Rating: 
Summary: Much Imitated, Never Duplicated!
Review: 'Alien' is a film that created the modern 'space horror' genre; it also provided the springboard for director Ridley Scott's brilliant career. From the eerie beginning of the film (when the word 'Alien' forms in stages to the strange music), to the shock of the Facehugger leaping onto Kane's (John Hurt) face, and the horror of the Chestburster exploding from him, this movie has left us scenes that have become film history. I think most of have very clear memories of where we first saw this classic!The brilliant ensemble cast is one major factor in why this movie came out so well; another is the fact that the producers, writers, and Ridley Scott had the artistic wherewithall to use unique, actual artists to create the look of the film. Using Swiss artist H.R. Giger to create the Alien in it's various incarnations and the alien ship were strokes of genius - Giger is in a class by himself, and no other film can claim the creature's originality (the other Alien sequels are merely adaptations/modifications of his concept). Scott's admiration for French artist Moebius is apparent in the spacesuit designs and other areas of the Nostromo and attached machinery. The 'Space Jockey', aka the pilot of the vast alien ship containing the eggs, is really a mindbender, even though it is only onscreen for a very brief period. The Director's Cut version DVD is the ultimate home video rendition of this classic. For the first time one can hear this movie in the full glory of DTS sound, which is far superior to the old Dolby Digital version. The digitally restored video is crystal clear, as if the film were released yesterday. The added scenes do not really change the film that much, in my opinion. The one big scene that comes to mind is Ripley's discovery of the cocooned Dallas, which really does remind the viewer of the similar scene in 'Aliens', where she comes upon the Queen's chamber amid a mass of unhatched eggs (in hindsight it seems as if James Cameron lifted the scene lock stock and barrel), then burns everything with a similar flamethrower. All in all, this edition takes what is already a classic, and makes it shine that much brighter. The sound and video updates and the extra features really enhance a great film! An equivocal 5 stars!
Rating: 
Summary: The best Horror series ever scence.
Review: This the the first best of the top ten hour series. 2 being Predator. 3 being critters ext ext ext. This features Sigmore weaver was the first horror series ever made. She also started in GhostBuster one and 2 who two of her earlier less succesfull movies. I own the alien quadrilogy. There are two versions of this movie on the dvd. The extended. Directors cuts. And Theatherical. Seginore play strong to blod lLitenut ripely. The crew fight a lssing battle until Riply is the only one left. If you like this is request seeing Aliens Alien3, Alien resurection the worst of three sequels. The new thing in the Alien series is alien Versu Predator which comes out this august.
Rating: 
Summary: Ridley Scott ain't all that!
Review: Alien is a watchable movie--if you've ever seen the sequel "Aliens". Compared it's far superior sequel, Alien is slow, plodding, and unenergetic. I find it amusing that the so-called "Director's Cut" is actually a minute shorter than the original theatrical version. Apparently Ridley Scott doesn't quite get the ideal of "special editions". When you put something in, that doesn't mean you necessarily have to cut something out. Also, the point of adding extended/deleted scenes is to give the viewers something new, added dimensions. It doesn't matter if the pacing is off--that's the point of new scenes and home video. The pacing for viewing movies at home don't need to conform to the pacing for a theater audience. Even though the movie was recut for a theatrical release originally, I felt no need to see the new cut when the original was available. Ridley Scott's movies run the gamut of watchable to pure crap. Alien, while groundbreaking in some ways, is merely watchable. Aliens, the sequel, is the true classic in this quadrilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Aliens FAN review
Review: I'm an old time Aliens fan. I use to sit in class and draw aliens on a piece of paper, the aliens found in this movie, not those little green men. Everyone thought I was nuts, but I sure fooled them, I'm crazy not nuts ha! Read further down to have an overall fast rating if you want to watch the rest of the Aliens Trilogy set. This movie is one of the worst in the whole Trilogy. Why? They use about half of the movie to introduce the setting and object and characters of the movie. The action is rare and it is usually exciting for about a couple of moments, than it goes back to being suspense and talking. However, don't be too upset. Aliens, which is part two where they just add an s, which I must say is very clever, is the best in the Trilogy. The action goes from mild, to medium, to a lot, and intense, and also introduces you to the massive alien queen. The graphics is awesome by the way, very impressed. Part 3 or Aliens 111 is plan weak, more or less like the first part, but watch it once and get ready for Aliens Ressurrection and Aliens VS. Predator coming out soon. If AvP sucks I'm no longer their Fan, blah!!!
