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Swiss Public Television reports that the surrealist painter and Science Fiction Hall of Fame honoree H.R. Giger, creator of the Alien design used in Ridley Scott's 1980 movie as well as numerous other works of art and design, has died at the age of 74 due to injuries sustained in a fall.
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I'm mentally OVERDRAWN! What's that SIGNPOST up ahead? Where's ROD
STERLING when you really need him?
(Score: 3, Informative) by WillAdams on Tuesday May 13 2014, @12:05PM
by Paul Scanlon (Author), Michael Gross (Illustrator) belongs on every illustrator / designer / writer's shelf --- fascinating background story of the making of the movie Alien, and H.R. Giger's involvement.
(Score: 1) by grub on Tuesday May 13 2014, @12:34PM
His was the only art my nerd brain could get lost in. :(
Trolling is a art,
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 13 2014, @08:16PM
I'm sure you mean "living", but Dali is good, and I recommend Escher.
The site design is worth it alone: http://www.mcescher.com/ [mcescher.com]
(Score: 4, Informative) by grub on Tuesday May 13 2014, @12:36PM
small error: "Alien design used in Ridley Scott's 1980 movie."
Alien was released in 1979 [imdb.com]
Trolling is a art,
(Score: 2, Insightful) by choose another one on Tuesday May 13 2014, @01:48PM
Yeah, but somehow you always feel like it was an '80s movie like Blade Runner - rather than something from the decade of flares & sideburns.
(Score: 2) by evilviper on Wednesday May 14 2014, @12:10AM
When you say '80's movie, I think of Clash of the Titans, mainly the awful stop-motion. Mind-numbing juvenile trash like Beastmaster and Krull. Howard the Duck, Return to Oz, and more.
The '70's reminds me of disaster films... Airport 1 thru 99, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Poseidon Adventure, etc. I think Alien fits much better here.
Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
(Score: 1) by choose another one on Wednesday May 14 2014, @11:43AM
You didn't have to watch such bad movies in the 80s - there were plenty of good ones!
I feel Alien is 80s because of the look and feel of the future-human costumes and sets. The 70s were wacky style and 70s sci-fi assumed the future would be even wackier. Alien, in contrast, shows a very utilitarian future-human style (possibly intended to be in contrast to the alien creature and ship) - this is much more 80s sci-fi style.
For 70s sci-fi (with future setting) I think Logans Run, Blakes 7, Space 1999, Black Hole, Clockwork Orange, Solaris, THX 1138 (and yeah maybe Star Wars).
For 80s it would be Blade Runner, Terminator, RoboCop, Predator, Outland, Millenium.
Alien's look and feel, to me, just fits with the latter set - just pull some cast photos.
(Score: 2, Informative) by ableal on Tuesday May 13 2014, @01:14PM
First saw his work in the cover for Brain Salad Surgery, by Emerson Lake & Palmer. Then quite a few illustrations for Omni magazine. By the time the Alien movie came out, one had almost acquired a proprietary interest in his success ;-)
Giger developed a very striking style, which was sometimes shocking and easily recognizable. Thinking back, it was probably the contrast of sleek monstrous flesh, not shy of bony pipes and appendages, against piercing forged metal.
My copy of ELP's album is also faded. Vale.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Ellis D. Tripp on Tuesday May 13 2014, @02:15PM
They included a print of his "Penis Landscape" in their 1985 "Frankenchrist" album, and band leader Jello Biafra ended up on trial for "distribution of harmful matter to minors".
"Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!"--Edward Abbey
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Covalent on Tuesday May 13 2014, @01:31PM
Giger had an amazing ability to tap into the deepest, most primitive centers of disgust in our brains and exploit them to amazing effect. Something about the wet, oily, almost palpable SMELL of his work just gives me the willies.
In my opinion, what made Alien so good (and the sequels so mediocre) was the cockroach-like "I almost just saw it" way the Alien was filmed. You hardly ever get a good look at the thing, but the glimpses you see turn your stomach.
A huge loss. You will be missed, sir. By all but the queasiest among us.
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tibman on Tuesday May 13 2014, @01:47PM
I really enjoyed Aliens, the sequel. Their ability to camouflage and hide within their own environment was extra creepy. The smoke/steam made it impossible to tell the difference between a wall and one of those critters. Add confusion and screaming on top of that, yikes.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by Covalent on Tuesday May 13 2014, @02:46PM
I'll give you Aliens. The subsequent movies were awful, though (imho).
I do laugh at the gratuitous panties scene in the original, though. I understand why they did it, but looking back it's so preposterous for her to be wearing those after what has just transpired that I can't help but laugh.
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 1) by Lazarus on Tuesday May 13 2014, @02:58PM
The later movies got weirder, but on re-watching recently I found things to like in all of them.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday May 13 2014, @10:29PM
I personally thought Aliens was scarier than the first, because the first had a "spook house" feel to it. There is the "campers" in the crew and the "woogie boogie" in the monster, the latter hunts the former and picks 'em off one by one in a standard slasher style. With the second one you have a platoon of bad ass armed to the teeth marines...who get their asses handed to them within 10 minutes of engaging and after that its strictly kill or be killed survival. That scene where the marines are counting down the sentry guns ammo counters, knowing that when its gone they are gonna have to fight them? That was tense as hell.
Full disclosure...I liked Alien III and thought it made a good capstone to the previous movies. Sure the special effects aren't as good but you can't blame the director for wanting to catch the inhuman way the xenos moved and the only way to really do that would be CGI, and I thought the cast was good and the plot logical, unlike the layers of stupid that was Alien 4.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday May 13 2014, @04:08PM
Aliens was probably the best action-horror film to ever come out. My second to that would be Predator.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Tuesday May 13 2014, @07:11PM
...what made Alien so good (and the sequels so mediocre) was the cockroach-like "I almost just saw it" way the Alien was filmed. You hardly ever get a good look at the thing, but the glimpses you see turn your stomach.
Off-topic, but I still wanted to comment on that sentence. That is exactly what made the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre so amazing. They show you no gore, but what they suggest is happening is nothing short of mind boggling horror. They keep everything just slightly off screen and let your mind, the best artistic tool of all, left to paint the scenes that you just KNOW are unfolding. I cannot think of very many films that pull this stunt off, but the effect when done right is seemingly better than the real thing.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Tuesday May 13 2014, @03:02PM
The artwork I did that directly led to my current field of work, of which I'm quite proud to be a part of, was inspired by him. It was one of my goals to shake his hand one day and to say thank you. That opportunity is gone, but the respect and appreciation are still there. That man's accomplishments were both entertaining and inspiring.
Rest in peace.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 13 2014, @06:31PM
like goatse but more mainstream?
nothing much lost.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 13 2014, @10:24PM
mod parent up
imo none of his art was meaningful, only occult crap.
Lord, have mercy on his soul.
(Score: 1) by slartibartfastatp on Tuesday May 13 2014, @09:26PM
Am I the only "soylentil"1 that played this [wikipedia.org] game and had terrible nightmares??
1: I can't wait till we get a better name.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 13 2014, @11:17PM
"imo none of his art was meaningful, only occult crap.
Lord, have mercy on his soul."
prove him wrong instead of modding down.
(Score: 2) by monster on Wednesday May 14 2014, @02:06PM
He is entitled to have an opinion, not to have it respected.
He thinks Giger's art is crap? Fine for him, but that fact doesn't mean that those who respect and admire the man and his works must "prove wrong" what is little more than "I don't like it, therefore is crap", which usually hides just bad attempts at trolling.
(Note: I'm not the moderator of that comment, but since you asked why would a moderator mod him down...)