80. Alien; movie review
Cert 15
111 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong horror, violence, language
The chap sitting next to me on the flight to Gran Canaria must have thought that I was having a seizure.
Four times during Ridley Scott's Alien I was prompted to jump out of my seat.
That's not bad going for a movie which I have seen at least three times before.
Alien remains one of the best horror/thrillers to have hit the big screen. Plenty have tried to copy it over the past 40 years but few have succeeded in having its punch.
Of course, there are elements that haven't passed the test of time.
The computer technology on an intergalactic space mission looks ludicrously 1970s/80s and seeing people smoking during a meal on a spaceship is bizarre.
And, of course, the alien itself would be amateurish in today's world of CGI.
But great storytelling remains great storytelling and I was hooked by Scott's tale of an extraterrestrial entity being brought on board a commercial human vessel.
My memory is clearly playing tricks with me because I had thought the infamous appearance of the otherworld being from John Hurt's chest happened far earlier in the film than it did (about halfway through).
And, in my mind, the lone battle of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) with the alien went on for much longer than it did.
Nevertheless, I was completely engrossed by Scott's movie and was sweating over the battle between the crew and the beast.
Scott's movie came after Space Odyssey and Star Wars but took sci-fi in a different, equally exciting direction.
Sure, we had seen alien life in the Star Trek series but none of it was frightening as this.
It also made a star out of Weaver whose face of desperation alongside the teeth of the monster became one of cinema's iconic poster images.
It says much that I found Alien as spellbinding in 2019 as I did in 1979.
Reasons to avoid: It is still damned scary
Laughs: None
Jumps: Four
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 10/10
Did you know? Harrison Ford, who later went on to work with Ridley Scott in Blade Runner, turned down the part of the ship's captain in Alien, presumably because it was so soon after Star Wars.
The final word. Ridley Scott: "There's no reason why Alien should now not be on the same level for fans as Star Trek and Star Wars."
The final word. Ridley Scott: "There's no reason why Alien should now not be on the same level for fans as Star Trek and Star Wars."
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