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Alien (25-May-1979)
Director: Ridley Scott Writers: Dan O'Bannon; Ronald Shusett Music by: Jerry Goldsmith Producers: Gordonn Carroll; David Giler; Walter Hill Keywords: Sci-Fi/Horror, Robots, Explosions Crew of the interstellar mining spacecraft Nostromo responds to an S.O.S. signal, only to encounter an alien life form which picks them off one by one. Slow moving and ominous. Set designs inspired by the otherworldly art of H. R. Giger. "In space, no one can hear you scream." Won Oscar for Best Visual Effects; nominated for Best Set Decoration.
CAST REVIEWS Review by Walter Frith (posted on 7-Jun-2007) 'In space no one can hear you scream'. This is my favourite tagline for a movie.
It probably always will be throughout the remainder of my life.
Millions of miles away from home. No one to help you. No 911 calls to
be made. No one can hear your cries for help. Such is the physical and
psychological state of the legendary and landmark film 'Alien' from
director Ridley Scott. This is and probably will be the best film in
his long line of successful achievements put on celluloid. Scott's long
tracking shots that dangle the audience's anticipation of what's coming
next is matched only by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock and if
Hitch himself had made this film, he couldn't have done much better. In
fact, next to Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' from 1968, this
is the best directed science fiction film of all time. Brimming with
gothic images that tap into the audience's fascination with violence,
the unknown, and ultimately, what's possible. And in the wonderful
world of movies, the sky's the limit as the imagination can take us
anywhere. Is this obvious? Too true. But films like this go beyond the
definition of the understated and live up to the highest expectations.
Seven crew members. Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Ripley (Sigourney Weaver),
Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Kane (John
Hurt), Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and the very mysterious Ash (Ian Holm).
Each one capable in their jobs aboard the ship and each one just as
vulnerable as the other in their encounter with the unknown. And isn't
that just what makes films like this so great? The very thought of
seeing something for the first time. Not seen before this and not seen
since outside the realm of this storyline that would spawn three
sequels so far with a possible fifth film to be made sometime in the
future that has the alien creatures roaming the Earth is some capacity.
Each actor in the film never really found super stardom. Not even
Weaver who would go on as the protagonist in the other films. The
'Alien' series are her only great films and while she received an Oscar
nomination for best actress for 'Aliens', her other two Oscar
nominations, both in 1988, as best supporting actress for 'Working
Girl' and best actress for 'Gorillas in the Mist', never really had her
in contention with the other people with whom she was nominated. Some
actors prefer never to reach the pinnacle of the movie industry,
content with being successful character actors, their respectability
with film buffs is re-enforced by the intelligence of the roles that
they choose and each one of the people in this film has accomplished
this. The Nostromo is an industrial ship maintained by the seven person
crew that is on its way back to Earth carrying a cargo of mineral ore
and it appears to be orbiting Saturn as its next mission is about to
take place. Judging by the rings around the planet they are passing by,
this seems to be a logical conclusion. The Nostromo's main computer,
called 'Mother', informs them that a transmission has been made and
according to a clause in their contracts that sent them on the mission,
they must investigate any transmissions of distress or they will not be
paid for their labour for the entire trip. As they touch down on what
appears to be one of the moons of Saturn, Dallas, Lambert and Kane
explore the surface and come across a phenomenon of alien life that
incapacitates Kane for a trip back to the shuttle where he requires
emergency medical attention. From this point on, without spoilers, the
crew is on a trajectory with their mortality and their very existence.
Ridley Scott does a very capable job of showing us just enough of the
alien to tease our desire for more while defining the thought that
sometimes less IS more. Steven Spielberg once stated that when he made
'Jaws', he didn't intend to show you little glimpses of the shark until
the climax but because they had so much trouble trying to get the shark
to work, it just worked out that way. Ridley Scott was looking for a
breakthrough film after efforts such as 'The Duellists' in 1977 and
work in short films and television. He found his masterpiece in this
film written by Dan O'Bannon and produced by Gordon Carroll, David
Giler and Walter Hill. 'Alien' is part thriller and part science
fiction but it works best as a horror film as fear is the best
character in the film. The first time I saw the film, I was 14, and it
got me turned on to the possibilities of what the science fiction genre
could be after I had seen 'Star Wars', made two years earlier, over 50
times. When 'Alien' was released in 1979, it caused almost as much talk
as 'Star Wars' did when released two years earlier. 'Alien' had a
horror characteristic to it which was psychological, visually striking
and compelling with the type of strength in silence not seen since
'2001: A Space Odyssey' in 1968. For all that has been said and written
about this film, for me the true hero of this film is conceptual
designer H.R. Giger who designed the sketches that would become both
the planetary sets and the design of the alien itself. Detail being the
main key, Giger's gothic imagination resonates with the most
discriminating of movie audiences. Through it all, the very concept of
something never seen before and having it work miraculously, is a
testament to why Giger won an Oscar for the film's visual effects along
with Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Denys Ayling. I've
always said that with technology advances in motion pictures in the
last fifteen years or so, beginning with 'Jurassic Park', the
computerized special effect can sometimes look phony with sloppy crop
markings and one dimensional tackiness. Matte shots, model designs and
tangible designs made from good old fashioned elbow grease will always
be the best thing that Hollywood has ever designed for the viewing
pleasure of audiences. Period. [Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith]
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