Aliens: The Set Photography was released earlier this month in unison to the 30th anniversary of the release of the movie.  It gives you an in-depth behind the scenes look at what it took from the cast and crew to put this movie together.  The quality and detail of the images are unbelievable and can’t be compared to any other publisher of set photography books.  This book is broken down into how production went for the major acts of the movie.  Along with the photography from the set each image is accompanied with either an detailed description or a quote from one of the actors from the movie.  A majority of the photos included in this book have never been seen before, so even if you have watched the movie hundreds of times I guarantee that there will be images you haven’t seen.  

With so many movies today relying on CGI and green screens being used to achieve other worldly places, Aliens: The Set Photography makes you really appreciate film making prior to major technology taking over.  For the younger film making audience it will allow them to understand how important James Cameron is to the movie industry.  Majority of audiences under 30 who only know Cameron from movies like Avatar and Titanic also only think film making is done with green screens.  This book goes in-depth to detail the amount of work the crew and James Cameron did to make this movie as real as possible.  Cameron’s use of camera angles and lighting is detailed to show you his vision to get the perfect shots for the movie.

The most insightful part of this book was the excerpts and quotes from Carrie Henn who played Newt in the film.  Carrie who retired from acting after the film as a young girl hadn’t been vocal about her role until this year celebrating the 30th anniversary at SDCC.  Their is a magnificent piece at the beginning of the book that Carrie describes the thrill of her involvement in the film.  Throughout the book she gives insightful quotes about Cameron and her cast mates of how easy it was to be a part of this film.

This book is a must have for any fan of the Alien franchise but also for any person that is a fan of film making in general.

Synopsis

A new hardback photography book documenting the making of Aliens, the 1986 smash hit movie directed by James Cameron. Aliens: The Set Photography reveals a unique new perspective on the making of James Cameron’s film as the focus shifts behind the cameras to capture the director, cast and crew as they bring the second action-packed installment of the Alien saga to the big screen. Released to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the movie, Aliens: The Set Photography features brand-new insights and memories from Carrie Henn (Newt) and Jenette Goldstein (Private Vasquez). With a wealth of never-before-seen pictures including casting publicity shots, behind-the-scenes ‘between-take’ breaks, weapons, vehicles and much more, Aliens: The Set Photography acts as a sumptuous visual celebration of this sci-fi classic.