42 years later, and it still holds up. ALIEN (1979)

[NostromoCrew]

Oh Man, My appreciation of this film just keeps growing the older I get and the more I re-view it. Truly a masterpiece.

An extraordinarily special Eclipse of talented people at the TOP of their game! the script, writing, directing, conceptual art, design, set design, set decoration, (practical) special effects, miniatures, model making, costume design, acting, I can go on and on and on..

... A FEMALE heroine lead, written correctly, not in your face, nor forced upon. She has no super powers, is not a beauty model, is not the love interest of another character. She try's to follow the rules(don't break quarantine), is compassionate(comes back for the cat), and smart witted, she is faced with a challenge and she deals with it... again I can go on and on...

Researching the costumes for my Project Run, I must have watched this film about two dozen times, scanning for different angles and what not,.. and I must say that I enjoy every viewing, moreover I notice some new detail that just hid in the background or noticed another subliminal meaning hidden in the piece...

Fun Fact - Did you know that the set designer/decorator was Roger Christian, he worked on Star Wars before, notice how the nostromo resembles the interior of the Millennium Falcon?

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I'm one of those guys who prefers ALIEN to ALIENS (and prefers Terminator to Terminator 2). At it's core, ALIEN is a straight up horror and suspense film. Beautifully crafted. I also love ALIENS but you just can't compete with the atmosphere presented in the first film. It holds up in every way

 

[NostromoCrew]

I'm one of those guys who prefers ALIEN to ALIENS (and prefers Terminator to Terminator 2). At it's core, ALIEN is a straight up horror and suspense film. Beautifully crafted. I also love ALIENS but you just can't compete with the atmosphere presented in the first film. It holds up in every way

Same here! I love both, but the first one is just in a different league.

For the same reasons I prefer Terminator and Predator

 

[metaform3d]

When I came out of the theater after seeing it in its first run I felt enraptured. It was like a peak experience. Still one of my top five moves of all time.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Our union contact was up for negotiation a few weeks ago and there was serious talk about striking and picketing the site. While my crew was in a huddle discussing it I said "before we start today, I think we oughta discuss the bonus situation". My foreman deadpanned "this isn't the Nostromo".

There's a reason we get along so well!

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

ALIEN is a much more sophisticated movie than I think people give it credit for. Like Michael Bergeron I'm also one of those that like ALIEN more than ALIENS. Unlike Mike, I don't like ALIENS very much. I think it actually undercuts much of what makes ALIEN so great and set the trend for what the sequels were after it: mindless retellings of the first film, just drowned in gore or action.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Though in my view both Aliens and Terminator 2 are great and solid sequels - more action orientated - I prefer the more spooky originals and wish both franchises would go back to that feel, without just copying the story of the original. It's the sensation of foreboding and suspense and building tension they need to capture. Both the alien and the terminator needs to be scary again.

 

[ID10T]

In the 70s you had three things/categories/movies that created true terror:
1. The "God" scare that was The Exorcist
2. The "real world" scare that was JAWS
3. The "outer space" scare that was ALIEN

I probably have permanent psychological scars from all three.

Well, look where you ended up (here, with us) so, yeah. Seems reasonable.