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Alien, the original that started a franchise, was on TV last night. Naturally my wife stopped me watching it, but I was able to clock the first 30 minutes and also noted the copyright date of 1979.

This means the film was made nearly 40 years ago (shooting wrapped up months before release for special effects and editing to be done.)

I suddenly realised a substantial proportion of the members of DakkaDakka probably weren't born when this film was released...

Yet still one of the great sci-fi movies, and still holds up just as well today

And one of the great horror movies, for that matter

I agree on both counts. There is a long build-up as the Nostromo exits hyperspace, awakens the crew and they have a meal and argue about bonuses before finding they aren't at Earth, and so on.

I saw it in the cinema on first release. The only clue was the publicity poster with a glowing egg and "In space no-one can hear you scream."

Of course it's impossible to recapture that first shock of how the story unfolds, but the film still looks and feels great.

Its still the best Alien film.

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Its still the best Alien film.

So you haven't seen Aliens?

Of course. Aliens is the 2nd best Alien film.

Aliens is great too, but it could not have been done without Alien.

Its great if you saw it when its out.
thw Alien and Ripley are so well known, that if you see it now....its kinda quaint. The movie is framed in such a way that you dont see ripley as the hero for most of it. Surprising you when she does. But not is you know it. The reveal of the alien is great....if you dont know what it looks like.
It really suffers from its popularity.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Its great if you saw it when its out.
thw Alien and Ripley are so well known, that if you see it now....its kinda quint. The movie is framed in such a way that you dont see ripley as the hero for most of it. Surprising you when she does. But not is you know it. The reveal of the alien is great....if you dont know what it looks like.
It really suffers from its popularity.

"quint"?

It's a real classic film.

Not many beat that one.

It has aged amazingly well in my opinion.

Alien has aged better than Aliens in my opinion, Aliens feels really...cheesy at times with the one liners and marines. It's a good movie but it definitely feels like an 80s flick at certain moments. I guess in a way that can be seen as a charm. I wasn't born until the early 90s so I don't really have some kind of nostalgia bias either.

 Manchu wrote:

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Its still the best Alien film.

So you haven't seen Aliens?

Nice action film and hugely enjoyable, but Alien is a genuine creative and design masterpiece. It's among the most significant SF films ever made.

I saw Alien in the cinema a few weeks ago and it stands up incredibly well, the effects look grand, the characterisation of everyone is distinct. Everyone is a rounded individual with very human attitudes towards things. You can probably name even half the characters in Aliens, they're monster fodder. Alien is a simple horror film story told exceptionally well and fantastically designed.

 BrookM wrote:
It has aged amazingly well in my opinion.

Real world effects.

I personally like Aliens better, but they are 2 different films about the same critters. To me Aliens is more of an action movie, Alien is a horror film.

 Necros wrote:
I personally like Aliens better, but they are 2 different films about the same critters. To me Aliens is more of an action movie, Alien is a horror film.

Indeed, Aliens is a a different, albeit very cool genre, that uses the Alien in what is effectively a war movie.
Alien is a horror movie, so good, it cannot even be replicated by its own director (spits on Alien Covenant).

I like both movies for different reasons.

Alien really does hold up well, and I appreciate that most of the violence happens offscreen, way more effective.

Getting into discussions with younger folk about Alien reminds me of a talk with a guy who never saw Star Wars.
Convinced him to watch it.
The first words of his "review" was that it was rather "clichéd".
I had to remind him that most science fiction movies he would have seen recently came afterward, THEY were cliché.

I think it is how you discover something for the first time and think it is amazing and new and then you found out it was done before.
Just get into the discussion of "cover songs", where a top 5 from 10 years ago gets dusted off and published again.
You have to argue with your kids that it is not new and have to prove it to them... proving them wrong is a mixed feeling, you feel like you just made them that bit more jaded.

"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. - George Orwell"

It is like presenting a horrific future dystopia, trying to get you to think it is a nightmare and then proceed to show that it can get much worse.
I seem to be drawn to that kind of story.

Don't get me wrong, I love Alien. It is a very elegant movie. But I think it is a little too sparse as a story. The next film Sir Ridley made after Alien, Blade Runner, has the same "problem" - using quotation marks because, after all, both films are less well known for what happens than for what they look like, which is a perfectly valid outcome for a film. But if a film can be beautiful as well as narratively engaging, all the better. And Aliens, rather than Alien, is that kind of film.

 Talizvar wrote:
Getting into discussions with younger folk about Alien reminds me of a talk with a guy who never saw Star Wars.
Convinced him to watch it.
The first words of his "review" was that it was rather "clichéd".
I had to remind him that most science fiction movies he would have seen recently came afterward, THEY were cliché.

To be fair, the original Star Wars is pretty clichéd. It's a classic fairy tale, only in space. That's not an argument against it though, clichés became clichés because there was something there that resonated with people, and the first time you come across a cliché it's fresh to you.

 Manchu wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I love Alien. It is a very elegant movie. But I think it is a little too sparse as a story. The next film Sir Ridley made after Alien, Blade Runner, has the same "problem" - using quotation marks because, after all, both films are less well known for what happens than for what they look like, which is a perfectly valid outcome for a film. But if a film can be beautiful as well as narratively engaging, all the better. And Aliens, rather than Alien, is that kind of film.

True. But his visual work is what made them so classic.
They will last, and will remain examples of good films.

Definitely true, jhe90. Alien and BR are total classics and visual masterpieces.

Interesting side note: If you work in the energy industry, the early scene in BR with the flares is just another day at the office (flaring was normal practice until the price of nat gas rose enough to make it wasteful economically). You haven't lived until you've been right below one going off. Its incredibly loud and HOT!

