NOT directors cut
Added 10/30/2009
Fabulous flick, and got this one because it had deleted scenes AND directors cut.
but that was NOT included on this version.
Same cover, same cool index, no directors cut.
Sigh.....
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Masterful Blending of Genres
Added 10/28/2009
I was one of the lucky ones. I caught ALIEN (pardon the pun) when it made its debut in the theaters. I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about--save for its intriguing newspaper ad ("In space, no one can hear you scream."). Suffice it to say I was thoroughly and giddily entertained by this (my first) Ridley Scott offering, a powerful movie that successfully blended sci-fi and horror, and had me squirming and pitching in my seat like a spider on a hot stove. To this day ALIEN still has that effect on me; I still shout out at John Hurt not to take that bite of spaghetti.
ALIEN's premise is so simplistic: an interstellar space crew responds to what they believe is a distress signal; instead, they become exposed to evil incarnate, an alien life form that is relentlessly and maniacally and cunningly malevolent. The cast is topnotch, including Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ian Holm (who has his own eye-opening, gruesome scene). Of course, the focal point--and undisputed star of what would become a successful franchise--is Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the stoic, yet unassuming heroine finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. In battling--matching wits--with the alien, Ripley not only represents her own unique brand of rugged feminism; she also represents humanity's never-ending instinct to survive, to live and fight for another day.
ALIEN was not only far ahead of its time, it was enough of a vehicle to launch several sequels that were uncharacteristically compelling and good. (Most of them, anyway.) The imagination, the special effects, the action--the raw emotion and terror--make viewing ALIEN an enthusiastic and satisfying celebration of science fiction and horror in extraterrestrial hybrid bliss.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
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I'm 42 now, but 12 when I saw this movie...
Added 10/18/2009
Thirty years ago my dad took me to see this movie. I was only 12 years old. It was my first rated 'R' movie. I didn't sleep right for three days! Looking back on it now, it was an awesome movie.
No other movie since has scared me more than this movie. A true horror film, and one very true to my heart. Simply one of the best scare movies ever made. Period.
And might I remind you that this movie came out just a couple years after Star Wars and the special effects were just as good or better.
I still shiver at the thought of this movie. It was and is the reason for my obsession for sci-fi and horror.
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Solid sci-fi classic, but not too subtle
Added 10/11/2009
I can't believe that this came out 30 years ago, so I just had to watch it again and see if I enjoyed it as much as the first time.
There is no doubt that this is a very strong sci-fi monster flick for a number of reasons. The atmospherics, from the cluttered ship to Geiger's eerie designs, are absolutely first rate. Just by looking at it, you get a feeling for the story, a mixture of fear and fascination that all good sci-fi horror should evoke. Then there are the characters, all superlatively acted by relative unknowns, including the star-making performance by Weaver. There are very few sci-fi films that have such fully believable people, so that marks this one in my mind as equal to, say, the Day the Earth Stood Still. Even the ominous corporation, acting through Mother and Ash, is a sinister presence. Finally, there is the alien itself, also a wonderful creation that is utterly weird and completely believable in an immediate emotional sense - you just feel the fear, you don't ever have to try to forget that someone made it up.
As a sci-fi fan, I love the way that the alien became part of my imagination, more as questions than anything one can know. Was it brought onto the first ship as an infection that evolved into a more sophisticated organism as it exchanged DNA with the unlucky voyagers? Or was it some kind a invader, part of some plan that was moving through the universe? How much did the corporation know about it before the crew went and what did they want from it? How intelligent was the alien - just to survive or as a hive mind that was in touch with its cohorts? Even with the subsequent films, you can't really answer these questions, which is a mark of how fertile a product of imagination the film is. It is completely cogent, much like Close Encounters.
On the critical side, I did not enjoy the blood-curdling stuff all that much. It is gross and graphic. Also, I did find a lot of the suspense akin to horror house antics and feel that they could have used the alien for more subtle terror. That means that the first watch is the best, even if it meets the test of multiple watchings.
I have a special connection to this film. WHen I arrived in London fresh out of college, I ran into Tom Skerritt on the street and recognized him form MASH. He told me he had just made the movie, ALIEN, which he said with his eyes wide open in mock fear. I have loved the series ever since.
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Noone can hear you scream in SPACE!!!
Added 9/25/2009
That catchy phrase hooked me from the start and my screams COULD be heard. But I'm forgetting to mention that this was long before Beta, VHS, DVD or multi-cinema-plexes. When you actually sat in an enormous and very dark room and saw the movies on a BIG SCREEN. As I've said many times before: Big screen = big scream. And the very best of the "Alien" franchise is a screamer that SHOULD be seen on a big screen. Sigourney Weaver's star turn as Ellen Ripley created a never-dying icon. Though extended through three sequels, "Alien" has been, is and shall always be the best of them all. Ridley Scott's direction is almost perfect and the ensemble performance brilliant. Sets, mood, designs, editing, Giger, music (one of Gerry Goldsmith's best scores) and acting make this a classic screamer that doesn't date. Way to go, you alien thing, you!
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NOT directors cut
Added 10/30/2009
Fabulous flick, and got this one because it had deleted scenes AND directors cut.
but that was NOT included on this version.
Same cover, same cool index, no directors cut.
Sigh.....
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Masterful Blending of Genres
Added 10/28/2009
I was one of the lucky ones. I caught ALIEN (pardon the pun) when it made its debut in the theaters. I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about--save for its intriguing newspaper ad ("In space, no one can hear you scream."). Suffice it to say I was thoroughly and giddily entertained by this (my first) Ridley Scott offering, a powerful movie that successfully blended sci-fi and horror, and had me squirming and pitching in my seat like a spider on a hot stove. To this day ALIEN still has that effect on me; I still shout out at John Hurt not to take that bite of spaghetti.
ALIEN's premise is so simplistic: an interstellar space crew responds to what they believe is a distress signal; instead, they become exposed to evil incarnate, an alien life form that is relentlessly and maniacally and cunningly malevolent. The cast is topnotch, including Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ian Holm (who has his own eye-opening, gruesome scene). Of course, the focal point--and undisputed star of what would become a successful franchise--is Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the stoic, yet unassuming heroine finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. In battling--matching wits--with the alien, Ripley not only represents her own unique brand of rugged feminism; she also represents humanity's never-ending instinct to survive, to live and fight for another day.
ALIEN was not only far ahead of its time, it was enough of a vehicle to launch several sequels that were uncharacteristically compelling and good. (Most of them, anyway.) The imagination, the special effects, the action--the raw emotion and terror--make viewing ALIEN an enthusiastic and satisfying celebration of science fiction and horror in extraterrestrial hybrid bliss.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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I'm 42 now, but 12 when I saw this movie...
Added 10/18/2009
Thirty years ago my dad took me to see this movie. I was only 12 years old. It was my first rated 'R' movie. I didn't sleep right for three days! Looking back on it now, it was an awesome movie.
No other movie since has scared me more than this movie. A true horror film, and one very true to my heart. Simply one of the best scare movies ever made. Period.
And might I remind you that this movie came out just a couple years after Star Wars and the special effects were just as good or better.
I still shiver at the thought of this movie. It was and is the reason for my obsession for sci-fi and horror.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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