Rating:
Summary: Can one improve on perfection? I think so!
Review: "Alien" ranks as one of the movie's most brilliant thrillers. As Ridley Scott says in the liner notes for the DVD, this "director's cut" just adds some deleted scenes from the original in exchange for some removals; however, the story remains the same and it's still worth viewing. Purists can be satisfied with original, also presented on disc one. The second disc is a treat for every fan or anyone interested in the process of filmmaking. With insightful commentary and "making of" anecdotes from all the cast (with the exception of Yaphet Kotto), director Scott, special effects wizard Brian Johnson, writers Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, composer Jerry Goldsmith, and a bevy of other creative talents, everything that one ever wanted to know about the film is here. This DVD has the extras that most skimp on; it is truly a collector's treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction/Horror Masterpiece
Review: Alien follows a group of six explorers who were basically duped into
thinking they served some other purpose than to obtain the ultimate weapon.
This weapon is a vile form of alien life that simply kills and breeds. It's
blood is molecular acid, it's body is one organic weapon after another and
it grows extremely fast after taking another life that had been it's host. Alien is the purest of the sci-fi/horror genre. It is also one of the first
of it's kind and the pinnacle of it's kind. It is all downhill from here,
but it is so high up we don't care to acknowledge this decline. Alien is
not only one of my favorite films of all time but it is also unquestionably
one of the greatest films of all time and the few who disagree will have a
tough view to spin. The script is compelling with it's fiction and ideas of
an ambiguous future setting that places the film in an unnerving microcosmic
isolation. There is enough to satisfy everyone, from space fans who want to
hear about the atmosphere on the Alien's planetoid (a term used here that is
probably more influential than prophetic for a term being tossed about for
far flung planets Sedna and Quaoar) and the horror fans who want to be
scared by shock or spooky subtleties. Some horror films are fortunate enough to have one scene that is memorable
and will be praised for generations. Then there are the horror elite that
have more than that and are unforgettable from beginning to end. The
Exorcist, The Shining, Psycho, Jaws and Halloween are such films and so is
Alien. Whether it be the slow-paced questioning of John Hurt's character's
fate in the quarantined room with a parasite attached to his face keeping
him alive, the scene with Tom Skerritt's character in the air shaft waiting
for the Alien to come to him or the scene where we actually wait as the
Alien burrows it's way through Hurt's character's body and out to eventually
wreak havoc on the rest of the crew, Alien is without a doubt unforgettable.
