Originally released in 1979 Alien was to be the first of several sci fi/horror films featuring both ugly salivating Aliens and Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. The film is notable for being one of the first films to have a strong female heroine/protagonist along with being a huge box office success.
The Plot
The crew of the spaceship Nostramo are supposed to be going home after collecting minerals however the wake to find that they have been diverted off course by "Mother" (the ships computer) which has responded to a distress call in space. After investigating the source of the distress call the crew of the Nostramo inadvertently permit a particularly gruesome adversary on board there ship in the form of a scary ass Alien. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between the Alien and the crew as they desperately seek to outwit there foe and suck it out the airlock. However all is not as simple as it seems and the crew must not only face the Alien and the casualties which is inflicts along the way but also treachery in their midst's….
Thoughts
On the whole the film was pretty good, very tense and captivating however it is one of those that you have to concentrate right from the beginning and can't go to the loo during; blink and you'll probably miss someone's death. It has all the ingredients of a great horror movie as well as being a sc-fi geek fest. Dark lighting, tension, eerie music and a bit of swirling mist over gooey alien eggs just for good measure, and a couple of bloody bits too. The plot is fairly familiar however that's probably because of the numerous films which this one has inspired. Weaver is pretty good as Ripley however watching this after seeing her in so many other things (including later versions of Ripley) you kind of want to yell come on Sigourney kick his ass at the screen. Holm is awesome as ever, the intensity which he brings to most films is much appreciated in this one especially in his departing sentiment of "sympathy" to the remaining crew of the Nostramo before he "dies". The rest are fairly average and probably die or spend too much time screaming to really offer anything significant to the film.
Visually the film is a bit of an eye strainer, the whole thing is set in almost total darkness and you do have to look quite hard at the screen. However this darkness does create a mood of mystery and tension throughout and makes those jumpy moments just a little more effective. Technically the lighting was one of the most impressive things about this film, while I don't particularly enjoy films which are mostly set in the dark the strobe lighting and flashing at key points did make for some great scenes, most notably the one in which the Alien is around the corner as Ripley approaches…its one of those yell at the screen moments. Along with this when seen in a theatre environment lighting like this really draws you in and you feel almost as though your there, light in this film is what surround sound is to films today.
A Bone to Pick
This is just one thing about this film which really grated on me, when Ripley goes to gather supplies in order to board the shuttle she discovers the crews cat again…for some reason, despite the fact there is a scary ass Alien wandering around the ship when the cat runs off, she chases after it. She then places it in a rather large metal box and when she can hear her two crew mates being killed she carries the box with the cat in to try and rescue them, all the while this box is being flung around and bashed against various spaceship parts. And sure enough when she finally gets into the shuttle the cat is with her and surprisingly fine despite the fact it has being shunted around like your best china in the back of a removal van.
I liked this film, not because of the plot or even the acting but because it has a nice cohesion about it; all the various parts come together to make a film which is both intelligent and stimulating.
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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 ...
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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: Looks great, mixes genres perfectly. DVD features excellent Disadvantages: Will not appeal to everyone, some special effects are not believable
gunmenoftheapocalypse 11.12.2003 (11.12.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Alien (DVD)
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]")
Nov 13th, 2006
(Nov 20th, 2006)
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