looked like a bigger version of the flight cabin of a commercial airliner circa 1970's. It was so easy to believe that a spaceship would genuinely look like that.
Lots of switches and lights - but none of them labelled! This always makes me groan when I see this in movies.
Alien was nominated for almost a dozen Oscars and walked out the door with special effects and art direction nods. That's a pretty strong pedigree. Yeah, having Trumbull on board would have polished up the external ship shots, but the interior work is what made the film and is still an industry icon of production design.
I could watch this movie a thousand times and still be entertained.
Love the analogue aesthetic, some of the best production design ever âŠ..John Mollo did a great job on the uniforms too. I always wanted one of the emergency helmets!
the Nostromo conveys a sense of claustrophobia, of industrial sci-fi, which I have never seen again in a sci-fi film and which according to me contributes enormously to the beauty of the film
Going to see Alien & Aliens back to back at my local cinema on Wednesday! can't wait!!!!!
Many years ago I watched the some double feature in a movie theatre. Probably the coolest double feature you can think of. Whatever the size your telly has, this movies were made for the big screen. Enjoy!
@@telekommandantthank you! always grew up thinking how amazing it would have been to see these films in the cinema and now I can experience it! I think the music/sounds of the film will blow me away!
My local cinema is showing them as well in a month - $15 for a double feature is pretty good.
The look and feel of this movie is just on another level, pretty much untouched to this day 45years later. A timeless classic. Now i understand why. Thanks, great vid.
Great work.
I accidentally walked past a movie theatre in 1979 with a friend, and with no idea what it was, I went in to see why noone in space could hear you scream.
The movie absolutely blew my mind, and started a long life passion for sci-fi and movies in general.
Thank you Mr. Scott.
I can never, ever get enough Alien and Nostromo. It's amazing how much of my life is spent contemplating, coding, and building Nostromo stuff.
I first saw this movie when I was 9. I have seen it countless times since then. The thing that draws me in, more than anything are the 'on ship' scenes. Everything from the opening scene in the flight deck to the galley chestburst scene, all of it so, immersive. Sheer magnitudes of talent went into set production on this movie. I would have loved to see these sets in a museum somewhere.
I love the bouncing toy behind the helmet at the start. Because it's out of focus, the toy looks like it's silently laughing. It reminds me of those characters in hammy horror movies that laugh at the film's protagonists, mocking them because they know the ordeal those unknowing protagonists are about to go through. Interestingly, there is a laughing toy prop present during the Baty/Deckard chase in the last act of Blade Runner.
Would that be Gaffs paper unicorn: "There'll never be another". Well spotted.
@@wearetomorrowspast.5617 No. It's one of Sebastian's weird toys.
So-full scale kitbashing. Cool.
The set still feels fresh decades years later. Very few sci-fi movies could achieve this: the original Star Wars, Space Odyssey, and that's pretty much it off the top of my head.
I vaguelly recall a film critic (Kermode??) describing the Nostromo as looking like a decommissioned channel ferry.
The water just dripping in the set threw the entire thing for me. I saw this in the theater when it premiered. I was with three of my friends. All of us science students. All became scientists. We thought it was ridiculous.
I like how your content bounces around from one movie to the next, while staying consistently great. Keep up the good work.
Always this spaceship fascinated me, it feels huge, and at the same time comfortable.
Outstanding video! Saw Alien in an old theater as a kid, which added to the mystique. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by this film, and remember it like it was yesterday.
So friggin cool, never gets old
BRILLIANT production design
8:00 I mentioned it in an earlier *Making ALIEN* video: Ridley got the idea of the "talking helmets" when he heard Tomita's *The Planets,* specifically the opening prelude to "Mars". If you've ever listened to the score, it starts off with 2 synthesized voices speaking to each other, from the left speaker to the right one. Ridley not only wanted to capture this (as if there were multiple computer brains connected to Mother, speaking to each other much like the Bomb from *Dark Star)* but he even wanted Tomita to be the composer for *Alien.* The studio thought it would be "too much", so Ridley went with Jerry Goldsmith as a logical compromise, as Goldsmith was known for being keen towards musical experimentation with scores for *Planet of the Apes* and *Logan's Run.*
OK, my mind is reeling thinking about what Tomita would have done with an Alien score. Kind of sad that never happened, although Goldsmith's work was so fantastic that it's hard to imagine Tomita's music being truly better than the actual movie.
