Jaws vs. Alien

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Jaws vs. Alien
54.00%
27 votes
Jaws
46.00%
23 votes
Alien
50 votes. You may not vote on this poll




Jaws, and it's not even remotely close. No disrespect to Alien, but I feel its overrated. To be quite honest, similar to Blade Runner, Alien at times just feels like it's dragging... almost to the point of being boring.

Jaws, on the other hand, is one of the most compelling films ever made... it grips you from the very first scene and NEVER loses your attention for a single moment.

Jaws has better acting than Alien, better dialogue, is better directed by a better director in general, with much more developed, far more interesting characters. The movie is sooooooo damn good, that you don't even care that the shark looks fake.

So again I say.... Jaws and it's not close.
I disagree with you, but I love your perspective, and I agree with you, at the same time, which is driving me nuts because..well..I disagree with you.
Thanks.

Once again, I don't mean to disrespect Alien. It's rightfully a sci-fi classic. However, I do feel its status as a masterpiece is a little overstated.

Jaws is flawless, and in many ways changed the world.

I don't think ANYBODY goes to the beach and gets in the water without a bit of fear in their heart... with the infamous score playing in their heads.

Alien doesn't have that type of influence.



Thanks.

Once again, I don't mean to disrespect Alien. It's rightfully a sci-fi classic. However, I do feel its status as a masterpiece is a little overstated.

Jaws is flawless, and in many ways changed the world.

I don't think ANYBODY goes to the beach and gets in the water without a bit of fear in their heart... with the infamous score playing in their heads.

Alien doesn't have that type of influence.
True that Alien doesen't have that same pop reference of a John Williams score to send commoners tip toeing into the shallow end of the ocean, but...Alien does have the distinction of being the dark, immersed, and technologically sound depiction of isolation coupled with familial chapters that precedes a break-up of comfort into a thrill ride of tension and ultimate resolve. In regular terms, it's working on a few different levels. It's a space meditation first and foremost. It's also a Walter Hill and Co dialog orgasm, with all of the "space truckers" exchanging natural dialog to make things cozy, and then it's a complete freak-out scene when things happen awry. From then on, it's a tension filled labyrinth of getting away from an enemy force that wants to impregnate humanity with its seed. I know that Goldsmith didn't have the sensibility with his score (it's often been reported that his score was leftover junk from another picture), but the world that Ridley created cannot be discounted. I love Jaws, and adore the performances of Scheider, Dreyfuss, and Shaw ...even Gary...but that land shark ordeal, to me, has nothing on the pure terror art that is Alien.



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I would say Jaws for the characters. I felt Alien was short on character in comparison, accept for the Ash character.



Thanks.

Once again, I don't mean to disrespect Alien. It's rightfully a sci-fi classic. However, I do feel its status as a masterpiece is a little overstated.

Jaws is flawless, and in many ways changed the world.

I don't think ANYBODY goes to the beach and gets in the water without a bit of fear in their heart... with the infamous score playing in their heads.

Alien doesn't have that type of influence.
How is Jaws flawless if the shark is fake af by today's standards? I don't care if the movie is old, Alien is from the same era and heavily benefit from having an original design for it's monster, it still holds up.



How is Jaws flawless if the shark is fake af by today's standards? I don't care if the movie is old, Alien is from the same era and heavily benefit from having an original design for it's monster, it still holds up.
We could be even more precise and say that the mechanical effects were better on Alien – smaller beasts mind you. Another thing of course is that the Alien is shown in dim lighting whereas the shark is the complete opposite. Saying that the facehugger looks pretty great in the brightly-lit medical bay. It was very effective to have each stage of the Alien be a different colour.



I think the most sensible way to judge a film is based on what's within its means, given its goals. You can't have the shark in low light to hide the seams of the practical effects, so I wouldn't penalize it for having to exist within the technical constraints of its time. No film is really literally flawless, but I don't think "existing before X was really possible" is a flaw, regardless.

I also don't think the shark looks that bad even now.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
How is Jaws flawless if the shark is fake af by today's standards? I don't care if the movie is old, Alien is from the same era and heavily benefit from having an original design for it's monster, it still holds up.
Can't stress the highlighted enough. while I adore Alien, if that's the unit of measure to judge the quality of a movie then I always get a nauseous conflicting feeling inside when I see the 80's line code appear during the ships boot up sequence. That doesn't even address the monochromatic green CRT it appears on!

I always cringe in that moment then feel terribly guilty for judging something that, at the time, probably could not have been helped. I know the equipment needed to look aged and possibly recycled from parts, but I do wish it had been imaged as recycled parts from the past of the movie's setting (which is in our future), rather than the from the past relative to the writers and SFX crew.

Anyway. The takeaway here is that that screen code is ridiculously out of place by today's standards.
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I also don't think the shark looks that bad even now.
This. I dont get all the Bruce hate. It looked fine thanks largely to Verna Fields editing who I have heard edited the shark sequences of this film from a laughing stock to a masterpiece all by herself old school style. I worry about a generation raised on CGI creature "perfection" (not that Alien was this way). Give me good camera work, good editing and clever use of resources any day.
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Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Can't stress the highlighted enough. while I adore Alien, if that's the unit of measure to judge the quality of a movie then I always get a nauseous conflicting feeling inside when I see the 80's line code appear during the ships boot up sequence. That doesn't even address the monochromatic green CRT it appears on!

