Alien (1979)
Alien (1979)
“Jaws
in Space.” The perfect three words to describe 1979’s unique Alien. If you look at it closely, Alien is very similar to Jaws. An abnormal
giant creature is terrorizing a bunch of innocent humans, and even the
introduction to each monster is eerily similar. I really dig the influences
that Jaws made on Alien. I liked how
they hid the alien until the end, where we finally get to see him in all
his grotesque glory. The 1970’s was a hard time for sci-fi. Not many science
fiction movies were made in the midst of American exploitation films, but
luckily Star Wars and Close Encounters changed
everything. Because of the success of those films, one of the best
sci-fi/horror classics of the twentieth century was able to get produced. I am
not much of a horror guy but if you are able to add a science-fiction element
to the horror and actually make it good, well you can count me in. I enjoyed
nearly everything about this film from start to finish.
One of the film’s best strengths is its
pacing. It moves purposely at a slow pace. People would expect the movie to be
about the alien from the start, but the alien does not begin its reign of
terror until the movie has been running for a good amount of time. But we are
treated to wonderful characterizations (conversations on money shares), the
silence of space, and the anticipation of what will happen next. But from the
start, it’s worth investing your time into the characters of the ship, The Nostromo. Another strength is the
production design thanks in part to designer H.R Geiger. The Nostromo has a wonderful design to it and you can
tell the influences from Star Wars. But what
about the creature himself? My goodness, they are scary-looking creatures. From
the harmless looking chest-burster to the killing machine that is called the
Alien, they are visually disgusting creatures (in a good way). In today’s day
and age of movies, the visual effects still hold up very well. The effects
actually won an Oscar.
The Nostromo is a commercial
deep-space vessel on its way home when it picks up an SOS signal from a distant
planet. The SOS signal awakens the crew from their deep hypersleep way earlier
than anticipated, The seven-man crew is led by Dallas (Tom Skerritt) and the
rest of the crew consists of Ripley (Signourey Weaver), Lambert (Veronica
Cartwright), Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), Kane (John Hurt), Ash (Ian Holm), and
Parker (Yaphet Kotto). Once they get to the signal, they realize that this was
not an SOS signal at all. It was a signal of danger now that a very dangerous
lifeform is a stowaway on their ship. Will they be able to destroy the alien
before they get destroyed themselves?
Another reason why the movie works so well is
the presence of a strong female lead character. So we have ourselves a 70’s
rarity: a female-driven science-fiction movie. Signourey Weaver’s Ripley
plays out like a character straight out of a 1950’s movie and I love it. Ripley
is a hero worth remembering in future movies. Weaver is the most important
character of the movie, but let’s not forget about the rest of the cast. I find
the ages of everybody interesting. A typical horror or thriller movie has most of
their characters between 20-30. Outside of Weaver and Cartwright, everyone is
35 or older. I liked that because they added experience to their characters
thus making us care more about their fates. Ian Holm was the oldest cast member
at 46, and is the second most important character. His character is actually an
android and his profession is a science officer. So you might have the feeling
he will play a pivotal role with the alien (and the humans) fates. I must give
a shout-out to John Hurt for taking it so well the fate of his character, Kane.
Kane happened to be the lucky fellow involved in the horrifying chest-bursting
sequence. I’ve seen this movie several times and the shock value of this scene
still remains at a high point.
This movie was directed by Ridley Scott, whom
would go on to have an impressive career in Hollywood. But this movie is where
he was mostly introduced to the film world. He did one hell of a
job directing the movie. This movie could have easily been a movie
with cheap scares, but he grounded the movie. He made it much more than
just the alien. In a way, you can count this as another similarity to Jaws. That shark movie began the mighty career of
Steven Spielberg…..just like this film did with Ridley Scott.
Overall, I really enjoyed Alien so much. This movie spawned many sequels and
spin-offs, but none of them impacted me like this movie did although 1986’s Aliens is also a classic. The movie is scary and
thrilling, but Ridley Scott’s powerful directing and Signourey Weaver’s acting prowess
did much to elevate the movie. Then there was the impressive visuals, the good
use of sound (a smooth mixture of silence and Jerry Goldsmith’s score), the
good script by Dan O’Bannon. This is really an unforgettable classic and its up
there with Jaws (yep, I mentioned it again) as my favorite horror
movies from the 1970s’. If these kind of films have a good story, then you bet
I’ll like them.
My Grade: A
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