Maybe the Best SF Film of All Time: Partially Inspired by "It! The Terror from Beyond Space"

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2017)

Most of the intellectual film community cites "2001: A Space Odyssey" as the greatest science fiction film of all time. Film critics take notice: I think the original "Alien" surpasses "2001" as the best science fiction film to date. That's not to say there aren't other films worthy of golden rocket ship trophies aside from "Alien" and "2001", such as the original 1977 "Star Wars" (aka "Star Wars IV: A New Hope"), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and "Blade Runner". Probably the first aspect which pushes "Alien" passed many other films, is how it slowly brings us into a "universe" without being self-conscious about it, somewhat similar to the first space sequence of "2001". To be fair, "2001" did pave the way for films like "Alien" and "Star Wars". The scope of the story, again somewhat similar to "2001" is very confined: a space ship which has a brief encounter on a planet and what is brought on-board.
First we encounter a cargo vessel, the Nostromo, bound for Earth carrying millions of tons of iron ore. The vessel seems to be moving slowly through space. We then are shown the inner corridors of the ship. The corridors are all is silent, which is very different than the opening to the original Star Wars in which a small ship is being pursued by an imperial star-ship larger than a supernova. Here, we see the ship's empty corridors and for a moment wonder if anyone is actually on-board. We even see a room with a large computer. Suddenly, the computer and ship "come to life", lights flashing. But no passenger appears responsible for this end to the long silence.
Then we see seven sleeping passengers whose glass lids are opened. We deduce that one of the ways space travel is accomplished in this "universe" is to put the passengers to sleep, which probably solves the problem of life support and food. Passengers are put into extended hibernation for long periods during travel and are awakened at arrival. Now the hibernation compartments have been opened. The first passenger to awake looking groggy and spent is Kane (John Hurt) who moves slowly out of his sleeping bay. The other passengers follow.
Finally, the passengers finally awakened, they learn they are not home yet. Why were the passengers awakened before completing the voyage? Dallas the captain (Tom Skerritt) has consulted with the super-computer which runs the ship, affectionately nicknamed "Mother" who has awakened them because it received a signal from another planet. We learn it was programmed to awaken the passengers if certain situations arise and in this case, the signal was one of those scenarios. They are also compelled in their contract to investigate such a signal, or their shares, the money promised them, will be revoked.
Several of the crew board a shuttle craft and land on the planet where they find an ancient ship. The ship was designed for beings many times the size of the human crew. The corridors of this ship are much more ominous than that of the cargo ship, almost like a giant abandoned city. A fossilized corpse of a large creature many times bigger than an average human being seems fused to a large chair. Kane finds a strange holding area where large oval-shaped objects, about the half the height of a person, are spread about. Kane examines one of them which seems to come alive and attack him. The landing party returns but Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) declines to let Kane in until he's gone through 24 hours of decontamination. The science officer Ash (Ian Holm) lets them inside, contradicting Ripley's orders.
A strange parasitic organism is attached to Kane's face, and it has ultra defenses to prevent it from being removed from Kane. When Dallas and Ash try to remove it, its tale wraps tightly around its host. When they try to cut into it, it spews acid. This turns out to be the first part of a three-part encounter with something alien, interpreted both as a noun and an adjective. Aside from the action sequences, the reasons for the original signal, the awakening of the crew, the investigation and the presence of the thing itself all have political implications.
"Alien" is not just a classic science fiction story but a masterpiece of genre filmmaking. The pace and tone of the film are gradual but deliberate. At nearly every moment, the crew, who are simply a bunch of working class stiffs, never fully understand what they're dealing with. When finally the entire scope of their situation is revealed, it's almost too late.