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Rating of
3.5/4
It's suspenseful! It's scary! It's Alien!
memento_mori - wrote on 07/08/2013
Possible Spoilers
I saw this film for the first time a couple of hours ago, so don't judge me.
I personally loved Prometheus. Other raged about the film because it wasn't the prequel to Alien that they wanted. I personally had never seen any of the Alien films, so I went in completely blind and didn't view it as a prequel, but as an original science-fiction film by visual master Sir Ridley Scott.
Let's start with the negative: I think the weak point of this movie is the pacing. They spend waaaay too much time in the beginning, spanning almost a third of the movie's runtime to get things going. They have a designated length, and they could have filled it with something to help the story, but instead we got half an hour of computers whirring. At least we got to know the …
Rating of
4/4
"Alien" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/11/2012
The crew of the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo investigate a signal from an unexplored planet and unwittingly unleash a hostile organism.
Once again, Ridley Scott creates a totally believable future environment in an object lesson to gore-obsessed horror directors everywhere; he uses suspense and atmosphere to gain the desired effect and less is most definitely more. Considering the "alien" is essentially a stunt man in a rubber suit, Scott's use of lighting and sparse screen time for the creature makes it far more terrifying than a hundred CGI monsters and his employment of an element of sexuality to the attacks on the crew creates a sense of anxiety on many levels; the victims are not only attacked, but violated in various ways in a way that is never exploitative or …
Rating of
4/4
Alien.
TrifibianTerror - wrote on 03/09/2010
Alien.
Originally entitled 'Star Beast', the film Alien follows the hideous escapade of the crew of the spaceship Nostromo. After landing on an alien planet, one of the team is attacked by a mysterious and monstrous entity which has attatched itself to his face. After some time, and after a hazardous experiment in which a medical crew tried to remove the creature only to find it has acidic blood, it falls off, dead. Soon after, the infected crew-member dies in a bloody display as another monster bursts from his chest cavity and slithers away. After much deliberation, it is decided to hunt he fiendish creature, but to the crews horror, it has grown into an adult in less than a few hours. The alien Xenomorph then proceeds to kill the crew as they try to hunt it, save for Ellen Ripley, who …
Rating of
3.5/4
Ridley Scott = Sheer Genius
mdtinney - wrote on 10/07/2009
Not only is Alien a great film, it is was a huge influence to future Si-Fi television and cinema. Before Alien came out the idea of a "spaceship" was a very clean and shiny, luxurious hotel in space. However that was all to change, because Ridley Scott's vision of a "haunted house in space" changed the way we see spaceships forever. It also gives a great atmosphere and look to the film; which is very important when making a horror movie. It is truly spine tingling, and a great artistic achievement on every level. The design for the creature itself is genius. And the way it is always hidden in the shadows, so don't see it, makes your imagination fill in the gaps. And that is something that is scarier than any horror film you'll see in your life time. The whole look and feel to the film is …
Rating of
4/4
*Sarah* - wrote on 12/29/2008
The crew of the deep space mining ship Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS. What follows are some grisly and inventive special effects based on the work of H.R.Giger
I can't believe I haven't got round to watching this absolutly superb film nor the rest of the series. So Let this be the start of my Alien Marathon. All I can say is thank god I've watched it now.
This is the one I think most of my friends on here remember, the one that started it all. I obtained yet another director's cut of Scott's film but I decided to watch the orginal '79 theatrical version. Superisingly, because I haven't watched it beefore there are very few flaws …
Rating of
3.5/4
That's A Smart Alien.
LeopardExplosion - wrote on 09/09/2008
Great Sci-Fi/Horror Film. Though not as 'INCREDIBLE' as I was expecting it to be, This movie was fresh and original, but a simplified plot. Make a sci-fi flick. Put an Alien in it. Throw in Ridley Scott to direct and you got a damn good movie.
The Alien character was an incredible design, and films after had taken the design and used it in their movies, with slight alterations. That's how well this creature was done.
Too Bad Ridley hasn't made any decent movies 'imo' since say the Alien series and some others, but his new stuff isn't as capturing as this one was.
Characters were pretty good, some were done very well, where as Ripley is flat like Cardboard. Wish that character wuld expand it probably would have boosted this up .5.
Great Film, all Sci-Fi Film Lovers should give …
Rating of
4/4
A Sci-Fi Masterpiece
ZJW - wrote on 01/28/2008
After the success of Star Wars in 1977 20th Century Fox hoped to find another science fiction story to captivate audiences an would soon find that film with Alien. Written by Dan O'Bannon and helmed by Ridley Scott Alien broke the scene in 1979 and set a new benchmark in both Sci-Fi and Horror.
There are so many aspects of this film that I find to be truly fantastic. Visually, the film is astonishing and absolutely captivating, pulling the viewer in from the opening title sequence. Ridley skillfully guides us through the seemingly deserted Nostromo and the musical score matches everything shown on screen perfectly. The time and effort spent on constructing the Nostromo is something that is also evident and results in a stunningly detailed interior. This helps create a sense of realism …
Rating of
3/4
In space...No one can hear you scream. Classic
TheWolf - wrote on 12/27/2007
"Alien" has got some of the finest creature effects for the time 1979! The face-hugger and the scenes involving the face-hugger carry such shock value; it is surprising that the film-makers from later years who resort to cheap thrills in movies, haven't even been able to get close to showing anything to this effect! It is amazing how they have managed to make these effects look so good. Ridley Scott really knew what he was doing when he made this film. He makes sure that the creature is never shown in its entirety. This trick works like magic, and it looks so real; thus, not for one moment does it seem as if there is a dummy running around in an Alien costume! Another selling point of "Alien" is the nail-biting suspense! The creature appears on screen for a minimal time, but the director …
