- dave 5-20-2023 1:43 pm

Saw that in a theater on release 


- bill 5-20-2023 2:36 pm [add a comment]


  • nah me or i dont remember if i did. was it marketed as horror or sci-fi? they definitely werent into horror but sci fi, maybe. we saw close encounters when i was 8 but that was far more touchy-feely. 


    - dave 5-20-2023 3:04 pm [add a comment]


    • i guess "in space, no one can hear you scream" is more on the horror tip.

      https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-weird-marketing-of-the-alien-films/


      - dave 5-20-2023 3:07 pm [add a comment]


    • I think it was just kind of a blockbuster with sci fi horror undertones. Definitely went into it knowing to expect spectacular gross special effects and a sexy female lead. Also saw Annie Hall, American Gigolo (Armani) and Shampoo around then.


      - bill 5-20-2023 3:40 pm [add a comment]


      • shampoo 75, annie hall 77, alien 79, american gigolo 80. were you in your wall st designer suit phase or something?

        https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/american-gigolo-rise-of-armani


        - dave 5-20-2023 4:07 pm [add a comment]


        • movies i recall seeing in the theater in 79 (age 10)

          the jerk

          superman 2

          1941

          moonraker

          the china syndrome

          meatballs

          kramer vs kramer

          being there

          breaking away

          the main event

          rocky 2

          goldengirl (possibly)

          the in laws (maybe)

          10 (kind of a stretch but...)

          the muppet movie

          The Electric Horseman

           


          - dave 5-20-2023 4:22 pm [add a comment]


          • did not see

            apocalypse now

            norma rae

            the rose

            life of brian

            the warriors

            all that jazz

            mad max

            escape from alcatraz

            rock n roll high school

            manhattan ???

            star trek the motion picture

            the amityville horror

            buck rogers in the 25th century


            - dave 5-20-2023 4:29 pm [add a comment]


          • might have seen hair. probably saw the champ.

             

            heres a list from tarantino.


            - dave 5-20-2023 4:30 pm [add a comment]


          • Only saw r and r hs of all of those. Manhattan on TV. 


            - bill 5-20-2023 5:28 pm [add a comment]


          • I saw Alien in the theater summer of '79. Once face hugger made his first move the woman next to me threw her head into her lap and began sobbing inconsolably with her hands over her ears. She stayed that way til the end credits as her date casually munched a bucket of popcorn.
            - steve 5-20-2023 7:10 pm [add a comment]




- steve 5-20-2023 7:14 pm [add a comment]


  • haha. i dont remember that. they were really reaching. the movie was rated r. maybe they thought the toy would catch on without a lot of kids seeing the movie. kids love dinosaurs and godzilla, why not this creepy remorseless killing machine?


    - dave 5-20-2023 7:28 pm [add a comment]


    • AI prompt. (unreliable narrator)

      was the alien action figure a successful toy for kenner in 1979?

      The Alien action figure was not a commercial success for Kenner in 1979. The toy was priced at $15, which was considered to be too expensive for most children. Additionally, the toy was based on a horror movie, which made some parents hesitant to buy it for their children. As a result, the toy did not sell well and was eventually discontinued.

      However, the Alien action figure has since become a collectible item. In recent years, the toy has sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the secondary market. This is due in part to the popularity of the Alien franchise, as well as the toy's unique design and limited availability.

      Here are some of the reasons why the Alien action figure was not a success in 1979:

      The toy was priced too high.

      The toy was based on a horror movie, which made some parents hesitant to buy it for their children.

      The toy was not well-promoted.

      The toy was not available in many stores.

      Despite its initial failure, the Alien action figure has since become a collectible item. The toy's unique design and limited availability have made it a sought-after item for fans of the Alien franchise.


      - dave 5-20-2023 7:30 pm [add a comment]


      • see we have some sense based on the commercial existing that this is at least somewhat untrue.

        how much of that was based on its r rating and thus not a movie oriented towards children?

        The R rating of the Alien movie was a major factor in the failure of the Alien action figure. The movie was very violent and gory, and it was not appropriate for children. As a result, many parents were hesitant to buy the toy for their children.

        In addition, the R rating of the movie made it difficult for Kenner to market the toy to children. The company could not advertise the toy on television or in other media that was targeted towards children. This made it difficult for Kenner to reach its target audience and sell the toy.

        The R rating of the Alien movie was a major factor in the failure of the Alien action figure. The movie was not appropriate for children, and it made it difficult for Kenner to market the toy to its target audience.


        - dave 5-20-2023 7:33 pm [add a comment]



That same year I remember seeing Apocalypse Now, Amityville Horor, The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Being There, Kramer vs Kramer...
Movies would get long runs and come back year after year so it was not unusual to see movies that were a few years old in theaters.  Cable wasn't pervasive yet so the only real avenues were television, which had to cut everything into basically a G rating, or theaters.

 


- steve 5-20-2023 7:41 pm [add a comment]


  • yeah, i know movies had a longer runs, time to build word of mouth unlike how most movies are marketed today but return engagements? i could see that there were second run movie houses but returning to first run regularly? yeah, i guess i can imagine a star wars returning to a theater months after it initially ran, or rocky, or jaws. 

    anyway, surprised to see hbo was in 1.something million homes by 1979. still a far cry from its peak of 50 million. and vhs was picking up steam.

    "The number of movie rentals in the United States increased dramatically over the course of the 1980s. In 1980, there were an estimated 1.5 billion movie rentals. By 1989, that number had grown to 5.5 billion. This growth was driven by a number of factors, including the increasing availability of VCRs, the growing popularity of movies on demand, and the decreasing cost of renting movies."


    - dave 5-20-2023 8:03 pm [add a comment]


  • Drive ins and second run theaters would market double and triple features. Saw apocalypse in the theater.
    - bill 5-20-2023 8:15 pm [add a comment]


  • I also saw Manhattan in 1979 and Chinatown, The Passenger, Last Tango In Paris, Remember My Name, The Harder They Come, Quadrophenia, Star Trek: The Motion Picture


    - steve 5-21-2023 2:47 am [add a comment]


  • Saw last tango 1st run 73 summer. Chinatown in theater.
    - bill 5-21-2023 3:30 am [add a comment]






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