Changed my mind on which Sci-Fi flick is my FOAT.

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Favorite Of All Time, that is.

It used to be Aliens. Yes, I know. But that one absolutely blew me away when I first saw it. Still glorious, IMO.

Last night however I was treated to something special. On the Encore channel, which is part of my Comcast package, they played Carpenter's The Thing, uncut, in amazing high def.

Utterly transfixed.

What is it, though? Carpenter's films are by no means cinematographic masterpieces; he's actually kind of a hack. So is Cameron, but that's a digression. This film, though, based on the short story Who Goes There, combined with its admirable cast, of course the satisfyingly sickening special effects this version's known for, and the amazing set (more on that below), just makes for an orgasmic Sci-Fi nerd's evening entertainment. I found myself running back from the kitchen as I was making my dinner just so as to not miss any important scenes, and I've seen this movie at least a half-dozen times already. I also was actually wishing it were Halloween night -- such is it a perfect film to watch on that occasion.

More on the set. I realized it should have been listed in the credits as a separate character. It's really what ties everything together, and the set designer (whom I cannot recall his name atm) deserved an Oscar for its attention to detail and authenticity. Again, it's just a Saturday night flick, but those like you and I who are passionate about these things demand excellence on par with what these guys put together.

This is probably longer than it needs to be but I know you all already know how great The Thing is. If you've never seen it (gasp!) then get it nao. Required viewing.

So sorry, Ripley, but MacReady just kicked you off the throne.

It is pretty darn good, call me cheesy but my fave is 'A New Hope' for its adventure/action and spaceships and jedis.

Its not as good as aliens imo

q: there was some kind of black/white movie(so proly old),it was almost like the Thing but as I remember the alien was some kind of advanced plant,do you know which movie is that?

Aliens is shit, Cameron is , > .

Blade Runner is the best Sci-Fi movie ever made.

Oh Lord you young folk!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/

James Arness played the thing. Excellent movie, but you have to be in the mood for the classic 50's type of horror flick for that one. Much different "vibe" than the remake. The dialog in the 1951 classic is, however, a wonder to behold. It's very quick, and you will be drawn in in a different way.

Agreed.

Also, there are some pretty great classics that span the years...if you guys haven't yet, see Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still (original black & white version).

Forbidden Planet is an all time classic, despite (/because of) being an adaptation of The Tempest.

The Thing is way better than Aliens. You've reached a rational conclusion, Crispy. I saw The Thing a year or two ago for the first time and it's aged very well. Great movie.

I absolutely love The Thing. And the FX are simply amazing. Best special effects ever IMO, including the Shitty.G.I. era.

It's also interesting to note that it was a financial failure mainly because the audience at the time was terrified of how realistic this movie seemed.

The thing, Big trouble in little China, Assault on precinct 13, Escape from New York, They live, Prince of darkness...
I wish there were more hacks like him.

The Thing is an excellent movie, Carpenter's best in my opinion, and better than Cameron's Aliens (a good movie)


The question is The Thing vs Alien

I don't have a FOAT. I'd have to choose between EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, EXPUNGED, Ghost in the Shell and Avalon and I don't want to.

The Thing itself was pretty cool and scary as a monster.

Double .

I don't get ESB as peoples favorite pick at all. ANH is better, and it's plenty 'dark' if that's the reasoning. I used to think ROTJ wasn't as bad as people said it was, but rewatched it a few months back and ok, it's really just good for any scene Lando is in.

Anyway ESB. Nothing happens. Action sequence on Hoth, some mushy stuff ok. Luke goes to Dagobah, nothing happens, literally nothing happens. Han and Leia dick around in space, get swallowed by giant worm, boring. They end up on Bespin and very quickly shit hits the fan. The locations are pretty fucking dull. There's no exploration of Lando's character or Bespin, or Hoth. Boba, Bossk and Dengar are just posing for Bounty Monthly. Big finale, Vader cuts off hand and says some shit. Han gets frozen. BIG CLIFFHANGER, but you gotta be like, 3 years old not to know how it continues. IT'S DAAAARK DUUUDE. What dark? What movie did you people watch? Luke meets evil Luke and Vader swings his saber and Han gets frozen. Wow that's dark.

I usually pick Blade Runner for FOAT though The Thing is just as good, but I don't know, I think I might like Miracle Mile more.

Boring ? No way. This scene totally blew me, and my whole generation, away.

Shit man you really did miss the point.

Would probably be a good movie if it wasn't for that retarded third act. Seriously, what were they thinking?

It's up there, certainly.

ESB has great atmosphere and cinematography, as Jack Burton said, but after being an ESB fanboy for a long time, I'm starting to think that ANH might be better after all. It's probably due to the fact that it works perfectly as a standalone movie, which is why it's the Star Wars movie I've seen the most.
ROTJ is saved by the metal bikini and the scenes on the second Death Star (which was a neat idea, I always liked the skeletal look of it, as though to symbolize that the Empire was in its final throes), but just barely. A sign of things to come?

So true. So goddamn true.

That your average viewer would get bored around that time so they needed to add some action no matter how stupid and out of place it is.

I'll take John Carpenter's "The Thing" over Blade Runner or 2001 any day of the week(and twice on sundays).

Agree with everything you wrote about Carpenter, except for the hack part. He is the king of movie makers.

Adding to the list of Carpenter films mentioned here, Halloween, Starman, The Fog, In the Mouth of Madness and Cigarette Burns.

The Thing should be your favorite horror movie of all time, not your favorite science fiction movie of all time.