Sigourney Weaver,
Veronica Cartwright,
Harry Dean Stanton,
John Hurt,
Ian Holm,
Yaphet Kotto
A seminal work of late '70s science fiction, ALIEN remains notable for its influence as well as its excellence. The crew of the industrial spaceship Nostromo lands on the surface of a mysterious planet and discovers a crashed spacecraft. Inside, a strange egg disgorges a multilegged lifeform that latches onto the face of crewman Kane (John Hurt), who, unconscious, is brought back to the Nostromo. There, the creature resists all attempts to dislodge it. Soon, however, it disappears, only to turn up dead later as Kane revives, apparently none the worse for wear. The Nostromo takes off, and while the crew is having dinner, a snakelike creature erupts from Kane's stomach and vanishes into the bowels of the ship. After jettisoning Kane's body, the crew sets out in search of the alien. Other crew members are soon killed, and warrant officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) spearheads the battle against the seemingly indestructible creature. ALIEN has been described as "a haunted house movie in space," and I feel that is part of the appeal. Coming into his own as a director on his second feature, Ridley Scott wrings every possible ounce of suspense and atmosphere out of the proceedings. Swiss artist-designer and genius H.R. Giger supplied the distinctive "bio-mechanical" concepts for the film, which help make the alien one of cinema's memorable creations: a nightmare melding of humanoid form, insect-like appendages, and mechanized structure. The non-star cast do nothing to distract from the film's suspense and the "novice" actors bring an appealing quality to their characters. One of them, Weaver's Ripley, (looking extremely young) would develop into one of the genre's most memorable heroines. Several dozen low-budget copies have appeared since its initial release but none match up to the claustrophobia and suspense of the original.
Alien spawned three sequels, each, in my opinion keeping the feeling of claustrophobic terror.
Academy Award: Best Visual Effects - H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, Denys Ayling
Academy Award Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration - Michael Seymour, Les Dilley, Roger Christian, Ian Whittaker
