Predator (film): Difference between revisions
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{{short description|1987 film by John McTiernan}} |
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{{About|the 1987 film|the 2018 film|The Predator (film){{!}}''The Predator'' (film)|the film franchise|Predator (franchise){{!}}''Predator'' (franchise)}} |
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{{Use American English|date=March 2019}} |
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{{use mdy dates|date=April 2016}} |
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2016}} |
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{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
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| name |
| name = Predator |
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| image |
| image = Predator Movie.jpg |
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| caption |
| caption = Theatrical release poster |
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| alt = A muscular soldier holds an M16 machine gun. The foreground has the crosshair of a gun's sight centered on the man's heart. The background is in the style of a brightly colored thermal map. The name Schwarzenegger is in large red letters at the top of the poster and the film title is in the same size and below the picture. |
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| director = [[John McTiernan]] |
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| director = [[John McTiernan]] |
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| producer = {{Plainlist| |
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* [[Lawrence Gordon (producer)|Lawrence Gordon]] |
* [[Lawrence Gordon (producer)|Lawrence Gordon]] |
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* [[Joel Silver]] |
* [[Joel Silver]] |
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* [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]] |
* [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]] |
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}} |
}} |
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| writer |
| writer = {{Plainlist| |
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* [[Jim Thomas (screenwriter)|Jim Thomas]] |
* [[Jim Thomas (screenwriter)|Jim Thomas]] |
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* [[John Thomas (screenwriter)|John Thomas]] |
* [[John Thomas (screenwriter)|John Thomas]] |
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}} |
}} |
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| starring |
| starring = {{Plainlist| |
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* [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] |
* [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] |
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* [[Carl Weathers]] |
* [[Carl Weathers]]}} |
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| cinematography = [[Donald McAlpine]] |
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}} |
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| |
| editing = {{Plainlist| |
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* [[John F. Link]] |
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| cinematography = [[Donald McAlpine]] |
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| editing = {{plainlist| |
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* [[Mark Helfrich (film editor)|Mark Helfrich]] |
* [[Mark Helfrich (film editor)|Mark Helfrich]] |
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* John F. Link |
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}} |
}} |
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| music = [[Alan Silvestri]] |
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| production companies = {{plainlist| |
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| studio = {{Plainlist| |
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* Lawrence Gordon Productions |
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* [[20th Century Fox]]<ref name=afi>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57783|title=''Predator'' (1987)|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|accessdate=2024-06-04}}</ref> |
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* [[Silver Pictures]] |
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* [[Davis Entertainment]] |
* [[Davis Entertainment]]<ref name=afi/> |
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}} |
}} |
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| distributor |
| distributor = 20th Century Fox<ref name=afi/> |
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| released |
| released = {{Film date|1987|06|12}} |
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| runtime |
| runtime = 107 minutes<ref>{{cite web |title=Predator |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/predator-1970-9 |access-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215232748/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/predator-1970-9 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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| country |
| country = United States<ref name=afi/> |
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| language |
| language = English<ref name=afi/> |
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| budget |
| budget = $15–18 million<ref name="Mojo">{{cite web |title=Predator (1987) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url= https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0093773/?ref_=bo_rl_ti |access-date=July 4, 2014 |archive-date=July 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707153508/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=predator.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Numbers">{{cite web |title=Predator - Financial Information |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |url=https://the-numbers.com/movie/Predator#tab=summary |access-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218140259/http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Predator#tab=summary |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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| gross |
| gross = $98.3 million<ref name="Mojo"/><ref name="Numbers"/> |
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}} |
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'''''Predator''''' is a 1987 American [[science fiction film|science fiction]] film directed by [[John McTiernan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction |
'''''Predator''''' is a 1987 American [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Action film|action]] film directed by [[John McTiernan]] and written by brothers [[Jim Thomas (screenwriter)|Jim]] and [[John Thomas (screenwriter)|John Thomas]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=Keith M. |year=2013 |title=Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction |publisher=[[Berg Publishers]] |isbn=9780857850560 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUAfAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |access-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-date=May 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505233704/https://books.google.com/books?id=yUAfAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] stars as [[Dutch Schaefer]], the leader of an elite [[paramilitary]] rescue team on a mission to save hostages in [[guerrilla]]-held territory in a [[Central American]] rainforest, who encounter the deadly [[Predator (fictional species)|Predator]] ([[Kevin Peter Hall]]), a skilled, technologically advanced extraterrestrial who stalks and hunts them down. [[Carl Weathers]], [[Elpidia Carrillo]], [[Bill Duke]], [[Richard Chaves]], [[Jesse Ventura]], [[Sonny Landham]], and [[Shane Black]] are supporting co-stars. |
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''Predator'' was written in 1984 with the working title of ''Hunter''. Filming ran from March to June 1986 with creature effects devised by [[Stan Winston]] and a budget of around $15 million. [[20th Century Fox]] released the film on June 12, 1987, in the United States, and it grossed $98 million worldwide. Initial reviews were mixed, but the film has since been considered a classic of the action and science fiction genres and one of the best films of the 1980s, and was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects]]. |
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The success of ''Predator'' launched [[Predator (franchise)|a media franchise of films, novels, comic books, video games, and toys]]. It spawned four additional films: ''[[Predator 2]]'' (1990), ''[[Predators (film)|Predators]]'' (2010), ''[[The Predator (film)|The Predator]]'' (2018), and ''[[Prey (2022 film)|Prey]]'' (2022). A crossover with the [[Alien (franchise)|''Alien'' franchise]] produced the ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' films ''[[Alien vs. Predator (film)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' (2004) and ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]'' (2007). Schaefer would return in the video games ''[[Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' (1994) and ''[[Predator: Hunting Grounds]]'' (2020), with Schwarzenegger reprising his role in the latter. |
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The film's budget was around $15 million. [[20th Century Fox]] released it in the United States on June 12, 1987, where it grossed $98,267,558. Initial critical reaction was mixed; criticism focused on the thin plot. In subsequent years, critics' attitudes toward the film became positive, and it has appeared on a number of "best of" lists. It spawned two [[sequel]]s, ''[[Predator 2]]'' (1990) and ''[[Predators (film)|Predators]]'' (2010), and two [[Crossover (fiction)|crossover]] films with the [[Alien (franchise)|''Alien'' franchise]], ''[[Alien vs. Predator (film)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' (2004) and ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]'' (2007). Another film, [[Predator_(franchise)#The_Predator_.282018.29|''The Predator'']], is scheduled for 2018. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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<!-- A plot summary ranges from 400-700 words. For more information, see WP:FILMPLOT. --> |
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[[File:Predator (1987) - main cast.jpg|thumb|The main cast of ''Predator''. Left to right: [[Jesse Ventura|Ventura]], [[Shane Black|Black]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger|Schwarzenegger]], [[Bill Duke|Duke]], [[Carl Weathers|Weathers]], [[Sonny Landham|Landham]], and [[Richard Chaves|Chaves]]]] |
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An extraterrestrial spacecraft deploys a shuttle to Earth. Sometime later, [[Dutch Schaefer|Dutch]] and his elite paramilitary rescue team—skilled mercenary Mac, explosives expert Poncho, the macho Blain, expert tracker Billy, and jokester Hawkins—are tasked with rescuing a local cabinet minister whose helicopter was shot down in a Central American jungle. Dutch's old friend and [[Vietnam War]] ally Dillon, now a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] agent, accompanies the team to oversee the mission. |
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<!-- Please read this. A plot summary for a word count usually ranges between 400-700 words. For more information, see WP:FILMPLOT. --> |
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In a pre-credits scene, an alien spacecraft is seen passing near [[Earth]], depositing a bright object which enters the atmosphere. |
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The team find the helicopter wreckage and traces of [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla soldiers]], as well as three skinned corpses hung high in the trees nearby. Dutch identifies the corpses as [[United States Army Special Forces|Green Beret]]s, and becomes suspicious of Dillon's intentions after learning the helicopter was outfitted for surveillance. Dutch's team attacks the guerrilla camp, killing the soldiers and their Russian military allies, and learning the hostages were CIA agents. Dillon admits the cabinet minister story was a lie to convince Dutch—who refuses to use his team for assassinations—to eliminate the camp and prevent a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-sponsored invasion. Dillon also discloses that the original mission team disappeared and the Green Berets had been sent to find them. Dillon takes a surviving guerrilla, Anna, prisoner, and the team travels towards the extraction point. |
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Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and his six-man team, consisting of himself, operators Mac Elliot, Billy Sole, and Blaine Cooper, demolitions and explosives expert Jorge "Poncho" Ramírez, and radioman Rick Hawkins, are tasked by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] with rescuing an official held hostage by insurgents in the [[Val Verde (fictional country)|Val Verde]] jungle. CIA agent and liaison Colonel Al Dillon, a former commando and an old friend of Dutch's, is assigned to supervise the team despite Dutch's reservations. |
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Unbeknownst to the team, a technologically-advanced, humanoid [[Predator (fictional species)|predator]] has stalked them since their arrival, remaining invisible with a [[cloaking device]], and using thermal imaging vision to see their body heat. Billy senses the presence of something inhuman, but cannot confirm his suspicions. Anna flees while the team are distracted, and although Hawkins catches her, he is killed by the predator while Anna is spared. While the team searches for Hawkins's body, the predator kills Blain. Mac glimpses the predator's cloaked form and, enraged at Blain's death, provokes the team into blindly firing their weapons into the jungle, wounding the predator. The team makes camp for the night, booby trapping the perimeter. A [[wild boar]] triggers a trap, and the predator uses the ensuing confusion to steal Blain's corpse. |
