(Books) Two must-owns for fans of the ALIEN and ROBOCOP legacies

Robocop: The Definitive History & Alien the Archive books

Titan Books has done it again with their new outstanding literary looks at film fan favorites, and this time around the company has outdone themselves with RoboCop: The Definitive History and Alien the Archive. Both are essential owns for anyone who has even the slightest attachment to one or all of the films in either iconic movie series, and flipping through the pages reveals an impressive nostalgic collection of behind the scenes photos, cast interviews, early storyboards, script almosts, and all the interesting in-betweens. Growing up loving both franchises, I couldn’t believe the amount of content inside, and a few surprises even popped out of the pages to shed light on various rumors and speculation. Lots of fun stuff here!

Check out some of the awesome photos and read a little bit about everything included in Robocop: The Definitive History and Alien the Archive after the jump!

(Apologies for the quality of some of the photos)

RoboCop: The Definitive History (BUY IT NOW!) (240 pages)

Taking a look at the original three movies, the two follow-up television iterations, a couple cartoon series, the comics, video games, wrestling, merchandise, and the 2014 reinterpretation, this book really feels like a definitive history of the law enforcing robotic rebel Robocop. Popping open the pages to see snapshots of Paul Verhoeven looking silly while blocking out and directing some of the most iconic scenes from some of the most memorable actions films of the ’80s is a fantastic way to relive those fan favorite moments, but the snapshots are just the icing on this multi-layered cake. Seriously, the quality and scope of the content crammed into Robocop: The Definitive History sheds all kinds of light on how the icon was brought to life and what steps, and misteps, the various entries took to keep the cyber cop alive all these years.

Take a look at some of the inside bits and snippets between the pages:

It wouldn’t have been a surprise if the book had only focused on the four movies that made it to the big screen, but instead Robocop: The Definitive History dedicates almost 30 pages to the legacy outside of the feature films. That means backstory and all kinds of cool photos and insider information surrounding the television shows, video games, and all the merchandise the series spawned. I remember a friend owning one of the action figures below!

There’s even a nice page dedicated to the Robocop statue that was erected in Detroit. Look at that guy!

Once again, if you’re a fan of the series, picking up the Robocop: The Definitive History book is a must. Having this bad boy lining your bookshelf or sitting atop your coffee table is an excellent way to keep an exceptional part of the legacy always at your fingertips. It’s a fantastic bathroom book or casual page turner for sure! That said, if you’ve only got money for one great series collection book this holiday season, I’d pick up the one below before Robocop.

~~

Alien the Archive: The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies

(BUY IT NOW!) (320 pages)

I’ll unashamedly admit it, I love the Alien universe in all its gritty goodness, various flavors, and perceived failures, so hefting this amazing 320 page “ultimate guide” to the franchise’s first four films onto the table made me a little giddy. The pages are packed with fantastic original artwork as well as plenty of insightful interviews and eye-opening explanations to some of the series’ stumbles and surprises (I’m lookin’ at you Alien3 – more on that below). Alien the Archive: The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies is pretty ridiculous, in all the right ways, and I couldn’t be happier with what’s between the covers of this can’t-pass-up peek behind the scenes.

I thought the Robocop book was impressive, but this Alien collection is one that will suck you in and spit you out the other end of the four-film saga. Flipping through initially, I couldn’t help but read everything on the first few pages of each section to learn how the films were conceived. The early storyboards are awesome, the concept designs are legendary, the creature is the stuff of nightmares, and seeing it all unfold in one hefty book (seriously, the thing weighs almost five lbs.) is extremely satisfying.

Pair this book with the movies and their commentary/special features and you’ll have a pretty comprehensive understanding of just about everything that went on during the making of this monster of a series. Just look at that demon beast up above! The Xenomorph, the raptors from Jurassic Park, and the spider from Arachnophobia. Those were my bad dreams as a kid.

As terrifying as I found the first movie when I was young, I’ve grown to appreciate the craft and concept that went into creating what many call one of the best horror/thriller movies ever made. It’s fun actor interview snippets like the following from Sigourney Weaver, regarding the emerging from hypersleep scene as well as the final scene in the escape pod, that show just how raw and realized the original was meant to be.

Originally, in the movie, everyone was naked…and one of the things I thought was very interesting about the film…was it was so striking to think of these pink creatures, very vulnerable creatures, moving through this very harsh, metallic environment. That was the script in the beginning. We didn’t shoot it that way because Fox said we’ll lose Spain and we’ll lose Italy, so you have to wear [clothes].

And in regards to stripping down to her skivvies in the final scene:

There was still this idea of filling as much flesh as possible within this environment to show what a human being was, in space. I think it was erotic but that was something I thought was terribly important. Not the girl strips down, but the girl relaxes, thinks it’s over, goes about her business and suddenly the worst possible thing happens and she’s not prepared, she’s as vulnerable as she can be.

I thought it was great to see a two-page spread looking at the miniatures used in the power loader vs. queen scene. They don’t make movies using miniatures like that very often anymore. The few pictures below are all manipulated minis of both Ripley and the big bad momma queen alien!

And then there’s Alien3. A lot of people see the third entry in the Alien series as an ugly stepchild that ruined the momentum the franchise was riding after Aliens. Regardless of your opinion of the film, there’s an excellent section in the book that outlines just how convoluted and rushed production was up to and even during filming. From its fledgling first script drafted by cyberpunk novelist and first-time screenwriter William Gibson and drafts from writer/director Renny Harlin (Die Hard) and David Twohy (Pitch Black) to some outlandish ideas from director Vincent Ward (What Dreams May Come) that proposed an all-wooden, man-made planet inhabited by monks (check out a few pictures of his concept below), the road to final director David Fincher (Fight Club, Gone Girl) was a wild and troubled one. It’s a great read for anyone who’s heard rumors or been curious about exactly what went down surrounding Alien3.

While there are many people who disown Alien3 from the franchise, there’re more who consider Alien: Resurrection to be an abomination. That’s unfortunate, because it’s also a film that travelled a bumpy road (Joss Whedon wrote the majority of the script and director Danny Boyle was approached to helm at one point) before arriving at director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (The City of Lost Children), who considers his movie to be the second best in the series after Ridley Scott’s original. That’s a pretty bold statement, but Alien: Resurrection was fun in its own expansive universe sort of way. The book spends plenty of time lifting the curtain on how and why this film came to be.

I stripped off the slip cover of Alien the Archive to find a fun little graphic printed on the hardbound cover, but I won’t spoil the fun for anyone interested in picking up the book for themselves. I’ve said it before, but this book really is an amazing anthology and one that’s a must-own for anyone who loves the series. Granted, I could see the separate sections making their own awesome self-contained histories of each movie, but having everything in one ridiculous tome just feels…right.

Alien the Archive: The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies is sitting pretty on my bookshelf right now alongside Robocop: The Definitive History, and flipping through both books definitely made me want to watch the movies and revisit everything I love about each one. You know if these books belong in your collection, and if they do you should get your hands on one or both of them and dig into the goodness as soon as you can!