PROMETHEUS Ridley Scott prequel
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I think Ridley Scott has subscribed to the Cloud Atlas theory - Everything is connected
Read, and despair for Bladerunner II.
Read, and despair for Bladerunner II.
Yeah, not sure I'm too thrilled about that. But, not sure I mind it either. This sort of thing might be some kind of natural inclination. [A Dark Tower spoiler follows]
But on the face of it, I don't feel like I would mind the Prometheus/Blade Runner connection. If they do it well, it might not be such a bad idea. The two worlds do seem to fit together nicely enough, if you wanted them to. I'm not ready to start comparing Ridley to Lucas. I think we can safely expect more from Ridley. Let's wait and see before jumping to such conclusions.
I'm almost through the Dark Tower series and I have to say, at this point, I think I'm pretty disappointed that King chose to do much the same thing, that is, decided that all (or at least some or a few) of his previous books are part of his Dark Tower story...and to write himself into it, no less. So far, not loving that.
But on the face of it, I don't feel like I would mind the Prometheus/Blade Runner connection. If they do it well, it might not be such a bad idea. The two worlds do seem to fit together nicely enough, if you wanted them to. I'm not ready to start comparing Ridley to Lucas. I think we can safely expect more from Ridley. Let's wait and see before jumping to such conclusions.
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I knew when I heard some of the same sound effects and saw the same "PURGE" graphic in the police car and shuttle, Narcissus, that BLADE RUNNER and ALIEN were related. Hee hee! 
The Blu-ray is very cool. Watched the film through again. Then watched it through again listening to the director's commentary. Good good.
He has plenty of interesting things to say. Looking forward to going through the other supplemental stuff.
One of the things I think I might have missed the first time around in the threater is the Wayland Corporation logo designed into David's fingerprint which you can see in the close-up of his finger when the nasty black goop is on it. It's those kinds of nice details, little touchs...
And what did happen to the Yutani in Wayland-Yutani?
He has plenty of interesting things to say. Looking forward to going through the other supplemental stuff.
One of the things I think I might have missed the first time around in the threater is the Wayland Corporation logo designed into David's fingerprint which you can see in the close-up of his finger when the nasty black goop is on it. It's those kinds of nice details, little touchs...
And what did happen to the Yutani in Wayland-Yutani?
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I don't have a Blu-ray player, so I bought the barebones DVD. I would love to hear about any revelations given in the commentary, etc. I was only going to watch the beginning and some deleted scenes, but then I got sucked in and had a good time watching all of it. I really want to see a sequel where David and Elizabeth unleash some aliens against the engineers!
Remember - this is a prequel. The company merger hasn't happened, yet.
Remember - this is a prequel. The company merger hasn't happened, yet.
- I wanna know why when they get to an alien planet they plop down right at the first site they find without surveying the whole planet first, if even for a single orbit.
- The same for the landing site. "Hey! We found something! Lettuce land HERE!"
- I wanna know why a buncha smart people, including the biologist (if not especially the biologist), determine the air is breathable - so lettuce pop off our helmets! Ever heard of space germs, Barney?
- Why does the geologist get lost?
- Why does the aforementioned biologist reach out to the alien planarian?
- If Vickers was removed from the entire story how would it be different? Oh. It wouldn't. She just served as time filler as she toddled about being bitchy.
Do the extras 'splain mucha that?
I was sooooo disapointed with this beautiful film with perfect premise.
Please tell me RScott and Co. deliberately released to theaters 80-90% of a sensible story for the express purpose of selling the BluRay for additional revenue just to make it all make sense!
PLEEEEEEEASE! PLEEEEEEEASE! PLEEEEEEEASE!!!!
I think running with the tag line "questions will be answered" is just setting us up for more disappointment. There are soooooooo many questions that it doesn't seem feasible.
I am hoping someone who has seen the blu ray chimes in and suggests whether is worthwhile or not and saving the rest of us from the trouble.
I am hoping someone who has seen the blu ray chimes in and suggests whether is worthwhile or not and saving the rest of us from the trouble.
None of the DVD versions have the commentary? I have to say that sounds rather cheapo of them. Why not at least include the commentaries on the DVD too? Scoopicman, I'm pretty new to Blu-ray too. Anyway, I got the 3D multi-disc set. 3D just in case someday I get a 3D TV etc. Ya never know. And I knew I wanted to see and hear the making-of stuff.
