So, it was raining here, there seemed little point in a Sunday outing, thus we set aside a few hours with the kids and watched the original Alien (1979) instead. Like all proper-thinking persons, the kids now [heart] Ripley. As a package, Alien fully deserved that Oscar – screenplay, direction, score, performances, set design, creature design and the special effects (no CGI in this) – all work together beautifully.
Apparently the original script called for Ripley to be a man, then there was meant to be a sex scene between Ripley and Dallas (the captain). Thankfully both of these earlier concepts fell by the wayside.
Sigourney Weaver is allegedly keen on reviving the role after the sidetrack into Alien vs Predator movies, with Ridley Scott also interested in a new film. I would love to see that.
Some reviews of Alien:
- best-horror-movies.com – is Alien merely a horror film that happens to take place in space, or is the outer space setting an essential part of the appeal?
- Arrow in the Head – some minor quibbles.
- Reelviews.net – comes right out and says it – Alien was the first film to feature a female action hero (although it was the sequel Aliens where Ripley really let loose, Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley in Alien meant that the sequel simply could not be made without her).
- A collection from rottentomatoes.com
And for those who have not yet had the joy of the 30 Seconds Bunnies Theatre, here is angryaliens.com’s version of Alien.
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Unwise of me I realise, but Sigourney Weaver: the thinking man’s crumpet. Just think of it as a broad definition of “thinking.”
What a fantastic movie and one couldn’t ask for a better role model than Sigourney Weaver as Ripley! 🙂
It still amazes me that this was made in 1979 and it still can capture the imagination as well as it did back then. Truly timeless!
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I’ve seen Alien once and strangely don’t remember anything about the score at all. I think of it as one of those horror movies that exist largely without a score, a little like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Rear Window. I guess it must be just faulty memory. (By contrast I remember parts of the second movie Aliens’ score quite well – those giant string orchestra effects, those percussive anvil strikes during the fight scenes.)
Alien is a fantastic movie – kind of the intelligent offspring of Star Wars, which Wiki tells me was made in 1977.
I think it’s probably both a horror movie and an outerspace movie; I love the way it uses the classic science fiction theme of discovery of the ‘other’. I guess it is a little contrived in that the alien/human parasitical relationship seems a little too perfect to be true. (Those things that plant the seed in the human’s mouth/chest look perfectly shaped for the human face, but we’re supposed to believe they’ve never had contact with human species, and never changed through evolution/adaption to better attack their prey. Hmmm…)
When I had my head shaved, one of the local waiters here used to hail me as “Ripley” – one of those things perhaps not *intended* as compliment, but I was *SOOOOO* happy!
I wonder TimT if that just means the score was sensational, not all ‘Hey, here I am’ but working its magic and contributing to the pants-wetting terror – sometimes if it works just right I’m totally *unaware* of the score, but it’s worked its mojo on me all the same.
what about a male ripley hooking up with dallas? i demand more gay horror sex scenes!
Hrm. I haven’t seen it, but I have seen Aliens (awkward, I know). I’d argue that space does make the film, though. The isolation, the sense that there is absolutely nowhere to run, that’s crucial.
My Mum is a big SciFi fan (yay)and not knowing really what it was about apart from the Alien bit took me and my older sister to see it at the movies.
I was about 8 and Kate was 12.
Well….nightmares anyone?!
Kate spent most of the movie in the bathroom and I sat through it.
I need to ask Mum what she was thinking?
Anyway I’ve seen it since and love it.
I barely wake screaming anymore.
(my World Of Warcraft Hunter’s pet I named Ripley..its a weird freaky alien looking beastie)