Alien

Rating:
Summary: CREEPY, ATMOSPHERIC
Review: Sigourney Weaver deserved her instant rise to fame for her portrayal of Ripley, which snapped you to attention and kept you on the edge of your seat. The fairly predictable disaster plot has its share of significant, and often-discussed, surprises, and, for a Ridley Scott movie, features some interesting character portrayals, given the sketchiness of their development. Still, Mr. Scott has no rival when it comes to the art of pure visuals: the Nostromo, and the environs of the abandoned planet, those hideous eggs, and the sinewy, LIVING interiors, dripping...alien saliva? or water?...are rendered with consummate care, and, save the last twenty minutes, are the most interesting things to watch. Along with 2001, this is the most gorgeous science fiction movie ever made.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, vivid and tense, a relentless rollercoaster ride!
Review: It is difficult to believe that director Ridley Scott's frightening and terrifying film was made in the seventies.The production started in the beginning of 1978 and wrapped up in the end of that year. It was released in 1979, and boy, this movie shocked and scared people around the world. It is a masterpiece of suspense. Hitchcok would be proud of it.Alien still possesses an impressive vigor and strengh, such as another classic that also seems so fresh and vivid, Deliverance, a film that does not need any introductions, about four common people who are hunted down by gay hillbillies in some river of Georgia. Alien places a group of astronauts being threatened by an implacable alien that kills each one of them without mercy. When it first came out, the gigantic sceneries and the disturbing visual (the scene in which Kane - John Hurt - explores a cave has a terrific impact) were remarkable and brought innovation for movie making, because at the time, the vision of space was bright and clean (Star Wars).This daring, new visual helped to increase more fear and suspense to the story. Ridley Scott's direction is outstanding - he develops his characters carefully, giving to everybody on the cast a chance to shine. Scott develops real "characters", and not fearless heroes, in a way this makes us to identify ourselves with the protagonists. Scott created memorable scenes,it's impossible to forget John Hurt's horrible, cruel death : alongside Ned Beatty's rape in Deliverance, this scene is one of the most gruesome things ever putted on the screen.One of the greatest films of all time, I highly recommend Alien's DVD, Twentieth Century Fox made an outstanding job remastering it, adding extras, trailers, commentary and more. And don't forget to check Deliverance if you haven't seen it yet.

Rating:
Summary: Supplemental material, widescreen make it worthwhile
Review: "Alien" is not perfect. It suffers from many genre cliches (gaps in logic, characters stupidly making themselves vulnerable, the false ending, etc). But it works - smashingly well, and the 20th Anniversery DVD release is a treasure trove for fans. Among the highlights:

The widescreen anamorphic format lets you see director Ridley Scott's expert compositions, which are often packed edge-to-edge. Pay close attention to the secondary characters in the master shots (especially Ian Holm as Ash) and you'll see a wealth of subtle character development. I had never thought of "Alien" as particularly well-acted, but being able to see how the ensemble works across a wide, unbroken frame has given me a new appreciation for the whole cast.

Included is a collection of deleted scenes that expand on the "Alien" mythology, as well as the film itself. Some of them are rambling and unfocused, which allows you to see the actors working out their characters as they try find the right pace.

Director Scott's commentary track is full of wonderful trivia, and provides some insight into his superlative visual imagination.

And, of course, Jerry Goldsmith fans should be ecstatic since an alternate audio track contains his complete original score (much of which was never used), undiluted by dialogue or sound effects. Owners of CDs containing parts of the unused soundtrack can finally see how the music was supposed to sync-up with the picture.

"Alien" may not be a masterpiece on par with serious films by the likes of Kubick, Kurosawa, or Welles, but to dismiss it as just another brainless horror flick is to sell it way short. It's beautiful, disturbing, hypnotic, and ground-breaking.

And after twenty-plus years, we're still talking about it.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the 4
Review: I think I'm in the minority here but I've always felt that the original Alien was superior to the sequels even though they are good. Part of the appeal of this movie was to see it when it came out. The concept of this monster gestating in the stomach and exploding from this man was just horrific when it first came out. I think the 'gore' factor and thus the shock factor is less now given the kind of atrocities you see on the big screen but for me this was a major leap in horror at the time in the same way my mom freaked when Psycho came out. This movie also presented one of the first realistic monsters. One based on a believable species that could reproduce and sustain itself. That too was part of the horror. It seemed like this could happen. The other aspect I enjoyed (and the following films let me down) was Scott's hiding of many of the 'gore' scenes (again like Psycho). For example showing an emotionless cat's flickering eyes as you hear screams in the background. Arresting.

