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In Anticipation For Prometheus I Give You....ALIEN

The original that started the franchise and made aliens scary.

Alien.

A mple enough word that has so many meanings in the film.

Not only does Alien refer to the creature but to the setting the ill fated crew of the Nostromo find themselves in.

An alien world, alien elements, an alien enemy, and in alien territory.

Everything in the film to them is Alien.

Alien of course is the story of a group of space miners who just want to deliver their payload and get paid for it but while in hypersleep their super smart GPS device, code named Mother for she watches over them, picks up a distress beacon and sends them on their way to the alien planet to investigate.

Alien stars Tom Skerrit, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Nancy Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, gourney Weaver, and Harry Dean Stanton.

It was directed by Ridley Scott with the creature and alien world created by H.R. Gieger.

Tom Skerrit delivers a wonderful performance as Captain Dallas.

If you watch him he always remains cool underpressure and calm.

He never panics even when his crew member Kane (Hurt) has been attacked and even killed by the creature.

In fact, the only time that Dallas does lose his cool and panics is when he is in the air ducts.

If you really look at that scene you see just how noble Dallas is.

He is taking responbility for what happened to Kane by going into the ducts himself without even having to say that.

It is an interesting de note that originally the film company approached Harrison Ford to play the role of Captain Dallas but he turned it down.

Having just come off of Star Wars where he played a ship's captain he felt that he didn't want to get type casted in the role of a spaceship captain.

The two that seem to have the most fun with their characters are Kotto and Stanton.

They really dig into their roles and have fun with their characters.

They truly do have some of the most memorable scenes in the film and I wouldn't be surprised if they were the inspiration for the characters of Blain and Mac in Predator. gourney Weaver's role is really understated.

If you didn't know she was the hero of the franchise you would look right past her at the other cast members.

As Ellen Ripley you first see her as just another face on the ship.

One who is in the back and that no one listens to.

But by the end of the film she evolves into a strong lead woman and a true leader. The creature in and of itself is spectacular, what little of it you see.

Ridley Scott wisely keeps the alien in the dark through most of the film giving the viewer only quick glimpses of the monster's head, face, arms, and tail.

In fact, it isn't until the creature is blown out of the air lock that you actually see it as a whole.

This was a method also used by Steven Spielberg in Jaws but for entirely different reasons.

The great thing about Alien is that it takes its time and let's the story unfold and tell itself.

There is no rushing in this movie.

It lets the events come to it.

As a result it builds tenon because you get a chance to know who these characters are.

Plus making them blue collar workers gives the audience someone to relate to.

Their story is really a tragic one.

None of them gned up to go investigate a monster in outerspace or become alien hunters.

They gned on to do a union job for Weyland Yutani and that was it.Another great thing about Alien is that the devices they use for tracking the creature and weapons they use are stuff they have right on hand or are able to build.

Their are no fire arms, except for the flame thrower, no grenades, nothing so out in left field that it leaves you scratching your head saying "Huh?"

Each member of the cast could be looked at as a representative from the audience.

For example, when Kane is killed Lambert (Cartwright) freaks out and is scared through the whole film.

Just like some of the audience probably was.

Captain Dallas was heroic and brave in the face of danger, like many in the audience.

Ripley showed the little guy that you could stand up and be brave if you needed to. Etc. Etc. What else can you say about Alien that hasn't been said.

It sets a tone that the other films were never able to follow.

As much as I like Aliens by James Cameron it really doesn't hold a candle to this gem.

The surpring thing about Alien is that x people are killed and the only scenes that show any type of blood at all are the chester burster scene and the scene where Ash (Holm) is disassembled. Alien is a great movie to pop in if you are alone at night with the lights off and need a good scare.Often copied but never duplicated Alien is a true horror movie clasc.Final verdict:

***** out of *****