Sci fi horror classic!

Rating: 10/10 (7 June 2014)

ALIEN (1979) is a film that I overlooked back in the day. In the 80s the decade where I really started to see a lot of movies and could process them, sci-fi movies were mostly action vehicles, even some of the best of the decade (The Terminator, Robocop, Predator, The Hidden), but each remains watchable because they all have wonderful characterizations, memorable dialogue, and most importantly a provocative story that underlied the action. The irony is the perhaps the most revered sci- fi action movie of the 80s was "Aliens", which is the "sequel" to this movie that I'm reviewing. Sadly, "Aliens" is rated higher on this site than those aforementioned superior sci-fi movies and the SAME rating as this movie, it's predecessor "Alien", which is by leaps and bounds much better. "Aliens" is a hamburger with Coca-Cola, while "Alien" is steak with red wine!
The film sports an absolutely superb cast: Tom Skerritt (Captain Dallas), Sigourney Weaver (Ripley, second officer), Ian Holm (Ash, medical officer), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert, communications), John Hurt (Kane, first officer), Yaphet Kotto (Parker, engineer), and Harry Dean Stanton (Brett,technician), all who inhabit their characters convincingly. The actors play well off each other, with their interactions never seeming forced.
Directed by innovator Ridley Scott, "Alien" is actually a feasible representation of the future. Set around the mid-22nd century, this tight, linear tale begins as a mining ship, the Nostromo, is in deep space with it's crew in hibernation on it's way back to Earth with a wealth of mineral ore. The crew works for the Weyland Corporation, who owns the ship. A distress call from a relatively nearby planet forces the ship's computer to wake up the crew and they go to begrudgingly investigate. The trio Dallas, Lambert, Kane go on a search party to find an alien ship with it's long-dead pilot and a collection of large eggs, one of which bursts open and a "face-hugging" creature attaches itself to Kane.
The special effects, everything from the ship design to the planet settings, are still very eye-popping and believable to this day. Nothing over-the-top or dated. One can imagine something like this happening, which is scary! In particular, the effects of the alien remain impressive, perhaps the best design of an alien creature in all of film history. The progression of the creature throughout the film from face-hugger to full-blown alien builds the tension and the crew's terror and horror is palpable. The film takes the "less is more" approach to horror, by presenting the creature almost like a boogey-man, who pops out at you unexpectedly in your worst nightmares.
In re-visiting this classic recently, I was surprised at how short the film's running time was to how I remembered it. I always thought of this movie as a very long film, but it's not really. Everything actually moves at a brisk pace, with the characters driving the story keeping us invested in their survival. And "Alien" is the type of film that isn't just shoe-horned into one genre. It skillfully combines elements of sci-fi, horror, and drama. Superior in every way to it's sequels, "Alien" is the real keeper of the franchise!