it seems very strange to me, and not very wise, to show that particular scene, gives too much away

Genuis masterful director The Thing They Live Christine Big Trouble in Little China Escape from New York underrated for sure does not get enough respect

Ennio Morricone wrote most of the score. The mix between his classical score and Carpenter's electronic one contributed highly to the dread feeling of isolation and despair.

Fuckin love it.

I agree!

It surely is up there with the first Alien movie. But Alien was released a year before "The Thing" so I think it really set a new gold standard for horror/scifi movies. But I think the psychological twist of not knowing who/what to trust is made even better in "the thing". since in Aliens the real persons are inhabited by the organism and in the thing the organism becomes a copied version of the person after attacking him/her/it. Also, the desolation of Antarctica that still is something that you can set your foot on today makes it feel like a more "real" setting compared to the Nostromo starship and it makes it feel even more terrifying. So, yeah, possibly the greatest sci-fi/horror flick! Both great movies anyway!

Yes, the quality of the effects work in "The Thing" has certainly stood the test of time, and it's just a pity that Bottin didn't receive an Oscar for his amazing contributions.

I agree!

Agreed! That movie will always be part of my movie library! What did you think of the prequel that came out in 2011?

@@sensimania :) I enjoyed the 2011 prequel, it was an OK prequel. You can watch it first then go right into the 1982 film and it works seamlessly. Why it took the studio 29 years later to make as a huge fan of the first film I'll never understand! I think though I would have much preferred a sequel with Carpenter, Russel and David. Apparently when the first film got popular years later It was discussed but was never made. To me though, the 1982 film still excels and is much superior because of the practical special effects, wonderful cinematography and location filming, terrific musical score and the excellent script with exceptional character development. You can literally feel the sense of paranoia between the characters as they lose trust in each other well as the sense of confinement in their environment and dealing with an unknown entity.

@@digitalmandave I agree with many things (no pun here) you wrote. However, I think a key element that made the movie so frightening was not knowing too much about what ever hell happened at the Norwegian station.

Yeah, people in '82 just didn't seem to want a grim and ambiguous ending. However, it's now widely considered one of the greatest science fiction/horror films ever made and that's a lot more significant than how much it made 40 years ago.

E.T. came out before The Thing so people were busy phoning home and falling in love with a cuddly alien.

@@outpost31737funny because I was a kid and disappointed in ET because I thought it was Peter Coyote due to the trailers where he looked like he was in a spacesuit

Bad timing: ET and Star Treck Wrath of Khan had just delivered a more reassuring and mainstream take on sci-fi, which is probably one of the reason why both The Thing and Blade Runner flopped that year. And yet, 40 years later, it is Carpenter's and Scott's movies that really stood the test of time (without taking anything away from Spielberg's flawless direction).

Wondering if it has something to do with this being from NBC's Late Night and The Thing being a Universal film. I'm not sure how rights work with these clips, but NBC would have no incentive to remove the clip if they are still controlling the rights to the show. Frankly, it's silly for any of these clips to ever be removed, because they are still promoting the movie, and the studio should want that, since they can all still be viewed and purchased.

Only in the long run. Shame the movie was panned upon initial release

@@williamarnold9821 Sam Raimi has also battled those same naysayers.

Great follow up by Dave. XD

Great follow up by John about kids!

I saw The Thing in theater (many times) and Cat People on vhs (many times, with many pauses and rewinds).🤫 I just wish I had the opportunity to watch Cat People in theater at least once.

I know, it's weird I guess they were going all in on the gross out aspect of the movie. Also, what scene should they have shown to successfully promote the movie? It's so dark, gory, heavy, clinical..I can't think of one scene that could entice people to go see it..

It was brave of Carpenter to wrap up the story with only a partial victory, guaranteeing the hero certain death- or absorption. Audiences in 1982 just seemed unwilling to embrace such a grim and ambiguous ending. At least it's re-appraisal over time has earned the movie it's now classic status.

@@gallery7596 Yes, I saw it opening night I immediately knew it was a great movie. TBH there was a flood of movies that summer thankfully I had the time to see them all but I think most people had to pick and choose. Carpenter was on a roll for about 5 years maybe this was his last great movie?

I also think releasing The Thing in the Summer wasn't probably the best movie. It's more of an October, Fall flick than a Summer one.

@@erichaynes7502 I think Carpenter himself greatly undervalues "Starman," and "Big Trouble In Little China" has gathered quite a cult following, too.

You'd enjoy the director/producer commentary as well.

He got 10 percent of profit. So almost 7 million dollars

Mad Max had a much bigger ROI than Halloween just the next year at 498.8x budget. Rocky had a bigger ROI than Halloween before Halloween came out, but I guess it wasn't an independent film. Blair Witch did beat Halloween soundly with 413.8x, but didn't beat Mad Max. El Mariachi had also topped Halloween before Blair Witch did at 291.7x.

Due to stiff competition - literally opened the same day as BLADE RUNNER & it was the summer of E.T. ; still the greatest sci-fi horror film of all-time & yes Rob Bottin's genius is non-paraleil

@@MrGpschmidt Blade Runner bombed too. Box office is not a clear indicator of the quality of a movie. It also had something to do with the mood of audiences. They were more inclined towards feel good films (ET, Star Trek 2) that summer as opposed to darker films like the Thing and Blade Runner.

@@richardb6260 A lot of good and well-remembered movies came out that summer.

I think Hawks/Christian Nyby made a brilliant film too, so it's great that there's two excellent movies called "The Thing."