Alien (1979)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Dan O'Bannon (story) and
Ronald Shusett (story) ...

Release Date:

25 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In space no one can hear you scream.

Plot:

A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Spaceship | Egg | Parasite | Creature

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 18 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21	5:30 PM	AMC
Sun. Nov. 22	7:30 AM	AMC

Cast

Tom Skerritt	...	Dallas
Sigourney Weaver	...	Ripley
Veronica Cartwright	...	Lambert
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Brett
John Hurt	...	Kane
Ian Holm	...	Ash
Yaphet Kotto	...	Parker
Bolaji Badejo	...	Alien
Helen Horton	...	Mother (voice)

Also Known As:

Alien: The Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)
Star Beast (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language. (director's cut)

Runtime:

117 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) (original rating) | New Zealand:M (re-release) | New Zealand:R16 (original rating) | Italy:T | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) (DVD rating) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (re-rating) (2003) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:16 (f) | Israel:16 | India:A | Czech Republic:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 (director's cut) (2003) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (director's cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #25541)

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Brandywine Productions

Trivia:

To get Jones the cat react fearfully to the descending Alien, a German Shepherd was placed in front of him with a screen between the two, so the cat wouldn't see it at first, and came over. The screen was then suddenly removed to make Jones stop, and start hissing.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Ripley visits Parker and Brett to inspect their progress, she says "Yeah, you'll get whatever's coming to you." But the word "Yeah" is missing entirely from the soundtrack, and the rest of the sentence is out of sync with the video. This error is not present on the original Alien DVD box set, where Ripley's "Yeah" is muffled but quite audible. But the 2003 theatrical release and the new "Alien Quadrilogy" boxed set both have the word entirely absent.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brett: This is the worst shit I've ever seen, man.
Parker: What you say? You got any biscuits over there?
Ripley: Here's some cornbread.
Parker: Cornbread. Yeah.
Lambert: I am cold.
Parker: Still with us, Brett?
Brett: Right.
Kane: Oh, I feel dead.
Parker: Anybody ever tell you you look dead, man?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Moon (2009)

Soundtrack:

Excerpts from 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik'

A horror classic that has stood the test of time! Still by far the best movie in the series.

'Alien' while technically science fiction is also one of the greatest horror/suspense movies ever made. Ridley Scott is now one of the most well known and successful directors in Hollywood, but I don't think anything he's made in the last ten years is a patch on this perfect film, which is a near masterpiece in my opinion. In fact, on reflection there are only three Scott movies I genuinely like, those being his first three. The last of these 'Blade Runner' was released twenty years ago now, so to me Scott is long past his use by date. Whatever, 'Alien' itself is a brilliant piece of work, and is almost flawless. Scott's direction is superb and everything else about it is outstanding - a strong script from Dan O'Bannon et al, an evocative score from Jerry Goldsmith, brilliant design and special effects, including the amazing contributions from H.R.Giger, all add up to an amazing movie experience. I also really liked how the cast were character actors and not "stars" so there was plenty of suspense generated as to who will live and who will die. This is something very few subsequent movies have done, 'Pitch Black' being one of the exceptions. Sigourney Weaver may be an icon as Ripley now, but when the movie was first released she was virtually unknown, having had a small cameo in Woody Allen's 'Annie Hall' and not much else. The rest of the cast are equally as good. I especially enjoyed Yaphet Kotto ('Blue Collar') and the legendary Harry Dean Stanton ('Wise Blood') as the wise cracking "below deck" crew. Many people seem to prefer James Cameron's sequel 'Aliens' over this, but as I much prefer horror and suspense movies to action ones I think this is definitely the better movie, and still the strongest and most effective in the series. 'Alien' is a horror classic and an absolutely unforgettable movie that I can't recommend highly enough. If you haven't seen it before watch it immediately!