Daily Dialogue — July 1, 2010

Ripley: Ash, can you hear me? *Ash*? 
 Ash: Yes, I can hear you. 
 Ripley: What was your special order? 
 Ash: You read it. I thought it was clear. 
 Ripley: What was it? 
 Ash: Bring back life form. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded. 
 Parker: The damn company. What about our lives, you son of a bitch? 
 Ash: I repeat, all other priorities are rescinded. 
 Ripley: How do we kill it Ash? There’s gotta be a way of killing it, how, *how* do we do it? 
 Ash: You can’t. 
 Parker: That’s bullshit. 
 Ash: You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. 
 Lambert: You admire it. 
 Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality. 
 Parker: Look, I am — I’ve heard enough of this, and I’m asking you to pull the plug. 
 Ash: [Ripley goes to disconnect Ash, who interrupts] Last word. 
 Ripley: What? 
 Ash: I can’t lie to you about your chances, but… you have my sympathies.

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Ash (Ian Holm), Parker (Yaphet Kotto), Alien (1979), screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett

The Daily Dialogue theme this week is favorite dialogue from favorite movies of GITS readers. Alien suggested by Teddy.

Trivia: The genesis of the film arose out of Dan O’Bannon’s dissatisfaction with his first feature, Dark Star (1974) which John Carpenter directed in 1974. Because of that film’s severe low budget, the alien was quite patently a beach ball. For his second attempt, O’Bannon wanted to craft an altogether more convincing specimen. The goofiness of Dark Star (1974) also led him in the direction of an intense horror movie.