Alien (1979) Reviews

• "Alien" is not just the monster, it's the atmosphere and the way you feel!

  chrishn2005-02-06

  In "Alien" we follow a seven man crew en-route to earth on board the huge space freighter "Nostromo". The crew is in cryosleep, but the on board computer interrupts the journey when a foreign radio signal is picked up. It originates from an uninhabited planet and the crew lands to investigate. There they make contact with an alien life-form... What makes Alien so great is the constant feel of uneasiness. Right from the beginning you have a feeling that something is wrong. The crew is not particularly friendly towards each other, and you truly feel all the in-group tension. The ship itself is a huge worn out industrial-style maze of halls and corridors, and it feels more like a prison than a place to live. It is as if not only the alien but also the ship itself is against the humans. The Alien itself is the scariest monster in history because it is a ruthless, soul-less parasite completely devoid of any human or civilized traits. The design of the monster is a stroke of genius. Sure it has a humanoid form, but it has no facial traits or anything else which could give away emotions or intentions. Its actions reveals no weaknesses nor civilized intelligence. The Alien is more or less the opposite of everything human and civilized, plus the creature is more well-adapted to the inhumane interior of the ship than the humans who build it. To sum up, you then have a setting where the humans are caught in a web of in-group tensions, an inhospitable ship and the perfect killer which thrives in the ships intestines. You almost get the feel that the humans are the ones who are alienated to each other and to their own ship. Ridley Scott tells the story with a perfectly synchronized blend of visuals and sounds. The actors do a superb job, portraying their characters in a subtle but very realistic way. The seven man crew is not a bunch of Hollywood heroes. They are ordinary people with strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. In this way they all seem so fragile when confronted with the enemy. As mentioned the ship is very claustrophobic and Ridley Scott adds to the eeriness by using camera movement, lights and shadows in an effective way. The living quarters are bright and should be comfortable to the crew, but there is something sterile about it all. The rest of the ship is basically a huge basement. The music by Jerry Goldsmith underlines the eeriness so well, and the movie wouldn't have worked without his score. Combined with the sounds of the ship it all adds to the uneasiness. This is not a story about heroic people who boldly teams up against evil. It's a story about ordinary people facing true fear, which is the fear without a face. The fear we can't understand and can't negotiate with, because its only goal is to survive on the expense of us. It's a story where some people bravely fight back whilst others are destroyed by the terror. It's a story where people a killed in a completely random way. There is no higher-order justice behind who gets to live and who dies. All seven characters are just part of a race where the fittest - not necessarily the most righteous - will prevail, and all seven characters start the race on an equal footing. None of them are true heroes, and none of them are true villains. All the above makes Alien so great as a horror movie. The terror isn't just the Alien itself, it's the entire atmosphere which gets so effectively under your skin, that you just can't shrug it off after the end credits like you can with so many other Hollywood horror movies. The title "Alien" doesn't just refer to the monster, it is the theme of the movie and it is the feeling you have during and after the movie. 9/10

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• One of the best classic sci-fi horror films of all time - A masterpiece

  ivo-cobra82018-02-20

  A masterpiece one of the best classic sci-fi horror films from the 70's I have ever saw and experience. The first time I saw this film was in the 97 when I was 13 years old because this film was so popular that time and even today people talk's about it. Watching the first time this film I must say I loved it. I love this film to death of all the sci-fi films today this one is the best one and beats them all. This is the real science fiction film about "extraterrestrial life form" it is interesting, brilliant about time in the space and life form that want's to whip whole humanity out. This is Ridley Scott's masterpiece and one of his best films of all time. Everything about this film is perfect, the script, the actors, puppetry, models, and special effects about Alien design. I would give this movie an 8 but it deserves a perfect 10 because it has a vision of the most imaginative directors on earth. Dan O'Bannon wrote brilliantly a story and screenplay with help from Ronald Shusett. Both of them make a brilliant imaginative story. This film has no plot holes I don't see them. Helen Horton as the voice of Mother, the Nostromo's computer was believable and realistic and well performed. The design for the parasite (the facehugger) was excellent designed and brilliant. Everyone from the cast in here at acting is spectacular and acts believable. I love all the characters: Parker, Brett, Lambert, Ripley, Ash, Captain Dallas, Kane and even Jonesy the cat. He was really trained I love that cat in this movie. The design about the ship Nostromo is fantastic and so is space and the computers in this film. The eponymous Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger which the effects and designs were excellent spectacular created in the film. Jerry Goldsmith makes an excellent music score for the film that I have enjoy it. My favorite scene in this film is when Parker torchers with flamethrower on Ash's corpse and burns his remains great a special effect. This movie stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Bolaji Badejo and Helen Horton they are all believable in their roles. This is my favorite science fiction film tough I prefer Aliens over this film (because it is my favorite film), The Thing, Leviathan even The Blob as a horror films because I enjoy them more but "Alien" is my favorite science fiction film the best of it's kind. 10/10 doesn't deserve the hate.