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In the jungle, the team discovers the wreckage of a chopper and three skinned corpses, whom Dutch identifies as members of a [[Special Forces (United States Army)|U.S. Army Special Forces]] unit he knew personally. They reach the insurgent camp and kill all present, including a Soviet intelligence officer searching through secret CIA documents. Confronted by Dutch, Dillon admits the mission was a setup to retrieve intelligence from captured operatives and that the dead unit disappeared weeks earlier in a failed rescue. After capturing a female guerilla named Anna, the group proceeds to extraction unaware that they are being tracked with [[Thermography|thermal imaging]] by an unseen observer. |
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The following day, Dutch deduces that the predator is stalking them from the treetops. Dutch releases Anna, needing her to work with them to survive. She recounts local folktales of a monster who kills men and takes trophies from their corpses, typically when the weather is hottest. The team boobytrap the treetops to force the predator into a net, but it is able to escape and Poncho is injured. Mac and Dillon, who wants to make amends to the team, pursue the predator, but they are outmaneuvered and killed. The predator soon catches the survivors, killing Billy and Poncho. Realizing the predator only attacks those it considers a threat, Dutch warns Anna to relinquish her weapon and run to the extraction point. Dutch distracts the predator before falling from a cliff into a waterfall and washing up on a muddy shore. The predator pursues Dutch, but is seemingly unable to see him, and leaves to collect the skulls of the others as trophies. Dutch concludes that the mud masked his body heat, making him invisible to the predator. |
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Hawkins is chasing a fleeing Anna when they are ambushed by the near-invisible entity. The unarmed Anna is spared, but Hawkins is swiftly killed and dragged away. Dutch organizes a manhunt for his body, during which Blaine is killed by the creature's [[plasma weapon]]. An enraged Mac initiates a firefight which wounds the creature, revealing it to have luminescent green blood, but fails to it draw out. The unit regroups and questions Anna, learning that their stalker is an unknown creature locals call "el demonio que hace trofeos de los hombres" – the demon who makes trophies of men. Not far away, the creature tends to its wounds and is revealed to be a large, bipedal [[Extraterrestrial_life|extraterrestrial]]. That night, Mac mistakes a wild pig for the alien and kills it. In the confusion, the alien sneaks into their camp and makes off with Blaine's body which causes Dutch to realize their enemy is using the trees to travel. The next day, an attempt to trap the creature fails, leaving Poncho badly injured. Mac and Dillon pursue the alien but it outwits and kills them both. |
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Seeking to avenge his team, Dutch creates makeshift traps and weapons. As night falls, he covers himself in mud and cries out to draw the predator to him. Dutch uses his invisibility to wound the predator and disable its cloaking device, but falls into a river and his mud camouflage is washed off. Deeming Dutch a worthy opponent, the predator removes its weapons and mask—revealing a monstrous visage—to face him in hand-to-hand combat. Easily outmatched by the larger and stronger creature, Dutch attempts to goad it into a trapped tunnel, but the predator suspects his plan and goes around it. Dutch triggers the trap himself, releasing its counterweight, which crushes the predator. Mortally wounded, the predator activates a wrist-mounted self-destruct device. Dutch flees, barely escaping the enormous resulting explosion that razes the area. |
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The survivors try to escape but the creature catches up, killing Billy and Poncho and wounding Dutch. Dutch sends Anna to the chopper alone and unarmed, realizing the creature does not target unarmed prey because there is "no sport." Attempting to escape, Dutch slides down a hill into a river, goes over a waterfall and ends up crawling through a patch of mud, only for the creature to catch up with him; its [[Active_camouflage|cloaking device]] malfunctions in the water, allowing Dutch to finally see his hidden enemy. The alien, though standing a few feet from Dutch, does not see him and moves on. This helps him realize that the mud he is now covered in is acting as camouflage by cooling his skin and blocking his body's heat signature from the alien's thermal sensor. Now seeking to avenge his men, Dutch uses his knowledge of jungle warfare to craft a series of traps, while the creature removes the spinal columns from the bodies of the dead men. Covered in mud and armed with improvised weapons, Dutch lures the creature in with a war cry. |
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As dawn breaks, the extraction helicopter arrives with Anna to collect the exhausted and traumatized Dutch. |
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Using his preparations, Dutch beats the alien at its own game, disabling its cloaking device and inflicting minor injuries. However, the creature rallies itself and finally corners him. Acknowledging Dutch as a worthy foe, the alien discards its mask and plasma weapon, and challenges him to a [[hand-to-hand combat|hand-to-hand fight]], where it has a clear advantage. After being brutally beaten, Dutch narrowly defeats the creature by using a counterweight to crush it. Standing over the crippled alien, he asks, "What the hell are you?", but the creature simply repeats his question back to him in garbled English before activating a self-destruct device on its wrist, echoing Billy's laughter as the count down begins. Dutch flees and takes cover just before the self-destruct device explodes in a mushroom cloud. Dutch, the last man standing, is picked up shortly afterwards by his commander, General Phillips, and finds Anna in the helicopter. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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{{further|List of Predator (film series) characters}} |
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* [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] as Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer |
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[[File:Predator (1987) - main cast.jpg|thumb|The main cast of ''Predator''. Left to right: [[Jesse Ventura]], [[Shane Black]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Bill Duke]], [[Carl Weathers]], [[Sonny Landham]], and [[Richard Chaves]].]] |
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* [[Carl Weathers]] as Colonel Al Dillon |
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* [[ |
* [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] as [[Dutch Schaefer|Dutch]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Carl Weathers]] as Dillon |
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* [[ |
* [[Elpidia Carrillo]] as Anna |
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* [[ |
* [[Bill Duke]] as Mac |
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* [[ |
* [[Jesse Ventura]] as Blain |
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* [[ |
* [[Sonny Landham]] as Billy |
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* [[Richard Chaves]] as Poncho |
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* [[R. G. Armstrong]] as Major General Homer Phillips |
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* [[Shane Black]] as Hawkins |
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* [[Kevin Peter Hall]] as [[Predator (alien)|The Predator]] / helicopter pilot |
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* [[R. G. Armstrong]] as General Phillips{{efn|The character is credited as General Phillips, but his name patch says is spelled "Philips".}} |
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* [[Sven-Ole Thorsen]] as Soviet military adviser |
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* [[Peter |
* [[Kevin Peter Hall]] / [[Peter Cullen]] (voice) as the Predator |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
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===Development=== |
===Development=== |
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The [[Jim Thomas (screenwriter)|Jim]] and [[John Thomas (screenwriter)|John Thomas]] script for ''Predator'' was originally titled ''Hunter''.<ref name="bleeds">{{cite AV media |last=Haufrect |first=Ian T. |year=2001 |title=If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]] |location=''Predator'' DVD}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |last=Shapiro |first=Marc |date=July 1987 |title=Stalking the Predator |journal=[[Starlog]] |via=archive.org |issue=120 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-120/page/n88 89]–91 |url=https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-120}}{{dead link|date=November 2023}}</ref> The original concept, centered on a plot of "what it is to be hunted", concerned a band of alien hunters of various species seeking various targets; that concept was eventually streamlined to one extraterrestrial hunting the most dangerous species, humans, and the "most dangerous man", a combat soldier. Additionally, the setting was chosen as Central America for having [[Operation Condor|constant special forces operations during that period]].<ref>{{cite AV media |type=DVD |people=Jim & John Thomas |year=2005 |title=''Predator 2'' |section=Writers Commentary track |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]] }}</ref> |
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As the Thomas brothers were first-time screenwriters with little credibility in Hollywood, they struggled to attract attention for their proposed film and eventually resorted to slipping the script under the door of 20th Century Fox producer Michael Levy (who would go on to serve as executive producer on the film's sequel, ''[[Predator 2]]''). Levy then brought the screenplay to producer [[Joel Silver]] who, based on his experience with ''[[Commando (1985 film)|Commando]]'', decided to turn the science fiction pulp story line into a big-budget film. Silver enlisted his former boss [[Lawrence Gordon (producer)|Lawrence Gordon]] as co-producer and [[John McTiernan]] was hired as director for his first studio film. At one point, New Zealand director [[Geoff Murphy]] was also considered to direct.<ref>{{cite web |year=1985 |title=Roy Murphy: Geoff Murphy interview |publisher=Murphyroy.com |url=http://www.murphyroy.com/film/filmmaker.html |access-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425050544/http://www.murphyroy.com/film/filmmaker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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According to the documentaries included on the [[DVD region code|Region]] 1 release of the special edition, the original monster suit was vastly different from the final product, designed by [[Stan Winston]]. The original monster was a disproportionate, ungainly creature<ref>{{Cite web|title = When Jean-Claude Van Damme played Predator|url = http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/predator/32595/when-jean-claude-van-damme-played-predator|accessdate = 2015-04-30}}</ref> with large yellow eyes and a dog-like head, and it was nowhere near as agile as later portrayed. McTiernan consulted Winston after production became troubled. While on a plane ride to Fox studios alongside ''Aliens'' director [[James Cameron]], Winston sketched monster ideas. Cameron suggested he had always wanted to see a creature with [[Mandible (arthropod)|mandibles]], which became part of the Predator's iconic look. |
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===Casting=== |
===Casting=== |
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[[File:Predator (1987) - The Predator.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kevin Peter Hall]] as the Predator]] |
[[File:Predator (1987) - The Predator.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kevin Peter Hall]] as the Predator.]] |
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Silver and Gordon first approached [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] with the lead role. Schwarzenegger said: {{blockquote|The first thing I look for in a script is a good idea, a majority of scripts are rip-offs of other movies. People think they can become successful overnight. They sat down one weekend and wrote a script because they read that Stallone did that with ''Rocky''. ''Predator'' was one of the scripts I read, and it bothered me in one way. It was just me and the alien. So we re-did the whole thing so that it was a team of commandos and then I liked the idea. I thought it would make a much more effective movie and be much more believable. I liked the idea of starting out with an action-adventure, but then coming in with some horror and science fiction.}} |
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Silver and Gordon first approached Arnold Schwarzenegger with the lead role. To play the elite band of soldiers, both Silver and Gordon, with co-producer [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]], searched for other larger-than-life men of action. [[Carl Weathers]], who had been memorable as boxer [[Apollo Creed]] in the ''Rocky'' films was their first choice to play Dillon, while professional wrestler and former [[Underwater Demolition Team|Navy UDT]] [[Jesse Ventura]] was hired for his formidable physique as Blain. Native Americans [[Sonny Landham]] and [[Richard Chaves]], and African-American [[Bill Duke]], who co-starred alongside Schwarzenegger in ''Commando,'' provided ethnic balance. As a favor to writer [[Shane Black]], whose first screenplay had become Silver's blockbuster ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'' a few months earlier, Silver hired Black to play a supporting role in the film, which also allowed him to watch McTiernan direct.<ref name="bleeds" /> |
