After working with John Carpenter on 1974’s Dark Star, writer Dan O’Bannon wanted to do a horror version of that. Having gotten the attention of writer/producer Ronald Shusett, the two initially pitched their idea to B-movie king Roger Corman. Initially satisfied with their deal, their screenplay got picked up by 20th Century Fox, who were impressed with their work. Naturally, they would have more resources than Corman, so they took their concept to Fox and the film got rolling. Although the studio was initially skeptical about the project, the success of 1977’s Star Wars changed their minds. Producer Walter Hill was originally supposed to direct, but Ridley Scott was hired because of his work on The Duelists. With artists like HR Giger and Ron Cobb designing the creature and ships respectively, they had something special on hand. Finally, 1979 saw the release of a new sci-fi/horror classic, Alien.
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Synopsis
A commercial spaceship called the Nostromo is returning to Earth, delivering several tons of mineral ore and seven crew members. However, the crew is woken up when the ship’s computer detects a distress signal on a nearby planet. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerrit) takes crew members Kane (John Hurt) and Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) go to investigate. They find a derelict spacecraft and find several egg-like objects, with one hatching a parasite that attaches to Kane’s face. Despite objections from Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the crew is let in by Ash (Ian Holm) to try and save Kane. While the parasite can’t be removed, it eventually falls off and dies, and Kane wakes up feeling fine. Unfortunately, that doesn’t last long as Kane ends up having a small alien creature burst out of his chest. With the creature in hiding, the remaining crew has to track it down before it kills them off.
Review
Given how significant and talked about this movie is, there isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been said. All I can offer is my own thoughts, that being that this is a phenomenal sci-fi/horror film. For one, the performances are all-around great, with each of them given moments to shine and all being memorable. Given that this was her first film, Sigourney Weaver really shows her early potential and gives a great performance. The rest of the cast are all significant in their own ways, even if some have reduced screen time. Speaking of early debuts, given that this was only his second film, Ridley Scott’s direction is on-point. He mixes slow-moving wide shots with quick-cut close-ups that help give the film a feeling of tension and suspense. You can really see early examples of his future trademarks he’d use in later films.
The film’s title creature, known as the Alien/Xenomorph, is horrific beauty brought to life by artist HR Giger. His designs for the alien and the derelict spacecraft are iconic for a reason, mixing technology with organic materials. Ron Cobb’s work in designing the Nostromo helps to give the film a feeling of realism with his meticulous details. Unlike Star Trek or Star Wars which treat space travel as fun and exciting, this treats it as blue-collar work. It’s a refreshing take on the genre, helped by the retro-futuristic look that helps set the film apart. Some audiences might be put off by the fact that the first 40 minutes are deliberately slow, which is understandable. However, the deliberately slow pace gives a false sense of security that makes the scares all the more effective. Overall, Alien is a sci-fi/horror classic that’s worthy of its status and legacy.
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