The Making of Alien

Just when Alien aficionados think they have read, seen and heard everything on this classic, here comes 'The Making of Alien' by JW Rinzler from Titan Books . There are so many books, documentaries, articles, websites and podcasts that cover the making of this masterpiece. This book takes previously known material and combines it with unreleased information, documents, shooting schedules, photos and brand new interviews. The book is beautifully written and gorgeously compiled. It's not just about the making of Alien, it sheds light on the making of film, from the creative process to the release. I can't praise it enough. Something I find very amusing: I have never seen a film (or franchise) where so many people try to take credit for someone else's work. However when fate intercedes and the same thing happens to them...well you would think its the biggest injustice ever committed. The funniest example is regarding the writing credit and the resulting arbitration. I hope,the author writes the stories of 'Aliens' and 'The Shining.'

Simply put: This is unequivocally the magnum opus for every last detail and behind-the-scene record for the gestation, creation and birth of the iconic 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece ALIEN. This effort dwarfs the two other formidable entires in the field (ALIEN Vault and ALIEN Archives) with it's more nuanced and in-depth descriptions of the history, people, ideas and events that fell into place for this seminal movie to reach the big-screen. It's stories you've read before but MORE SO.... it's photos you've seen before but MORE SO. New interviews and unearthed commentary by fringe contributors shine a whole new light into the never-before-known corners of this production. A true crown-jewel for any hard-core ALIEN fanatic. A 10-out-of-10 collector's dream come true! HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I thought I knew everything about the movie but this book opened it up to another level. The amount of detail about the production (not just the actual shooting but nearly all other aspects) are really amazing. You just get absorbed in the details. The narrative jumps around quite a bit but it's going pretty much in chronological order in terms of how the movie was made. Yes I wish there could have been more photos but honestly what is there is really good even if some of the pics are really small in places. I have no problem giving this book 5/5 stars and it should be a must-have addition for any fan of the film.

There's a lot of stuff in here. In fact I found it overwhelming but wonderfully so. The amount behind the scenes photos and paintings were excellent. It's a good book to own if you love Alien. This is a wonderful companion piece to the behind the scenes documentaries featured on Alien Disk Two in the Quadrilogy dvd. Reading the behind the scenes fights that Dan O'Bannon had over his credit as well as the battles that Ridley Scott fought to make this film were compelling. The only problem I had was that I felt the visual effects behind the scenes stories were shortchanged (there's a part in the book where a tracking shot that moves past planets and stars up to the Nostromo where the crew can be seen in the windows is mentioned and how it was as good as anything in 2001: A Space Odyssey but that shot isn't in the final cut-what happened to it?) . Anyhow, an excellent book. Now if you want more info on this marvelous film look up Alien Makers on the internet, dig up Fantastic Films magazine for interviews with the creators (where some of the quotes by some of the crew members came from and finally Cinfex issue #1 which is really in depth regarding the visual effects.

Like with his excellent Star Wars books before this, Rinzler again proves himself to be the master historian of genre movies. His books are massive, painstakingly researched and yet still weave the fascinating and enjoyable story of the development of this classic movie. I have read every other history book on the film (from The Book of Alien to The Alien Vault) and yet I still learned new things from this book. Worth purchasing.

'Alien' might just be my favorite movie of all time. I can't count the number of times I've seen it, and it never gets old. I'm a super-fan of the movie so you can understand why finding this book was like getting struck by a bolt of lightning. The detail in the book is amazing, from the inception of the story back in the mid-70s right through final film edits and release to theaters. Interviews with cast and crew, behind-the-scenes photos of all kinds, details of studio intrigue...I don't know how the author was able to put all this together but kudos to him. Big time.

Good book

Bought both of them since they were both on sale. Came in quick and faster than expected time given, Great art and sized books!