Oooo, I only just noticed, there's a second commentary with the writers. I'm wondering if revelations aren't more likely to come from them? Ohhh, I'm eager to listen to that, but after watching the film twice last night, back to back, I might be a little Prometheus'd out, heheh. Maybe tomorrow night. And, I'm sure there are some great details in the other extras. Eager to see those deleted scenes and alternate beginning and ending etc.
I'll try to recall any revelations and make a list. Really, unfortunately, I don't think that there really are any particularly significant revelations in his commentary. I'm sure the primary reason is that he really hopes to make sequels, in which case those answers or elaborations can come in those. The fact is, in the later part of the commentary, he speaks of doing one and two and even more sequels. I, for one, love that he has that ambition. Also, I think there's the distinct possibility that they haven't actually worked out where all of this stuff is or might be going. And I think that would be pretty cool, actually.
Okay, I'll stop there for now.
And I'll bet that if you do put your money down for it, you'll want the pleasure of hearing most of it for new for yourself, right? =)
I have to say that after listening to Ridley talk through the movie, I feel like any of those nagging questions about or elements of religion, Elizabeth's religion, or what, I guess, many have felt were hokey or a hodgepodge of pop philosophy or whatever, bother me even less...and, not that they ever really did bother me.
When you listen to him talk about it, you realize, or at least my interpretation is that, hey, this is just a really cool, good filmmaker who's just trying to make a good and an interesting and a provocative film.
That's good enough for me.
Techno, if you saw the film and you didn't like it then, then my guess is that you won't like it on Blu-ray either. So probably you shouldn't spend the money. Get the cheapest DVD or rent (stream) it instead. I can't speak for you. For me, it was a no brainer. The story was slightly disappointing to me too, but I think that's probably, almost entirely because our expectations were so damned high. There's a lot I haven't gone through yet. But for my money the HD quality and the commentaries alone justify it. The fact that there's more, and I'm hoping some very cool more, then yeah, it's well worth it. Especially if you're a scifi junky and have at least some affection for the film. But if you haven't seen the film yet, then try to rent it, check it out, or borrow it from a friend first. Sure.
By the way...
Prometheus 2?
Let's hope.
*****
Edit: Well. Loved the writers' commentaries.
Oooo, I only just noticed, there's a second commentary with the writers. I'm wondering if revelations aren't more likely to come from them? Ohhh, I'm eager to listen to that, but after watching the film twice last night, back to back, I might be a little Prometheus'd out, heheh. Maybe tomorrow night. And, I'm sure there are some great details in the other extras. Eager to see those deleted scenes and alternate beginning and ending etc.
I'll try to recall any revelations and make a list. Really, unfortunately, I don't think that there really are any particularly significant revelations in his commentary. I'm sure the primary reason is that he really hopes to make sequels, in which case those answers or elaborations can come in those. The fact is, in the later part of the commentary, he speaks of doing one and two and even more sequels. I, for one, love that he has that ambition. Also, I think there's the distinct possibility that they haven't actually worked out where all of this stuff is or might be going. And I think that would be pretty cool, actually.
Well, he coyly points out the missing Yutani in the company logo.
He says some very amusing and interesting things about directing. My favorite one goes something like, "Because I'm the f#@$#g director, just do it!" Because even with all of his experience and accomplishments, people, like in the crew, are still always second guessing him. I knew I should have written it down. I will later...get the exact quote.
He talks a little about Vickers. I found it interesting. He suggests there's some question about whether she's really human. Might she actually be an android like David? He points out the physical similarities between the two, like the blonde hair. For me, that put the scene in which she throws him around and against a wall/bulkhead in a new light. Initially, I guess I figured that David allowed it due to his willingness to be servile and deferential to her. Or...maybe she's damn strong because...she's an adroid too. Anyway, I wouldn't want to throw her out of the story. Whether she's human or android, there's still that interesting, I think, subplot of sibling rivarly and jealousy there. Also, I would argue that she is very much not a throw away character. For one thing, she looks good, cool. Charlize Theron did a very good job. And, the story requires a hardass to be involved. Vickers is the necessary hardass and evil company agent in charge.
