Rakesh's movie talk
Alien (1979)













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Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Dan O'Bannon
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt and Yaphet Kotto
















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I had first seen Alien during my childhood in TV. Then, it didn't have much effect on me. Either that or I have completely forgotten all about it. Judging from my fantastic memory, I'll opt for the latter..

When I saw it again, I was older in age, and very much a child as an audience. These days, I allow myself to be overwhelmed by what I see. I was overwhelmed by this movie...completely.

The story is simple. It could be, what can be roughly termed as, a haunted-house story. A standard slasher movie that was so popular in the seventies and eighties. But this flick was helmed by Ridley Scott, who would later give us groundbreaking Blade Runner and of recent, splendid epic Gladiator, and the monotonous and bloody Black Hawk Down. He is always known for his flair in visualisation. Here, the haunted house is the Nostromo, a space cargo ship. The ghost is the alien, which they 'picked' up on the way back to earth. The apostrophe on the word picked is intentional. How it happened, and what ensues are the highlight of the movie. Be mindful that there are many events in this movie that have been copied, remodeled or even ripped off in other films. If you have not seen Alien at all, bear in mind that this movie came first.

The second half of this movie owes much to Spielberg's Jaws. To me, it was done with further improvisation. While John Williams famous score is used to tell us that the great white one is nearing its victim, here we get nothing. The alien can come anytime, anywhere. All you (or the Nostromo crew) can do is pray.

Alien has surpassed three sequels  and there are talks about the fourth one, with Ridley Scott showing interest. He said that he should be the right person to wrap the series up, since he started it. In fact, he has all the right to do so. What Scott made was a film of terror, wrapped in claustrophobic production design (by Michael Seymore), enhanced by a gothic, creepy atmosphere, and commanded by this lone alien, created by H.R. Giger (not Stan Winston as I originally thought). I am not aware of Giger's career, but colleague Mazlan gave me a rundown on his art especially on covers of some early rock albums. His creation will remain the most copied in the history of Hollywood (probably elsewhere) creatures.

Performances of the actors in this kind of film are usually pared down with consciously stressed and anxious looks and body languages. It is here, throughout the film. But it doesn't mean that the characters are as colourless as the contents of most teen-slasher films. It has a great cast, and Harry Dean Stanton and Ian Holm, especially, stand out amongst the crew. But I want to talk about Sigourney Weaver and her Ripley character. It would be safe to assume that Ripley is a breakthrough in the annals of screen heroines. Especially in that era. And Weaver will be forever be tied with this character. She is a great actress and Ripley is a great character which will be up there alongside James Bond and Dirty Harry.

Alien is not a Stephen King stuff. Not particularly a shocker. It is what would have happen if Edgar Allen Poe was living now and decided to write a screenplay and direct it. Being a Poe fan, I might have been fooled by the imagery and atmosphere of this film, thinking he might have a part in it. I am stretching here. I loved this film. Loved every minute of it.
















Check out my comments on other Alien films:

Aliens (1986)
Alien 3 (1992)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)