Nice! What would you make of the mission briefing in Space Odyssey? Imo, Kubrick was trying make that scene as boring as possible to make other parts of the movie more interesting by comparison.
I think that Cameron did a good job using this scene to do characterization and foreshadowing and everything you mentioned, but it does have the advantage that we know this is an Alien sequel so we know about the xenomorphs, and know that they're definitely behind the colony going dark.
If I had to pick an example of a popular movie delivering exposition masterfully, it would be the orientation ride with the cartoon in Jurassic Park. Multiple levels of characterization, foreshadowing and subtext, along with an explanation of DNA and cloning that may easily have been half the audience's introduction to the topic.
Great blog post - I love this kind of scene-by-scene dissection of directorial styles!
Great article!
I LOVE this. As you know from my newsletter, this is very much my kind of film writing. Alec just earned himself a follow!
Thanks for recommending my Substack, Alec. I'm a new, but big fan of yours. How do we communicate elsewhere? I want to follow up about this piece.
Nice! What would you make of the mission briefing in Space Odyssey? Imo, Kubrick was trying make that scene as boring as possible to make other parts of the movie more interesting by comparison.
Nicely done. Great writing is one of the many reasons it's among the most quotable films ever.
I'm seeing Aliens on the big screen next month at my independent theater.
I missed the chance to see the theatrical cut (the best version, imo) a couple of months ago. Enjoy hearing those M41A Pulse Rifles roar, Amran!!
I think that Cameron did a good job using this scene to do characterization and foreshadowing and everything you mentioned, but it does have the advantage that we know this is an Alien sequel so we know about the xenomorphs, and know that they're definitely behind the colony going dark.
If I had to pick an example of a popular movie delivering exposition masterfully, it would be the orientation ride with the cartoon in Jurassic Park. Multiple levels of characterization, foreshadowing and subtext, along with an explanation of DNA and cloning that may easily have been half the audience's introduction to the topic.