The Thing

The Thing (1982)

Timing: 1:49 (109 min)

8.1/10
705 004

—
no scores

8.1/10
8099

8.2/10
523000

Rate the movie:

Everything about the movie

Video 27

Photo 394

Actors and characters

0:21

Photo 394

Release date

1982-06-25

Country

Canada, United States

Production

Universal Pictures, Turman-Foster Company, Province of BC, Ministry of Tourism, Film Promotion Office

Genre

Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction

Budget

$15 000 000

Box office

$20 374 918

Website

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/the-thing/

Director

John Carpenter

Actors

Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

David Foster, Lawrence Turman, Wilbur Stark

Camera operator

Dean Cundey

Composer

Ennio Morricone

Artist

John J. Lloyd

Audition

Anita Dann

Editing

Todd C. Ramsay
Whole Team (103)

• According to screenwriter Bill Lancaster, he didn't particularly like the story. He changed a lot: the number of characters, the plot's premise and, of course, the ending, which became much darker compared to the original literary source.
• The film's script did not include the appearance of Blair in human form. However, John Carpenter decided to show viewers that the monster was indeed Blair, so a short scene with him and Garry was included in the film. It was created using reverse footage: Blair’s fingers were extracted from a special prosthetic in the form of silicone skin on Donald Moffat’s face. To film the scene with the flying wooden flooring, a guiding trough was constructed under the floor of the soundstage, into which a heavy ball attached to a high-speed winch was placed. As the ball was pulled along the trough, it would kick up the floorboards. This scene was shot simultaneously with multiple cameras to show the action from different angles. A model of the “thing” was also created for the final scenes, which was later filmed using stop-motion animation. The necessary footage was shot, but it did not make it into the final version of the film because it was very noticeable that what was happening on screen was stop-motion animation. John Carpenter only left a short portion of this footage in the film.
• This film was the first in John Carpenter's career for which he did not write the music. Jerry Goldsmith was originally supposed to be the composer, but he dropped out of the project. Ennio Morricone replaced him and wrote music similar to Carpenter's work.
• The flower made of flesh that attacks Childs has 12 petals shaped like dog tongues, complemented by rows of dog teeth. Special effects creator Rob Bottin nicknamed it the "rabid cabbage".
• The film is based on the novella by John W. Campbell Jr. “Who Goes There?”. John Carpenter’s version is a much more faithful adaptation of the original work than “The Thing” (1951). For example, the 1951 version featured female characters that are not present in the book or Carpenter’s film. Also, the use of a hot needle to test the blood of the characters was taken from the original novella, which was not present in the 1951 film.
• This film was the first in John Carpenter's career for which he did not compose the music. Jerry Goldsmith was originally intended to be the composer, but he left the project. Ennio Morricone replaced him and wrote music similar to Carpenter's work.
• When reworking the concept of the alien, Carpenter opted for a creature that resembled nothing human. To solve this problem, the producers hired legendary illustrator Dale Kupers. He created models and sketches of “The Thing,” but soon became seriously ill, forcing the filmmakers to find a replacement. Rob Bottin was eventually chosen, and he altered the initial concepts, ultimately creating one of the most unusual and terrifying monsters in cinema history.
• The filming period lasted over nine months; according to Carpenter, it was the most labor-intensive project of his career.
• Carpenter was a big fan of the original story, which he first read in school, and during filming he tried to adhere to the literary source, rather than the 1951 film, which leaned more towards an alien version of Frankenstein.
• All scenes in which the actors interacted with 'the thing' were filmed on a studio soundstage. When the main unit finished filming in October 1981, work on the special effects continued for another six weeks at the specialized Universal-Hartland studio unit. During this period, Bottin led a team of 40 designers, artists, sculptors, and operators who brought 'the thing' to life.
• According to screenwriter Bill Lancaster, he didn't particularly like the story. He changed a lot in it: the number of characters, the plot's premise, and, of course, the ending, which became much darker compared to the literary source material.
• Although the envisioned special effects for the 'Thing' creatures were quite ambitious for their time, the simplest technologies were used to create them. Clay sculptures were made for the creature models, from which foam latex molds were produced, onto which the necessary details were attached and animatronic mechanisms were installed. In his work on the film's special effects, Rob Bottin utilized all the technologies and materials known and available to him at the time: animatronics (hydraulics, pneumatics, radio control), reverse playback of filmed material, and so on. Materials such as gelatin, urethane, plexiglass, rubber, foam latex, and KY Jelly lubricant (which was used to create the Alien's saliva in the eponymous film) were employed. Bottin also used unconventional materials for the special effects: heated and melted chewing gum, strawberry jam, mayonnaise, and food fillers.
