July 6, 2010

Alien

The Top 63 Marathon, part 21



Data
Title: Alien
Year: 1979
Length: 117 minutes
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Dan O'Bannon; story by O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett
Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Distinctions: Oscar for Best Visual Effects; Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration; currently #44 on the IMDb's Top 250



My reaction
Synopsis: deadly alien on a spaceship
How I saw it: on video many times (have on DVD), most recently yesterday
Concept: Indifferent. I would say it's bad, but I happen to like this particular Ridiculously Unoriginal Idea.
Story: Good.
Characters: Indifferent. Yeah, I guess they're pretty much just there because somebody has to get eaten by the space monster. Who needs first names?
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Great. A good contender for Best Art Direction of All Time.
Acting: Great.
Music: Indifferent. Most of the score is fine, but what's with the random inappropriate credits music?
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites). Not nearly as intense or scary as the sequel, but it's a much better movie. Very pretty to look at. Exceptionally geeky for a mainstream horror film and/or a post-Star Wars sci-fi film.
Objective Rating: 3.2/4 3.3/4 (Very good).

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