It is
the year 2037 and a commercial ship is
heading back to Earth but receives a
distress signal from a deserted planet
and the crew from the ship investigate.
They spot an alien ship that crash landed
on there as well as spotting a dead alien
pilot. Not only that, they spot a hive
that the ship carried and one of them
hatched and lands on of the crew's face
who's name is Kane (John Hurt).
The
crew returns to their ship to try and try
to take the creature off of Kane. They
try to cut it's legs that is attached to
his face but the creature bled acid. One
of the crew named (Ian Holm) claims that
the creature is feeding Kane oxygen and
if the creature is taken off Kane could
die.
Eventually
the creature is off of kane and is dead.
Kane awakens and during dinnertime it
seems to be that Kane is having a
seisure. But a small creautrelike alien
burts out of his chest and Kane is dead.
The creature that was on Kane's face
actually was implantying an egg inside of
Kane and not feeding it oxygen.
The
crew try searching for this creature but
while another crew member Brett (Harry
Dean Stanton) tries searching for a cat
in the ship which is owned by a lady
crewmember named Ripley (Sigourney
Weaver) he spots the alien now full grown
and it kills Brett and hauls him away.
The
crew try to find a stop to this alien by
snuffing it out but the ship is
controlled to keep it safe and bring it
back to Earth and the alien is feasting
on the people one by one. Will anyone
survive?
This was mainly
categorised as a sci-fi but it was a
horror too with the monster like alien
and one of my favourite all time films
too. Dan OBannon's writing is superb
and deserved an Oscar for this one. It is
very suspenseful all the way and should
please all fans that like outspace
monster movies.
There's a great opening scene in outer space forming the title word which really grabbed my attention big time making the picture look very artsy as well as showing a ship entering a dead planet too with everyone waking up thinking they are almost home from a mission. The scenery with all of this looked nicely done.
When they arrive on the planet there's a scenery of a crashed ship in which nowadays you can tell it's a painting easily as even big time studios back then look a little phony nowadays.
One of my favourite scene's in the film is when they enter ship and spot a dead alien life form which is huge in a control room. You never know this things purpose and wonder about it. It all remains an unsolved mystery. It kept me boggled but there were books on it's history though. Yet this was a nice add on to the plot of this film.
There's a great scary moment when one of the character's named Parker discovers some eggs in the ship and one of them opens in which he takes a closer look which can make you cringe knowing that this isn't a good idea at all to do. This adds alot of suspense to the story.
More great writing is when they experiment with the creature that was attached to Kane's face and discovers that this thing bleeds acid as the blood oozes down to different floors of the ship which also looked cool to watch as well along with this seeming very creepy too.
Also some good intense and disturbing moments when Kane is at the meal table choking and at first you might think it's due to what he ate and then he crashes on the table screaming in terror along with a baby alien creature bursting out of his chest which is not an easy thing to watch for anyone who can't handle watching these types of situations that aren't a pretty site at all and imagining the pain with this creature eating it's way through him. It looked well done though and starting the terror that will happen later on in the film. It was also a famous scene for anyone who has seen this flick and at times was spoofed in sketch comedy shows too.
A perfect dark moment is when they try to hunt for this creature but find Ripley's cat hiding and running away in which for any cat lovers like myself hoping this feline will be okay throughout all of what was happening. But the terror starts up big time when a crew member named Brett goes looking for the cat and there's a room with chainsa hanging and other creepy looking stuff which gives you a scary feeling that something terrible is going to happen. This creature is suddenly full grown and was clever on how it hid to not make itself revealed.
In another moment which is my favourite scene is when the head person of the ship Dallas goes through passageways to try and snuff this monster by using a flare gun along with the others at the system to warn him of this creature as to when it will apppear next in which this looked very dark and spooky too especially when they panick telling him that it's aiming towards him to get out the hell fast. We all kinda know as to what will happen next. This looked incredibly suspsenseful and terrifying too.
