Alien (The Director's Cut)
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Movie Reviews of Alien (The Director's Cut)
Movie Review: In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream...
Summary: 5 Stars
That tagline accompanied "you've-just-GOT-to-see-this-movie" word of mouth and brought millions of viewers into darkened cinemas in the summer of 1979 where Ridley Scott's Horrific Space movie scared the pants off us!
While clearly paying homage to Hawks "Thing" and a whole generation of gotcha-thrillers, "Alien" made some indelible marks on the history of film - in particular on science-fiction thrillers.
Scott follows the example of Spielberg in "Jaws" by giving us only brief intermittent glimpses of the horrific monster after taking time to establish characters that we identify with and don't particularly want to see eaten.
Sigourney Weaver would have had a notable film career if the Alien franchise were the only thing on her resume, and in Alien she is only part of a superb ensemble cast that includes John Hurt, Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto and Veronica Cartwright.
The skeleton of a plot should be well-known to even an "Alien" novice - a space cargo ship is returning with tons of iron ore when it is redirected to a planet where it picks up an extremely unwanted visitor.
Fear and dread and tension build in the movie until it is as thick as pea soup. Scott takes his time establishing the characters and the setting of the ship before unleashing the alien, and the deliberate pacing in the first hour pays great dividends as the shocks of the final two-thirds of the film escalate. The movie contains many scenes so famous as to be icons in film history - consider Mel Brooks' parody Spaceballs, and I won't add anything discussing scenes such as the one around the dining table or Ian Holm's last scene. But I would like to take a moment to praise the ending. A plan is finally devised to blow up the entire ship - killing the alien as well - and making escape in a small shuttle. The editing and pacing of this scene escalate the tension to our limits as the voice of the ship calmly announces at periodic intervals "5 minutes to ship destruction", etc.
A thrilling roller-coaster ride of a movie. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Seems kind of tame by today's standards by still great
Summary: 5 Stars
In the featurette "Nightmare Fulfilled" on Disc 2, people mentioned that people literally threw up after seeing the film or during and one usher actually fainted during a scene. Maybe it just takes a lot to scare us now. I wasn't like "holy #$^%!" throughout the film but it does give a rush(especially the only scene that actually made me jump). While I did review the Quadrilogy set, I might as well do the films seperately too.
The refinery ship Nostromo is on its way to Earth when the computer intercepts a transmission and goes to investigate while its crew is in hypersleep. By law, they're supposed to investigate mysterious transmissions. So they land on a really windy and hostile planet and investigate a ship that seems to have been there for a long time. One member finds an egg which opens, and sticks his face in.
Don't want to spoil the rest but it's quite a thriller, even if it was in 1979 this film was made. It has a really slow build until a moment comes, then that snowballs and the pace starts to really pick up. It's better then most horror films which are just basically creepy scene/death of dumb teen, next teen.
The film takes the "what you do don't see" technique to great effect. In fact, throughout the entire film, the alien full grown is only involved in 3 scenes until you see a better look at the end. With the look of the creature, it could easily blend into the architecture, done by the quite brilliant but really creepy artist H.R Giger.
Like Ripley says in a little booklet, this is being marketed as the "Director's Cut" even though he finds the original the best. While a couple scenes are nice, it does ruin the original's perfect pace. Call it more of an alternate version than anything.
The film is great obviously, but one thing bugged me and oddly it has nothing to do with the film, it's the packaging. The clear holders that holds the discs had really flimsy glue so when I opened it, it actually came off a bit, it's like I have to keep pushing it in everytime I open the case. What's with you Fox?
Movie Review: Outstanding
Summary: 5 Stars
This may be the definitive "scary space-monster" movie. There have been lots of horror movies before and since, space movies, and movies based on evil beings with varyin amounts of blood-lust. There have been combinations of those two or three. When it came out, Alien combined all three in the best mix to that point, and maybe since.
Pacing is part of what makes this work so well. It gets off to a slow start, making clear just how tedious life can be in those months between solar systems. The pace picks up over the course of the movie, and tension just keeps building. Somehow, just when you thought Ripley was safe, the Alien appears again. This happens over and over, and Scott's direction makes it a new shock each time. The last scenes, with Ripley in her underwear, just reinforced the vulnerable mood. (Somehow, and I like this, Weaver looked good wearing not a lot, but the scene completely lacked in sexual overtones.)
