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A landmark of science fiction and horror,
Alien arrived after Star Wars as a stylishly malevolent
alternative. Partially inspired
by 1958's Terror from Beyond Space, this instant
classic set a tone of its own, offering richly detailed sets,
ominous atmosphere, relentless suspense, and a flawless ensemble
cast.
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Alien 1979
The further we go in special effects, the
more movies show us and ignore the unseen, the more people will
return to dark horrors like this one.
It's hard to look at this film without considering the sequels
and knowing the alien itself, however when made the alien was
mostly unseen and a mystery. It's difficult to forget what you've
seen, but it's important to approach this film first if possible
rather than joining the series late.
It's amazing that this is over 20 years old - apart from the
actors looking so young, the film doesn't feel dated at all.
The sci-fi visions here are still bleak and futuristic as they
were then - this is not the Star Trek vision of the future. The
foreboding exists long before John Hurt spills his secret, Scott's
direction is excellent throughout. Once the alien is "born"
the tension is cranked up and the characters dispatched one by
one (a formula we know oh-so well now!)
However here the characters are not merely alien-food but have
some dimension to them. Weaver is excellent, while the support
cast is full of great support actors (Stanton, Kotto, Hurt, Skerritt,
Holm), but of course the real star is the one we see least of.
We barely see the alien in full detail, most of the time it is
set in shadows, moving with deadly intent.The alien here is not
simply a killing machine as seen in later films but is cruel
with it. Witness the alien trap a female crew member and slowly
rub up her leg, moving with slow seductive movements before moving
with terrifying speed to kill another crew member sneaking up
behind it. The slow movements betray the alien's pure cruelty.
The film is a study in terror. It may not be as action packed
as the other films in the series but it brings the claustrophobia
of being hunted to a new level.
Reveiw by Bob from Birmingham England,
16 October 2001
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Release Date:
1979
Taglines
In space, no-one can hear you scream.
Plot Outline
The crew of the deep space mining
ship Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange
signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal,
they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS. What
follows are some grisly and inventive special effects based on
the work of H.R.Giger.
Runtime
Argentina: 117min, Australia: 117min, USA: 117min
Color
Color (DeLuxe)
Sound Mix
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) / Dolby
Certification
Australia: M, UK: 18, USA: R
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Credits
Cast (in credits
order)
Tom Skerritt
Sigourney Weaver
Veronica Cartwright
Harry Dean Stanton
John Hurt
Ian Holm
Yaphet Kotto
Bolaji Badejo
Helen Horton
Eddie Powell |
Captain A.J. Dallas
Warrant Officer Lieutenant Ellen L. Ripley
Navigator J.M. Lambert
Engineering Technician S.E. Brett
Engineer G.W. Kane
Science Officer Ash
Chief Engineer J.T. Parker
'Alien'
Voice of Mother (voice)
Alien (uncredited) |
Directed by: Ridley
Scott
Writing credits: Dan
O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett (story), David Giler & Walter
Hill (uncredited)
Original music by: Jerry
Goldsmith
Non-original music by: Howard Hanson (I) (from "2. symphony"),
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (from "Eine kleine Nachtmusik")
Click here to
go to the Alien Soundtrack section
Produced by: 20th
Century Fox [us], Brandywine Productions Ltd
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Alternate Movie Versions
The laserdisc release features a separate
section with the scenes not included in the theatrical release.
This is the new material:
- After being awakened from hypersleep, Kane
wanders out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he says "Rise
and shine Lambert".
- The crew gathers on the bridge and listens
to the signal coming from the derelict craft.
- Lambert confronts Ripley about Ripley's reluctance
to let them back on the ship with Kane and the facehugger. Lambert
tells Ripley, Parker and Brett how the face hugger got on Kane.
- Ripley radios down to Parker and Brett to
see how they're progressing on the repairs, Parker and Ripley
exchange tense words over the radio.
- After the face hugger's acid eats through
a few floors, the crew returns to the med lab to check up on
Kane's condition. Ripley sees an X-Ray of Kane's chest and asks
Ash, "What is that dark stain on Kane's lung?" The
rest of the crew starts asking if Kane's going to live, Dallas
tells everyone to go back to work.
- After Kane's death, the crew gathers around
at the meal table to discuss what they're going to do with the
escaped alien. Brett announces the cattle-prod idea and suggests
"catching" the alien in a net.
- Longer version of Brett's death. This scene
had Brett frozen with fear as the alien grabs his head, he yells
"Parker!" and then blood poors from beneath his cap.
The alien lifts him up into the landing gear and Ripley and Parker
come rushing in. Parker stands where Brett once was and looks
up; blood drips on his shirt and then Brett's cattle prod falls
to Parker's feet.
- Part of a scene that involves Parker, Ripley
and Lambert trying to flush the alien out of the air lock. As
they are about to succeed, an alarm is triggered and the alien
rushes out of the airlock (getting its tail caught in the closing
door, and spilling acid that causes a hull breach). Parker falls
unconciously to the floor, Ripley does the same and Lambert and
Ash come to their rescue. Ripley vocalizes her suspicions about
Ash by accusing him of setting the alarm off.
- After Dallas's disappearance, Ripley (being
suspicious of Ash) asks Lambert if she's ever slept with him.
- The build-up to Lambert's death is much longer.
(Watch the alien's shadow on the wall, it walks in, crouches
down, then immediately gets up) A scene where we see the alien
enter, crouch down and wait until Lambert notices its presence
was cut. When Lambert sees the alien, it uncoils its tail and
walks (like a crab) over to Lambert.