He does talk about the crashed alien ship. Yes, initially they thought that the crashed Engineer ship at the end of Prometheus would be the derelict alien ship that the crew of the Nostromo would later find in Alien. But, he felt that that scenario would be just too neat. So, instead, what is intended is that the derelict ship in Alien is not the one in Prometheus, but, it is a similar ship which also got into similar trouble with its cargo, was on its way to wherever, and the pilot had to land on the planetoid because he too had already been infected by his cargo.
He said that people questioned his choice of a flying saucer at the beginning of the movie, why not a Juggernaut (Prometheus, Alien type crescent ship)? He said because there's something like ten billion years of time between the two. Why shouldn't they have changed the type of ship they fly? And I would ask, why shouldn't they have more than one kind of ship, anyway?
In the scene in which David is in the pilots' chamber or bridge(?) and he's looking at, standing in the holographic map of the galaxy or whatever, of course all of that hologram stuff wasn't really there, live. It was just a big sound stage, or whatever, but to set the right mood Ridley played Dark Side of the Moon while MF did his thing, pretending that the hologram was really there.
He says some very amusing and interesting things about directing. My favorite one goes something like, "Because I'm the f#@$#g director, just do it!" Because even with all of his experience and accomplishments, people, like in the crew, are still always second guessing him. I knew I should have written it down. I will later...get the exact quote.
He talks a little about Vickers. I found it interesting. He suggests there's some question about whether she's really human. Might she actually be an android like David? He points out the physical similarities between the two, like the blonde hair. For me, that put the scene in which she throws him around and against a wall/bulkhead in a new light. Initially, I guess I figured that David allowed it due to his willingness to be servile and deferential to her. Or...maybe she's damn strong because...she's an adroid too. Anyway, I wouldn't want to throw her out of the story. Whether she's human or android, there's still that interesting, I think, subplot of sibling rivarly and jealousy there. Also, I would argue that she is very much not a throw away character. For one thing, she looks good, cool. Charlize Theron did a very good job. And, the story requires a hardass to be involved. Vickers is the necessary hardass and evil company agent in charge.
He does talk about the crashed alien ship. Yes, initially they thought that the crashed Engineer ship at the end of Prometheus would be the derelict alien ship that the crew of the Nostromo would later find in Alien. But, he felt that that scenario would be just too neat. So, instead, what is intended is that the derelict ship in Alien is not the one in Prometheus, but, it is a similar ship which also got into similar trouble with its cargo, was on its way to wherever, and the pilot had to land on the planetoid because he too had already been infected by his cargo.
He said that people questioned his choice of a flying saucer at the beginning of the movie, why not a Juggernaut (Prometheus, Alien type crescent ship)? He said because there's something like ten billion years of time between the two. Why shouldn't they have changed the type of ship they fly? And I would ask, why shouldn't they have more than one kind of ship, anyway?
In the scene in which David is in the pilots' chamber or bridge(?) and he's looking at, standing in the holographic map of the galaxy or whatever, of course all of that hologram stuff wasn't really there, live. It was just a big sound stage, or whatever, but to set the right mood Ridley played Dark Side of the Moon while MF did his thing, pretending that the hologram was really there.
Okay, I'll stop there for now.
And I'll bet that if you do put your money down for it, you'll want the pleasure of hearing most of it for new for yourself, right? =)
I have to say that after listening to Ridley talk through the movie, I feel like any of those nagging questions about or elements of religion, Elizabeth's religion, or what, I guess, many have felt were hokey or a hodgepodge of pop philosophy or whatever, bother me even less...and, not that they ever really did bother me.
When you listen to him talk about it, you realize, or at least my interpretation is that, hey, this is just a really cool, good filmmaker who's just trying to make a good and an interesting and a provocative film.
That's good enough for me.
Techno, if you saw the film and you didn't like it then, then my guess is that you won't like it on Blu-ray either. So probably you shouldn't spend the money. Get the cheapest DVD or rent (stream) it instead. I can't speak for you. For me, it was a no brainer. The story was slightly disappointing to me too, but I think that's probably, almost entirely because our expectations were so damned high. There's a lot I haven't gone through yet. But for my money the HD quality and the commentaries alone justify it. The fact that there's more, and I'm hoping some very cool more, then yeah, it's well worth it. Especially if you're a scifi junky and have at least some affection for the film. But if you haven't seen the film yet, then try to rent it, check it out, or borrow it from a friend first. Sure.
By the way...
