Alien (1979)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Dan O'Bannon (story) and
Ronald Shusett (story) ...

Release Date:

25 mayo 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Frase comercial:

In space no one can hear you scream.

Plot:

A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.

Plot Keywords:

Impregnation | Expendable | Sole Survivor | Science Officer | Creature

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 18 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

The mother of all movies

Cast

Tom Skerritt	...	Dallas
Sigourney Weaver	...	Ripley
Veronica Cartwright	...	Lambert
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Brett
John Hurt	...	Kane
Ian Holm	...	Ash
Yaphet Kotto	...	Parker
Bolaji Badejo	...	Alien
Helen Horton	...	Mother (voice)

También conocida como:

Alien: The Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)
Star Beast (USA) (working title)
Alien - El octavo pasajero (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) (Mexico) (Spain) [es]
Alien, el octavo pasajero: El montaje del director (Spain) (director's cut) [es]
Octavo pasajero, El (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language. (director's cut)

Duración:

117 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)

País:

UK | USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sonido:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby

Clasificación:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) (2003) | South Korea:15 (re-rating) (2003) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 (original rating) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (director's cut) (2003) | New Zealand:M (re-release) | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) (DVD rating) | Italy:T | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (director's cut) (2003) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) (director's cut) (2003) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 (director's cut) (2003) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (director's cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #25541)

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Brandywine Productions

Trivialidades:

20th Century Fox doubled the budget from $4.2 million to $8.4 million on the strength of seeing Ridley Scott's storyboards.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ripley comes out of the closet with her spacesuit on in the shuttle to try and get rid of the Alien and she straps herself into the seat the straps are up over her shoulders. Then she scene switches to her fingers pushing the switches and the scene then goes back to her in the seat and the straps are down on her arms. The next time the scene changes again the straps are up over her shoulders.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brett: This is the worst shit I've ever seen, man.
Parker: What you say? You got any biscuits over there?
Ripley: Here's some cornbread.
Parker: Cornbread. Yeah.
Lambert: I am cold.
Parker: Still with us, Brett?
Brett: Right.
Kane: Oh, I feel dead.
Parker: Anybody ever tell you you look dead, man?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Giger's Alien (1979)

Soundtrack:

Excerpts from 'Symphony no. 2 (Romantic)'

The mother of all movies

Back in early 20th century, Lumière brothers didn't have a clue of what they were playing with. I'm freaking sure that if somebody could have magically told them that thanks to their work, a movie like 'Alien' would have been made in the future, they both would have died of a sudden, shocked by the consequences of their labor, like an honest scientist would if he was shown an evil use of his research. In that sense, but in the best way imaginable, 'Alien' is the atomic bomb.

In my opinion, 'Alien' is the only perfect movie in the history of cinema. Of course, this could be debatable, but of all the films I've watched since I was born, this is the only one in which I haven't been able to find the slightest flaw. It gets a golden ten out of ten. Bright, solid and massive.

I could go on with a panegyric, but I'll try to be short and accurate:

The direction is just perfect. Every shot is marvellous, every movement of the camera is breathtaking. There is absolutely nothing you could add or subtract. Touch it, and you spoil it. Seriously.

The acting is splendid. The performances build a credible world centuries away. I don't know about you, but this take on the future was unveliabably acceptable. Sigourney Weaver is more than a revelation, John Hurt is a master, and the rest are nothing short of marvellous.

The script is a work of art, the story is mesmerizing, well-constructed, well-developed, and free of absurd twists. Its simplicity and efectiveness are yet, 25 years after, to be matched.

The atmosphere is pure genius. Gothic, claustrophobic and sometimes baroque. The use of light and dark is beyond description, the use of sound is as creepy as it gets.

The FX are the best possible for 1979. In the time of the release, some scenes were stomach churning.

The score. Jerry Goldsmith's work matches the images so perfectly it seems to bleed from them. It is and will be the best soundtrack for a sci-fi flick in space ever.

The tagline. "In space, no one can hear you scream". THIS is a tagline.

And, of course... the alien. The only alive creature that can steal Weaver the movie. Its design is the most innovative I've seen. It has spawned dozens of disgraceful imitations. This is the real deal. Not only the look, but the complete design of a life form, including biological features. Acid instead of blood. Jaws inside jaws. What more could you possibly want? This is how a movie is done.

A very good sign of a movie that has gone down in history is the amount of collectively well remembered scenes. Well, 'Alien' has so many that I won't go into it. This movie contains so many iconic scenes that has become an icon itself.

So, what else? I urge all young directors to watch this movie a zillion times, as I've already done, and take notes all along. But not in order to rip off from it, as many others have done, but to learn, learn, learn, learn and learn how a movie should be done. 'Casablanca'? You must be joking.

Oh, I almost forget! There's a lovable cat in it.

RATING: 10