The Making of Alien

Son loves this book

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.

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.'

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

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.

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!

Good book

'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.

Wer sich für den Film-Klassiker "Alien" interessiert, der findet hier wirklich ALLES, was es dazu zu berichten gibt. Inklusive der Storyboards von R. Scott (auch er kann gut zeichnen). Massen an Bildmaterial (oft nur hier zu sehen) und gute englische Texte von JW Rinzler dazu. Der Mann hat lange Erfahrung mit dem Schreiben von Making of... Büchern, z.B. auch über die Star Wars Filme.Wer also fließend Englisch lesen kann, der erhält hier sehr viel für sein Geld :-)Eigentlich braucht man zu Alien nur dieses Buch - aber Buch- Sammlungen haben ja auch etwas ;-)Ich freue mich schon auf Rinzler's "Making of Aliens" , das wohl im Mai 2020 erscheint und ebenfalls hier vorbestellt werden kann...

Grandissimo libro per gli appassionati della saga di Alien. Di sicuro il più approfondito e completo

El mejor libro sobre la creación de alien, diría que es el definitivo, mucho mejor que alien the archive y alien vault, este libro está escrito de una manera que te mantiene leyendo, tiene información y fotos nunca antes vistas de la saga, recomiendo altamente este libro 10/10

Author J.W Rinzler, 1st edition July 2019, 11" by 12" landscape format, 336 pages, B/W Color Illustrations.This is a luxuriant heavy volume giving us the story of the creation and production of ALIEN, from the fevered imagination of Dan O' Bannon to the realization by British director Ridley Scott. Rinzler goes through each stage and chapter quite methodically though not into complete detail--(there is a very useful Sources chapter at the end to take any detailed enquires further--Books, Magazines, internet sites etc.)--as the movie slowly but surely takes shape added with early concept sketched some of which are splashed across the page, other are thumbnail sized, of interest is each chapter is annotated with a nice Cobb Semiotic Symbol which i really liked.If you have read or have Rinzler's previous volumes of Star Wars and Plane Of The Apes you can an equal companion with this book and expect the same level of attentiveness and information, Rinzler doesn't miss a beat and makes for an informative volume especially for the younger and newer ALIEN fan, he draws upon a mine of material such as continuity Polaroids, pre-production blueprints, sketches, production notes and photographs most of which were taken by the late Bob Penn. Interestingly Rinzler does not voice any personal opinion regarding the stories, comments and history of ALIEN but silently keeps supplying a ream of information, politics and constant changes during production which can be hard to keep track off, but Rinzler allow us to be distracted and tucks in those elements as the story goes along.To the much older veteran ALIEN fan like myself there isn't really any magical breathless revelations but it is i feel a very important book, a well written constructed volume worthy of (To date..) the 40th anniversary of the premiere of ALIEN and a wonderful salute to the whole production who brought us this seminal landmark movie and a notable worthy reference tome for the library, of personal interest is a bit more information regarding the air duct scenes involving Dallas (Tom Skerritt) which for some reason over the years hardly any information and instead endless viewing and careful study gave some of us an idea but no real clarification of how long it took to film, and location etc, there is a pre-production schematic of the air ducts for you to study but the set was hastily built and just as quickly struck after filming the required scenes but a very interesting interval nevertheless.The book takes us from the final scenes in ALIEN and carries us into post-production involving editing a rough 3 hour version down to the average 118 minute edition, soundtrack and music construction with Jerry Goldsmith and other incidental music added into the footage, we then go toward test screenings and selected theater showings before finally the after the Monte Carlo Premiere in May 1979 we have the iconic premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles complete with lavish prop and set displays -- we remember famously the Space Jockey construction being brutally incinerated by a arsonist thus losing forever a very large portion of Giger's creation, the other elements such as the eggs, Lunar vehicle, the entry vestibule to the computer terminal (one of the very few surviving elements of the sets as Ridley had most of the sets destroyed at the end of production at Shepperton.) a scale model of the Nostromo and large Refinery model which was slightly modified and some scale models of the shuttle, landing legs and hypersleep chamber making for a very attractive entry into the theater for a rollicking paced rollercoaster of a movie!we finally see a variety of promotional items such as posters, TV spots etc before finally we reach the end of this magnificent volume and i must say well done and many thanks for a remarkable study and salute to ALIEN and i personally like to see as a suitable memorial to those who are no longer with us: Dan O' Bannon, Gordon Carroll, H.R Giger, Bolaji Badejo, John Hurt, Terry Rawlings, Derek Vanlint and Harry Dean Stanton. (To Date.)Of particular excitement is possibly Rinzler is working on a Making of The Shining!Highly recommended and a landmark volume to the ALIEN Library.

Je suis un inconditionnel de la saga depuis quelques décennies. J'ai dans ma biblio pas mal d'ouvrages consacrés au premier opus. Et en ouvrant cette véritable bible consacrée au fil de Ridley Scott, je me surprends à nouveau à m'émerveiller en redécouvrant ces nombreux détails qui ont contribué à en faire un monument du genre.Une merveille pour découvrir le film mais aussi pour les fans qui se surprendront à découvrir de nouvelles choses.FF