Nicely strong moments with Ash brutalising Ripley which looked believeably painful to what he does towards her as well as trying to kill her along with others like Parker and Lambert trying to stop him and a shocking surprise to find out who Ash really is which looked strongly done and surprising to watch on all of this with the intense struggling here. Of course this guy's an adroid and there's great sound robotic effects when they try to reconnect him after they wrecked his body questioning on how to snuff out this alien and why he admires this being and preventing them from destroying it in which this still stands out well in today's standards even if this was released while the 70's were nearing it's end.
More dark creepy scene's that involves
Lambert and Parker tossing some metal objects onto the ground while planning to blow up the ship in which there's a real bad feeling about to happen and it just does with this creature cornering Lambert and she's scared stiff as well as Parker screaming for her to get out of the way and she doesn't move. This looked quite disturbing to watch and was very well done in a great horror monster like fashion.
Perfect sound effects on a voice saying when the ship will explode as well as Ripley panicking to try and do everything as well as trying to find some way on trying to bring the creature towards the cooling units of the ship and cancelling when it will self destruct which time is running out while she's on board still making you cringe big time watching every second on her trying to move as fast as she can with all of this. Plus it's cool watching her lose her temper when she commands the mother ship to turn on the cooling units and they're not activated and causing some damage to the units on the ship. Very well put in.
Bottom line is that this flick is not too dated at all except for certain backgrounds like on the deserted planet but otherwise the effects still looked terrific and probably one of the biggest budgeted movies of that time period. It's still dark, suspenseful and strongly done while still watching this movie. This movie inspired many other
sci-fi/horror flicks but were made on a
low budget very unlike this one such as Creature and Creepozoids which
were credited as bad films.
The directors cut of Alien is much better as it shows stuff too
grahic for it's release or it was too
time consuming and the story makes alot
more sense with all the scenes now.
A well superb and
talented cast with no criticism at all.
Tom Skerritt (Dallas) does well as the
captain of the space crew
with his serious attitude iin the film
leading his troops. He certainly shows a good no bullshit attitude whenever he does his commandments and shows great characterisitics within everything that he did into the film and having a calm type of behavior too.
Sigourney Weaver (Ripley) wasn't new to the
acting field but wasn't a household name
as of yet but did become one with this
movie. She was dynamic in every way with
her energy, emotions and scared reactions
too. A natural character actress in every
way and has never had a bad performance
throughout her career. She was definetely high strung whenever she acted aggressive and bringing out her powerful attitude making it seems very believeable.
Veronica Cartwright (Lambert) is another
creative actress and had perfect
intensity in her performance of the film
as the most scared one in the ship going
home with the alien inside creeping
around. She certainly brouhgt on a great powerful emotional behavior with her frightening cries and going with the punches when the terror is happening especially acting choked up. She was a worthy versatile actress and have never seen her lack in anything that she did within her whole career.
Ian
Holm (Ash) shows great evil looks and
actions to his role as the android of the
ship and portrays very good at being
the mysterious one in the cast. He definetely comes across well as someone who is totally arrogant as well as ignorant. Plus knew on how to behave quite intimidating too. He shows it off all well as a negative type.
Yaphet Kotto (Parker) portrays himself nicely as a guy who
likes to tease others as well as being
aggressive too. He certainly shows off a great amount of energy while he does all of this. Plus he was very powerful with his reactions whenever he is shocked about a situation too. Probably one of the most energetic one in the cast.
Harry Dean Stanton (Brett) certainly comes off as one of those lame brained annoying types who shows no interest in what he does and just having a passive type of attitude in which he draws in to this very well in his performance.
John Hurt (Kane) was quite memorable in his supporting role with his accent as he seemed to come across nicely as one of those wise types or even like a scientist with how he spoke about everything. He knew on how to draw his intensity during his death scene which looked superbly done like he was really in pain.
An alien burts out
of Kane's chest.
The alien uses his inner teeth to crack
Brett's skull but it is very quick.
In the directors cut he is found cocooned
with Dallas.
