To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the very first ALIEN movie (and our 10th all–nighter!) SCI–FI–LONDON is giving Londoners the chance to see these iconic movies as they should be seen – on the big screen from 35mm prints. What better way to spend an evening? And you know you won’t want to fall asleep.
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Forget your Jasons and Freddies with their countless sequels and remakes; it’s the indestructible space creatures known as Aliens and Predators that haunt the minds of sci-fi fans. They might not have generated the quantity of movies the aforementioned pair did, but when it comes to quality sci-fi horror, the colliding universes of Aliens and Predators deliver.
The event starts around 10.00pm with DJs in the bar; the first movie begins just after 11.00pm. The whole. show ends around 10.00am the following day. We’ll have some very cool spot prizes and give–aways as well as a packed goodie bag. We’ll keep you full of Redbull, ice cream and coffee to help you make it through ‘til morning.
Tickets on sale from the Apollo Piccadilly box office on 020 7451 9944 or www.apollocinemas.com
Aliens and Predators All-nighter Line up:
ALIEN
Director: Ridley Scott
Runtime: 117min
Country: UK, USA
Year: 1979
When the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, which is heading back to Earth, intercepts an SOS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crewmembers leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as the crew discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning and not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late.
The first of this iconic franchise, 30 years on Alien is still the most disturbing of the four movies. Tense and dark, this movie keeps you on the edge of your seat and is best seen on the big screen.
ALIENS
Director: James Cameron
Runtime: 137min
Country: USA, UK
Year: 1986
Half a century after the events of Alien, Ripley, the only survivor of the Nostromo, is discovered in deep sleep by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was established on the planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, Ripley is sent back to the planet, along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, as well as saving any survivors.
This movie is often cited as one of the greatest sci-fi features ever made. Whilst the first movie was more horror in feel, Aliens is an action-packed, adrenaline-fuelled ride that Cameron made his name in. It features a great cast and fantastic one-liners.
ALIEN3
Director: David Fincher
Runtime: 114min
Country: USA
Year: 1992
After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ripley crashes onto a remote ore refinery that is now a prison. While staying in the prison, awaiting her employers to rescue her, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for the crash: an alien stowaway. As the creature matures and begins to kill off the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her real enemy isn’t just the killer alien.
This movie is different in mood and style from its predecessors. As the debut feature from music video and commercials director Fincher it has a dark tone and a stylish look that has become his signature, but it will always suffer in comparison to the brilliance of the previous two movies.
PREDATOR
Director: John McTiernan
Runtime: 107min
Country: USA
Year: 1987
An elite task force, led by Dutch Schaefer (Schwarzenegger), is sent on a mission to rescue hostages kidnapped by a guerrilla group in Central America. After being tricked into destroying the rebel base they team head back to their extraction point but, unknown to them, the group is hunted by an extraterrestrial life form. In the end, it is Arnie who has to battle the creature in hand-to-hand combat.
Arnie was a huge star after the success of The Terminator, so this movie was a perfect vehicle for him having to battle a creature equally as ruthless as his infamous cyborg assassin, and with thanks to Stan Winston’s design was set to become equally iconic. At around 6.00am this is a perfect wake-up call!
AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Runtime: 101 min
Country: USA
Year: 2004
In 2004, Charles Weyland, a billionaire industrialist, leads an archaeological expedition to Antarctica. Using thermal imaging satellites, Weyland believes he has discovered the ruins of an ancient pyramid temple buried under the ice that predates the Egyptian and Aztec pyramids. Once inside, the team finds the remains of humans with holes in their rib cages and the remains of facehuggers, meaning that the temple probably inhabited. To make matters worse, a group of teenage Predators is coming to the temple to perform a coming-of-age ritual that involves a fight to the death with the aliens. As the strapline says, “whoever wins, we lose”.
On paper, and it did begin on paper as a comic, this should be a great movie with two iconic space creatures having a face off. Although it doesn’t quite live up to its potential, it is still an action-packed guilty pleasure.
