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ALIEN (1979) THE REAL FEAR (acting & characterization) film analysis by Rob Ager

55K views · Apr 28, 2026 · Film & Animation

Collative Learning

261K subscribers

Comments · 474

@collativelearning · 4 months ago (edited) · pinned
Feedback on this vid so far is incredibly positive, thanks. I HAVE TONS MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS that I haven't put on here. Whenever I try to upload a really in-depth study like this (one which absolutely requires that I show multiple clips from the movie to illustrate the detailed observations) the video either gets completely blocked over "copyright" (even though I'm legally allowed to use the clips for educational critique under "Fair Use" law) or its allowed, but all ad revenue is taken and given to the film distributor ... even though I took weeks, sometimes months, to produce the video and even though I am already giving free advertisement and promotion of their product. Out of all the videos I've uploaded over the years, over 75% of them end up supplying revenue to the distributors - they've made tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, out of my work. Meanwhile YT's system continually shafts me (as it does many others). There are more and more subjects and keywords I have to avoid, as the margins of acceptance get narrower. Less than 20% of my subscribers receive notifications of my new uploads, so I can't reach most of them. If a video doesn't go super viral within 48 hrs then the browse features system assumes nobody will enjoy it and stops showing it in people's recommendations. And it doesn't matter if the video has 99% likes to dislikes ratio, hundreds of glowing comments or even a high click rate. At the same time, plagiaristic AI-generated trash rip-offs of my work get heavily promoted by the browse features system, even though those videos are often full of comments by people citing my own work as the original source and complaining that it's low quality "slop". My impression is that the system is being gradually rigged to slowly push human creators out, so that the entire platform can just be one huge auto-generated factory of the same vids being rehashed over and over again by these bots for endless ad revenue. These are the reasons I've only made 20 - 30% of my material free to watch publicly over the years and am currently reducing the ratio to around 10% free material. I would LOVE to get all of my work out there for free, but I would then have to quit making the videos all together and go back to working in my previous field of mental health work. To counter this system and maintain my ability to work full time on these videos I've had no choice, but to charge for my work in other ways. I sell longform vids, like this one, on my site. A lot of my best work is on there. And I make lots of material available to paid channel members and to Patreon supporters. I've recently taken a lot of my public videos (mostly ones I can't claim revenue on or which the algo won't show to people at all) and made them "channel members" only. Sorry, but without that approach folks have no reason to sign up. I could produce loads more public material, if the number of paid channel members increases enough, and / or the number of Patreon supporters increases enough. Until then it can't be done as I'd have to earn my living elsewhere. So do consider signing up to one or the other. My forthcoming book on film analysis is now over 90% written, so I'm going to spending some time on that for a month or two. In that period my free uploads might be a bit less frequent or perhaps the uploads shorter. Meanwhile, enjoy this longform Alien analysis as a total freebie. Rob :)
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@bassvibasics479 · 4 months ago
Every time I revisit this film I am gobsmacked at how beautifully nuanced Ian Holm's performance is. It's a masterclass in subtlety.
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@Paul_Hardy · 4 months ago
Alien is a masterclass in not just pacing, but how to pace a slow burn and still keep it interesting. Nobody could make a movie like this in 2026.
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@DanCave79 · 4 months ago
Phenomenal analysis. I've never seen anybody go so deep. Amazing how many horror films missed out on the nuances and little details since. Then again, we have 10 out of 10 acting in the film. I'd say this is on the level of, if not scarier, than The Exorcist.
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@SendyTheEndless · 4 months ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JABTemoER5Q&t=4551">1:15:51</a> I love the way she shouts "PARKer!!" It's so off the cuff
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@hendrsb33 · 4 months ago
In addition to the observations brought up in this video, when ALIEN first came out in theaters, I knew NONE of those actors. For me, that added to the feeling of the characters as real people because no one was recognizable to me at the outset to be the predictable survivor of the film. Therefore, their deaths hit me harder because I could relate to actors as normal people caught in way over their heads. I'm not a horror fan but ALIEN is one of those films at the top of my list of all time faves. I feel the same with John Carpenter's THE THING. Both are terrifying situations with people caught in inescapable circumstances where they act logically against a cosmic threat but in the end they're still screwed.
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@sdad6378 · 4 months ago
Ian Holm is incredible in this. Knowing now he is not what he appears to be. You can rewatch and notice all his nuances to make him seem a bit off but not enough to guess he is a synthetic.
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@hattorihanzo2.0 · 4 months ago
Feature length analysis is the bee's knees.
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@tommc3622 · 4 months ago (edited)
Excellent breakdown. I have one point of contention. The amount of motivation given to the acquisition of the Alien itself.  You said Ash knew that a crewmember would need to be infected. How? How would the company know? Unless they had already been to the derelict ship. In which case, they wouldn't need some random space truckers to investigate. I contend that it's a random corporate suit who got a tip about a radio signal and  accessed some shipping manifests to swap some crew and install special orders on a tugboat. Low level stuff.  Even using Ash as his "inside man" was a miscalculation, because his programming couldn't handle the parameters he was given. ... Fast forward to 57 years later, and the company STILL doesn't have an Alien. Doesn't believe Ripley. Isn't even slightly interested in the Alien. ...Burke is. It was never a big corporate conspiracy. It was always small time corporate greed and side-deals.
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@thedocak7532 · 4 months ago
dude Ur effort and delivery of your studies deserves some MBE-esque reward.
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@Tom-kw6km · 4 months ago
This is the type of entertainment/education that I hope to find. Thank you for your insights on a motion picture classic.
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@jofohollywood · 4 months ago
My favourite channel on YouTube!! I love your work and you're so open minded, thanks for the new video!! ❤❤
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