The Thing (1982)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1982
Running Times: 109 mins
Format: Technicolor Panavision (anamorphic) 35mm 70mm (blow-up)
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Turman-Foster Company / Universal Pictures
Executive Producer: Wilbur Stark
Producers: David Foster, Lawrence Turman
Co-Producer: Stuart Cohen
Associate Producer: Larry Franco

SCRIPT
Script: Bill Lancaster
Story: Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr

DIRECTION
Director: John Carpenter

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Camera Operator (British Columbia): Cyrus Block
Camera Operator: Raymond Stella
1st Assistant Camera (British Columbia): Paul R. Prince
1st Assistant Camera: Clyde Bryan
2nd Assistant Camera (British Columbia): Douglas Pruss, David Geddes
2nd Assistant Camera: Steve Tate
Best Boy Electric: Charles E. Nippell
Best Boy Grip (British Columbia): James L. Hurford
Best Boy Grip: Laszlo Horvath
Electric Best Boy (British Columbia): Len Wolfe
Key Grip (British Columbia): John 'Dillard' Brison
Key Grip: Ronald T. Woodward
Grip: Ray Kinzer
Dolly Grip (British Columbia): Dave Gordon
Dolly Grip: Kris Krosskove
Gaffer (British Columbia): Dave Anderson
Gaffers: Mark Walthour, Tom Marshall
Generator Operator (British Columbia): Barrett J. Reid
Lamp Operator (British Columbia): Michael Orefice
Lamp Operators: Terry Marshall Jr, Jon Antunovich
Stills (British Columbia): Chris Helcermanas-Benge

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Todd Ramsay
Assistant Editors: Jan Wesley, Kim Ray

MUSIC
Music: Ennio Morricone
Songs Performed By: Billie Holiday (Don't Explain); The Four Tops (One Chain Don't Make No Prison); Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
Synthesizer: Craig Harris

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Supervisor (British Columbia): Trish Keating
Costume Supervisors: Gilbert Loe, Ronald I. Caplan

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Sp Make Up Effecrs Designed and Created By: Rob Bottin

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: VCE
Special Effects: Dreamstate Effects; Stan Winston Studio
Computer Graphics: Motion Graphics
Animation Effects: James Aupperle, Carl Surges, Ernest D. Farino
Dimensional Animation Effects Creator: Randall William Cook
Main Title Sequence Animators: Katherine Kean, Keith Tucker
Optical Effects: Universal Title
Opticals: RGB Optical

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: John L. Lloyd
End Titles: Universal Title

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Candy Marcellino
Script Supervisor (British Columbia): Christine Wilson
Technical Advisor (British Columbia): Robin Mounsey
Technical Advisor (Juneau): Dr Maynard M. Miller
Animal Trainer: Bob Weatherwax
Dog Trainer: Clint E. Rowe
Assistant Dog Trainer: James T. Colovin
Production Accountant: Karen Miller
Auditor (British Columbia): Robert Knoechel
Assistant Auditor (British Columbia): Susan King
Production Assistant: Ron Macinnes
Assistant To Cohen: Linda Von
Assistant To Carpenter: Ellen Benjamin
Cooks (British Columbia): Shelby Hetherington, Tana Tocher
Craft Service (British Columbia): Spencer Hyde
Craft Service: Rocky Corsini, Yervant Babasin
Transportation Captain (British Columbia): Alois Stranan
Transportation Captains: Bob Cornell, Dan Anglin
Driver: George Lawson
Helicopter Pilots (British Columbia): Ken Strain, Lawrence Perry, Nate Irwin
Marketing Consultant: Craig Miller (Uncredited)
Publicity Co-Ordinator: Peter Silbermann
Special Publicity: Pickwick / Maslansky / Koenigsberg Inc
Production Secretary (British Columbia): Karen Kalton
Production Secretary: Debbie Collier

LOCATIONS
Locations: Kimberly, British Columbia, Canada

STUNTS
Stunts: Anthony Cecere, Kent Hays, Larry Holt, Melvin Jones, Eric Mansker, Denver Mattson, Clint Rowe, Ken Strain, Rock Walker, Jerry Wills

CAST
Kurt Russell (MacReady)
A. Wilford Brimley (Blair)
T.K. Carter (Nauls)
David Clennon (Palmer)
Keith David (Childs)
Richard Dysart (Doctor Copper)
Charles Hallahan (Norris)
Peter Maloney (Bennings)
Richard Masur (Clark)
Donald Moffat (Garry)
Joel Polis (Fuchs)
Thomas Waites (Windows)
Norbert Weisser (Norwegian)
Larry Franco (Norwegian passenger with rifle)
Nate Irwin (helicopter pilot)
William Zeman (pilot)
John Carpenter (Norwegian in video footage - uncredited)

Body Double For Hypodermics: Raymond Stella (uncredited)

PLOT SUMMARY

A team of American scientists in Antarctica are beseiged by an ancient, shape-shifting alien that has been dug from the ice by a nearby Norwegian team. The creature, which crash-landed on Earth centuries ago, can adopt the form of any living organism it comes into contact with. Soon, the men on the base can't tell who is human and who is alien...

Not well liked on its release, Carpenter's masterly adaptation of Campbell's classic short story has stood the test of time well. The special effects are still amazing, the performances suitably twitchy and paranoid and Carpenter's direction among the best work he's ever done. One of those rare examples of a remake that actually surpasses the original.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: United International Pictures

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures

Australia
Rating: R

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -12

Germany
Rating: 18

Hong Kong
Rating: III

Ireland
Rating: 18

Norway
Rating: 18

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18
Many UK TV showings have the expletives cut. One showing, however, cut the line "You've got to be fucking kidding!" yet happily broadcast "Yeah, fuck you too" only minutes later!

USA
Rating: R
On US TV, the scene where the man's severed head turns into a spider and scuttles out of a door was cut.

1982
October
22: West Germany - theatrical release
29: Sweden - theatrical release

November
3: France - theatrical release

December
17: Finland - theatrical release

2001
December
25: USA - television broadcast (on Sci-Fi)

Man is The Warmest Place to Hide.

Look closely at your neighbours. Don't trust anybody.

The ultimate in alien terror.

John Carpenter's The Thing
La cosa - Italian title
Das Ding aus einer anderen Welt - German title

REMAKE OF
The Thing From Another World (1951)

SEE ALSO
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Lily C.A.T. (1987)
Alien Predator (1987)
The Terror Within (1988)
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Morkerad (1998)
The Faculty (1998)
Free Enterprise (1998)
Sometimes They Come Back... For More (1998)
Jakten pa en mördare (1999)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Terror in the Aisles (1984)

MAGAZINES

The Guide December 11-17 1999 p.16 (UK)
illustrated DVD review

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

aliens; shape shifters; antarctica; scientists; dogs; helicopters

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008