Year of Release: 1979
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: Dan O'Bannon, story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm
Running Time: 117 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, horror
Sometime in the future, commercial space tug Nostromo is returning to Earth, with it's seven person crew in suspended animation. Receiving a signal from an unexplored planet, the ship's computer revives the crew to investigate. Reluctantly, they set down on the planet and three of the crew set out to explore, and discover a bizarre alien spaceship, where the Nostromo picks up a particularly unpleasant hitchhiker.
This classic blend of horror and science-fiction is one of the classic suspense films. Even after all this time, the special effects and production values stand up surprisingly well, even where it looks dated, such as the computer readouts, it still feels like an authentic depiction of a tatty, ragged, old banger of a spaceship where pieces haven't been replaced for years because there wasn't the money or no-one could be bothered. It's a future which looks authentic and lived in, a million miles from the polished spotless spacecraft and heroic crews of Star Trek (1966-1969), the Nostromo crew really couldn't care less about exploring strange new worlds or seeking out new life and new civilisations. They don't want to boldly go anywhere, except home to get paid. They are not conventionally glamorous and the dialogue is deliberately banal. It makes the alien sequences stand out all the more. The alien spacecraft, designed by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, is genuinely striking with it's mix of the organic and mechanical, and the Alien itself (played by dancer Bolaji Badejo) with it's biomechanical look and weirdly sexual elements manages to be both horrific and beautiful at the same time. It's effect is heightened by the fact that the creature is kept off screen for most of the film and even when it appears, it's so shadowy that the details are barely glimpsed, making the monster almost impressionistic. The film moves slowly and deliberately accruing the details of the world of the Nostromo, making the horror scenes such as John Hurt's notorious "chestburster" sequence all the more jolting. Even more frightening than the Alien itself is the concept that, introduced in this film, runs through the franchise, of the ruthless "Company" that want to keep the creature alive to use as a biological weapon, at the expense of all other considerations. The fact is that the characters feel real, and you do sympathise with them as the film goes on. It needs to be seen on the biggest screen and in the best quality possible, because a lot of the suspense depends on the way the image is composed, the cramped claustrophobic corridors, or the cavernous chambers where the threat could be lurking anywhere. This is a very primal film, it's like a haunted house where you can't escape from. I've seen this film many times, and I still find it exciting and suspenseful. It's sequel Aliens (1986) is also a masterpiece, and Alien 3 (1992) is deeply flawed but has it's moments, Alien Resurrection (1997) isn't very good but it's quite fun. The less said about the others the better. Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with two sort-of prequels Prometheus (2012) and Alien Covenant (2017) which create this complex backstory which while interesting enough in it's own right, detracts from the mystery and unexplained fear of Alien. In it's own right, this is a genuinely suspenseful science-fiction thriller which works it's dark magic time after time.
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