Rating:
Summary: A terrible beginning!
Review: I don't know if it was because when this was made or what, but I hated this movie! It is so slow, and long. Even when watching it on DVD the sound quality just gets progressively worse, and the picture isn't that much better. The plot was mildly entertaining, and it really wasn't worth watching this horrible 'film' for the semi-engaging finale. At least ALIENS, part 2, was better :)

Rating:
Summary: Understandably a horror classic, but it's not for me
Review: When I first watched Alien as a kid, I thought it was one of the most frightening films ever made. Naturally, many years later, I watched it again and I have to say I don't really like it. What's the problem with the film? Well, it's not the slow pacing; that is actually an aspect I admire about this film. I like Ridley Scott's use of a queasy and claustrophobic atmosphere to set the tone and uneasy mood. It's certainly not the special effects or set designs which are great even by today's standards. No, what hurts Alien is character development, simply enough. The characterization just wasn't strong enough and I hard remembering all the characters. Heck, as I'm writing the review now I only know Sigourney Weaver's character name, Ellen Ripley, and the ship's name, the Nostromo. Like John Carpenter's The Thing, when a character was killed my reaction to it was more visceral than emotional. Sure, there's suspense in each character's death but it could have affected me more if I had connected more with the characters. It's not the actors' fault in the least bit since they do the best with what the script gives them. That is why I hold the sequel in a much higher regard, since that film developed interesting relationships between Ripley and a little girl, a marine, and an android. Do I have any more complaints about Alien? Well, not really, and I know many will not like this review since I know Alien is considered a masterpiece. Well, I hold respect for the film's surface but I felt not much more beyond that.

Rating:
Summary: A personal favorite
Review: I think this movie was good. Enough suspense to wet your pants and I love the deleted scenes. Great for aliens fans.

Rating:
Summary: Really scary movie!
Review: "Alien" is one of the scariest films in the history of modern and classic cinema. The plot goes great with both those old 50's movies and today's slasher films. The creature itself is not totally shown to the very end of the film... but thats not as bad as it sounds. It's made up of a great plot where all the crew fears for their lives and an all around enjoyable to watch film. Those little face huggers are so cool, that I bought a full size version from "Kenner Toys"! Ripley is one of the screens greatest heroines (so good that "The Disney MGM Studios" made an entire sequence with Ripley and the Alien on "The Great Movie Ride"). When the one and only alien finally totally shows itself... it's one of the scariest monsters that I have ever seen. It's long, black head and striking inner mouth are some of the best effects for the 70's, and those effects still are great today! It's much better than all it's sequals but, "Aliens" is really cool too!

Rating:
Summary: Quite Simply A Masterpiece
Review: I respectfully disagree with some of the above reviews. "Alien" is itself a masterpiece, and the DVD issue is a benchmark of its kind. The widescreen format is given its due. Jerry Goldsmith's marvelous score is heard to advantage. There is nothing really to criticize about this release. As for the film: it cannot be overemphasized that this is the greatest sci-fi/horror picture ever made. Yes, the sequel "Aliens" (1986) is superb in every way, but it does not focus on the element of stark terror the way this first film does. This is in no way to denigrate John Cameron's great adventure film. Even "Alien 3" has its merits, but the 1979 Ridley Scott masterwork started it all.

If you love "Alien", or if you are curious about it, don't pass up this disc. The film can be seen seemingly uncountable times without its losing interest, or even suspense. An absolute must-have.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated and drawn out reviews!
Review: Obviously these "critics" dont understand the concept of pace in a film. And an "over-rated" film? Apparantly from the reviews below, this isn't the case. I think the "critics" are, er, SLIGHTLY outnumbered. This is undoubtedly the most artistic horror/suspense film ever made (it transcends genres). Comparable to the Shining in pace, it's like a snowball rolling down a hill, starting small and ending like an avalanche! It is tastefully done too, there's some slime, but not a whole lot of graphic violence...in many cases you never actually know what happened to the victim(s), adding to the atmosphere of the film. Great acting and characters, awesome sets and unparalleled suspense! This DVD should set the standard for other studios...Ridley Scott's commentary is incredibly interesting, and has a load of cool extras, including a deleted cocoon scene which is very creepy. As others have said, ignore these so-called "reviews"...anyone with an ounce of appreciation for a well made scary film won't be disappointed. And who asked Maltin anyway? Maybe he's just bitter because he wet his pants when he saw it in the theater...