Also, there is a small hint of foreshadowing. The apparatus attached to the front of the helmet is hinting at the face hugger we see later on. The movie is full off stuff like that, as is the Alien Isolation game.
I was a big fan of Tomita back in the day. Everyone thought it was weird, but it seemed to go with the whole Alien vibe.
The styling of Nostromo was incredible. I was disappointed that Prometheus didn't follow that design but switch to holograms and touchscreens.
Some context. The Prometheus set was actually inspired by some of the original concept designs for the Nostromo, and that includes the touch screens and holographic displays. Everyone loved it at the time, because that was up-and-coming technology. But it was just too expensive and high-tech. for an old, well used space tug.
On the other hand, The Prometheus is a billionaire's no-expense-spared toy, a combination of luxury space-yacht and laboratory. A gleaming new flagship. So it was Ridley Scott's opportunity to use all those abandoned Ron Cobb designs. Personally I loved the Prometheus bridge set as much as the Nostromo interiors becuase they both accurately reflect the nature of the vessels.
I wish I could live in the Nostromo set. Idk...I find it weirdly cozy.
Yeah. Or the Falcon
It has a great contrast between white and clean living and operational areas and dark, grungy lower deck and service areas. And it's an important theme how through the film we lose the sense of comfort and security even in the brightest, most lived in areas.
This must be where Red Dwarf got the their set design ideas from
The BBC ironically reused some of Nostromos prop corridors for the vogon ship in Hitch Hikers Guide in 1981...đ
@@darania1 I never knew that and that is some choice either having a Chestburster coming out of you or having to listen to Vogon poetry
@davidsummer8631 Right? I would choose the singing chest burster from Airplane 2 over any vogon poetry...! .
11:06 I was working in Yosemite National Park when they were filming a Wells Fargo ad. The scene being filmed was a stage coach passing by with El Capitan in the background.
The stage coach had a couple of actors dressed in attire typical of such a scene. The stage coach was a real stagecoach, but it was mounted on a flat bed truck trailer.
The director wanted more shaking on the stage coach so he asked a bunch of us spectators to climb on the trailer and help shake the stage coach.
We must have spent 2 hours driving that trailer back and forth and later when I saw the ad, the scene we were filming hardly lasted 2 seconds.
It was fun though.
I was a line producer. It's all very relatable, budgets not working, shooting ratios to high, still it's all worthwhile in the end. The sense of accomplishment and relief is worth it.
Finally! The unsung star of the movie getting credit: The interiors. Vastly impressive at the time it just had the coolest look and made you think you were seeing inside a real ship. Thanks Tyler.
I was watching a documentary about the first Star Wars. The Actor walks into the Yavin IV hanger bay and he said everything looked old and dirty, like it was in a war. His first thought was "Someone knows what they are doing." Before Star Wars, space was nice and clean. Star Wars made space dirty and gritty.
No doubt, the best monster flick of all time.
That airplane junkyard really gets around. Alien, Blade Runner, and both Ghostbusters (ECTO-1's gear is derived from airplane junk).
the subtitles for this video are AWESOME! THANKS for the hard work!đđđđđ
Best opening scene ever, great atmosphere, set and the feel of instantly something bad is gonna happen, gots you right on the edge of your seat
I can still remember seeing this in a theater when it first came out and being blown away by how amazing the interior of the ship looked. It's still to this day one of the best space ship interior every created.
I totally agree with you. This is why I love this movie so much. One of the best set designs I have ever seen.
Iâve never been to your channel before, and I was so impressed with your research. I love everything Alien. Great video!
My facourite part about Alien that the other movies lack is the asethetic, the complexity and old school designs and even the CRT monitors are pretty much timeless with the ships nostalgic varnish.
Love your work
Really enjoying the âAlienâ vids! â€â€
Big kudos for including citations and references. Seriously, gold standard content quality verification. đđ
Wow, this is insane. I watched Alien 1 only 1 or 2 times as a child. I don't remember it being so awesome. I watched Alien 2 about a gazillion times and thought that was the best alien movie. But Alien 1 surprises me now.
As ridiculous as this may sound, I see Alien and Aliens paralleled in the UK (original) and US "The Office". Some people will bicker about which one was "the best". They are both fantastic films, for different reasons. They are very different from each other. That said, I think Alien is just incredible when you consider when it was made - same as Blade Runner. SO far ahead of their time. I guess that's Ridley Scott in a nutshell.
