Alien: The Archive-The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies

Arrived early and was in perfect condition, still sealed in plastic. This book is a superb volume. Covering the first four Alien films it is packed with concept art, storyboards and behind the scenes photos. Whilst the text reveals little new, this book makes up for it in its visual style. Whilst a lot from the first two films will be repeated in The Making of books, the material for Alien 3 and Resurrection is really great to see. It's a hefty tome and a perfect addition to any Alien fans collection.

Lovely book, weighty, thick stock and rich in detail. A perfect compliment to the two Rinzler “Alien” and “Aliens” making of books. I haven’t had time to fully digest Rinzler, and I expect there’s some inevitable duplication across the first two movies, but as a franchise under one roof, you won’t beat this. Like most of these types of retrospective, the interest and satisfaction will primarily be derived from the level of interest you have already have in the subject. So, if you love the movies, you’ll really dig this book. As an aside, this book (and the Rinzler books) benefit massively from the fact that their subject material covers an amazing confluence of practical effects and the supporting technology being right at that level where imagination and endeavour were really the only limit to “magic”. Like the original Star Wars Rinzler books, it’s not just the subject that makes this such a great period for documentation, they all also benefit from fantastic foresight and respect for the materials demonstrated by the original archivists and crafters, and they have something to show and tell other than “yeah, we threw some CGI on that, and then some digital hordes over there…etc.” Case in point being the The Predator making of that I recently bought brand for a few quid recently. Absolute bag-of-sh*te in comparison. Honestly. Paid under a fiver, and I’m too embarrassed to leave it in the local community library phone-box lest some poor soul get their hopes up. So in a nutshell. If you have even the slightest interest in the franchise, and / or good science fiction, and like to see how the sausage is made. This is for you.

A must-own book for fans of one of the finest film series of all time. The book offers perspectives and pictures never-before-seen in the production of all four of the films, from the immaculate Alien to the divisive Alien: Resurrection. Perfect for a fan looking to brush up, or for a newcomer to the series, who wished to read more after viewing each film, the book's hefty size is not without good reason - photographs and artwork fill the pages, and readers will find themselves submersed in a world of cinematic magic and science-fiction perfection. Please, do not read this before you see the films. It will ruin the many twists and turns of the series, as well as dampen the pulse-pounding thrills the films offer when seen for the first time. Enjoy the films for what they are, and then learn how they came to be in this fantastic bible.

An enormous, not unconsiderable, collection of great photos and rare interviews, all printed on high quaity glossy sheets of paper, and bound between a beautiful slip cover. As an Alien fan, I thought I would expand my collection of media with this. I currently have the Art of Prometheus, Alien; the Vault, and the Art of Alien Isolation, along with may DVDs, Blu-rays and statuettes, so this is a must have, though I don't tend to read it that often; it just looks great with the rest of the collection. It's nice to see that there is at last some behnd the scenes media for the sequels to the 1979 classic, as I don't believe thre are any dedicated books for these films, and here they are in a massive package! Any self-respecting fan must have one!

Large glossy book with great pictures and drawings well thought out great value for money

The item is just as described, it arrived on time, was well worth the price and communication with the seller was great. Top marks from me.

I have been a fan of Giger and the whole xenomorph universe for many years. There is vast amount of information and images both in books and online, yet I still found more of each that I had never seen before in this book. I purchased it partially because I am making a xenomorph costume but there is wealth of information, images and interviews that will interest anyone that knows about these films or the artist. Makes a perfect gift.

If your an Alien movie fan and love the original four Alien movies, Alien, Aliens, Alien3 and Alien Resurrection, or just one or the other then this is certainly the book to get, firstly its has a great looking cover and is a big heavy hardback book quality made, 320 pages of extremely detailed information on all the movies, how they were made, scripts, storyboards, effects, deleted scenes, costumes, weapons, plus loads more, interviews with cast and crew, plus so many beautiful colour pictures and photos, posters etc, an absolute must for fans if you need the ultimate book for your collection this is it!!

