Directed by:
Ridley ScottScreenplay:
Dan O'BannonCinematography:
Derek VanlintComposer:
Jerry GoldsmithCast:
Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Bolaji Badejo, Helen HortonVOD (4)
Plots(1)
The terror begins when the crew of a spaceship investigates a transmission from a desolate planet, and discovers a life form that is perfectly evolved to annihilate mankind. One by one, each crew member is slain until only Ripley is left. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (15)
When you hunt a tiger in the daytime with a gun in your hand, you have at least some hope of success. But if you take away the light, end up dumped in the middle of the jungle in the dark of night, surrounded by the unknown, and all your primal fears will return. The tiger has the advantage here. It has become a family legend how my mom almost gave birth to me prematurely due to attending a screening of Alien in the Alpha Cinema (the whole story is made much richer and different with every retelling, so I will not elaborate on it here). You must admit that you’ve just got to love this movie, especially since after all these years, it is still the most impressive example of its genre.
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Seven years later, I again watched the film that got me interested in film in the first place. I was surprised that it hasn't lost any of its appeal over the years. Perhaps the fact alone that I remember those legendary moments vividly enough to still be frightened or tense. But that's a purely subjective feeling. Scott's thoughtful direction, in which all the essential elements - the cold spaceship design, the play of lights and shadows, Goldsmith's music, the rational crew and, last but not least, the legendary uninvited guest - are perfectly in place and can still captivate me even all these years later. To today’s generation (my contemporaries), for whom cinematic horror is produced in the form of screaming teenagers and remakes of Asian boogeymen, this space opus probably doesn't really do much for them, but over the years it's not what, but how! Without a drop of nostalgia, fully aware of "getting older," it’s still an absolutely riveting blast.
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Fascinating legend, which has been delivering all films with a suggestive atmosphere of unknown evil for over forty years since its creation. Captivating performance by Sigourney Weaver, the impossibility to guess what awaits the crew in the next few seconds, accompanied by darkness, fear, and terror with the help of minimal tricks. An incomparable peak of Ridley Scott and proof that even a film where almost nothing happens in the first half can be perfectly breathtaking throughout the entire runtime.
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Alien is one of the fundamental works of the sci-fi genre, which meant the definitive emancipation of sci-fi as a full-fledged genre that can be classified in the A-category and compete for the highest honors at film festivals. It completed the process started by Kubrick with his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the same time, it rehabilitated the motif of space "monsters" which had been profaned by cheap B-movies of previous decades. The director approached the subject with maximum seriousness and worked very carefully with the screenplay, opting for an excellent collaborator in the form of the previously little-known artist H.R. Giger. It is precisely in terms of visuals that the film does exceptionally well, using a wide range of colors to evoke a gloomy atmosphere. The alien ship appears remarkably strange. The environment of the worn-out spacecraft full of various sounds created by technology creates a special tension that stays with the viewer until the last moments. The slowly increasing tension is followed by shocking "scares." Alien makes an original impression and evokes genuine fear. The actors approached the film with obvious skepticism, considering it to be one of the common cheap genre films, and were pleasantly surprised by the result. The film catapulted Sigourney Weaver into the ranks of the stellar acting elite and guaranteed her very nice salaries in the future. Ripley became her defining role, and many fans simply identified her with the starship officer. I remember the desperate attempts of the youth at the time to get into the movie theater for the screening. The film was hugely popular and also restricted to a certain age. Even many years later, although it is no longer at the forefront technically, Alien still has a very impressive and fully functional atmosphere. Overall impression: 100%.
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When a movie manages to frighten you to death even thirty years after its release, you must admit it’s good. And all you need to do is to show nothing, keep everything hidden and flash lights in the viewers’ faces and they will be terrified. If it weren’t for James Cameron, Ridley Scott would be the uncrowned king of the Alien saga.
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Gallery (280)
Photo © 1979 20th Century Fox
![Alien - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/510/158510066_8b8529.jpg)
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