The brilliant start to a brilliant saga

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2004)

There aren't that may films made in the seventies that I actually like, but this is probably one of the best. This is a sci-fi thriller with some memorable moments.
Director Ridley Scott is already showing us how spooky space can be just from the opening cast list. Indeed no-one can here you scream, and this silent filming method prepares us for many of our characters to (spoiler) be killed by the deadly Alien, leaving Ripley on her own...
Sigourney Weaver plays the character 'Ripley' in this film, who is part of a group of crew members aboard a mining spaceship. The space ship interior looks great, and director Scott keeps the corridors dark to build up tension. After receiving an SOS call, the crew of the space ship land on a strange planet where they find thousands of what seem to be eggs. It would be harsh to spoil this films to the people unfortunate not to see it, but poor old John Hurt has a terrible death when a small, baby alien pops out of his stomach. I say 'pops out' because new comers will want the surprises. The small Alien very funnily zooms across the kitchen floor in the spaceship, where all the crew members are left in silence, with a new addition to their crew, an alien!
Its great to see that no CGI was used in this film, as I have explained that pure realism can't be beaten by hand made special effects in many other reviews. All the aliens in this film were produced using puppets and models, which look fantastic. I love the way you see the aliens acid spill out their moths on the close up shots, and the shiny, silver teeth. The acting is good and is probably the best performance we see of Sigourney weaver in the alien series, as unfortunately, by the time we get to alien3, its all getting a bit too much with the constant "F**k you, man!. There's just no need for it. Alien is a film to enjoy because of the excellent directing, like The terminator. The sounds are great, camera angle are good, and its a memorable flick.