You never disappoint!
I cannot state enough, thank you for citing your sources.
i always watch your vids with my nightcap. can't wait!
I've always got the feeling the Nostromo's bridge had a B-52/Vulcan feel to it.
love the crew confidently flicking the hundreds of switches -with not one label for what they actualy do !
Ridley Scott has said one of the inspirations for the inside of the Nostromo was the B-52 interior from Kubrick's _Dr. Strangelove._ If you watch the bomber segments from that film and compare it to _Alien,_ the similarity is readily apparent.
I'd say the helmet effect was spot-on. Seeing this as a kid, really creeped me out and until today, I couldn't have told you why. OUTSTANDING video!
That's one of the things I loved about this movie. The ship felt like a real marching.
An odd thing to focus on but I take exceptional appreciation when the sponsor is related to the topic being discussed. You rightly deserve to earn your money for your hard work Tyler but going above and beyond not to sell out and keep the sponsor something that is related to the topic I will always appreciate. Thank you
F yeah. I remember at the time thinking the chains and water were weird in a spaceship, but it just gave us more time with the great Harry Dean Stanton so we enjoyed it anyway đđŒ
Nicely put together đđŒ
Great to see the set design process. Life-size kitbashing!
Another great video!
I've never got the impression it was an old bomber, the immersion was good enough to me that I didn't draw that connection after many watch throughs.
It has that utilitarian feel. What a movie. 1979 and it still stands up today. It doesn't look or feel of it's time. Put that movie in front of Gen Z and tell them it was released yesterday and they wouldn't know otherwise. Sci/Fi in the 70s is usually portrayed as shiny and white with Jenny Agutta in a skimpy costume. No bad thing đ. Alien subverted that trope.
When youâre a kid in your backyard, you make your spaceship out of cardboard boxes, plastic crates, and maybe some Christmas lights. I stood wrapping paper tubes on a tree stump and presto-my own replica of the Nostromoâs self-destruct console!
For a 1970s movie, UNBELIEVABLY well done interiors! đđđ
great work tyler
Shout out to the legendary Ron Cobb who knocked it out of the park with his designs.
Thank you for this video! Even after all these years from first seeing it in 1983, I love finding out new stuff about it.
Wow! This is amazing! These are my favorite kinds of videos on CZcams. Great job! Fantastic Film!
Fascinating info, thank you! Frighteningly real!
Thanks for this. Loved everything about the movie. This helps me appreciate why I was so drawn to it.
Very well done! Looking forward to more
Outstanding presentation and breakdown! Great video.
The Nostromo still stands as the best ship in science fiction over 40 years later. You'd think someone would realize this.
Great work tyler!!
This approach to functional set dressing makes me so happy. Especially Kubrick's comment about using real rubble; nothing annoys me more about movie and video games ruins than looking at a random pile of rocks and thinking; 'Ok but WHAT is this supposed to be a ruin OF?'
Great episode on a great aspect of a brilliant movie!
Brilliant work, thank you!
Iâve watched all your videos about apocalypse now, Alien, Full Metal Jacket and many others, and I have to say you are truly a vastly underrated channel â€
I could listen to you talk about film history for hours, and I have đ. Keep up the good work Tyler, your destined for great things buddy đ
This video's rad.
Awesome vid. Very well made.
Thanks for another excellent video.
Thanks for your awesome work Tyler. Iâd love to see you do a video on The Thing đ
I really loved this video essay. Cant wait for another episode about Alien ;-)
Great video, super interesting and entertaining
Great Documentary!
Love your videos!!
'Alien' and 'Star Wars' spacecraft looked so real: dirty; worn paint areas; an overall 'well-used' look to everything. Love it!
Nice. Iâm excited to watch this ! đ€
Repurposing existing materials in an imaginative way is similar to the practise known as "kit bashing" in miniature effects; where model parts from commercially available kitsets are raided to use as detailing on models, as can be seen in '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Star Wars'(1977), although you could trace the creative evolution of this approach to Marcel Duchamp and the surrealists' practise of "readymades" (everyday objects deconstructed and assembled for their sculptural values).
Great design, psychologically effective. A haunted house/industrial complex in space, familiar but full of dread.
Took me years to notice on the control panel on the Narcisus ,a bunch of empty model kits trees to add details to that console . :P
You can see them when there is a close-up of Ripley's fingers touching the buttons .
Great topic!