Just about everything in this movie works. H. R. Giger's Alien is unforgettable. Sigourney Weaver's "Ripley" is one one my all-time favorite characters. In fact, I like Ripley even better because of the great job Weaver did in Galaxy Quest. There, she played another character almost identical, except all the ways she was Ripley's opposite. The later part of the Alien movie is a blatant assualt on the senses - aggressive, but it helps keep the audience on edge, and was very effective in the big-screen environment.
It was also interesting to see how much Scott carried forward from this movie, especially into Blade Runner. Alien has an earlier and cleaner form of the Tech Noir environment, man-made but somehow lacking in places for humans to fit in. Blade Runner toned down the flashing distractions, but made them into a kind of background that never allowed a truly quiet moment.
This movie works in a lot of ways: by itself, in its genre, and in the careers of Scott and Weaver. Even though effects technology has changed in the last 25 years, this movie still carries itself well.
//wiredweird
Movie Review: Top Ten Sci-Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderful sci-fi thriller that borrow its theme from the 1950s sci-fi B-movie "It." The Nostromo, a space-faring ore cargo vessel, sets down on planet LB426 to investigate an apparent automated distress signal. Upon investigation of an alien vessel crash site, the seven-person crew finds that the signal was, in fact, a warning to stay away from the alien ship. This truth comes too late for one the members of the crew, Kane, played by John Hurt, and he is attacked by an organism that attaches itself to his face like some sort of octopus.
Disobeying orders, the ship's science officer, Ash, played by Ian Holm, breaks quaranteen and allows the infected crew member back aboard ship. That sets the stage for a kill or be killed showdown against a predatory alien that is both clever and evil to the core. By the way, the alien's "coming out" was (when I originally watched the movie) intense and gory.
There are many wonderful scenes in this movie, but my favorite is when Captain Dallas, played by Tom Skerritt, hunts the alien in the air ducts with nothing more than a miniature flame thrower. I still vividly remember that beeping sound made by the electronic tracker during the scene. I also enjoyed the unexpected revelation by Ash.
The crew is methodically picked off one-by-one by the alien, leaving a climactic showdown between Ripley, played by Sigorney Weaver, and the non-stop killing machine. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it is very well done.
The sets are extraordinary, as are the special effects, especially considering the limited budget the first movie was made on. The ship has a grungy feel to it, which is what you would actually expect in reality. The acting is excellent all-around from the actors I mention above, as well as from Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, and Veronica Cartwright. The tension builds slowly and never lets up. Definitely a must own!
Movie Review: Parasitic Relationship...
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Ridley Scott's masterpiece of darkness, fear, and dread. This "Director's Cut" is actually a minute shorter than the theatrical release. There's a cool restored scene where we get to see Dallas and Brett coccooned against the wall! It's an eerie sequence with a high shudder-factor! We're all familiar with the story. The crew of the mining ship Nostromo is heading home, when a "distress" call forces them out of deep-space hibernation. The seven crew members are Dallas (Tom Skerett), Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Kane (John Hurt), Ash (Ian Holm), Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Parker (Yaphet Kotto), and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton). The signal is coming from a nearby planet, so our heroes land and investigate. A wrecked spacecraft is found, containing an area filled with large, pulsating eggs. One of them hatches and springs open to unleash a hideous spidery creature that attaches itself to Kane's face! Back aboard the Nostromo, the creature seems to die and fall off. Unfortunately, it has left a little gift inside of Kane's body! The rest is a monster movie of nail-biting drama and fantastic special FX (no CGI here). The full-grown alien (one of H.R. Giger's best nightmare creations) is unlike any monster to ever ooze, slither, or creep across the screen! Though commonly known today, in 1979 it was quite a shocker! The shape of it's eyeless, over-sized head, it's drooling mouth-within-a-mouth, the mechanoid-reptilian body, all combine to make one tall glass of icy terror! ALIEN stands alongside JAWS, HALLOWEEN, THE THING, and other classics of jolting horror. Sigourney Weaver re-made the female action hero in her image! Beautiful, intelligent, resourceful, and lethal when necessary, she is a true survivor! ALIEN belongs in every DVD collection! This DIRECTOR'S CUT has very few changes since Ridley Scott himself prefers the theatrical release, seeing little need for alterations. Both versions are included here...