• The opening credits exactly replicate the original credits of Howard Hawks' film.
• When “The Thing” was being made, makeup artist Rob Bottin was only 22 years old.
• At the time of the production of 'The Thing', makeup specialist Rob Bottin was only 22 years old.
• Carpenter was a huge fan of the original short story, which he first read in high school, and during filming, he strove to adhere to the literary source material rather than the 1951 film, which leaned more toward an alien version of Frankenstein.
• When the characters in the film discuss what an alien spaceship might look like, one of them explains it with the words "Chariots of the Gods." This is a reference to the 1968 book by Swiss-German author Erich von Däniken, titled "Chariots of the Gods?", which proposed the hypothesis that many of the world's great historical monuments, such as the Egyptian pyramids, were built using technology obtained from extraterrestrial beings who were regarded as gods by ancient peoples.
• The design of the title inscription in the opening credits was borrowed from the original film. The letters of the title were drawn on transparent film used in animation. Behind it was an aquarium filled with smoke. A frame with stretched black plastic bags was placed between the inscription and the aquarium. Behind the entire structure was a lamp – a source of light rays passing through the letters. The plastic bag was set on fire, and using this method, the “burning out” letters of the film title were filmed: “The Thing”.
• “The Thing” is the first film in John Carpenter’s so-called “Apocalypse Trilogy.” The other two films are “Prince of Darkness” (1987) and “In the Mouth of Madness” (1994).
• Some dialogues and individual scenes with the infected dog were cut from the film, but were eventually included in the television version.
• The female computer voice belongs to Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter's wife at the time of filming.
• Due to the obvious shortcomings of the stop-motion animation in terms of realism, a scene of the murder of Knowles by one of the forms of the “thing,” dubbed the “monster from the box” by the creators, was removed from the film. The appearance of the monster could have resembled a giant imp from a snuffbox, so it was decided to abandon filming such a scene. In the film, Knowles simply disappears as he walks down the hallway.
• The film has no female characters. Female presence in the film is limited to the voice of the MacReady computer and a video recording of a television program watched by Palmer. According to John Carpenter, there was only one woman on the film crew. Shortly before filming began, she became pregnant and soon left the project. She was replaced by a man.
• The first part of the scene with the dog-“thing” was made by Rob Bottin himself. In this scene, he used reverse photography, which was used to create the tentacles wrapping around the dead dog – the tentacles were retracted inward, releasing the dog dummy. The second part of the scene was created with the support of Stan Winston's team. The puppet had radio-controlled eyes, and cables allowed control of the movements of the legs and nose, creating the appearance of a snarling dog. Winston refused to have his name mentioned in the film's credits, noting that all the credit for creating the special effects belonged to Rob Bottin. However, Winston was still thanked, with a mention in the final credits of the film.
• Kurt Russell nearly got seriously hurt in the scene where his character throws a hatchet with dynamite. He didn't know how powerful the explosion would be, so his reaction to the blast is genuine.
• While Carpenter was filming 'Escape from New York,' screenwriter Bill Lancaster was in the midst of working on the script for 'The Thing'.
• Two shocking episodes were filmed for the scene in the Norwegian camp. In the first, a corpse fell out of a closet, and in the second, the heroes stumble upon a body nailed to a door with a harpoon. Both episodes were ultimately cut.
• According to the director's initial idea, MacReady was supposed to be a former military pilot who served in Vietnam.
• Although television producer Stuart Cohen, who bought the rights to adapt the story, tried to convince the bosses at Universal to hire Carpenter as director, Tobe Hooper was originally planned to helm the film. However, Cohen disliked his script options. The project languished within Universal from 1975 to 1979 until “Alien” was released and became a hit. It became clear that audiences were interested in similar stories, and “The Thing” finally received the “green light.”
• All episodes involving the actors' interactions with "the thing" were filmed on the studio soundstages. When the main unit finished filming in October 1981, work on the special effects continued for another six weeks in a specialized division of Universal-Hartland Studios. During this period, Rob Bottin led a team of 40 designers, artists, sculptors, and camera operators who "brought the thing to life."
• While Carpenter was filming “Escape from New York,” screenwriter Bill Lancaster was hard at work on the script for “The Thing.”
• In the original 1951 film, the action took place at the North Pole. In John Carpenter's film, the action takes place at the South Pole.
• According to John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, they still don't know which characters and when were replaced by the alien.