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He had previously starred in ''Commando'', on which Silver had served as producer. To play the elite band of soldiers, both Silver and Gordon, with co-producer [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]], searched for other larger-than-life men of action. [[Carl Weathers]], who had been memorable as boxer [[Apollo Creed]] in the ''Rocky'' films, was their first choice to play Dillon while professional wrestler and former [[Navy SEAL]] [[Jesse Ventura]] was hired for his formidable physique as Blain, co-starring with Schwarzenegger the same year in ''[[The Running Man (1987 film)|The Running Man]]''. Also cast were [[Sonny Landham]], [[Richard Chaves]], and [[Bill Duke]], who costarred alongside Schwarzenegger in ''Commando''. |
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[[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] was originally cast as the Predator creature, the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, [[ninja]]-esque hunter.<ref name="bleeds" /> When compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura, actors known for their bodybuilding regimens, it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot, causing him to pass out. He also had allegedly voiced his reservations on numerous occasions regarding the fact he would not be appearing on camera without the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, was felt to not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by [[Kevin Peter Hall]].<ref name="bleeds" /> |
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[[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] was originally cast as the Predator with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, [[ninja]]-like hunter.<ref name="bleeds" /><ref name="hollywoodreporter.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-oral-history-arnold-schwarzenegger-film-1014132/ | title=Guns and (Shea) Butter: An Oral History of 'Predator' | website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=June 21, 2017 }}</ref> But when the 5'9" Van Damme was compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura — actors over 6 feet tall and known for their [[bodybuilding]] regimens — it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and causing him to pass out. He allegedly had also repeatedly voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, did not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the 7'2" [[Kevin Peter Hall]], who had just finished work as a sasquatch in ''[[Harry and the Hendersons]]''.<ref name="bleeds" /><ref name="hollywoodreporter.com"/> |
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===Filming=== |
===Filming=== |
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Commitments by Schwarzenegger delayed the start of filming by several months. The delay gave Silver enough time to secure a minor rewrite from screenwriter [[David Peoples]]. [[Principal photography]] eventually began in the jungles of [[Palenque|Palenque, |
Commitments by Schwarzenegger delayed the start of filming by several months. The delay gave Silver enough time to secure a minor rewrite from screenwriter [[David Peoples]]. [[Principal photography]] eventually began in the jungles of [[Palenque|Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico]], during the last week of March 1986, but {{citation needed span|most|reason=End credits say "This film was shot entirely in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Palenque, Chiapas Mexico".|date=March 2020}} of the film was shot in [[Mismaloya]], Mexico. Much of the material dealing with the unit's deployment in the jungle was completed in a few short weeks and both Silver and Gordon were pleased by the [[dailies]] provided by McTiernan. On Friday, April 25, production halted so that Schwarzenegger could get to his wedding on time, flying to [[Hyannis Port]] in a [[Learjet]] chartered by Silver. Schwarzenegger was married on April 26, 1986, to [[Maria Shriver]], and [[honeymoon]]ed for only three days while the second unit completed additional filming. The production resumed filming on May 12 and ended in late June 1986. |
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Both |
Both McTiernan and Schwarzenegger lost 25 pounds during the film.<ref name="bleeds" /> Schwarzenegger's weight loss was a professional choice while McTiernan lost the weight because he avoided the food in Mexico due to health concerns.<ref name="bleeds" /> Unlike McTiernan, most of the cast and crew suffered from [[Travelers' diarrhea]] since the Mexican hotel in which they were living had problems with its water purification.<ref>{{cite video |date=2001 |title=''Predator'' Special Edition |chapter=Don't Drink The Water |publisher=20th Century Fox Home Video |volume=Disk 2}}</ref> In an interview, Carl Weathers said the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. to work out before the day's shooting. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him and would work out only after the other actors were nowhere to be seen.<ref name="bleeds" /> |
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According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding |
According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding. The actor—and former bodybuilder—shipped gym equipment to Mexico and trained intensively every day before shooting began, usually with his co-stars.<ref name="gent">{{cite web|url=https://www.gentside.co.uk/fitness/this-is-how-arnold-schwarzenegger-kept-up-his-workout-routine-on-the-set-of-predator_art3906.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200614100933/https://www.gentside.co.uk/fitness/this-is-how-arnold-schwarzenegger-kept-up-his-workout-routine-on-the-set-of-predator_art3906.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 14, 2020|title=How Arnold Schwarzenegger Maintained His Famous Physique On The Set Of Predator|work=Gentside|date=October 31, 2019|access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref> Screenwriter Jim Thomas was impressed with the training regimen and said: "I think that phrase 'manly men' was coined [during the production of ''Predator'']".<ref name="gent"/> Among other tasks, Schwarzenegger had to swim in very cold water and spent three weeks covered in mud for the climactic battle with the alien.<ref name="gire">{{cite news |last=Gire |first=Dan |date=December 1987 |title=Schwarzenegger on ''Predator'' |publisher=[[Cinefantastique]]}}</ref> In addition, cast and crew endured very cold temperatures in the Mexican jungle that required [[heat lamp]]s to be on all of the time. Cast and crew filmed on rough terrain that, according to the actor, was never flat, "always on a hill. We stood all day long on a hill, one leg down, one leg up. It was terrible."<ref name="gire" /> Schwarzenegger also faced the challenge of working with [[Kevin Peter Hall]], who could not see in the Predator suit. The actor recalled that "when he's supposed to slap me around and stay far from my face, all of a sudden, ''whap!'' There is this hand with claws on it!"<ref name="gire" /> Hall stated in an interview that his experience on the film "wasn't a movie, it was a survival story for all of us."<ref name="gire2">{{cite news |last=Gire |first=Dan |date=December 1987 |title=''Predator'': The Man in the Suit |publisher=[[Cinefantastique]]}}</ref> For example, in the scene where the Predator chases Dutch, the water was foul, stagnant and full of leeches.<ref name="gire2" /> Hall could not see out of the mask and had to rehearse his scenes with it off and memorize where everything was. The outfit was difficult to wear because it was heavy and affected his balance.<ref name="gire2" /> |
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===Visual effects=== |
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The film was dedicated to the memories of Agustin Ytuarte and Federico Ysunza, who were both killed on March 31, 1986, in the crash of [[Mexicana Flight 940]]. |
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The original Predator creature was created by [[Richard Edlund]] of [[Boss Film Studios]] and was a disproportionate, ungainly creature with large yellow eyes and a dog-like head, and nowhere near as agile as necessary for what the filmmakers had intended.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shapiro |first=Marc |date=July 1987 |title=Predator vs. Schwarzenegger |magazine=[[Fangoria]] |issue=65 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_065_c2c_1987_Predator_PeePeeTheSailor-DREGS/page/n28 28]–31 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_065_c2c_1987_Predator_PeePeeTheSailor-DREGS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lambie |first=Ryan |date=July 6, 2016 |title=When Jean-Claude Van Damme played Predator |website=Den of Geek |url=https://denofgeek.com/movies/predator/32595/when-jean-claude-van-damme-played-predator |access-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102111/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/predator/32595/when-jean-claude-van-damme-played-predator |url-status=live }}</ref> After a call was put out for a new alien creature costume, creature effects artist [[Rick Baker]] put in a bid, but ultimately McTiernan consulted [[Stan Winston]].<ref name=":0" /> Winston had previously worked with Schwarzenegger as a visual effects artist on the 1984 film ''[[The Terminator]]''. While on a plane ride to Fox studios alongside ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' director [[James Cameron]], Winston sketched monster ideas. Cameron suggested he had always wanted to see a creature with [[Mandible (arthropod)|mandibles]], which became part of the Predator's iconic look.<ref>{{cite web |last=Palace |first=Steve |date=September 20, 2018 |title=The First Choice to Play the Original Predator Monster was...Van Damme! |website=The Vintage News |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/09/20/van-damme-played-the-predator/ |access-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090726/https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/09/20/van-damme-played-the-predator/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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[[R/GA|R/Greenberg Associates]] created the film's optical effects, including the alien's ability to become invisible, its thermal vision point of view, its glowing blood, and the electrical spark effects.<ref name="robley">{{cite news |last=Robley |first=Les Paul |date=December 1987 |title=''Predator'': Special Visual Effects |publisher=[[Cinefantastique]]}}</ref> |
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===Special effects=== |
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[[R/GA|R/Greenberg Associates]] created the film's optical effects, including the alien's ability to become [[invisible]], its [[thermal vision]] point of view, its glowing blood, and the electrical spark effects.<ref name="robley">{{cite news | last = Robley | first = Les Paul | coauthors = | title = ''Predator'': Special Visual Effects | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = [[Cinefantastique]] | date = December 1987 | url = | accessdate = }}</ref> |
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The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone wearing a bright red suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the Predator. The red was removed with [[chroma key]] techniques, leaving an empty area. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, the jungle from the second take filled in the empty area. Because the second take was filmed with a wider lens, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape.<ref name="robley" /> |
The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone wearing a bright red suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the Predator. The red was removed with [[chroma key]] techniques, leaving an empty area. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, the jungle from the second take filled in the empty area. Because the second take was filmed with a wider lens, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape.<ref name="robley" /> |
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For |
For thermal vision, infrared film could not be used because it did not register in the range of body temperature wavelengths. The filmmakers used an [[FLIR Systems|Inframetrics]] thermal video scanner because it gave good heat images of objects and people.<ref name="robley" /> The glowing blood was achieved by green liquid from [[glow stick]]s mixed with personal lubricant for texture.<ref name="robley" /> The electrical sparks were rotoscoped animation using white paper pins registered on portable light tables to black-and-white prints of the film frames. The drawings were composited by the optical crew for the finished effects.<ref name="robley" /> Additional visual effects, mainly for the opening title sequence of the Predator arriving on Earth, were supplied by [[Dream Quest Images]] (later Oscar-winners for their work on ''[[The Abyss]]'' and ''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]''). The film was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects]].<ref>{{cite web |title=''Predator'': Award Wins and Nominations |website=[[IMDb]].com |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093773/awards |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-date=August 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806112118/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093773/awards |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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=== |