The first 3 Alien films are my favourite trilogy of all time. I just think they tell the story of Ripley perfectly, from start to finish. Alien 3 is of course a step down in quality but I still think it's a solid film.

Having said that I'm excited to see the next film in the franchise, even though Scott has already proved that he can't recapture the magic of what made the first films great.

El Torro wrote:
The first 3 Alien films are my favourite trilogy of all time. I just think they tell the story of Ripley perfectly, from start to finish. Alien 3 is of course a step down in quality but I still think it's a solid film.

Having said that I'm excited to see the next film in the franchise, even though Scott has already proved that he can't recapture the magic of what made the first films great.

Agreed. Though they progressively get worse, the first 3 are an amazing trilogy, and I love all of those movies.

People gak on Alien 3 but I think it's solid and kinda grimdark, and provides an acceptable end to Ripley's story (also one of the few films where I prefer the theatrical cut).

Beyond that, the franchise turned into a gak factory...

Alien 3 steps up in quality if you watch the directors cut version which adds in a lot of material that was originally cut out.

The 4th honestly would have done better without Riply and if they'd cast Sigorny as another character in her family encountering the Aliens.

Also I got into comics and the comic series that came after Alien is a great read. Loads of material and stories set around them which honestly feel more faithful to the lore than films 4 and beyond. Certainly they could have done loads with the Alien franchise and even taken it to a full on war story.


Also Kilkrazy why for art thou banned from watching Alien??

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Its great if you saw it when its out.
thw Alien and Ripley are so well known, that if you see it now....its kinda quaint. The movie is framed in such a way that you dont see ripley as the hero for most of it. Surprising you when she does. But not is you know it. The reveal of the alien is great....if you dont know what it looks like.
It really suffers from its popularity.

It's interesting to consider that at the time, Sigourney Weaver was probably the least well-known actor in the movie, and the cast dies in descending order of fame. And several horror movies of the time did end with the cast being wiped out, so audiences when it first came out wouldn't have relaxed right until the end.

 Manchu wrote:
Don't get me wrong, I love Alien. It is a very elegant movie. But I think it is a little too sparse as a story. The next film Sir Ridley made after Alien, Blade Runner, has the same "problem" - using quotation marks because, after all, both films are less well known for what happens than for what they look like, which is a perfectly valid outcome for a film. But if a film can be beautiful as well as narratively engaging, all the better. And Aliens, rather than Alien, is that kind of film.

Alien is a cosmic horror story with a very Lovecraftian style. Humans meet this nonhuman being, and it really drives home what that word alien actually means--nothing is known, nothing is safe to assume. Where did it come from? What does it want? How intelligent is it (was it really a coincidence that it hides in the one place that would save it from the self-destruct)? Everything emphasises how inhuman and unsympathetic the universe is, from the organic designs of the alien transport compared to the chunky metal box of the Nostromo, to the bizarre and sexually transgressive life cycle of the creature. You want answers to all this and explanations? Tough. You reached into the unknown and acted surprised when you got your fingers bit.

How do you follow that up? You can't, not by doing the same sort of movie. Prometheus and many tie-ins tried explaining what the aliens were, how they worked, and it just didn't add anything because any explanation, no matter how good, diminishes that primal dread of the unknown. So don't follow it up in that way, do an awesome horror-action movie that draws on the xenomorphs as terrifying physical threats rather than living affronts to the human urge to explore.

El Torro wrote:
The first 3 Alien films are my favourite trilogy of all time. I just think they tell the story of Ripley perfectly, from start to finish. Alien 3 is of course a step down in quality but I still think it's a solid film.

I have a soft spot for Alien Resurrection. It's flawed, quite badly, but it was trying to do something new with the source material and did new things with the original's theme of transgressive cross-species sexuality and breeding.

 Overread wrote:
Alien 3 steps up in quality if you watch the directors cut version which adds in a lot of material that was originally cut out.

The 4th honestly would have done better without Riply and if they'd cast Sigorny as another character in her family encountering the Aliens.

Also I got into comics and the comic series that came after Alien is a great read. Loads of material and stories set around them which honestly feel more faithful to the lore than films 4 and beyond. Certainly they could have done loads with the Alien franchise and even taken it to a full on war story.


Also Kilkrazy why for art thou banned from watching Alien??

I like some of the changes to Alien 3 with the special/directors cut, but I have a problem with them changing the birth sequence. The dog birth was a lot darker and more convincing considering the more squat and fast profile of this particular alien. In contrast to the cute lame CGI chestburster and a dead ox. So lame....so friggin lame. Questionable CGI, cute little sound effects as it skitters away. The dog version had more suspense.

 Thargrim wrote:
Alien has aged better than Aliens in my opinion, Aliens feels really...cheesy at times with the one liners and marines. It's a good movie but it definitely feels like an 80s flick at certain moments. I guess in a way that can be seen as a charm. I wasn't born until the early 90s so I don't really have some kind of nostalgia bias either.

I couldn't agree more. Alien is right up there with Blade Runner and 2001 for me, and my opinion of Aliens is exactly as you describe it. Cheesy and all of the action sequences feel like they took the weakest third of Alien and turning it up to 11, when the film is far better for the first two thirds. I still like Aliens, but I love Alien

Really enjoyed the new Blade Runner too, cool avatar

 Alpharius wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Its great if you saw it when its out.
thw Alien and Ripley are so well known, that if you see it now....its kinda quint. The movie is framed in such a way that you dont see ripley as the hero for most of it. Surprising you when she does. But not is you know it. The reveal of the alien is great....if you dont know what it looks like.
It really suffers from its popularity.

"quint"?

I think he meant "quaint".

Quint would be a different movie.

And that movie, a few years older than Alien, also holds up really well, I'd say.