Possibly my favourite movie of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2017)

I decided to write a review for "Alien", just for kicks. Perhaps some young people haven't seen it yet and might use some encouragement, but also because whenever I see this film, I can't stop talking about it. So here we go.
This movie changed my life in the way it made me think about cinema. The experience I had as a 10-year old when I saw this, was something I can't put into words. I started to appreciate movies in a very different way. It was love, curiosity, admiration and fear at first sight.
"Alien" is basically a monster/killer movie in space, but all the layers and phenomenal execution add so much to it. It seizes to be just a genre flick, and reaches toward something else. It is equally intriguing as it is scary. The sci-fi mystery elements are so powerful that even if it's not a thinking man's sci-fi movie, it makes your imagination soar in a way that only a handful of movies can achieve.
Today, it has tons of sequels and as I'm typing this, it'll soon have its second prequel. The monster itself is almost a celebrity, and there is no escape from an overly commercialized franchise that has desperately been trying to capture what made the original film so great. However, they never managed to do that. Not even with James Cameron's "Aliens", which has become almost a cartoon over time. It's still a very good action movie, but time catches up to every film. Except the original.
Some movies stand the test of time. "Alien" is one of them. It's just as amazing today as it was back in the day. This is not just nostalgia talking. Every set, every matte painting, all the props, all the robotics/animatronics and effects are absolutely beautiful (except for one and just one shot). Not only do they hold up today, but they have originality to them. When you add beautiful cinematography by Derek Vanlint and the visual direction of Ridley Scott, you get a ridiculously gorgeous film. You get real imagination, real craft. Something that makes you wonder. No mass-produced CGI, no executive-driven soulless copycat designs, no cookie-cutter execution, none of it. Even the atmospheric music stands out. It's all so great, and so very real.
Talking about real, the actors are fantastic. "Alien" does what almost no movies can't seem to do anymore (and what none of its sequels did after it): the characters feel like real people. These are not celebrities reading lines, these feel like real working-class people, basically truckers in space. Every single one of them is amazing, no need to mention specific names. The whole cast is spectacular, and nobody had an ego. If someone did, it certainly doesn't show. The natural performances keep you invested in every scene. All of it is held together by the well-written dialogue.
Today, we're well aware how beautiful and disturbing H.R. Giger's Alien design is. In this movie, it's the best it has ever been. It's mysterious, it's ominous, it's strangely beautiful. It's not a video game monster running at you, because at times it just...seems to mind its own business, doing whatever it does. It feels real too, not just the people. When you add the magnificent sets, props and lighting/camera tricks, you can't help but immerse yourself.
The amount of memorable scenes is absurd. You don't remember them because someone said a funny one-liner, but because they genuinely impressed you, whether you noticed it at the time or not. Not only all the pieces work, they elevate each other. I can't help but think that some happy accidents had to take place, since nobody knew they were making a masterpiece for a genre that was considered mostly trash. Lightning in a bottle? Perhaps.
This is Ridley Scott's best film. "Blade Runner" takes the second place. After that, he hasn't directed a masterpiece. Even "The Martian", although critically acclaimed, is just a formulaic popcorn movie with very little cinematic value when compared to these two. Perhaps he won't direct any more masterpieces in his life, but even if he didn't, he directed this. For which I'm thankful. "Alien" made me really love movies. And after just watching it for the 30th (estimate) time, I'm still in love with it.
If you're young and generally suspicious of old movies, but still interested in this, it's time to step down from that fence. It's time to watch this classic. If you're old and somehow missed "Alien", return to the past with this masterpiece, and you'll remember why things indeed were better then.