Alien (1979)

It’s been 30 years since Alien was released and I have to admit that I hadn’t seen it. I have been wanting to see this (and the sequels) for a long time and in 2006 I bought this 25th anniversary box set

Even with this fantastic set on the shelves I still did not watch it. So the time really had come to finally open the Alien head and start watching. I’m really wondering now why i didn’t watch it any sooner.

The story is about a couple of space truckers who have to bring mineral ore back to earth. During the journey back they have to stop as they receive a signal from a nearby planet. Of course it’s no surprise that when they take something aboard their ship things go wrong. This results in a very cool movie.

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is one of the first female roles where a woman is the hero. Because of the situation she is in she has to fight to survive.
The script originally didn’t state that the role was played by a woman, but because the decision was made to make Ripley female it’s a film that stands out.
Personally i think that the fact that Ripley is a woman makes the viewer care more about her as she seems more vulnerable. She proves that she isn’t.

Other things that stand out are the set designs. The ship as well as the planet look amazing. In the accompanying documentary they say that the spaceship was one big set in which you had to walk around to enter and exit it. So the actors really got the feeling that they were walking around the ship.
The Alien seems almost mechanical and the fact that it doesn’t have eyes (the first designs did have them) makes it even creepier.

The exciting story, which scares the viewer several times, together with the fantastic look and great acting results in an amazing movie which can join the ranks with the other IMDB tens I’ve awarded. It really is a movie which i could see each year without getting bored by it.

Score: 10

Interested in other movies which I’ve awarded a 10?
A complete list can be found here.