===Music=== |
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{{main|Predator (soundtrack)}} |
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{{Infobox album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums --> |
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The score was composed by [[Alan Silvestri]], who was coming off the huge success of ''[[Back to the Future]]'' in 1985. ''Predator'' was his first major action movie and the score is full of his familiar genre characteristics: heavy horn blasts, staccato string rhythms, and undulating timpani rolls that highlight the action and suspense. [[Little Richard]]'s song "[[Long Tall Sally]]" is featured in the helicopter en route to the jungle. Mac also recites a few lines from the song as he's chasing the Predator after it escapes from their [[booby trap]]. Silvestri returned for [[Predator 2|the sequel]], making him the only composer to have scored more than one film in either the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' or ''Predator'' series. |
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| Name = Predator Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
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| Type = Soundtrack |
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| Artist = Alan Silvestri |
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| Cover = |
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| Released = August 19, 2003 |
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| Recorded = |
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| Genre = [[Orchestral]]<br />[[Film score]] |
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| Length = 73:08 |
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| Label = [[Varèse Sarabande]] |
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| Producer = |
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}} |
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The soundtrack was composed by [[Alan Silvestri]], who was coming off the huge success of ''[[Back to the Future]]'' in 1985. ''Predator'' was his first major action movie and the score is full of his now familiar genre characteristics: heavy horn blasts, staccato string rhythms, and undulating timpani rolls that highlight the action and suspense. [[Little Richard]]'s song "[[Long Tall Sally]]" is featured in the helicopter en route to the jungle. Mac also recites a few lines from the song as he's chasing the Predator after it escapes from their [[booby trap]]. Silvestri returned for [[Predator 2|the sequel]], making him the only composer to have scored more than one film in either the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' or ''Predator'' series. |
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In 2003, [[Varèse Sarabande]] released the soundtrack album as part of its limited release [[Varèse Sarabande#The CD Club Returns|CD Club]] collection; the album also includes the [[Elliot Goldenthal]] arrangement of the Fox fanfare used on ''[[Alien 3]]''. |
In 2003, [[Varèse Sarabande]] and [[Fox Music]] released the soundtrack album as part of its limited release [[Varèse Sarabande#The CD Club Returns|CD Club]] collection;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1112782-Alan-Silvestri-Predator-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack|title=Alan Silvestri – Predator (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)|work=[[Discogs]]|access-date=December 27, 2023}}</ref> the album also includes the [[Elliot Goldenthal]] arrangement of the 20th Century Fox fanfare used on ''[[Alien 3]]''. |
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In 2007, [[Brian Tyler]] adapted and composed some of Silvestri's themes used in the score of the film ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]''. |
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In 2010, the same year ''[[Predators (film)|Predators]]'' featured an adaptation of Silvestri's score by [[John Debney]], [[Intrada Records]] released the album in a 3000-copy limited edition with remastered sound, many cues combined and renamed, and most notably (as with Intrada's release of [[Basil Poledouris]]'s score for ''[[RoboCop]]'') presenting the original end credits music as recorded (the film versions are differently mixed). This release is notable for having sold out within a day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/predator.html|title=Filmtracks: Predator (Alan Silvestri)|publisher=}}</ref> |
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In 2010, the same year ''[[Predators (film)|Predators]]'' featured an adaptation of Silvestri's score by [[John Debney]], [[Intrada Records]] released the album in a 3000-copy limited edition with remastered sound, many cues combined and renamed, and most notably (as with Intrada's release of [[Basil Poledouris]]'s score for ''[[RoboCop]]'') presenting the original end credits music as recorded (the film versions are mixed differently). This release is notable for having sold out within a day.<ref>{{cite web |title=Filmtracks: Predator (Alan Silvestri) |url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/predator.html |access-date=January 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413142856/http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/predator.html |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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== Reception == |
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In 2018, [[Henry Jackman]] adapted and composed Silvestri's themes in the score of the film, ''[[The Predator (film)|The Predator]]''. |
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=== Box office === |
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Released on June 12, 1987, ''Predator'' was #1 at the US box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $12 million, which was second to only ''[[Beverly Hills Cop II]]'' for the calendar year 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=releasedate&view=opening&yr=1987&p=.htm|title=1987 Domestic Grosses|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> The film grossed $98,267,558, of which $59,735,548 was from the US & Canadian box office. $38,532,010 was made overseas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=predator.htm|title=Predator (1987)|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|accessdate=2008-01-30}}</ref> |
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==Release== |
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=== Critical reception === |
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{{further|List of accolades received by the Predator franchise#Predator}} |
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===Box office=== |
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[[Rotten Tomatoes]], a [[review aggregator]], reports that 78% of 40 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/predator/|title=Predator (1987)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate=March 20, 2015}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[weighted average]] score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film an average score of 36 based on 11 reviews from 1987, with the review opinions summarized as "generally unfavorable".<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |title=''Predator'' |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/predator |accessdate=July 18, 2010}}</ref> [[Elvis Mitchell]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "grisly and dull, with few surprises."<ref>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Elvis |title=''The New York Times'' Review: ''Predator'' |work=The New York Times |page=C6 |date=June 12, 1987}}</ref> Dean Lamanna wrote in ''[[Cinefantastique]]'' that "the militarized monster movie tires under its own derivative weight."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lamanna |first=Dean |title=''Predator'': Scoring the hunt |publisher=[[Cinefantastique]] |issue=18/1 |year=1987 |page=36}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that the film was a "slightly above-average actioner that tries to compensate for tissue-thin-plot with ever-more-grisly death sequences and impressive special effects."<ref>{{cite news |title=''Predator'' Review |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117794110&categoryid=31&query=predator&display=predator&cs=1 |accessdate=May 4, 2009 |date=January 1, 1987}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' proclaimed it "arguably one of the emptiest, feeblest, most derivative scripts ever made as a major studio movie."<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |title=''Los Angeles Times'' |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=6 |date=June 12, 1987}}</ref> Feminist [[Susan Faludi]] called it one of "an endless stream of war and action movies" in which "women are reduced to mute and incidental characters or banished altogether."<ref>Susan Faludi, in ''[[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women|Backlash]]'', [[Chatto & Windus]], 1992, p. 169</ref> Though decrying a few [[plot holes]], critic [[Roger Ebert]] was more complimentary of the film, rating it three out of four stars, and writing, "it supplies what it claims to supply: an effective action movie."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert |title=''Predator'' |publisher=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=June 12, 1987 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19870612/REVIEWS/706120303/1023 |accessdate=January 30, 2008}}</ref> The ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' stated that the special effects were "substituted for suspense. The early appearance of the Predator makes the final gladiatorial conflict predictable, and the monster's multiple transformations also exhaust interest in its final appearance, which comes as no real surprise."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Predator|work=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]|volume=55|pages=19-20|year=1988|location=London|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|issue=648|last=Barker|first=Adam}}</ref> |
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{{see also|1987 in film}} |
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Released on June 12, 1987, ''Predator'' was No. 1 at the US box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $12 million. The film ranked 12th place in the domestic market for the calendar year 1987.<ref>{{cite web |title=1987 Domestic Grosses |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=releasedate&view=opening&yr=1987&p=.htm |access-date=January 30, 2008 |archive-date=October 15, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015124219/http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=releasedate&view=opening&yr=1987&p=.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The film grossed $98,267,558, of which $59,735,548 was from the US & Canadian box office. $38,532,010 was made in other countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Predator (1987) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=predator.htm |access-date=January 30, 2008 |archive-date=December 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219121104/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=predator.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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===Home media=== |
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''Predator'' was first released on VHS on January 21, 1988. It was later released on DVD on December 26, 2000.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ralph|last=Tribbey|url=http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/Product_article.cfm?article_id=377|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010110211600/http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/Product_article.cfm?article_id=377|title=Fox Tests DVD Release Lag on Jim Carrey's 'Me, Myself and Irene|website=[[Hive4media.com]]|archive-date=January 10, 2001|date=November 2, 2000|access-date=September 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was later released on Blu-ray on April 15, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/1809/Predator-(1987).html|title=Predator DVD Release Date|website=DVDs Release Dates|language=en-US|access-date=June 20, 2018|archive-date=June 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620180618/https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/1809/Predator-(1987).html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was released on Blu-ray 3D on December 17, 2013,<ref name="3Dbluray" /> and on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray]] on August 7, 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/60624/predator4kultrahdbluray.html|title=High Def Digest {{!}} Blu-ray and Games News and Reviews in High Definition|website=ultrahd.highdefdigest.com|language=en|access-date=June 20, 2018|archive-date=June 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620153422/https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/60624/predator4kultrahdbluray.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===SVOD viewership=== |
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According to the streaming aggregator [[JustWatch]], ''Predator'' was the 9th most streamed film across all platforms in the United States, during the week ending August 1, 2022,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gruenwedel |first=Erik |date=2022-08-09 |title=JustWatch: 'Prey,' 'The Sandman' Top Weekly Streamed Movie, TV Show Through Aug. 7 |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-prey-the-sandman-top-weekly-streamed-movie-tv-show-through-aug-7/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Media Play News |language=en-US}}</ref> and the 10th during the week ending August 14, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gruenwedel |first=Erik |date=2022-08-16 |title=JustWatch: Netflix's 'The Sandman,' Hulu's 'Prey' Repeat as Top Weekly Streamed TV Show, Movie |url=https://www.mediaplaynews.com/justwatch-netflixs-the-sandman-hulus-prey-repeat-as-top-weekly-streamed-tv-show-movie/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Media Play News |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