It is a staple in both the science fiction and horror genres and a must-have
for fans of either. The most outstanding part about Alien to me is the fact that it is handled
quite meticulously. The scene when that Alien bursts out of Hurt's stomach
is fairly layered and foreshadows Ash's (Ian Holm) real intentions but not
enough where you know what is happening exactly, although maybe enough where
you suspect something. He is of course an android that takes the crew off
course to obtain this life form and study it. The scene has Holm studying
Hurt as he is about die with a face that spells "Hmmm, let's see what this
thing can actually do". I credit Holm just as much as Scott for this
example but Ridley Scott is without question an impeccable filmmaker. Scott
is also one of the most versatile filmmakers around. He is almost on the
same plateau as Spielberg for me. Finally, Alien is also groundbreaking for it's characters and mostly of
course the character of Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver in what has to
among the earliest portrayals of a women emerging as the protagonist in a
film like this. Her emergence from the rest of the cast by the way is an
extremely effective device in which too many films that have followed Alien
have forgot to apply. Even in good horror films we know full well who is
going to survive all of the horrors before the credits even begin. In Alien
we really have no idea. Weaver's character is given absolutely no special
treatment by the script whatsoever. She is simply Ripley, one of the two
female crew members that by chance and wit has survived this horrifying
encounter. It also makes the horror of it far better because we might
actually think for a minute that Skerritt's character is going to survive
that ballsy plunge into the air vents. This point is precisely why all of
the sequels are just not as good as Alien is. Although Jim Cameron knew
what he had to do and opted to create a quality film of sci-fi action chaos
with all the mysteries revealed by it's predecessor and David Fincher's
Alien 3 deserves some credit too. The four installment is completely
disposable. Horror without mystery is simply madness and madness is not nearly as
frightening as it is shocking. This is why so few horror films are praised
by critics. Alien is not just original and innovative; it is sharpened,
sophisticated and finer than the great majority of all films. The fact that
it provokes fear and excitement as well as thought makes it even more
exceptional. Just for the record, Alien is going to absolutely beat the crap out of
Predator. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: You can see the wires in every scene.
Review: There are several scenes in this movie where you can tell that the Alien was nothing more then a puppet run by wires. You can see the wires on the baby Alien after it kills the John Hurt charecter and it runs across the floor (wires present), when the Alien climbs down behind the Harry Dean Stanston character you can see the wires operating it, you can even see the wires from it get's blown out of the airlock. Even the scene where the Nostromo blows up did not really work. It was a pyro/animation effect which was put on 35 milimeter film and it looked like it belonged more in an animation movie, not a live action movie. It's ironic that when they were doing these movies, the Alien was actually a combination of puppets moved via stop motion animation, or guys in suits, and those very same technics were also used in the Ray Harryhausen movies and the early Godzilla films, there they worked, here it looked fake.
Rating:
Summary: I Heart Jones!
Review: This film features one of the greatest scenes of all time starring one of the greatest actors of all times...Jones the cat! Jonesy is adorable, yet so devious! I'm sure Sigourney Weaver was equally impressed with his plethora of feline talents. Who can forget Jones leading Harry Dean Stanton to his death and then looking expressionless into the camera as we hear Stanton screaming in mortal pain! Sly, lil devil that Jonesy is! Or how about that fabulous scene where we see Jones emote great fear as the Alien stares at him in his futuristic cat carrier! I'm no one to fantasize too much, but I like to believe Jones tipped off the Alien as to the location of Yaphet Kotto and Veronica Cartwright, thus sparing his own life in return. In Aliens we saw the return of Jones, only this time with a different cat...and we could tell! This faux-Jones let loose with a half-hearted hiss, but the fans knew he was nothing but a cheap knock-off!
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: This is such a cool movie. A bunch of astronots are going to space. But this one guy, finds this egg. Then this weird little monster comes out and puts something in his mouth, then dies. Later, alien burst out of the guy's stomic! Man that seance was cool! Anyway, the alien gets bigger and starts killing everyone on the space ship. This is one of the best sci-fi movies every made, forget all those geeky things like Star wars. This was such a cool film. If you liked this I would also recomend Predator.
Rating:
Summary: Just what we asked for
Review: Strange......... Why one reviewer or another might suggest you not buy this is strange to me. This release contains the "Director edited" full length super deluxe extra-special version and (YES) also the original theatrical release. (which we all prefer) it has just what anybody would want. Frankly I want to look at the stuff that was cut or skipped... and with this I get it but in return I am not forced to watch it in the context of the movie if I choose not to (nice) I repeat: Everybody gets what they need. Also I played this through the Lexicon Reference System in Bedford Mass and I believe the audio re-master was a complete success. So, I'm in 100% for this version. Everything I want and it sounds better... Let's see, no drawbacks no compromises and costs the same...Hmmm let's not pretend that this is so complicated, frankly it's easy
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