Prometheus 2?
Let's hope.
*****
Edit: Well. Loved the writers' commentaries.
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Techno, if you saw the film and you didn't like it then, then my guess is that you won't like it on Blu-ray either. So probably you shouldn't spend the money. Get the cheapest DVD or rent (stream) it instead. I can't speak for you. For me, it was a no brainer. The story was slightly disappointing to me too, but I think that's probably, almost entirely because our expectations were so damned high. There's a lot I haven't gone through yet. But for my money the HD quality and the commentaries alone justify it. The fact that there's more, and I'm hoping some very cool more, then yeah, it's well worth it. Especially if you're a scifi junky and have at least some affection for the film. But if you haven't seen the film yet, then try to rent it, check it out, or borrow it from a friend first. Sure.
By the way...
Prometheus 2?
Let's hope.
*****
Edit: Well. Loved the writers' commentaries.
Thanks for that. I did see it twice in the cinema (2D and 3D).
Saw the blu-ray at the rental store today. May just rent it a bit later when my memory of the detail fades.
Nah, the DVD just has a few deleted scenes - fairly short ones, too. Please share any revelations from the writers' commentary!
I mostly agree but what the hell.... The crew was receiving "no response" from the planet, nor detecting anything on instruments. I don't know why they didn't do more of a mapping survey to look for "straight lines," but I let that go since the structures looked like little mountains from the outside, and even like caves from the inside. It wasn't until they found actual doorways and symbols that you saw something that looked constructed.
I agree that the biologist and geologist were illogical, but they certainly came off like "damaged nerds," so I can accept that they were not as bright as the technology they employed, like the "pups," which map the caves.
Vickers..... I love her character and she is the anchor for the human conflict on the ship. While her death was anti-climactic, I have no problem with there being a sole survivor, other than her. If I was writing the movie, I would have had her survive long enough to get to the lifeboat, with Shaw. Then I would have had the Engineer get on the lifeboat and kill Vickers, after tossing Shaw. Shaw lets the baby alien squid out and the movie ends as before. I just loved seeing the big engineer throw the puny humans around; it would have been cool to see more of that!
I've seen the movie a few times, now. Only the first time did I have some disappointment. When you watch it again, you see it for the cool stuff and enjoy it so much more.
I'm a little bit lit, so let's see how much I can recall at the moment and how much I'm up to.
Okay, so they give Damon Lindelof, by far, most of the floor, as it were, in the commentary, as opposed to Jon Spaihts, which makes sense, I suppose, since, really, Damon made some signficant changes.
Well, apparently, Jon was given the mission to write an out-and-out prequel to Alien. So, it had familiar facehuggers and xenomorphs (well, at least one) etc, apparently. Apparently, they gave it to Damon to change that. But, the filmed film kept plenty of what Jon had originally contributed. So.
Damon has an interesting slant on David, one which I don't entirely buy. Hey, he's the writer, but, I think he's a bit off. For one thing, for most of the commentary, he keeps referring to David as a robot. Yeah, I think we're all, all of us geeks, anyway, ...are sensitive to the fact that David is not a robot. My point is, I think Mr. Damon is being a bit of a trixie provocateur in regard to us geeks who, I'll bet, he knows darn well are likely to be listenting and are likely to take issue with that characterization.
Maybe on your DVD they included the deleted scene in which Millburn discovers the first alien, but apparently benign worm. I think Ridley mentions it in passing, too. But the writers do a better job of explaining how that deleted scene helped to explain and support Millburn's foolish behavior toward the Engineers' mutagenically altered monster worms; he's just so enthusiastic about finding alien lifeforms etc. Also note, it's kind of relavent, that one of the writers, I'm sure it was Damon, mentions that the people in Prometheus have never encountered an alien lifeform beyond microbes before. I have to say that that kind of surprises me, and I wonder if that's such a good notion. But, if so, then all the more reason for Millburn to, perhaps, be taken away by the discovery of the worms and then the monster worms. But it's said, I think, by the editor, Pietro Scalia, that that's part of the reason they decided to cut it. He says that because such a momentous discovery is not followed up later, they felt that they had to cut it. I don't think I agree with the choice. But there ya go.
Now, I guess that it's explained that it was a matter of pacing and of not tying that end up that led them to cut it. But, I have to wonder if it wouldn't have been best to leave that in. I mean, wouldn't it have gone a long way in making Millburn's later actions seem less stupid and irrational? Might have been worth it.