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===Critical response=== |
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From contemporary reviews, [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the film as "grisly and dull, with few surprises".<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=June 12, 1987 |title=Schwarzenegger in 'Predator'|work=[[The New York Times]] |page=C6 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/12/movies/schwarzenegger-in-predator.html}}</ref> Dean Lamanna wrote in ''[[Cinefantastique]]'' that "the militarized monster movie tires under its own derivative weight".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lamanna |first=Dean |year=1987 |title=''Predator'': Scoring the hunt |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |issue=18/1 |page=36}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' proclaimed it "arguably one of the emptiest, feeblest, most derivative scripts ever made as a major studio movie".<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |date=June 12, 1987 |title=Movie Review: Schwarzenegger vs. Alien in 'Predator' |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=6 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-12-ca-4018-story.html}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that the film was a "slightly above-average actioner that tries to compensate for tissue-thin-plot with ever-more-grisly death sequences and impressive special effects".<ref>{{cite news |date=January 1, 1987 |title=''Predator'' Review |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/review/VE1117794110 |access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> Adam Barker of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' found that "unfortunately, special effects have also been substituted for suspense" and that "the early appearance of the Predator makes the final gladiatorial conflict predictable, and the monster's multiple transformations also exhaust interest in its final appearance".<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Monthly Film Bulletin]] |title=Predator |pages=19–20 |volume=55 |issue=648 |date=January 1988 |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |last=Barker |first=Adam}}</ref> |
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Though finding the creature's motivations poorly explained, critic [[Roger Ebert]] was more complimentary of the film. He wrote: "''Predator'' moves at a breakneck pace, it has strong and simple characterizations, it has good location photography and terrific special effects, and it supplies what it claims to supply: an effective action movie."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=June 12, 1987 |title=''Predator'' |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/predator-1987 |access-date=September 11, 2020 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918010904/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/predator-1987 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]''{{'}}s Duane Byrge felt that the Predator's weaponized attacks relied too heavily on special effects, but allowed that the film is a "well-made, old-style assault movie" and a "full-assault" visual experience.<ref>{{cite web |last=Byrge |first=Duane |date=June 10, 1987 |title=Predator |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/predator-review-1987-movie-1009677 |access-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930205906/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/predator-review-1987-movie-1009677 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Chris Hewitt of ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' wrote: "''Predator'' has gradually become a sci-fi and action classic. It's not difficult to see why. John McTiernan's direction is claustrophobic, fluid and assured, staging the action with aplomb but concentrating just as much on tension and atmosphere... A thumping piece of powerhouse cinema."<ref>{{cite web |last=Hewitt |first=Chris |date=January 1, 2000 |title=Predator review |website=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/predator-review/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930205907/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/predator-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Peter Suderman of ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]]'' noted that "over the last 30-odd years, it has come to be regarded a classic of '80s action cinema".<ref>{{cite web |last=Suderman |first=Peter |date=September 13, 2018 |title=''The Predator'' Raises the Question: Why Does the Predator Franchise Exist? |website=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |url=https://reason.com/2018/09/13/predator-shane-black-mctiernan-movie/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930205908/https://reason.com/2018/09/13/predator-shane-black-mctiernan-movie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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On review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film received an approval rating of 80% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Predator'': Part sci-fi, part horror, part action{{snd}} all muscle."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/predator/ | title=Predator | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=2022-08-04 }}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |title=Predator Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Red Ventures]] |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/predator |access-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-date=June 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608075512/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/predator |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com |title=Find CinemaScore |format=Type "Predator" in the search box |publisher=[[CinemaScore]] |access-date=August 9, 2022}}</ref> |
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===Accolades=== |
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{{further|List of accolades received by the Predator film series#Predator}} |
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When it came time to recognize the Predator with an [[Academy Award]] nomination, the combination of techniques used had the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officials unsure as to which category the Predator belonged. The mechanical features of the character's head suggested the makeup effects category; but, due to the camouflage effect, there was a visual effects aspect to the character, as well. Ultimately, [[Stan Winston]] was nominated for an Oscar for Predator in the [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]] category — just as he had been for ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' — but he and his co-nominees lost to the effects team from ''[[Innerspace]]''. Though in the same year the academy had categorized the Predator creature as a visual effect, it honored [[Rick Baker]] with an Oscar in the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup]] category for his work on ''[[Harry and the Hendersons]]''. This was despite the fact that Harry had been achieved in exactly the same way that the Predator had, with a performer wearing a suit and a mechanical head. In fact, the same actor, [[Kevin Peter Hall]] had performed in both suits. |
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==Legacy== |
==Legacy== |
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''Predator'' has appeared on a number of "best of" lists. In 2007, C. Robert Cargill of [[RealNetworks]] resource Film.com (now merged into [[MTV|MTV Movies]]) ranked ''Predator'' as the seventh best film of 1987, calling it "one of the great science fiction horror films, often imitated, but never properly duplicated, not even by its own sequel".<ref>{{cite web |last=Cargill |first=C. Robert |date=August 2, 2007 |title=The 10 Best Movies of 1987 |publisher=[[RealNetworks|Film.com]] |url=http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-1987-rave/15746782 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603015110/http://www.film.com/features/story/10-best-movies-1987-rave/15746782 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 3, 2008 |access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named it the 22nd greatest action movie of all time in 2007 and the 14th among "The Best Rock-'em, Sock-'em Movies of the Past 25 Years" in 2009, saying: "Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been as manly as he was in this alien-hunting testosterone-fest."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bernardin |first=Marc |date=June 18, 2007 |title=The 25 Greatest Action Films Ever! |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041669_20041686_20042607_4,00.html |access-date=January 30, 2008 |archive-date=January 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113095538/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041669_20041686_20042607_4,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bernardin |first=Marc |date=January 30, 2009 |title=The Action 25 Films: The Best Rock-'em, Sock-'em Movies of the Past 25 Years |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=https://ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20219939_12,00.html |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-date=December 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214222006/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20219939_12,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2012, ''[[IGN]]'' proclaimed it the 13th greatest action movie of all time.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=March 5, 2014 |title=The Top 25 Action Movies |website=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-top-25-action-movies |access-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112203515/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-top-25-action-movies |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked it 366th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time".<ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2018 |title=The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |website=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/26.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119072124/https://www.empireonline.com/500/26.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 19, 2011 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> ''Predator'' was ranked 4th in a 2015 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' reader poll of the all-time best action films; it was described by reporter Andy Greene as "freakin' awesome".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=January 14, 2015 |title=Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Action Movies of All Time |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-action-movies-of-all-time-152907/predator-2-171251/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930205908/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-action-movies-of-all-time-152907/predator-2-171251/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2018 review for ''IGN'', William Bibbiani called ''Predator'' "the most subversive action movie of the 1980s" and cites examples from the film of satire of the [[action film]] genre as a whole. In his review, he writes: "''Predator'' may be a big, macho action movie, but it's also highly critical of the kinds of characters you'd normally find in big, macho action movies, and the superficial, unquestioningly heroic stories they appear in."<ref>{{cite web |last=Bibbiani |first=William |date=September 14, 2018 |title=Predator Is the Most Subversive Action Movie of the 1980s |website=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/09/14/predator-is-the-most-subversive-action-movie-of-the-1980s |access-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301140319/https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/09/14/predator-is-the-most-subversive-action-movie-of-the-1980s |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The line "Get to the choppa" was subsequently associated with [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-predator-quote-get-to-the-choppa-2014-4 |title=How Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Get To The Choppa!' Movie Quote Became So Popular |last=Weisman |first=Aly |date=April 29, 2014 |work=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113015/http://www.businessinsider.