Alien (1979)

A lot of fun.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

"Alien" is a classic movie with a great story/script, wonderful acting, really good setting, and a well developed first installment of the series. Nuff' said.

Alien is a great film though I personally feel that James Cameron's Aliens is a much better film. It starts with seven crew members aboard a towing hauler, who are suddenly awakened from their deep slumber in cryo because of a distress signal they've received. They land on a distant planet only to find a massive derelict ship which has probably crash landed. There they find an alien organism- one which has acid for blood and grows at a menacing pace. This film reeks of atmosphere and to this day many films and video games have been directly inspired by its production design and vibe. Alien also holds the distinction of having, what many people consider the greatest tagline and trailer.

Alien (1979)Details: Genres: Horror, sci-fi, thriller. Run time: 116 mins. BBFC certificates: 1979 classification: X (equivalent of today's "18" classification); 1991 re-rating for video release: 18; 2003 re-rating: 15.Synopsis: Cargo ship Nostromo receives an unprecedented signal from a nearby planet while en route back to Earth, and the crew, intrigued, investigate.Intro: Ridley Scott's B-movie about a predatory alien stalking and slaughtering hapless crew members within the confines of their own ship has become cinematic legend and has garnered a hugely pretty worldwide profit. Basically, one who goes into this experience with low expectations is a cynic.The experience: The opening credit sequence is hugely subtle, with the film's title emerging very slowly, out of symbols vaguely reminiscent of computer binary. Accompanying this is a very quiet and unsettling underlying score which sets the suspense. We're then taken to the cargo ship Nostromo, which is on its way back to Earth after a respectable spree. Following this is a quiet and ominous exploration of the ship's deserted living quarters. Interrupting that, a signal comes through on the ship's intercom, breaking the silence jarringly. The crew are hence woken from their hibernation pods, and they start investigating why they were disturbed early. Seeing the mystery signal, the crew now take a shuttle down from Nostromo to the planet the signal originated from. On the planet, they investigate and find a crashed spacecraft that they take to be the source of the signal, so they investigate its innards, finding a dead alien and a humid chamber full of structures that are ostensibly eggs.Crew member Kane (played memorably well by John Hurt) is the one to investigate this section closer. I won't give too much away about what follows, to save robbing you of the suspense, but bottom line: Kane ultimately ends up with a half-spider-half-sightless-lizard thing attached to his face, and with its tail coiled around his neck. He's taken back to the shuttle med bay, even after a quarantine order by Ripley (played well by Sigourney Weaver), and there, Ash (Ian Holm) and Dallas (Tom Skerritt) attempt to remove the alien from Kane's face, to no avail. After brief and decidedly non-professional negotiations, the crew head back to Nostromo in the shuttle and head home, even though Kane is still accompanied by "their guest". They're not asking for disaster at all there, are they? (Sarcasm oozing.)So, after the most covertly suspenseful scene in cinematic history - "I remember some...horrible dream about...smothering...?" - we now get our first proper horror scene, all after the half-way mark. Given the build-up prior to this, even the dramatic and gory detail of the scene can't detract from the fact that this ice-breaker is actually a relief from the mind-bending suspense of before. We're now left, for the rest of the run time, with the Nostromo crew trapped in their spacecraft with a highly formidable extra-terrestrial which would enjoy nothing more than to tear them all limb from limb. The alien attacks in the second-half acts are all very well done, not least because they don't unduly dwell on the gore. That may sound highly counter-intuitive coming from someone who's favourite genre is horror, but while I normally can't get enough of blood and guts in the scary films I see, I would actually call Alien a rare exception. The fact you can't quite make out exactly what the alien's doing to its victims heightens the suspense and keeps you on edge. You're left wondering, "What will I see if the alien attacks are given more screen time later in the film?"Given a premise as bleak as this, you imagine there can't possibly be a reassuring outcome, but actually, the film has a happy(ish) ending. While most films of this genre are just like, "Death-death-death-death-death - eat that, viewers", Alien is a