• The design of the movie title in the opening credits was borrowed from the original film. The letters of the title were drawn on transparent animation film. Behind it was an aquarium filled with smoke. A frame with a stretched black plastic bag was placed between the lettering and the aquarium. A lamp was installed behind the entire structure as a light source, with rays passing through the letters. The plastic bag was set on fire, and this method was used to film the "burning out" letters of the movie title: "The Thing".
• Originally, Donald Pleasence was supposed to play Blair, but he was unable to participate in the filming due to commitments to other projects.
• Many actors caught colds frequently during filming. This was due to the fact that the temperature in the pavilion where the filming took place was deliberately lowered so that real steam would come from the actors' mouths. The problem was that the pavilions were located in Los Angeles, where the temperature outside was at least forty degrees Celsius. As a result, the actors constantly felt the temperature difference.
• Work on the film's special effects began in April 1981, lasted 57 weeks, and was completed at the end of May 1982.
• According to the director's original idea, MacReady was meant to be a former military pilot who had served in Vietnam.
• Although the planned special effects for "the thing" were quite ambitious for their time, the simplest technologies were used to create them. Clay sculptures were made for the creature models, molds were created from expanded latex, necessary details were attached, and animatronic mechanisms were installed. In his work on the film's special effects, Rob Bottin used all the technologies and materials available to him at the time: animatronics (hydraulics, pneumatics, radio control), reverse footage techniques, and more. He used materials such as gelatin, urethane, acrylic, rubber, foam latex, and KY Jelly lubricant (which was used to create the alien's saliva in the film of the same name). Bottin also used unconventional materials for special effects: heated and melted chewing gum, strawberry jam, mayonnaise, and food fillers.
• Most of the special effects work in the scene inside the dog kennel was done by Stan Winston and his team, as Rob Bottin was hospitalized due to exhaustion.
• At the beginning of the film, a Norwegian with a rifle says: “Se til helvete og kom dere vekk. Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting! Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig! KOM DERE VEKK IDIOTER!!” which translates to: “Get the hell out of here. It’s not a dog, it’s some kind of thing! It’s just imitating a dog! Get out of here, you idiots!!”.
• Almost all location shooting took place in British Columbia (Canada), where special sets were built.
• For the film, Albert Whitlock, a renowned matte painter who worked with Alfred Hitchcock, created several painted images to create the illusion of the environment in the shot. These were images of a flying saucer in an icy crater, which were then placed in the foreground or background. Actors for these scenes were filmed against a blue screen.
• The sound of the Antarctic wind was recorded in the desert near Palm Springs.
• The film had three alternative endings shot. The first was the ending shown in the theatrical release – Childs and MacReady await the outcome near the burning base. The second ending was filmed in case the ending from the release version was negatively received during test screenings – MacReady successfully passes a blood test showing he was not infected, however, this ending did not reveal whether Childs was infected (this version was never shown in any supplemental materials). The third ending was an addition to the release version ending – the viewer is shown the morning after: an obviously infected Alaskan Malamute runs through the snow away from the burned base (the base itself is not shown, only three thick plumes of smoke above the horizon). The dog stops momentarily, turns around, then continues running (this version hinted that Childs and MacReady were not infected and most likely perished).
• Donald Pleasence was originally supposed to play Blair, but he was unable to participate in the filming due to commitments to other projects.
• Initially, $750,000 was allocated for special effects from the film's total budget, but the amount ultimately had to be increased to $1.5 million.
• In the scene where the film’s heroes fly to the Norwegian camp by helicopter, you can notice that at one point the helicopter begins to sway from side to side. At that moment, the pilot handed control to Kurt Russell.
• The first part of the scene with the 'Thing' dog was created by Rob Bottin himself. In this scene, he used a reverse filming technique for the tentacles wrapping around the dead dog—the tentacles were actually retracting, releasing the stuffed dog. The second part of the scene was created with the support of Stan Winston's team. The puppet had radio-controlled eyes, and cables allowed for the control of the legs and nose movements, creating the appearance of a snarling dog. Winston declined to have his name mentioned in the credits, stating that all credit for the special effects belonged to Rob Bottin. However, Winston was still thanked by being mentioned in the film's final credits.
• In Soviet pirate video salons, the film was shown under the title "Creature."