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-predator-quote-get-to-the-choppa-2014-4 |url-status=live}}</ref> especially when Schwarzenegger said the line again in some of his later appearances, including ''[[The New Celebrity Apprentice]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Jagannathan |first=Meera |date=January 3, 2017 |title=Arnold unveils lame new 'Celebrity Apprentice' catchphrase |work=NY Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/arnold-unveils-lame-new-celebrity-apprentice-catchphrase-article-1.2932802 |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207112935/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/arnold-unveils-lame-new-celebrity-apprentice-catchphrase-article-1.2932802 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/recap/the-new-celebrity-apprentice-season-8-premiere/ |title='The New Celebrity Apprentice' season 8 premiere recap: 'In Here You Call Me Governor' |last=Ross |first=Dalton |date=January 3, 2017 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207034102/http://ew.com/recap/the-new-celebrity-apprentice-season-8-premiere/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and advertisements for the mobile video game ''[[Mobile Strike]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://venturebeat.com/2017/02/05/mobile-strikes-5-million-super-bowl-ad-has-arnold-schwarzenegger-rehashing-his-famous-one-liners/ |title=Mobile Strike's $5 million Super Bowl ad has Arnold Schwarzenegger rehashing his famous one-liners |last=Grubb |first=Jeff |date=February 5, 2017 |work=[[VentureBeat]] |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206013656/http://venturebeat.com/2017/02/05/mobile-strikes-5-million-super-bowl-ad-has-arnold-schwarzenegger-rehashing-his-famous-one-liners/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lieutenant Andrew Pierce{{snd}} [[Christian Boeving]]'s leading hero from the 2003 action film ''[[When Eagles Strike]]''{{snd}} was based on Schwarzenegger's image in the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://moviesroom.pl/ranking-gwiazdy-kina-akcji-ktore-zgasly-predzej-niz-rozblysly/ |title=Ranking. Gwiazdy kina akcji, które zgasły prędzej niż rozbłysły |first=Albert |last=Nowicki |work=Movies Room |language=pl |date=December 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114231508/http://moviesroom.pl/ranking-gwiazdy-kina-akcji-ktore-zgasly-predzej-niz-rozblysly/ |access-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-date=January 14, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369795/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200317145122/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369795/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 17, 2020 |title=Operation Balikatan (2003) − Trivia |publisher=[[IMDb]]. [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] |access-date=January 5, 2021}}</ref> In 2013, [[National Entertainment Collectibles Association|NECA]] released action figure collectables of Major Dutch and the Predator.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://necaonline.com/39188/products/toys/action-figures/predators-7-action-figure-series-9-asst-case-14/ |title=Predators – 7" Action Figure – Series 9 Asst (Case 14) |website=NECA |date=Feb 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030132607/http://necaonline.com/39188/products/toys/action-figures/predators-7-action-figure-series-9-asst-case-14/ |archive-date=2013-10-30}}</ref> That same year, ''Predator'' was [[2D to 3D conversion|converted into 3D]] for a [[Blu-ray]] release.<ref name="3Dbluray">{{cite web |url=https://gamesradar.com/predator-3d-blu-ray-comes-loaded-with-awesome-extras/ |title=Predator on 3D Blu-ray comes loaded with awesome extras |last=Total Film |date=December 5, 2013 |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |access-date=January 16, 2018 |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117070332/http://www.gamesradar.com/predator-3d-blu-ray-comes-loaded-with-awesome-extras/ |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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In 2013, [[National Entertainment Collectibles Association|NECA]] released action figure collectables of Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and the Predator, marketed as "Jungle Hunter Dutch Schaefer", "Jungle Disguise Dutch Schaefer", "Jungle Extraction Dutch Schaefer", "Jungle Patrol Dutch Schaefer", "Jungle Hunter Predator", "Water Emergence Predator", and "Cloaked Classic Predator."<ref>[http://necaonline.com/39188/products/toys/action-figures/predators-7-action-figure-series-9-asst-case-14/Predators – 7″ Action Figure – Series 9 Asst (Case 14)] NECA</ref> That same year, ''Predator'' was [[2D to 3D conversion|converted into 3D]] for [[Blu-ray]] release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/predator-3d-blu-ray-comes-loaded-with-awesome-extras |title=Predator on 3D Blu-ray comes loaded with awesome extras |accessdate=December 23, 2013}}</ref> |
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The Predator makes an appearance in ''[[Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands]]'', in a bonus mission called "The Hunt".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/13/16771860/the-predator-is-coming-to-ghost-recon-wildlands |title=The Predator is coming to Ghost Recon Wildlands |first=Ben |last=Kuchera |work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |date=December 13, 2017 |accessdate=November 6, 2023}}</ref> In 2021, the Predator was featured in the video game ''[[Fortnite Battle Royale|Fortnite]]'' as a cosmetic [[Skin (video games)|outfit]] for the character and a hidden enemy in the game, the first of which gave players the associated abilities such as invisibility and the shoulder cannon.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 16, 2021 |title=Fortnite Predator skin: Predator's location and how to defeat the Predator explained |language=en-gb |first=Lottie |last=Lynn |work=[[Eurogamer]] |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/fortnite-defeat-the-predator-location-defeat-7013 |access-date=November 6, 2023}}</ref> |
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In 2014, it was announced that a new ''Predator'' film was in development at 20th Century Fox and was set to be produced by [[John Davis (producer)|John Davis]]. The film is expected to be written by [[Fred Dekker]], with [[Shane Black]] writing a [[film treatment]], as well as having the option to direct.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hollywoodreporter.com/v/Movies/FoxRebooting039preda/?KSID=bbd103a9d0b89ed30267e854940264cf|title=Fox Rebooting 'Predator' With Shane Black (Exclusive)|last=Kit|first=Borys|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 23, 2014|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref> Although initially announced as a reboot, it was later specified by Black that the movie would be a sequel to the previous ''Predator'' films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/predator-reboot-sequel-shane-black/|title=Exclusive: Shane Black Says His PREDATOR Film Is a Sequel, Not a Reboot|last=Chitwood|first=Adam|work=Collider|date=June 25, 2014|accessdate=June 25, 2014}}</ref> In August 2015, Black was nearly finishing the script,<ref>{{cite news|title=Predator Sequel Still on Track with Shane Black, Script Nearly Complete|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/471895-predator-sequel-still-on-track|work=comingsoon.net}}</ref> co-writer Fred Dekker announcing on Facebook that the script was completed in November.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/DirectorFredDekker/photos/a.361751747289483.1073741828.360893107375347/748157358648918/?type=3&theater|title=Fred Dekker - Timeline Photos - Facebook|publisher=}}</ref> In February 2016, Dekker announced a "YES" in relation to the project, taken by some fans to mean that the film had been greenlit and it is slated for a March 2, 2018 release date. The film now confirmed as a direct sequel to the 1987 movie titled, ''The Predator''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/|title=The Predator|publisher=|via=IMDb}}</ref> directed by Black, has the potential of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the franchise as Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Predator-4-Still-Happening-Here-What-We-Know-111567.html|title=Predator 4 Is Still Happening, Here's What We Know|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/DirectorFredDekker/posts/777625142368806|title=Fred Dekker - I cannot say where I was this morning, or... - Facebook|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/alien-covenant-predator-release-date-fox/|title=Alien: Covenant, Predator Release Dates Announced by Fox|date=February 28, 2016|publisher=}}</ref> |
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The film inspired [[Ander Monson]]'s 2022 book ''Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lumans |first=Alexander |date=13 June 2023 |title=“If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It”: Ander Monson on “Predator” and the Monster of American Masculinity |url=https://www.publicbooks.org/if-it-bleeds-we-can-kill-it-ander-monson-on-predator-and-the-monster-of-american-masculinity/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 November 2024 |work=[[Public Books]]}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of monster movies]] |
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===Video games=== |
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{{Portal bar|Alien|Film|Speculative fiction}} |
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[[Dutch Schaefer]] returned as a [[playable character]] in the 1994 [[beat 'em up]] video game ''[[Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' and the 2020 [[multiplayer video game]] ''[[Predator: Hunting Grounds]]'', [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] reprising his role in the latter game in paid [[downloadable content]] (DLC).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bullard |first1=Benjamin |title=He's baaaack! Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as Dutch in Predator: Hunting Grounds |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/arnold-schwarzenegger-as-dutch-predator-hunting-grounds |website=SyFy |access-date=6 August 2023 |date=12 May 2020}}</ref> |
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==Sequels and franchise== |
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== References == |
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{{main|Predator 2|Predators (film)|The Predator (film)|Prey (2022 film)}} |
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{{reflist|30em}} |
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The success of ''Predator'' led 20th Century Fox to finance the three direct sequels over the next thirty-one years, each by different directors, starting with ''Predator 2'' released in 1990. The second sequel, ''Predators'', was released in 2010. A fourth film, ''The Predator'', released in 2018, is set between the events of ''Predator 2'' and ''Predators''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-trailer-rewrites-rules-franchise-1110957/amp/|title=How 'The Predator' Throws Out the Rules of the Franchise|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=May 10, 2018|access-date=November 10, 2021|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110010628/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-trailer-rewrites-rules-franchise-1110957/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref> A prequel, ''Prey'', was released in 2022 as a [[List of Hulu original films|Hulu original film]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=2021-11-12|title='Predator' Prequel Gets Title & Sets Summer 2022 Release|url=https://deadline.com/2021/11/predator-prequel-prey-dan-trachtenberg-skulls-title-release-date-1234872831/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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Arnold Schwarzenegger has not reprised his role as [[Dutch Schaefer]] in the subsequent sequels; he had been made offers to return{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} but declined on all of these occasions. |
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{{main|Alien vs. Predator (film)|Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem}} |
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A number of these began appearing under the ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' title, which brought the Predator creatures together with the creatures of the ''Alien'' films, and a film series followed with ''[[Alien vs. Predator (film)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' in 2004 and ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]'' in 2007.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} |
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==Notes== |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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Latest revision as of 16:26, 16 December 2024
Predator | |
---|---|
Directed by | John McTiernan |
Written by | |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Donald McAlpine |
Edited by | |
Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes[2] |
Country | United States[1] |
Language | English[1] |
Budget | $15–18 million[3][4] |
Box office | $98.3 million[3][4] |
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas.[5] Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Dutch Schaefer, the leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team on a mission to save hostages in guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest, who encounter the deadly Predator (Kevin Peter Hall), a skilled, technologically advanced extraterrestrial who stalks and hunts them down. Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, and Shane Black are supporting co-stars.
Predator was written in 1984 with the working title of Hunter. Filming ran from March to June 1986 with creature effects devised by Stan Winston and a budget of around $15 million. 20th Century Fox released the film on June 12, 1987, in the United States, and it grossed $98 million worldwide. Initial reviews were mixed, but the film has since been considered a classic of the action and science fiction genres and one of the best films of the 1980s, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
The success of Predator launched a media franchise of films, novels, comic books, video games, and toys. It spawned four additional films: Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and Prey (2022). A crossover with the Alien franchise produced the Alien vs. Predator films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). Schaefer would return in the video games Alien vs. Predator (1994) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020), with Schwarzenegger reprising his role in the latter.
