You may have seen that 8Ball have been doing something a little special recently, our Directors Cut Box Sets. These collections feature special items taken directly from or inspired by some of the greatest movies that have been put to film. We want to take a bit of time to show what makes these movies so special.
One of the reasons behind why we wanted to create something a bit more special with these products is because they hold the movies that they represent hold a pretty special place in our geeky little hearts. With every product, we spent time trying to think about that we could marry together to create something that was unique and appealing to even biggest of fans. Subtle references abound here, and that's just what we love about them, we hope that you do too. If you have any ideas for something that we can add to the range then just let us know in the comments below or drop us an email.
The Terminator
Spawned from a nightmare that James Cameron had, The Terminator was his attempt at doing a stylish horror flick, however, the movie was more than the sum of its parts. The skeleton-like T-800 became an instant cultural icon and Arnold Schwarzenegger's role as the machine was a career standout. A compelling story of time travel and robot uprising hooked movie goers and a franchise was made.
While the movie's sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement day, was the most successful of the films. We want to pay homage to the one that started it all. A movie that is both obviously very 80's but yet somehow timeless. The Terminator.
The most recognisable image of the set is the classic Cyberdyne systems logo. Forever etched into our memories, Cyberdyne is one of those evil corporations that every decent Sci-Fi fan knows about. On a par with Weyland Yutani from the Alien series in Evil corp rankings. The Cyberdyne corporate logo features on the front of the gift box, on one of the T-Shirt choices and on the front of the beanie hat included in the set.
Tech-Noir is the highly 80's bar that Sarah Conner goes to hide from her stalkers. The place promptly gets wrecked by automatic gunfire and we get to see our first confrontation between Kyle and the T-800. Tech-noir not only features on one of the T-shirt choices but also on the exclusive beer mats that come with the set. Perfect to keep the tables of the true fan clean.
Blade Runner
Based on the Phillip K Dick story "Do Androids dream of electric sheep", Blade Runner is one of those movies that has left a lasting impression on the movie making world. It's vision of a run down, dirty but also futuristic Los Angeles is still the best example of Neo-Noir there is. The themes of the film are still analysed the world over and the ending is the subject of many a pub conversation.
We wanted to capture some of the essence that made Blade Runner such a classic with our designs for this box set. The problem was that Blade Runner has so many standout images, it's hard to choose which ones to go for.
For the box we took the insignia of the Blade Runners themselves, specifically the badge of film protaganist, Deckard. The logo and serial numbers faithfully recreated from the movie.
One of the shirt designs is also featured on the limited edition beer mats in the set. This is from Miss Salomes Snake Pit, the bar that features sexy dancing and synthetic reptiles. One of the livelier looking
Finally, the poster features the advert for Off World Colonies. One of the enduring images of future LA is of the giant airships and video screens. This advert is one of the most recognisable ones from these places.
Alien
To finish off our trifecta of cult sci-fi we have the always popular Alien franchise. First released in 1979 as a lonely Science fiction horror movie, the series has spread itself across popular culture like no other. Video games, books, toys, rides and a thousand other areas have felt the touch of the Xenomorph. Despite some variance in quality of the films, the series enduring popularity means this cultural phenomenon will be with us for a while yet.
Here at 8Ball we had quite the issue, the stars of the show, the Xenomorphs themselves, don't have much in the ways of symbols for us to print on things to send out to you. So we turned to the shadowy antagonists of the universe. The insidious Weyland-Yutani.
Their imposing logo features on the front of the box, along with the warning symbols that are common on their containers.
From the cafeteria in the heart of Weyland-Yutani HQ, we stole some official beer mats and we provide them to you in this exclusive box set.
Finally, we stamped a beanie with their corporate logo. It's just like the ones chestbursters like to snuggle up in when they are still little babies.
The Sci-Fi range may have been at the forefront of our directors cut range, but they weren't all we wanted to celebrate. To see our full range, including Back to the Future, Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction and many more, click here.
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