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.