The Making of Aliens Book Review

Happy 2021, readers! What a crazy ride it’s been, yeah? Well, I’m glad to be here sharing my two cents with you once again. So, this is going to be a little different from my previous reviews, as I’m going to be telling you a little bit about a fantastic coffee table book that is, quite frankly, the most breathtakingly gorgeous thing I’ve laid eyes on. This beauty comes from author J.W. Rinzler and is simply called, The Making of Aliens and it was just released by Titan Books in August of 2020.

This 256-page book is full of every behind-the-scenes treat a die-hard fan of the Aliens film could ask for and more. Pages of gorgeous never-before, or rarely ever seen photographs and concept art fill the book. In addition to the photographs, there are numerous enjoyable, informative interviews with the cast and crew of Aliens. The making of this film was certainly no walk in the park.  The way that J.W. Rinzler writes about the timeline of the film’s production, it’s like you can imagine yourself sitting alongside James Cameron and feeling his frustrations and being witness to his thought processes or being in a casting meeting as changes in the script and lineup seem to be unending and wondering how or if Sigourney Weaver would even want to come back to the role of Ellen Ripley. For anyone who thinks that filmmaking is an easy task, this is absolutely the book to read, as it’ll make you reconsider your opinion.

Once again, The Making of Aliens is not a short read, but there are just so many neat things you become aware of once you start. There are a lot of trivia items that could come in handy when you want to make yourself seem cool, there’s a lot of information and description about the special effects used and how the sets were designed and brought to life. I don’t want to give a lot away, because as I said earlier, The Making of Aliens is just the one definitive item that every fan of Aliens needs to have in their collection. Even if you’re not a big reader, just flipping through the pages and looking at all of the visual goodies included is more than satisfying.

I really can’t recommend The Making of Aliens enough. J.W. Rinzler has done a fantastic job in compiling all of the information and research to bring this book to light. Again, it’s not only an entertaining read, but you really do learn so much as you read from cover to cover. If Santa didn’t bring you anything that great this past Christmas, I’d suggest picking yourself up a copy of this book. If you do follow my advice, let me know what you think once you’ve read it!