The music was composed
wonderfully by Jerry Goldsmith
and classical artists as well the music
is powerful and very smooth too. There's good windy type sounds for the opening of this film which worked in the film superbly as well as the ship floating through space listening to some peaceful flute and other orchestral playing as this sounded nice and relaxing. There's also good banging sounds too involving some moments in a crashed alien ship that worked in very well. Plus some good metal rusty sounds with the creature for the first time full grown about to attack it's first victim as this sounded very spooky. Nice pleasant classical music during the closing credits as this sounded incredibly soothing. All in all the music was great as it brings so much
life to the movie for everyone to enjoy!
[first
lines]
Brett: This is the worst shit I've
ever seen, man.
Parker: Have 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: I feel dead.
Parker: Anybody ever tell you you
look dead, man?
Lambert:
I can't see a goddamn thing.
Kane: Quit griping.
Lambert: I like griping.
Parker:
Uh, before we dock, I think we ought to
discuss the bonus situation.
Brett: Right.
Parker: Brett and I think we ought
to, we deserve full shares, right baby?
Brett: Right. You see, Mr. Parker
and I feel that the bonus situation has
never been on a, an equitable level.
Dallas: Well, you get what you're
contracted for like everybody else.
Brett: Yes, but everybody else,
uh, gets more than us.
Ripley:
Whenever he says *anything* you say
"right," Brett, you know that?
Brett: Right.
Ripley: Parker, what do you think?
Your staff just follows you around and
says "right", like a regular
parrot.
Parker: [laughs] Yeah,
shape up. What are you some kind of
parrot?
Brett: Right.
Parker:
If they find what they're lookin' for out
there, that mean we get full shares?
Ripley: Don't worry, Parker, yeah.
You'll get whatever's coming to you.
Brett: Look, I'm not gonna do any
more work, until we get this straightened
out.
Ripley: Brett, you're guaranteed
by law to get a share.
Parker: What?
Ripley: Why don't you just fuck
off?
Parker: What?
Brett: Uh, what'd you say, Rip?
Ripley: If you have any trouble,
I'll be on the bridge.
Ripley:
Ash, that transmission - Mother's
deciphered part of it. It doesn't look
like an S.O.S.
Ash: What is it, then?
Ripley: Well, I, it looks like a
warning. I'm gonna go out after them.
Ash: What's the point? I mean by
the, the time it takes to get there,
you'll, they'll know if it's a warning or
not, yes?
Dallas:
Something has attached itself to him. We
have to get him to the infirmary right
away.
Ripley: What kind of thing? I need
a clear definition.
Dallas: An organism. Open the
hatch.
Ripley: Wait a minute. If we let
it in, the ship could be infected. You
know the quarantine procedure.
Twenty-four hours for decontamination.
Dallas: He could die in
twenty-four hours. Open the hatch.
Ripley: Listen to me, if we break
quarantine, we could all die.
Lambert: Could you open the
god-damned hatch? We have to get him
inside.
Ripley: No. I can't do that and if
you were in my position, you'd do the
same.
Dallas: Ripley, this is an order.
Open that hatch right now, do you hear
me?
Ripley: Yes.
Dallas: Ripley. This is an order.
Do you hear me?
Ripley: Yes. I read you. The
answer is negative.
Ripley:
That's amazing. What is it?
Ash: Uh, yes, it is. Umm. I don't
know yet. Did you want something?
Ripley: Yes, I, uh. Have a little
talk. How's, uh, how's Kane?
Ash: He's holding, no changes.
Ripley: And, uh, our guest?
Ash: Umm.
Ripley: Hmm?
Ash: Well, as I said, I'm still...
collating, actually, but uh, I have
confirmed that he's got an outer layer of
protein polysaccharides. Has a funny
habit of shedding his cells and replacing
them with polarized silicon, which gives
him a prolonged resistance to adverse
environmental conditions. Is that enough?
Ripley: That's plenty. What does
it mean?
[Ripley bends down to look through the
micro-scanner]
Ash: Please don't do that. Thank
you.
Ripley: I'm sorry.
Ash: Well, it's an interesting
combination of elements making him... a
tough little son-of-a-bitch.
Ripley: And you let him in.
Ash: I was obeying a direct order.
Remember?
Ripley: Ash. When Dallas and Kane
are off the ship, I'm Senior Officer.
