Humankind’s collision with otherworldly life forms can make for unforgettable cinema.
This article will highlight the best of live-action human vs. alien films. The creatures may be from other planets or may be non-demonic entities from other dimensions.
Excluded from consideration were giant monster films as the diakaiju genre would make a great subject for separate articles.
Readers looking for “friendly alien” films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and the comically overrated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are advised to keep watching the skies because they won’t find them here.
Film writing being the game of knowledge filtered through personal taste that it is, some readers’ subgenre favorites might not have made the list such as War of the Worlds (1953) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).
Now let’s take a chronological look at the cinema’s best battles between Us and Them.
This article will highlight the best of live-action human vs. alien films. The creatures may be from other planets or may be non-demonic entities from other dimensions.
Excluded from consideration were giant monster films as the diakaiju genre would make a great subject for separate articles.
Readers looking for “friendly alien” films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and the comically overrated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are advised to keep watching the skies because they won’t find them here.
Film writing being the game of knowledge filtered through personal taste that it is, some readers’ subgenre favorites might not have made the list such as War of the Worlds (1953) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).
Now let’s take a chronological look at the cinema’s best battles between Us and Them.
- 7/13/2014
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
I spent my Friday afternoon at Cannes in a master class with legendary director Philip Kaufman ("The Unbearable Lightness of Being"). During the master class, French film critic Michel Ciment asked provocative questions, guiding Kaufman through his body of work. Clips were shown from a selection of his works including, "Goldstein," "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid," The Wanderers," "Henry & June," and "Quills." Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen, who star in his new film "Hemingway & Gellhorn," were in attendance.Speaking about casting actors, especially those that are not well known, Kaufaman said you just "perceive something that tells you 'this man is great.'""Now, we were shooting a low budget film (“The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid”) for well under a million dollars up in Oregon during a rainy season, so we had no time for a rehearsal really," Kaufman explains. "[Robert Duvall] had read the script. I liked him. I was...
- 5/27/2012
- by help@backstage.com (Emily Cegielski)
- backstage.com
It's been almost five decades since Philip Kaufman first came to Cannes with his 1964 debut "Goldstein," an indie comedy co-directed by Benjamin Manaster. In the time since, his varied work has encompassed wide-ranging themes, from the multiple Academy Award-nominated test pilot saga "The Right Stuff" to the 1978 sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to the Nc-17-rated period drama "Henry & June." This year, Kaufman returns to the festival with what's his first feature since 2004 -- "Hemingway & Gellhorn," a sprawling romance tracking the relationship between Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen), already famous and twice married when the film starts in 1936, and Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman), a tireless war correspondent in an era when being a female in the field was unheard of. The two have a tumultuous, fiery connection that begins when they travel to cover the Spanish Civil War and...
- 5/24/2012
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
This Wednesday, December 14: a full 24-hours of rarely-seen, rarely-screened gems.
The George Eastman House is one of the vital cultural and historical institutions (especially as the studios are trying to leave their remaining physical bits of film literally rotting in the dust). A major archive of the moving image, the Eastman collection contains over 25,000 films and 3 million (!) film artifacts.
In honor of it, TCM has programmed a full 24-hour celebration of some of the Eastman House’s finest gems.
So sayeth TCM:
In prime-time screenings during our tribute, Jared Case, Head of Cataloging and Access in the Motion Picture Department of Eastman House, will join TCM host Robert Osborne in introducing and discussing the selected films. Among the titles are several TCM premieres including the allegorical war drama Fear and Desire (1953), which marked director Stanley Kubrick’s feature-film debut.
That’s right. Fear and Desire. Kubrick’s first film...
The George Eastman House is one of the vital cultural and historical institutions (especially as the studios are trying to leave their remaining physical bits of film literally rotting in the dust). A major archive of the moving image, the Eastman collection contains over 25,000 films and 3 million (!) film artifacts.
In honor of it, TCM has programmed a full 24-hour celebration of some of the Eastman House’s finest gems.
So sayeth TCM:
In prime-time screenings during our tribute, Jared Case, Head of Cataloging and Access in the Motion Picture Department of Eastman House, will join TCM host Robert Osborne in introducing and discussing the selected films. Among the titles are several TCM premieres including the allegorical war drama Fear and Desire (1953), which marked director Stanley Kubrick’s feature-film debut.
That’s right. Fear and Desire. Kubrick’s first film...
- 12/12/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
Rose Kaufman, who with her husband Philip Kaufman co-wrote "Henry & June," the first Nc-17 rated film, died Dec. 7 at her San Francisco home after a four-year battle with cancer. She was 70.
Survivors include her husband of 51 years, who also directed "Henry & June," and their son Peter, who produced the drama.
Kaufman began her screenwriting career in the early 1970s after Peter mentioned to her that Richard Price's novel "The Wanderers" would make a good movie. The Kaufmans wrote a screenplay based on the book, and Philip directed the 1979 film.
Years later, the couple collaborated on the groundbreaking "Henry & June," a 1990 adaptation of Anais Nin's memoir of her love affair with writer Henry Miller and his wife, June. The film took advantage of the MPAA ratings system's adults-only rating introduced that year and was one of the rare studio releases to have gone out with an Nc-17.
A native of Saugus,...
Survivors include her husband of 51 years, who also directed "Henry & June," and their son Peter, who produced the drama.
Kaufman began her screenwriting career in the early 1970s after Peter mentioned to her that Richard Price's novel "The Wanderers" would make a good movie. The Kaufmans wrote a screenplay based on the book, and Philip directed the 1979 film.
Years later, the couple collaborated on the groundbreaking "Henry & June," a 1990 adaptation of Anais Nin's memoir of her love affair with writer Henry Miller and his wife, June. The film took advantage of the MPAA ratings system's adults-only rating introduced that year and was one of the rare studio releases to have gone out with an Nc-17.
A native of Saugus,...
- 12/10/2009
- by By Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bruce Goldstein, repertory program director of New York's Film Forum and founder of Rialto Pictures, will receive the Mel Novikoff Award at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, which runs April 23 to May 7.
Named for the late San Francisco art and repertory film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922-1987), the award acknowledges an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public's knowledge and appreciation of world cinema.
The award will be presented on May 3 at 5 pm at the Castro Theatre, which will include an an onstage interview with Goldstein by Anita Monga, a 20-minute reel of Rialto Pictures trailers, and the screening of a 35mm print of Federico Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria," one of many films to benefit from Goldstein's dedication to restoring and revitalizing classics.
"We knew we had the right guy for this year's award when Bruce started recalling having dinner with Mel Novikoff in...
Named for the late San Francisco art and repertory film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922-1987), the award acknowledges an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public's knowledge and appreciation of world cinema.
The award will be presented on May 3 at 5 pm at the Castro Theatre, which will include an an onstage interview with Goldstein by Anita Monga, a 20-minute reel of Rialto Pictures trailers, and the screening of a 35mm print of Federico Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria," one of many films to benefit from Goldstein's dedication to restoring and revitalizing classics.
"We knew we had the right guy for this year's award when Bruce started recalling having dinner with Mel Novikoff in...
- 3/17/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.