Alien
The First Chapter In The Powerful And Terrifying "Alien Science Fiction Saga!
"Alien" is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history, and introduces Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the Iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy's ultimate creature.
The terror begins when the crew of the spaceship Nostromo investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and makes a horrifying discovery - a life form that breeds within a human host. Now the crew must fight not only for its own survival, but for the survival of all mankind.
Member Reviews
Still one of the Best! - TheDandyist
As a sci-fi fan, I love the way that the alien became part of my imagination, more as questions than anything one can know. Was it brought onto the first ship as an infection that evolved into a more sophisticated organism as it exchanged DNA with the unlucky voyagers? Or was it some kind a invader, part of some plan that was moving through the universe? How much did the corporation know about it before the crew went and what did they want from it? How intelligent was the alien - just to survive or as a hive mind that was in touch with its cohorts? Even with the subsequent films, you can't really answer these questions, which is a mark of how fertile a product of imagination the film is. It is completely cogent, much like Close Encounters.
On the critical side, I did not enjoy the blood-curdling stuff all that much. It is gross and graphic. Also, I did find a lot of the suspense akin to horror house antics and feel that they could have used the alien for more subtle terror. That means that the first watch is the best, even if it meets the test of multiple watchings.
I have a special connection to this film. WHen I arrived in London fresh out of college, I ran into Tom Skerritt on the street and recognized him form MASH. He told me he had just made the movie, ALIEN, which he said with his eyes wide open in mock fear. I have loved the series ever since.Alien - AppsScraps
Ridley Scott directed what surely is, along with The Thing, the quintessential alien film. Starring an oh-so-young Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, one of a motley crew of deep space miners returning to earth on the Nostramo when they are woken from hypersleep to investigate a mysterious beckon on an alien planet. Course the beckon is no SOS but a warning to steer clear. But it's too late and the crew land and end up bringing back the alien incubating inside Kane (John Hurt). After its famous birth on the dinner table, the little feller systematically begins offing the crew - Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Bret (Harry Dean Stanton), the whiny Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) - as Ash (Ian Holm), the company's artificial intelligence doctor plots to save it. Alien works so perfectly thanks to the atmosphere of base fear Scott creates through his handling of the film, and the fact you never really see the vicious alien bogeyman coming.
A landmark in film-making for this genre, Alien gets my rating 10 out of 10.In my opinion the greatest horror ever made - Henry_the_5th
Alien has offered a sense of terror that isn't often attained with regular horror films. The Shining, Jaws, Psycho and The Exorcist are all fine examples of what horror can do, but I think that Alien even goes a tier above them. It is very well executed, and because it relies on shocks and suspense as oppose to just gore it stands the test of time much better then any of its sequels.
I think part of what makes Alien so great is the intense sense of claustrophobia that accompanies the film. Everything is full of metal and smoke, and we tend to feel cramped and stuck. This sense deepens when we are introduced to the Alien through one of the best executed scenes I think of any horror film.
The tagline "in space nobody can hear you scream" seems to carry through very truly, and when we see Veronica Cartwright's reactions we get a sense that we would be just like her in that situation.
Alien is often passed off as 'just another monster movie', but I think that this is pretty unfair, as Alien is just as classy and well executed as any of the above mentioned films.
There is so much I could write about Alien as it happens to be one of my all time favorites, but I think I will leave it at that. See it late at night with the lights turned off, and make sure you check your blood pressure. It never fails to scare a willing viewer. 9/10.
Member Reviews
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Still one of the Best! - TheDandyist
As a sci-fi fan, I love the way that the alien became part of my imagination, more as questions than anything one can know. Was it brought onto the first ship as an infection that evolved into a more sophisticated organism as it exchanged DNA with the unlucky ...Alien - AppsScraps
Ridley Scott directed what surely is, along with The Thing, the quintessential alien film. Starring an oh-so-young Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, one of a motley crew of deep space miners returning to earth on the Nostramo when they are woken from hypersleep ...In my opinion the greatest horror ever made - Henry_the_5th
Alien has offered a sense of terror that isn't often attained with regular horror films. The Shining, Jaws, Psycho and The Exorcist are all fine examples of what horror can do, but I think that Alien even goes a tier above them. It is very well executed, and ...