One of the greatest, scariest movies of all time. Must be seen in widescreen.

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2005)

Alien is a sci-fi horror movie. By todays standards this movie might seem to start out a bit slow. First time viewers should understand that this is a part of the style that makes this movie stand out amongst the others in this genre. The movie takes its time setting itself up a a science fiction film. It doesn't presume that viewer will already understand things which have over time become standardized in these types of films. This gradual transition from science fiction to horror builds up a tension that the rapid paced editing and fast jumping plots of most modern movies can never hope to achieve. The overall effect you become familiar with the characters and drawn into the environment in which they live completely. By the time things happen, you care about the characters and can feel their fear and tension.
Some of the early scenes initially appear to be the standard attempts at creating a certain "Wow" factor in the viewer, such as the exterior shots of the "Nostromo" (the commercial mining vessel where the movie begins). This is actually far from the truth however. The way these scenes are developed, with the use of sound (or lack thereof) and music, serves to set a tone of bleak desolation and solitude. This hostile environment is truly what makes the situation the characters will have to endure even more desperate and terrifying. Their smaller craft detaches itself from the larger, making their level of comfort and safety appear ever smaller. With heir landing craft damaged during the decent, they land on a planet where the atmosphere is described as "almost primordial" in order to investigate an apparent distress signal. Three crew members finally brave the 2 kilometer trek to the signals origin. Trapped in the tiny self-contained environments of their suits, an untold distance from known civilization, these people are now as isolated as any person could ever imagine.
This then, is the setting for where the horror begins. The signal they have been diverted to investigate is coming from a derelict ship that seems to have crashed in this wasteland. As they approach, their transmissions to their waiting companions on the drop ship are slowly disrupted until they are no longer possible, further isolating them. When one of the three separates from the group to investigate another part of the ship, they discover something mankind has never encountered before, something completely alien, unexpectedly hostile, and frightening.
The entire movie is filmed in a manner that seems to make all of these imaginary locations look realistic and believable. The ships are claustrophobic and have a lived in look. The people are simply going about what initially seems to be routine business, oblivious to what is coming. Their surprise is ours as the events unfold. Their reactions are honest as they are completely unprepared for what is happening. Their fear is felt as slowly they begin to realize just how trapped and vulnerable they are when they begin to get an idea of what they are up against. The sound, lighting, and slowly panned visuals all serve to reinforce the setting and mood that has been created.
There's no need to delve any further into the substance of the plot. For those who have yet to witness this movie, I can only add that you are in for a treat. This is, without a doubt in my mind, the best movie of its type. Even after all these years since it was released, there is very little within it that doesn't still manage to look great. The director is to be commended on this awesome film, which has been referred by many, and accurately if I do say so, as a masterpiece. Please note that the only way to view this film is in its original aspect ratio whether you view the original theatrical release or the 2003 slightly altered version. I've watched many many films in both manners before, but none that lose so much in the transition to television. If you have not seen this film in widescreen, then you have not seen this film at all.