With the 35th anniversary of the original Alien this year, the fandom has been buzzing with life, uniting fans of all ages; one and all. The original film turned 35 years of age this past May and got a proper Blu-ray re-release , and the critically acclaimed video game, Alien: Isolation was released earlier this month to great fanfare and raving reviews. A cinema franchise whose roots trace back nearly half of a century is suddenly reborn, to new breaths of life and longevity. An interesting side note, at the time of writing, the two best-selling Digital Arts books on Amazon were both Alien: this title, and The Art of Alien: Isolation (which I also own, and gave a positive review for.) What would a 35th anniversary be without some proper way to celebrate it? I feel that this book is exactly that, a proper celebration of the franchise for fans to relive for years to come. Perfect? No, but altogether a mighty book worthy of its price tag. Alien has inspired countless films, books, video games, and other media in the nearly four decades of its existence, and this book allows fans of all merit to enjoy it even more in depth. I pre-ordered this book when it first became available on Amazon, and to be fair I wasn't quite sure what I'd expect when it arrived yesterday (one whole day ahead of schedule, thanks Amazon!) I envisioned some sort of basic visual reference book detailing all four films, using recycled pictures and art to sell copies. Needless to say my expectations were surpassed. I was beyond happy with my purchase; I was quite literally blown away from cover to cover, not just from the content, or the detail, but with how the book is presented. This is a giant, heavy coffee table book, with a beautiful dust jacket: On the front, an early concept painting of H.R. Giger's revolutionary, eponymous Alien design. On the back, are four mini, glossy posters; one for each film, and the frosted, cream colored paper has a handsome text accompaniment. Underneath the jacket is a nice gold-colored cover with what appears to be one of Ridley Scott's storyboards for Alien. The book is divided into four main chapters, one for each film, and each chapter having a sub-chapter detailing a certain topic about the particular film. The bulk of the information contained inside the book is located in the first chapter, for Alien; arguably the most important film in the series. Each chapter thoroughly details the entire process for how each film was painstakingly created--every aspect of each film is considered, showcased, and explained in great detail in this book. As far as new content goes, there are plenty of pictures in this book that I haven't seen before (and out of 20 years being alive, I have been an active Alien fan for at least 15 of those) but if you've spent your time researching the films, particularly the first, you'll know that good quality images of the creative process of the movies are few and far between, or private. This book is loaded with pictures, concept art, renders, models, costumes, sets, design studies, aesthetics, etc. I doubt much was left out of the 20th Century Fox archives while this book was being put together. There are some neat shots of James Remar, the original actor who played Hicks, in the book. Also featured are many abandoned concepts from the third film, some of which would be carried over to Resurrection, such as a swimming xenomorph. As expected, the concept art for the first two films took up the bulk of the chapters, featuring pieces from legendary artists such as Moebius, Chris Foss, Syd Mead, Ron Cobb, and of course, the late great H.R. Giger. Also included was artwork from the directors themselves, which surprised me. I'd seen some of Ridley's storyboards, but never seen any of Cameron's artwork-- suffice to say, he is a true artistic mind worthy of his merits. Visually, this book is stunning. Page after page after page of beautiful artwork, behind the scenes pictures, and continuity stills from the set fill up this book. The book isn't just a visual spectacle, as the written portion of it is just as detailed. There are dozens and dozens of interviews quoted in the text. And from what I understand, a few of the interviews are new; recently collected by Mark Salisbury (who has strangely been removed from both the cover and the Amazon page as the author, only to be replaced with "Titan Books.") Every picture in the book has a caption that explains it in great detail and the reader can rest assured that the author did his homework. This book did a great job at explaining and discussing the entire franchise, and all aspects of it, in detail, but didn't ramble or rant. Not much has to be said about the series, but this book said plenty, and did so wonderfully. I didn't find any of the text to be drawn out, incorrect, or featuring too much of the author's opinion one way or another (though I would assume that while reading this $35 boneyard of trees you would have at least some marginal interest or positive thoughts about the films) but it did focus greatly on a lot of the thematic elements, the emotion and the energy of each film; some of the metaphorical or mental aspects behind the films that you can't craft from physicality, but rather, create via physicality: the corridors of the Nostromo are cold and lifeless but very much worn; the passages on Fury 161 are equally cold and lifeless , but carry different emotions in them than the Nostromo did. Such comparisons are made in the book and the author digs deep into the treasure trove of resource material to bring these visions to life, or at least to print. One of the coolest pieces of trivia that I learned from my initial skimming of the book was that Steven Spielberg was originally tapped to direct Alien in 1978, but prior engagements prevented him from doing so. The book is dotted with plenty of interesting trivia, little-known facts, and a menagerie of visual/textual resources that allow this book to take an authoritative direction that doesn't veer into the realm of being too "preachy" or full of itself. On a side note, I'm certain that this book will fall under scrutiny for being similar to Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film , which in itself was a solid title in my opinion, but lacked authoritative sources and much in the way of new material or information. It had some cool goodies like blueprints, stickers, and mini posters, but anybody who owned the Alien Anthology Blu-ray would have already had access to all the material in the book. That said, I hope people can lift the stigma and give this one a chance, as it focuses on all four films, not just the first. All in all, while it certainly isn't perfect and there are no doubt things that the bean-counters might gripe about, this entire book represents an exceptional value for the price, and will provide fans of all status, casual to die-hard, many hours of entertainment value. No expense spared, and certainly worthy of its title, "The Ultimate Guide." I spent a couple hours skimming through it and reading certain sections, and there is still plenty to read and learn from this book. I imagine further reads would shed more light into even more information to indulge in. Really hit this one out of the park, a virtually flawless presentation of the films.

Ich war wirklich sehr überrascht, als ich das große und schwere Buch erhielt , denn es übertraf und übertrifft alle meine Vorstellungen! Darin findet man alles, was der ALIEN-Affin sich wünscht - Behind the scenes photo stories, skizzen, Zeichnungen, Interviews und Super Glanzfotos- alles was das Herz begehrt - von Teil 1 bis Teil4, den viele Cineasten nicht zu den Alien -Klassikern zählen. Alles in Hardcover und Umschlag gebunden. Ein kleiner Nachteil- das Schmuckstück ist in englischer Sprache, dieser müsste der Liebhaber kundig sein. Das Buch ist ein absolutes MUST HAVE!!!! Ich will es überhaupt nicht missen!

Absolutely a must have for fans of the franchise! It’s packed with amazing archive photos, designs and write ups of every aspect of the movies. Did not disappoint!

Not as much text as I'd hoped but otherwise, very stylish and complete!..

Very complete book about Alien Universe, fine printed, a nice collector piece