doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
Sorry if that last post came across as incendiary... I was aiming more for rhetorical. I definitely agree with you re: the stupidity thing though.
PROMETHEUS - Grade and Discuss
- Thread starter Roshi
- Start date
Sorry if that last post came across as incendiary... I was aiming more for rhetorical. I definitely agree with you re: the stupidity thing though.
I've started reading Prometheus: The Art Of The Film and so far I've gleaned a few nuggets.
The ship was originally supposed to be called Magellan and was later changed to Prometheus. I don't know why yet or if it's significant. The next thing thats been mentioned a few times is that Ridley Scott used the 1979 film Alien as the sole source or jumping off point for Prometheus. He doesn't seem to have gone out of his way to contradict latter films, but he didn't feel beholden to them.
One of the primary ideas he started from was: who was the Space Jockey and how did he come to be there? That was the jumping off point. He acknowledges that while the Space Jockey does look like he/it could be an alien RS also thought it could just as easily be a humanoid form in a deteriorating space suit thats been there for some 2000 years. That was his jumping off point.
Prometheus was initially planned as more of a direct prequel/tie-in to the 1979 film, but as the project developed they saw the opportunity to paint on a broader canvas, one that would be tenuously connected to the 1979 film, but not anchored by it. What I get out of this is the Giger xenomorph seen in Alien isn't necessarily the ultimate form of the Engineers' bioweapon. It seems that it is interpreted as but one possible form.
There is a parallel in the film. The Engineers' bioweapon was also a way of creating life and it got away from them. Now we have David (as well as Ash) representing humanity artificially creating life and is it possible that we could face a similar fate? Could David and his kind develop minds of their own and turn on us? It's a question that is suggested in the film, and David's actions can make you wonder.
Finally here is a quote from Production Designer, Arthur Max:
"We wanted to be not very comprehensible, not very explained and almost unknowable." ... "It was a challenge to come up with a whole society and culture that is more advanced than ours in most ways and maintain the intrigue of it. But by not explaining it, how do you describe it? That was the challenge, So visually we tried to leave enough information to where the audience would be filling in their own interpretation of how things might've worked, and what they may be doing with the objects at hand. How we suggested that is the dynamic of the film." ... "Another big challenge was how to incorporate the shape language and design language of Giger, which is always lurking there because of the fan base---and Ridley was aware of this too---had expectations about where we were going to take this. There was a lot of pendulum swinging between 'Shall we embrace Giger or shall we do something new?' In the end what evolved was to incorporate some of what he had done, but make it less bio and more mechanoid. We decided to keep a consistency in the design language, still keep the form, but to do a cleaner version. It's still very much a child born out of his vision, and we wanted to retain that."
He also mentions the collaboration between the writers and designers and the cross-pollination of ideas between them.
The ship was originally supposed to be called Magellan and was later changed to Prometheus. I don't know why yet or if it's significant. The next thing thats been mentioned a few times is that Ridley Scott used the 1979 film Alien as the sole source or jumping off point for Prometheus. He doesn't seem to have gone out of his way to contradict latter films, but he didn't feel beholden to them.
One of the primary ideas he started from was: who was the Space Jockey and how did he come to be there? That was the jumping off point. He acknowledges that while the Space Jockey does look like he/it could be an alien RS also thought it could just as easily be a humanoid form in a deteriorating space suit thats been there for some 2000 years. That was his jumping off point.
Prometheus was initially planned as more of a direct prequel/tie-in to the 1979 film, but as the project developed they saw the opportunity to paint on a broader canvas, one that would be tenuously connected to the 1979 film, but not anchored by it. What I get out of this is the Giger xenomorph seen in Alien isn't necessarily the ultimate form of the Engineers' bioweapon. It seems that it is interpreted as but one possible form.
There is a parallel in the film. The Engineers' bioweapon was also a way of creating life and it got away from them. Now we have David (as well as Ash) representing humanity artificially creating life and is it possible that we could face a similar fate? Could David and his kind develop minds of their own and turn on us? It's a question that is suggested in the film, and David's actions can make you wonder.
Finally here is a quote from Production Designer, Arthur Max:
"We wanted to be not very comprehensible, not very explained and almost unknowable." ... "It was a challenge to come up with a whole society and culture that is more advanced than ours in most ways and maintain the intrigue of it. But by not explaining it, how do you describe it? That was the challenge, So visually we tried to leave enough information to where the audience would be filling in their own interpretation of how things might've worked, and what they may be doing with the objects at hand. How we suggested that is the dynamic of the film." ... "Another big challenge was how to incorporate the shape language and design language of Giger, which is always lurking there because of the fan base---and Ridley was aware of this too---had expectations about where we were going to take this. There was a lot of pendulum swinging between 'Shall we embrace Giger or shall we do something new?' In the end what evolved was to incorporate some of what he had done, but make it less bio and more mechanoid. We decided to keep a consistency in the design language, still keep the form, but to do a cleaner version. It's still very much a child born out of his vision, and we wanted to retain that."
