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1979

 

Tom Skerritt as Dallas

Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ellen Ripley

Ian Holm as Ash

John Hurt as Kane

Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon; story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett

Directed by Ridley Scott

 

Today would’ve been Harry Dean Stanton’s 93rd birthday. He played Brett, the engineering technician on board the Nostromo, and good friend to the ship’s cat, Jones. He passed away in September of 2017 at the amazing age of 91. Stanton was good friends with Marlon Brando (On the Waterfront, the Island of Dr. Moreau), and was also a talented musician.

Alien is the story of a space crew who is returning to earth. They are awakened by the ship’s computer, Mother, after she picks up a radio signal from a nearby planet. The crew goes to investigate the source of the signal, and disaster ensues. Of course, as the title gives away, it’s an intelligent life form from a non-earth origin, but it has a very different agenda than the humans on the ship. Our friend Brett is the first victim of the Xenomorph, who manages to kill everyone on board but Ripley and Jones. This is not a spoiler, guys. She’s in three more movies in this franchise.

WOW. Wow, wow, WOW! This is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. I think the fact that it’s got such old technology (it doesn’t age well, unfortunately; it looks rather like the props and sets from the computers in 2001: A Space Odyssey), but is so dark that makes it so terrifying. Plus you only get to see the alien for about 10 total minutes. How do you kill a monster with acid for blood while inside a spaceship? Doesn’t seem possible.

Some of my favorite bits:

  • Kane’s choking and convulsions in the mess hall. Holy crap. Apparently the cast wasn’t told about the explosive capabilities of Hurt’s mechanical torso on the table, so were caught in a great spray and shower of blood and guts. The looks of shock and disgust are real.
  • The Xenomorph itself. We didn’t really get into any other of the H.R. Giger-inspired work until later in the series, but the stringy, sinewy body of the alien is just bllleearrrgghhh. So cool.
  • The final scene in the escape pod with Ripley and the Xenomorph. There’s nothing and no one around to help, so you’ve got to take care of business and stay calm or you’re dead. What a stressful scene! She’s so smart to buckle herself in. Where was the cat when she opened the outer door?! Poor Jonesy.

Weepy Meter: 0/10 Not a chance. Unless you cry when you’re scared. Because you will be.

Man Meter: 10/10 He’s seen the whole lot of them. I think there are eight films now? That’s including the AVP films as well. Might be a good time to get your feet wet in this series and chug along til it’s finished!

Overall Rating: 9/10 If the tech were able to pass through the decades (four this year; yikes!) it would’ve earned a 10. It’s so good.

 

Photo credit: © 2003 Twentieth Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.

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