Plot
[edit]An extraterrestrial spacecraft deploys a shuttle to Earth. Sometime later, Dutch and his elite paramilitary rescue team—skilled mercenary Mac, explosives expert Poncho, the macho Blain, expert tracker Billy, and jokester Hawkins—are tasked with rescuing a local cabinet minister whose helicopter was shot down in a Central American jungle. Dutch's old friend and Vietnam War ally Dillon, now a CIA agent, accompanies the team to oversee the mission.
The team find the helicopter wreckage and traces of guerrilla soldiers, as well as three skinned corpses hung high in the trees nearby. Dutch identifies the corpses as Green Berets, and becomes suspicious of Dillon's intentions after learning the helicopter was outfitted for surveillance. Dutch's team attacks the guerrilla camp, killing the soldiers and their Russian military allies, and learning the hostages were CIA agents. Dillon admits the cabinet minister story was a lie to convince Dutch—who refuses to use his team for assassinations—to eliminate the camp and prevent a Soviet-sponsored invasion. Dillon also discloses that the original mission team disappeared and the Green Berets had been sent to find them. Dillon takes a surviving guerrilla, Anna, prisoner, and the team travels towards the extraction point.
Unbeknownst to the team, a technologically-advanced, humanoid predator has stalked them since their arrival, remaining invisible with a cloaking device, and using thermal imaging vision to see their body heat. Billy senses the presence of something inhuman, but cannot confirm his suspicions. Anna flees while the team are distracted, and although Hawkins catches her, he is killed by the predator while Anna is spared. While the team searches for Hawkins's body, the predator kills Blain. Mac glimpses the predator's cloaked form and, enraged at Blain's death, provokes the team into blindly firing their weapons into the jungle, wounding the predator. The team makes camp for the night, booby trapping the perimeter. A wild boar triggers a trap, and the predator uses the ensuing confusion to steal Blain's corpse.
The following day, Dutch deduces that the predator is stalking them from the treetops. Dutch releases Anna, needing her to work with them to survive. She recounts local folktales of a monster who kills men and takes trophies from their corpses, typically when the weather is hottest. The team boobytrap the treetops to force the predator into a net, but it is able to escape and Poncho is injured. Mac and Dillon, who wants to make amends to the team, pursue the predator, but they are outmaneuvered and killed. The predator soon catches the survivors, killing Billy and Poncho. Realizing the predator only attacks those it considers a threat, Dutch warns Anna to relinquish her weapon and run to the extraction point. Dutch distracts the predator before falling from a cliff into a waterfall and washing up on a muddy shore. The predator pursues Dutch, but is seemingly unable to see him, and leaves to collect the skulls of the others as trophies. Dutch concludes that the mud masked his body heat, making him invisible to the predator.
Seeking to avenge his team, Dutch creates makeshift traps and weapons. As night falls, he covers himself in mud and cries out to draw the predator to him. Dutch uses his invisibility to wound the predator and disable its cloaking device, but falls into a river and his mud camouflage is washed off. Deeming Dutch a worthy opponent, the predator removes its weapons and mask—revealing a monstrous visage—to face him in hand-to-hand combat. Easily outmatched by the larger and stronger creature, Dutch attempts to goad it into a trapped tunnel, but the predator suspects his plan and goes around it. Dutch triggers the trap himself, releasing its counterweight, which crushes the predator. Mortally wounded, the predator activates a wrist-mounted self-destruct device. Dutch flees, barely escaping the enormous resulting explosion that razes the area.
As dawn breaks, the extraction helicopter arrives with Anna to collect the exhausted and traumatized Dutch.
Cast
[edit]- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch
- Carl Weathers as Dillon
- Elpidia Carrillo as Anna
- Bill Duke as Mac
- Jesse Ventura as Blain
- Sonny Landham as Billy
- Richard Chaves as Poncho
- Shane Black as Hawkins
- R. G. Armstrong as General Phillips[a]
- Kevin Peter Hall / Peter Cullen (voice) as the Predator
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]The Jim and John Thomas script for Predator was originally titled Hunter.[6][7] The original concept, centered on a plot of "what it is to be hunted", concerned a band of alien hunters of various species seeking various targets; that concept was eventually streamlined to one extraterrestrial hunting the most dangerous species, humans, and the "most dangerous man", a combat soldier. Additionally, the setting was chosen as Central America for having constant special forces operations during that period.[8]
As the Thomas brothers were first-time screenwriters with little credibility in Hollywood, they struggled to attract attention for their proposed film and eventually resorted to slipping the script under the door of 20th Century Fox producer Michael Levy (who would go on to serve as executive producer on the film's sequel, Predator 2). Levy then brought the screenplay to producer Joel Silver who, based on his experience with Commando, decided to turn the science fiction pulp story line into a big-budget film. Silver enlisted his former boss Lawrence Gordon as co-producer and John McTiernan was hired as director for his first studio film. At one point, New Zealand director Geoff Murphy was also considered to direct.[9]
Casting
[edit]Silver and Gordon first approached Arnold Schwarzenegger with the lead role. Schwarzenegger said:
The first thing I look for in a script is a good idea, a majority of scripts are rip-offs of other movies. People think they can become successful overnight. They sat down one weekend and wrote a script because they read that Stallone did that with Rocky. Predator was one of the scripts I read, and it bothered me in one way. It was just me and the alien. So we re-did the whole thing so that it was a team of commandos and then I liked the idea. I thought it would make a much more effective movie and be much more believable. I liked the idea of starting out with an action-adventure, but then coming in with some horror and science fiction.
He had previously starred in Commando, on which Silver had served as producer. To play the elite band of soldiers, both Silver and Gordon, with co-producer John Davis, searched for other larger-than-life men of action. Carl Weathers, who had been memorable as boxer Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, was their first choice to play Dillon while professional wrestler and former Navy SEAL Jesse Ventura was hired for his formidable physique as Blain, co-starring with Schwarzenegger the same year in The Running Man. Also cast were Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, and Bill Duke, who costarred alongside Schwarzenegger in Commando.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter.[6][10] But when the 5'9" Van Damme was compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura — actors over 6 feet tall and known for their bodybuilding regimens — it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and causing him to pass out. He allegedly had also repeatedly voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, did not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall, who had just finished work as a sasquatch in Harry and the Hendersons.[6][10]
Filming
[edit]Commitments by Schwarzenegger delayed the start of filming by several months. The delay gave Silver enough time to secure a minor rewrite from screenwriter David Peoples. Principal photography eventually began in the jungles of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, during the last week of March 1986, but most[citation needed] of the film was shot in Mismaloya, Mexico. Much of the material dealing with the unit's deployment in the jungle was completed in a few short weeks and both Silver and Gordon were pleased by the dailies provided by McTiernan. On Friday, April 25, production halted so that Schwarzenegger could get to his wedding on time, flying to Hyannis Port in a Learjet chartered by Silver. Schwarzenegger was married on April 26, 1986, to Maria Shriver, and honeymooned for only three days while the second unit completed additional filming. The production resumed filming on May 12 and ended in late June 1986.
Both McTiernan and Schwarzenegger lost 25 pounds during the film.[6] Schwarzenegger's weight loss was a professional choice while McTiernan lost the weight because he avoided the food in Mexico due to health concerns.[6] Unlike McTiernan, most of the cast and crew suffered from Travelers' diarrhea since the Mexican hotel in which they were living had problems with its water purification.[11] In an interview, Carl Weathers said the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. to work out before the day's shooting. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him and would work out only after the other actors were nowhere to be seen.[6]
According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding. The actor—and former bodybuilder—shipped gym equipment to Mexico and trained intensively every day before shooting began, usually with his co-stars.[12] Screenwriter Jim Thomas was impressed with the training regimen and said: "I think that phrase 'manly men' was coined [during the production of Predator]".[12] Among other tasks, Schwarzenegger had to swim in very cold water and spent three weeks covered in mud for the climactic battle with the alien.[13] In addition, cast and crew endured very cold temperatures in the Mexican jungle that required heat lamps to be on all of the time. Cast and crew filmed on rough terrain that, according to the actor, was never flat, "always on a hill. We stood all day long on a hill, one leg down, one leg up. It was terrible."[13] Schwarzenegger also faced the challenge of working with Kevin Peter Hall, who could not see in the Predator suit. The actor recalled that "when he's supposed to slap me around and stay far from my face, all of a sudden, whap! There is this hand with claws on it!"[13] Hall stated in an interview that his experience on the film "wasn't a movie, it was a survival story for all of us."[14] For example, in the scene where the Predator chases Dutch, the water was foul, stagnant and full of leeches.[14] Hall could not see out of the mask and had to rehearse his scenes with it off and memorize where everything was. The outfit was difficult to wear because it was heavy and affected his balance.[14]
Visual effects
[edit]The original Predator creature was created by Richard Edlund of Boss Film Studios and was a disproportionate, ungainly creature with large yellow eyes and a dog-like head, and nowhere near as agile as necessary for what the filmmakers had intended.[15][16] After a call was put out for a new alien creature costume, creature effects artist Rick Baker put in a bid, but ultimately McTiernan consulted Stan Winston.[7] Winston had previously worked with Schwarzenegger as a visual effects artist on the 1984 film The Terminator. While on a plane ride to Fox studios alongside Aliens director James Cameron, Winston sketched monster ideas. Cameron suggested he had always wanted to see a creature with mandibles, which became part of the Predator's iconic look.[17]
R/Greenberg Associates created the film's optical effects, including the alien's ability to become invisible, its thermal vision point of view, its glowing blood, and the electrical spark effects.[18]
The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone wearing a bright red suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the Predator. The red was removed with chroma key techniques, leaving an empty area. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, the jungle from the second take filled in the empty area. Because the second take was filmed with a wider lens, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape.[18]
For thermal vision, infrared film could not be used because it did not register in the range of body temperature wavelengths. The filmmakers used an Inframetrics thermal video scanner because it gave good heat images of objects and people.[18] The glowing blood was achieved by green liquid from glow sticks mixed with personal lubricant for texture.[18] The electrical sparks were rotoscoped animation using white paper pins registered on portable light tables to black-and-white prints of the film frames. The drawings were composited by the optical crew for the finished effects.[18] Additional visual effects, mainly for the opening title sequence of the Predator arriving on Earth, were supplied by Dream Quest Images (later Oscar-winners for their work on The Abyss and Total Recall). The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.[19]
Music
[edit]The score was composed by Alan Silvestri, who was coming off the huge success of Back to the Future in 1985. Predator was his first major action movie and the score is full of his familiar genre characteristics: heavy horn blasts, staccato string rhythms, and undulating timpani rolls that highlight the action and suspense. Little Richard's song "Long Tall Sally" is featured in the helicopter en route to the jungle. Mac also recites a few lines from the song as he's chasing the Predator after it escapes from their booby trap. Silvestri returned for the sequel, making him the only composer to have scored more than one film in either the Alien or Predator series.