refreshment in that it offers concluding notes of reassurance for the viewer. That acts as the icing on an already gourmet-class cake.Post-viewing analysis: Normally, sci-fi acts as a dilution to horror; but this is one of those rare finds where it not only doesn't detract from the scares at all but complements them as well. Literally, the only really graphic kill in this movie comes just after the half-way mark, and once that's done with, the rest takes place in under-lit settings which leave just enough detail for the kills to strike you, but not quite enough to make things "ridiculous". That said, the mentioned formula will only work this once, because it's heavily dependent on playing with viewers' expectations. This is why Cameron's sequel worked so well, because it totally ditched said method in favour of giving an extroverted yet epic and fresh-feeling space slasher. Proof can be found in Scott's later Alien prequels too. Out of the two so far made, Alien: Covenant outdoes Prometheus (as much as some grumpy viewers would love to contradict), because it's less ashamed of being called a gorefest and therefore doesn't feel like a rehash from the original recipe. I gave pointers in my Covenant review too, but here, I again reaffirm that if Scott's going to get close or back to the original standards with his third Alien reboot, extra blood and gore is the medium he most needs to utilise. Even if that ends up making the movie an "18" where I am and an "NC-17" on the other side of the pond, the audience appeal will surely counteract any financial compromises encountered along the way by so securing said certificates.But back on the subject of this movie, another virtue is the sound effects. The musical compositions are especially striking, being thoroughly atmospheric. And the actors are also, collectively, not without note. The highlight there is probably Holm, as he brings such mesmerising charisma to Ash that you literally can't keep your eyes off him when he's on screen. Next in line is Hurt, who pretty much never disappoints no matter what character he's playing, so I find it hard to see why Scott decided that his character should be the first casualty! And Weaver's character, Ripley, is also not to be omitted, because she has all the drive and determination to firmly set her as the routable main lead, especially during the film's second-half acts where her bravery particularly shines through. All this said, this isn't quite a perfect movie. You do have to trawl very deep to find flaws, but there is one editorial hiccup which could potentially strike the attentive.Verdict: 5/5 Nerve-shredding suspense, astute horror, great acting and top-rate sound design all add up to make this one of the best sci-fi horror flicks ever. It can only really be second to Aliens, and even that's open to opinion. In space, no one can hear you scream (Do I never get tired of that tagline, or do I never get tired of that tagline?)The director's cut (2003)Details: Run time: 116 mins. BBFC certificate: 15.Intro: This is a criminally under-recognised re-take of Scott's original sci-fi horror masterpiece.The experience: Similar to the original cut, but a darker lighting effect has been inserted into many of the shots. But while the application of this in Scott's Blade Runner director's cut made the whole thing look second-hand, here, it actually adds to the creepy atmosphere. And the camera effects as a whole have been upped in texture, adding to the movie's already beautiful visual appeal. Also, the scene with Kane in the med bay following the face-hugger attack has now been made more outwardly intense rather than implicitly suspenseful, so the psychological tension has thus been heightened there. As well as this, one of the alien attacks has been extended, making the film feel more slasher-like. Finally, a scene which I'm dumbfounded was left out of the original cut has been inserted into this one. It features the "harvester technique" that the aliens adopt in the sequel, and the inclusion of it here makes the film feel more complete.Post-viewing analysis: Darker, grimmer, more intense, more visually appealing and more solid than the original masterpiece, if that's even possible. What more need I say?Verdict: 5/5 This re-take of Scott's legendary sci-fi slasher improves on the original cut in many ways, is literally only a razor-point's-breadth away from perfection and is a classic example of a director's cut done well. Alien deluxe.

One of the greatest films ever made...from the opening sequence,to each and every charachter...from lambert saying "hey...let's get the hell out of here"...to everything that else that happens... Kane,Dallas,Lambert,Parker,Ripley...you cannot make charachters in a sci fi/horror movie like this again...one of the greatest movies I've ever seen...