After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
Some movies are considered classics, not just by mainstream film critics but by the filmgoing public as well. Movies like “Casablanca,” “Gone with the Wind,” “The Godfather,” “Jaws,” “Schindler’s List,” and so on. “Alien,” which was released in 1979, is considered by many, to be one of the best and finest sci-fi movies ever made. This I would have to agree on. Director Ridley Scott, in only his second feature film after 1977’s “The Duellists,” turned the sci-fi genre on its heels by pretty much making a slasher film in outer space. Today, that idea would be laughed at but not because of its preposterous premise but because it has already been done before, numerous times. Think “Jason X,” “Leprechaun 4: In Space,” and “Hellraiser: Bloodline,” to name but a few. In 1979 though, it was quite ingenious and thanks to screenwriters Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, it still scares audiences today whenever and wherever it is shown. It even surpasses James Cameron’s crackerjack, action-fuelled sequel, the aptly titled “Aliens,” and while many argue this point and say Cameron’s film is far superior, in the end, that comes down to personal preference and in this critic’s eyes, Scott’s movie is far more sophisticated and terrifying.
In deep space, on their way home to earth, the commercial starship Nostromo and its seven-person crew, are awakened by the ship’s computer, Mother, who informs them that a transmission of unknown origin has been received from a nearby moon. Per company policy, any and all potential distress signals must be investigated so they land on the moon’s surface and send out a three-person crew who discover a crashed spacecraft not too far from where they landed. They make their way inside the derelict ship and locate a large chamber filled with hundreds of big egg-like objects. When Kane, one of the crew members, gets too close to one of the eggs and something from inside attacks him and attaches itself to his face, he is brought back to the ship for further examination. Once on board, they take off and continue on their way back to earth. Shortly thereafter, Kane awakens and everything seems fine but while enjoying one final meal before they all go back into stasis, a small alien bursts out of Kane’s chest and escapes into the ship. As they prepare to try and locate it and blow it out into space, when another crewmember is attacked and killed, they quickly realize that the creature is now much bigger than a human being and with little to no weapons or resources, they must band together and figure out a way to kill the alien before it kills them.
This is one of director Ridley Scott’s finest achievements. It is my personal favorite of all his movies because it isn’t just a journey into hell for the crew of the Nostromo, it is a beautifully filmed nightmare where every shot is impeccably framed and presented to us in full widescreen glory, and very few films have come close to replicating the atmosphere and tension herein, though many have tried. Even James Cameron wisely chose to take his sequel, “Aliens,” in a vastly different direction, that of full-blown action, as opposed to “Alien”’s deliberate pacing as he knew his movie would not even bear comparison to Scott’s masterpiece. Cinematographer Derek Vanlint gloriously paints the imposing Nostromo in shades of black and white, representing the birth of darkness into the light and back into the shadows again. He and Scott masterfully opt for very little intercutting throughout most scenes, choosing to let the actors be spontaneous and unscripted. In one deleted scene, part of the iconic chest burster, as the alien protruded from John Hurt’s rib cage, the blood sprayed all over the actors but mostly on Veronica Cartwright, who had no idea what to expect and actually began freaking out and accidentally tumbled backward over a sofa but upon realizing that they were still filming, stood back up and continued to do the scene. Talk about spontaneous. The look of sheer terror and disgust on her face painted a thousand words. Most actors today act opposite green screens and imaginary CGI, back in 1979, everything you saw on screen was created for real.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of “Alien” and 20th Century Fox have released the iconic movie in glorious 4K. I jumped on the 4K bandwagon about a year ago, out of sheer curiosity, after all, Blu-ray seemed to be doing a perfectly fine job up to that point but when you compare the two, it’s quite obvious how much more visually stunning 4K really is. The 4K “Alien” incorporates a major upgrade in video quality over previous Blu-ray iterations and is one of those films that deserves to be seen in this format. It would be a great box set if Fox released all 4 original “Alien” movies in 4K but something tells me, aside from “Aliens,” that won’t be happening any time soon.
Now available on 4K Ultra HD
