by Daniel Stephens

Created on: February 17, 2009   Last Updated: February 27, 2009

Alien (Ridley Scott, USA, 1979)

Dir. Ridley Scott; Written by Dan O'Bannon; starring Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto

My introduction to Ridley Scott's space opus came sometime after being bowled over by James Cameron's sequel. I guess it must have been around 1990, before David Fincher released the third instalment of the Alien saga. My ignorance of Scott's sci-fi horror had to do with the fact I wasn't born when it was first released in 1979, and partly because my mother had withheld the video from her impressionable son's eyes; possibly fearing permanent psychological damage. This fear didn't last long, since my determination to witness the Alien's first cinematic adventure far outweighed her parental guidance. Coupled with the fact Alien was one of my Mum's favourite movies, it wasn't long before I was another devoted fan of Alien, Ripley, and the space-horror franchise. And, for the sake of not undermining my mother, I can safely say there was no psychological damage caused at least, that's what my shrink tells me.

My first impression of Alien was one that appears the going trend. Quite honestly, it was one of the most frightening experiences of my movie watching life. Director Ridley Scott concocts a claustrophobic, uncompromising cinematic experience that bottles up all that is good about the haunted house movie and delivers it with teeth sharp enough to cut through the screen and take your arms and legs off. From the minute the opening credit sequence starts (bringing you out of your home comforts - that include a reassuring open fire and a locked door - into the unending expanse of outer space), the hieroglyphic letters appearing slowly and methodically on screen offering no sense of hope, you're left exposed, alone, vulnerable.

Alien was developed in the mid-1970s, the brainchild of film school graduate Dan O'Bannon. O'Bannon had worked with John Carpenter on what would become simultaneously the most successful student film and the worst professional film ever released theatrically - Dark Star. The film, a precursor to O'Bannon's Alien, saw a group of astronauts bidding to stay alive aboard a spacecraft housing a rather nasty but ultimately timid looking alien creature. After O'Bannon left film school and saw his next project fall flat on its face, he turned to friend and producer Ronald Shusett for help. Together, they fleshed out O'Bannon's concept and started shopping it around

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