One of The Best Women, Slasher, Sci-fi Movies Ever !

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2009)

This is a milestone before being a masterpiece. A milestone on many levels too.
I think Hollywood was late at making the action hero as heroine. In fact, that didn't happen, internationally, until the late 1960s. Since the start of the 1970s, the things had surely changed. With Swedish movies (Thriller - en grym film -1974), Japanese (Shurayukihime - 1973), or American (Hannie Caulder - 1971), and (Foxy Brown - 1974), it was clear that thereafter the women - European, Asian, American black or white - could be the violent lead, having the ability to retaliate and exterminate.
Look at these 3 movies from (1978), and the roles of their leading ladies: (An Unmarried Woman); a divorced woman who got to be totally on her own. (Coma); a doctor who got to stand up to a corrupted business. And (Halloween) where a young girl, instead of a whole suburban, got to face a mad serial killer. Yes, finally "she" got the power to be independent, fight corruption, and kill anyone who wants to kill her. One year later, there was another female lead that got to face insatiable inhuman slasher, all by herself, in never little movie named (Alien) where woman is allowed to kill any "thing" that wants to kill her this time.
The tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream" could refer to the scream of the woman in the space of old manly ignoring. But not anymore. The name (Ripley) sounds close to Rebel and Repel. She got the reputation of one of the most memorable, real tough, heroines ever, without being just a scream queen, a man's sexual fantasy, or hating the white community like in the Blaxploitation movies. She looks ordinary but she isn't, using the brain and the brawn in the same time, and assuring eventually that the woman, that kind of woman, could be the only soul survivor in any community, or the one who'd inherit the world!
(Ripley) vanquished 2 aliens already to accomplish that women wouldn't be an alien again in action movies, or in roles that were occupied by only men before. Now "she" can win the championships out of the movies, and in it as well. (Sigourney Weaver) isn't that impressively beautiful to tell you the truth, but SHE IS as an actress. She didn't win the Oscar for this role, or even got nominated, but she'll always be my favorite (Ripley).
Now, remember the Horror movies of (1979)? (The Amityville Horror) was the haunted house movie. (When a Stranger Calls), (The Orphan), (Phantasm); I'll save you the trouble; they're all about a monster, innocent people, a hunt. But did they have any meaning other than entertaining you?! I don't think so.
Here, the sense of seriousness, the meditative pace, and the solid sci-fi just own your respect before your attention. I recall (Ian Holm)'s line: "You still don't know what you're after? Don't you?!"; it's one of few cinematic lines that deeply fascinated me. The whole atmosphere presents cleverly a dark world where the human, even the best of human, don't know everything. These shadows give the story intellectual dimension, to be simply a movie about man and the unknown. This is more profound, more enjoyable, and more immortal than any other work where there is always a masked pervert and a screamer girl. (Alien) fulfilled uniquely being a great, if not the greatest, slasher movie!
It got its own personality to amaze and amuse. Before it, the sci-fi movie was whether totally artistic, or just an empty adventure. This time, it brightly had the best of both. This is rare to happen, and hard to achieve.
Overall, it's anything but usual, cheap, or easy. It's historically important, variously interesting, and - most of all - always enjoyable. Whatever the sequels did; they're not serious, intensive or artistic as the original. And finally, when a perfect genre movie carries a philosophical message; what do we need more?!