Also, consider me a dunce, but in the film when the stuff Fifield is smoking is referred to as tobacco, I took it at face value, pretty much. But Damon makes it pretty clear that it's supposed to be pot, which also helps to explain Fifield's, at least, silly behavior.
Damon, like Ridley, talks about the question of Vickers being an android also and the similiarities with David etc. But, he seems unimpressed and dismissive of the idea that she might actually be an android.
Until later when...
One of the most interesting things that Damon says is: when he's talking about the juggernaut crushing Vickers, he's saying something like, mucho paraphrasing here:
Okay, it's coming, it's coming, oh, it's crushed her! ...or has it?
'Or has it?'
Say what?
Doesn't that bring up the question of whether Vickers could actually be an android? As in, if she's an android, perhaps she's not so easily crushed? Maybe we'll find out in the sequels?
Or, is his '...or has it?' comment just a tongue-in-cheek or a goofy blurt out?
Then again, didn't someone here on I.T. post something about how Damon probably wouldn't be working on the next screenplay? If so, and if he had such a thing in mind, who knows if that will be explored by the next writer that they do use.
Well, apparently, Jon was given the mission to write an out-and-out prequel to Alien. So, it had familiar facehuggers and xenomorphs (well, at least one) etc, apparently. Apparently, they gave it to Damon to change that. But, the filmed film kept plenty of what Jon had originally contributed. So.
Damon has an interesting slant on David, one which I don't entirely buy. Hey, he's the writer, but, I think he's a bit off. For one thing, for most of the commentary, he keeps referring to David as a robot. Yeah, I think we're all, all of us geeks, anyway, ...are sensitive to the fact that David is not a robot. My point is, I think Mr. Damon is being a bit of a trixie provocateur in regard to us geeks who, I'll bet, he knows darn well are likely to be listenting and are likely to take issue with that characterization.
Maybe on your DVD they included the deleted scene in which Millburn discovers the first alien, but apparently benign worm. I think Ridley mentions it in passing, too. But the writers do a better job of explaining how that deleted scene helped to explain and support Millburn's foolish behavior toward the Engineers' mutagenically altered monster worms; he's just so enthusiastic about finding alien lifeforms etc. Also note, it's kind of relavent, that one of the writers, I'm sure it was Damon, mentions that the people in Prometheus have never encountered an alien lifeform beyond microbes before. I have to say that that kind of surprises me, and I wonder if that's such a good notion. But, if so, then all the more reason for Millburn to, perhaps, be taken away by the discovery of the worms and then the monster worms. But it's said, I think, by the editor, Pietro Scalia, that that's part of the reason they decided to cut it. He says that because such a momentous discovery is not followed up later, they felt that they had to cut it. I don't think I agree with the choice. But there ya go.
Now, I guess that it's explained that it was a matter of pacing and of not tying that end up that led them to cut it. But, I have to wonder if it wouldn't have been best to leave that in. I mean, wouldn't it have gone a long way in making Millburn's later actions seem less stupid and irrational? Might have been worth it.
Also, consider me a dunce, but in the film when the stuff Fifield is smoking is referred to as tobacco, I took it at face value, pretty much. But Damon makes it pretty clear that it's supposed to be pot, which also helps to explain Fifield's, at least, silly behavior.
Damon, like Ridley, talks about the question of Vickers being an android also and the similiarities with David etc. But, he seems unimpressed and dismissive of the idea that she might actually be an android.
Until later when...
One of the most interesting things that Damon says is: when he's talking about the juggernaut crushing Vickers, he's saying something like, mucho paraphrasing here:
Okay, it's coming, it's coming, oh, it's crushed her! ...or has it?
'Or has it?'
Say what?
Doesn't that bring up the question of whether Vickers could actually be an android? As in, if she's an android, perhaps she's not so easily crushed? Maybe we'll find out in the sequels?
Or, is his '...or has it?' comment just a tongue-in-cheek or a goofy blurt out?
Then again, didn't someone here on I.T. post something about how Damon probably wouldn't be working on the next screenplay? If so, and if he had such a thing in mind, who knows if that will be explored by the next writer that they do use.
K, I'll stop there and try to add to it later as I think of things.
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Thanks for that, Richy!