- After Ripley discovers the remains of Parker
and Lambert, she makes another discovery. Ripley enters the landing
gear area of the Nostromo (where Brett got killed) and discovers
a cocooned Dallas and Brett mutating into an egg. Dallas pleads,
"Kill me". Ripley flames Dallas and the Brett-egg and
then runs to set the ship on self-destruct.
- The latest video release of Alien in Norway
has been severely cut. There are no indications given on the
cassette box that this has been done. Total playing time missing
is about 15 minutes. Key noticeable scene cuts include Kane's
apparent revival, and subsequent chest bursting scene; Ash's
demise.
- The picture and the Dolby Digital soundtrack
used to make the THX laserdisc was mastered from the 70 mm release
version. The soundtrack contains therefore some alternate dialogue,
rough sound editing, different/enhanced sound effects, and is
missing some dialogue which was contained on the Dolby Stereo
sound mix of the 35 mm version.
- The present Norwegian DVD release is uncut
and the first video-release from CBS/FOX video is also uncut
with an 18 rating. The cinema version was cut to get an 16 rating.
- The Sci-fi channel version (taken from the
Widescreen series video transfer) doesn't cut the violence, only
the profanity. About 45 seconds is cut from the scene where the
Nostromo approches LV-426. Some shots of the crew walking to
the derilect are cut. Rated TV14LV and running at 2 hours 30
minutes without commercials.
- Only released on certain special edition
versions of Alien, there is a 55-second side shot of the Nostromo
passing by. This shot was originally intented to show just how
enormous the Nostromo's cargo was (which supposedly is over a
mile in length) but was removed because the size of the cargo
really isn't that important and the scene was really long.
- Ridley Scott, for the Director's Cut, slashed
10 to 15 seconds off many scenes, which he felt dragged on a
little too long. The result is a tighter, more tense version.
Extra scenes in the 25th Anniversary Edition:
- Lambert slapping Ripley in the face before
being restrained by Parker and Brett outside the infirmary.
- Brett's blood falling on Parker as he is
carried off by the Alien into the heating ducts.
- Ripley finding Brett and Dallas cocooned
while trying to make it to the shuttle craft.
- Also included in the Director's Cut is a
scene where the crew listen to the alien signal and discuss the
nature of the planet just before they prepare to land.
Scenes trimmed or deleted in the 25th Anniversary
Edition:
- The camera panning right towards Dallas before
he goes into the hallway to talk to Mother.
- The scene where Ripley talks to Ash if Mother
translated the Alien Transmission.
- After Ash losses contact with Dallas and
crew after they walk into the Derelict ship, the last shot looking
back at Ash's face is cut.
- The shot looking at Dallas climbing up the
Space Jockey.
- Some shots of Kane being lowered down into
the Egg Chamber are trimmed.
- The shot of Ash leaving the Medical room
after talking with Ripley.
- The beginning shot of Ripley, Parker, and
Brett searching down the corridor for the Alien.
- The shot with Ripley saying 'Open the Door.'
behind the partially opened door.
- The last moments of Brett soaking his face.
- After the crew discusses the Vent plan, the
shot of the Nostromo traveling through space is cut.
- The whole scene with Dallas talking to Mother
on how he should neutralize the Alien.
- Some shots of Dallas crawling down the vent
are trimmed.
- The shot of Parker going to refuel the Flame-throwers.
- Ripley going to talk to Mother just shows
her walking to the door instead of getting the key.
- Shots of Ripley leaving the Mother Chamber.
- The sequence where Ripley, Parker, and Lambert
walking through the hallway has been trimmed.
- Ripley preparing the shuttle has been trimmed.
- Certain shots of Ripley running through the
corridors after the self-destruct has been activated have been
trimmed.
Effects, and Sound Effects changed in the
25th Anniversary Edition:
- While Ripley is contacting traffic control
now, the last shot of the Nostromo in space now has a star field
where there was just a Black Background.
- The Alien Transmission and the keyboard button
sound effects are much different from the original deleted scene.
- The shot of the Nostromo rolling 92 degrees
to port now features a star field to the left of the planet where
there was just black.
- When parker gets drenched in Brett's blood,
the sound effects of the cattle prod hitting the ground is different
the original deleted scene.
- When Ripley tries to contact Lambert and
Parker through the coms after leaving Mother's chamber, static
can be heard when she tries a different channel.
Other changes in the Director's Cut:
- As in the Theatrical Version, Brett stops
in the the landing strut chamber to wet his face during the sequence
where he is searching for Jones the cat. In the Directors Cut,
we see a shot looking up at the landing strut with the Alien
rather unexpectedly in the foreground, head bowed, swaying from
side to side. Another change concerning Jones the cat: when Ripley
encounters the Alien in the corridor having just the set the
self-destruct sequence, instead of the Alien looking curiously
at Jones in his catbox, it gives him a brief glance before violently
swatting the box aside. (This explains why in both versions of
the film the catbox is flipped on its side and not where Ripley
left it when she returns to collect Jones.)
- Many of the restored scenes have alternate
takes or even total re-edits from the deleted scenes on the Laserdisc
and original DVD releases. The cocoon scene is a great example
of this; originally opened with flat, static shots of Ripley
clumsily descending a ladder, now opens with a low-angle tracking
shot of Ripley descending much more smoothly.
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