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Alien (1979)

Displaying all 3 Review

  • Written by Tienlee on 30.12.2012

    "Alien" belongs to the pantheon of SF movies which have ever been made.

    Film evokes elementary fear which combines the elements of horror and SF. Director, Ridley Scott, added on an incredible vision and realism to the film. Claustrophobic interiors of Nostromo spacecraft, cold of space, sense of mystery and hostility surrounding the unexplored planet – all that is presented in a full swing and with great sense of realism.

    "Alien" is a fantastic motion picture which shows a very likely version of the future. Its makers pointed out new horizons in the field of SF, which is why the movie is among the best ever filmed. Feast of acting skills, terrific script and a unique intelligent arrangement of the whole make me mark the movie 10 for 10.

  • Written by cahmaran on 18.01.2011

    Alien is a terrifying movie, that relies mostly on great special effects and a smart plot. Scott magistrally develops the haunted-house story about seven astronauts incarcerated in a spaceship with a perfectly lethal being. Not much about the personality of the characters is told in the beginning. We know that they're running into a dangerous, unknown place, from which they might not get out alive, but their emotions are unbearably controlled and restrained. As the menace of the Alien becomes clearer, we start to make a better idea about the character's actions and thoughts.

    The Alien itself is slowly introduced and not fully shown throughot the entire movie. It reminded me of Jaws. The effect it achieves is very similar too. The fear of the unknown, of a monster who is near but still far from everyone's eyesights, is wonderfully conducted. The creature is terrifying, but its purposes (he probably has none, as long as no regrets) and killing methods are never clear to us, as they aren't clear to the spaceship's crew.

    One of Scott's best insights is not to let the audience become too involved with the characters (except for Ripley, a courageous, strong woman, that smartly becomes the only survival of the struggle). In a very strange (but still crucial) scene, Harry Dean Stanton's character is said to be someone with no personality, who only agrees with what his partner tells him. It is, as we will become aware, a hint on the next sequences. He is the perfect first victim for the bloody creature, walking carelessly into certain death. The great achievement of Ridley Scott's direction is the feeling that we are part of the crew, that we belong to that atmosphere and are in Alien's unmerciful hands.

    The art direction and special effects are great, still bright and beautiful for a modern audience's trained look. A masterpiece, as long as its sequel, Alien is a horror movie that contradicts some cliches of the genre and that presents us a great character: the Alien itself, that made its way through the popular imaginarium right after its debut.

  • Alien — for Alien
    Written by cosmobrown on 09.07.2009

    If you asked me to sum up Alien in one word I would choose the word perfection, for Ridley Scott's Alien is exactly that. A masterclass in how to make an effective science-fiction/ horror film, Alien hasn't aged a day since it's 1979 release. It isn't afraid to slowly build up the story and characters, not resorting to easy scares but instead slowly and agonisingly ratcheting up the tension until we, as the audience, are literally begging for a release. Scott's direction (on only his second film) is incredible, the design of the film was, in it's day, groundbreaking (it's since been ripped off countless times) and the screenplay elevates Alien from it's B-movie roots into something quite extraordinary. The use of sound and music helps add to the uneasy, claustrophobic, downright scary atmosphere, but Scott also isn't afraid to use silence, which allows our imagination to fill in the gaps and leap to sometimes horrific conclusions. That's the masterstroke of Alien; what isn't show is infinitely more scary than what is. H.R Giger's Alien design is immediatly iconic and original, and it feels like a character in it's own right rather than a plot device. The cast inhabit their characters so fully, and it's a great ensemble (Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton). So many great scenes spring to mind when someone mentions Alien (the chestburster/ face huggers scenes are classics). I literally love this film so much. It's film-making at it's finest. There are few films where you can honestly say that you wouldn't change a frame or a second of the film, but Alien is one of them. Absolutely brilliant.

Alien Reviews

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