emember
24Apr11
@ROWDY Point taken. When Ripley gains access to the ship she reads Special order 937; "Nostromo rerouted to new co-ordinates. Investigate life form. Gather specimen. Priority one. Ensure return of organism."
A masterful film about the synthetic horror of the alien other and the hidden self.
Scott was able to borrow a pure element of Hitchcock, meaning that you do not see everything. This technique was especially useful for such a claustrophobic environment. The Alien is the ideal monster that represents sexual context but also as a bio-mechanical nightmare. The characters are quintessential because they are "real-life" in a future world. A revolution to blend the two genres of sci-fi and horror.
Up to the part where the alien critter departs its host body this stylish and trend setting picture is excellent SF. After that it’s just another haunted house movie (albeit in space).
I just watched this 2003 Director's Cut again. I enjoyed it much more than the sequels it spawned.
Still one of the best movies I Have ever seen...No CGI....just plain ande "simple puppetry" with a great storyline...
Having seen this film for the first time I can see why Scott has such reputation, the direction is really elegant and packs one hell of a punch. Great movie.
I watched the 2003 "Director's Cut" for the first time last night, only to later find out that Ridley Scott himself has disavowed it. Turns out it was just a marketing ploy by Fox to get the movie back in theaters. The 2003 cut actually shortens a whole slew of scenes and is missing deleted sequences from the laserdisc. What a disappointment. I can vouch that the blu-ray transfer is absolutely stunning, though.
what can i say... erm...well i have to say the whole alien franchise was great. they certainly don't make films like this anymore, shame really.
Iconic sci-fi horror from director Ridley Scott. Dan O'Bannon's great monster film story was turned by HR Giger's designs and Scott's imagery and subtext into such a poweful horrific sexual alleghory that still terrifies today. Hard to believe the film was fueled by a cast of unknowns since nearly all went on to further stardom/success. Effects were groundbreaking at the time,still mostly hold the test of time.
Texas chainsaw massacre meets horrifying alien parasite. The suspense builds relentlessly and each glimpse of Giger's hellish monster plays mercilessly on our intrinsic fear of the unknown. A reference quality example of the sci-fi horror genre. Perfect.
What most movies about extra terrestrials get totally wrong (especially modern ones: District 9, Avatar, Monsters) is their attempts to humanize the aliens. Not so in this film. It's a fucking demon that wants to eat your DNA.