• For the scene involving the biting off of hands, Bottin’s team created a hydraulic rig with a copy of the actor’s body on top. In this scene, only the actor’s head, neck, and shoulders were real. A setup was located where the chest and abdomen would have been, which was designed to open, tearing the silicone skin, and “bite” off the other character’s hands. For this scene, a double was found to play Dr. Copper, who had lost both hands below the elbow in a work accident. A silicone mask of Richard A. Dysart, who played the doctor, was placed on the double’s face. The hands that the “thing’s” chest bit off were made of KY Jelly lubricant, the bones were made of paraffin wax, and the veins and arteries were made of silicone and rubber. The following scene in this episode was filmed after principal photography had wrapped: the “thing’s” neck began to slowly extend, separating the head from the body. Under the table were two assistants who controlled the head’s movements and pumped fluid into the rupturing vessels. Bottin encountered difficulties preparing for this scene – he didn’t have a material that could stretch so strongly. Therefore, his team had to experiment. They ultimately settled on a mixture of melted plastic with chewing gum. The next scene in the episode used reverse footage, where tentacles growing from the head’s mouth would latch onto the furniture. In reality, the moment of detaching and retracting the tentacles into the mouth was filmed, and then the footage was played in reverse during editing. Having grown spider legs (at this point, puppeteers were operating a puppet head under a false floor), the head gradually moved towards the exit. Bottin used a radio-controlled model here.
• In the scene where Norris’s (Charles Hallahan) head is separated from his body, Rob Bottin used flammable materials to construct the head and neck model. During filming, at the director’s insistence, more fire was added, which caused the entire room to catch fire. No one was injured, however, the complex model that Rob had spent several months building was completely destroyed.
• The film's premiere almost coincided with the release of Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial." Audiences preferred to see the alien as a friend rather than a deadly enemy, and as a result, "The Thing's" box office receipts were disappointing.
• When reworking the concept of the alien, Carpenter opted for a creature that bore no resemblance to a human. To achieve this, the producers hired legendary illustrator Del Casper. He created the models and sketches for 'The Thing,' but soon became seriously ill, and the filmmakers had to find a replacement. Ultimately, Rob Bottin was chosen; he modified the original ideas, eventually creating one of the most unusual and terrifying monsters in world cinema.
• The bulk of the special effects work for the scene inside the kennel was handled by Stan Winston and his team, as Rob Bottin had been hospitalized due to exhaustion.
• There is not a single female character in the film. Female presence is limited to the voice of MacReady's computer and a video recording of a television program that Palmer watches. According to John Carpenter, there was only one woman on the production crew. Shortly before filming began, she became pregnant and soon left the project. She was replaced by a man.
• «The Thing» is the first film in John Carpenter's so-called "Apocalypse Trilogy." The other two films are "Prince of Darkness" (1987) and "In the Mouth of Madness" (1994).
• Initially, the film was banned from screening in Finnish cinemas.
• Filming took over nine months; according to Carpenter, it was the most laborious project of his career.
• The Norwegian camp’s set decorations were provided by the American camp’s set decorations: it was much cheaper to rework the burnt and destroyed decorations from the end of the film than to build new ones.
• The first draft of the screenplay was completed in the second half of 1980. The script subsequently underwent a number of minor changes: the character Sanchez's name was changed to Simmons, and then to Windows – in the final version. The characters' ages were also changed: MacReady from 32 to 35, and Palmer from 27 to 35. Ultimately, the final version of the script, dated July 28, 1981, was approved for production.
• The film's premiere almost coincided with the release of Steven Spielberg's 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.' Audiences preferred to see an alien as a friend rather than a deadly enemy, and as a result, the box office returns for 'The Thing' were disappointing.
• The opening credits exactly replicate the original credits from Howard Hawks' film.
• Although TV producer Stuart Cohen, who had purchased the adaptation rights, tried to convince Universal executives to hire Carpenter as director, Tobe Hooper was originally planned to direct the film, but Cohen disliked his script options. The project lingered within Universal from 1975 to 1979, until the hit film 'Alien' was released. It became clear that audiences were interested in such stories, and 'The Thing' was finally given the green light.

Michael Jackson's Thriller

1983-11-21

8.5/10

Alien

1979-05-25

8.4/10

Frankenweenie

1984-12-14

7.3/10

Videodrome

1983-02-04

7.2/10

The Return of the Living Dead

1985-04-25

7.2/10

The Dead Zone

1983-10-21

7.2/10

Re-Animator

1985-10-18

7.1/10

Day of the Dead

1985-07-03

7.1/10

Dressed to Kill

1980-07-25

7.1/10

Altered States

1980-12-25

6.9/10

Did you like the film?

To leave a comment, please log in or sign up. Free sign up!

Login Register

E-mail

Password

Forgot your password?