Alien

Perfect horror movie all around, THE BEST! A classic.

Don't you just hate when those chestbursts happen and you don't have insurance? A classic.

Tense sci-fi/horror film. Deserves all the kudos and praise it has received. Sigourney Weaver is so good in it!

This film set the stage for modern horror films. "The Thing" picked up where this movie left off, and ran with it.

...I saw this in the movie theater when it first came out, I thought as a science fiction fan, that knew what was going to be. Well, I didn't. This film is frightening in a way that is hard to describe. For the entire last hour of this film, a viewer is sitting on an edge that is unstable and fearful.
... Because of the nature what the spaceship is, we are all trapped on the ship wondering what is going to happen next. Yes, all of us. So, Rodney Scott directed the film with that kind of fearful wonder. As the story continues, the fear increases for many reasons. All very likely for the situation the crew is in. That unknowing fear is the essence of this film.
... In 1979 when I saw this, I was taken into the space ship and felt that fear just as the crew on the ship felt it. I sat there being taken in by a great film, that I did not know as anything more than just another film. The suspense, fear, uncertainty, and direction of this film lead to other Alien films. I thought I knew, but I did not know.
.. If you give this a chance, on some sort of larger screen with good sound, you will be taken in too. (and watch it through all at once, no stopping) When I walked out of that movie theater, I realized what an experience I had that day. That feeling is still with me. I was so taken in by that experience, that when the next Alien film came out (Aliens), I did not go to the theater, I waited until it came out on "video tape" and played it backwards to see the end first. And it turned out that the second trip in this voyage was just as good as the first. But be warned, ..."in outer space there is no sound..."

This is a great horror/sci-fi film!! It is creepy and exciting. It makes you wonder what you would do in that circumstance would you let the astronaut on or not?

An absolute game changer of a movie. It's a masterpiece in every aspect, from the cast, script, direction and music. There is a true cult built around it and we have books and fan films to enjoy. Sadly, the direction of the Alien films have gone downhill and some of the newer ones have CGI that is laughable. The irony is that "Alien" and "Aliens" are far more believable than the cartoonish releases 40 years later. This is a must see. I can't count how often I've seen it and how much enjoyment it always brings.

Watching this for the first time was a thrilling experience. I've never been a huge fan of horror films, but for whatever reason I felt like I was being compelled to watch it. And I can't say how happy I am I did. Not a great movie by today's standards, but by 1979 standards? A classic. I understand why it's held with such high regards and I see that it really set the bar for sci-fi horror. Truly held up to the hype, and I'm more than excited to watch the sequels in the future.

One of the best films made. Top-notch atmosphere/environment development/building throughout the first 30-60 minutes, which really allows the rest of the movie to do its thing. Great actors portraying real people - they live and breathe, they're responding to the things around them as opposed to following a screenplay. Just as in Batman movies, Batman is only as cool or as heroic as the villain is evil or distasteful: in this 'creature feature' style movie, the main attraction (i.e. the creature - the alien) is only as cool or as repulsive as the people are believable or authentic. The reproach we have in response to the alien is so strong because we relate to the people who are trapped in very close quarters with it. We fear the alien because we feel for and fear for the people around it, even though the creature occupies a few scant moments of screen time. Outstanding movie-making.

Still stands the test of time. So much tension and fear of the unknown. Wonderful to see Sigourney Weaver as a level headed, dependable, composed and astute female leader struggling with her male coworkers and the chain of command. Can’t wait to get the 2nd Alien-another classic!

In his early career Ridley Scott didn't get the recognition he deserved for this movie. Scott's bad luck was compounded by the release of ET the Extraterrestrial in the same week Blade Runner was released, thereby cheating him of a well deserved Oscar. The major plausibility problem in the Alien script is the sudden unexplained increase in size of the alien monster. When it emerges from John Hurt's thorax it is about the size of a ferret. When Harry Dean Stanton later has his unpleasant encounter with the beast it is at least eight feet tall. How did that happen? Aliens may well have hyperactive pituitary glands but growth on that scale requires a whole lot of protein! Following the "birth" scene there should have been a series of break-ins to the Nostromo's food storage lockers; the crew should have discovered the animal's droppings on the spacecraft floor - ominously increasing in cloacal diameter with the passage of time . . .

A fantastic blend of sci-fi and horror, incredibly suspenseful and carefully elaborated with a perfect pacing. Scott knows very well how to slowly build a disquieting tension and elevate it to the point of nerve-wracking, and this film is a genuinely scary modern classic.

Classic !!!!!!

this is the 1979 movie, correct?

One of the coolest sci-fi series ever!

This late 1970’s fantasy/mystery film is about a group of astronauts who are woken up in space to the distress signal of a nearby alien spacecraft. Upon arrival, they see that the shuttle is full of alien eggs. After one of them are born and latches onto a crew member, they fall into a coma. This leaves them in the terrifying position of not knowing what to do or who to turn to. This movie is one of the scarier space movies that there are, with a large emphasis on the unknown of other life forms. I felt that it was well written and that the special effects were ahead of its time. I would rate this movie 4.5/5 stars for being one of the best horror movies that I have ever seen.
@The_Reviewer of the Hamilton Public Library Teen Review Board

Alien is the first film in a long series of films and has helped shaped the movie industry forever. And for being so old, it was still quite a scary movie with the horrifying concept of being trapped on a spaceship in the middle of space with no help and something trying to kill you. This is a movie which makes you understand why, old doesn’t always mean bad and why many still say the classics will always be the best. Alien is a perfect example of that, the plot is intense and fast pace after a small lull at the beginning, the concept and horror is great and overall this is a movie which everyone should try out sometime in their life. - @Kuhaica of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library

Of all the Alien films, this one is the most suspenseful and scary. It is my second favorite under Aliens which is a great kick butt action film with a fair amount of suspense and scary moments.
All the ground work for the rest of the series is set in place with this film. It is as much a horror film as it is a sci-fi film and the actors are convincing in their portrayal of space miners who've been cooped up together for a very long time.

Great film all around and you should purchase both this film, Alien, and the second one, Aliens. The rest in the series are rentals or, as I'm writing for HCLIB dot ORG, borrow from your local library.

One of the best sci-fi movies ever made.

The only remotely negative thing to say about it is that some of the effects weren't that great, but it still beats most modern movies hands down. Predator is one of the few other movies that had such a menacing creature.

I think I've probably had a crush on Sigourney since I first saw her in this when I was young. ;-)

You are my lucky star

Its a classic & despite the old graphics its one of my fav series. Love them all.

One of the best horror movies of all time. Instead of using cheap scaring tactics, this movie plays with your mind, driving terror into your gut.

Along with Jaws this is one of the only [two] honest-to-goodness SCARY horror films I've actually seen in 71 years of life and witness to hundreds of movies. Weaver ought to be on a list somewhere, manly women who scare the hell out of manly men. If she'd been in Jaws the entire audience would have perished of cardiac arrest. Instead Robert Shaw was the workhorse there, and the Alien is the workhorse here. Eat your heart out, Alien.

Ellen Ripley transcends gender and genre. She is one of the most complicated, movie heroes of all time.

The real pleasure was viewing Disk Two with all the extra information about the "Alien" movie production. Fascinating!

A raw, cutting room floor feel in typical Ridley Scott style. This is one of the first and best alien creature films that hides the fact that there's a tall, lanky, gangly human inside that suit. Never getting a full shot of the creature keeps it surreal and completely Creepy!