Alien-1979

Director Ridley Scott

Starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver

Scott’s Review #94

Reviewed July 5, 2014

Grade: A-

Alien is a science-fiction success from 1979 that began a long-running franchise and made Sigourney Weaver a household name.

It has the brilliant direction of Ridley Scott, who sets up the atmosphere and camera angles perfectly.

Arguably, in both the horror and science fiction genres, the film is riveting from start to finish.

Weaver stars as Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, a member of a spaceship returning to Earth. The ship picks up a distress signal and is ordered to investigate. They discover an alien existence.

From this point, the film certainly has a horror element, as the members of the doomed spacecraft are knocked off one by one in a pure horror fashion, but the brilliant part is that you do not know when or how, and many of the deaths come out of nowhere.

The captivating visual effects in this film elevate it, and the narrow spacecraft tunnels and hallways are stunning.

The villain of the film, the alien, is masterful as it is mysterious to the audience. The fact that it is only sporadically seen only adds to the tension.

Alien (1979) is a memorable classic that ranks high on the sci-fi genre list of excellent films.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects (won)