I always cringe in that moment then feel terribly guilty for judging something that, at the time, probably could not have been helped. I know the equipment needed to look aged and possibly recycled from parts, but I do wish it had been imaged as recycled parts from the past of the movie's setting (which is in our future), rather than the from the past relative to the writers and SFX crew.

Anyway. The takeaway here is that that screen code is ridiculously out of place by today's standards.
When you say screen code, what do you mean by "screen code"?



Sorry if I'm rude but I'm right
Jaws -

Alien -


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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.



Can't stress the highlighted enough. while I adore Alien, if that's the unit of measure to judge the quality of a movie then I always get a nauseous conflicting feeling inside when I see the 80's line code appear during the ships boot up sequence. That doesn't even address the monochromatic green CRT it appears on!

I always cringe in that moment then feel terribly guilty for judging something that, at the time, probably could not have been helped. I know the equipment needed to look aged and possibly recycled from parts, but I do wish it had been imaged as recycled parts from the past of the movie's setting (which is in our future), rather than the from the past relative to the writers and SFX crew.

Anyway. The takeaway here is that that screen code is ridiculously out of place by today's standards.
You could even say that the smoking has dated as much . It just requires suspension of disbelief like many other "futuristic" films in the genre, taking into account when it was made. Graphics-wise there are still some good bits though – I particularly like the on-screen display for the descent.



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Speaking of things like the futuristic technology, why is it that in Prometheus, which is suppose to take place before Alien, they have these advanced computer screens, with hologram projection if I remember correct, but in Alien, the computer screens look like they are from the 70s, even if it's suppose to take place after Prometheus? Why didn't the filmmakers of Prometheus go for those 70s computer screens, and have half the characters smoke in order to feel like it's taking place before Alien?



Speaking of things like the futuristic technology, why is it that in Prometheus, which is suppose to take place before Alien, they have these advanced computer screens, with hologram projection if I remember correct, but in Alien, the computer screens look like they are from the 70s, even if it's suppose to take place after Prometheus? Why didn't the filmmakers of Prometheus go for those 70s computer screens, and have half the characters smoke in order to feel like it's taking place before Alien?
Doesn't Idris Elba smoke? I feel like someone does.

I just reasoned that Weyland would have spent a fortune on the expedition and everything would be state of the art.

On the Nostromo I've though before that something like that would be so costly to build that if the technology still worked they would just keep it running until it absolutely died for good .

When you've watched a spaceship with tape spools or lava lamps as advanced technology it's so easy to blank this stuff out .



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Doesn't Idris Elba smoke? I feel like someone does.

I just reasoned that Weyland would have spent a fortune on the expedition and everything would be state of the art.

On the Nostromo I've though before that something like that would be so costly to build that if the technology still worked they would just keep it running until it absolutely died for good .

When you've watched a spaceship with tape spools or lava lamps as advanced technology it's so easy to blank this stuff out .
Yeah that's true.



I think Jaws is a B-movie in comparison to Alien. In terms of cinematography, acting, story, plot, character design and developmemt, atmosphere, set/costume/prop design, and dialogue there is no contest. Jaws doesn't come close to Alien. Of course it's no surprise that Jaws is a more popular movie because none of these things matter to why most people enjoy a movie.

I like Alien more because it's more frightening. The seizure inducing lighting practically gives me a panic attack towards the end. I love the Star Wars aesthetic of the space ship. The alien itself was terrifying to demonic levels. And the scene where the blonde girl freezes from fear makes my hairs stand up just thinking about it. I love the arguments the characters have and the mystery of Riply trying to figure out what's going on.

The only scene that really gripped me in Jaws was in the boat when the old man dies. His death was genuinely unsettling in the way that watching anyone die should be.



How is Jaws flawless if the shark is fake af by today's standards? I don't care if the movie is old, Alien is from the same era and heavily benefit from having an original design for it's monster, it still holds up.
Can't stress the highlighted enough. while I adore Alien, if that's the unit of measure to judge the quality of a movie then I always get a nauseous conflicting feeling inside when I see the 80's line code appear during the ships boot up sequence. That doesn't even address the monochromatic green CRT it appears on!

I always cringe in that moment then feel terribly guilty for judging something that, at the time, probably could not have been helped. I know the equipment needed to look aged and possibly recycled from parts, but I do wish it had been imaged as recycled parts from the past of the movie's setting (which is in our future), rather than the from the past relative to the writers and SFX crew.

Anyway. The takeaway here is that that screen code is ridiculously out of place by today's standards.
I suppose the difference is that the creature is the most important feature. While the computers do fail in the same way, not standing the test of time, the most important thing, the creature, holds up. That's why it's a stronger argument.

The shark was good, it just wasn't as good as the alien. The computers didn't hold up, but finding a flaw doesn't make them balance out. One weighs more than the other, so the scale of holding up to the test of time tips in favor of Alien. There are other things to consider here too. The acting, dialogue, and cinematography. Jaws is cheesy by today's standards. It actually can invoke laughs, and a lot of people who love Jaws enjoy the cheesy aspect. Alien is a much more realistic and serious movie that holds up to that scrutiny. Alien isn't cheesy at all. And compared to other sci-fi at the time does anything do computers and technology better? I can't think of anything.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
It's all contextual and subjective tho. The tech and the stiff chest burst alien totally bug me more than the shark. Still though, I enjoy alien more overall. Because of contexts that appeal to me.

And the comparison was was between jaws and alien. Not alien to other sci-fi tech at the time.


Wow! Typing on this phone is getting worse!!! I've had to edit at least 3x grrr