Ash: Oh, yes, I forgot.
Ripley: You also forgot the
Science Division's basic quarantine law.
Ash: No, that I didn't forget.
Ripley: Oh, I see, you just broke
it. Hmm?
Ash: Look. What would you have
done with Kane, hmm? You know his only
chance of survival was to get him in
here.
Ripley: Unfortunately, by, uh,
breaking quarantine, you risk everybody's
life.
Ash: Maybe I should have left him
outside. Maybe I've jeopardized the rest
of us, but it was a risk I was willing to
take.
Ripley: That's a pretty big risk
for a Science Officer. It's, uh, not
exactly out of the manual, is it?
Ash: I do take my responsibilities
as seriously as you, you know. You do
your job and let me do mine, yes?
Parker:
Got a wonderful defense mechanism. You
don't dare kill it.
Kane:
Oh, I feel dead.
Parker: Anybody ever tell you you
look dead?
Ripley:
Come on, Ash, I mean, the Science
Department should be able to help us.
What can we do to drive it?
Ash: Yes, well, it has adapted
remarkably well to our atmosphere
considering its nutritional requirements.
The only thing we don't know about is
temperature.
Ripley: OK, what about
temperature? What happens if we change
it?
Ash: Let's try it. I mean most
animals retreat from fire, yes?
Dallas: Fire, yeah.
Ripley:
Ash. Any suggestions from you or Mother?
Ash: No, we're still collating.
Ripley: [Laughing in disbelief]
You're what? You're still collating? I
find that hard to believe.
Ash: What would you like me to do?
Ripley: Just what you've been
doing, Ash, nothing.
Ripley:
Ash? Any suggestions from you or Mother?
Ash: [very quiet] No, we're
still collating.
Riley: [near tears, laughs]
You're *what?* You're still collating? I
find that hard to believe.
Ash: Well, what would you like me
to do ...
Ripley: Just what you've been
doing, Ash: Nothing. I've got access to
Mother now and I'll get my own answers,
thank you.
Ash:
There is an explanation for all this.
Parker:
It's a robot. Ash is a god damn robot. '
Ripley:
Ash, can you hear me? ASH?
Ash: Yes, I can hear you.
Ripley: What was your special
order?
Ash: You read it. I thought it was
clear.
Ripley: What was it?
Ash: Bring back life form.
Priority One. All other priorities
rescinded.
Parker: It's the damn company.
What about our lives, you son of a bitch?
Ash: I repeat, all other
priorities are rescinded.
Ripley: How do we kill it Ash?
There got to be a way of killing it, how
- HOW do we do it?
Ash: You can't.
Parker: That's bullshit.
Ash: You still don't understand
what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect
organism. Its structural perfection is
matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A
survivor... unclouded by conscience,
remorse, or delusions of morality.
Parker: Look, I am, I've heard
enough of this, and I'm asking you to
pull the plug.
Ash: [Ripley goes to disconnect
Ash, who interrupts] Last word.
Ripley: What?
Ash: I can't lie to you about your
chances, but... you have my sympathies.
Ripley:
When we throw the switches, how long
before the ship blows?
Parker: Ten minutes.
Ripley: No bullshit?
Parker: We ain't outta here in ten
minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly
through space.
Parker:
[last line, to Lambert] *Get out
of the room!*
Ripley:
Micro changes in air density, my ass.
[Ripley
has tried in vain to disengage the
Nostromo's self-destruct]
Ripley: Mother! I've turned the
cooling unit back on. Mother!
Mother: The ship will
automatically destruct in t-minues five
minutes.
Ripley: You... BITCH!
[smashes computer monitor with
flamethrower]
[last
lines]
Ripley: Final report of the
commercial starship Nostromo, third
officer reporting. The other members of
the crew, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett,
Ash and Captain Dallas, are dead. Cargo
and ship destroyed. I should reach the
frontier in about six weeks. With a
little luck, the network will pick me up.
This is Ripley, last survivor of the
Nostromo, signing off.
[to Jonesy the cat]
Ripley: Come on, cat.
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