*Originally written March 7th, 2019*
It's always pure joy for me to get to see one of my favourite films of mine at the cinema. Even better when it's presented in a gorgeous 4K remaster like the one displayed here. I've had a long history with the Alien franchise, I used to frequently watch Alien and Aliens on DVD on repeat as a kid, but I always liked this one more than Aliens. I just prefer the slow-burn slasher aspect of this to the more action-heavy sequel. The less said about Alien 3 and Resurrection the better though.
Being it's 40th anniversary, this still holds up extremely well. This is Ridley Scott on the top of his game. There is so much detail in every part of the production design, from intricate Nostromo ship to the foggy alien planet, everything is a feast for the eyes. Made even better with its reference quality 4K transfer. One I will be buying when it hits disc in late April.
It carries a very simplistic plot. A crew of a spaceship investigate a distress signal on a planet while on their way back to Earth, but end up bringing in an Alien entity that slowly starts to pick off the crew one by one.
What helps most is how likeable the crew are at the beginning. We spend a good 50 minutes or so with these characters before the chaos starts. The cast all work well off each other, making for some surprisingly decent bursts of humour that I had completely forgotten were in this film. Sigourney Weaver is obviously the most developed of the characters, but it's a stroke of genius that she doesn't become front and centre until very late into the film, making me appreciate how much of a surprise her survival and role must have been back when this released. Weaver herself is fantastic though, a strong female lead that takes control of the situation and is never once a damsel in distress, making for one of the most iconic characters in sci-fi.
The Alien itself is still an absolute masterclass in creature design. The practical costume looks incredible and is used just enough to keep it mysterious and intimidating. It really shows that less is more, using the shadows and dark areas to hide various parts of the costume is a smart move that pays off in spades. I wish the franchise would go back to its roots and use suits like this again, as this holds up far better than the overly CGI look of the creatures in Alien: Covenant, which was only 2 years ago.
I won't lie when I say some things just do not hold up. It's easy to make fun of a film made 40 years ago, but I could see why some people could find some of the effects a bit cheesy and laughable. In particular, after the alien bursts out of John Hurts chest, it runs across the table, and it looks a bit dodgy to say the least. Then there's the scene where Ash starts to malfunction and make weird sounds while all I could think of is he might just puking up lots of cum.
I also miss what a talented filmmaker Ridley Scott used to be before having one of the most hit-and-miss careers of any director I can think of. He uses everything to his advantage here to rack out tension from nearly every scene. It's such a shame he's never managed to live up to this high standard as he continues to try continue the Alien franchise, but never coming close to what made this original film so great.
The sound design is utterly insane here too. Jerry Goldsmith's score is one for the books and seeing this in a loud theatre with surround sound was such a treat. It made me appreciate just how important sound design is to a film like this and how much it brings to the tension and dread of the whole thing.
Alien is still a defining sci-fi horror classic and easily the peak of the series. One of my favourite films of all-time brought back to life with a gorgeous 4K transfer that makes me appreciate a film I already loved so much. The peak of the franchise and possibly Ridley Scott's career. Pure cinema.
10/10 Dans
Alien is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK with a 4K UHD release due out April 22nd with a steelbook available from Zavvi to pre-order
Watch the trailer below:
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