I am currently an Information Agent for a well-known multimedia broadcaster. I enjoy films, music, r...
I am currently an Information Agent for a well-known multimedia broadcaster. I enjoy films, music, reading, playing computer games and having a right good old-fashioned night out on the tear.
Member since:16.07.2000
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Time was when Ridley Scott - he of Blade Runner, Gladiator and, soon, Hannibal fame - directed television commercials, including one of those nostalgic, Yorkshire "when I were a lad" Hovis bread ads. Then, all of a sudden, he nips behind the camera to shoot a film with a simple premise: a haunted house thriller in space. And lo, did Ridley create a masterpiece of science fiction, and one which would help revolutionise the face of a genre then defined by a little film by the name of Star Wars. It proved that sci-fi wasn't just for the kiddies.
The simple plot follows the crew of the deep-space cargo vessel the Nostromo, who discover a crashed alien vessel on a desolate planet. Unfortunately for the hapless crew, one of the killer xenomorphs gets loose aboard their ship and goes about making sure that none of them are going home alive.
Whilst the idea of a man-eating monster killing people was nothing new even at the time (1979), this film was packed with enough original ideas to create a whole new sub-genre - the science-fiction horror. The very concept of the alien itself (designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger), being a creature which gestates inside a living human host, which bursts out from their chest cavity, which matures at an incredible rate and has acid for blood was something entirely new. Back then, movie monsters were limited to reanimated corpses, vampires, giant monkeys or radioactive lizards. Here we're presented with a dark, sleek, biomechanical terror who's only role in life is killing.
The cast are all exceptional, in particular Weaver as Ellen Ripley, starting off as the by-the-book officer and slowly evolving into the reluctant heroine. Of course she has since made the role her own starring in (so far) three sequels. The direction is tremendous; Scott manages to build up an almost tangible feeling of tension, and scenes such as Dallas' trek through the ventilation ducts have yet to be surpassed. The huge spaceship where much of the action takes place is at the same time labyrinthine yet claustrophobic, with winding corridors and wide open cargo decks. The way the alien manages to camouflage itself amongst its surroundings is startling, allowing it to leap out when you least expect it.
A truly seminal classic then but be sure to have a spare pair of underpants handy while you watch. Who'd ever have thought that a tall bloke in a rubber suit could be so scary?
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
By transplanting the classic haunted house scenario into space, Ridley Scott, together ... more
with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, produced a work of genuinely original cinematic sci-fi withAlienthat, despite the passage of years and countless ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
By transplanting the classic haunted house scenario into space, Ridley Scott, together ... more
with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, produced a work of genuinely original cinematic sci-fi withAlienthat, despite the passage of years and countless ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Alien is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history and ... more
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 N...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Alien is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history, and ... more
introduces Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy's ultimate creature. The terror begin when the crew of the spaceship No...
Advantages: Top-quality transfer of the film in terms of both sound and vision; excellent range of extras including full Director’s Commentary; very impressively designed menus: impressive but not gaudy. Disadvantages: Well, erm, none quite frankly.
B.Bligh 01.07.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Alien (DVD)
Advantages: Excellent presentation of the film itself in terms of both image and sound; comprehensive photo gallery; interesting interview with James Cameron. Disadvantages: No Director’s Commentary; only one trailer included; no music audio options — essentially, this is not an extras-lite DVD, but it simply has nowhere near as much content as the Alien DVD it follows.
![Alien [DVD] [1979]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78531320.jpg "Alien [DVD] [1979]")
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