He also mentions the collaboration between the writers and designers and the cross-pollination of ideas between them.
Yeah I flipped through the book and it seemed pretty cool. They talked about how the Engineers were originally going to be upsized to their proper height in post (as they appeared in Alien), but Ridley felt they already looked large enough as is.
The movie is also featured in the new Cinefex (along with Avengers). Looks like there's probably some interesting info in there too, but I haven't had a chance to read it all yet.
Captain Janek (to Shaw as she's donning her spacesuit and popping painkillers): "You know what this place is? Those 'Engineers'...this ain't their home. It's an installation. Maybe even military. Now, they put it out here in the middle of nowhere 'cuz they're not stupid enough to make weapons of mass destruction on their own doorstep. That's what all that shit is in those vases. They made it here, it got out...it turned on 'em. The End."
In the theatrical cut, it's the Zombie Fifield attack that leads Janek to this conclusion, combined with their disastrous second trip to the temple earlier that day and the mutation/death of Holloway. In the script (and possibly Director's Cut), the Fifield attack comes after this scene.
No sweat, and thank you
- talking across teh interwebz sometimes doesn't convey the full message. Happened to me many times.It's not just the hair, but also the Jersey Shore fake-tan, but that guy reminds me of the Kazon from Voyager.^^^Love that guy! And the hair...OH the hair...
At what point is that discussion on Lost?
I figured that maybe an engineer impregnated Mary, making Jesus a human/engineer mix that looks human.
As I've said above it's been ages since I've last seen Alien/s so I bought both on BD today. Should make for a fun rewatch.
I've never been able to watch TMP and "really enjoy it" it's more I tolerate it like a boisterous uncle you see at a family reunion once a year. If being "boisterous" means he was long, drawn out, spook slowly, and took 10 minutes to show everyone his new car.
I used to despise it until I finally saw the Director's Cut. I'm not even sure what's different from the theatrical version, but I find it a lot easier to watch.
The weird thing to me about watching Alien, however, is that it's not until the end of the movie that I even feel like Ripley is an important character. She's basically just a corporate douchebag the whole time. I've honestly never understood the love that the movie receives. More often than not, it puts me to sleep.
Showing women as assertive (Aka being a bitch) was a novelty in the 70's and that's why Alien is loved by feminists.
As for watching old movies, People are going to call to me a heretic but I love the original theatrical cult of Blade Runner. There I said it. I just feel the Final Cut didn't really add anything and it felt like it was dragging on a few times. I like how Dekard's status was more ambiguous in the original. I like the original ending scene because of how it showed Deckard's evolution from a cold hearted killer to a real human being.
As for watching old movies, People are going to call to me a heretic but I love the original theatrical cult of Blade Runner. There I said it. I just feel the Final Cut didn't really add anything and it felt like it was dragging on a few times. I like how Dekard's status was more ambiguous in the original. I like the original ending scene because of how it showed Deckard's evolution from a cold hearted killer to a real human being.
Love it or hate it, Prometheus is the kind of movie that leaves you thinking about it long after seeing it. l saw it opening day, and l'm still thinking about how much it sucked. l just can't look past all the gaping plot holes, cardboard cut-out characters, and the simplistic, almost non-existent story, all of which combine to form the biggest movie going disappointment since George Lucas Disneyfied Star Wars with that abomination known as The Phantom Menace.
Heretic also. Ridley just has a thing about dreams. And unicorns. Legend anyone?
Is that where you are posting from? The 1970s?
Yep, me too. I personally enjoyed the film-noir beat-cop narration of the original. Removing that track in the re-release made some scenes that were meant to have it drag on in parts. I liked knowing what was going on in Deckard's mind in key moments of the film.
OH SNAP!
No, seriously, the 70's are dead - and best kept that way, too. That is, unless you pine for the good old days of wrinkle-free leisure suits, disco, mirror balls and K.D. Lang.
Last edited:
Me too. I sorta miss the VO.
I liked it, but there was quite a bit that I remember being confused by, like parts that felt out of sync or things that weren't explored. I had a hard time finding the relevance the opening had to the rest of the movie until I went home and researched it.
To me it felt more like a reboot for some reason. Will there be a follow-up?
To me it felt more like a reboot for some reason. Will there be a follow-up?