La Chose d'un autre monde

La science-fiction des années 50 intelligente avec des éléments d'horreur et une idée intéressante. Ce serait plus effrayant et captivant s'il n'était pas si bavard et s'il se concentrait davantage sur la confrontation des personnages avec la Chose plutôt que sur les relations entre les personnages (surtout la relation amoureuse inutile entre le capitaine et l'assistante). Les scénaristes auraient pu dramatiser la dernière partie de manière plus inventive et provoquer plus de sacrifices. Ainsi, cela se termine simplement avec les génériques finaux. (20/11/2011)

For me a clear disappointment, and since the comparison with Carpenter's remake can’t be avoided, I declare the winner and it is John Carpenter. Hawks's black and white classic lacks everything that made the remake interesting. There is no feeling of confinement and isolation, no paranoia and distrust among colleagues that add to the tension, no palpable fear of unknown threats. Howard Hawks had a wide genre range, he made comedies, historical westerns and, in this case, science fiction, and all of his films are characterised by his signature overlapping dialogue. And that's exactly what happens ninety-five percent of the time in this film. There's talking and talking and talking, and although the dialogue is well written and the plot feels lively, Hawks builds absolutely no tension. A couple of promisingly interesting scenes are nipped in the bud, or are just plain sloppy (finding the spaceship). Despite my great fondness for old science fiction films, I did not enjoy this one, and after seeing this classic, I appreciated its remake all the more, with Carpenter mixing in all the ingredients such a film should have. Some films have really aged a lot. (17/10/2004)