ALIEN
ARTICLE

		Article by E.C.McMullen Jr.

DIGGING DEEP INTO ALIEN

ALIEN came out 45 years ago in 1979.

For historical perspective, 45 years before the release of ALIEN was 1934: Five years before the global conflict known as World War II.

Fun fact: Writers Dan O' Bannon and Ron Schusett, creators of this movie, never had Science Officer Ash in their script. The way the alien got onboard was arguably better in the original script, but it didn't make for potential sequels.

Instead, stealing, mixing, and mashing from a variety of Science Fiction movies in his past, O'Bannon's original idea borrowed heavily from Producer Howard Hawk's THE THING FROM OUTER SPACE to Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES to IT: THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, and more.

Then, a few years later, John Carpenter did the same thing for his movie, THE THING.

You can't call it a rip off when both men were originally friends, sharing a common love for old scifi movies and together created DARK STAR: a movie that openly mocked all of their inspirations and then some. Plus, most fans can watch both and never make the obvious connection.

The fact is, when the two creators of DARK STAR went their separate ways and made the two most powerful Science Fiction Horror movies in history, it makes sense that there would be so many similarities. There's a trove of more history when you go down the rabbit hole of our review of ALIEN.

This article copyright 2003 - 2024 by E.C.McMullen Jr.

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YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY (Sub-Section: AN ALIEN HISTORY)
"IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE" MOVIE REVIEW	ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW	ALIEN THE ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW

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