Many of the roots to today’s science fiction films can be traced back to some of the classics of the late 1970’s and early 80’s. “Star Wars”, a major inspiration for Ridley Scott, was released just a couple of years before “Alien” and you can see the director’s love for that movie here. In turn Ridley Scott’s own masterpiece, not only launched a franchise but triggered dozens of copy cat films in the years since.The cast features a whose who of science fiction-fantasy all stars including Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters, Avatar), Ian Holm (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fifth Element), John Hurt (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 1984), Veronica Cartwright (The X-Files) and Tom Skerritt (The Dead Zone, Poltergeist III) and Harry Dean Stanton (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers).

“Alien” feels like pretty standard sci-fi flare, story-wise. The crew of the Nostromo, a mining ship, discovers an S.O.S. signal repeating over and over. Obligated to investigate, otherwise they forfeit the shares promised to them, they land on a mysterious planet and quickly discover a crashed space vessel, which they assume is the source of the distress call. So the crew, led by Kane (Hurt), searches for survivors and instead finds an alien egg, which hatches in front of Kane’s eyes. The ensuing horrific results produce some of the most memorable sci-fi moments ever. When the Nostromo relaunches to try and return home, the crew finds themselves trapped and running for their lives, hunted by a killer alien.

Director Ridley Scott works from a script by Dan O’Bannon and plays more on the side of horror than a typical science fiction action movie. He builds some serious tension as the crew fights amongst themselves, while trying to decided how to handle their lethal cargo. As for the alien, the creature itself is great work for its time, but  it is shown in short, quick shots which help to make it look more realistic and adds to the scariness. What will get most audiences is the sense of claustrophobia that helps emphasize the panic and desperation of the crew.

In a film full of great actors, Sigourney Weaver ends up being the biggest star to come from “Alien”, as her character Ripley is generally considered the greatest female action heroine in cinematic history. The movie is a must see for sci-fi and horror fans alike and is worth seeing again before the 2012 release of “Prometheus”.

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