Sunday, December 19, 2010

Alien (1979)

‘In space no one can hear you scream’

This haunting tag was just the beginning of what we know today as epoch of Sci-Fi horror.

Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the best movies in the entire franchise.
Being the first chapter in the alien saga, it had lots to prove. Three decades have gone by still this movie has never aged. With great production design & riveting story this movie succeeds in taking us to a haunting journey from which there is no escape.

It all began with the intercept of a distress signal from an uncharted planet by a commercial towing spaceship, Nostromo. As the crews descend to investigate further, one of them is attacked by an unknown life form. Once brought back to the ship for examination they soon ascertain it to be a deadly creature which breeds within living hosts. Not understanding the enormity of the situation one after the other gets hunted down. This movie keeps us guessing who could finally getaway from this nightmare alive.

This is the movie which brought Sigourney Weaver to limelight. Scott delivers a believable story with excellent casts. There is a reason why alien succeeds so well in delivering the terror factor. It’s not like the usual horror flicks which are sometimes quite predictable; there are genuine shocking moments which will certainly send chill among the viewers.

In case of the definitive edition, the theatrical version has been remastered with enhanced digital signature. In 2003 a director’s cut was made available; the only difference I found was that couple of minutes being stripped out from its original. It would still be suggested to go for the original theatrical release. Unless seen, it would be difficult to comprehend the reason for considering Alien as cult noir even today.

My Rating : 9/10

3 comments:

  1. In my opinion, Alien and Aliens are the greatest pair of movies ever made because the first is a masterpiece and so is the second, but the second is a very different movie, unlike virtually all sequels. Alien is a horror story and Aliens is an action flick.

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  2. I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!

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