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• Classic tale of terror

  BroadswordCallinDannyBoy2004-04-15

  This is one of the finest science fiction films ever made. Everything is so carefully and expertly constructed to the point that repeated viewings are just as good as the first. Also, the atmosphere, along with the amazing sets, is real shocker and few movies have managed to create the same kind eerie feeling. The story starts with the crew of the cargo vessel "Nostromo" waking up before schedule. They soon realize their on-board computer has detected life on a nearby planet and they go to investigate. One of them unwillingly brings back an...ALIEN (!) which soon becomes a very unwanted passenger. The introduction of the title creature in the famous chest-burster scene is a real jolter. Especially if you watch it after dinner. The music, too, must be mentioned and it moves the story along with unrelenting terror. However, the lack of music, in certain scenes, works just as well and this combination makes for one of the best musical montages to be put on film. This is a classic film that spawned a series, which is good overall, and a bunch of copycats, many of which are just sad. "Alien" came first and it is easily one the best. 10/10 Rated R: violence/gore and profanity

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• The mother of all movies

  Patuquitos2005-01-31

  Back in early 20th century, Lumière brothers didn't have a clue of what they were playing with. I'm freaking sure that if somebody could have magically told them that thanks to their work, a movie like 'Alien' would have been made in the future, they both would have died of a sudden, shocked by the consequences of their labor, like an honest scientist would if he was shown an evil use of his research. In that sense, but in the best way imaginable, 'Alien' is the atomic bomb. In my opinion, 'Alien' is the only perfect movie in the history of cinema. Of course, this could be debatable, but of all the films I've watched since I was born, this is the only one in which I haven't been able to find the slightest flaw. It gets a golden ten out of ten. Bright, solid and massive. I could go on with a panegyric, but I'll try to be short and accurate: The direction is just perfect. Every shot is marvellous, every movement of the camera is breathtaking. There is absolutely nothing you could add or subtract. Touch it, and you spoil it. Seriously. The acting is splendid. The performances build a credible world centuries away. I don't know about you, but this take on the future was unveliabably acceptable. Sigourney Weaver is more than a revelation, John Hurt is a master, and the rest are nothing short of marvellous. The script is a work of art, the story is mesmerizing, well-constructed, well-developed, and free of absurd twists. Its simplicity and efectiveness are yet, 25 years after, to be matched. The atmosphere is pure genius. Gothic, claustrophobic and sometimes baroque. The use of light and dark is beyond description, the use of sound is as creepy as it gets. The FX are the best possible for 1979. In the time of the release, some scenes were stomach churning. The score. Jerry Goldsmith's work matches the images so perfectly it seems to bleed from them. It is and will be the best soundtrack for a sci-fi flick in space ever. The tagline. "In space, no one can hear you scream". THIS is a tagline. And, of course... the alien. The only alive creature that can steal Weaver the movie. Its design is the most innovative I've seen. It has spawned dozens of disgraceful imitations. This is the real deal. Not only the look, but the complete design of a life form, including biological features. Acid instead of blood. Jaws inside jaws. What more could you possibly want? This is how a movie is done. A very good sign of a movie that has gone down in history is the amount of collectively well remembered scenes. Well, 'Alien' has so many that I won't go into it. This movie contains so many iconic scenes that has become an icon itself. So, what else? I urge all young directors to watch this movie a zillion times, as I've already done, and take notes all along. But not in order to rip off from it, as many others have done, but to learn, learn, learn, learn and learn how a movie should be done. 'Casablanca'? You must be joking. Oh, I almost forget! There's a lovable cat in it. RATING: 10

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• Classic horror

  bob the moo2001-10-16

  The further we go in special effects, the more movies show us and ignore the unseen, the more people will return to dark horrors like this one. It's hard to look at this film without considering the sequels and knowing the alien itself, however when made the alien was mostly unseen and a mystery. It's difficult to forget what you've seen, but it's important to approach this film first if possible rather than joining the series late. It's amazing that this is over 20 years old - apart from the actors looking so young, the film doesn't feel dated at all. The sci-fi visions here are still bleak and futuristic as they were then - this is not the Star Trek vision of the future. The foreboding exists long before John Hurt spills his secret, Scott's direction is excellent throughout. Once the alien is "born" the tension is cranked up and the characters dispatched one by one (a formula we know oh-so well now!) However here the characters are not merely alien-food but have some dimension to them. Weaver is excellent, while the support cast is full of great support actors (Stanton, Kotto, Hurt, Skerritt, Holm), but of course the real star is the one we see least of. We barely see the alien in full detail, most of the time it is set in shadows, moving with deadly intent.The alien here is not simply a killing machine as seen in later films but is cruel with it. Witness the alien trap a female crew member and slowly rub up her leg, moving with slow seductive movements before moving with terrifying speed to kill another crew member sneaking up behind it. The slow movements betray the alien's pure cruelty. The film is a study in terror. It may not be as action packed as the other films in the series but it brings the claustrophobia of being hunted to a new level.

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