In 2003, Varèse Sarabande and Fox Music released the soundtrack album as part of its limited release CD Club collection;[20] the album also includes the Elliot Goldenthal arrangement of the 20th Century Fox fanfare used on Alien 3.
In 2007, Brian Tyler adapted and composed some of Silvestri's themes used in the score of the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
In 2010, the same year Predators featured an adaptation of Silvestri's score by John Debney, Intrada Records released the album in a 3000-copy limited edition with remastered sound, many cues combined and renamed, and most notably (as with Intrada's release of Basil Poledouris's score for RoboCop) presenting the original end credits music as recorded (the film versions are mixed differently). This release is notable for having sold out within a day.[21]
In 2018, Henry Jackman adapted and composed Silvestri's themes in the score of the film, The Predator.
Release
[edit]Box office
[edit]Released on June 12, 1987, Predator was No. 1 at the US box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $12 million. The film ranked 12th place in the domestic market for the calendar year 1987.[22] The film grossed $98,267,558, of which $59,735,548 was from the US & Canadian box office. $38,532,010 was made in other countries.[23]
Home media
[edit]Predator was first released on VHS on January 21, 1988. It was later released on DVD on December 26, 2000.[24] The film was later released on Blu-ray on April 15, 2008.[25] It was released on Blu-ray 3D on December 17, 2013,[26] and on Ultra HD Blu-ray on August 7, 2018.[27]
SVOD viewership
[edit]According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Predator was the 9th most streamed film across all platforms in the United States, during the week ending August 1, 2022,[28] and the 10th during the week ending August 14, 2022.[29]
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]From contemporary reviews, Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as "grisly and dull, with few surprises".[30] Dean Lamanna wrote in Cinefantastique that "the militarized monster movie tires under its own derivative weight".[31] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times proclaimed it "arguably one of the emptiest, feeblest, most derivative scripts ever made as a major studio movie".[32] Variety wrote that the film was a "slightly above-average actioner that tries to compensate for tissue-thin-plot with ever-more-grisly death sequences and impressive special effects".[33] Adam Barker of The Monthly Film Bulletin found that "unfortunately, special effects have also been substituted for suspense" and that "the early appearance of the Predator makes the final gladiatorial conflict predictable, and the monster's multiple transformations also exhaust interest in its final appearance".[34]
Though finding the creature's motivations poorly explained, critic Roger Ebert was more complimentary of the film. He wrote: "Predator moves at a breakneck pace, it has strong and simple characterizations, it has good location photography and terrific special effects, and it supplies what it claims to supply: an effective action movie."[35] The Hollywood Reporter's Duane Byrge felt that the Predator's weaponized attacks relied too heavily on special effects, but allowed that the film is a "well-made, old-style assault movie" and a "full-assault" visual experience.[36]
Chris Hewitt of Empire wrote: "Predator has gradually become a sci-fi and action classic. It's not difficult to see why. John McTiernan's direction is claustrophobic, fluid and assured, staging the action with aplomb but concentrating just as much on tension and atmosphere... A thumping piece of powerhouse cinema."[37] Peter Suderman of Reason magazine noted that "over the last 30-odd years, it has come to be regarded a classic of '80s action cinema".[38]
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 80% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Predator: Part sci-fi, part horror, part action – all muscle."[39] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[40] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[41]
Accolades
[edit]When it came time to recognize the Predator with an Academy Award nomination, the combination of techniques used had the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officials unsure as to which category the Predator belonged. The mechanical features of the character's head suggested the makeup effects category; but, due to the camouflage effect, there was a visual effects aspect to the character, as well. Ultimately, Stan Winston was nominated for an Oscar for Predator in the Best Visual Effects category — just as he had been for Aliens — but he and his co-nominees lost to the effects team from Innerspace. Though in the same year the academy had categorized the Predator creature as a visual effect, it honored Rick Baker with an Oscar in the Best Makeup category for his work on Harry and the Hendersons. This was despite the fact that Harry had been achieved in exactly the same way that the Predator had, with a performer wearing a suit and a mechanical head. In fact, the same actor, Kevin Peter Hall had performed in both suits.
Legacy
[edit]Predator has appeared on a number of "best of" lists. In 2007, C. Robert Cargill of RealNetworks resource Film.com (now merged into MTV Movies) ranked Predator as the seventh best film of 1987, calling it "one of the great science fiction horror films, often imitated, but never properly duplicated, not even by its own sequel".[42] Entertainment Weekly named it the 22nd greatest action movie of all time in 2007 and the 14th among "The Best Rock-'em, Sock-'em Movies of the Past 25 Years" in 2009, saying: "Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been as manly as he was in this alien-hunting testosterone-fest."[43][44] In 2012, IGN proclaimed it the 13th greatest action movie of all time.[45] In 2008, Empire magazine ranked it 366th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time".[46] Predator was ranked 4th in a 2015 Rolling Stone reader poll of the all-time best action films; it was described by reporter Andy Greene as "freakin' awesome".[47] In a 2018 review for IGN, William Bibbiani called Predator "the most subversive action movie of the 1980s" and cites examples from the film of satire of the action film genre as a whole. In his review, he writes: "Predator may be a big, macho action movie, but it's also highly critical of the kinds of characters you'd normally find in big, macho action movies, and the superficial, unquestioningly heroic stories they appear in."[48]
The line "Get to the choppa" was subsequently associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger,[49] especially when Schwarzenegger said the line again in some of his later appearances, including The New Celebrity Apprentice[50][51] and advertisements for the mobile video game Mobile Strike.[52] Lieutenant Andrew Pierce – Christian Boeving's leading hero from the 2003 action film When Eagles Strike – was based on Schwarzenegger's image in the film.[53][54] In 2013, NECA released action figure collectables of Major Dutch and the Predator.[55] That same year, Predator was converted into 3D for a Blu-ray release.[26]
The Predator makes an appearance in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, in a bonus mission called "The Hunt".[56] In 2021, the Predator was featured in the video game Fortnite as a cosmetic outfit for the character and a hidden enemy in the game, the first of which gave players the associated abilities such as invisibility and the shoulder cannon.[57]
The film inspired Ander Monson's 2022 book Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession.[58]
Video games
[edit]Dutch Schaefer returned as a playable character in the 1994 beat 'em up video game Alien vs. Predator and the 2020 multiplayer video game Predator: Hunting Grounds, Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role in the latter game in paid downloadable content (DLC).[59]
Sequels and franchise
[edit]The success of Predator led 20th Century Fox to finance the three direct sequels over the next thirty-one years, each by different directors, starting with Predator 2 released in 1990. The second sequel, Predators, was released in 2010. A fourth film, The Predator, released in 2018, is set between the events of Predator 2 and Predators.[60] A prequel, Prey, was released in 2022 as a Hulu original film.[61]
Arnold Schwarzenegger has not reprised his role as Dutch Schaefer in the subsequent sequels; he had been made offers to return[citation needed] but declined on all of these occasions.
A number of these began appearing under the Alien vs. Predator title, which brought the Predator creatures together with the creatures of the Alien films, and a film series followed with Alien vs. Predator in 2004 and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007.[citation needed]
Notes
[edit]- ^ The character is credited as General Phillips, but his name patch says is spelled "Philips".
References
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{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bullard, Benjamin (May 12, 2020). "He's baaaack! Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as Dutch in Predator: Hunting Grounds". SyFy. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
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- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 12, 2021). "'Predator' Prequel Gets Title & Sets Summer 2022 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
External links
[edit]- 1987 films
- 1980s American films
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s monster movies
- 1980s science fiction action films
- 1980s science fiction horror films
- 1987 horror films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American monster movies
- American science fiction action films
- American science fiction horror films
- Davis Entertainment films
- Films about American military personnel
- Films about extraterrestrial life
- Films about hunters
- Films directed by John McTiernan
- Films produced by Joel Silver
- Films produced by John Davis
- Films produced by Lawrence Gordon
- Films scored by Alan Silvestri
- Films set in 1987
- Films set in Central America
- Films set in fictional countries
- Films set in jungles
- Films shot in Mexico
- Films with screenplays by Jim Thomas (screenwriter)
- Films with screenplays by John Thomas (screenwriter)
- Predator (franchise) films
- 1987 science fiction films
- English-language science fiction horror films
- English-language science fiction action films
- Saturn Award–winning films