Alien is sleek and stylish science fiction film.

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 2001)

Through its magnificent sets, story, and characters, Alien would influence many science fiction films that would follow it; though few would ever equal it.
Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett's screenplay is good and very original. The one drawback is the minor subplot involving Ian Holm's character, Ash, which is fairly interesting but I always felt that it bogged the film down.

Overall, the cast is pretty good. Tom Skerritt does a nice job at underplaying his character of Captain Dallas. Sigourney Weaver, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ian Holm also give commendable performances.
Ridley Scott's direction is phenomenal. His attention to detail is astounding. He takes full advantage of his sets, music, and lighting to make the film as eerie as possible.
Jerry Goldsmith's subtle musical score is great; it is very effective and quite ominous and unnerving.
The art direction and set decoration in Alien is absolutely terrific. The sets are large and yet they have a very claustrophobic feel.

The special effects for the alien creature are quite convincing. The full-grown alien is not shown in prolonged shots or whole-body shots. This is a wise decision on the filmmakers' part; had the alien been shown in full body shots it would have given the impression of someone in a suit and so it wouldn't have been as convincing.
Alien is a worthy addition to anyone's film library.