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Directed by: Ridley Scott Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit "Alien" is, undoubtedly, one of the great scifi/horror flicks of all time. It has been often imitated, but none do it better than the original. The film starts with the crew of the "Nostromo," a space-freighter sort of ship. The ship's computer, Mother, wakes up the crew and alerts them to an unknown signal detected on a nearby planet. When they land on the planet, they discover an ancient alien ship, with a bay full of strange eggs. The action that follows the discovery of the ancient ship is fantastic. All of the sets are incredibly well designed, with almost unbelievable detail. And, of course, the iconic design of the Alien itself, done by H.R. Giger. "Alien" is full of suspense, along with a lot of "boo!" type moments -- which I kind of have a problem with. I know those are really the best kind of scares, but it can spoil the suspense -- especially near the end, in the shuttle. If you've seen it you know what I mean. It would have been better without the "boo!" Other than that, it's an awesome movie. Weaver is great as the heroine; it kind of sneaks up on you, her part in the film. I watched the theatrical version, and not the Director's Cut, because the director himself, Ridley Scott, said he prefers the theatrical version, and simply put together the director's cut -- which is actually a minute shorter than the theatrical version -- because Twentieth Century Fox told him to. Overall, it's an excellent movie, complete with awesome special effects, tense, scary moments, and good action. RATING: 5 PROS: Solid Sci-Fi/Horror film CONS: A little heavy on the "boo!" type moments ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://imdb.com/title/tt0078748/
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Aug 22, 2005 07:03
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I have to agree, Alien is a great movie, and arguably the first effective sci-fi/horror movie. I would say its only real competition is John Carpenter's remake of The Thing (since Aliens was more of an action movie than a horror film like Alien was). The effects are doubly impressive when you realize that this was not a really big-budget movie. The 2-DVD set of the movie is fantastic. The picture and sound are unbelievable for a movie this old, even accounting for the re-mastering process improving things. It includes both versions of the film, the theatrical release and the director's cut. Also, the extras are great... a commentary track by Ridley Scott & most of the cast, and a very good full-length documentary on the other disc. 5/5.
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Aug 26, 2005 02:06
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"Alien" is one of my all time favorites. Giger's work for the set was incredible. For the time, the special effects were amazing, and still provide some of the most terrifying moments in cinema. Weaver's roll in this movie is one of her best. Agreed with the majority of the comments above, as well. 5/5. In my top 10 of all time.
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Aug 26, 2005 03:00
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One of the greatest scifi/horror movies of all time. It's one of those movies that was so good, every movie in the genre has borrowed from it since then, watering down the effect the original had if you watch it today for the first time. Even still, it has a very unique atmosphere and stands alone because of it; it's gritty, dirty, there's very little background music (many scenes have no dialogue or music, all you hear is the machinery of the Nostromo), and the characters act quite real and believable. Although there's probably only ten people who haven't seen any of the Alien series, if you are one of them, start with this one. It lays the groundwork for Aliens and the other subpar sequels. Don't ruin it for yourself by watching the others first. Commenting on the 'boo' moments- I think it was the first film that really capitalized on this method, along with the 'peekaboo' horror where you never really get a good look at the Alien so you're never quite sure what it looks like, which adds to the suspense (ruined by the last scene, but I know it would feel incomplete if that wasn't in there).
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Sep 1, 2005 00:33
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